EFFICIENTLY UPDATING AND UTILIZING OLD MODELS

――The Gundam SEED series always seems to reflect the current era. Did you consider modifying the original concept based on the current situation?

Fukuda: I thought, “It’s not a world where new models keep appearing like in the old days.” There are some new weapons to a certain extent, but I had the impression that “using old weapons as efficiently as possible is what war is like now.”

――Could it be due to the convenience of plastic models that the Destiny and Impulse are reappearing?

Fukuda: That’s right. However, after creating the worldview to a certain extent, the manufacturer’s side was supposed to go along with it, so the lineup of plastic models wasn’t there first. The numerous mobile suits that were created will inevitably be deployed across various battlefields. Especially in scenes that are not like wars between great powers, weapons that are only consumed will be used. I thought that mobile suits like the GINN and Dagger, which have no use now, would become the main ones there.

――Is Foundation’s use of ZAFT machines like drones a depiction of such an era?

Fukuda: That’s just for fire support, like just shooting guns or missiles. They don’t have very complex systems because they are not like so-called mobile dolls.

――Is Foundation a nation leaning toward the PLANTs (ZAFT)?

Fukuda: In the latter half of SEED DESTINY, there was concern over nations beginning to secede from the Eurasian Federation with the support of LOGOs were emerging. Foundation is one of the nations that became independent at that time with the assistance of the PLANTs. Originally, it was a nation of the Eurasian Federation, so it didn’t have such strong military power, but to organize it to that extent, it would need support from ZAFT and its own machines.

The Black Knight Squad is their own one-off model. Its concept is to receive fire support from ZAFT, and they themselves make use of the machine’s high defensive power to infiltrate deep into enemy territory and guide that firepower to strike. That’s why the Black Knight Squad itself doesn’t have much firepower.

IS IT REALLY BADASS FOR A NEW MODEL TO COME AND TROUNCE THE ENEMY?!

――I felt that the design of the Black Knight Squad Cal-re.A had some similarities to the Gundam series.

Fukuda: The Cal-re.A is simply a higher-grade model, and it doesn’t change in terms of ability. However, since it’s a two-seater, it can control far more firepower than a regular Black Knight Squad in terms of fire control. Well, in the first place, it’s close to being a symbol. Otherwise, they wouldn’t make such a shiny machine.

――Was introducing the new models, Rising Freedom and Immortal Justice, at the start of the story a surprising choice?

Fukuda: I’ve had doubts for a long time about whether it’s badass for a new model to come and trounce the enemy, and I don’t like it. COMPS is a new organization created jointly by various nations to “separate forces.” So, it’s natural that each nation jointly creates things, and the symbolic machines appear first. Conversely, COMPS doesn’t use old models. As mentioned in the film, they are experimentally used in the story; that’s exactly the case. I think all the technologies of the three main nations of COMPS are incorporated into these models.

――Kira was struggling with the adjustments.

Fukuda: It probably hasn’t been that long since the rollout. They are meant to be mass-produced or officially adopted models, and eventually, there will be a certain number of them, but at that point, there are only two.

RESETTING SEED ONCE

――It was quite shocking in the middle of the story when the new Rising Freedom was defeated and the Archangel sank.

Fukuda: When we started planning, before getting into the specifics of the story, we had decided to “sink the Archangel.” Because the Archangel is the symbol of the Gundam SEED series. It’s the home where all the characters lived, so as long as it exists, the story will continue to be created endlessly. So in order to reset it once, we decided that we had no choice but to sink it. From there, I think our thoughts shifted to how to sink it. Sinking it itself is relatively easy, right? You just have to launch a surprise attack before the defenses are in place. The Archangel was always in tatters one way or another, but the reason it never sank was because the Strike or Freedom were there to support it. So, if the armaments and the direct escort suits were completely removed, it would be vulnerable. The Archangel doesn’t have that many armament options.

――So the Millennium appeared to symbolize “newness”?

Fukuda: Yes, it’s a ship meant to embody the new generation. It was originally a successor to the Minerva class that was built by ZAFT, and eventually, it was handed over to COMPS. The number 02 written on the hull means it’s the second ship of COMPS. The first ship is the Archangel.

――Including the appearance of the Cavalier, equipment for information warfare that hasn’t been seen in previous “Gundam” series, the entire work seems to have consciously incorporated the essence of old robot and SF anime.

Fukuda: Those elements are there because I wanted to include them. The Cavalier is one of them. At first, I was thinking of the Acguy instead of the Z’Gok, but I changed it because the Acguy appeared in Gundam Build Fighters.

Originally, the Cavalier was the main equipment of the Justice, but in the film, the Z’Gok is equipped with it, so its role has changed. In Metal Armor Dragonar, where the original Cavalier appears, electronic warfare was emphasized, so such a mecha appeared, but in Gundam series, there are many battles where electronic weapons cannot be used relatively, yet there is no corresponding mecha. The equipment that is added later is for increasing firepower and defense, and at most, boosters, with no equipment for information warfare. So I thought, let’s bring it from Dragonar. Fortunately, the Cavalier is hardly used even in that show. My image is the Cavalier plus the Millennium Falcon. It has enough energy for long-term independent action, and there’s an area where personnel can live inside. In other words, it’s like Air Force One. It can take full command of the US military there; all information is gathered and centralized, and there are hotlines to various countries. It’s that kind of machine or unit.

――It’s quite different in nature from the mobile suits we’ve seen so far.

