A Merciless Roundtable Discussion Ambushes the Relieved Creators Upon Completion of All 3 OAV Volumes!
“THERE’S MORE THAN ONE ANSWER TO GUNDAM WING!”

Producer: Hideyuki Tomioka
Scriptwriter: Katsuyuki Sumizawa
Director: Yasunao Aoki

It was the night of the final screening for the third OAV volume. The tension had visibly melted from the shoulders of Sunrise producer Tomioka, director Aoki, and scriptwriter Sumizawa. The trio exuded an unmistakable air of relief. Perfect! Let’s seize this moment to dig into the nitty-gritty of the production process! However! “Shouldn’t you experience the work for yourself instead of fishing for comments from the creators?” Fair point! But you know we can’t resist asking questions anyway!

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TV SERIES AND OVA

――Let’s start with how the OAV came to be after the TV series. Can you walk us through that process?

Tomioka: The production situation towards the end of the TV series was quite challenging, leaving us with a bit of a sour taste. At first, we felt a sense of accomplishment just for finishing it. But as time passed, this nagging feeling of unfinished business started to grow. Initially, I turned down the idea of an OAV. However, considering the expectations from those around us and our own sense of incompleteness, I decided to approach Director Aoki and Sumizawa to create it.

――Director, when the production was greenlit, what did you want to bring out or portray?

Aoki: Initially, I felt we had given our all in the TV series, and I thought its ending was sufficient. But when the OAV proposal came up, I found myself intrigued by the challenge. Given that the story was set a year later, we didn’t want to dismantle the established characters. So we largely maintained the TV series’ setup, aiming to preserve the characters’ essence while showcasing their growth.

――Let’s delve into the content. The Barton Foundation appears as a new element. Why choose an entity tied to Trowa’s past as the antagonist?

Sumizawa: That concept came about after the TV series ended. Someone told me there was a rumor that Trowa was Treize’s brother. I found that intriguing and decided to play with it. We created a backstory where Trowa was actually the brother of Leia Barton, Treize’s wife – making him Treize’s brother-in-law. But this isn’t the Trowa we’re familiar with. We had to add more twists to outdo the original rumor. That’s how the Barton Foundation came to be. To be clear, though, Trowa’s lack of a real name or past was established before the TV series began. Remember in episode one when he says, “I’ll go by the name Trowa Barton?” That’s the level of foresight and care the Gundam Wing staff put into even the smallest details. Though, I suppose other shows might do this too…

――Reading your novel, I was impressed by how you connected various dialogues and minor settings from the TV series.

Sumizawa: Well, the core concept was there from the beginning. We had most of the settings planned out, but if we made everything in the TV series completely transparent, we’d end up with a show that gives away all its answers upfront. It’s the audience’s interpretation of the characters’ words and actions that makes a series great. In that sense, everyone’s interpretations of the characters are valid. The novel isn’t meant to be the definitive answer. It’s just one possible interpretation. It shouldn’t be seen as the ultimate “Gundam Wing Guide” with all the answers. However, as creators, we didn’t want to be accused of not thinking things through. The novel serves as evidence that we did, indeed, put thought into it. It’s our way of showing that we’re not irresponsible creators who leave mysteries unsolved. We take our work seriously.

THOSE INTRIGUING WINGS: WING ZERO!

Tomioka: Ishino really brought his A-game in episode 3, didn’t he? He’s quite the intellectual, that one.

Sumizawa: Ah, yes. Thanks to Ishino, the character development for Wufei took an interesting turn. Before I knew it, my image of the real Wufei had evolved into this intellectual type who’d look good in glasses.

――The voice actor himself seemed to struggle with portraying the character, but after the TV series and video were finished, he mentioned feeling like he’d finally grasped who Wufei really was. He seemed quite satisfied.

Sumizawa: That’s wonderful to hear. We put the actors through quite a lot with character development, so it’s reassuring to hear such feedback.

――He certainly battled it out as Nataku. Oh, I have to ask this – why did you decide to redesign the Gundams?

Tomioka: Simply put, it was fan service for the video version.

――I’m really curious about the material of Wing’s feathers!

(Everyone laughs)

Sumizawa: It’s Gundanium alloy, of course. What’s the issue? (laughs)

――That flexibility! (laughs) Plus, they were falling off and flying around!

Sumizawa: That’s just for visual effect. If feathers fell off every time it flew, we’d be wasting Gundanium alloy!

(Everyone bursts into laughter)

Tomioka: The vibe is almost like Mothra vs. Godzilla, isn’t it? (laughs) We even had Otani, who worked on Gamera, do the music.

