THIS IS THE NEWTYPE OF THE GUNDAM WORLD!

The Gundam World has given us Newtypes who lived with brilliance, and others who met tragic ends. But what were these Newtypes, really? With the conclusion of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, we asked General Director Yoshiyuki Tomino to speak with passion about his vision of the Newtype. The saga that began with Mobile Suit Gundam, continued through Zeta Gundam, and reached its close with Gundam ZZ has, with that finale, achieved a kind of completion. This was no mere “robot show,” the Gundam World left us with a sense of genuine weight, an impression that has lingered in our hearts.

Amuro, Kamille, Judau, their voices as Newtype protagonists spoke to us across the screen, pressing upon us a message of immense significance. Without the “evolution of humanity,” there is no future for humanity itself! What, then, was this Newtype meant to be? At the close of ZZ, we went straight to the creator of the Gundam World, General Director Yoshiyuki Tomino, to hear his unvarnished thoughts on the Newtype. First, we asked him directly: what exactly was this great theme of the Gundam World supposed to mean?

――The concept of “Newtypes” seems understandable yet somehow elusive. What kind of human being is a Newtype?

Tomino: “A person who can understand others without misunderstanding them. That is what a Newtype is.”

In the Gundam World, they may be depicted in a somewhat “ESP-like” fashion, but a Newtype is not a psychic. Rather, a Newtype is someone with the power of foresight. And foresight, in turn, is indispensable to understanding another person without distortion. I believe this ability lies latent within every human being, and in the past humanity possessed it more strongly. Take, for instance, the person who suddenly feels, “Oh, so-and-so has just passed away,” at the very moment of a relative’s death. That sort of deep connection between human beings does seem to exist.

Another example: say you read a brief three-line article. You feel instinctively, “I understand exactly what this person is saying.” When you later meet the writer in person, before your eyes even meet you somehow sense instantly, “Ah, this must be them.” And once you exchange words, you realize you were right. That capacity to recognize people in an instant, I know from my own experience it is something human beings possess innately.

Those who can exercise this ability smoothly, those are the Newtypes. In Gundam, though, we are forced to express it only as “foresight,” “good intuition,” or the knack of reading a step ahead. That limitation has always frustrated me. There is, however, another way of looking at it, through the lens of neurophysiology. Science tells us that the portion of the cerebral cortex human beings actively use is only around 30–40% of the whole. What then is the purpose of the remaining 60–70%? In the Gundam World, I applied this idea: those dormant brain cells will surely awaken when humanity ventures into space. Once they become fully active, people will be able to comprehend reality from a cosmic perspective. Even if one is tumbling head over heels, the brain’s sensor will instantly locate one’s position in space, providing an instinctive grasp of spatial coordinates.

And one more crucial point: in the vastness of space, communication must evolve. That necessity would bloom into a telepathic power, what I have called an “aura.” In short, when the full brain is awakened, people will finally be able to understand each other without misunderstanding, across the breadth of the universe. That is the Newtype.

――But in the series, Newtypes seem only to show sharp intuition, call out to others, or pilot specialized mobile suits…

Tomino: Unfortunately, because animation is a visual medium, the Newtype’s abilities can only be depicted at that shallow level. What you see are, at best, surface manifestations, branches and leaves of the larger tree of logic I’m talking about. That’s why Gundam sometimes ends up looking like a “ghost story.” (laughs) But it isn’t spirits I want to put on screen. What I really want, in a more difficult phrase, is to visualize “logos.” But logos cannot be directly depicted in imagery. And so, inevitably, it turns into something resembling a ghost movie. That is one of the inherent limitations of the medium. To be honest, I accept it. I don’t yet have the power to transcend it. Perhaps someday someone will create a film that embodies logos itself. If that happens, I want to see it, but right now I can’t even imagine it. So yes, when it comes to “Tomino Gundam,” it is, in that sense, a ghost movie. (laughs)

Indeed, when you look at Gundam’s visuals, auras flashing, the dead whispering to the living, you might well call it a ghost story. But even if the medium can only depict Newtypes in “ghostly” terms, the Newtype itself was surely meant to stand as an ideal: what humanity should be, or must one day become. Again and again, Newtypes have fallen to the harsh “reality” of those who “cannot reach” that ideal…

――Amuro, Kamille, Lalah, Four, Ple… why do so many Newtypes end in tragedy?

