For archival purposes, here is a text version of the old G-FILES from the original Bandai DVD release of the series.

DISC.09

Q1: What was the green beverage that Allenby was drinking saying, “Ooh, it tastes strange!”

It’s a drink I had when I went to do research in Hong Kong with Producer Masahiko Minami and Sound Director Yasuo Urakami. I like to eat strong-flavored food. I don’t think the drink was juice; I wonder what drink could be equivalent to it in Japan. Anyway, there were approximately six kinds of these drinks, and we tried them all. Of course, we passed the drinks around and tried them in turn. I found a lot of flavors that I loved in the drinks. That smell, that bitterness, that indescribable chemical flavor! Some people don’t like Dr. Pepper, right? That’s the feeling that I got. I was enjoying all the drinks while Mr. Minami was shouting, “I can’t stand this!” I created that scene with Allenby from this event.

I pay special attention to scene changes, and for that particular scene, I thought it would get more attention to start the scene with her reacting that way. I also thought that this would make the scene look and feel more like Hong Kong. I really wanted to make the location look different from Japan.

Q2: Why doesn’t Chapman ever speak after he returns? (Episode 33)

He was a person who died and was resurrected by the DG cells. It wasn’t that he could not speak; I simply chose to not have him talk. That makes him similar to Dahal from Neo Egypt. When an extremely strong character like Chapman comes back to life, they seem more frightening if they are silent. Chapman is a fighting machine to the very end. He is now completely a machine though (laughs). Remember that the Terminator in the first movie doesn’t speak very much. In terms of directing, I believe the stronger the character is, the less he should speak. As for Chapman, due to his relationship with his wife Manon, his weaknesses would be exposed if he talked.

So I would rather have him not talk.

On the other hand, Michelo is happy when he talks constantly (laughs). I separated the characters into two totally different types, one very talkative and the other extremely silent. That way, the characteristics of the Four Kings can be more clearly distinguished. I thought it would be fun to have a new character be one of the Four Kings. However, due to the constraints of the episode format for the series’ last half, which already had a new character in every episode, I thought it would be better to just revive a past character.

The only regret I have is that I could not make a scene where the Four Kings gather at a sleazy bar to meet and plan. In fact, I wanted to make a scene where Domon follows Chapman to such a place and finds Chapman in a secret meeting with Master, Michelo, and an enigmatic silhouetted character.

Q3: By any chance, was the assembly of weirdoes in episode 32 the result of that idea?

(Laughs). It’s a little different, but it sure had something common with that idea. After all, I heartily love brainless thugs gathering at a bar to brag and boast. The staff was amused to find that Shijiema’s cobra was among them, and wondered why it was there. They said, “Wow, they are all eccentric weirdoes!” G Gundam is the sort of series where we seriously create such funny scenes.

Q4: What is the mark on each of the national flags? [CH2-3] It looks just like the letter “N.” I presume it’s from Star Trek? (Episode 35)

(Laughs). Right. I was having difficulty with that. I want to have some common element in all the countries’ flags, but simple marks like crosses were already used frequently. We did not want to design really sophisticated national flags either. But I wanted to express each nation relatively simply. So, I created a mark to put on all the flags. At first, I was just using that mark as it was, but I recognized that it would appear not inventive if put on a Japanese flag (laughs). So I decided to overlap the two N’s. I thought that was okay since it looked like “N” after all. I was afraid it would be the end if somebody spoke up about it.

Q5: Ashura Gundam and Skull Gundam are the winners of contests, aren’t they? (Episode 34)

They are the winners of contests held by Kodansha’s weekly manga magazines Comic Bonbon and TV Magazine. The saddest part is that they both had to be used as villains, even though they were created by kids. I wanted to treat the Gundams more delicately, but they became very evil after all (laughs). I felt sort of sorry about it, but I guess it was all right because they originally designed those Gundams to look like enemy characters.

Q6: I was very surprised and wondered why these kids could draw Gundams that fit into the world of the show so well.

I shouldn’t be embarrassed by that, right? Otherwise, I suspect I may be at their level mentally (laughs). For example, Nether [Hurricane] Gundam itself is not so different from what kids are drawing, right? In G Gundam only amazing Gundams appear, and the Gundams viewers imagine and the Gundams we want to make are very close to each other. Nether Gundam and Cobra Gundam are like that. So, I hope kids could enjoy and actually understand that.