――There were quite a few eye-catching graphics in the Gundam action scenes.

Tomioka: Director Aoki really outdid himself there, truly. The third volume was especially intense. Aoki seems understated, but it turns out he has a flair for the dramatic. That really came through.

Sumizawa: I thought, “Ah, he likes flashy direction. This is quite theatrical.”

――Aoki, did you feel it was flashy while you were creating it?

Aoki: You know, your sense of what’s flashy becomes increasingly numb as you work on it.

Sumizawa: But that scene where Heavyarms does an aerial spin (in volume 3) was a real crowd-pleaser.

――That scene was incredible during the voice recording too. The moment it happened, the whole studio erupted in laughter. Who first decided to make Trowa spin in the TV series?

Sumizawa: It wasn’t in the storyboards originally.

Tomioka: Animation director Nishimura added the spin. He figured since Trowa’s a circus performer, a clown, he’d do something like that.

Sumizawa: Heavyarms tends to give off a somewhat sluggish image…

Aoki: Ikeda wanted to emphasize its heaviness, but from its very first appearance in episode one of the TV series, it somehow felt light… (laughs). We even joked it might do a backflip when it appears. So while Ikeda’s image was heavy, it is Trowa piloting after all.

Sumizawa: It’s agile, moving in ways that contrast with the mecha’s image.

Tomioka: And always running out of ammo.

Sumizawa: Trowa’s character is incredibly understated, isn’t he? But his actions are quite flashy. He does things that make you think, ‘Whoa, did he really just do that?’ I suppose that contrast is reflected in his Gundam as well.

BRAINSTORMING? THE NEW FIREFIGHTERS

――About Zechs, as a viewer, I thought, “There he is, as expected!”

Tomioka: To properly portray Noin, we had to bring in Zechs. To wrap up Noin’s story in the ‘where are they now’ segment, Zechs was essential.

――So, he made his grand entrance.

Sumizawa: Yes, he made his grand entrance as Preventer Wind. A firefighter named Wind, like, how are you gonna put out fires with wind? (laughs)

Tomioka: That might have gotten a chuckle. (laughs)

Sumizawa: I wrote that in all seriousness, you know.

(Everyone laughs)

Sumizawa: Wait, everyone thinks that was a joke?! (laughs)

――Um, why is Noin “Fire” if she’s a firefighter?

Sumizawa: Well… (laughs) The firefighter theme comes from Moto Hagio’s manga sequel to They Were Eleven! There’s a firefighter character and an arsonist character. One ends wars, the other starts them. That’s where I got the firefighter idea. But to put out fires, you’d use water, right? Wind fans flames, and fire is fire. So there’s not really a deep meaning… Now, what should Wufei be as a firefighter? Let’s decide right now! (laughs) Everyone, pitch in some good ideas!

(Everyone ponders. Someone suggests ‘fire extinguisher’)

Sumizawa: We’ve got fire and water, but how about ‘Tsuki’ for Wufei?

(Chatter erupts: “Light it?” “Put out the fire and light it?” “Firefighter’s stone?” “Flint?”)

――…Tsuki as in the moon?

Sumizawa: Firefighter Moon. Preventer Moon. If all of Heero’s group joined, with Sally and Lady Une, we’d have seven people. Then we could have Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Gold, Earth, Sun.

――Ah, I see!

Sumizawa: But then, Heero would probably be Fire. Duo might be Moon. Lady Une would be Gold. So Quatre would be Wood. Trowa is Earth, so Rock… Oh, but Rock would be Sandrock for Quatre… (laughs) This would make for a fun article, don’t you think? (laughs)

――Thank you very much! (laughs)

OVAs ARE MEANT TO BE WATCHED MULTIPLE TIMES

――What were the key points you wanted to convey in the OAV?

Sumizawa: Entertainment! There are mecha battles, but it’s not just focused on that. It’s a complete package when you see it all. We want to show everything. Whether viewers connect with the mecha battles, the war philosophy, or individual characters, that’s fine. We’re not showcasing just one aspect; we want people to see it all. Ideally, they’d watch the video frame by frame…

Tomioka: You don’t need to go that far! (laughs)

Sumizawa: Oh, right (laughs). But I think this work needs multiple viewings to truly appreciate it. It’s not something you can fully grasp in one quick watch.

Tomioka: Original videos that people pay for should be worth watching multiple times. If they only watch it once…

Sumizawa: These days, with rental videos, people tend to watch once and think they’ve got it all figured out.

