G-SAVIOUR: From Inception to Creation
Interview with Producer Kouichi Inoue

In the 20 years since the inception of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, the archetype of real robot anime, we’ve seen the development of CGI technology that’s brought to life an American-made live-action mobile suit story, something previously thought to be the stuff of dreams. We’re intrigued to find out how Mr. Inoue, a producer from Japan, contributed to the making of G-Saviour to realize this live-action vision.

―――People likely felt that a long-held dream had come true when they first heard that mobile suits would become live-action. Why was the film named “G-Saviour,” and why is the word “Gundam” not mentioned in the movie?

Inoue: To be frank, the concept of G-Saviour originated as a sort of test case for a live-action Gundam. Since it’s just a test, we thought, let’s give it a different title from Gundam.

―――From watching the film, one gets the impression that it was made with an American audience in mind. We’ve heard, however, that the word “Gundam” might be somewhat tricky for English speakers to grasp. Could this have influenced the film’s title?

Inoue: There were two primary purposes for the production of G-Saviour. First, CG renditions of mobile suits have been recently emerging in various media, such as games, and we wanted to take this opportunity as Sunrise to explore future possibilities. We wanted to experiment and validate how mobile suits should be animated in CG. In addition, it’s also a demonstration that even after 20 years, Gundam is now in an era where it can be produced as a live-action medium with foreign actors.

The second reason is to declare in America that this is the origin of something Gundam-like. Right now, many productions are being made in America that take inspiration from Japanese manga and anime. To prevent others from creating something similar and claiming they made it independently, we thought creating a live-action work featuring Gundam-like designs in America was crucial. We wanted to register it, saying, ‘Look, it exists here.’ G-Saviour is already registered, so if someone tries to create something similar there, they need to go through the proper channels. If an animation that Japanese fans have long supported suddenly appeared in America without their knowledge, they would be upset, wouldn’t they? That’s why we mostly used an American staff and produced it locally. The title also has a sound that’s easy for Americans to relate to, which is part of this strategy.

―――What about the mobile suits? There were many new ideas, such as the swap-out system. Was it possible to take such risks precisely because the name “Gundam” was not used?

Inoue: Honestly, we didn’t worry too much about the image of mobile suits from previous Gundam worlds when working on this project. In fact, what we had decided in the early design phase around 1995 was to return to the original concept of ‘mobile suits as a general-purpose weapon.’ The basic idea was to ‘not equip the suit with special tools or gimmicks, but to make it a truly versatile machine.’ That’s why G-Saviour was designed with a standard style and silhouette. Another point was to create a component system-like format, where everything is unit-structured, and necessary parts can be replaced according to the situation.

―――So, is it safe to say that a new standard was being set in how we perceive mobile suits?

Inoue: I would say it’s more accurate to assert that we’re returning to our roots. With G-Saviour, the medium of expression underwent a significant transformation. As a result, we deliberately preserved the original concept and lineage of the mobile suit. There’s the Bugu, which is quite Zaku-esque, and then there’s the G-Saviour, very much like the original Gundam. However, this approach inevitably left something amiss. Thus, we introduced Guppy, an unusual mobile suit designed for underwater operations.

In this sense, you could argue that the enemy’s mass-produced mobile suit, the Bugu, takes us back to our roots. Not incorporating energy-draining beam shields, for instance. Stripping away all unnecessary equipment so that it can still function even if it runs out of high-energy resources. Outfitting it with an axe-like weapon. Making it a multipurpose machine that can operate anywhere, not just in space or on land. However, being universally applicable doesn’t mean it’s universally powerful (laughs). That’s why the Bugu is a pretty well-rounded machine that can operate anywhere, but it can’t win against machines specialized for specific situations. On the other hand, the G-Saviour is designed as a component type that can increase its capabilities by swapping out parts other than its frame, enabling it to contend with more specialized suits.

―――I’d like to inquire about the design next. I imagine you had to contemplate the mobile suit’s structure more thoroughly for CG than for anime. Where did you specifically focus during the design process?

Inoue: First of all, when it comes to anime, there’s no need to design unseen areas. However, CG creation is almost like model building, where you need to decide whether an unseen area is flat or has a hole. So, we had Mr. Okawara design even those usually unseen parts. In anime, you can substantially simplify anything that isn’t in close-up. But with CG, the concept of ‘just adding detail when it’s in close-up’ doesn’t hold up. You have to consider what it will look like when you zoom in from the beginning.

Mr. Okawara was working on the assumption that it wouldn’t be hand-drawn or illustrated. “So, the animators aren’t going to draw this, right? Then I can freely add as many details as I want.” And he designed it to look like a robot when zoomed out and like a machine when zoomed in.

