For this third ‘Pages from the Past’ feature, we present a neat bit of anime history: the first interview that Animerica ever conducted from the very first issue of Animerica! Sitting in the interview hotseat? Yoshiyuki Tomino of Mobile Suit Gundam fame.

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After thirty years in the industry, anime angstmeister Yoshiyuki Tomino takes a moment to reflect upon the Japanese film industry, on his role as Gundam auteur, and on the road not travelled. A surprisingly revealing interview by James Matsuzaki, translated by Fred Schodt.

Two years after the 1977 release of Star Wars, former film major and nouveau director Yoshiyuki Tomino debuted an animated mecha series that would forever redefine the “super-robot” genre.

Transforming mecha and L-5 colonies aside, the Gundam series which Tomino had created introduced a new level of human drama and even existentialism to a genre which had long since become self-parodying (at fifteen volumes, the slapstick comedy SD or “superdeformed” Gundam series may very well surpass the original). More than a simple slugfest between “good” and “bad” robots, Gundam explores the nature of man’s relationship with technology and asks questions about evolution and manifest destiny in space.

And yet, what price success? In his grudging role as anime’s Dr. Frankenstein, Tomino gives the impression of a man who would gladly part with the title “Father of Gundam” if he could only disassociate himself from the mecha monster he’s created.

Apocrypha regarding Tomino’s love/hate affair abound. One oft-repeated story has him at a convention being plagued by fans about the next Gundam sequel. Tomino is rumored to have snatched up a nearby model, hurling it to his feet, whereupon he stomped it to pieces. “THERE’S your Gundam sequel!” he’s said to have cried. Another version has him stabbing it through the head with a pencil.

Other television series Tomino has been involved with include the faerie fantasy Aura Battler Dunbine, Five Star Stories precursor Heavy Metal L-Gaim and the wild west comedic robot drama Combat Mecha Xabungle, currently in release as a thirteen-disc “perfect” laser disc collection.

Tomino is also an active writer and novelist, mostly of Gundam-related titles. His Gaia Gear novel series takes place 500 years after Gundam’s One-Year War. The series recently ended a long serialization in Newtype, The Moving Pictures Magazine, where it attracted attention for its popular character illustrations by Hiroyuki Kitazume (Gundam Double Zeta, Gaiearth). Sound effects and voice actors were employed to bring Tomino’s original script to life in a nationally broadcast radio version.

ANIMERICA was fortunate to speak with the man behind the Gundam legend during the international anime and manga convention Anime Expo ’92. Special thanks go to press liaison Peter Wong and to translator extraordinaire Fred Schodt, whose long-term association and familiarity with Tomino’s work made this forthright interview possible.

ANIMERICA: How did you begin your career in anime?
TOMINO: You may be aware that in Japan, weekly half-hour television animation actually began one year before I graduated from college. The first series was Tetsuwan Atom [known in the U.S. as Astro Boy. I majored in film, but when I graduated, there was no chance of employment in the film industry. So I joined the Tetsuwan Atom production staff and went into the animation industry instead. I’ve probably directed more episodes of the TV series than anyone else.

ANIMERICA: What specific training did you receive?
TOMINO: In college, I was particularly interested in film direction. For the first two years in the program, we were required to write a lot of scenarios; I’d say it gave me a basic education in scriptwriting. I received no formal training in art, but because I knew that I wanted to become a director, I did study art and music to a certain extent.

ANIMERICA: What influenced your creation of the Gundam concept?
TOMINO: | Don’t think there are any animated works that have had a specific influence on the creation of the Gundam world. In regard to live-action, there have been quite a few that I have not only liked but been influenced by. I very much like Akira Kurosawa’s films, especially the action films. I like the very quiet films of Yasujiro Ozu. And I particularly like the U.S. film Destination Moon. Its depiction of space did influence me; it’s where I got my feeling for space conditions from. It’s very outdated now, but it was revolutionary at the time.

ANIMERICA: How did the space-colony concept and the Star Wars movie influence Gundam?
TOMINO: The space-colony concept and Star Wars were very much an influence on me; in fact, you could say they’re the basis for the whole Gundam drama. I already had the story outline done when the movie was released and, frankly, I felt extremely frustrated and bitter. In the United States a film like Star Wars could be made in live-action, whereas in Japan we were in a position—or I was in a position—where I had to make my story in robot animation…and I don’t particularly like robot animation.

ANIMERICA: That brings up a point Mamoru Nagano (Five Star Stories) brought up when he visited Baycon ’89. In many respects, he said, Japanese live-action films, especially in regard to sound effects and special effects, are by American standards outdated. Do you have any feelings on why this might be?
TOMINO: Yes. In Japan we have production staff and directors who are big, big admirers of special effects. But I think they regard the shooting of special effects as something too unique, too separate. That’s one of the reasons that the films themselves are terrible. | think the biggest problem in the Japanese film industry is that people are not using special effects to tell a story; they’re using special effects to use special effects. It’s a big trend among many production companies. I would even go so far as to say that there are no live-action directors in Japan who can use special effects as an integral part of the story.

ANIMERICA: Going back to Gundam, how did you assemble the creative team that produced the first series?
TOMINO: There really is no creative “team” for Gundam as such. We just used whatever staff was currently available. For example, we were very lucky that on the first series we had Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Arion, Venus Wars) as our character designer. In Zeta and Gundam Double Zeta, we had all kinds of creative staff involved. But because each series had a separate team, we weren’t able to establish the overall continuity and uniformity that we should’ve had throughout the story, and that’s unfortunate.

