MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: CUCURUZ DOAN’S ISLAND

Image courtesy of Shochiku. © SOTSU • SUNRISE

Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd.
Author: Andrew Nguyen
Official Site: https://g-doan.net/(Japan), https://www.crunchyrollmovienight.com/ (US)

Image courtesy of Shochiku. © SOTSU • SUNRISE

After defending its main headquarters in Jabruo, South America, the Earth Federation Forces prepare to launch an operation to capture Odessa, the headquarters of the Principality of Zeon’s Earth Attack Force and the key linchpin of Zeon’s supply network on Earth. Amuro Ray, the pilot of the titular Gundam mobile suit, and the White Base, an Earth Federation spaceship that he is serving on, head to Belfast to resupply before the operation. On the way to Belfast, the White Base is given a new mission; to head to an uninhabited island, commonly known as the "Island of No Return" to wipe out any Zeon stragglers. Amuro and his friends set out to search for any Zeon spies, but instead find a group of children and a Zaku that shouldn't be there. Losing the Gundam in a battle with the Zaku, Amuro meets a man who calls himself Curcuruz Doan. Uncovering the secrets of the island, Amuro attempts to find the Gundam again and escape.

Released in Japan on June 3^rd, 2022 the new Gundam movie MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: CUCURUZ DOAN’S ISLAND (機動戦士ガンダムククルス・ドアンの島, Kidō Senshi Gundam: Cucuruz Doan no Shima) is based on the 15^th episode of the first Gundam series, also titled CUCURUZ DOAN’S ISLAND. The original episode was included in Japanese DVD and Blu-ray editions of the series, but not in North American editions at the request of Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM.

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the veteran character designer for multiple Gundam series, creator of the manga Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (機動戦士ガンダム THE ORIGIN, Kidō Senshi Gandamu Ji Orijin) and chief director of its OVA version, directed the new movie. For the Earth Federation characters, the original voice actors for Amuro Ray (Toru Furuya) and Kai Shiden (Toshio Furukawa) are back. In addition, members of the cast and production crew from the OVA also worked on the movie, including the composer Takayuki Hattori (who had composed music for two live-action Godzilla films and three Godzilla anime films).

For the ubiquitous Gunpla models, new models of the RX-78 Gundam and the damaged MS-06F Zaku that is piloted by Curcuruz Doan have been released by Bandai through its P-Bandai website. In November 2022, an RGM-79 GM that appeared in the movie and is piloted by the Earth Federation pilot Sleggar Law will also be available from the P-Bandai website.

Sunrise sold regular and a limited-edition Blu-ray versions of MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: CUCURUZ DOAN’S ISLAND in theaters that screened the film in Japan. Both editions will be available to the general public on November 25th, 2022.

Crunchyroll, which recently acquired Right Stuf, the main distribution company for the Gundam series in English, will screen CUCURUZ DOAN’S ISLAND in theaters in the U.S. on Sept. 27-28, Canada on Sept. 29, Oct. 1, and Australia for 1 week from Sept. 29. Finally, Amazon Prime Video Japan will be the first to stream the movie on October 1^st. Visit https://www.crunchyrollmovienight.com/ to order tickets.

CREDITS

Japanese Theatrical Release: Friday, June 3, 2022
US Release: Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Run Time: 95 Minutes

Image courtesy of Shochiku. © SOTSU • SUNRISE

Voice Cast

Amuro Ray: Toru Furuya
Cucuruz Doan: Shunsuke Takeuchi
Bright Noa: Ken Narita
Kai Shiden: Toshio Furukawa
Sayla Mass: Megumi Han
Hayato Kobayashi: Hideki Nakanishi
Sleggar Law: Tomofumi Ikezoe
Mirai Yashima: Satomi Arai
Fraw Bow: Misato Fukuen
Char Aznable: Shuichi Ikeda
Danan Rashica: Yuu Hayahsi
Selma Levens: Shizuka Itou
Egba Atler: Atsushi Miyauchi
Wald Ren: Yoji Ueda
Yun Sanho: Koji Yusa
Cara: Fū Hirahara
Elran: Hiroshi Shirokuma
Gopp: Naomi Kusumi
Johann Ibrahim Revil: Hiroshi Naka
M'Quve: Takumi Yamazaki

Staff

Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Deputy Director: Im Gahi
Screenplay: Toshizo Nemoto
Character Designers: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Atsushi Tamura Tsukasa Kotobuki
Art Director: Yuji Kaneko
Mechanical Designers: Kunio Okawara, Hajime Katoki, Kimitoshi Yamane
Original Mechanical Designs:
Color Design: Nagisa Abe
Cinematography: Takeshi Kuzuyama, Ryo Iijima
CGI Production: Shuhei Morita
CG Director: Morihito Abe
Editor: Kazuhiro Nii
Sound Director: Sadayoshi Fujino
Music: Takayuki Hattori

Planning/Production: Sunrise
Distributor: Shochiku (Japan), Crunchyroll (International)
International Sales: Sunrise

About Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Shochiku traces its origins to 1895 when Takejiro Otani presented his first stage play. They also produced the first color motion picture in Japan, and have expanded into TV dramas, video contents, Kabuki presentation, theater operations, and real estate. The company has become a symbol of enduring tradition as the exclusive promoter of the Kabuki theater in Japan as well as widely known as the creator of the world’s longest-running feature film series, TORA-SAN. The company is making all possible efforts to develop business in various fields, including multimedia and co-productions, across generation, national, and cultural borders.

About Sunrise

Sunrise Inc. (Tokyo, Japan. Yasuo Miyakawa, President &CEO), subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. (Tokyo, Japan Mitsuali Taguchi, President & Representative Director), is a film production studio that specializes in animation. It has created many hit series including MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM, CODE GEASS, LOVE LIVE! and COWBOY BEBOP. As part of the new midterm strategy of the Bandai Namco Group, Sunrise was named as leader of the IP Creation Unit. Sunrise is planning to create various new intellectual properties-not only in the form of animation but in various other mediums as well. For more info visit sunrise-inc.co.jp.