American Gundam fans, you have less than three weeks before you can see Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island in movie theaters.
Although the film premiered in Japan on June 3, it has yet to reach North America, and fans have been disappointed at the lack of news. Fear not, for we bring you tidings of great joy: Cucuruz Doan’s Island is slated for a September theatrical release.
The movie will be shown in select theaters across the U.S. at the end of the month. On Sept. 27, the Japanese-language edition with English subtitles will premiere. For those looking for dubbed English voices, you will only have to wait until the following day, Sept. 28.
But that’s not all. If you can’t find a local theater screening Cucuruz Doan’s Island, you can always wait until November when the 4K Blu-Ray is expected to release in the U.S.
What’s it all about? From IMDB: “After Jaburo, the EFF plan an operation to capture Odessa, headquarters of Zeon’s Attack Force. White Base heads to Belfast to resupply. However, White Base receives new orders; to head to an island known as the ‘Island of No Return.’”
This comes as welcome news for Gundam’s vast fandom built across over four decades of mythos. Totalling 43 episodes, the original anime series aired in Japan from 1979 to 1980. In the years since, Gundam has built an enormous, worldwide fanbase, and the original series has spawned numerous spinoffs and sequels.
The film itself is an adaptation of the classic anime series. Specifically, Cucuruz Doan’s Island is taken from the 15th episode of Mobile Suit Gundam, which originally aired on July 14, 1979. However, it was removed from all releases outside Japan, making it a lost episode. In this particular entry, Amuro gets a distress signal from a mysterious island, which of course leads to a giant mech-suit battle because this is Mobile Suit Gundam.
Fans of the original anime should be happy that the new movie is paying homage to the source material. No doubt, the Gundam-faithful will be lined up to see the mech suits on the silver screen in less than three weeks.