Mobile Suit Gundam is a legendary anime series that has become virtually inseparable from the mecha genre, serving as its stalwart, definitive cornerstone for over 45 years. The anime has also mastered the elusive art of cross-appeal, presenting an extensive catalogue of shows, some unfolding in different continuities, that provided a gateway for anime fans to dip their toes into the engrossing world of model kit building, and vice versa, years before Pokémon adopted a similar approach.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX sees Bandai Namco, longtime studio Sunrise, and studio Khara, known for Evangelion, joining forces in a dream collab for old head anime fans losing their collective giant robot-loving minds, and rightfully so. The new series, now streaming on Prime Video, is helmed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, a seasoned director known for his work as an assistant director on Neon Genesis Evangelion and as director of FLCL, Gunbuster 2: Diebuster, and the Rebuild of Evangelion films.
Joining him as GQuuuuuuX‘s screenwriters are renowned Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno as well as Yoji Enokido, whose resume includes working on Evangelion, Sailor Moon, FLCL, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. But wait, there’s more: adding to the powerhouse team is Ikuto Yamashita, acclaimed for his designs in Evangelion and his recent contributions to Atlus’ hit RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, who heads GQuuuuuuX‘s mech design. The anime also features character designs by the famed Pokémon designer, Take.
In short, many talented hands have touched this anime, setting it up to reach the same heights as Gundam‘s last big hit.
GQuuuuuuX revolves around three youngsters in a space colony: Yuzuriha Amate, known by her nickname Machu; Nyaan, a mysterious young refugee and tech smuggler shrouded in mystery; and Shuji, an enigmatic boy whose destiny becomes intertwined with theirs. Their journey leads them to uncover the titular mobile suit, propelling them into the adrenaline-fueled world of underground mech duels known as Clan Battles.
We had the opportunity to sit down with director Tsurumaki to uncover how the anime’s star-collaboration took shape—and explore how their creative philosophies converged (and occasionally clashed) to bring to life a brand new anime they hope will be a standout entry in Gundam‘s illustrious legacy.
Isaiah Colbert, io9: What were the biggest hurdles in honoring the legacy of Mobile Suit Gundam while forging a bold new narrative in GQuuuuuuX?
Kazuya Tsurumaki: To be honest with you, when we initially proposed this idea to Bandai Namco, we thought they would turn us down, but they actually said, “Okay, we’ll do it.” In fact, it was very unusual that an outside studio would be doing this kind of production. I suppose Bandai Namco was actually looking and wanting to have this kind of bold idea of proposals, so it turned out to be a really good win-win for both sides.
io9: Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX stands out not only for its Pokémon-esque aesthetic, elevated by Take’s artistic touch, but also for the powerhouse creative team behind it. With you at the helm as director, alongside Hideaki Anno and Yoji Enokido contributing to the script, the project feels like a fusion of FLCL, Pokémon, and Evangelion, all within the legendary Gundam universe. How did this unique collaboration come about?
Tsurumaki: I had known Mr. Anno and Enokido-san for more than 10 years. We worked from before, so it was quite easy to collaborate with them. With regards to Take-san, that was a bit of an adventure. Outside of Japan, he’s very well known for Pokémon, but I’ve personally known him long before that. I’ve been a longtime fan of [his] when he was still doing illustrations for novels and books. This was a great opportunity to be able to work with him, and I was very eager to give this offer to him.
io9: As the series director, having worked with many of these creatives before, was it ever challenging to unify your distinctive artistic styles, writing, and creative visions to ensure GQuuuuuuX maintained a cohesive visual identity, or was it an easygoing collaborative experience?
Tsurumaki: For our generation, Gundam is known to almost everyone. At least if you’re a boy, you are most likely fans of Gundam. Among the staff members, there was none that were unfamiliar with Gundam. However, each and every person had Gundam of their own. We were watching the same Gundam; however, in their hearts, in their minds, they all had different types of Gundam. What we thought was common understanding, we began to see some discrepancies the further [we went] into the details, the further [we wanted] to be precise and accurate. If we hadn’t realized there were discrepancies in our understanding of Gundam, we would have ended up in a completely different direction.
