Interview with Atsushi Tamura (Chief Animation Director and Character Designer) and Shuhei Morita (3D Director) Part 1: "Can't we fuse the coolness of Mr. Katoki and the physicality of Mr. Yasuhiko?

The movie "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Island of Cruz Doan" is currently being screened to rave reviews.

The 15th episode "The Island of Cruz Doan" of the TV animation "Mobile Suit Gundam," the milestone of Japanese robot animation and the origin of Gundam, was broadcast in 1979. Known as a masterpiece among fans, this episode depicts the sorrows of war through the interaction between the main character, Amuro Ray, and Doan, a deserter from the rival Zeon army, and is still talked about to this day.

On the other hand, it was omitted from the later film trilogy, so in a sense, it is an episode "known only to those in the know.

This time, "The Island of Cruz Doan" was unexpectedly made into a movie.

The film is directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, character designer and animation director of the TV animation "Mobile Suit Gundam" and creator of the manga "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin" ("THE ORIGIN"), which has sold over 10 million copies of its comics.

To commemorate the release of such a high-profile movie, Akiba Research Institute conducted interviews with the staff and cast. This time, we interviewed Atsushi Tamura, who is the chief animation director and character designer, and Shuhei Morita, who is the 3D director.

From left: Shuhei Morita, Atsushi Tamura

⇒ " Presenting a cheki (checkered photo)! Interview with Toru Furuya (Amuro Ray) and Shunsuke Takeuchi (Cruz Doan) [Special feature: "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Island of Cruz Doan
⇒[ Mobile Suit Gundam: The Island of Crucible Doan] Interview with Director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko: "I want to emphasize the human drama of the Gundam series.
⇒[ Mobile Suit Gundam: The Island of Cruz Doan] "Amuro and his friends are in a different position, but they are living their lives to the fullest. That is what is important in this episode." Interview with Yuma Uchida (Marcos) and Fuu Hirohara (Kara)

How can I recreate the feeling I had when I was watching "Mobile Suit Gundam"?

--When I interviewed Director Yasuhiko, he mentioned that many of the staff around him were very particular about "The Island of Cruz Doan," and he mentioned Tamura's name. First of all, could you tell us how you both felt when you saw the TV animation "The Island of Cruculous Doan"?

Tamura: At that time, most of the animated films were made over the course of a year, and sometimes there were extra episodes, or stories that were like a break in the middle of the year. I think "The Island of Cruz Doan" in "Mobile Suit Gundam" was a story in that position. But from an anime fan's point of view, such stories deepen the depth of the work, and it is interesting to see the characters appear in a different way than usual.

Morita I was born in 1978, so "First Gundam" started when I was one year old. We would sing "Ai Senshi" (the theme song from the movie "Mobile Suit Gundam II: The Lost Warrior") at karaoke. It was like that (laughs).

Tamura That's the way it was (laughs).

Morita I am from that generation, but I also have a lot of memories of "The Island of Cruz Doan. However, they are not the memories of the "broken drawings" that are so popular on the Internet. I had an older brother who was of the Gunpla generation, and he was building Kempfer and other Gunpla at the time, so he thought the enemies were cool. That enemy appeared as the righteous side! And they are protecting their children! That's how I remember it.

However, I also understand the feelings of the fans. At the end of a Gundam-related job I was once involved in, a 3D animator was recreating a cut of Zaku beating each other up using a 3D model of Zaku just for fun. I saw it and said, "I know! It's Doan Zaku!" I remember having a lively conversation like that. I knew it was an episode that people who liked it would like.

Tamura The green Zaku fighting each other was also very different. It was similar to the episode of "Ultraman" where the fake Ultraman appears (e.g., "Ultraman" episode 18, "Brothers from Planet Earth"). I think I also felt the fun and fascination of the same shape fighting each other.

--I am of the same generation, so I understand that feeling. As I got a little older, I began to sense the underlying themes.

Tamura That's right. When I grew up, I realized that it was a deep story. The fact that Doan is a "deserter on the enemy side" gives the story tremendous depth. I was confronted with this story at an age when I was beginning to think that this might be the nature of human beings, and I felt that my faith in the work was strengthened.

Morita I also felt, even as a child, that the enemy had complex feelings.

--Yasuhiko: You two are the chief animation director and 3D director for this work, so could you tell us how you wanted to present the episode "The Island of Cruz Doan," which Yasuhiko-san expanded from the TV anime, and what points you were particularly conscious of? Tamura: Basically, I wanted to show how the "Mobile Warrior Gundam" was created.

