Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- was released in theaters this January, and the TV series Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX started on April 8th. While it’s a story that delivered a major shock to Gundam fans, it’s also a tale depicting the destinies of three individuals: Machu (Amate Yuzuriha), Nyaan, and Shuji Ito. Here, we’ve gathered Tomoyo Kurosawa who plays Machu, Yui Ishikawa who plays Nyaan, and Shinba Tsuchiya who plays Shuji, to unravel GQuuuuuuX through their three characters.

WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT CHALLIA WAS CARRYING

――I heard that when you were recording the early parts of Beginning, you practically knew nothing about what was actually happening in those scenes.

Kurosawa: We were told that the story takes place in U.C.0085 and that it would differ from the One Year War portrayed in Mobile Suit Gundam. However, we had absolutely no idea how those changes would connect to U.C.0085 when we were recording our lines.

――So it wasn’t until you actually watched Beginning that you realized everything that was going on?

Kurosawa: Right. That meant we really didn’t know what burden Challia Bull was carrying beyond what was explicitly written in our scripts. Basically, we never fully grasped why Challia was so fixated on Char, all the way up to the end of our sessions.

――I see.

Kurosawa: So once we saw Beginning, we finally understood how it all connected.

Ishikawa: Once we learned Challia’s background, it was like, “Oh, so that’s the story!”

Tsuchiya: It all made perfect sense. And with Beginning leading right into the TV series next, I think it’s actually kinder to viewers as well.

Kurosawa: Absolutely.

Tsuchiya: But I should point out that a lot of crucial details are carefully woven into the main TV series itself. There’s still so much more in store (laughs).

MACHU: A BOYISH YET COQUETTISH GIRL

――Now I’d like to talk about the characters each of you play. Kurosawa, how did you see Machu as a character?

Kurosawa: She’s a high school girl from the Izuma Colony on Side 6, living a pretty comfortable life. Her mother’s a government official, and she attends a pretigious all-girls private school. Personality-wise, she has this intense drive to learn what’s “real” and to break free. Side 6 is essentially an artificial city, so there’s this sense of living in a manufactured environment, a constructed peace. You see her at the start saying things like “What’s the real sky?” and “What’s the real ocean?” She’s that kind of kid whose antenna is always up for something more authentic.

――I understand that during the audition phase, you were given a brief calling her “a boyish yet coquettish girl.” How did you interpret that, and how did you bring it to life?

Kurosawa: Those words sound contradictory, right? Does she come across as boyish but with a coquettish streak, or the other way around? I asked that exact question at the audition, and they basically said, “No, she’s boyish AND coquettish.” (laughs) Over time, as I got to understand Director Tsurumaki’s personality, it all started coming together, because I think Machu really reflects his tastes. He put his own preferences into her direction.

――Ishikawa, I saw you nodding along to that. From Nyaan’s point of view, how did you see Machu?

Ishikawa: Machu is absolutely starved for stimulation, whereas Nyaan is starved for love. So meeting Machu and Shuji must feel like encountering new friends, opening up a possibility for a connection she’s never had before, sparking her desire to stick together with them.

――So even though their backgrounds are totally different, there’s something compelling about Machu that draws Nyaan in.

Ishikawa: Exactly. Nyaan must see a certain allure in someone who grew up privileged and “normal.” I imagine that fascination is part of their bond, or whatever it becomes by the end.

Kurosawa: (laughs)

――Tsuchiya, how did you see Machu from your perspective?

Tsuchiya: Honestly, my first impression was “She’s like a cicada.” (laughs)

Kurosawa & Ishikawa: A cicada? (laugh)

Tsuchiya: You know how they live underground for ages before emerging? It felt like Machu had been buried in her own world, always sensing there might be something out there.

Kurosawa: But if she emerges, doesn’t she only have a week or two to live? That’s so sad! (laughs)

Tsuchiya: No, no, not literally (laughs). It’s just that Machu, at her age, has these growing doubts about the society and lifestyle she’s been given, and those doubts surface all at once.

NYAAN: THE MOST ORDINARY YET THE MOST FEARFUL

――Moving on to Nyaan. She’s scraping by, taking risky jobs that pay day-to-day.

Ishikawa: She’s basically stuck in that environment, with little choice. But strangely enough, she’s managed to survive this long, so she’s got a kind of luck on her side. She’s not actually that courageous, yet she can handle almost anything that comes her way. On the flip side, like we saw with her dynamic with Machu, she’s secretly quite timid and not used to letting people in. When we were recording, we were told to make her conversations just a bit off, like she’s never really on the same page as the person she’s talking to.

――How does Machu view Nyaan?

Kurosawa: Their backgrounds are so different, there’s this huge disconnect in their standards for what’s “acceptable” or not. Sometimes they’ll have that moment of, “Oh, we actually connected just now!” but in the very next breath, one of them does something completely at odds with the other’s expectations. So then it’s, “Wait… what just happened?” They’re both thinking, “Weren’t we getting along?”

