The latest Gundam series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury has helped revitalize the mecha franchise since its premiere last year. After airing its finale last summer, audiences are still reeling from the amazing series and its main characters Suletta and Miorine. For the first time at Anime NYC, Japanese voice actresses Kana Ichinose and Lynn were invited to the convention to talk about their experience working on the show. For their first trip to the Big Apple, both Kana and Lynn expressed their excitement to visit the city and the convention to talk about being on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Gundam fans are also treated with some special surprises and stories behind the scenes of the making of these beloved characters that have grown into perhaps one of the best shows from Gundam to date.
The audience was first treated with a short video of characters Suletta and Miorine visiting New York to commemorate Kana and Lynn’s first trip to the city. The Japanese voice actresses discussed their love for New York, which prompted the makers of the series to create this original animation video of the characters they portrayed as they visited landmarks like the Statue of Liberty. Both women also were quite impressed by their visit to Anime NYC, catching some incredible cosplays from fans, especially from those who dressed up like them in the series.
During the panel, Kana and Lynn discussed their connection with the Gundam series as well as their respective characters. Kana talked about how there was a lot to like about The Witch From Mercury, especially the relationships with all the characters. One of the recurring themes that Kana pointed out is the relationship between a parent and child with her character Suletta. She added that Suletta’s relationship with her mother doesn’t start positively, but it ends strong. Speaking of relationships, Lynn got to talk about how the characters develop a sibling-like bond and grow into a powerful friendship. Both Kana and Lynn spoke about their love for the Gundam series, saying it was a dream come true for both of them to be in it as it marked a special occasion for the latter as it was during her birthday when she received the news that she landed the part of one of the leads. When it came to growth, both actresses said how much of a challenge it was to portray Suletta and Miorine as they soon started to relate to their characters.
Kana and Lynn discussed some of their favorite parts from doing Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Playing Suletta, Kana talked about her favorite episode, which turned out to be 21 titled “What Can We Do Now”. She explains how in the episode, Suletta would always follow her mother’s lead and realizes she has now become her own person. Lynn picks the final episode of the series as her favorite episode. Titled, “May All Blessings Find Their Way To You, I’m Wishing It”, Lynn points out to the climax scene where the final battle takes place with Suletta taking control of her Gundam suit. She expressed her admiration for the visuals and the score are well.
The panel ends with the two actresses doing a live reading of the 11th episode as audiences get to see their characters live as the scene plays out. With such a great reaction from the crowd, here’s hoping we get to see more from these actresses in the future when it comes to anime.