Tamura: Basically, it follows the format of "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin," but in addition to that, I was always thinking about how I could recreate the feeling I had when I was watching "First Gundam" about 40 years ago. I always thought about how I could do that.

Morita: What I thought was unexpectedly very important was Kikka and the others. Of course, Amuro is important, but when Kikka and the others appear, it brings me back to that time. Also, the sound is important.

Tamura That's right. I wanted to make sure that everyone's memories were connected. I was conscious of this not only in the characters, but also in the expression of the mobile suits, background art, music, and sound effects ...... in all areas. I think that is what makes this work special.

-In terms of characters, the number of children living on the island has increased from 3 to 20. Was it difficult in this area?

Tamura: I was surprised when I heard that we were going to increase the number of children to 20, but I had little difficulty because the rough design I had drawn went through as is. Some of the characters were decided by Yasuhiko-san, so it was not difficult for me to design the characters I designed.

--Tamura: There were no specific requests or suggestions from Director Yasuhiko regarding the drawing, including that.

Tamura: There were no details, but generally speaking, he asked me not to cut corners. Japanese animation is very advanced in the art of cutting corners. That is a very important skill, but in some cases we had no choice but to cut corners. It is a culture that was created because of such factors as the number of sheets available or the lack of schedule. However, animation is a very labor-intensive and difficult process, so we should take the trouble to make it properly. I think that is the message that Yasuhiko-san was trying to convey.

Gundam is a down-to-earth hero

--As you mentioned earlier, all of the mobile suits, including the Gundam (RX-78-02), were drawn in CG in this work, which must have been a new experiment and challenge. How did you proceed with the production from the standpoint of a 3D director?

Morita: When I was approached, I told them that I wanted to work with various suggestions from the 3D people. Actually, "3D direction" is a very rare position. Usually, the director looks at both drawing and CG, but CG is a completely different culture from CG. The idea of creating animation is the same, but for example, in the case of drawing, communication is done by paper and sheet, whereas in CG, it is more verbal, or perhaps I should say closer to live-action. We try things out through trial and error, saying things like, "I want it to be a little closer to this.

--We can check the results by making changes little by little.

Morita: On the other hand, people who are in charge of drawing or direction (who have no experience with CG) may want to do something like this, but they don't know if it can be done with CG. I have always worked in 3D, and I had also seen the drawings when I directed "Tokyo Ghoul: Tokyo Ghoul," so I thought it would be more exciting if there was a role for a "3D director".

--What did Yasuhiko-san say to you?

Morita: Yasuhiko-san told us at the beginning that "Gundam is a hero" and "It is a robot, but I want it to be a down-to-earth hero," and that's when the direction was decided.

I am very grateful to Assistant Director Yim Gahi and Mr. Tamura for their support as we worked on the project. They came to check everything, and Mr. Tamura brought a Gundam model putty that he had modified into a Gundam model to Mr. Yasuhiko's specifications.

Tamura: The style of the Gundam that Yasuhiko-san draws is slightly different from the Gundam that is used as the model for the Gunpla. I wanted to make the Gundam look like Yasuhiko's drawing, so I personally tested how I could make it look like Yasuhiko's Gundam in three dimensions. I showed them the model and suggested, "How about making the model like this?

Morita: There was a lot of catching up like that. When I looked at it as a director, I thought, "This animation is typical of Yasuhiko-san. I thought it would be great if we could combine these two elements: "It should be a hero," and "the mecha design should be by Mr. Katoki (Hajime). With Mr. Tamura's help, we tried and experimented to make the standing figure look cool and to make the legs a little thinner. We tried and made a lot of errors to make it look cool in the standing position. It was very rewarding for us as well.

--It is true that the Gundam designed by Mr. Katoki is stylish, and the Gundam drawn by Director Yasuhiko is good in both ways.

Tamura: There are many different designs for the same Gundam, depending on the person who created it. The one standing in Yokohama is different, and the one drawn by Yasuhiko is different. The Gundam in another work may have a different design. The company's policy was to allow various nuances to be expressed by the creator without limiting them, so I did it this time, hoping to express the charm of the Gundam as depicted by Yasuhiko-san.

I wanted to combine Katoki's coolness with Yasuhiko's human-like facial expressions, physical gestures, and body language, which are like water and oil, and I wondered if we could somehow fuse them together. But I wondered if I could somehow fuse them together, and with CG. It was a very reckless attempt, but I think it turned out very well.

To be continued in Part 2!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Kenichi Chiba)