Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, the first mainline Gundam series since 2016, won’t properly start until October. But if you want to know what to expect beyond the short glimpses we’ve had already, you’re in for a treat: a new prequel episode just dropped online.
The Witch From Mercury Prologue, which made its debut in Japan a few months ago, is now available to stream on the official Gundam Info YouTube channel, the first time it’s been officially publicly made accessible to fans outside of Japan. Set decades before the events of Witch From Mercury, the prologue introduces a new alternate timeline in the Gundam continuity — its 11th, in fact — called Ad Stella, and a future where humanity is slowly colonising the stars with the help of GUND Format technology — cybernetic and mechanical prosthetics and body modifications that help “Spacians” adapt to non-terrestrial environments.
But when the GUND Format starts being used to develop human-machine connections in Mobile Suits, a burgeoning corporate and guerrilla war between independent mecha development institutes and the Earth government’s own development council puts the family of young Ericht “Eri” Samaya in the crossfire on her fourth birthday.
You can watch the full prologue episode above, which so far sets the stage for all the sorts of classic beats you can expect from the legendary mecha franchise — Earth/space colony tension, child soldiers, political machinations, tragedy, and some very cool giant robots, including the new Gundam Lfrith, a neon-pink-hued prototype for Mercury’s eventual main suit, the Gundam Aerial. If this is what we can expect from the main series going forward, we’re in for a treat.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is set to begin airing in Japan this October, with a simultaneous worldwide broadcast planned through a currently undisclosed platform.
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