Sunrise revealed a teaser for the new Gundam anime announced in late 2022, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. Slated to air in October 2022, this will be the first in the long-running Gundam franchise to have a female protagonist. Alongside the Code: Fairy expansion to Battle Operation 2, Gundam is getting a much-needed dose of female leads.
Alongside the teaser, a few other reveals were dropped including the announcement of a prologue episode set to premiere shortly before the main series, as well as the unveiling of three brand new High Grade gunpla kits of mobile suits from the new series — Gundam Aerial, Gundam Lfrith, and Berguir-Beu. The Gundam designs lean more toward Iron-Blooded Orphans and Zone of the Enders than the older Gundam mobile suit designs, but I’m sure we’ll see some more variation as the air date draws closer, if that mysterious Berguir-Beu is anything to go by.
https://youtu.be/I6MHD1BSjTA
The teaser itself is just that: a tease. We get a short look at the new, yet-to-be-named lead and what is presumed to be their mobile suit, Gundam Aerial, before a cut to black.
With Sunrise planning to release a “wide range of products outside of gunpla”, it’s safe to say Sunrise has big goals for this new entry and will release an all-out media blitz to promote it. Considering it’s been about seven years since the last TV series, it’s no wonder they’re trying to capitalize on the fandom boom the resurgence of gunpla as a hobby brought to the franchise. Current distribution plans outside of Japan have not been announced, but there is an English website up. In Japan, however, The Witch from Mercury Prologue will be shown at an event known as Gundam Next Future -Link The Universe-, which will be centered on “linking” the several life-size Gundam attractions around the Eastern world, including the public opening for the Nu Gundam in Fukuoka. There are plans for other showings at “events all over the world”, but no further details were given. The official Gundam.info YouTube channel is a likely candidate, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Here are photos of the announced gunpla, which give us some really good looks at the designs. They’ve grown on me.
This is shaping up to be a big year for Gundam, between the new games, new movie, and now a new series. I’m excited to see what The Witch from Mercury holds. Be on the lookout for more news on this from us, as it’s announced. Be sure to check out our gunpla guides if you’re interested in the hobby.
