The anime "Getter Robot Arc" dares to use muddy characters!　Veteran animator Hideyuki Motohashi brings the passion of robot animation to life in 2025 [Anime Industry Watching No.81

Getter Robo Arc," the final work in the "Getter Robo Saga" series created by manga artist Ken Ishikawa in collaboration with Go Nagai, has been adapted into an animated TV series, which began airing last month.
The "Getter Robo Saga" has developed its own unique style in animation, with many works mixed together, but the character design for the latest "Getter Robo Arc" is based on the character designs of "Sengoku Majin Goshogun" (1981), "Rokushin Goryokai God Mars" (1981), "Super Electric Robot Hideyuki Motohashi, a veteran character designer who also worked on "Tetsujin 28-go FX" (1992).
What does this talented animator, who lived through the most exciting era of robot animation, see in today's animation industry?　His interview reveals a passionate spirit in the field that has been lost today.

Entering the midst of the super robot boom of the 1970s as a rookie animator

─ ─ The "Getter Robot Arc" this time has a rough touch that is typical of super robots, isn't that appealing?

Motohashi: In a positive sense, I wanted to create a muddy character design. It is not Motohashi's character, but I wanted to give a strong sense of Ken Ishikawa, the author of the original work. Since "Getter Robo" (1974), which was the first animated series by Toei Doga (at that time), "Getter Robo Saga" has been animated in many different ways. Therefore, there may be pros and cons to Mr. Ishikawa's taste. I can understand the opinion that "I want the animation to be in the modern style. However, this time, we decided to use this character list to make the most of Mr. Ishikawa's charm. In the past, I have had the opportunity to work on character designs for the anime adaptations of Mr. Ishikawa's original works, such as "Emptiness War History MIROKU" (1989) and "Majuu Sensen" (1990). I thought that "Getter Robo Arc" was a project that would make the most of Ishikawa's charm.


─ ─ Does the character have many lines as an anime character nowadays?

Motohashi: No, there are not many lines. Other recent works probably have far more lines. However, there is no point in making the characters the same as those in other animation works. I am aware that there are various opinions, so I tried to create a design that would please Mr. Ishikawa's fans. When the story is based on Mr. Ishikawa's original work, my perspective is "this is the kind of animation work I want to create" rather than "this is the kind of design I want to create. Recently, most anime are human dramas, but for "Getter Robo Arc," I wanted to create a human drama with a strong human character.

─ Are you also the animation director?

Motohashi: I only supervised the first episode and the OP. I also helped a little bit with the other episodes (Mr. Motohashi is credited as the chief animation director).

─ ─ I was surprised to see the robot in 3DCG.

Motohashi: At first, I drew the robot by hand. However, it was difficult for me to grasp the shape of what was going on. I drew the robot for "Rokushin God Mars" by hand, but it was easier. That is why I left the depiction of the robots in "Getter Robo Arc" to the 3DCG staff.


─ Speaking of "Rokushin God Mars," the beautiful boy characters designed by Mr. Motohashi were very popular among women and created an era, didn't they?

Motohashi: I think that was more due to the popularity of the voice actors than the designs. In both "God Mars" and "Super Electric Robot Tetsujin 28-go FX," the director allowed me to draw the characters as I wanted. I was young, and I was at an age where I could grow and develop as I was involved in the production. It was during the period of "Godmothers" and "Tetsujin 28-go FX" that I was overflowing with the desire to do "this" and "that.

─ I heard that you made your debut as an animator on "UFO Robot Grendizer" (1975), for which Shingo Araki was in charge of character design.

Motohashi: To be honest, I had never heard of Mr. Araki until I entered the industry. It was a time when even the word "animator" was rarely heard of, and when I was about to graduate from high school and start working, an acquaintance of mine said to me, "I heard that a company called Araki Productions is looking for a job, why don't you apply with them? I just happened to be accepted.
But I had a strong interest in robot animation. I liked "Getter Robo," "Mazinger Z" (1972), "Great Mazinger" (1974), and "Raideen the Brave" (1975). I even bought a superalloy of Raideen.

─ So you had no trouble drawing robots?

Motohashi: I was surprised when I saw Isao Kaneda's original drawings for "Gaiking" (1976). It was not the shape, but the movement that was amazing. I thought, "How in the world did he draw that?" I went to Toei Doga and asked to see the time sheet. I went to Toei Motion Picture to ask them to show me the time sheet, because it was no good just looking at the images; I needed to see the sheet to understand the timing. I was amazed, "What is this six frames to one frame? I was surprised. It was an unusual frame-by-frame execution that left a lasting impression on the viewer.


─ ─ So it was not just a somewhat cool move, but you had to understand how to draw the frame by frame?

Motohashi: In "I am an Iron Soldier" (1977), I was told to use only one and three frames, not two, as a precaution. It means that the movement of striking with a bamboo sword with a pang is more effective if it is crisp and clear. In other words, move it effectively so that it remains in human vision rather than whether it looks natural or not. I see, I learned that such a way of thinking is animation. I had a feeling of "how I would do this" and "how I would like to do that," and it somehow took shape around the time of "Godmothers.