Q7: I thought the reason why the bodies of Shining Gundam and God [Burning] Gundam shone gold was due to the Emotion Energy System. Why do the other members of the Shuffle Alliance shine as well? (Episode 35)

After Domon masters the Super Mode, he’s much stronger than any of the other regular characters. So I wanted the other Gundams to get stronger as well, and I thought of gold versus gold. Domon is the hero of this story, but there are four other equal protagonists, and I did not want to forget them. I wanted them to still be at the same level of power that Domon is. It’s not quite the same, though, which is why, in episodes 35 through 38, we had tricks for simple conclusions to the battles. The hero has to win, after all.

Certainly, the golden glow comes from the Emotion Energy System, but I think the gold is actually something beyond that. In true Super Mode, the machine gets its shine from the pilot’s will. So, even without a special system, other Gundams can shine once the pilots reach a certain state of mind.

DISC.10

Q1: Of the four episodes where Domon fights the other Shuffle Alli-ance members, Sai Saici’s (episode 37) is the best one, isn’t it?

This was the most difficult one for me. We really didn’t want Sai Saici to lose the battle this time. No matter how much he’s beaten up, he bounces back and finally uses his ultimate technique, “Shin Ryusei Kochoken.” We just couldn’t find a way to end the battle. And at that point, Domon really meant to kill Sai Saici. When I realized that I had the Emperor shout, “That’s enough!” I felt like he had prevented the worst possible scenario. I’ve never been that excited checking over a storyboard.

A lot of that was due to Mr. Nozawa, who provided the voice for Sai Saici’s father. At that time Mr. Hiroshi Ousaka was visiting Tokyo. I told him Sai Saici’s father was a determining factor in that episode, and the success of the story relies on that character.

Mr. Ousaka provided a lot of excellent character designs, including Saette and Master Asia. I feel that they came out so well because we worked on them together. There were many characters that I’d never seen before.

This time, I needed a character whose existence is so significant that everyone, even the voice actors, would be really surprised. Sai Saici’s father appears very suddenly and has absolutely nothing to do with the story thus far. I wanted people to experience his appearance just as Sai Saici did in his dream. When I asked the casting director to do a great job, he said, “What about Mr. Nozawa?” I told him I was ecstatic. I think it was our best casting.

When things like this happen, I realize that animation is a composite art. For example, I have no idea who will play a role at the storyboard stage. However, no matter who it is, I always want to have the performance based on the actor’s talent. So I always want to write a script that makes actors want to work enthusiastically.

I would like to mention the key animations and stage directing of “Shin Ryusei Kochoken” as well. The success of this episode owed a lot to various actors. But the screenplay is interesting as well, and the storyboarding went smoothly. In terms of overall balance, I think the quality can compete with that of the final episode.

When I work as a unit director, I usually expect to make one very satisfactory episode per year, and when directing, I expect one per series. In the case of G Gundam though, there are a lot (laughs). If I were asked to choose one out of them, I would choose this episode. I put so much into this episode that I cannot mention everything.

One interesting point in this episode was the part that Keiun and Zuisen chant Hannya-Shingyo (Heart Sutra). I was wondering if the Shaolin really use that so when we were doing the recording, I asked Literature Supervisor Hiroaki Kitajima to call and ask the main temple in Shikoku. Then, because we were told they used to chant it long ago, I approved its use.

Q2: How does Argo defeat his opponents with his Gaia Crusher? Is the way that he caught God [Burning] Finger between both of his arms the authentic way to do that? (Episode 38)

It is hard for me to talk about the Gaia Crusher. In my interpretation, it must differ from other skills. It’s a technique used to disable the opponent, to ready them for the final strike. It is a vicious technique because it is so indirect, but the technique itself displays great power. And Argo can exercise that power in many different ways.

Q3: Despite spraining his foot and being unable to jump, Master suddenly recovered enough to lift a building and get out from underground. Was he acting hurt to get Domon’s attention? He must have been injured since he was fighting on Fuun Saiki, right? (Episode 39)

I think he probably was injured, so he told Fuun Saiki to “become my legs and fight with me!” The only shortcoming of the episode was that their kicks against the buildings look more spectacular than Domon’s Sekiha Tenkyoken (laughs).

But the biggest shock to everyone was the scene with the horse wearing the mobile trace suit. I figured everyone suspected I was thinking of doing it, but they couldn’t imagine that I really would (laughs)

However, I did dare to do it! The neigh, too (laughs). The scene was very well animated, as well.

