WITNESS THE “WHITE DEVIL” ON THE BATTLEFIELD, AS ENVISIONED BY A GERMAN DIRECTOR RAISED ON GUNPLA

From left to right: Kenichi Iyadomi, Erasmus Brosdau, and Hiroaki Yura.

The latest entry in the Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, is now streaming exclusively worldwide on Netflix. Set against the backdrop of the European theater during the One Year War, this militaristic work is portrayed through the eyes of Solari, captain of the Principality of Zeon’s Red Wolf Squad, as they engage the Earth Federation Forces on the front lines.

For this project, Erasmus Brosdau from Germany was brought on as director, marking the first time a non-Japanese director has helmed a Gundam production. The team also includes American-based scriptwriter Gavin Hignight and character designer Manuel Augusto Dischinger Moura. Japanese studio SAFEHOUSE is handling the 3DCG, making this a truly international collaboration. The three-and-a-half-year production period wasn’t without its challenges due to the multinational nature of the project.

We spoke with Director Brosdau, Animation Producer/Sound Director Hiroaki Yura, and Producer Kenichi Iyadomi about their experiences.

Iyadomi: From the beginning, we planned for this to be a full CG production. That’s when Netflix producer Sakurai introduced us to Director Brosdau, saying he was “the perfect person for the job.” During production, we meticulously reviewed how previous Gundam works had been localized in English, right down to specific expressions. Consistency is key, even in terminology.

Yura: The production staff poured their hearts into every aspect. Though, in the rush to meet deadlines, we did have a slip-up where we called Char’s custom Zaku a ‘Zaku custom Char.’ That’s one we won’t forget! (laughs)

Iyadomi: The schedule, definitely the schedule. Things just didn’t progress as smoothly as we’d hoped. (laughs)

Brosdau: Japanese, German, English, French… With the production staff’s primary languages all over the place, so accurately conveying each other’s intentions was a real challenge. Even the slightest nuance could lead to completely different interpretations.

What did Director Brosdau think of Gundam, a Japanese anime? Your encounter with Gundam reportedly occurred when you were in elementary school.

Brosdau: I came across a model kit of Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993-1994) in a German toy shop. I didn’t know anything about Gundam at the time, but I became a huge fan from that moment on. That’s why the Victory Gundam is my favorite mobile suit. If I had to choose another, I’d say I also love the Sazabi. While I enjoy all the series, my absolute favorite is Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (1989). It beautifully portrays the sheer scale of mobile suits and the personal perspective of war, which we’ve also tried to capture in Requiem for Vengeance.

Requiem for Vengeance employs full CG animation throughout. Using Unreal Engine 5, typically used in game development, how did you aim to construct a new Gundam world?

Brosdau: With CG animation, creating the initial modeling data is far more time-consuming than hand-drawn animation. However, one advantage of CG is that it’s easier to adjust camera angles and other elements in response to script changes or directorial choices.

In this work, not only the mobile suits and military hardware but also the characters are entirely CG-rendered.

Brosdau: While there have been Gundam works with CG characters like MS IGLOO, I was conscious about not making things too photorealistic this time. Of course, with today’s CG technology, it’s possible to render humans as if they were live-action. But when you animate overly realistic CG humans, it often doesn’t translate well on screen. We really had to fine-tune that balance. For the mechs like mobile suits and tanks, I wanted to achieve a sense of realism. This wasn’t just about intricate details or realistic movements, but more about conveying the scale, especially in contrast with the soldiers on the battlefield.

Iyadomi: With CG, there’s virtually no limit. Given enough time, you can add infinite details. But the more detail you add, the heavier the data becomes when you try to animate it. To ensure smooth animation, we actually had to dial back some of the details in certain areas.

The mobile suits, breathed new life into by CG technology, are one of the work’s main attractions.

Brosdau: Being set during the ground battles of the One Year War limited the mobile suits we could feature. We worked closely with Bandai Namco Filmworks on this aspect.

The newly designed Zaku II and Gundam EX also serve as a nod to Gundam fans.

Brosdau: For mobile suits like the Zaku, Gundam, and GM, we tweaked the designs without drastically changing them. We approached it like fans modifying their Gunpla, considering what battlefield modifications might have been plausible. I’d be thrilled if fans watching this are inspired to create their own versions of the Zaku or Gundam.

Requiem for Vengeance is being simultaneously streamed in over 190 countries and regions worldwide.

Yura: Creating something for global distribution presented its own challenges. Interestingly, the most popular Gundam series in the West has been Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. This story is set in the Universal Century timeline of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, specifically in 0079. Our biggest concern was how to approach the military aspects. The overseas popularity of Wing was more character-driven, focusing on the pilots as heroes rather than the war machines. Bridging that gap in preferences was tricky. Also, many countries have a larger population of active and retired military personnel compared to Japan, including those with combat experience. This made us want to portray the military elements as realistically as possible.

Regarding realism on the battlefield, Director Brosdau also says he was ‘strongly conscious’ of it.

Brosdau: I wanted the viewers to feel as if they were right there on the battlefield alongside the protagonists.

Iyadomi: This is, frankly, a terrifying Gundam. It portrays weapons and war as truly frightening from a soldier’s perspective. A key element is the human drama of how Zeon soldiers face off against the Gundam, their formidable enemy.

Yura: We really strived to explore what it means to depict war realistically. The series vividly captures the feelings of soldiers fighting in the shadow of mobile suits, weaving this into a compelling human drama. You can feel the terror of trying to survive while being pursued by a Gundam.

Brosdau: Gundam is often called the White Devil, and I believe this work really showcases that demonic strength of the Gundam.