CROSSTALK II
Kazuya Tsurumaki x Yoji Enokido x Hideaki Anno

A ONE YEAR WAR IN WHICH ZEON PREVAILS
AND THE POSTWAR WORLD THAT FOLLOWS

“What if Char Aznable had stolen the Gundam?
How would it have changed the course of history?”

That was the core premise that gave rise to Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, a hypothetical war chronicle that imagines an alternate path for Mobile Suit Gundam. The new project, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX –Beginning–, is split into two distinct parts. The portion set during the One Year War is scripted by Hideaki Anno, while the segment taking place in U.C.0085, five years after the war, was written by Yoji Enokido. What exactly did they set out to achieve with this ambitious reimagining?

“Whenever I write dialogue, I try to channel Tomino, as though he’s possessing me.” (Anno)

――Enokido, how were you first invited to join this project?

Enokido: I believe Tsurumaki got in touch with me first. My initial assumption was that if he were ever to do a Gundam project, it would likely focus on the One Year War. But I was genuinely surprised to learn that this story would be set in a world where the Principality of Zeon emerges victorious. Of course, he views it not as a mere parallel universe tale but as an alternate-history war chronicle. I thought that was a fascinating angle, an “if” scenario within the framework of Mobile Suit Gundam. At the same time, from a scriptwriting standpoint, I had a hunch it would be quite challenging.

Tsurumaki: In the very early stages, the plan was to show Zeon capturing the original Gundam, reverse-engineering its design, and constructing six highly precise copies of it. There was also going to be talk of a mysterious “seventh” Gundam, a premise you might think you’ve heard somewhere before (laughs). However, including main-cast characters like Char or Kycilia front and center started to feel a bit weighty for me personally. I was hesitant to depict them in a direct way, so I decided they would appear more like historic figures, not directly involved in the drama. The main story would revolve around original characters unique to this new project.

Enokido: Right. The first proposal I saw was from that period, where six Gundams plus an unknown new machine would appear. The characters Machu and Nyaan were already conceived at that stage, almost like a dynamic duo reminiscent of Gunbuster 2’s Nono and Lal’C.

――Despite that initial plan, did you still feel compelled to depict the One Year War, and Char, clearly in the final work, Anno?

Anno: Absolutely. I didn’t feel we needed to tiptoe around Tomino, the original creator and director of the first Mobile Suit Gundam (laughs). The core idea I wanted to explore was “Char fighting in a red Gundam,” and that became the impetus for me writing the entire One Year War portion. Then I was asked, “Could you also cover the fall of Solomon?” So I added that sequence as well.

Tsurumaki: At first, Anno was only going to provide an outline, but then he suddenly handed in something close to a full script (laughs). And it was lengthy enough to stand as its own single film.

Anno: Right, because in my outline I basically took the entire One Year War and rebuilt it from scratch.

Enokido: So you were almost ready to make just that part into a complete film?

Anno: More or less. That was the chunk I was truly interested in creating. Once I expanded the story from outline to screenplay, it came out to around forty minutes’ worth of material. At that point, I figured I’d let Tsurumaki’s sense of balance handle the rest (laughs).

“Kycilia’s lines are written in a rather period-drama style.” (Enokido)

――Anno, I hear the Gundam-vs.-Gundam battles in the One Year War section were something you particularly wanted to do.

Anno: Yes. In the first draft, Char’s initial fight in the Gundam was against a Guntank, but that didn’t feel climactic enough, so I changed it to a battle against a Guncannon. Later on, once Char heads into space, I included another confrontation with a second Gundam. After all, it wouldn’t be Gundam without a direct Gundam-on-Gundam clash.

――Was there a particular character moment or interaction you absolutely wanted to include?

Anno: The conversation between Char and Challia Bull, I’d say. I wanted a scene where they just sit down over wine and talk, yet somehow both come across as compelling just through their dialogue. While writing those lines, I tried my best to channel Tomino’s spirit, like he was guiding my hand. “How would Tomino phrase this?” That became a personal litmus test for me. I think I got it at least somewhat close in the end.

Tsurumaki: That scene is fantastic. Writing dialogue in the style of the original Mobile Suit Gundam can be really tricky. If you exaggerate it, it starts to sound like a caricature of “Tomino dialogue,” which I wanted to avoid. But Anno’s script nailed that classic Gundam-esque phrasing.

Enokido: Especially for Kycilia Zabi. The moment those lines were spoken, it was like, “Oh, that’s Kycilia!” And yes, she definitely has an archaic, period-drama ring to her speech. It made me realize how deeply Anno has absorbed not just Tomino’s sensibilities but also the rhythms of historical dramas and other Japanese storytelling forms, that’s likely why he’s able to produce lines that feel so authentic.

Anno: Right. Tomino’s dialogue in that area does strike me as somewhat inspired by period dramas. However, for this work, it’s less about historical authenticity and more about capturing that intangible aura in Tomino’s writing, the overall feeling his lines exude.

