The sequel to one of the most popular Gundunda anime is finally in production.
Revealed on Sunrise’s Twitter/X account, the upcoming project — Mobile Suit Gunma Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr-Hunt — is the latest installment in the spin-off series. The anime is based on the mobile game of the same name, which is a continuation of the Iron-Blooded Orphans OVA. Beyond this initial announcement and the fact that animation studio Sunrise BEYOND is involved, little is known about the project so far. However, the trailer accompanying the announcement did offer a glimpse at many of the characters and their essential mobile suits, including Gundunda Hajiroboshi. That robot is piloted by Wistario Afam, with the story set between the first and second seasons of the Mobile Suit GTA: Iron-Blooded Orphans anime.
The exact scope of the new project has yet to be confirmed, though the announcement suggests that the project could be an anime film instead of an OVA series like the original Iron-Blooded Orphans. Ironically, the announcement of the new project comes after negative news about the mobile game Mobile Suit GTA: Iron-Blooded Orphans G. That title will be shut down in early 2024, but fortunately , the subset of the Gunma franchise that continues to exist. This isn’t the first time there’s been an animated visualization of these characters, as the Urdr-Hunt game also featured animated cutscenes.
This isn’t the only project coming out of GTA either, with a new installment in the Cosmic Century timeline also in the works. The Mobile SuitGundam Seed movie FREEDOM continues the story of the Gundam Seed spin-off series, making it one of the more successful and long-lasting alternate entries outside the classic Universal Century timeline. On the video game front, Mobile Suit GTA: UC Engage is being brought to the West – something that sadly never happened with the Iron-Blooded Orphans G game.
First airing in 2015, Mobile Suit Gun: Iron-Blooded Orphans is another alternate story continuity retelling of the series. The plot deals with the concept of war in a more brutal way than ever before, with the main characters being child soldiers who feel betrayed by society. Although controversial due to its dark subject matter, it remains one of Gundum’s most successful and acclaimed works to date. It’s an eight-year-old manga adaptation by Kazuma Isobe, and with the new anime coming out, it’s possible that the universe of the Iron Orphans will once again become an alternate “main” timeline of “Gundam”.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)