The Future of Newtypes as Envisioned by Mobile Suit Gundam NT
An Interview with Scriptwriter Harutoshi Fukui

Now in theaters, Mobile Suit Gundam NT is both an epilogue to Mobile Suit Gundam UC and the first installment in the grand UC NexT 0100 project, which aims to fill in the previously unexplored gaps in the Universal Century (U.C.) timeline. Harutoshi Fukui, who wrote the script for NT and penned the original UC novels, is a storyteller who has consistently grappled head-on with the concept of Newtypes, a fundamental aspect of the Gundam universe, throughout his involvement with the franchise. NT depicts humanity once again becoming embroiled in chaos and confusion as it seeks to uncover the whereabouts of the missing Unicorn Gundam Unit 3 following its rampage incident. What kind of future does it point to for the Gundam series and Newtypes? Here, we present the full-length version of the interview with Fukui, a digest of which was published in the January issue of Da Vinci magazine.

NT is a Punctuation Mark, Laying the Groundwork for the Future

――When you wrote the novel Mobile Suit Gundam UC: Phoenix Hunting, which forms the backbone of Mobile Suit Gundam NT, did you envision it being adapted into a film like this?

Fukui: At the time, I hadn’t envisioned that at all. But I was the one who suggested adapting it into a film, and I was also the one who proposed changing the content in this way. While Phoenix Hunting includes a prequel to Mobile Suit Gundam UC, directly adapting that into a film would essentially rehash the UC series. Instead, given the momentum we had built from Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack to UC, I felt it would be more fitting to depict a storyline that moves beyond UC further into the future. Moreover, with the life-size Unicorn Gundam statue standing in Odaiba, it seemed like something was missing without a new film to accompany it.

――Did you feel there were unresolved issues from UC that needed to be pushed forward?

Fukui: No, I think we pretty much tackled all the issues we wanted to address in UC. So, digging them back up again would have been quite an undertaking. For instance, it would have been impossible to casually continue the story while disregarding the way we concluded UC. We had to confront that head-on. I think this NT film serves as a comma, a sort of caesura, laying the groundwork for us to connect to what comes next.

――The progression from UC to NT could be viewed as a work that bridges the gap between Char’s Counterattack and Mobile Suit Gundam F91 in the Universal Century timeline. What themes did you personally believe needed to be explored in this time period?

Fukui: With UC, it was quite straightforward. There was this huge Gundam market, with magazines like Gundam Ace, but the fanbase wasn’t really being fully tapped into. Back in the original Gundam era, the Gundam boom was almost like the Pokemon craze. These days, Gundam and anime might be seen as something only a small geeky subset of the class is into, but back then, everyone from the bullies to the bullied were all Gundam fans.

By the time we were creating UC, it had become a niche thing, indicating issues with what was being produced. I thought, let’s make something that can bring everyone back – that was the aim with UC. We updated the Universal Century Gundam story for modern times while still engaging with it and tried to bring closure to Amuro and Char’s story… Or, rather, what was called their closure was frankly quite hard for general audiences to understand. That inscrutability might be quintessentially Gundam-esque, but that Gundam-ness had diverged from the Gundam-ness we felt lining up to buy Gunpla at department stores as kids. It became something that converged on the individuality of Yoshiyuki Tomino as a creator. So, I wanted to break free from that.

Amuro and Char’s story had concluded, but in the lingering aftermath, a character like Full Frontal, almost a specter of Char, still emerges. Also, with adults as the target audience this time, it would be tiresome for them to watch a youth story starting from scratch, projecting themselves onto protagonists like Amuro or Kamille. So, in UC, I structured it so viewers could watch from the perspective of adults – Banagher’s parents – sending him off to the battlefield. It fortunately became a hit, but the one thing I didn’t anticipate was that it attracted a surprisingly young viewership as well. However, in retrospect, the original Gundam series I watched as a child wasn’t created with much consideration for making it easily comprehensible to children either. (laughs)

――(laughs)

Fukui: It was an extremely aloof work in terms of audience engagement. In recent years, works have become thoroughly softened, like rice porridge, and Gundam was heading in that direction for a while, too. But then it simply becomes one of many options available to young people. I believe the true joy of Gundam lies in watching a work made with an unaccommodating understanding if you can approach it and feel yourself rise to the challenge. But one thing I noticed is very modern is that even when people said they enjoyed UC, hardly any of them went back and rewatched the original Gundam. Apparently, we managed to cultivate that casual of a userbase. In that case, I thought NT didn’t need to be made from an adult perspective – let’s create a story from their youthful point of view, something they can dive into and truly feel.