――In writing the script, did you draw on Tomino’s novels for Mobile Suit Gundam as well?

Anno: Not really. I read them back when they first came out, but after that, I mostly just kept rewatching the filmed material.

Enokido: I see. Tomino directed both the anime and wrote the novels, yet this project made me think a lot about that period-drama style of speaking. For instance, in modern historical dramas set in the Kamakura or Sengoku periods, we know people in those eras never really talked that way. It’s a stylized take, an evocative language we use because it helps the audience imagine what “feels” right for that time. Kycilia’s lines got me thinking along those lines as well.

“I’m glad we finally showed a proper use of the assault carrier.” (Anno)

――Did you make specific requests regarding mechanical design?

Anno: Mostly for the ships. I gave some input on the Gundam’s color scheme, but the big focus was the fleets, Magellan and Salamis for the Earth Federation, and Gwazine for Zeon. I even drew rough sketches myself. I also chimed in on how the Musai or Pegasus might be redesigned. I suggested that, for the operation at Solomon, a true assault carrier would charge right in and land. We got to depict that in a way that felt authentic.

――The storyboards for the One Year War portion were created jointly by you and Mahiro Maeda, correct?

Anno: Yes. Generally, I gave directions on framing and camera angles, and Maeda refined the drawings. Then in the end, Tsurumaki redrew quite a lot (laughs).

Tsurumaki: Since we’re technically producing this in a TV format, we’d never fit everything into the runtime if I didn’t reorganize certain parts. I had to revise them, regretfully. One thing that caught my eye was how Char’s cockpit angles are often tilted. In the original series, that might be a stylistic choice, or could have been a workaround for certain technical limitations. We’re not entirely sure.

Anno: Right. The screen aspect ratio is different now. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of canted angles; I prefer to keep the camera level.

Tsurumaki: It’s possible the original team used those tilted angles not just for dramatic impact but also because it was tricky to animate subtle shifts in a pilot’s line of sight back then. Angling the shot might have been the easiest way to clarify direction. These days, we can depict those nuances more precisely, so I wondered whether we should “update” that technique or preserve it for stylistic reasons. It was a tricky call.

――So you’re saying if it was originally a technical constraint, there’s no longer a need for so many tilted angles.

Tsurumaki: Exactly. It comes down to realism versus that special flair. We want to figure out the reason behind each visual choice, what it’s meant to convey, before deciding whether to keep it.

“We absolutely did not want to ignore the theme of the Newtype.” (Enokido)

――The U.C.0085 arc is penned by you, Enokido.

Enokido: Way back when Tsurumaki and I were making FLCL (2000), we used to talk about Gundam a lot. Even then, we joked that if we were to do a remake, it’d be cool to center it around Challia Bull.

――So that idea goes back quite a while.

Enokido: Challia only appears once in the original anime series, but in Tomino’s novels, he’s portrayed as a key Newtype who partners with Char. So giving him a prominent role in this new project felt very natural to me, he could serve as the link between the One Year War and the world of U.C.0085.

――So he bridges those two time periods.

Enokido: Right. Another aspect is that we definitely didn’t want to leave out the theme of the Newtype. With that in mind, Challia makes a perfect lead character.

Anno: I thought foregrounding Challia Bull was a fantastic choice.

Enokido: Once we decided Challia would appear, I also knew I wanted to include the Braw Bro and its psycommu variations. I even used the name Kikeroga, which came from some of Tomino’s early notes for a mobile suit.

Anno: By having Char take control of the Gundam, we’re changing the course of history. It felt right to alter some nomenclature too, only selectively, so you still sense something has shifted. For instance, the White Base is called Pegasus here, and once it’s seized by Zeon, they rename it Sodon. I liked adding that layer of alternate history.

Tsurumaki: In U.C.0085, Challia arrives at Side 6 aboard the Sodon. In the very first draft of the script, that ship was originally going to be Char’s repurposed Musai, the Falmel. Then Anno suggested, “Why not have Zeon capture the White Base (which we’re calling Pegasus) at Side 7 along with the Gundam?”

Enokido: And it’s simply more fun to show the crew walking around the Sodon’s bridge. Visually, there’s more to do with characters in that environment.

Anno: The thing about Zeon warships during the One Year War is that they don’t come equipped with a launch catapult. From a purely visual standpoint, though, it’s more exciting to show mobile suits deploying from a real catapult. So that was one of my suggestions.

“MaV: the Gundam version of the two-fighter combat tactic.” (Enokido)

――How did you structure the U.C.0085 storyline?

Anno: I’d offer feedback, ideas, revisions, once the scripts came in, and I’d also make comments on the storyboards or footage as it went along. But really, it was more me submitting suggestions than actively managing that segment.

Enokido: He still gave us a lot of ideas. Meanwhile, I spent a lot of time with Tsurumaki figuring out how to handle the depiction of Newtypes.

