The original Mobile Suit Gundam is an icon of classic animation, but the creatives behind it have been trying to remove one tiny piece from sight for over 40 years. They are getting a chance to revisit it, and wipe away the reasons they hid it.
Cucuruz Doan's Island is an adaptation of the 15th episode of the popular TV show and is the next movie in the legendary mecha franchise. The first footage from the film has been released by Sunrise. The original character designer and animation director of Mobile Suit Gundam is also the artist behind the beloved Manga adaptation of the series, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin.
The original episode of Cucuruz Doan was set during the events of the One Year War depicted in the original series, and features a conflict between the forces of the Earth Federation, including a pilot for the mobile game Gundam, and a space colony known as the Principality of Zeon.
The episode gained infamy for vanishing from official releases of Mobile Suit Gundam outside of Japan, which was done at the request of the creator. The episode has a reputation for having poor animation compared to the rest of the series, with many errors and off-model depictions of the Zaku mobile suit in the episode becoming something of a meme. The episode has never received an official home release, but when the original was made available to stream on Funimation for the first time last year, it was more widely accessible. The movie might be taking the story beats from the original episode, but it is also a chance for Yasuhiko and his team to correct what they have always perceived as a wrong, even if it means presenting a slice of the classic animation that started it all.
Cucuruz Doan's Island will be released in Japanese theaters in the summer of 2022. There is no word on when the film will be made available outside of Japan or if it will be in a similar time frame.
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