Fukuda: While it’s part of Terminal and shares information, that unit is Orb’s top secret. It’s more for Cagalli’s personal squad than the regular Orb military. There’s an identical setup in the Orb government’s underground, fully linked. All the information obtained by the Cavalier is directly conveyed to the Orb government. It can detect information early and take offensive action, so in that sense, it’s a frightening weapon.

――It’s interesting that the design shows only the horn of the Justice on the head of the Z’Gok.

Fukuda: The Z’Gok was quite a challenge in many ways. When transitioning to CG, creating the model was particularly difficult. Getting the proportions and details right to look good was tough. The mechanical animation director, Satoshi Shigeta, also had a hard time approving it, saying it couldn’t perform the actions needed.

――This is a minor detail, but what armament was the Akatsuki equipped with?

Fukuda: That was originally developed alongside the Destiny for base attacks, the Zeus Silhouette. It’s meant to obliterate enemies who’ve taken refuge, say, 50 meters underground in the Orb government’s command center. It’s a powerful bunker buster. It wasn’t used in the end in SEED DESTINY, but we’ve pulled it out again and used it. Mu’s line “It’s your equipment” means it’s for the Destiny.

It’s a linear cannon, and originally it uses a considerable amount of power, so the setting is that only nuclear-powered units can use it. The Akatsuki also had to pause after firing one shot. A nuclear-powered suit can fire multiple shots, but the setting is that the barrel burns after one shot.

――The Buster and Duel also seem to have been upgraded to a frontline performance by being converted to nuclear power, but in terms of the worldview, are nuclear-powered machines quite high-performance just by being nuclear-powered?

Fukuda: Nuclear power is just one option. It doesn’t mean they’re invincible. The Freedom gets into a pinch halfway through, but that’s not because the energy is dropping but because the phase shift is about to exceed its impact resistance limit, and the reactor temperature is rising too high and needs to be cooled. In other words, it’s getting overheated. That’s why we introduced the Proud Defender to cool it down.

LACUS STANDS ON THE BATTLEFIELD WITH A MYRIAD OF EMOTIONS

――Why was it necessary to send Lacus to the battlefield?

Fukuda: It’s just as Agnes said, “Isn’t it strange for Lacus to just hand over weapons from behind and say she loves Kira?” When Kira tried to take out the Freedom and ride it again in SEED DESTINY, Lacus was quite reluctant. That’s the real feeling. “You wouldn’t tell the man you love to take a dangerous weapon and go fight,” that’s been bothering me for a long time, and Morosawa has been saying the same thing all along. This time, it’s about how to send her out and how to send her out effectively for that purpose. But it’s better for her to rush in on something rather than riding the Freedom from the beginning.

――Lacus’s suit became a topic of discussion in many ways.

Fukuda: That was Hisashi Hirai’s idea. Hirai always submits several rough sketch patterns, but at that time, there was only one. Everyone was surprised for a moment when they saw it (laughs). But I thought, “This will be popular,” and gave it the green light. Later, I asked Hirai various things, and when I asked if that was a military uniform, he said “no,” so it must be for civilian use. So, if Hirai was going to go that way, we also modified the context to match the suit. It would’ve been odd to go with a normal presentation for that suit.

――Is that why the Proud Defender has a bike-like cockpit?

Fukuda: Well, yes. That wasn’t originally made for a person to ride, so of course, it doesn’t have a cockpit. We just hastily added a manual control system there, initially imagining a cramped space where the pilot would lie prone. But then I remembered Lacus was riding a bike at the beginning, so I thought, let’s make it a bike type. It felt like the pieces just kept escalating from there.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF FILMMAKING IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM 18 YEARS AGO

――Why have you opted for a 3D and 2D animation hybrid this time when the SEED series is a robot anime known for its flamboyant animation style?

Fukuda: The majority is in 3D, isn’t it? I’d say 80-90% is CG. Currently, it’s becoming difficult to gather resources for traditional hand-drawn animation. While I think it’s not quite at the level of the best hand-drawn animation yet, 3DCG can guarantee a certain level of quality.

――Especially in the second half, with the fast movements, I couldn’t tell what was 3D anymore.

Fukuda: You can tell if you look closely. The individuality of the hand-drawn animation really stands out. Personally, I don’t really like that way of expressing individuality. I was trying not to show off too obviously, but… Hand-drawn animation can easily surpass that delicate balance, but CG offers consistent stability.

――So, was there a notion that mass-produced units were in CG and character-centric mechs were hand-drawn?

Fukuda: That was my initial thought, too, but it turned out quite differently. I realized that “even CG is made by people.” The issue is with the creators, not the medium itself. It’s impossible to say, “make it at Shigeta’s drawing level with CG” because that’s a matter of sensitivity, but they are starting to wake up to the idea of creating pictures, not just moving models, so poor hand-drawn animation can’t keep up.

WHO IS BEING A “HIT” IMPORTANT?

――The film became a huge hit, so what do you think about that?

Fukuda: Not much has changed, really. As I’ve been saying from the beginning, I don’t care about sales in the first place. There’s no point in comparing it to the box office revenue of other movies, and when people say, “it sold well,” I wonder if that’s a big deal. However, it’s important for the people involved that it sells to some extent and that creators can proudly say, “I worked on that piece!” So, in that sense, I’m pleased.

Of course, when delivering it to the fans who have been waiting for 18 years, I tried to make it in various ways so that everyone would be happy, so when I hear stories like “they laughed” or “they cried,” I feel genuinely content that we made it.