Aya Shimazu sang the theme song, made possible by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's wish! Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin: The Battle of Loum

On Thursday, September 7, 2017, a stage greeting was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo to celebrate the blockbuster success of the anime film "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin" and episode 5, "The Clash of the Ruum Battle. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the general director of the movie, and Aya Shimazu aka AYA, who sings the theme song "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING-Universe (Sora) Yo" of the 5th episode, took the stage. The event was a lively one, with talk sessions and live singing by Ms. Shimazu.

This OVA is based on a manga work by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, character designer and animation director of the first "Mobile Suit Gundam" broadcast in 1979, who drew the prequel story by himself. The Battle of Loum", the fifth episode, has been in theaters since September 2. Despite the fact that it was only shown in 35 theaters nationwide, it became a huge hit, ranking in the top 10 in box office revenue for the week within two days of its release.

⇒Schedule of Anime Film Screening

The guests, Yasuhiko-san and Shimazu-san, appeared at the call of the host, Yuichi Mori, a radio DJ and narrator, and were greeted with loud applause. After the greetings, the talk began with the topic of how Mr. Shimazu was chosen for the role. Mr. Yasuhiko said that Mr. Shimazu, a talented enka singer who has performed in Kohaku (red and white), but who has been active in fields completely unrelated to anime, was chosen to sing the theme song for the first time at the request of Mr. Yasuhiko. I wanted a song with a strong pull because of the strong pull of the work," Shimazu said. I had a hard time deciding what a strong song was, but I couldn't get Shimazu-san's strong voice out of my ears. ...... There was a lot of resistance, but I thought it would be okay to wield my power for once, so I used my authority as the general director and made my wish come true. Mr. Yasuhiko said, "I had a lot of resistance, but I thought it was okay to wield my power for once. Shimazu-san, on the other hand, looks back on the time when he was offered the role and says, "I was surprised to hear that he was going to work on that Gundam! I was so surprised. I am so happy.

Yasuhiko was asked, "What did you request when you were recording the song? Yasuhiko was asked, "What did you request during the recording process? I said, "A song about the goddess of war," and he agreed at once. He said that he was anxious because it was a difficult song, but after hearing Shimazu-san's voice in the first test, he thought, "Oh, this is different (very good). Takayuki Hattori, the composer of the song, also revealed that he said, "I was suddenly hit with major-class power. Shimazu was thrilled, saying, "I was so nervous that I don't remember much of the recording, but I am truly honored that you said that. As for her impressions of the movie, she said, "I was moved all over again to think that my song was playing here in that Gundam in that final scene.

At this point, the live part of the event began, during which Shimazu-san performed her song. The first song was a cover of the famous song "Another Name for Life" at the request of Mr. Yasuhiko, who is a "Miyuki-ist" (a fan of Miyuki Nakajima). This was in response to Mr. Yasuhiko's request, "Even a singer as good as Shimazu-san probably doesn't fit Gundam's clientele. I want people to know that I sing a variety of songs. The audience was immediately drawn in by the powerful singing that Mr. Yasuhiko fell in love with.

Finally, the theme song "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING-Universe (Sora) Yo" was performed live for the first time. The song was not only powerful, but also had a gentle, enveloping luster that was just right for the goddess of battlefield singing, and when she finished, the audience applauded. After listening to the song, Mr. Yasuhiko thanked Ms. Shimazu again and said to Ms. Hattori, "Please write the song as if you were writing a song for Whitney Houston. If Whitney can sing it, Shimazu can sing it, too.

In closing, Shimazu said, "I feel that it is such an amazing thing to be able to sing the theme song of Gundam, which I loved and watched on TV when I was a child. I was so happy to be able to sing in this atmosphere of everyone who loves Gundam. Yasuhiko-san said, "Thanks to all of you, we have ranked in the top 10 for the first week at the box office. There are still three weeks to go, so if you have time, please come as often as you like. Please purchase Shimazu-san's CD." He concluded the event with a wry smile, "I know it's a bit of an outlandish advertisement (laugh), but thank you in advance for your support.

(Reporting and writing by Kazuaki Saito at TRAP)