The Main Cast, Including Kana Ichinose, the VA of Suletta, Reveal How They Feel About the Series! Report of the Talk Event Held After the First Episode of THE WITCH FROM MERCURY

The special event GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE TOKYO BASE, held from Thursday, September 29th, to today, Sunday, October 2nd for the enjoyment of all Gundam fans, hosted a talk event right after the broadcast of the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam THE WITCH FROM MERCURY.

Three members of the leading voice acting cast attended the talk event: Kana Ichinose (Suletta Mercury), Lynn (Miorine Rembran), and Yohei Azakami (Guel Jeturk). It was also the fastest showing of the first episode of THE WITCH FROM MERCURY, shown at the same time as the TV broadcast, so the cast members talked about the details of the story, as well as how they felt about the series.

In this report, we will tell you all about the episode showing and the talk event.

There will be spoilers for the first episode, so be careful if you haven’t watched it yet.

The event was a great success. All the numbered entrance tickets were distributed in the blink of an eye. Lots of people gathered before the stage set up in front of a giant screen at Sankaku Hiroba, and even the standing area was packed, making it the hottest event of the day.

The audience was holding their breath, waiting for the broadcast to start. As soon as the episode began playing, all the eyes in the audience were focused on the screen. They looked as though they didn’t want to miss even one second of this historical moment when the curtain lifted over a new Gundam series. They eagerly looked at the screen, with a unique tension filling the venue.

When the next episode’s trailer played, ending the broadcast, the excited audience broke into applause.

The talk event started while the excitement showed no sign of wearing off. When Ms. Ichinose, Ms. Lynn, and Mr. Azakami got on stage, the audience erupted into another round of applause.

The talk first broached the cast’s impression of the first episode. Ms. Ichinose talked about her character, Suletta. She started off by saying, “Suletta had no friends her age where she grew up, so she doesn’t really know how to communicate with others.” She added, “In this first episode, what makes her the rightful protagonist showed through when she piloted the Aerial.”
Ms. Lynn was impressed with the quality of the episode, saying, “It made me think that animation is really amazing. I already thought the story was great when I read the script and recorded my lines, but seeing it in color and in motion, with great BGM, too, was even better. The first episode made me realize all over again how great animation is.”
Mr. Azakami was looking forward to the story’s development, declaring that “We saw the first episode in the dressing room, but we could hear the impact of the music and special effects from the speakers in the venue, and thinking how this anime will continue from now on makes me really excited.”

The event then moved to discuss the episode with the aid of stills. Mr. Azakami was impressed with the art in the scene where Suletta bites into a tomato, saying, “Tomato sales will go up thanks to this!” Ms. Ichinose agreed. “Suletta’s eyes after she bites into the tomato and its juiciness are portrayed beautifully.”
However, later, Ms. Ichinose let her true feelings out, saying, “That grossed me out!” regarding the scene in which Guel devastates Miorine’s greenhouse. Mr. Azakami replied, “I didn’t add any improvisation and just silently destroyed the greenhouse, but that shows what Guel’s personality is like. He’s scary, isn’t he?” revealing that the scene served to set up Guel’s character.

Then, Ms. Ichinose talked about how great the battle scene in the latter half of the episode was, barely hiding her excitement. “I paused the video a bunch of times when I watched it at home,” she revealed, talking about the first time she watched the scene.
Mr. Azakami discussed the scene where feathers fall after the Dilanza is defeated. He screamed, “They looked like an angel’s feathers, so it felt as though Guel died, but he’s alive! I’d be so upset if he proposed after being killed,” making the whole audience laugh.

The next topic were the new characters revealed in episode one. When the slideshow changed to Secelia Dote, Ms. Lynn let it slip that “She has fantastic thighs! I can’t help looking at them.” Ms. Ichinose replied that she’d only noticed she had knee-high socks now that she was looking at the slideshow. Mr. Azakami also commented that “I love the Asticassia uniform. The puffed sleeves are so cute.”

A special video that used the music video for YOASOBI’s opening theme, The Blessing, played at the end of the first episode. It was played again, and the cast spoke about their impressions of it. Ms. Ichinose said that she almost cried when she saw it for the first time. Mr. Azakami said, “Only Suletta and the Aerial appear in this video, so I felt like there was a strong message in how this lonely girl is connected to a lone Mobile Suit.”

Lastly, each cast member sent a message to fans. Mr. Azamaki said, “I was looking forward to the episode airing ever since I took the audition. I earnestly pore over the script that I receive every week and put all of myself into living as Guel. I play his part while hoping to convey that to the viewers, so I’ll be delighted if you watch the show until the end.” Ms. Lynn said, “It’s finally started! I’m so happy. I’m working hard to get closer to Miorine’s heart with each episode. I want to run at full speed until the end to deliver a great anime to you all, so I’d love it if you watched it in real time whenever possible. Thanks so much for today!” Ms. Ichinose said, “I realized here that many more people than I thought were looking forward to this series. I’m facing Suletta every day, and I went through trial and error in the beginning as I tried to find the best way to voice her, but I grow fonder and fonder of her with each episode, so look forward to future episodes!” After they all greeted the audience, the event ended.

(Gundam Info Editorial Team)