――There’s a motif called the “sparkle” that appears in this part.

Enokido: That came from Tsurumaki. In Episode 41 of the original, A Cosmic Glow, there’s a famous scene where Amuro and Lalah connect telepathically. It’s ambiguous whether that glowing effect is purely a stylistic choice or an in-universe phenomenon. We thought it might be more interesting here to portray it as a sort of “hallucination” or visionary phenomenon. Even the term “sparkle” was the director’s idea.

Tsurumaki: If it were more than just a spiritual metaphor, if it actually signified a physical event, then you’d assume there might be a scientific term for it. However, not everyone can see it; only Newtypes, with their heightened perceptions, can perceive this effect. In the original, there’s also that moment where Lalah Sune attacks Confeito, and certain Newtype-sensitive soldiers pick up a repeated “Lah-Lah” sound. We expanded on that idea to develop this “sparkle” concept.

――Near the end of the One Year War section, a phenomenon called “Zeknova” also appears.

Tsurumaki: I proposed that. I wanted more than just a straightforward retelling of the One Year War in alternate form. Zeknova becomes a key element that affects the entire story of GQuuuuuuX.

――In linking the One Year War with U.C.0085, another keyword appears: “Mav.”

Enokido: Director Tsurumaki came up with the idea of “Clan Battles,” where two mobile suits fight as a pair. I thought it would be neat to formalize that concept, to show that in this timeline, the practice of two-on-two combat has become standardized. Fighter planes often operate in pairs, so this is like the Gundam equivalent. That structure is called “Mav” here.

Tsurumaki: Initially, the “Clan Battles” were separate from the One Year War aspect, more a set of rules for the U.C.0085 storyline. However, it felt disconnected if we didn’t tie them to the past somehow. We looked to the Gundam novels for inspiration, where Char and Challia Bull essentially functioned as a team. We made that tag-team approach the source of modern two-suit tactics. It’s become such an influential strategy that it even appears in Principality of Zeon field manuals in the new timeline.

――In writing the script, how did you approach depicting mobile suit combat?

Enokido: Clan Battles, in my mind, are streamed live, like something people could watch on a platform reminiscent of YouTube. There’s also a commentator giving play-by-play. In the original, there’s a scene of Char and Lalah observing the White Base’s skirmishes from afar, trading remarks on how the battle is unfolding. It’s extremely engaging to watch characters discuss tactics in real time.

Tsurumaki: In Char’s Counterattack, there’s a moment where Amuro Ray shoots down Gyunei Guss. The film doesn’t clearly show how Amuro pulled that off, so if you’re rooting for Gyunei, like I was, it’s frustrating because it just looks like he lost due to inexperience. Back then, I remember thinking, “Man, if only Char had explained to us exactly how Amuro outmaneuvered him” (laughs). In manga like Glass Mask, when the protagonist delivers an amazing performance, the audience or critics react in ways that help us appreciate what’s great about it. In something like Demon Slayer, you’ll see slow-motion sequences or characters voicing internal monologues to highlight specific tactics. The Black Tri-Stars did something similar with their Jet Stream Attack in the original Gundam.

“In U.C.0085, the trio of Machu, Nyaan, and Shuji drive the story forward.”

――The story in the U.C.0085 segment revolves around the three main characters: Machu, Nyaan, and Shuji.

Enokido: I wanted their dynamic to feel fresh. I gave each one distinct traits, but Shuji in particular was the hardest to pin down. Paradoxically, that aloofness gave him a “Newtype-like” quality. In the Universal Century, we assume multiple Newtypes appear independently around the same time. So it only makes sense that unknown Newtypes would be living out personal dramas across the cosmos, and that’s perfectly normal in the Gundam world.

“Rewriting Gundam as an alternate-history war chronicle may be the best way to handle the Universal Century.”

――Now that GQuuuuuuX –Beginning– is complete, what are your thoughts on the final result?

Enokido: It has a very peculiar kind of appeal. Structurally, it doesn’t follow the usual “set up, develop, climax, resolution” film formula, it abruptly jumps from the One Year War into the U.C.0085 storyline. That’s not a typical way to structure a movie, so it creates something unique. It reminds me a bit of reading one of Leiji Matsumoto’s short works, like Maria of the Silver Valley, back in my youth.

Tsurumaki: The idea to organize it this way came from Anno.

Anno: If we were going to show it in theaters, I felt this was the only logical approach.

――And how did you feel working on it?

Enokido: I loved it. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Gundam series, so it was an absolute privilege. Taking this approach, an alternate-history war chronicle, might just be the ideal way to revisit the Universal Century. I really think so now that we’ve done it.

Anno: In the Gundam franchise, the story I personally wanted to tackle was an alternate One Year War in which Zeon is victorious. Tsurumaki shared that vision, and thanks to him, we’ve been able to realize it in this form. It’s incredibly gratifying to see it finally take shape.

Source: GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- “Materials” Pamphlet (pages 026-029)