GKIDS Acquires Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning

GKIDS announced on Friday that it has acquired theatrical distribution rights to Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-, a re-edited version of some episodes of the upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX (pronounced as “g-kwux”) television anime. The company will screen the film in theaters in North America on February 28.

This marks the first collaboration between GKIDS and Bandai Namco Filmworks.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- is playing first in theaters on Friday. The anime is screening on 426 theaters, including 52 IMAX theaters.

The story begins with Amate Yuzuriha, a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space. When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle.

Under the entry name “Machu,” she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shūji.

The main cast members are:

• Tomoyo Kurosawa as Amate Yuzuriha
• Yui Ishikawa as Nyaan
• Shimba Tsuchiya as Shūji Itō

Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL, Gunbuster 2: Diebuster) is directing the anime, and Yōji Enokido (Bungo Stray Dogs, Sailor Moon Super S, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Ouran High School Host Club) is supervising the series scripts and writing the scripts with Hideaki Anno (Evangelion, Shin Godzilla). Illustrator Take (Katanagatari, Zaregoto, Pokémon Sun & Moon) is designing the characters, and Ikuto Yamashita (Evangelion, Shin Kamen Rider, Yukikaze) is the mechanical designer.

The other staff members include:

• Animation Character Design, Supervising Character Animation Director: Yumi Ikeda, Shie Kobori
• Animation Mechanical Design, Supervising Mechanical Animation Director: Sejoon Kim
• Design Works: Toshiaki Ihara, Mahiro Maeda, Shingo Abe, Hidenori Matsubara, Takuya Io, Shuichi Iseki, Takeshi Takakura, E o Kaku PETER, Ami, mebae, Wataru Inada, Shinya Mizuno, Yūsuke Ōmura, Yutaka Izubuchi, Tomoko Masuda, Junbun Lin, Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
• Concept Art: Hajime Ueda
• Storyboard: Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno, Mahiro Maeda, Tōko Yatabe
• Direction: Kazuya Tsurumaki, Daizen Komatsuda, Tōko Yatabe
• Character Animation Director: Hidenori Matsubara, Mayumi Nakamura, Shuichi Iseki
• Mechanical Animation Director: Shingo Abe, Gen Asano
• Detail Works: Toshiaki Ihara, Tatsuya Tanaka, Mahiro Maeda
• Animation Checker: Yasuhito Murata
• Digital Animation Checker: Mayuko Kanosue (Studio Eight Colors), Ayaka Miura, Emi Nakano
• Color Designer: Akiko Inoue (Wish)
• Color Setting/Check: Saeko Kushima (Wish), Hiromi Okamoto (Wish)
• Special Effect: Shin Inoie
• Art Director: Hiroshi Katō (TOTONYAN)
• Assistant Art Director: Chihiro Gotō (TOTONYAN)
• CGI Director: Takashi Suzuki
• CGI Animation Director: Masanori Iwasato, Shiguma Morimoto
• CGI Modeling Director: Shintarō Wakatsuki, Ryosuke Kusudo
• CGI Technical Director: Shunsuke Kumagai
• CGI Art Director: Hiroyasu Kobayashi
• Graphic Design Director: Kayoko Zama
• Visual Development Director: Yōsuke Chiai
• Composition Director: Tomoyuki Shiokawa (T2 Studio)
• Composition Advisor: Susumu Fukushi (T2 Studio)
• VFX Director: Hiroaki Yabe
• Look Development: Nanae Hirabayashi, Yōko Miki
• Editor: Emi Tsujita
• Music: Yoshimasa Terui, Masayuki Hasuo
• Sound Director: Haru Yamada (Sound Team Don Juan)
• Sound Design: Naoto Yamaya (sound box)
• Main Producer: Yūki Sugitani
• Executive Producer: Naohiro Ogata
• Producer: Keisuke Kasai
• Production Desk/Setting Production: Hayato Tanaka
• Digital Production Desk: Kohei Fujiwara
• Distribution by: TOHO CO., LTD., Bandai Namco Filmworks
• Advertising: Bandai Namco Filmworks, Shochiku Co. Ltd., Studio Khara, Nippon Television Network Corporation, TOHO CO., LTD.
• Produced by: Bandai Namco Filmworks

Kenshi Yonezu will perform the theme song “Plazma.” Hoshimachi will perform the song “Mо̄ Dо̄ Natte mo Ii ya” (I Don’t Really Care What Happens Anymore) and NOMELON NOLEMON will perform the song “Midnight Reflection.”

Source: Press release

Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.