'Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom' Coming to UK Cinemas
Giant robots are a long-standing staple of Japanese animation. And among giant robot anime the undisputed Daddy has to be Mobile Suit Gundam. For over four decades the franchise has come to define mecha anime and built up a loyal following. UK distributor Anime Limited has released many Gundam series and movies in the past and has now announced it will release Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom in UK and Ireland cinemas on March 23 and March 24, 2024.
Gundam Seed Freedom is the feature film follow-up to Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny TV series, originally aired from 2002. The film broke records for a Gundam movie, taking more than 3.4 billion Yen (approximately $20.6 million USD) at the Japanese box-office.
Continuing the story begun in the Gundam Seed TV series, the movie takes us back to the Cosmic Era. A conflict rages between two factions of humanity- The genetically modified Coordinators and the naturally-born Naturals. The film is an entirely new work that is set two years after the end of Gundam Seed Destiny.
The film reunites much of the cast and crew from the Gundam Seed series, including Mitsuo Fukuda returning to the director's chair. Soichiro Hoshi and Rie Tanaka return to voice the roles of Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne respectively. The music is written once again by Toshihiko Sahashi.
Gundam Seed has been very successful since its original airing in Japan in 2002. The original broadcast received high ratings and attracted a large female audience. Cumulative sales of the series on home video reached more than four million units. The popularity of the series has led to the release of a range of products including merchandising, music, events and even a life-sized Freedom Gundam in Shanghai. The series was also aired on the short-lived UK Anime Central channel and has been released on Blu-Ray by Anime Limited in both standard and collector's editions.
Synopsis:
In C.E.75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements, and aggression by Blue Cosmos... In order to calm the situation, a global peace monitoring agency called COMPASS is established, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and his comrades intervene into various regional battles. Then a newly established nation called Foundation proposes a joint operation against a Blue Cosmos stronghold.
