March 4th, 2022 
deackychu MOBILE SUIT MOON GUNDAM: FIRST ANIMATED ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
In this month’s Gundam Ace (April 2022 issue), Harutoshi Fukui (author), Takayuki Kosai (manga artist), and Ippei Gyobu (mecha design) all sat down to discuss the anime portions of Moon Gundam that appear in the smartphone game U.C. Engage, where the story is going, and a little behind the scenes discussion.
Opening up the commentary about the animated version, Fukui comments on how Gundam works today utilize various visual mediums. As Hathaway was tackled using the methodology and pacing of a live-action film, Moon Gundam needed to strike a balance and pacing, something akin to a 5:30 Saturday timeslot. The goal was to give the impression that Gundam, which looks like a Gundam (show), has finally come along after so long. Tomoyasu Kudo did the design and main animation.
Kosai admits that it’s bewildering to see his artwork in motion, amazed that what he created could be elevated to the stage of being animated. It’s beyond his wildest imagination. However, since they received compliments from the character design stage, Fukui says that he felt that it could be handled. Gyobu interjects that he feels nervous whenever he’s working on animation (something unique to him), but he was actually worried since the story was set in the Universal Century. He says that his unique drawing style and lines lend themself well to animation when he designs mobile suits, so there was a sense of familiarity this time around. He says that as Moon Gundam is a story that bridges other existing works, he feels it is difficult to fit the characterization into the story at the right times. Still, the work created by Studio 1 works perfectly, even giving unique characteristics to the behavior of the psycho plates.
When asked about the intention of the psycho-plates, Fukui talks about the primitive feeling that they envoke. When they launch into the colony, they don’t come in an orderly fashion but rather in a flurry of movement. He says that each psycho plate moves as though it’s a living thing, like a spirit protecting the Moon Gundam’s body. He says that the plates are fundamentally different from fin funnels and are technically at a technological stage before they can be cast into a frame. The fact that they can move independently is a matter of chance, sort of like an ooparts (out-of-place artifact). As we see it now, Moon Gundam showcases how later tech would go on to succeed, only in a much primitive fashion.
Kosai says that while he never mentioned it before, that’s how he was drawing the psycho-plates in the manga and is glad to see they were on the same page in that regard.
When asked about other memorable scenes, Fukui laments that introducing Amuro allowed him to join the ranks of other Universal Century works. However, he felt that he was witnessing something valuable as Amuro was being recorded for the first time prior to Char’s Counterattack. Gyobu comments that he paid attention to the Rick Dijeh and Jeddah in action (for Amuro). He said that they’re not 100% his design since they’re modified versions of existing models, so he wondered what would happen when he first drew them.
Fukui comments on how the GM III doesn’t change in any way, but when he went on to create a new model, it then became a new world. He was surprised to see how well everything blended once it was in motion. Gyobu again laughs about how he’s always nervous but says that it’s difficult to say this now, but he was taking it easy and just designing for fun at the beginning of Moon Gundam. He was okay with handling U.C. mobile suits, but then the project gradually became bigger and bigger, and he started to think, “Oh, crap…”
Fukui laughs at this before Gyobu says that he’s glad that they didn’t make it too small at the time, to which Fukui says that if they’d worked hard from the beginning, that line might not have come out. When Kosai is asked, they say that they’ll have to discuss characters if everyone else is talking about mecha. Kosai didn’t draw the characters in the way that Yasuhiko and Kitazume did for their past works, but when it came time to adapt them to film, they were “Gundam-like.” Kosai says that from the planning stages, they didn’t have to imitate Yasuhiko, though they were surprised to see how well they fit in, even though they did whatever they wanted.
Kosai and Gyobu are working together on the mecha designs for the series, so that lends itself to a bit more “purity” with things (whereas most have 5-6 designers involved). They’re flattered that others have started to pick up on their suits, using them in games and whatnot. Kosai was utterly floored and couldn’t stop grinning when they saw their work adapted to film.
When talking about the characters’ “voices,” Fukui says that he didn’t have a clear idea of who’d voice them when he started writing, but for Safira and others, he’d done so as if guessing. Jutta’s voice actor in the game is apparently a newcomer. When asked about Amuro, they mention the power of Furuya, being able to channel that 29-year old version of Amuro (as opposed to the boy from First Gundam and his appearance in Zeta).
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS OF MOON GUNDAM
Fukui mentions that part one is the Moon Moon arc, part two is the VS Amuro arc, and part three is the descent to Earth arc, which is currently being serialized as “who is the insider?” Next up will be the fourth arc, or “VS Char.” Argos will take Mineva down to a predetermined point where Char waits for her. Jutta and the others have a lot going on, but they head to confront Char. Jutta is compared to being the child who says “the Emperor has no clothes” to Char. Char indicates that he will take his father’s name, lead Zeon, and crush the Earth, but is he really ready for all of that? Is his heart in the right place? Fukui honestly doesn’t think he’s prepared as an individual, and Jutta sees right through him and calls him out on being motivated by the escape to “settle the score with Amuro.” Fukui says that when a child does something like that, an adult of Char’s type thinks about how to bring them over to their side.