Q4: And in the next episode, Rain becomes a “woman of Neo Germany,” right? (Episode 40)

I love that line so much. (laughs) These expressions seem to be a part of my directing technique. I can’t really explain it. I don’t really try to make audiences laugh. It made sense to me, but everyone laughs. Whenever I’m asked to describe my directing style, I say it’s just like natto [a dish of fermented soybeans with a slimy consistency and a sharp flavor]. Natto has an aspect that keeps people away but at the same time has an aspect that attracts them. For example, if someone says, “This rice is rotten,” you’d smell it, wouldn’t you? People automatically do that. That’s exactly how I feel about my directing! I think the line “woman of Neo Germany” has something very intimate about it…

Q5: Wow, what an acrid comparison (laughs). But getting back to the topic, how come everybody could recognize Rain, while nobody could tell the true identity of Schwarz?

Well, I was actually planning to have the other characters point their fingers at her and shout, “Who is that woman?” (laughs) However, I couldn’t do it because of the time limitations. I have strong regrets about that. I thought it was okay to make parts of the G Gundam world hard to understand but have other parts be very simple. Just as a comedian shouldn’t laugh at his own jokes, in the world of G Gundam everyone should behave seriously. Nobody laughs at the funny mask; that’s why the audience would laugh. (laughs)

That’s also why everyone laughs when Rain says, “No, I’m a woman of Neo Germany now!” Because she says it so seriously. But there’s a sense of tension that grabs the audience. Everyone should be feeling something like that when they see it.

And there was also the scene of Rain taking the picture in episode 40. I came up with that idea when I was working on it (laughs). I added it when I was double-checking the storyboard. I am pretty erratic. However, at that time the photograph hadn’t really appeared in the later half of the series, and I was thinking I had to bring it back and finally make sense out of it. So when it came time to have Domon remember his brother, I thought that was the perfect time to do it. From the beginning, I always conceived that the picture was taken by Rain. It was a gamble for me to actually use that idea, but I thought that by solving this mystery of the picture, which began in episode 1, it would provide another foundation for the series to rest on. I expected audiences to remember the past 39 episodes flash in front of them. I wanted episode 40 to be an episode that made sense out of the previous 39 episodes. This is my usual plan, though. I hope that people understand the story behind the photograph.

Episode 40 was where I decided to work on the love story within the series. Sometimes I wonder how I wrote such an embarrassing line.

DISC.11

Q1: Continuing where we left off previously, why did Schwarz have Rain wear a mask, too?

Because he was from Neo Germany! (laughs) In fact, in episode 41, I was planning to have Domon discover all people in Neo Germany wear that mask when he visits the hospital. Even the doctors in the hospital wear those masks. I wanted to depict Neo Germany as that kind of country. But I was afraid that Germans would be offended and complain! (laughs) But at least, all the Neo Germany crew members wear that mask. I always have to be thorough about these things!

Q2: But I heard that Schwarz appears as a masked fighter from the very beginning?

Yes, he’s been a masked fighter from the beginning. He changed the mask to his current one. In the beginning, his mask was different. He changed it after he formally became a Gundam Fighter.

Q3: I see (laughs). By the way, what is the role of Devil [Dark] Gundam’s pilot? It seemed as if it was operated by a pilot before its program started running out of control. Then it was controlled by Master in Shinjuku and the Guayana Highlands, and then by Wong in Lantau Island. And what is the role of the bio-unit?

It has an automatic program, and of course, a pilot seat as well. I maintain that any type of machine will not move without a human pilot. I believe this is the basics of mechanics. In the case of working machines, I think there are certainly automatic machines, but there are also those which are only functional when someone is in the control seat. So it’s something like an airplane, right? Even though there are autopilots, a pilot (or pilots) gets into the plane, right? I want you to visualize that sort of relationship. If there are automatic controls in the machine, even Wong can pilot it to a certain degree. So, the zombie soldiers of the Death Army also need humans as bio-units to mobilize themselves. That is, each Death Army soldier had a human body within it. A bio-unit is absolutely required for them. It is a mechanical part needed for movement. If the bio-unit is missing, it won’t work.

Q4: Just like a car key?

Exactly. It doesn’t move unless a pilot is connected to it. However, I did not want to turn Kyoji into a zombie soldier, so I had to distinguish his case from others.

