A CHAT WITH HARUTOSHI FUKUI
The Story Behind the MG Full Armor Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka’s Hyper Beam Javelin

Dropping alongside our magazine’s release date, the MG Full Armor Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka is making waves. Besides the Type 94 Base Jabber, it’s packing a model-exclusive weapon – the Hyper Beam Javelin. But why is this thing included? We cornered the mastermind himself, Harutoshi Fukui, to get the scoop.

――So, this kit’s sporting a Hyper Beam Javelin – a weapon that’s nowhere to be found in the novel. It’s got quite the flashy design. Seems like it might be one of the star attractions this time around.

Well, Kishiyama from Bandai came to me with a pitch. He said, “We’re itching to roll out the Full Armor Unicorn Gundam, but we need that extra oomph.” I floated the idea of the Type 89 Base Jabber, but turns out they’d already thought of that. They were hungry for something with more kick. The thing is, this mobile suit is already pretty busy design-wise. Adding more to it could easily make it too cluttered. So I thought about what we hadn’t used from the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. There weren’t many options left – just the hammer and the beam javelin.

Now, sure, we could’ve gone down the “realism” rabbit hole, tacking on more launchers and whatnot. But remember, the whole Unicorn project is a love letter to the OG Gundam fans – the folks who lived through that first Gunpla boom. We needed something to tickle their nostalgia bones, you know? Later, we had this big sitdown with Kishiyama, the Monthly Gundam Ace editorial team, the works. But before I even stepped into that room, I’d already made up my mind: “It’s gotta be the javelin, no two ways about it.”

I mean, come on, a hammer? That’s a bit much, even for us (laughs). Can you imagine this thing swinging around a hammer? As for the name, well, if we’re going for broke, it’s gotta be “hyper,” right? “Hyper Beam Javelin” – that’s the ticket! I walked into that meeting ready to use this as a jumping-off point, but to my surprise, everyone was like, “Hey, that’s not half bad!” After that, I figured I ought to rustle up some visual inspiration. The first thing that popped into my mind was this manga by Tony Takezaki from a few years back. It had this toy Gundam standing at attention on top of a G-Fighter, clutching this ridiculous weapon that looked just like our Hyper Beam Javelin.

Back then, it was pretty crazy. I remember thinking, “What in the world is this?” and cracking up. But later, I heard through the grapevine that it actually sold really well. Apparently, it was a Christmas season smash hit. Even in my own circle, I had buddies going, “Oh yeah, I remember that! Always wanted one,” and guys a few years younger piping up with, “I had one of those!” It got me thinking, “Maybe this thing’s got some serious nostalgic pull.”

So I dug up a photo of the toy and took another look. That’s when it hit me – “That’s it! Let’s market this as the grown-up version of that fancy holiday gift set!” I even suggested we stick close to the original weapon design. I was a bit worried Hajime Katoki might give me an earful, but we rang him up right then and there, and he was surprisingly cool with it. When we commissioned the design, I only had two requests for Katoki: work some psycho-frame into the shaft, and add a grip on it just like the toy had. I could practically hear Katoki chuckling on the other end of the line as he said, “Got it.” A few days later, the design came back, it was a spitting image of what we’d talked about! (laughs)

――Was the psycho-frame part of your original request?

Well, the shape’s all well and good, but we needed a reason for why it looks like that, you know? The psycho-frame is this mythical metal that, when activated, defies the laws of physics and becomes incredibly hard. It’s basically our version of orichalcum. So I thought, if we embed this in the handle and you hit something with it, it’d be like the magical staff from Journey to the West (laughs). I figured it’d dent pretty much anything.

――I see (laughs). When we first saw the Hyper Beam Javelin at the editorial office, it got quite a few laughs. But it was a good kind of laugh, like we were in on some inside joke. I think that laughter came from a place of trust in Gundam UC, a belief that there’d be a solid, adult reasoning behind this over-the-top design.

You know, if you go back to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, it was clearly made for kids. The designs, everything. But there was always this thread of plausibility running through it, and the story itself was actually pretty deep. Either way, the merchandising was obviously aimed at children, which is why our generation – the Gunpla boom kids – got into it. Later Gundam series tried to appeal to teens too, but there’s always been that element designed to grab kids’ attention. Especially in the Universal Century stories. For us, Gundam includes that whole package, kid-friendly bits and all.

So with Gundam UC, even if there’s stuff that makes us adults go, “Come on, that’s a bit much,” we’re intentionally taking those elements and cranking up the resolution, so to speak. We’re making them more realistic while keeping that silhouette that makes you go, “Oh, I remember that from when I was a kid!” Katoki gets this too. Look at the Kshatriya – we’re not making a new Z’Gok, but we’re making something that screams Z’Gok when you see it.

The Hyper Beam Javelin follows the same logic. At the very least, we can say it’s not just a kid’s toy anymore. We’ve given it a grown-up rationale.

――If the Hyper Beam Javelin appeared in the novel, how would you use it?

Hmm… Well, this was originally meant to be part of Unicorn Gundam’s arsenal, so it would’ve been included in the set handed over to Neo Zeon. That old man (Cardeas Vist) made it and threw it in there.

――Something like that? (laughs)

Yeah, something like that (laughs). From Banagher’s perspective, the first reaction would probably be to question his sanity (laughs). But if we were to put it in the novel, we’d have to make it do something impressive, like slicing a battleship in half. Though, since the latter half of the story had a concept of not killing too many people, maybe it’d be used to gouge out the base of a main gun turret or something like that.

――People who buy the kit can let their imaginations run wild, huh?

I bet when Cardeas told the Anaheim Electronics folks to make this, they probably said, “Come on, that’s a bit much.” But Cardeas was anticipating some special performance when the psycho-frame activated (though he never saw it activated himself). Maybe he imagined it glowing green and mowing down all sorts of things. It was an experimental unit, after all. If it were used in actual combat and activated, the beam blade would be about as strong as a beam saber, so the most effective way to use it would probably be to throw it. Since it’d be harder than anything else, if you threw it while accelerating, it might pierce right through a battleship, coming out the other side. That’s how it might’ve been used.

――Finally, do you have a message for those who haven’t bought this kit yet?

This year’s been tough in many ways, so why not get this as a Christmas present for yourself? The phrase “luxury set for adults in the year-end sales” really fits. The satisfaction you get from opening the box to finishing building the MG Unicorn Gundam Ver.Ka is pretty high. I think many people remember the excitement of seeing those big toy store flyers in the newspaper around New Year’s when they were kids. It might be nice to recapture that feeling while going to buy this kit (of course, it’s not limited to the year-end, so I’d recommend it even after New Year’s).