Sunrise Festival 2021] Roots of Bleeding Kaga's Crescent Wound Revealed on the 30th Anniversary!　Report on "Cyber Formula" Screening Talk Show

A screening event of the anime series "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula" was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo on October 17, 2021. General director Mitsuo Fukuda, Junichi Kanemaru as Hayato Kazami, and Toshihiko Seki as Breed Kaga participated in the talk show before the screening.

This event was part of the "Sunrise Festival 2021 REGENERATION," a screening event being held from October 1 to 31, 2021.

Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula" started as a TV anime broadcast in 1991. It depicted a story set in "Cyber Formula," a fictional automobile racing sport in the near future. The series was followed by a series of OVAs, including "11," "ZERO," "SAGA," and "SIN," which depicted Hayato Kazami's battles and his growth from a boy to a young man. In the final series, "SIN," Breed Kaga, who was a good brother to Hayato, became the main character and took on the young emperor, Kazami Hayato.

In this screening, we will be showing "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula SAGA," including ROUND 5 "BURNING! ROUND6 "LIFTING TURN", ROUND7 "LOSE HIS WAY", and ROUND8 "NEVER".

General Director Mitsuo Fukuda

Director Fukuda started the talk show by thanking the audience for coming in the rain. Speaking about the 30th anniversary of the broadcast, Director Fukuda said, "I never thought it would be a work that would be loved for 30 years. All I could think about was to make a good work at each moment, so it feels strange. Looking back, I feel a sense of dread that I was making this work in analog, cel-shaded format," he said, expressing his gratitude for the unchanging support of his fans. Mr. Kanemaru was again surprised to realize that the film was produced with celluloid pictures at that time. Mr. Seki said, "At that time, F1 was becoming a boom in Japan. I think it is truly amazing that the original anime has become a series of several productions. I myself was recognized as a voice actor thanks to my role as Breed Kaga, so it was a truly memorable work that I was happy to be a part of," he recalled.

Junichi Kanamaru

When asked about his memorable exchange with Director Fukuda, Kanemaru replied, "Before the production of "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula ZERO," the director called me and asked me, "What is your conception of the word ZERO? I answered, "I think ZERO is the moment when you don't think about one second before or one second after. Mr. Seki said, "At the time, I asked the director why Breed Kaga had a crescent moon scar. He told me that he was hit by an iron pipe, and I told him that was impossible (laughs). In fact, it was revealed in the drama CD "Jakar's Emblem,"" he said. Director Fukuda revealed, "The crescent moon scar is actually from Kotetsu from 'Jarinko Chie,'" to which an astonished Seki replied, "I have to call myself Jarinko Kaga from today onward! to which Seki replied, "I have to call myself Jarinko Kaga from today onward!

Toshihiko Seki

Speaking of episodes from his postrecording days, Director Fukuda said that he did not often get angry at the "Cyber Formula" site. When Mr. Seki asked, "Do you get angry at other sites? Mr. Seki asked, "Do you get angry at other sites?" and the director laughed, "Like when I was working on 'SEED' (......). Mr. Seki, who also appeared in "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED," laughed and said, "People with 'Ho' in their names were called a lot of things. During the talk, the audience enjoyed Hayami Tadashi's adult gags and Shimada Satoshi's ad-libbed phrases at the recording studio. Kanemaru-san talked about the difficulties he had in playing Hayato, who is becoming an adult, and how he became a child when his emotional expression heightened. Director Fukuda said, "Hayato was a challenger at first, but he became a genius. When you become the king of the racing world, you need to have style," he commented. Seki said that he liked the transition of the relationship between Hayato and Asuka, who started out as children but grew into adults throughout the series.

In the "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula" update section, the CD-BOX "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula SOUND TOURS -ROUND 5 VOCAL & ORIGINAL DRAMA COLLECTION" scheduled for release next spring was introduced. Regarding the CD dramas to be included in the reissue, Kanemaru-san said, "I remember enjoying recording them because they were like another story and gave a glimpse of what was to come. Seki said, "I remember my favorite actress, Aya Kugawa, appearing in the "SAGAII" drama and interacting with Kaga. Director Fukuda recalled, "It was a collaboration with VAP because it was broadcast within the radio show "Aya Kugawa's Shiny Night".

Among the new products introduced was the "Variable Action 'Vision Aslada'" from MegaHouse. The Vision Aslada was newly designed by Shoji Kawamori. Upon seeing the sample, Mr. Kanemaru commented, "I love the shade of blue! Mr. Kawamori said, "I like the blue color! Mr. Seki asked, "Director, please make another new work with this! which was met with enthusiastic applause from the audience.

It was also announced that the postponed exhibition "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula World Tour Tokyo GP" would be held from December 24, 2021 to January 10, 2022. The venue is Yurakucho Marui.

In his last message, Mr. Kanemaru said, "Even after 30 years, you may discover something new when you watch this film again. Please enjoy the film by all means. Mr. Seki said, "Even after 30 years, I believe this film will leave an indelible impression on everyone's heart. I hope that you will continue to talk about Cyber Formula in the future.

Director Fukuda concluded his speech by saying, ""SAGA" is really well done, or rather, it is a work that cannot be made anymore. There are a lot of people who did their best with analog, so I think it is worth seeing," he concluded.

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Kiri Nakazato)