ANIMERICA: Is that why there were such big breaks in the storylines between the various series and Char’s Counterattack?
TOMINO: Yes, that’s the biggest reason. I think another reason why there were such big gaps was because, being both creator and director, I tried to do too much. Because both I and the producer felt that the element of human drama was the main reason for the success of the first series, I think I became too fixated. In Zeta, we emphasized this human-drama element too much and wound up with a bleak ending. We overcompensated in Double Zeta and ended up with a comical ending. I think many of the fans tend to see the whole Gundam story as one unified universe, but, frankly, I don’t think of it that way. In my own mind, from Zeta Gundam on, every Gundam story stands on its own.

ANIMERICA: How involved were you with the two Gundam OAV series, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080, A War in the Pocket and the recently completed Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, Stardust Memory?TOMINO: I had no involvement in either project. They’re produced by Sunrise and under its direct control.

From my standpoint as the original creator, the fact that | can’t control the whole universe is sometimes very frustrating.

ANIMERICA: I understand that both Char’s Counterattack and F-91 were originally novel series.
TOMINO: It’s the other way around, actually. Whenever I write a novel, it’s with the assumption that there’ll also be a film. As for why, I don’t know if I should say this, but… It’s probably because my novels aren’t strong enough to stand up on their own. I’d prefer to write the novels before the films, but the film production’s got to come first. And since I’m involved in direction as well as production, the films always get priority and that’s why the books come out later. I’d like to become a novelist, but I can’t. I’m in a real dilemma.

ANIMERICA: In what way? Do you feel trapped by the Gundam concept?
TOMINO: It has absolutely nothing to do with Gundam. It’s related to the fact that, for my generation, the print medium and novels in particular have a higher status than film. It’s sort of everyone’s dream, I guess, to be a novelist. But I am a TV animation director.

ANIMERICA: If you were a novelist, what sort of genres would you write in? Science fiction, perhaps?
TOMINO: No, I don’t particularly care for science fiction.

ANIMERICA: In its time, Gundam was a revolutionary concept. In his book, Inside the Robot Kingdom, Fred Schodt describes a ‘70s anime producer who told you how to write a proper robot story. Basically, have a young hero with a big robot smash the bad guy.
TOMINO: I was involved in a lot of films like that, actually. What I wanted to do was something very different. Gundam, of course, was a hit. Many times after that, I tried to create shows with a different feeling. Some of these I regard as failures.

ANIMERICA: What is your relationship with Sunrise?
TOMINO: In theory, I’m a freelance director. However, because of the success of Gundam, I am in reality directly linked to Sunrise. In many cases, Sunrise starts the project and then they pass it on to me. Because Gundam is so visible within the industry, people don’t really see me as a freelance director. This has actually caused quite a personal problem. Until there are no more Gundam films made, I won’t be getting any work. People won’t give me any work.

ANIMERICA: What are your duties on a Gundam project? You’ve already mentioned that you’re the overall director. Do you work on the screenplay as well?
TOMINO: I do everything that you mentioned. Whether it’s a TV series or a theatrical feature, I’m involved in either drawing the storyboards or checking them. I discuss the drawings with the animators, I draw and check the cels—all of which takes 365 days a year. I really don’t have time for other projects.

ANIMERICA: What would you like to be involved in if Gundam were terminated?
TOMINO: Nothing in particular. I’m a TV person—I’ve spent so much time in the industry, so many years being given the conditions under which I must create—I really don’t think I could come up with anything on my own. I’ve been working under externally imposed conditions for thirty years. I’ve got all kinds of experience in being given certain conditions for planning and direction; I’m actually very confident working in an environment like that. But also, as I’ve said, because I’ve been working in this situation for thirty years, it’s very difficult for me to put together my own ideas, to work from a “blank slate.” In that sense, I am probably a very different creature from what you normally refer to as a creator.

For example, Gundam is part of the giant robot genre and frankly, I don’t really like the giant robot genre. But when I am put in the situation where I have to create within those parameters, I turn around and think, “Well, what can I do?” And then, if necessary, I try to introduce some new concepts. That’s what happened with Gundam, and | think that’s one of the reasons for its success. If I were left to my own devices, if I could do whatever I wanted, | probably wouldn’t have the success of Gundam.

It may not seem like a creative process, but I’ve recently begun to realize that as a creative method, it is legitimate.

ANIMERICA: Legitimate? How so?
TOMINO: When people think of a creative person in the industry, they probably think of someone who works from a blank slate. But actually, even the greatest geniuses tend to draw ideas from their environment. So I think what I described is a legitimate method of being creative.

ANIMERICA: Are there any future projects you’re planning to work on?
TOMINO: In terms of the Gundam world, I would like to create one more story from the perspective of 10- to 15-year-old children. I’m also interested in doing something
with the Dunbine world, maybe something in its future. It might be something, for example, where the inhabitants realize that only they can save the Earth from destruction.

ANIMERICA: How do you feel about the various print adaptations of the Gundam world? For instance, MS Era and Gundam Sentinels?
TOMINO: The fact that side-stories are popular is something I am pleased about. Sometimes the side-stories and the films made from them attract more fans than I’m able to generate. Because it does help to increase the Gundam market, I’m very happy for it. From my standpoint as the original creator, though, the fact that I can’t control the whole universe is sometimes very frustrating. Gundam’s been around for over ten years. In terms of business strategy and development, the side-stories can be thought of as a vehicle to continue it for another ten. They’re also another way to expand the market and continue it all over the world. In that sense, they’re valuable.

ANIMERICA: Finally, if you had the chance to recreate Gundam, what would you change from the original story? Would it perhaps be more adult-oriented?
TOMINO: If it came to remaking the Gundam series… well, it would depend on the conditions. At this point I’m not even considering it. However, if | were given the opportunity and the conditions under which to do so, then I’d demonstrate to you how I’d go about it.

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