――NT includes flashbacks to Char’s Counterattack and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and as a work encapsulating Newtypes, it feels quite distinct from UC in that regard.

Fukui: Yes, it’s a matter of the name reflecting the content. The UC in Unicorn refers to the Universal Century (U.C.), so it’s about the world. NT literally means Narrative, so it delves into the philosophy behind Newtypes. They form a complementary structure. I did wonder if this Newtype philosophy could be understood by everyone buying Gunpla kits at retail shops these days. We pulled off something pretty wild at the end of UC, leaving people asking “What was that about?” Of course, we had a solid logic behind it, but it admittedly looks nonsensical on the surface. That’s always been the case with Gundam sequels and spinoffs. But the thing is, all these seemingly absurd developments in Gundam, including past entries, are actually grounded in well-considered logic. I figured if I could explain that here, it would address the misgivings people had with UC while redefining Newtype theory itself. It might resonate with the masses now.

――NT did feel like it was revealing the trick behind Gundam’s past nonsense in a sense.

Fukui: Yeah, in a way. Not so much revealing a trick, but calmly reflecting on it and realizing, “Ah, so that’s what it was.” I never gave it any thought back when I was merely a fan watching it. When I saw Char’s Counterattack, I thought, “What is this? It makes no sense.” (laughs) After that, I never looked back on it. It wasn’t until over a decade ago, when I had to engage with Gundam for UC, that I watched the whole series again for the first time. That’s when it hit me – Wait, could this be…? I knew I had to depict Newtypes properly if I wanted to draw in audiences with a Gundam sequel, so I had no choice but to process it for myself. I had to be thoroughly convinced of it, at least in my own mind. As I diligently rewatched it all, at one point, it dawned on me that “This is designed to make sense without requiring excessive effort.” I created UC based on that realization. So with NT this time, I wanted to break that down further and truly explain it.

The Era of Understanding Newtypes Through the Lens of Physics

――Compared to UC, NT dives even deeper into exploring the concept of Newtypes. In recent years, many Gundam works have diluted their focus on Newtype theory, and even in F91, set after NT, Newtypes have vanished entirely. What drives your continued fascination with Newtypes?

Fukui: Well, UC and NT are direct sequels to Char’s Counterattack. Remember that perplexing final scene? (laughs) Where some unseen force repelled the asteroid? The first thing humanity would think upon witnessing that is undoubtedly how to weaponize such power. If it seems that Newtypes and psycho-frames are the key, you can bet there’ll be a mad scramble to control it. Following that logic, the absence of Newtypes in F91 suggests that something catastrophic related to Newtypes must have transpired in the decades between UC/NT and F91. I believe it would have to be something so fundamentally world-altering that tampering with it could lead to humanity’s downfall.

――So, NT unfolds on the precipice of the world being torn asunder by the very concept of Newtypes?

Fukui: Precisely. NT redefines Newtypes, not as humans who shoot lightning from their brows to dodge beams but as those possessing the paranormal ability to commune with the dead. This has been a consistent thread since the original series. The idea is that even when the physical body perishes, the soul endures, and individual egos ultimately meld together and become shared. It’s akin to Wi-Fi and the internet, in a sense. (laughs) Just as the internet persists even when you power down your computer, Newtypes are akin to standalone devices but perpetually connected to the other realm via Wi-Fi. What’s more, when augmented by technology, they can tap into a wellspring of limitless energy and physically impact the real world. It’s an immensely hazardous power that blurs the line between the afterlife and the world of the living. Back when the original Gundam aired in the 1980s, this often took on spiritual overtones.

――It’s true that the concepts portrayed in NT are particularly resonant now that we’re in the age of Wi-Fi, where the wired limitations on information exchange have been shed.

Fukui: Absolutely. Now, it can be grasped through the lens of physics rather than religion. Perhaps that’s why the timing was right for this story to be told.

――On the heels of NT, the Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway film trilogy was also announced, as part of the UC NexT 0100 project spanning the years between U.C. 0097 of NT and U.C. 0123 of F91. Will it chronicle the gradual rejection of Newtypes?

Fukui: Not so much rejection as humanity being forced to confront the sobering reality of what Newtypes truly represent. Take nuclear weapons—they’re undeniably dangerous, but if they hadn’t been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, if no one had ever deployed them, they might have remained a purely hypothetical threat. It’s precisely because Hiroshima and Nagasaki were razed, searing that shared trauma into humanity’s collective consciousness, that the horrific potential of nuclear arms has been so deeply internalized, keeping them from being used for over 70 years since. By that logic, Newtypes, too, will likely undergo some nightmarish trial that lays bare the true extent of their power.

