Tribe Gundam" as a clear "robot action drama" that does not rely on space century settings and specifications.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the broadcast of the first "Mobile Suit Gundam. The TV series directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, the original creator of the series, was "Turn A Gundam" (1999), which was aired 20 years ago to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series. The last "Gundam" directed by Tomino before that was "Mobile Suit V Gundam" (1993), and "Tribe Gundam" is the first Gundam work that is not directly related to these series set in the space century.

The "Moonrays," a race of people who migrated to the moon in ancient times, make a plan to return to Earth. However, the Earthlings, who have regressed in science, feel threatened by the Moonrays and form a citizen army called "Mirisha," and a war begins between the two sides. The main robot, the Tribe Gundam, is a mysterious relic left behind on Earth before the collapse of civilization, and is not a "newly built high-spec prototype mobile suit" like previous Gundams.
The ambiguity of the mechanical settings makes it difficult to enjoy it in the same way as the Gundam of the past, but the ninth episode, "Koren, Gundam to Yell," is a solidly structured, clear-cut robot action episode. Let's take a quick look back.

The unique mobile suit "Igel" is described as a unique "enemy mecha!

Sergeant Koren of Moonrays descends to Earth in his special mobile suit "IGEL" to fight the Tribe Gundam. The IGEL is a unique mobile suit that transforms from a humanoid form to a dinosaur form with a long tail, and uses its head as a hammer. In its right hand, it carries a drill-shaped club.
Igel's appearance can be divided into the following three scenes.

(1) Kicking out Mirisha's mobile suits and showing its strength.
(2) He fights the Tribe Gundam and gains the upper hand at least once.
(3) However, the Tribe counterattacks and is defeated.

Then, in each of (1) through (3), the functions of the Igel, such as "transforms into a dinosaur shape," "its head becomes a weapon," and "it has a long tail," are explained in cut units.

（In (1) ......

∙ Bend the legs in opposite joints and tilt the upper body forward (camera PANs from bottom to top)
Running and drilling away at Mirisha's mobile suit (camera moves sideways).
Extend your head and smash it against Mirisha's mobile suit (PAN from left to right).
The tail is used to entangle Mirisha's Mobile Suit (PAN from right to left).
By waving the camera to the side (PAN to the side), it indicates that Igel is a strong enemy that can "attack with a long reach back and forth". Also, PAN vertically from the feet when transforming to the dinosaur shape gives a sense of enormity and intimidation.

（In (2) ......
Bend the legs at the opposite joints, and bend the upper body forward.
While running, thrust out the drill (PAN from bottom to top)
Raise the drill and swing it down toward the Tribe.
The Tribe points the drill at the fallen Tribe, but the Tribe pulls out its beam saber and points it at Igel's chest (zooms back while spinning).
(2) In the cut where the two sides are at each other's throats with their weapons pointed at each other, a large zoom back is used to create a sense of urgency by zooming in on the still picture, which is completely motionless.

（In (3), ......
The dinosaur transforms into a dinosaur shape while running (PAN from left to right).
It charges toward the Tribe (close-up of it passing in front of the camera).
It tries to hit the Tribe but is evaded (camera PANs from right to left).
It swings a drill down at the Tribe, but the drill is cut off by a beam saber.
In the final cut, the "Tribe Gundam with both hands holding beam sabers" and the "Igel with the drill cut off" pass each other, but neither of them moves; they simply slide down the cell. One cannot help but be reminded of the effective use of stop-motion animation in the first episode of "Mobile Suit Gundam," in which a Gundam defeats a Zaku with a beam saber.

Give up on the overly complicated "Space Century" series and strike a new counter!

The year 1999, when "Tribe Gundam" was broadcast, was the middle of an unprecedented figure boom. In OVA, "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Platoon," which began in 1996, was reaching its climax (it was completed in 1999).
However, while "08MS Platoon" delved into the details of the space century with its elaborate layout and drawings, "Tribe Gundam" went in a completely different direction. The action of Igel in "Koren, Gundam to Yell," is often a simple repeat of the original, and the crucial cut that decides the fate of the battle is a stop-motion picture with no animation.
However, "Tribe Gundam" shows traces of an attempt to attract a new audience that was not familiar with the Space Century series by using a simple composition of "an allied robot fighting off an enemy robot, even though it is struggling". Robot animation, which can create a lively drama with only stop-starts, repetitions, and camera work, has the power to return to the entertainment stage at any time.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)
(C) SOTSU, SUNRISE