Pure Gundam: Talking with Tomino

Written by Carmilla Kupritz and Steezy - Intro text by Carmilla Kupritz

Yoshiyuki Tomino has been in the anime field for many years. His career started cery early when he worked with Osamu Tetsuka, scripting and creating storyboards for the series Astro Boy which ran on Japanese broadcast T.V. from 1963-1966. But this was only the beginning of a career and life-long passion for him.

He changed the genre of "Giant Robots" starting with his mecha anime Brave Raiden, going on to create memorable works such as Choudenji Machine Voltes V and Zambot 3, the mech world was forever changed when he created Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979.

In Tomino's works, he was not afraid to kill off his characters - whether they were innocent bystanders, heroes, or villains. He also blurred the lines between right and wrong, good and bad, innocent and guilty. The Giant Robot genre, as well as many animes, would never be the same again. Though die-hard American Otaku fans caught on to the Gundam craze around the mid to late 80's - around the same time Crying Freeman, Fist of the North Star, Hentai flicks and Chinese Kung-Fu movies was making their way into the U.S. through underground channels - the more mainstream anime viewers wouldn't truly catch on to Gundam until it aired in 2001.

Though the mainstream viewers didn't rise to the challenge of watching older animes until it became hip, cool and chic, they still knew what Gundam was thanks to the marketing of it's sophisticated plastic models. These models, ranging from only two inches to as big as four feet tall, was fun even for those who has no interest in watching Mobile Suit Gundam. Hobbyist who liked to build airplanes enjoyed the difficulty of putting together pieces that were smaller than 1/4 inch in size. These hobbyists also owe their thanks to the man who gave birth to their plastic adventures - Yoshiyuki Tomino.

I was lucky enough to talk to him and thank him on Friday October 6th, 2006 after his signing at Borders in Chicago on State Street. Tomino was here marketing and promoting the first U.S. premier of the Zeta Gundam movies, as well as the english translation of his novel Mobile Suit Gundam (printed by Stonebridge Press) The day was clear and warm, especially for an October day in Chicago. This perfect day was only a prelude to what would amount ot be one of the most memorable days of my life.

Once we arrived at the Japanese Consulate, everyone was standing, except for me and Steezy who were dressed as Zeons. Out of all people who were dressed in suits, four were American... and two of us, well.. you know... Steezy and I were asked to move into the front. I had my voice recorder ready. i thought we were merely attending a press conference, not asking questions ourselves. When we were told to ask the first question, my mouth went dry...it turned out I would be the only American interviewer... Before I could say anything, Tomino stood up, and thanked me for coming.

(This interview first appeared December 2006, in the first printed issue of Animefood Magazine. there was one interviewer whose name I unfortunately did not hear, so we will call her interviewer #1)

AF: How do you feel about the English translation of the Gundam series?
Yoshiyuki Tomino: When I was creating the Gundam series, I thought ahead about the fact that it might be translated into many languages. Animation is that kind of medium, very world wide-- the message can be enjoyed by everyone the world over.

Question asked by Kunitaka Koda: Did you think about the transition from first generation from the second generation when creating the Gundam series?
Yes. I wanted to do an anime that could be enjoyed by children and adults, so that when the children grew up and became adults, they would not be disappointed in the film. In this business there is a lot of commercialism and marketing for toys because Anime has a big influence on toy manufacturing. Still, I don’t understand why the Gundam toys should only be for kids.

How do you feel about the Dojinshi?
I am not involved in it. They are not professional really… it is still Amateur activities or extensions of amateurs—this does not mean that it is not good. It is a different story when they are making a living out of it, it is a step forward but it is still not totally professional yet.

Question asked by Interviewer #1: There is not a lot of good versus evil in Gundam. Why is that?
Because the theme of good versus evil is not totally there, doesn’t mean that I do not like stories of that type. Yet, I wanted to have some more inner content when creating a film, I wanted it to be a more complex drama. When I found out that girls watched it more, I thought about the story more…in this way I was greatly improved.

Kunitaka Koda: How do you feel about Comiket?

(alright, I am pausing a moment. I know I usually do not interrupt an interview with my own narrative… but I must let you understand the situation. Everyone there is dressed in business suits… there are about four Americans there: myself, darksk8ter and two other people whom I didn’t know. There are only three interviewers, (myself Kunitaka Koda and Interviewer #1) out of all these people, and, being the only American interviewer, and, one of the few Americans…myself and darksk8ter were the only ones dressed in cosplay… as Titian Pilots. The question was asked in Japanese, and everyone laughed. I blushed, not knowing what was being said, until it was translated. I laughed a lot and blushed a lot more for a minute or two…then we continued. It was a funny moment).