Fukui says that Char isn’t angry at Jutta about that, that it’s actually uncool to get angry (before laughing). So, that’s why he poses the question of how to bring a kid who is confronting you over to your side. By doing so, he believes he can make up for parts of himself that he’s not prepared for or lacks. So far, as we’ve seen, there are only imitations like Argos and Gyunei (Note: he means Cyber-Newtype), so natural ones (true Newtype) are around. So, we’ll now have to see how Jutta reacts to this.
The complicated portion of part four is that the situation back on Moon Moon is evolving simultaneously. What was hinted at by Raymel and others is that something is going on, so that will finally be revealed, and the situation will turn upside down. There will be a significant incident in which Luce and the underground resistance will swap positions, so yesterday’s enemy will become today’s ally. Jutta will learn of this right from Char’s mouth, which will allow him to pose the question of “do you want to come?”
When talking about Jutta and Mineva, Jutta sensed that Mineva had no idea what Zeon was up to, which made him angry that she’d try taking responsibility for something she was entirely unaware of. He’s angry that she’s accepting responsibility because of her title of Princess. So, Mineva closed herself off from Jutta, though their paths crossed again, and they more or less made up as they entered the atmosphere.
Since this will be somewhat unknown territory to most readers, the trie goes on to talk about the appearance of the Aggjin, a suit that was shown in the old M.S. Encyclopedia but took forever to appear in the manga. It’s a suit that Argos wields with deadly precision. It’s sort of cute but ugly at the same time. Kosai laughs that the suit is easy to draw, which baffles Fukui. He says that’s why the battle depictions and whatnot are getting flashier and flashier. He says that it’s been fun depicting an underwater suit in outer space!
The cover of volume 9 (which you can see here) reminds Fukui of a stuffed bear covered in blood, basically what’s inside Argos. Of course, you don’t expect someone pure and innocent like him to have such darkness within him. All the pieces fit together horribly to create this suit, mainly because it’s something that’s so far removed from being humanoid. Gyobu comments that even in horror films, all the characters that become famous have comical appearances (like Freddy and Chucky). He says their outspoken characterization and egregious portrayal go hand in hand, making them stand out.
When asked if any other mobile suits should be noted, Fukui mentions the Sazabi, which appeared in volume seven. He says that some readers may have noticed, but the cockpit is in the stomach. Chronologically, it follows “Hi-Streamer,” but since they’re aware of the depiction, what’ll happen when the Sazabi comes out? He says that when it appeared, it was when all the armor was removed but feels that everyone can look forward to how much impressions will change once it’s all attached. Gyobu states that there is a reason for shifting this. If I’m parsing this portion correctly, he says that he had to be conscious of the time (as in point in the timeline), so when it appears you ask “what’s going on with the head, then?”
Wrapping up the interview, Fukui says that Moon Gundam is like an experiment to see what would happen if Studio Ghibli created a Gundam, an attempt to look at Gundam from an idyllic/arcadian narrative. If you don’t consciously keep this perspective, you can quickly be swept away. In that sense, Gundam is a world of impermanence. A story about people who have briefly exchanged “emotions” with that world. It is the same every time. Looking at it from a macroscopic point of view, the fact that individuals have exchanged sentiments has no impact on the world; a world with a view of life as something transient and empty (impermanence) has been going on forever. Gundam U.C. depicts the moment when the power of “emotion” gradually changed the world, but in the end, it was swallowed up and vanished, and the uncertainty of the world didn’t change. But, the heat and warmth of that moment, of that brilliance, is definitely there.
Fukui feels that the original Gundam series was a world where a burgeoning population was sent out into space when it was thought that peace and prosperity would continue in the 80s and that the same day would repeat itself tomorrow and the day after, and so on and so forth. In reality, though, the world has become a place where the population is decreasing and may even be on a path towards extinction. In that sense, some may consider Gundam “outdated” in terms of content as a series, but unlike the first series, sharing emotions in a world of uncertainty is undoubtedly universal.
Gyobu says that he believes Moon Gundam is a good starting point for new fans to begin Gundam as a way to step away from the “must-know” Gundam of the past. Readers can enjoy Jutta’s adventures and the drama without thinking much about it. Kosai concurs that the Gundam is outside of the normal manga market, which is why they’re always considering how to make it readable as a normal manga, hoping that more and more will choose to do so.
Fukui ends the interview by saying that it doesn’t fit into the so-called “genre manga” framework and that there’s a lot of effort put into it, all things considered. He hopes that the animated bits will open the door to a broader audience.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
Publisher: Kadokawa Shoten
Released: 2022.02.26
Price: 750 yen
Size: —
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