We will see a future version of Davao in the next Gundam anime series, Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway. Just like in the previous canons, the Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF) keeps the planet in check from hostile enemies called spacenoids by deploying giant robots called Mobile Suits, which are piloted by humans.
Hathaway will be released in July and is the latest canonical installment in the series.
“The first episode is about Davao in the Philippines as the main stage, so I went location hunting and took a lot of VTRs (video tape recordings) and photos with the directors,” said series producer Naohiro Ogata during a streamed interview translated by Gigazine.net.
“Based on a travel book I saw at the National Library for Hathaway, I took note of famous places, but the shore where I walked is far away, so I have to go to the locals to understand the geographical relationship,” said Ogata.
It is not the first time Gundam was set in the Philippines. In the manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt, creator Yasuo Ohtagaki depicted Taal Volcano as the base of a powerful cult, with a fortress deep inside the famous volcano.
In episode one of Hathaway, terrorists hijack a plane carrying Federation officials, but are apprehended by two of the passengers, Hathaway Noa and Federation officer Kenneth Sleg. The plane lands in Davao, where Sleg is supposed to pilot a Mobile Suit. Unknown to Sleg, the target he was assigned to bring down is Noa, son of the legendary Bright Noa, who was one of the highest-ranking officers of the Federation.