Tomioka: That’s why we’ve put in a lot of effort, considering that aspect, to make something people will want to watch repeatedly.

Sumizawa: We really want people to watch our video productions multiple times. We’ve put that much effort into making them properly. It shouldn’t just end with, “Oh, the mecha battles were cool.” We want people to dig deeper and wonder what else is there in this story.

Tomioka: I guess that’s the difference between the TV series and the OAV.

――I’d like to ask about the OAV endings. The first volume had a black screen, but the second volume showed images and continued the story.

Tomioka: Some people asked if we ran out of time for the first volume. I had planned it from the start, but it received some criticism (laughs).

Aoki: All three volumes have different endings.

Sumizawa: It feels a bit weak to explain, “This is actually how it was meant to be.” But that’s the result of our efforts, our sense of artistry. It’s not a mistake. Ideally, people who understand the work without reading articles like this are the best audience. In fact, it’s wrong to seek comments from creators about their work. Whatever we tried to convey is already there on the screen. That said, while we’ve communicated everything we could, it’s most frustrating when people say they still don’t understand.

――As viewers, even if we think we understand, it’s hard to know if we’ve grasped the creators’ true intentions.

Sumizawa: Your interpretations are valid, but for example, if someone thinks Heero and Relena will get married, that’s not at all what the work is saying.

――I found Heero and Relena’s relationship the most interesting. In the end, while others return to their loved ones, only Heero leaves.

Aoki: Initially, we had an image of Heero as a bodyguard wearing sunglasses, but it didn’t feel right. You see the curtain move at the end, right? We wanted an image that showed him watching over her but gently distancing himself. That’s how we arrived at that final scene.

Tomioka: When I heard that explanation, I backed down.

Sumizawa: Even as the scriptwriter, I felt that the ending Aoki conceived is absolutely the perfect ending for Gundam Wing.

“UNABLE TO ESCAPE”

Tomioka: For me, it’s a work I’m deeply attached to. Among the projects I’ve done in recent years, Wing holds a special place. That’s why we made the original video series.

――Where does that attachment come from?

Tomioka: The struggle, perhaps? It’s hard to express… I put my all into this, truly. It’s a battle. Of the works I’ve produced, this feels like the one where I finally managed to express myself. I’ve been fighting myself seriously through this work, and these three OAVs were my attempt to bring that to a conclusion. It’s vague, but that’s the feeling for me.

Aoki: This work was a continuation of what Ikeda created in the TV series. There was considerable pressure, and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. The foundation was there, which maybe made the OAV possible, but that also added to the pressure. Working with an incredible person like him on the TV series was a great learning experience, which helped in completing the video series. I’m very grateful to all the staff – the animators, art team, cinematographers – everyone did an excellent job.

Sumizawa: With Director Aoki summing things up, I’ll add something different. Watching the first cut today, I wondered why the Gundam Wing production staff are so intensely dedicated to creating these visuals. It’s not that they slack off on other projects, but there’s this extraordinary seriousness, a willingness to disregard profitability. Why do this? In an era where you can create hit works with clever excuses for cutting corners, why continue to work so conscientiously at the risk of shooting ourselves in the foot? Then a hypothesis emerged: What if we’re being “threatened” by the Gundam Wing characters?

――Threatened?

Sumizawa: Well, “influenced” might be more accurate. These characters don’t work for good pay or honor. They fight purely, earnestly, and responsibly for peace until the very end. Seeing that makes you feel incredibly shabby if you work just for money or fame. They seem to say, “We’re going this far, and you’re satisfied with that?” It’s frustrating. For me, whether it’s the script or novelization, I always feel I could revise more. But as a professional, I have to meet deadlines. Struggling between these, I pour maximum effort into hoping to deliver something even better if given another chance. I think that’s reflected in Gundam Wing.

Tomioka: That might be the difference between professionals and amateurs.

Sumizawa: In a sense, as long as the characters Ikeda created are watching over us, he’s still participating in this work. Even Mariemaia was originally his idea…

Tomioka: Well, Ikeda has his unique sense of dandyism.

Sumizawa: We were constantly swept along by Heero and the others, despite creating them ourselves. But it seems to have had a positive effect. Inspired by their way of life, with Director Aoki’s wonderful direction and the elite staff under Tomioka, everyone poured their heart and soul into completing this video trilogy. That’s why!

――So that’s how you achieved this extraordinary quality in the work.

Source: Anime V Special Gakken Moon Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (pages 84-86)