Tomino: To convey the truth that “talent is something those around you will never accept,” to show that, the story had to end in tragedy. In ZZ, though, Judau was different from Amuro and Kamille. He became a rare example of a Newtype whom those around him could begin, at last, to recognize and accept. That said, if I were given the chance to make a Gundam film next year, I would probably tell a story like the original Gundam’s, where the fate of the Newtype is once again a tragic one. (laughs)

If all humanity could become Newtypes, tragedy would disappear. Conversely, the tragedies of Gundam reflect the reality that humanity could not reach so far. The question lingers: is there any salvation for humankind?

――And what about the very qualities of a Newtype?

Tomino: In the shows, we are compelled to talk about Newtype “qualities” or “aptitudes.” But fundamentally, I don’t subscribe to such a theory. In fact, I think it shouldn’t exist. I have a strong desire not to let the story hinge on the powers of one individual.　What truly matters are the circumstances after one is born, the parent-child relationship, the child’s own consciousness. Those shape the awakening into a Newtype. And if you ask what fosters that awakening, the answer is simple: a good home, intellectual curiosity, and the will to improve. Humans can adapt to almost any environment. In that sense, space is not a prerequisite. If everyone held the conscious desire to become Newtypes, I believe they could even on Earth.　Of course, Earth’s present reality, with its cramped closeness of communities, makes it difficult to think on a cosmic scale or to awaken those dormant brain cells. Still, it is not impossible.

That means anyone can become a Newtype. In fact, the Gundam World itself showed hints: Katz, Letz, and Kikka displayed flashes of it in the final episode of Gundam. In ZZ, even Beecha, Mondo, and Iino seemed to show potential.

――People called Newtypes seem to awaken when they go to space and display upgraded abilities, but do Newtype abilities deteriorate when they return from space?

Tomino: That is still something I must consider further. But at least up through ZZ, the answer is yes, it regresses. And it will continue to regress, repeatedly. I imagine an era in which humanity must undergo such cycles of training again and again. That is why I sent Judau to Jupiter at the end of ZZ. He would undergo such training without hesitation. And when he returned, he would not be weighed down by the same mental burdens as Amuro or Kamille. He would reappear more cleansed, more free. But when I craft the next story, I would of course pit him against an even stronger enemy. Whether Judau would win or lose, that is where the drama would lie, though I suspect the path would unfold in stages. This was also what Haman says in the final episode of ZZ, “All returns to the beginning… I nearly sank into corruption within the warmth of the Earth Sphere, yet I could not leave it as it was. I rose against it, and still you stood in my way! And you call yourself a Newtype?” In other words, humanity cannot yet leave Earth behind. And so they become corrupt.

So, Judau defeated Haman and set off for Jupiter, where his abilities as a Newtype would grow further. Unlike Amuro, he would not be imprisoned by the Earth Federation for his talents. And recall: both Challia Bull and Paptimus Scirocco had also been “Jupiter returnees.” Clearly, Jupiter holds some secret key to awakening Newtype abilities. Across the Gundam trilogy, Director Tomino has been telling us: as long as humanity confines itself to Earth, ruled by its egos, war will never end. But if all people could become Newtypes, if all could see with cosmic perspective, and understand one another without misunderstanding, then war would vanish from Earth. Humanity’s future would shine, radiant and golden.

Logos: a term that can mean “word,” “meaning,” “concept,” “theory,” or “thought.” It refers to activities that spring from rational intelligence. (Source: Gakken New Century Encyclopedia)

Source: Complete Newtype Picture Book (pages 03-07)