REWRITING TO AVOID INFLUENCE FROM CURRENT TRENDS

―― It’s been about 20 years since the last work. Could you share your feelings now that the movie has finally debuted?

The movie project was announced right after SEED DESTINY wrapped up, but we had already started working on it at that point. So it was more of a ‘finally…‘ moment for me. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after carrying it for so long. At the same time, I love the SEED series, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing the visuals myself.

―― We also spoke with Kimitoshi Yamane, who worked on the mechanical design with you, and he mentioned that the main designs were completed around 2006.

Yes, about half of the designs were completed by then. When the movie project was restarted, the main task was to rewrite what had been pending. Only about 20% of the designs were newly created.

―― How did you go about the rewriting process?

It was just a matter of polishing up some pending elements, building on the experience we gained during the period when the movie project was on hold. After 10-plus years of sitting on the original designs, all sorts of new information and stray thoughts creep in that make you wonder, “Maybe we should update this to be more modern?” But I tried not to do that too much. Another part involved incorporating rough ideas that Director Fukuda had been mulling over during this period. So, overall, I don’t think the final product strays too far from the original vision.

―― What do you consider to be “modern” in terms of design?

It’s about the panel lines. The trend nowadays is to include numerous panel lines, breaking the design into multiple layers or blocks. This technique would have been unthinkable in the era of hand-drawn designs (laughs). But with 3D CG, it’s possible, and for model kits, such complexity enhances the three-dimensional appearance.

―― With the advancement in technology since the TV series aired, you could have opted for a more modern approach, but you chose not to?

Not so much a deliberate choice as much as my inability to impose additional burdens on animators. Too many lines would become a huge pain for those who have to draw them over and over again. So, in the past, we reduced the lines as much as possible, and it feels like that era lasted quite some time. The designs for the SEED series were made with the idea of “this is the limit if we were to hand-draw them.” Any more, and we’d have to rely solely on 3D CG. (*Note: The mecha in FREEDOM were created using a hybrid of hand drawing and CG.)

THE SOURCE OF DESIGN LIES IN A LOVE FOR 3D

―― Having worked with Director Fukuda for a long time, what aspects of his style do you recognize in your work?

I’ve worked with Fukuda on about seven Brave series installations, and having watched all the works I’ve been involved in, I’m quite familiar with his direction. He loves cool things. For instance, the wings on the Freedom Gundam were his request. Indeed, they are cool, but they were a challenge to draw (laughs).

―― Where do you draw your inspiration from when designing? Is there anything you particularly value?

It’s about observing various things and accumulating them in my mind. When I joined Tatsunoko Production in 1972 and worked on the mechanical design for Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, my mind was a blank slate. Without conscious effort, nothing sticks, so it’s crucial to keep observing and storing away different things. This long-term effort has paid off, allowing me to quickly draw from my mental library during meetings.

―― Your designs feel like they’re meant to be posed and moved around, stable as toys but dynamic in action. Is 3D a conscious part of your design process?

I’ve always loved three-dimensional objects. I’m not good at flat or ordinary drawings; my designs are inherently three-dimensional. Having a 3D mindset has been incredibly beneficial, especially for merchandise. Sunrise, in particular, emphasizes merchandising, and since toys were the main focus, they always required designs that could stand firmly and appeal to children with their silhouettes. Back then, as a smaller company, the planning director and I would present to sponsors ourselves, needing to innovate without prior examples.

I made mockups and tested transformation gimmicks and everything myself.

―― Finally, could you share your reflections on working on the SEED series?

I’ve always tried to avoid grotesque designs, striving for something enjoyable for children. Making robots look cool is something Fukuda excels at, so I’m just translating those cool elements into lines, but it was a lot of fun.