Constructing a World View from "Defeated Mecha The Work and Aesthetics of Yutaka Izubuchi (Anime Industry Watching Vol. 57)

Robots designed by Yutaka Izubuchi include the Nu Gundam from "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char of the Counterattack" (1988), the Alex from "Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket" (1989), and Ingram from "Mobile Police Patlabor" (1988), all of which are still being made into new products today. Many popular mecha are still being commercialized today.
However, Mr. Izubuchi, who entered the animation industry as a teenager, was valued at the production site as a designer specializing in "mecha that are defeated in the first episode," or enemy robots that are defeated after only one episode. Behind his long work history lies a unique aesthetic for stories and works.

What I was drawing was a rough idea for a storyboard.

─ ─ The first time you designed an enemy mecha was for "Deimos the General" (1978), wasn't it? Did director Tadao Nagahama give you any special orders when you were designing it?

Izubuchi: At first, the enemy mecha for "Deimos" was drawn by Yuki Sei. However, although Mr. Sei could draw spaceships and the like, he was not very good at drawing enemy mecha. Next, Mitsuru Hiruta drew the enemy mecha, and then I took over. When I was a student preparing for the entrance exam, I went to visit the studio as a fan and showed him what I had been drawing. I was asked if I would like to do it. Mr. Nagahama is a straightforward person, so when he praised my drawings, he said, "That's nice," and that made me feel really good (laughs). Looking back on it now, I think that Mr. Nagahama wanted an idea that would allow him to compose a different killing style each time, like the monstrous ninjas in Futaro Yamada's novels.

─ ─ I think that in robot animation at that time, as long as the sponsor gave permission for the main mecha, nothing else was questioned?

Izubuchi: Yes, that was certainly the case with "Deimos. However, I heard that "Deimos" was the only mecha that Mr. Nagahama gave an order to the main character. He said, "I want it to have a smart face like Shakin (Prince Shakin of "Raideen the Brave" fame), but not a bulky face. But his body is a trailer. It was kind of unbalanced (laughs). (laughs). For a mecha that played a leading role at the time, the face is a bit unusual.

─ After "Deimos," you went on to design "Future Robot D'Artagnus" (1979) and "Uchu Taisho God Sigma" (1980), each year specializing in enemy mecha.

Izubuchi: Even so, I am an amateur who just likes to draw. Also, this may come as a surprise, but I never had the slightest desire to design the main mecha. In the case of "Kamen Rider," I was the kind of kid who liked to think of new Shocker monsters and Destron monsters in my brain rather than come up with new Riders on my own. At the time, Kunio Okawara told me, "Izubuchi, you must be able to design the main mecha," to which I replied, "Yes, thank you very much! I replied, "Yes, thank you!" but inwardly I thought, "Actually, I'd rather just work on the enemy side" (laughs).

─ Why did you not want to be the main mecha?

Izubuchi Hmmm... ....... Probably because, from my point of view, it was boring. I think it is the many characters (rather than a single hero) that create the worldview of the work. In the case of Sentai heroes, I tend to think of the combatants as the embodiment of the work's worldview (......). Even in "Mobile Suit Gundam," it is Zaku, not Gundam, that represents that world. If we can create icons that are versatile and help the viewer grasp the image of the work, then 80% of the time, our work will be successful. I actually thought that all the enemy mecha in "Deimos" should have wings.

───Oh, because the enemy Baam aliens have wings, don't they?

Izubuchi: Yes, they don't have to fly, but it would give a sense of unity if they carried wings as part of their design. Since I joined the project from the middle, I already felt that the idea was not feasible. If I had participated from the beginning, I would have proposed that way, and I also drew some enemy mecha with wings. Also, during the course of "Deimos," the enemy mecha were enhanced from mere "battle robots" to "mecha warriors. So, I felt like I was creating a concept that visually resembled a combined mecha. I think I tried to create a more special enemy mecha feel when the beautiful guest characters appeared. In "Deimos," there were a lot of beautiful guest characters because Mr. Nagahama had female fans in mind.

─ Did you read the plot and design the enemy mecha?

Deibuchi: The plot, or rather, the first draft of the scenario. We didn't have time to think it over as we do now, and we had to upload it within a few days of placing the order. After all, enemy mecha appeared every week. However, at that time, rough designs were fine, and there was also a strong aspect of providing ideas for the storyteller to put together a play, saying, "This is the kind of killing move we can do. （The system was such that Akihiro Kanayama (animation director) would clean up our rough design to make it easier for him to draw. It wasn't until "Invincible Robot Trider G7" (1980) that I began to do my own rough drafts. Therefore, the design drawings I did for "Deimos" were just rough ideas for drawing. At that time, the drawing was not digital, and the lines were not as well-developed as they are today.

─ ─ There were even parodies of Darth Vader and Stormtroopers from "Star Wars" among the enemy mecha.

Izubuchi: That was around the time of "Strongest Robot Dioja" (1981). Since "Dioja" was the Mito Koumon of the universe, I thought it would be acceptable to have such an enemy in the world. I think I also did a parody of Hideo Agatsuma (......). For better or worse, it was a generous time (laughs).
(Laughs.) At that time, I was working at Sunrise's Studio No. 2 for a long time. Mr. Nagahama left in the middle of "D'Artagnus" and was replaced by Mr. Katsutoshi (Sasaki), and then Mr. Katsutoshi directed "Trider" and "Dioja. After that, Mr. Yoshiyuki Tomino came in as a new line of director for the 2STA. I joined "Battle Mecha Zabungle" (1982). In other words, I did not move from one production to another, but rather, the productions and people at 2STA changed. I think the connections with people were particularly significant. Sunrise 2STA up to "D'Artagnus" was a subcontractor or production site of Toei, so I got acquainted with Toei producers such as Takeyuki Suzuki and Takashi Iijima, who would later be invited to work on Sentai productions.