For instance, he designed every detail down to the structure of the armor’s undersides and attachment points. Furthermore, I ordered that all joints must move without straining. Mr. Okawara suggested ball joints, saying, “I don’t technically know,” even though anime mobile suit joints only bend halfway. But to make any pose possible, at a minimum, the joints need to twist and extend. Using a ball joint is the best way to accomplish this in a single step while making it easy to model.

―――The design, which was completed in this manner, shares common parts with recent mobile suit designs. Did you have a line of technological advancement in mind from the beginning?

Inoue: No, as we prioritized movement in the design process, the structure just happened to turn out similar. For example, many people think the idea for the folding fins on the back is the same as that in F91, but F91’s fins don’t open, and the nozzle itself doesn’t move.

However, in G-Saviour, we made sure it could swing up and down. You can manage left and right with body movement, but up and down isn’t that simple, so we ensured it could at least swing in those directions. The large thing attached to the waist wasn’t ordered based on the CG but simply because the waist is the most stable place to attach a nozzle. So, it became a tail nozzle. Rather than cutting and pasting from existing designs, saying, ‘That old Gundam was cool,’ we built it based on logic, such as, ‘I want it to move like this, so I need an engine in this position.’

―――Actually, I believe that having American staff unfamiliar with giant robots understand the concept of mobile suits must have been quite a challenge during the production.

Inoue: Yes, quite right. Because robots themselves are a big lie. People can empathize with something the size of an AT from Votoms, but a 16-meter, 60-foot giant with a person inside moving it? The Americans said, ‘Don’t lie about making it realistic!’ (laughs). So, we were like, ‘This is the biggest lie, so don’t lie about anything else.’ We need to make it seem like it’s not strange for the robot, the biggest lie, doesn’t look out of place. That’s why we had to match the perspective and eye level correctly when looking up at the machine, and we absolutely couldn’t have it flying in the opposite direction in space without firing its thrusters. We decided to add verniers in all directions, and we also ordered things like always showing recoil when firing a gun and making sure that anything cut by a beam saber would be seared, among other things.

―――I want to delve into the specifics regarding the CG visuals. The texture of the unit, as seen in the trailer, appears to differ from what we see in the final film. Can you shed some light on why this transformation occurred?

Inoue: Well, in the trailer, we initially decided to employ a honeycomb structure for the exterior of the unit. This resulted in a neat, hexagonal texture. But we ran into potential issues with scan lines and interferences, and the finer details didn’t come through unless we had a close-up. This led to what we have in the final film. What might appear to be intricate details are actually a result of our American staff suggesting that it would be too massive to create in a single mold. We proposed adding seams here and there. So, they devised a way to attach the exterior differently from something like Star Trek. Those seams, they don’t actually create a level difference. It’s just that the light reflection differs on the distorted parts hammered into place during assembly, which gives it a distinct appearance.

―――Why did the intricate design elements change between the trailer and the final product?

Inoue: The trailer was more of an experimental effort. We intentionally removed most of the iconic Gundam markers, apart from the face, and stuck with a stark white color. Though they might resist removing colors that have already been added, if we ask, ‘Can we add blue and red to this?’ it often goes over better. With 0083 and F91, for instance, we initially proposed colorless designs to Bandai. Due to various reasons, getting the green light on that was a struggle. This time, when we asked if we could color the chest with Gundam colors, they agreed, saying, ‘Ah, the Gundam looks cool. That works.’ Even though it was actually black (laughs). So, that’s how G-Saviour ended up with its dark hue.

―――Initially, you were going for something akin to a real-world space shuttle, correct?

Inoue: Exactly. What we had in mind was the texture that NASA uses in actual space exploration — black, white, silver, that sort of thing. We envisioned the G-Saviour to have just a single layer of coating on its surface. The parts that look silver are probably bare metal with just a thin layer of anti-rust paint or something similar. The Freedom, a GM-like machine used by the Gaia side, looks like an old bulldozer or garbage truck, painted over and over on chipped surfaces. It might not look like that in a close-up, though. Regarding Illusion, in terms of ‘This is what we originally wanted to do with G-Saviour,’ it’s all silver.

―――Lastly, do you have any advice for those planning to watch the DVD after reading this interview?

Inoue: When watching the DVD, I’d recommend an environment where bass can be emphasized as much as possible. You’ll notice the subtle sounds, like the rotation of the Settlement, the engine vibrations inside the ship, and so forth. The music also has a lot of bass, so a normal stereo should suffice. I’d be happy if you gave it a listen. Also, while we had to cut about 15 minutes from the first half for the TV broadcast, the DVD is the original uncut version. Certain things we couldn’t fully communicate due to time constraints on TV will come across clearly on the DVD. Unfortunately, the overall tone was a bit dark on TV, but it’s brighter on the DVD. You can see everything clearly and crisply. You can discern even the smallest details, so you might find it useful to pause occasionally as a reference when building models.