FIVE GUNDAMS FOR FIVE PILOT: THIS IS HOW THEY WERE BORN
Interview with Mechanical Designer Hajime Katoki

The five new Gundams that appeared in the OAV took on forms that were more befitting of Wing. They were reborn to more deeply reflect the nature of the five pilots who operate them. What was needed was the designer’s inspiration. And what stimulated that inspiration were the voices of the fans and the images of the five protagonists. Now, a new wind is blowing through the world of Gundam!

――I heard that for Endless Waltz, you approached the director about changing the Gundam designs. Is that correct?

Katoki: Well, when I was asked to handle the mecha design and draw new Gundams, it was a given that the designs would change to some degree. My thought was, if they’re going to change, it should be clear to the fans when they see it – “Oh, the design has changed.” If the OAV is meant to be a curtain call for the TV series, then some fan service entertainment, in a positive sense, is essential. Also, while this is a continuation of the TV story, the Gundams appear with different designs without any explicit modifications in the plot. This suggests there’s a slight parallel world element to the narrative. If that’s the case, we shouldn’t get too caught up in the details with the mecha and should focus on enhancing the service to the fans. For me, I wanted to express the distinct personalities of the five pilots, which became clear over the course of the year-long series, as pronounced characteristics in the Gundams. I conveyed this to Director Aoki, and we discussed it while I sketched out ideas on the spot. I really wanted to emphasize the iconic elements – for Wing, it’s the wings; for Duo, it’s the God of Death; for Wufei, it’s the dragon. I wanted to make these aspects more prominent.

――The director mentioned that your initial concept was a bit too flashy (laughs).

Katoki: Oh, did he say that? (laughs) But you know, the final designs aren’t that different from what I initially proposed. There were a few areas where I was reined in a bit (laughs), but overall, they’re quite similar.

――Could you give us more specific details? Let’s start with Wing Gundam.

Katoki: For Wing, it’s all about the wings, isn’t it? Two wings didn’t provide enough density when spread out, so I went with two pairs, making it four wings. I wasn’t oblivious to the burden this would place on the animators, but to express the wings enveloping the body, we needed to give them more surface area. Also, the Wing Zero from the TV series had four wings, so in a sense, it always had four wings even before the OVA. But in the TV series, despite having “Wing” in its name, it didn’t really have a wing-like silhouette, so quite a few people didn’t recognize them as wings. I heard this from several women before starting work on Endless Waltz. When I sought broader opinions, I found that the wings themselves were well-received. Conversely, while Zero’s wings weren’t bad, they lacked something… Some even said they looked “bug-like.”

――For the Wing Zero, the wings moved gracefully and fluidly. Was this something you specified in your initial design?

Katoki: Yes, it was. I proposed from the start that instead of adhering strictly to mechanical movements, the wings should move more freely and symbolically, like scattering feathers as it flies. It’s about embracing the fantastical in a positive way. The beautiful imagery in the OAV is, of course, thanks to the tremendous efforts of the mechanical animation director. But with these wings, I think we’ve finally done justice to the name Wing.

――Apart from the wings, were there any other significant changes?

Katoki: There’s one thing common to all of them – we increased their proportions. The Gundams in the TV series had smaller proportions, meaning larger heads. On a TV frame, if you make the head too small, when you show the full body, you can’t properly depict the face – it becomes squashed and indistinguishable. In a film, of course, the screen is larger, and we can add more detail, so even in full-body shots, we can clearly show the face. For OAVs, the level of detail in the animation is closer to that of a film, so we should be able to use more long shots than in TV. In those cases, having longer limbs makes for a more striking visual.

――I see. By the way, Deathscythe also had more wing-like appendages.

Katoki: For the TV version of Deathscythe Hell, there were design constraints related to making it easily translatable into toys, due to sponsor considerations. That naturally led to that particular wing shape. So even though we wanted it to look like the God of Death, we couldn’t quite achieve that. This time, I wanted to make it look more sinister. Duo is this cheerful guy, but he’s putting on a front to mask his inner turmoil, which is a result of his past experiences. For the robot of someone who can kill with a smile, I felt we needed to express both Duo’s outward cheerfulness and his hidden malevolence.

