Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX‘s Director Dreams of Converting Zoomers Into Retro Mech Anime Fans

Mobile Suit Gundam is a legendary anime series that has go virtually inseparable from the mecha genre, serving arsenic its stalwart, definitive cornerstone for implicit 45 years. The anime has besides mastered the elusive creation of cross-appeal, presenting an extensive catalogue of shows, immoderate unfolding successful different continuities, that provided a gateway for anime fans to dip their toes into the engrossing satellite of model kit building, and vice versa, years before Pokémon adopted a akin approach.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX sees Bandai Namco, longtime workplace Sunrise, and workplace Khara, known for Evangelion, joining forces successful a imagination collab for aged caput anime fans losing their corporate elephantine robot-loving minds, and rightfully so. The caller series, present streaming connected Prime Video, is helmed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, a seasoned manager known for his enactment arsenic an adjunct manager connected Neon Genesis Evangelion and as director of FLCL, Gunbuster 2: Diebuster, and the Rebuild of Evangelion films.

Joining him arsenic GQuuuuuuX‘s screenwriters are renowned Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno arsenic good arsenic Yoji Enokido, whose resume includes moving connected Evangelion, Sailor Moon, FLCL, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. But wait, there’s more: adding to the powerhouse squad is Ikuto Yamashita, acclaimed for his designs successful Evangelion and his caller contributions to Atlus’ deed RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, who heads GQuuuuuuX‘s mech design. The anime besides features quality designs by the famed Pokémon designer, Take.

In short, galore talented hands person touched this anime, mounting it up to scope the aforesaid heights arsenic Gundam‘s past large hit.

© Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

GQuuuuuuX revolves astir 3 youngsters successful a abstraction colony: Yuzuriha Amate, known by her nickname Machu; Nyaan, a mysterious young exile and tech smuggler shrouded successful mystery; and Shuji, an enigmatic lad whose destiny becomes intertwined with theirs. Their travel leads them to uncover the titular mobile suit, propelling them into the adrenaline-fueled satellite of underground mech duels known arsenic Clan Battles.

We had the accidental to beryllium down with manager Tsurumaki to uncover however the anime’s star-collaboration took shape—and research however their originative philosophies converged (and occasionally clashed) to bring to beingness a marque caller anime they anticipation volition beryllium a standout introduction successful Gundam‘s illustrious legacy.

© Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

Isaiah Colbert, io9: What were the biggest hurdles successful honoring the bequest of Mobile Suit Gundam portion forging a bold caller communicative successful GQuuuuuuX?

Kazuya Tsurumaki: To beryllium honorable with you, erstwhile we initially projected this thought to Bandai Namco, we thought they would crook america down, but they really said, “Okay, we’ll bash it.” In fact, it was precise antithetic that an extracurricular workplace would beryllium doing this benignant of production. I accidental Bandai Namco was really looking and wanting to person this benignant of bold thought of proposals, truthful it turned retired to beryllium a truly bully win-win for some sides.

io9: Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX stands retired not lone for its Pokémon-esque aesthetic, elevated by Take’s creator touch, but besides for the powerhouse originative squad down it. With you astatine the helm arsenic director, alongside Hideaki Anno and Yoji Enokido contributing to the script, the task feels similar a fusion of FLCL, Pokémon, and Evangelion, each wrong the legendary Gundam universe. How did this unsocial collaboration travel about?

Tsurumaki: I had known Mr. Anno and Enokido-san for much than 10 years. We worked from before, truthful it was rather casual to collaborate with them. With regards to Take-san, that was a spot of an adventure. Outside of Japan, he’s precise good known for Pokémon, but I’ve personally known him agelong earlier that. I’ve been a longtime instrumentality of [his] erstwhile helium was inactive doing illustrations for novels and books. This was a large accidental to beryllium capable to enactment with him, and I was precise anxious to springiness this connection to him.

Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

io9: As the bid director, having worked with galore of these creatives before, was it ever challenging to unify your distinctive creator styles, writing, and originative visions to guarantee GQuuuuuuX maintained a cohesive ocular identity, oregon was it an easygoing collaborative experience?

Tsurumaki: For our generation, Gundam is known to astir everyone. At slightest if you’re a boy, you are astir apt fans of Gundam. Among the unit members, determination was nary that were unfamiliar with Gundam. However, each and each idiosyncratic had Gundam of their own. We were watching the aforesaid Gundam; however, successful their hearts, successful their minds, they each had antithetic types of Gundam. What we thought was communal understanding, we began to spot immoderate discrepancies the further [we went] into the details, the further [we wanted] to beryllium precise and accurate. If we hadn’t realized determination were discrepancies successful our knowing of Gundam, we would person ended up successful a wholly antithetic direction.

If determination were a batch of details that we wanted to stock the knowing of, past we would person to intentionally picture them successful words oregon possibly successful pictures, truthful that we tin really person a communal understanding. That was the challenging part: our knowing of Gundam was really precise different.

© Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

io9: Can you springiness maine an illustration of what immoderate of the discrepancies were that the squad encountered successful their ain lived acquisition with the bid that didn’t mesh with different people’s interpretations of the anime? 

Tsurumaki: From idiosyncratic connected the outside, this whitethorn dependable similar a precise trivial issue, but for maine and Mr. Enokido, we were moving unneurotic for a agelong time, precise frequently. Even if we were not working, adjacent connected a casual occasion, we would beryllium talking astir Gundam. But erstwhile we were moving unneurotic this time, for the archetypal time–between 2 mobile suits called the GM and the Rick Dom–we were discussing which is much powerful.

This was the juncture erstwhile we archetypal realized determination were much discrepancies successful our knowing of which was much powerful. Depending connected which was much almighty oregon authorities of the art, we would person to sermon which would travel into the country first. There was a quality successful opinion, and we really had argued implicit which was stronger.

io9: GQuuuuuuX, at slightest successful the West, has a immense groundswell due to the fact that of its reinterpretation of Challia Bull, a quality that didn’t get a batch of play successful the archetypal series. Was helium a favourite among the unit for characters to bring back, oregon was determination different much fashionable character?

Tsurumaki: He was astir for a agelong time, but I deliberation determination were different characters that were much major, somewhat much popular, similar Ramba Ral oregon Garma Zabi we could person astir apt used—or possibly adjacent Matilda Ajan. They would’ve been adjacent much advantageous, beneficial, oregon absorbing if we had utilized them, but I truly similar this character, Challia Bull. I projected him, and surprisingly, everyone said, “Oh, that sounds truly good. I similar it.” It was rather absorbing to find retired that it wasn’t conscionable me, but others thought it would beryllium absorbing to usage Challia Bull.

io9: The anime and its theatrical release, Beginning, unfastened successful antithetic eras—one starting successful 0085 with Amate, portion the movie begins successful 0079 with Char Aznable. What led to the determination to operation the series of events differently?

Tsurumaki: It was a tv bid that we had planned for successful production, and the movie merchandise was decided aboriginal on. We were planning, successful the archetypal episode, to commencement with 0085 and past possibly bash a five-minute showing of 0079. In the end, we decided to bash the movie arsenic an precocious title, truthful it benignant of became independent. When we were reconstructing [GQuuuuuuX] for a movie, we did it successful a sequential bid from 0079 to 0085. But, I conjecture due to the fact that it was primitively made for the tv series, [Beginning] turned retired to beryllium different.

© Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

io9: In what ways did your past directorial works assistance signifier your originative approach to GQuuuuuuX?

Tsurumaki: In the past, determination utilized to beryllium a batch of robot animations successful Japan, but you hardly spot them today—I would accidental it’s chiefly Gundam and a fewer others. I person a agelong way grounds of doing robotic animations, [including] Gunbuster 2, and Evangelion, until conscionable recently, truthful I was rather acquainted with moving connected them.

© Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

io9: In an interrogation from the Materials Crosstalk, mechanical decorator Ikuto Yamashita mentioned that the squad deliberately stripped down the “character-like” qualities from the mobile suits. Could you sermon the process of bringing that imaginativeness to beingness done 3D mechanical designs, and what absorption you were fixed to execute the much mechanically dynamic gyroscopic movements of GQuuuuuuX’s mobile suit designs?

Tsurumaki: With regards to mobile suit designs, I delegated to Yamashita for him to enactment connected it. I encouraged him to suggest ideas, and that’s what helium did. For example, we wanted to marque these mobile suits thing that you would deterioration successful bid to beryllium precise progressive successful the universe. This time, we person a propellant vessel that was embedded successful the mobile suits, and I thought that was great.

Additionally, originally, mobile suits varied depending connected the character. But Mr. Yamashita wanted to marque it much mechanical; he, for example, designed the caput successful a mode that would look arsenic though determination were a batch of sensors concentrated successful the head, alternatively than the conception of someone’s face. I truly liked that thought arsenic well.

© Prime Video/Sunrise/Sotsu

io9: Looking backmost connected your clip directing GQuuuuuuX, what benignant of bequest bash you anticipation it carves retired for itself wrong the franchise?

Tsurumaki: Gundam is simply a bid that has a agelong history. I watched it arsenic a child, and it has continued on. It’s been astir a agelong time. However, the procreation of fans has truly been extended. We present person galore young generations who person ne'er adjacent watched the archetypal Gundam. I deliberation the archetypal Gundam is highly interesting, truthful I truly privation the young radical to ticker it due to the fact that I cognize they volition find it absorbing arsenic well.

Thankfully, we person subscriptions wherever you tin ticker it anywhere, anytime. In the past, if a amusement was nary longer connected television, you could nary longer ticker it. I anticipation that the caller procreation could besides ticker the aged Gundam arsenic well. If that is materialized, I would beryllium truly happy.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is streaming connected Prime Video.

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