Q5: If the consciousness of Kyoji and Schwarz are the same, shouldn’t Schwarz be debilitated after he arrived in Neo Hong Kong? (Episode 44)

No. They are not the same, but they have things in common with each other. When they die at the last, they die at the same time. In terms of memory, their memories split at the point when Kyoji created Schwarz. Their memories of the time before the incident were the same, but they are completely different after that. But actually they are one with each other. Things they see are different, but their mind is one. But they are not connected by telepathy.

Q6: I thought the members of the Shuffle Alliance died as I watched episodes 42-44, but did they? Keiun and Zuisen are praying for Sai Saici, and in Chibodee’s case, the national flag is hung over his picture.

I gave that a lot of thought. I thought it was a good idea to depict the character’s demise by showing the national flag hung like that.

Q7: I was wondering what you were going to do with the story after that episode. What were you thinking?

I just wanted to deceive the audience (laughs). I just wanted to have fun, that’s all (laughs).

It was only for that one episode. Basically, we are trying to follow the one-shot episode format for this series. So, even though each storyline within its run time, right? However, the episodes around that episode are not merely following that format; each is made as a prelude to the next episode. In terms of closure for this one episode, I wanted people to think these characters were dead (laughs), in order to heighten the episode about Schwarz and to depict Domon’s current situation. In fact, what I did was the same as Ring ni Kakero (Stake Your Fate on the Ring). [A boxing comic written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. The series eventually turned to a super-human battle story, in which the hero and his former rivals team up and fight together to defeat strong enemy boxers with their knockdown punch techniques.] This is one of the original Jump boy comic traditions, still unbroken. I believe this sort of direction is exemplified by that work. I think people are happy when a character they thought was dead comes back onto the stage. It’s one of the frequently used formulas for making dramas. Personally, I really love that scene (laughs).

However, I was very careful not to destroy the Gundams. That’s an important point. If the characters were really dead, I would have left the Gundams’ heads and splintered body parts lying around. So, I dropped a hint by having the Gundams not completely destroyed (laughs). I didn’t mean to tease the audience, I just thought it was going to be cool that way! I tried to hype up each episode because I truly cherish all of them. I did it very carefully (laughs). I am sly that way (laughs).

Q8: The next question is about “Kizan Shokojin” of the School of the Undefeated of the East. “Shokojin” is the theme song of the film Fuun Saiki, isn’t it?

Oh, you caught me (laughs).

Q9: What kind of technique is “Kizan?” I can’t figure it out.

That is simply the rallying cry for restoring the alter bodies that he created in his “Twelve Ohobai Daishahei.” The word “Kizan” is simply used as an alternative for “Return!” It would have been all right to use “Return!” but “Kizan” felt better to me. “Kizan Shokojin ” is more rhythmical than just shouting “Shokojin.” I wanted to express “Return!” by using a different word.

Q10: When or where did Master find out the purpose of the Devil [Dark] Gundam’s creation and the fact that its program went out of control?

It’s standard operating procedure not to ask that question, right? (laughs) Do you remember that I talked about when Schwarz was created? If it happened somewhere around episode 16, considering the time when Master met him, Kyoji supposedly still had his own consciousness to some degree. In fact, this is one of the things that I tried not to depict too much, although I was thinking about using this idea sometime or other…

Kyoji’s consciousness had almost faded away. That’s when Master met him. And at the beginning, he meant to save Kyoji. For example, when he asked Kyoji, “What happened?” Kyoji told him about the Gundam. At that time, Master didn’t know what happened to Domon, and Kyoji’s story suited Master’s cause. People might think that’s too convenient, but stories are usually convenient fictions. Even in reality, we tend to tell only information that’s convenient, don’t we? So anyway, when Kyoji told his story to Master, he decided to use it to his advantage. So he had Kyoji remain underground in Shinjuku. This is where the story of episode 12 picks up. And somewhere around episode 16, Schwarz was created. Thinking about it this way, the story makes perfect sense.

There was also the question of what happened to Kyoji while he still had his own consciousness. This would be another convenient plot line. But Master would have already met him and not known that he was Domon’s older brother. It then turns out to be ironic. A story born out of convenience becomes ironic.
There are a lot of unusual events that happen in life. You know, ” Truth is stranger than fiction.” That’s what it is. That’s why I believe this sort of story would sound believable. A story is interesting and appealing to audiences because it is built from combining seemingly impossible events with other elements. Audiences expect to see something unusual and want to be surprised by what happens. It might be seen as convenient, but I have to create these things on my own in order to surprise them. How well I do depends on my storytelling techniques. Even in classic Shakespeare plays there are a lot of unbelievable tales (laughs).

