A stage greeting to commemorate the release of the Dolby Cinema version of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash - The Witch of Circe," the second chapter of the popular animated film series Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash (directed by Murase Shukou), was held at Marunouchi Piccadilly (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo) on March 12th. Music composer Hiroyuki Sawano, singer of the insert songs "ENDROLL" and "CIRCE" by SennaRin, director Murase Shukou, Bandai Namco Filmworks producer Kasai Keisuke, and executive producer Naohiro Ogata spoke about the music, including the insert songs.
Sawano, who was in charge of the music following the first chapter released in 2021, said, "I was happy to be able to work on it again after five years. The insert songs were the highlight. It was stimulating." Director Murase recalled, "The timing of the meeting with Sawano was extremely busy. I told him at the time that I wanted two insert songs. He fixed them just as I had intended. The demos came in, and I listened to them many times while editing, so they were ringing in my head for a month or two. As a result, the two insert songs left a lasting impression on me."
The insert song "ENDROLL" is a duet by Kawakami Yohei and SennaRin of the band "Alexandros." Sawano revealed, "Kawakami asked me to use a fake sound during recording." Director Murase said, "He wanted us to keep the final fake sound, but it inevitably overlapped with the sound of the submarine sinking. Kasamatsu (sound director Kasamatsu Koji) made sure we could hear both." His craftsmanship shone through.
SennaRin, who wrote the lyrics for "ENDROLL," said, "I was provided with storyboards and a menu, and I wrote the lyrics while trying to figure out what Gigi, Hathaway, and Kelia were thinking. 'ENDROLL' has only a few syllables, so I thought hard about which words to choose." Director Murase added, "I didn't speak to them directly, but I'm grateful that they were able to understand my feelings and finish the song."
The Dolby Cinema version began screening on March 6. Director Murase expressed his confidence, saying, "The explosions in the battle scenes in the second half are particularly amazing. I think the music stands out more than in Chapter 1. The music stays in your ears even after you've finished watching it."
At the end, SennaRin surprised everyone by performing "ENDROLL" live, which elicited huge applause from the audience.
"Hathaway's Flash" is based on a novel published in 1989-90 by director Yoshiyuki Tomino, known as the creator of the "Gundam" series. Set in the year 0105 of the Universal Century, Hathaway, the son of Bright Noa, who experienced a bitter separation during the Second Neo Zeon War, pilots a new mobile suit, the XI Gundam, and rises up in rebellion against the Earth Federation government.
It has been announced that the anime will be made up of three chapters, with the first chapter being released in June 2021. The second chapter has been a hit, grossing over 2.24 billion yen in the 29 days since its release on January 30th.