If there were a lot of details that we wanted to share the understanding of, then we would have to intentionally describe them in words or maybe in pictures, so that we can actually have a common understanding. That was the challenging part: our understanding of Gundam was actually very different.
io9: Can you give me an example of what some of the discrepancies were that the team encountered in their own lived experience with the series that didn’t mesh with other people’s interpretations of the anime?
Tsurumaki: From someone on the outside, this may sound like a very trivial issue, but for me and Mr. Enokido, we were working together for a long time, very frequently. Even if we were not working, even on a casual occasion, we would be talking about Gundam. But when we were working together this time, for the first time–between two mobile suits called the GM and the Rick Dom–we were discussing which is more powerful.
This was the occasion when we first realized there were more discrepancies in our understanding of which was more powerful. Depending on which was more powerful or state of the art, we would have to discuss which would come into the scene first. There was a difference in opinion, and we actually had argued over which was stronger.
io9: GQuuuuuuX, at least in the West, has a huge groundswell because of its reinterpretation of Challia Bull, a character that didn’t get a lot of play in the original series. Was he a favorite among the staff for characters to bring back, or was there another more popular character?
Tsurumaki: He was around for a long time, but I think there were other characters that were more major, slightly more popular, like Ramba Ral or Garma Zabi we could have probably used—or maybe even Matilda Ajan. They would’ve been even more advantageous, beneficial, or interesting if we had used them, but I really like this character, Challia Bull. I proposed him, and surprisingly, everyone said, “Oh, that sounds really good. I like it.” It was quite interesting to find out that it wasn’t just me, but others thought it would be interesting to use Challia Bull.
io9: The anime and its theatrical release, Beginning, open in different eras—one starting in 0085 with Amate, while the film begins in 0079 with Char Aznable. What led to the decision to structure the sequence of events differently?
Tsurumaki: It was a television series that we had planned for in production, and the film release was decided later on. We were planning, in the first episode, to start with 0085 and then maybe do a five-minute showing of 0079. In the end, we decided to do the film as an advanced title, so it kind of became independent. When we were reconstructing [GQuuuuuuX] for a movie, we did it in a sequential order from 0079 to 0085. But, I guess because it was originally made for the television series, [Beginning] turned out to be different.
io9: In what ways did your past directorial works help shape your creative approach to GQuuuuuuX?
Tsurumaki: In the past, there used to be a lot of robot animations in Japan, but you hardly see them today—I would say it’s mainly Gundam and a few others. I have a long track record of doing robotic animations, [including] Gunbuster 2, and Evangelion, until just recently, so I was quite familiar with working on them.
io9: In an interview from the Materials Crosstalk, mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita mentioned that the team deliberately stripped down the “character-like” qualities from the mobile suits. Could you discuss the process of bringing that vision to life through 3D mechanical designs, and what direction you were given to achieve the more mechanically dynamic gyroscopic movements of GQuuuuuuX’s mobile suit designs?
Tsurumaki: With regards to mobile suit designs, I delegated to Yamashita for him to work on it. I encouraged him to propose ideas, and that’s what he did. For example, we wanted to make these mobile suits something that you would wear in order to be very active in the universe. This time, we have a propellant tank that was embedded in the mobile suits, and I thought that was great.
Additionally, originally, mobile suits varied depending on the character. But Mr. Yamashita wanted to make it more mechanical; he, for example, designed the head in a way that would look as though there were a lot of sensors concentrated in the head, rather than the concept of someone’s face. I really liked that idea as well.
io9: Looking back on your time directing GQuuuuuuX, what kind of legacy do you hope it carves out for itself within the franchise?
Tsurumaki: Gundam is a series that has a long history. I watched it as a child, and it has continued on. It’s been around a long time. However, the generation of fans has really been extended. We now have many young generations who have never even watched the first Gundam. I think the first Gundam is extremely interesting, so I really want the young people to watch it because I know they will find it interesting as well.
Thankfully, we have subscriptions where you can watch it anywhere, anytime. In the past, if a show was no longer on television, you could no longer watch it. I hope that the new generation could also watch the old Gundam as well. If that is materialized, I would be really happy.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is streaming on Prime Video.
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