DISC.12

Q1: When Master tells Domon, “Now you are truly the King of Hearts,” the crest shines on Master’s fist. Wasn’t it strange for that to happen just when Domon finally became the true King of Hearts? (Episode 45)

No, it wasn’t. They do not pass the emblem on by cutting and pasting it (laughs). It is possible for both of them to have the emblem simultaneously. At that moment, I wanted to emphasize the fact that the emblem comes up on Master’s fist. In fact, I was thinking of having them grasp each other’s right hands and have both emblems shine.

Q2: I would like to ask you a question regarding the written letters that appear on the last cut of the episode 45. The first line is the Cantonese translation of “Toho Fuhai wa Ouja no Kaze yo! (Unde-feated of the East! The Winds of the King!)” But why did “Tempa Kyoran” become “Sekiha Tenkyo?”

At first, I was inspired by a “four-Chinese-character-idiom” and thought up “Tempa Kyoran.” When we were recording in Hong Kong, we decided to put this phrase into a song lyric. I gave them a brief explanation in Japanese, asked them to translate it into English once, and then it was translated into Cantonese as “Sekiha Tenkyo.” So, the order is Japanese to English to Cantonese. When I came back from Hong Kong, I double-checked the four-letter word that had inspired me, and found out that it was exactly “Sekiha Tenkyo.” I was really surprised since I had completely forgotten about it. It really was “Sekiha Tenkyo” (stone-crushed heavens-surprise)! So it came all the way around to the true meaning.

This is the correct meaning! It might sound kind of crazy, though… (laughs)

Master did some terrible things, but he didn’t lose his confidence or faith in what he had done. I wanted to emphasize that he doesn’t regret it and that he believes in himself.

I always think it’s poetic to have a character die as we come to a sudden realization. But I thought it should be different for Master. His faith lives as long as he does. He didn’t want to exterminate humanity, but he died with the belief that he was doing the right thing.

I didn’t want Masters’ death to be beautiful. Generally speaking, someone’s last moment of life isn’t usually pretty, is it? I wanted him to have a “normal” last moment of life, to make him appear more human. I wanted to depict him as a real person, not just a fictional anime character. That was my goal.

A man shouldn’t change his long-held beliefs so easily. And although he may regret it, he won’t be swayed. I wanted to express his accepting defeat with a kind of grace. Suppose you are caught doing something wrong and someone points it out to you. You can simply apologize, right? For Master, the only way to apologize was to say that line completely. That’s how he apologizes to Domon. I wanted him to be someone who doesn’t know how to accept defeat.

I was expressing something of my own personality here. Something like, “If I have to die, I want to finish saying my line!” (laughs)

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the picture used for Master’s last moment is from a film called Osaka Girai Monogatari (Osaka-Hater Story), starring Kanbi Touyama. The last scene of that film looks just like the picture. Kanbi Touyama is an actor who had a great influence on my directing at a subconscious level, so it could be said he was the inspiration for my direction. I never intended to imitate him, but I later realized I had.

In G Gundam, I experimented with how to use insert songs and background music. Especially for the last episode and the death of Master in episode 45, I was selecting the music at the storyboard stage and instructing the staff to use certain pieces of music in specific places. I believe that it was a very successful technique.

Q3: I would like to ask about G Gundam 2… (laughs)

I wonder why everyone says that? Why do they say that? To me, the real G Gundam starts from here… I feel like I’ve finally come to the starting line.

First, please let me say this (laughs). The biggest difficulty I had during G Gundam’s final episode was the state of production.

After finishing the storyboards for episode 45, I was very tired and pretty satisfied that I finished it all, but then I worked on episode 46. As you can probably guess, episode 45 was way too intense. I’m not saying it was bad, but the feedback was extremely different. What I was doing was not different from what I’d done thus far, but I guess episode 45 was too heavy. It’s like the feeling you would get after wearing the Power Wrist for a while and then taking it off [This is also from Ring ni Kakero. It’s a lead-filled wrist band, which the hero of the story always kept on his wrist, in order to build muscle strength.]

