This interview has been edited for clarity.
The Gundam multimedia and toy franchise has come a long way since it first took off in 1979, establishing itself as a household name with an impressive slew of TV series, films, and video games under its belt. Its influential presence in popular media continues to extend beyond the obvious, including the virtual Gundam Academy that has become the first academic institution based on an animated TV series.
But its success wasn’t always cast in stone. The original Mobile Suit Gundam anime (retrospectively known as First Gundam or simply Gundam ‘79) saw a reduced episode count due to low ratings when it first aired, and only received a second wind in popularity with the introduction of Gunpla models, or model kits, in 1980. Following reruns and the theatrical release of the anime, the only way to go was up, and it became celebrated for revolutionising the giant robot or mecha genre that depicted mobile suits as weapons of war and pilots as ordinary soldiers – a contrast to the heroic portrayals of that era.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX (that’s six ‘u’s and pronounced ‘G-quacks’), the latest series addition to Amazon Prime Video, marks a long-awaited return to its roots. The first mainline series set in the alternate version of the Universal Century (UC) timeline of the original series, it follows protagonist Amate Yuzuriha aka Machu, a high school student living on the space colony “Side 6”, and refugee Nyaan who find themselves embroiled in an incident involving a stolen Red Gundam. It’s hardly an ordinary mobile suit, though, bearing ties that can be traced back to a familiar icon: the RX-78-2, the titular mech of the 1979 classic.
Here, the mantle of “RX-78-02 White Gundam” is adopted in a nod to its origins – a show of tribute that director Kazuya Tsurumaki takes seriously.
“We wanted to ensure our love for the First Gundam comes through the screen when people watch it,” shares the 59-year-old in a virtual interview with Geek Culture, adding that much attention was poured into preserving iconic details.
Instead of creating entirely new robots, the idea was for mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita to respect the original design concepts, right down to the nitty gritty. In the case of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, this extends to keeping the yellow box-like parts on the front, retaining a semblance of the aesthetic identity that longtime fans have come to know and love.
Elsewhere, the mecha series represents a shift into bolder, more unconventional waters. Its predecessor, The Witch from Mercury, featured 2D-animated fights, but the visuals are now furnished with a blend of 3D and CGI animation as well, allowing for different forms of creative expression. The transition is seamless in execution, and Tsurumaki explains how each role helps to bring everything together – 3D CGI works best for expressing the “hardness and solidity of the actual robots”, while 2D proves ideal for conveying dynamic expressions or signature poses in a comical manner.
Hybrid stylisation is an old friend to the industry veteran, as he previously helmed the anime anthology series FLCL (read as “Fooly Cooly”) that gained a reputation for its experimental and striking nature, including an entire scene made in cutout animation. Some of the flair continues to live on in his latest work, with colouring preferences incorporated into its character and background design.
“The colour palette when it comes to the characters and background, I think, is quite unique, and I’ve tried to take on the challenge this time to reintroduce these kinds of interesting colour palettes into GQuuuuuX, especially when it comes to the characters,” explains Tsurumaki.
As Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX looks to breathe new life into a beloved, if niche, genre, its future looms in the distance – and it isn’t as promising as the animator wants it to be. The protégé of Evangelion series creator Hideaki Anno, he holds on to decades-long experience and has seen the mecha anime space evolve over the years, prompting the “pessimistic” (in his words) observation that stagnation and the lack of variety are growing concerns.
“Mecha anime is in a bit of a difficult state,” he mulls, highlighting Gundam and Evangelion as one of the more popular and enduring series in the genre, as opposed to the many offerings in the past. “It’s having difficulty selling its appeal to younger viewers.”
Still, not all hope is lost. Tsurumaki expresses confidence in the ability of mecha anime to bounce back, even if it may take a while: “I believe that in the future, there will come a time when it’ll again be in the limelight, in contrast to some of the more natural, superpower-type animation.”
“I know there’ll be a time when this kind of animation will be in demand,” he finishes on a firm, more optimistic note.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is now streaming on Prime Video, with episodes dropping weekly.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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