Why is "G Reconguista" the Movie "Easy to Understand"?　We asked Yoshiyuki Tomino, General Director of "G no Reconguista"! Anime Industry Watching No. 63

The theater version of "G Reconguista II" "Berri: Shooting Ahead" is being screened from February 21, 2020. The previous film, "G Reconguista I" "Go! Core Fighter" was such a big hit that the number of screening theaters was increased and the duration was extended and added. Audiences who visited the theaters all remarked that it was "easier to understand than on TV," but why was it "easier to understand"?
We spoke with Yoshiyuki Tomino, General Director of G-RECO the Movie, about the reasons for the "ease of understanding" of "G-RECO the Movie," the fast and driving feel of the new "Berri Gekishin," and the appeal of the theme song "G" filled with the density of DREAMS COME TRUE.

The way the scenes flow well together, not through dialogue, but through the way they are cut together.

─ ─ Let's start with the movie version "G no Reconguista I" "Go! I would like to start with "Core Fighter." I was surprised to see how much easier it is to convey the meaning of the same cut as on TV, just by slightly switching the front and back of the cut.

Tomino: We have been doing such things for a long time. That is the performance of a film. That's what makes movies so interesting. I have the self-reproach of thinking that the meaning was not conveyed well in the TV version, so I do that much. I'm not surprised that you are now surprised by something so obvious. ...... I am glad that you are aware of it, but people in the animation industry today are too ignorant of the principles of such films. In the case of "G Reconguista" ("G-RECO"), we are showing that "movies can be so much more interesting if you tweak them in this way," but the people in the industry are not aware of it. The industry is just unaware of it. They just think, "If a giant robot comes out, it's a Gundam, right?

─ I feel that the basic techniques that have been used since the silent film era are being overlooked.

Tomino: But good movies are still "movies" in the proper sense of the word. Everyone thinks that Marvel movies are movies, don't they?


Go! Core Fighter" is praised by everyone who has seen it as "easier to understand. Many people seem to think that the reason it is easier to understand is because "the dialogue makes up for it.

Tomino: Although the dialogue makes up for the lack of explanation, this is not the right way to look at it. If you accurately depict the flow of emotions of the characters, instead of explaining the situation, the story becomes easier to understand. The reason you may feel that the number of lines has increased is because the characters' dialogue and interactions have become clearer, not because we have unnecessarily increased the number of lines. In the theater version of "G no Reconguista II," "Berri: The Charge," I don't recall adding much dialogue, but rather I cut more than I did on TV. The reason for this is to make the flow smoother.
It would be easier to understand if I talk about the key parts of "Berli: The Shooting Game" first. In the last part of the film, we are about to go to space in earnest. I added Lalaiya's line, "You're home, aren't you? That one line alone made it easier to see the connection from Part 2 to Part 3. We did not make a tight connection, but a deep and relaxed one, so those who have seen the second part will definitely want to see the third part. That line from Laraiya is an important addition to "Berri: Shooting Ahead". But by not only adding more lines, but rather cutting out extra lines and scenes, a movie can be better connected as a whole. When the connection is smooth, the audience perceives the one-and-a-half hour film as a single "chunk. Poorly made films are remembered in chunks, as "that scene was good" or "this scene was interesting," and not as a whole.　If someone asks you, "What is the story of 'G-RECO'? I am sure that anyone would be able to answer, "It's a story about a trip to Venus and coming back to Earth. It is a road movie with such a simple structure. That is the fundamental difference from the old "Gundam" which was a war story.
It's a simple story that moves forward in a straight line, so I made it important in "BERURI: Shooting Ahead" to understand why the characters are forced to aim for space in the final scene. If the flow of the story is easier to understand than on TV, it is not because I use dialogue to explain the situation, but because of the way the cuts are carefully connected in some scenes. If you don't do this carefully, the audience will stop and think, "Wait a minute. If you don't do it carefully, the audience will stop and think, "Wait a minute. Without such unnecessary gaps, the way the cuts are piled up and the music is used to create a feeling that rises from the second part to the third part of the film. That is the inherent performance of a film.