Everything should be the same as before, but you feel that something is missing. I was really having a hard time with episode 46. The scene that I was happiest with was the one where Sai Saici cried out and ran wild. I thought that scene made the episode a success. Everything was fine up to that point. After that, I went on working in the same manner. I did the checks for episode 45 and 46. Then I did storyboard checks for Episode 49, part A, and then Episode 47, part A. Then came episode 48, then the end of 47 and 49. Because I create things with careful consideration, this random order gave me a hard time. The flow of the series around these episodes had to build in intensity towards the climax. The appearance of the Devil [Dark] Gundam, for example, required some kind of escalation in that direction. But I couldn’t return to that point because I had already started working on the next episode. I have to admit that this is a shortcoming in my way of making things. It would have been better if it happened in the middle of the series, but unfortunately it ended up happening at the episodes right before the final episode. I’m not trying to make excuses, but the most difficult task for me at that time was resolving this problem.

Q4: I thought Ulube was his last name, but it’s not. Why is Major Ulube addressed by his first name? (Episode 47)

Mr. Kitajima was especially against this. He is the one who showed the deepest understanding of G Gundam and loved the series even though he was a staff member. This “Ulube” issue was the only issue he strongly opposed. He insisted that Ulube should be his last name. I thought it was his last name at first, but I really wanted to reveal his full name, and I hadn’t thought of it at the time. I thought about it, and found a name that sounded pleasant enough (laugh).

To be honest, I was watching a Star Trek: The Next Generation video. I was writing an article about Mr. O’Brien (the Chief), and I was reviewing the column. I discovered that the name of his wife was Keiko Ishikawa (laughs). So I thought, “I see, this lady’s called Keiko Ishikawa, huh?” And the next day, I was kind of thinking, “How about Ulube Ishikawa?” (laughs) Usually I don’t get really attached to character names. And when Mr. Kitajima said he wouldn’t approve it, Producer Masahiko Minami asked me to confess as to where it came from.

I told him I got it from watching Star Trek, and my favorite character’s last name was Ishikawa. Upon hearing that, Mr. Kitajima was furious and shouted, “I won’t approve that!” So I offered an alternative. I asked him which would sound better, Ulube Ishikawa or Shoufukutei Ulube. [Shoufukutei is a last name of a Japanese traditional Rakugo comedian school]. (hysterically laughs) I asked him, “How’s that? That is a Japanese name. Which would be better?” He gave up and said, “It’s no good, but it can’t be helped. Go ahead and use Ishikawa.” (laughs)

Q5: That’s not an issue of “which would be better”! Who wouldn’t choose Ishikawa in that situation?

I suppose some people watch the show seriously, but I am trying to be as thoroughly ridiculous as possible when I believe I should be. For example, when you say, “There is so-and-so from the so-and-so school!” you use the person’s first name, right? Ulube is how he’s addressed. That name is specifically established. Actually, he should technically be called as Major Ishikawa. However, since he is a very famous person, people call him by his first name, so he’s Major Ulube. Another way to think of it is as people kept calling him Major Ulube Ishikawa, it naturally became simplified to Major Ulube. Or maybe, at that time, there were a lot of other military offi-cers with the last name Ishikawa (laughs). People wanted to distin-guish the exceptional officer Ulube Ishikawa from other officers, so they started calling him Major Ulube instead of Major Ishikawa! Thus, the problem’s solved! Whenever I get asked about this issue, I try to seriously explain it this way.

Q6: From my perspective, Gundam Fighters are usually national heroes, aren’t they? So, people view these fighters as their idols…

And that’s fine! That’s pretty much it!

Anyway, that “I don’t like that!” Kitajima incident was extremely funny to me! I thought, “Oh, he’s opposing me for the first time!” That was really great!

Q7: I’ve heard that the “Statue of Liberty Cannon” appears in the novel version of Giant Robo. Is that true? (Episode 47)

It was in the first draft scenario that I wrote. I decided not to use that idea due to time constraints, but the International Police Agency was going to use the “Statue of Liberty Cannon” to attack the gigantic Vogler Sphere which was passing over America in episode 3. I had no choice but to get rid of that idea, but I liked it, so I was thinking of using it somewhere else sometime. Ideas get rotten if they’re left unused for a long time. So, yeah, why not use it? Statue of Liberty Cannon!!

The person who was riding on it was originally not a General Douglas McArthur lookalike, but a President Lincoln lookalike! It was crazy.

