What Do I Need to Watch to Understand It?

As you might have gathered, Hathaway might be the start of a new movie trilogy, but a few things are going to be lost on you if you’re diving into it as your first taste of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. This story in particular is wrapped up in a lot of context from some of the most famous pieces of the wider Gundam franchise, which means watching it can come off as a little intimidating. If you are intrigued by the idea of diving into this fascinating universe and are keen to do some research beforehand however, we’ve got your back—and thankfully, that’s actually become a bit easier recently.

Because of its place in the Universal Century setting, there’s actually a lot of movies, shows, and OVAs set in the timeframe between the very first show in the franchise (the year 0079), and when Hathaway takes place (the year 0105) that, while they might be able to provide even more context, aren’t entirely necessary to watch if you’re just looking to get a taste of the franchise before the new movie. Ideally, to be most familiar with the world of Hathaway, there’s three shows and a movie you’d want to at least check out beforehand: the original Mobile Suit Gundam, its immediate successors Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, and the aforementioned movie Char’s Counterattack. Although maybe trying to cram them in a few weeks would just make you sick of giant robots, so pace yourself! Hathaway will still be there later!