Early coverage of Char’s Counterattack continues in the October issue of Animedia, featuring a character relationship chart, descriptions of the new mobile suits, and some interesting fan submissions.
The challenge of reborn Sunrise: Part 3
Will the dream come back to life with the OAV and movie adaptations of the series?
There are still many fans who passionately express their love for the many TV series masterpieces produced by Sunrise. The OAV and the new film are being produced in response. Let’s focus on the essence of Sunrise’s work, with the movie version of Gundam at the center.
The younger generation take on the challenge of entertainment, the origin of film
The movie version of Gundam has been attracting a lot of attention, with topics such as the large portion of young staff members and closing the book on the relationship between Amuro and Char. Producer Kenji Uchida declares that one of Sunrise’s aims with this film is “entertainment.”
The entertainment they are trying to create here is “a work that even first-time viewers can enjoy.” Speaking of Gundam, it was popular among anime fans for its complicated human relationships and raw mecha action. This makes it difficult for average fans today to get into it.
Therefore, although this movie “depicts the love affairs of several men and women as a drama,” the focus is narrowed to just “Amuro and Char, rather than the complex human drama.” In addition, “we’re not making the surface of the mecha shiny, but rather keeping the colors simple. We’re expressing the sense of scale by devising right movements and angles.” The way the mecha is drawn also seems to be simpler than in previous works.
“We don’t want to fall into the pattern of bizarre mecha concepts, but stories are a challenge. It will be a full-fledged space drama, with newly designed characters who can say their lines with a sense of tension.”
The secret weapon of the young staff who are taking on the challenge of entertainment is creating scenes that are surprisingly simple and natural. I’m looking forward to a new movement!
The aim is an authentic space drama!!
The theatrical version of Gundam is being produced at a rapid pace for release next spring. How will the “Gundam World” change with the generation shift to younger directors, excluding director Yoshiyuki Tomino?
[Below is an edited version of the character relationship diagram. [sic] indicates a misspelling that is present in the original Japanese text]
Young staff inherit the Gundam brand
Amuro and Char are placed at the center of the drama, but it seems that this story will also feature plenty of scenes depicting the inner thoughts of these two. What’s more interesting is that Lalah, a woman who passed on and left the two of them with a shared memory, appears in the story.
“She only appears in flashback scenes, but those have been recreated with completely new animation, so it’s a bit of a highlight.” Lalah is a Newtype. How will the Newtype theory up until now be depicted?
“Director Tomino’s message is directly expressed in the new character Quess Paraya and those who adore her like Hathaway Noa, so I think people can feel it from that.”
A notable point in this film adaptation is the large number of young staff members, and they’re not even Newtypes. However, as you can see from the mobile suit designed by Yutaka Izubuchi introduced on this page, although it feels new, it still maintains the mold of the old work.
“Gundam is a robot anime brand. The young people are taking over old masterpieces and creating new ones. I think that in doing so, they will become an asset to the anime world.”
MSN-04 サザビー
Sazabi
Neo Zeon Army/Char’s MS
Many people may be reminded of Char’s nickname “The Red Comet” from the old works due to its crimson painted body. It is also a Newtype MS with a psycommu function.
MS-16 ギラ・ドーガ
Geara Doga
Neo Zeon Army/Mass-produced MS
A general-purpose MS with the body of Zeon’s popular Zaku and the head of a Marasai.
RGM-89 ジェガン
Jegan
Earth Federation Forces/mass-produced MS
GMIII is powered up by incorporating a Hyaku Shiki head!
RGZ-91 リ・ガズィ
Re-GZ
Earth Federation Forces/Anti-ship MS
As you can see from the shape of the legs, it is an improved version of the Zeta Gundam. Amuro pilots this at the beginning of the story.
RX-93 vガンダム
v Gundam
Earth Federation Forces/Amuro’s MS
It is an MS Re-GZ for the Earth Federation Forces/Amuro, and was created for Amuro who was defeated by Char’s Sazabi, but it is rumored that the designer was Char. It was created for Amuro after being defeated in the Re-GZ by Char’s Sazabi. It is rumored that Char might have been the designer.
MSN-03 ヤクト・ドーガ
Jagd Doga
Neo Zeon Army/Newtype MS
Piloted by the Cyber Newtype Gyunei Guss, its weapons and attack methods are currently unknown.
Those characters you care about
This story is an extension of the “Gundam World” so far. That’s why Char tries to drop Axis on Earth, and Bright’s son Hathaway also appears. What you may be curious about is whether the characters who have appeared in Zeta and ZZ so far will have a part. To cut to the chase, it seems that no one appears except for Lalah in the flashback scene, and one other person. However, Haman Karn may appear in the dialogue. (But it seems likely that it will be cut due to time constraints…)
Now, that other character is Cameron, who was Mirai’s fiancé in the previous work. It seems like he plays a pretty important role, but what kind of role will it be?
▲ Does the shadow of Haman who fell in ZZ still remain?
The following is an excerpt from the fan submission section. The first part is a letter from a reader, followed by what I assume is a comment from the magazine.
When I saw the article about another Mobile Suit Gundam movie being made, I had trouble breathing for a moment. Needless to say, I was taken aback when I saw Char transformed into All Back [referring to his slicked back hair], but the story was also a mess. Reviving Neo Zeon and then dropping Axis to purge the people on Earth?! Is that how someone in their 30s should think?!
(In the first place, do you think people would easily follow someone who turned against Zeon only seven years ago?)
And one more thing. The highlight this time seems to be the showdown between Amuro and Char, but didn’t they empathize with and recognize each other’s perspective in the first series? No matter how you look at the words and actions of the two in episode 43 “Escape”, I can only think that they understood each other as Newtypes… Otherwise, there would be no point to Newtypes appearing in the first series (I’m pretty sure there was a moment when they recognized each other in Zeta as well).
I can still understand this setting if there is more to the story or if the world is completely different from the previous TV series. If they were aiming for popularity, being like “it would be interesting if Char and Amuro fought”, then that just confuses the story. If a realistic approach is one of the Gundam series’ selling points, shouldn’t it be more thorough in terms of story consistency?
As a movie that has to be a commercial success, there will probably be a lot of difficulties, but I hope it doesn’t disappoint the fans of the previous series Zeta and ZZ with an unreasonable setting. For now, I look forward to more detailed information and developments!
▼ [written by] Ryoko Kasumi from Hiroshima Prefecture
Since many new characters appear, many people seem to be worried that it won’t involve the old series, Zeta and ZZ. On the other hand, some people commented that Director Tomino was amazing because he defied the conventional wisdom that “anime characters don’t age”. What do you think?
[the accompanying artwork of Amuro and Char is by Takano Ura from Tokyo]
Issues of Animedia during this time also included calendar pages with character artwork for the corresponding month. Here is the included one of Amuro and Char.