――In the TV version, when Deathscythe Hell’s wings were folded, it looked almost like it was wearing a poncho…

Katoki: Exactly! From what I’ve heard, many women said the same thing (laughs). Personally, I like things that look toy-like, for better or worse. Thinking about making it into a toy, I thought, “Well, this is how it has to be,” so I liked Deathscythe Hell’s wings. But women who got into Gundam through Wing don’t know about the unspoken rules of Gunpla, so they’re unforgiving (laughs). They’d say things like, “I hate how round it is,” and yes, some did mention the poncho look. So for the new Deathscythe, I gave it bat-like wings to evoke the image of the Grim Reaper’s cloak. The pointed feet? Well, I just thought bad guys often have pointy feet (laughs). As for the scythe weapon, the Hell version in the TV series had twin beams, but I thought a single, larger beam would be better.

――Um, in the TV series, they used beam weapons underwater. Is that actually possible…?

Katoki: Ah, let’s not get into that – it’s a long story! This is where women’s critiques can be quite harsh (laughs) (The interviewer is a woman). For instance, with Heavyarms, some said the red color was too noticeable and not good (laughs). From our perspective, in terms of model kit variations, you need at least one red unit. But women don’t care about that, so they’d say, “Isn’t it dangerous for a walking ammunition depot to be so noticeable in red?” Well, they have a point (laughs). As a result, we went with a more subdued color this time. Heavyarms was actually my favorite from the TV series. Some people thought the orange was cute, but among women, Heavyarms was definitely the least popular…

――For the OAV Heavyarms, was the color change the biggest difference?

Katoki: Yes, that’s right. Its heavy artillery specification hasn’t changed, and overall, its weapons have been powered up. Among the Gundams, it’s the only one using physical ammunition while others are slashing and cutting. I thought we should emphasize that characteristic.

――Sandrock seemed to have the least noticeable changes, but the cloak really stood out.

Katoki: Since Quatre is of Arab descent, I wanted him to have a cloak (laughs). We set it up as a material that can shield against heat during atmospheric entry. Like Deathscythe’s cloak, we established it as having defensive purposes. Also, in the TV version, Sandrock was known for slicing enemies in half with its shotel, so I proposed making the shotels enormously huge.

――Nataku was a central mecha alongside Wing this time. What were the changes?

Katoki: We changed the mechanism for the extending arms from the TV version, though women probably aren’t too interested in that (laughs). In the TV version, they were folded at the shoulders, but I wanted to give the impression that they could extend indefinitely, so we completely revamped it. Also, compared to Shenlong and Altron, the dragon head of the Dragon Fang is significantly larger.

――What about the Tallgeese?

Katoki: The design hasn’t changed much. However, we made the shoulder armor a bit larger, which might make the head appear smaller. The biggest change would be darkening the face (laughs). The face and weapons are more extravagant now! Oh, and I really wanted to add the whip-like weapon – the heat rod – that Zechs used with the Epyon in the TV series. I initially added two, but was told off, so I reduced it to one (laughs). Zechs used this weapon quite a bit when he was showing off with the Epyon, so I thought he’d be familiar with it and add it to Tallgeese. Also, due to script developments, the director requested “a weapon for Tallgeese that could destroy an asteroid,” so we created the Mega Cannon. It’s set up as an evolved version of what TV’s Vayeate had.

――A new mobile suit, the Serpent, was introduced. Did the director have any specific requests for this?

Katoki: Yes, there was a rather abstract request for “a heavyweight mobile suit that’s pointy” (laughs). I said, “I don’t get it, Director Aoki!” but started sketching right there, asking, “How fat? How pointy? Is this pointy enough?” (laughs). Usually, “heavyweight” and “pointy” don’t go together, but we ended up with a head that’s a bit like a pointed hat. To be honest, I’m still not sure if I fully met Director Aoki’s requirements.

――Now that all OAV episodes have been released, how do you feel about being involved with Wing?

Katoki: Actually, I couldn’t handle all the mecha designs this time. The OAV was decided suddenly, and I initially declined due to scheduling conflicts. But they insisted, so I accepted, which ended up putting a lot of burden on the other mecha designer, Ishigaki, and the mechanical animation director. I feel very apologetic about that. Also, I usually try to work with both the Gundam otaku and the casual viewers who watch without being conscious of the mecha. But this time, I was conscious of a third group – ‘girls’ – who don’t belong to either category. In that sense, it was very interesting. It felt like I was doing a job I’d never done before. As I mentioned before, girls don’t hesitate to point out things that boys might overlook. On the other hand, they might completely miss other aspects (laughs). Their perspective was refreshing, challenging the male-dominated norms I was used to. I feel like it’s opened up some fresh air into the somewhat stagnant world of “Gundam design.”

Source: Anime V Special Gakken Moon Gundam Wing Endless Waltz (pages 70-71)