Ishikawa: They never quite click, do they? (laughs)

Kurosawa: Exactly. But at the same time, they both realize they actually like being together.

Ishikawa: From Nyaan’s perspective, it’s like, “Look over here, pay attention, and we’ll figure this out!” Meanwhile, Machu’s thinking, “We already clicked, so we’re good!” Then glances over and realizes she’s gone off somewhere. “Where’d she go?!”

――Tsuchiya, what’s your take on Nyaan?

Tsuchiya: She might come off as cool on the surface, but there’s a smoldering fire underneath. That’s what stands out to Shuji, she’s intriguing.

SHUJI, THE MYSTERIOUS ONE

――Let’s talk about Shuji next. He’s essentially the mysterious young man piloting the red Gundam.

Tsuchiya: In the audition, there was one particular line that revealed a lot about him, at least for me. When I used that to build my interpretation of Shuji, it pretty much aligned with what Director Tsurumaki wanted. So that line became my guide throughout recording. But even so, the version we saw in the theatrical preview contained far less information than what the director eventually revealed to me. (laughs)

――So I take it he was pretty deliberate about controlling how much you got to know.

Tsuchiya: “Control” might be putting it mildly. (laughs) It was more like night and day.

――From Machu and Nyaan’s perspective, how did you see Shuji?

Kurosawa: Well, what do you think of that guy?

Ishikawa: That guy… (laughs)

Kurosawa: He’s got that dangerous allure that a lot of girls can’t resist.

Tsuchiya: But it’s all hazard lights flashing, very risky (laughs).

――And he’s piloting a red Gundam, of all things.

Tsuchiya: Right? Why the red Gundam? (laughs)

Kurosawa: Challia Bull was pretty curious about that, too.

A YEAR-LONG RECORDING PROCESS THAT TRULY PAID OFF

――Did your relationship with the Gundam series evolve throughout the recording process?

Kurosawa: We ended up recording for over a year, sometimes once a month, sometimes with a month’s gap in between. If we’d had to knock all this out week by week on a normal schedule, I think we might’ve ended feeling confused. Having space between sessions let us interact with each other in a more meaningful way. It worked out great.

Ishikawa: Absolutely. If we’d done it in a typical condensed schedule, we might not even realize what we were missing. Since we took over a year to record, we noticed things during the recording process, and we also had time to read and understand the script more deeply. Looking back, I think that time was absolutely necessary. Each recording session was long too, wasn’t it?

Kurosawa: Yeah, our very first session went almost until midnight.

Ishikawa: Right. It was certainly tough at times to get a solid read on our characters and the story, but the production team created an environment where we could share our struggles with them in real time.

――Because it was such a long-term project, did you feel it helped you grow in some way?

Ishikawa: I’d say so. (turning to Tsuchiya) How about you?

Kurosawa: Shuji didn’t actually have many lines, right?

Tsuchiya: He’s not one for big speeches. And because he’s so enigmatic, nobody knows where he’s from or why he’s there, I started to feel a bit anxious about how to portray him. That anxiety made me more open-minded in daily life, constantly picking up new insights I could bring to the role.

Kurosawa: You definitely asked Director Tsurumaki the most questions. Although his answers were always so unconventional. He’d respond, but he’d wrap it up with, “Or maybe not!” and a smile. (laughs) He never handed us a perfect, indisputable solution. So we’d do one take, and if it didn’t feel right, we’d do another completely different approach.

――So basically, “Director Tsurumaki says it’s possible that…”

Tsuchiya: Exactly. (laughs)

Kurosawa: Shuji has a line that goes, “Or so they say,” and Director Tsurumaki’s “Or maybe not!” has really stuck with me in the same way. (laughs)

Ishikawa: We actually recorded multiple takes of a lot of scenes, and to this day, we don’t know which versions are going to air.

Tsuchiya: There are plenty of examples like that.

Ishikawa: Even tiny differences, like how close the characters stand, whether they’re looking each other in the eye or talking with their backs turned.

Kurosawa: Or whether I’m aware of Nyaan being there in that moment or not. As actors, we’ll be watching the TV series going, “Oh, so that’s the take they chose.” (laughs)

――Lastly, would each of you share a message with everyone looking forward to GQuuuuuuX?

Kurosawa: People in the industry who know Gundam well have been predicting, some even worried, that this story might be dark or really heavy. But how should I put it… is GQuuuuuuX like that?

Tsuchiya: Well, speaking strictly as Shuji… I can’t say much. (laughs)

Kurosawa: All I can say is, from where we stand, it might not be that tough or grim.

Ishikawa: Although there could be just a bit of hardship (laughs).

Kurosawa: Anyway, I do hope everyone will watch and find out for themselves.