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Gundam NT Unveiled as New UC Anime Set After Unicorn

Sunrise announced during a live stream on Friday that it is producing a new anime project in the Gundam franchise titled Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (Kidō Senshi Gundam NT). The new project is set in U.C. 0097 of the Universal Century (U.C.) timeline of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, and the new project will have theatrical screenings in November. Bandai Channel also showed a promotional video for the anime. (Note: The YouTube video in the previous link is region-locked to Japan.)

The project's tagline is "The next destination of the Newtype legend."

Sunrise also opened a website for the new anime project.

The anime is part of a new "UC NexT 0100 Project" that will tackle the future of the UC timeline. The project will also include a "New Tactical Game Project" for smartphones, manga, and novels.

Shunichi Yoshizawa (Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, Gundam: Reconguista in G episode director) is directing the anime at Sunrise Studio #1. Harutoshi Fukui (Mobile Suit Gundam UC) is penning the script. Kumiko Takahashi is in charge of the main original character designs, and Se Jun Kim (Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight AXIS) is designing the characters for animation. Hajime Katoki and Eiji Komatsu are in charge of mechanical design. Takako Suzuki is the color key artist. Yukiko Maruyama and Yoshimi Mineda are the art directors. Eriko Kimura is the sound director, and Hiroyuki Sawano is composing the music. Daisuke Imai is the editor, Kumiko Taniguchi is the special effects director, and Kentarō Waki is the director of photography.

The official website describes the story:

U.C. 0097. One year since the Laplace's Box was opened. Despite the revelation of the original charter for the Universal Century, which acknowledges the existence of Newtypes and their rights, the world remains largely unchanged.

After the destruction of the Neo Zeon remnant force known as the Sleeves, the event that has come to be known as the "Laplace Incident" seems to have drawn to a close. In the final battle, two Full Psycho Frame mobile suits displayed power beyond human imagination. The menace of the White Unicorn and the Black Lion were sealed away from public consciousness, and were consigned to be forgotten by history.

But now sightings of the RX-0 Unicorn 03, long thought lost two years ago, are being reported. Its name is Phenex, an immortal golden bird.

The characters shown include: (Note: Character romanizations are not official.)

Yona Bashuta, 25 years old. A second lieutenant in the Earth Federation Space Forces, and the pilot of the Narrative Gundam. He is the childhood friend of Michelle and Rita. He was a victim of a disaster in Australia as a child.

Michelle Luio, 25 years old, and a special adviser to the Luio company. She is a specialist at fortune telling via bamboo stick divination, and has earned the complete trust of the financial world.

Rita Bernal, 25 years old, and also a second lieutenant in the Earth Federation Space Forces, and the pilot of the Phenex. She, like Yona, was the victim of a disaster in Australia in her childhood.

Zoltan Akkanen, the pilot to the Sinanju Stein, and the "rival" to the main character.

The live stream confirmed that the character Michelle Luio has "some connection" to the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam character Stephanie Luio.

The protaognist's new mobile suit is the Gundam Narrative, designed by Hajime Katoki.

The RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 03 Phenex and MSN-06S Sinanju Stein will also make appearances.

Update: Embedded official region-free trailer from Gundam.info.