Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Directs Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island Anime Film Opening in 2022

Sunrise revealed at the "Dai 2-kai Gundam Conference" event on Wednesday that it is producing a new anime film titled Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island (Kidō Senshi Gundam: Cucuruz Doan no Shima). The film will open in 2022.

Manga creator and animator Yoshikazu Yasuhiko will direct the film. Yasuhiko had revealed in June that he was working on an unannounced anime film.

The announcement describes the film as a retelling of the 15th episode of the original Mobile Suit Gundam television anime. The episode itself has been omitted from English releases of the series.

Junji Ōno's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin MSD: Cucuruz Doan no Shima (Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin MSD: Cucuruz Doan's Island) manga (pictured at right) launched in Kadokawa's Gundam Ace magazine in May 2016, and ended in May 2019. The manga has a total of five volumes.

The manga is a spinoff of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga. The manga tells the story of Cucuruz Doan, a character who appeared in the similarly-titled 15th episode of Yoshiyuki Tomino's original Mobile Suit Gundam anime series. In the episode, the titular character is a Zeon pilot who abandoned his post after refusing an order.

Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga is also inspired by and re-imagines the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. Viz Media published part of the manga in North America from 2002 to 2004, before it halted publication of the series. Vertical licensed the series in 2013, and released all 12 volumes.

The manga inspired a six-episode anime project in Japanese theaters from 2015 to 2018. Yasuhiko worked as chief director, character designer, and storyboarder for the anime. A 13-episode television series recompilation of the anime premiered in April 2019.