Comiket is healthy. It is a good way for people to express their inner selves and relieve the stress of everyday living. I think the style of cosplay will become more a more mainstream fashion; which is better than the one we have now… showing the belly button piercing.

Do you feel that animation is a good medium to help Americans understand Japanese culture or do you think it takes away from Americans understanding Japanese culture?
When I am making a film I am concentrating on making a good film for everyone to enjoy; so no, it does not necessarily translate to me trying to represent the Japanese culture, though Anime is actually a good medium for it. I think only people who say that Anime represents Japanese culture is the business people and the administration people who sell it.

Interviewer #1: Why introduce new characters from the first Gundam series to the Zeta Series?
In the transitioning between the first Gundam series to the zeta, you will notice that the original characters have grown. Because the characters grow through out the ages, it was essential to introduce new characters instead of just making it into another sequel.

Kunitaka Koda: What is the secret as to why it has remained so popular throughout the ages? Even Series like Evangelion which gained popularity is still not as popular as Gundam, why is that?
I cannot really answer that

The above question is then answered by Masaki Kaifu of Wowmax Media: The interesting thing about Gundam is that it is the same setting so the viewers are already familiar… yet there are new characters and all of them grow and develop within the world of Gundam. I also think it also has remained popular so for long because of the introduction of new characters gives the world of Gundam a freshness without taking away from what’s already there.

Do you think a live action Movie would take away from the experience of the Gundam anime?

There were a few small live action films done based off of Gundam and they were terrible. The success of the film depends on the writer and/or the director. Whether or not the overall content is good, how well the script is written…the three alien movies seem quite different because they have different writer and directors. So I think a live action movie could be good if it were based off of the total overall content, and not just focusing on one particular thing.

Interviewer #1: Why do you where so many hats: script writer/director/creating the story boards?
By wearing so many hats I am able to open many avenues… so I am able to challenge the creation quite a bit. Because it is a weekly schedule I can try new things and experiment with new concepts, including trying new things that have not been tried before. Since I have a challenging spirit in my heart, I like to show the younger generation how hard I work so that they can gain this spirit. I see this in spirit in some younger people and I am happy when I do. When someone creates a challenging, yet agreeable environment, it produces a wonderful work ethic.

Kunitaka Koda: Do you have any spirit of inspiration that motivates you to create your work?
I do not have those things inside of me constantly, but once the surroundings are there I am able to create. Yet, I am constantly working… still, I am not at the point to produce my own works.

What direction…or what do you hope to see in the future for anime here in the U.S. and in Japan?
Higher value…quality products. Better quality, higher taste, better sensitivity. But what is higher quality, what is better taste or better sensitivity…I cannot say. But let’s say we have a standard, and that it has to be approved by 10 million people, then it would raise the standards and the purity of the product.
But lets be frank: There will still be things that are popular and approved by millions of people even though it is not so good… that is important to note.

Question asked by Interviewer #1: If you have a certain specific skill as an artist, in order to be liked by one million people, should you let go of what you, as an artist, think is good?
Yes you should. Because there is an intellect, and if you think you are a huge genius you will go insane. It is important to throw away the ego. I would like to say this to everyone: rather than trying to improve your talent or style, before that…why don’t you try out what you like with a hundred thousand people. I think one of the reasons, especially regarding the education system, they push your style and talent only…all the time. Why not try to get the approval of many people and work at that, instead of just working at your own style for yourself complacently.

Just to tell everyone a little bit of a personal story. The reason why the Gundam was able to come to such a huge level and gain so much popularity was because of the promotions for the film and for the toys. If I had created it as I pleased, perhaps I would still have made it, but I would not have arrived at this degree of popularity. What I am reiterating, is that you have to let go of satisfying your own ego and create what people want and satisfy the public. I literally mean it. The environment will work for you if it is there. There is a saying that lemon makes lemonade… which is similar. If you let go of your ego, it will work for you.



Thanks to Yoshiyuki Tomino for the interview! I would like to thank JAS for sponsoring the event. (if you have not been to visit JAS I highly recommend it!) I would also like to thank Yoshiyuki Tomino’s interpreters, Masakatsu Sato and Sen Yamanaka. I would also like to thank Hiroko Saito and again Sen Yamanaka for allowing me to interview Yoshiyuki Tomino. Thank you to Nobuko Obana for making me feel comfortable, because I was very nervous! Thanks to the interviewers, you asked wonderful questions.