Q8: I now understand the reason why Nether [Hurricane] Gundam could keep fighting in Neo Hong Kong no matter how many times it was defeated. However, if there were that many prototype Mermaid Gundams, I suspect that Hans did not have to go back to his country. (Episode 48)

No, that’s not right. Because the Nether Gundams all have the same shape, there are a lot of spares. If it’s not being used for fighting, it may be growing tulips. I guess that is because it is the only country in the world that grows tulips. So… (laughs) All joking aside, this is said by a character in the series as well, but those Mermaid Gundams are prototypes. A prototype is officially not allowed to participate in the contests. There are shrimps, crabs, and even octopi. And sting rays, too (laughs). Neo Denmark was thoroughly researching what types of fish design would be the best for an amphibious Gundam. And they made a lot of prototypes. And then they determined that a tuna model is the best after all (laughs). Models like shrimps and octopi are particularly good in certain aspects, but they realized that the tuna type would be best suited for more general amphibious battle, thus the shape was chosen for the Gundam. So, they decided to launch those prototypes into the battle because there were a bunch of them left.

Q9: I feel like Neo Egypt could make it to the final tournament if they threw their Sphinx Gundam into the tournament. What do you think? (Episode 48)

That Gundam is a secret weapon. All those “ultimate weapons” are, including the Statue of Liberty Cannon. Just like Master was saying, that was the reality. The reason why the Gundam Fight was very dangerous was that all the countries hid their own secret weapons in their colonies, resulting in a potentially explosive situation. Just like Neo Holland hiding a lot of Nether Gundams camouflaged as windmills, all the other countries had their own secret weapons. That Sphinx Gundam was one of those secret final weapons.

And then there’s the Matador Gundam. The original idea was that it would transform into a bull’s head and combine with a giant bull body to become a gigantic Bull Gundam (laughs). Episode 48 was, unfortunately, too short to depict all these scenes showcasing all these Gundams. I really love that forty Nether Gundam formation.

The reason I had Kyral appear was only because I couldn’t think of anyone else who could lead the allies. He was very strong and tough in his battle with Domon as well. He was so strong, Domon almost lost to him.

My anime shows tend to have all the characters in the series assemble together somewhere, and I just couldn’t help but do it in this program, too. That’s what I thought was cool when I was a kid.
And the scene in the final episode, which I just loved so much that I would dare say, “This is G Gundam!” was that of the hanging bell supported by a cow and a fish (laughs). Is this the world of Japanese ancient folktales or something!? Japanese folktale Gundam (laughs). G Gundam is the very work that made this possible.

Q10: What was your true intention behind that “SEE YOU AGAIN GUNDAM FIGHT 14” at the last cut of the final episode? (episode 49)

Well, I would say it’s something like let’s see each other again. It’s a word-play, a play on words (laughs).

Q11: There are many people who believe it.

Oh no, you’ve got to be kidding (laughs). What I wanted to express here was a feeling like at the Olympics. When the Olympics end, they usually say something like “See you again in four years at so and so,” right? That’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t do it because I wanted to make the sequel, but because I wanted to end it with some kind of hope. I wanted to end the program by reaffirming the existence of the Gundam Fight rather than denying it.

I am happy that the series ended with the conversation between Karato and Dr. Kasshu. The ones who end the show are ordinary people. Karato asked the question he did because he was just an ordinary individual. So, the answer itself, too, is an ordinary one. By the line “After all, we humans are a race that cannot seem to live without battle,” I did not intend to make the entire show look preachy and cool, but rather, I am confident it was a successful affirmation of the Gundam Fight. After making people question the beliefs of this world, I could eventually bring them back to reaffirm the core, essential beliefs. I could make an ending filled with the hope of a bright future. I think that line worked very effectively. Anyway, that final episode was filled with a bunch of innovations. The King [of Hearts] figure appears. So does “Love-Love.” (laughs)

In fact, Producer Minami stormed into my house in a rage to stop me, saying it would be stupid and “unseemly.” That “Love-Love Tenkyo-ken” was a word that came in as a play on words while we were working on the show. One of the staff said, “It would be extremely funny if Domon said something like ‘Love-Love Tenkyo-ken.” It was just a joke at the beginning, but… It had a fairly nice ring. I wanted some kind of “Sekiha something Tenkyo-ken” at the end, which would surpass all past techniques and abilities.