――So you’re saying such tragic events will unfold in the future.

Fukui: Yes. Though I’m not talking massacres or anything so overt. More like a final reckoning that ruptures the boundary between life and death… I haven’t fully fleshed it out, but it’s a genie so perilous we might not dare uncork the bottle. Even if a century of space pioneering has imbued us with sensibilities our forebears lacked, we’re far from ready to wield such god-like abilities. Check back in 10,000 years, give or take. (laughs)

――One of the protagonists of NT, Rita Bernal, has a recurring line about being able to be reborn countless times. Does this imply that Newtypes are still viewed in a positive light at this juncture?

Fukui: Ah, but she’s not talking about being reincarnated with her current persona intact. In her case, she’s essentially become electricity, so it’s like going from being a vacuum cleaner to aspiring to be a fridge next time around. (laughs) When you inhabit that fridge as electricity, you won’t recall your stint as a vacuum. But let’s posit that even a vacuum, whose lot in life is inhaling rubbish, found some modicum of joy in its own way. (laughs) The message is about not losing sight of that kernel of positivity that comes from living, that one iota of happiness sprinkled amidst a hundred hardships, rather than simply drifting aimlessly as a crackle of electricity.

―― And what role does the returning character of Banagher serve?

Fukui: He’s someone who’s seen the other side once before. The crux of this story is that when our Newtype protagonists teeter on the brink of crossing over, if a realm of pure energy truly awaits, and if clinging to their corporal forms only condemns them to be pawns in the machinations of adults, then they might as well resign themselves to an ethereal existence. In that instant when such thoughts flicker across everyone’s minds, it’s the words of the guy who’s actually made that leap that will hammer the point home. It’s crucial for Banagher to resurface and reaffirm to them that there’s value in persisting in their current form.

――Have you ever shared your take on Newtypes and the Universal Century with director Yoshiyuki Tomino?

Fukui: I did casually remark to him, “This is how it is, right? That’s the deal, yeah?” But he claims he’s forgotten. (laughs) At first I assumed he was feigning ignorance out of bashfulness, but no, he genuinely seems to have drawn a blank. (laughs) Not that I mind the air of mystery. If the creator himself has lost the thread, then it’s truly an enigma for the ages. There’s something poetic about us being able to intuitively grasp it now that the world has come to mirror that reality.

――Has Gundam had a profound impact in shaping who you are?

Fukui: Not just Gundam, but Yoshiyuki Tomino’s influence on me has been monumental. He’s always prodding at the question of why humans unflinchingly conform to precedent, and that’s ingrained in me. Whenever I encounter schools or institutions doggedly upholding some nonsensical tradition or rule, my knee-jerk reaction is “No, this won’t fly,” and I suspect I have Yoshiyuki Tomino to thank for that instinct.

――As an author and screenwriter, you’ve been steeped in the Gundam franchise, which is notable for having print and animated works running in parallel nearly from the get-go.

Fukui: Very true. UC, the first Gundam property I tackled as a writer, was something that, by all rights, shouldn’t have been feasible outside the realm of literature, both in medium and narrative approach, yet there it was, turned into an anime. NT also has a novel as its basis, but that’s just the skeletal framework—the anime was conjured entirely from scratch. Under normal circumstances, you’d assume audiences would balk at such a dizzying divergence, but they took it surprisingly well (laughs). Nowadays, it’s an era where you can carry videos around with you, so you can watch them over and over. If it’s not the kind of tale that requires multiple viewings to fully unpack, that leaves you hankering for another go, then it’s dead on arrival from a commercial standpoint. Not an easy feat to pull off with live-action, though.

――So anime storytelling is afforded far more latitude?

Fukui: Far more freedom. In anime, story reigns supreme, and every component exists to tell that story. Anime is one of the precious few mediums where you can push the envelope to such razor-sharp extremes. Among anime aficionados, you’ve got those who crave even more dense, “chewy fare,” and then you’ve got the more casual sect who don’t mind if some of it flies over their heads. In that sense, my aim with NT is to strike a balance that satisfies both the camp hungering for that quintessentially challenging Gundam experience, and the lighter crowd drawn in by UC. This time, the new character designs were done by the insanely skilled Sejoon Kim. Of course, the style is different, and it might feel a bit off. I imagine that dissonance is not unlike what fans felt when Zeta aired on the heels of the original Gundam. That’s where we’ll inevitably shed some viewers, but honestly, it’s for the best. If we stay shackled to the visual trappings of yesteryear as we forge ahead, we’ll paint ourselves into a corner. It’s about faithfully carrying the torch while boldly embracing the new—that, too, is integral to the Gundam ethos.