Here are some Gundam movies to watch to help you with the lore in Gundam Hathaway.

With the newest Gundam movie now available on popular video streaming services like Netflix, fans will be able to enjoy Gundam Hathaway in the comfort of their own homes. Based on the 1983 Hathaway’s Flash novel, the movie focuses on the story of Hathaway Noa as he goes by the name Mafty Navue Erin, leads a terrorist group as he tries to stop the atrocities of the Earth Federation. Though newcomers to the Gundam franchise can hop in and watch Hathaway for the first time, they might miss out on some important details in the movie that would help them appreciate the lore of the franchise. So we’ve come up with a small guide on where newcomers can start before they watch the movie, or as a supplementary if they already watched Gundam Hathaway.

Take note that certain Gundam series is set in a different timeline, where some series are not connected with each other. Gundam Hathaway is set in the Universal Century timeline, the most popular timeline in the franchise and where the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime actually started.

Mobile Suit Gundam

The series that started it all, the anime was released in 1979 and started the popularity of the real robot genre. The series focused on Amuro Ray as he pilots the RX-78-2 Gundam mobile suit as he is locked in the conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. The original anime is composed of 43 episodes so in this case, we’d recommend that you watch the compilation movie trilogy that is also available on Netflix

• Mobile Suit Gundam Movie (1981)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Soldiers of Sorrow (1981)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (1982)

The movie compilations are more compressed to focused more on the plot of the entire series and this will give you a good introduction to Amuro Ray, Char Aznable on how they became prominent characters throughout the Universal Century timeline as well as learning about Bright Noa; the father of Hathaway Noa. This also helps viewers to see the full view of the One Year War that started the big conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon.

This is also a great opportunity to see how the series revolutionize and brought in a whole new subgenre that eventually spawns other mecha series masterpieces to this day.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack 

After the first Mobile Suit Gundam series has ended, it spawned other series that continued the narrative of the conflict between the two factions in the form of sequels and spinoffs. However, Char’s Counterattack plays a major role in the story of Gundam Hathaway. Char’s Counterattack shows the return of Char Aznable as he leads Neo Zeo to continue the conflict against the Earth Federation Forces, this also marks the return of Amuro Ray and Bright Noa as part of the special task force called Londo Bell. The movie also marks the end of the 14-year rivalry between Char and Amuro and the introduction of Hathaway Noa in his young teenage years. It’s recommended for everyone to watch this film to give a proper understanding of the events that unfolded in Gundam Hathaway, especially for Hathaway himself.

Char’s Counterattack has a novel version called Beltorchika’s Children which still retains the original story but had some minor changes ranging from a different mobile suit for both Amuro and Char, changes on Amuro’s love interest and some changes on who Hathaway killed in the Axis battle.

You can watch Char’s Counterattack on Netflix.

[Optional] Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

This is a 7-episode OVA that focuses on a new character named Banagher Links and sets three years after the events of Char’s Counterattack. Though Gundam Unicorn was never referenced in Gundam Hathaway (since the Unicorn novel was released in 2007 while the Hathaway novel was in 1989), it’s a great recommendation to watch to see the evolution of the mobile suits and some deeper understanding in the lore of the Universal Century as it still has a direct connection with the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. The OVA is also available on Netflix.