From my view, G Gundam is a Gundam series that surpasses and transcends all the other ordinary Gundams. After a lot of things happening, in the end, I wanted to surpass even G Gundam itself. The “Love-Love Tenkyo-ken” was the line I used to do that. It is not to destroy the world of G Gundam, but to make it more powerful. And so, although the word “Love-Love” originated as a joke, it sounded pleasant and had an impact that I couldn’t forget. Not because it was wordplay, but because it was a word that I’ve never used before. It was a line that never appeared in G Gundam before. Up until then, I’d been creating impact by combining interesting Chinese characters in G Gundam series. A word that surpasses the Chinese-letter-compound word “Sekiha Tenkyo-ken”
in terms of the feel, image, and impact would be an English word!! Thus, “Love-Love” is certainly spectacular. By repeating the simple and powerful word “love,” I accidentally found the solution to the problem. However, Mr. Minami stormed into my house in a rage with the reason it would sound “unseemly.”

I don’t intend to make a show based only on my personal feelings. But because the line was a sophisticated one that was composed of both my sensibility and theory, I could hardly change it. I wanted him to know that I did not have any intention of arbitrarily creating things, so I asked him to think of something that would surpass “Love-love Tenkyo-ken.” I told him that if we could find something better, I would use it without hesitation.

Producer Minami was not the only one who protested. Mr. Hiroshi Ousaka did too. (laughs) He offered many other ideas. However, I was unable to find anything better than “Love-Love.” That was why I decided to use it.

The actors reacted to my directions very well. We did script revisions during the recording sessions. And because I am the type of person who wants to try and experience new things, I asked them to let me try script revisions for the last episode. Then, I reached the line: “This hand of mine is burning red! Its loud cry tells us to grasp happiness!!” I did not notice it until the last moment, but I realized it should be “These hands of ours…” So when I asked about the cut number, everyone else thought I was going to change “Love-love,” and they shouted, “Oh my gosh!” Since the actors also knew that we had disagreements about it, they thought I was seriously considering changing it. I told them, “No, you’re taking it wrong. I’m not going to change ‘Love-Love.’ I’m changing: ‘These hands of ours are burning red! Their loud cries tell us to grasp happiness!!”

To be honest with you, I was actually thinking of a couple of alternative ideas by the time of the recording session. For example, some-thing like, “Ai-no-Hana-Saku Tenkyo-ken.” But when we did the first test, Producer Minami, who was most against the idea, said to me, “Okay, okay. Have it your way. It’s really embarrassing, but all the other parts are just as embarrassing, so go ahead and do it” (laughs).

At the time, the issue was called the “Love-Love Argument” in the studio. People in the studio were split into two groups, one of which had a strong affection for the idea and the others who were strongly embarrassed and against the idea. I believe that directing needs a sort of fighting spirit. If I really had to fight for something, I would make it a huge gamble at the climax of the final episode! I believe it was necessary for us to take such a big risk on the last episode. I wanted to take the biggest, ultimate risk at the final moment of the show. I was gambling with the word “Love-Love.”

I was prepared for harsh criticism after the show aired. I was really that enthusiastic about the line. But I didn’t do it because I was being obstinate or arbitrary. I didn’t even care if I wouldn’t be able to work in this industry again because of that “Love-Love.” I truly believe that one cannot work as a director without enthusiasm and a love of challenges.

As I mentioned some time ago, I wanted to do a love story, but I couldn’t do it well because I wasn’t any good at it. I had the charac-ter [Domon] say that in dialogue, too, though. A prince riding on a white horse-I think that is what’s best for a girl. I’m not making fun of girls. But I believe this is the safe road, isn’t it? There are girls who dream of it even though they think it’s cheesy. Even though she makes fun of the dream, if a prince on a white horse comes for her, she should be happy, shouldn’t she? Well, it was a very embarrassing final episode after all.

By the way, the last thing I’d like to address is the question “Are you making G Gundam 2?” or “Are you making an OVA version?” To be frank, I think it would be impossible to do a sequel. And even if there is one, I’m not going to direct it. I believe G Gundam is a series that started as a program purely for kids and eventually worked out because I stayed vividly aware of that until the very last moment, overcoming a lot of obstacles and bad situations (in terms of directing).

That message “SEE YOU AGAIN GUNDAM FIGHT 14” in the final episode was a way to express a hope for the future through the series, in various ways.

And I would like the future of the happy couple to be a part of each of you audience members.