The second part of the Creators Talk on Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- premiered yesterday on the official Gundam Channel on YouTube, this time featuring Episode Director Daizen Komatsuda and Storyboard Artist Mahiro Maeda, as well as Director Kazuya Tsurumaki and Producer Yuki Sugitani, who already talked at length about the project in the first part.
This latter half of the interview focused directly on the team and the environment behind the project, as well as a more detailed look at the storyline. This is to say, this post will inevitably contain a few spoilers about the story and setting of GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-, so read at your own risk.
Much like last time, instead of translating the whole talk word by word, I picked out only some of the more interesting questions and answers, compiling a list of highlights from the interview, as I believe this format works best when translating spoken interviews as opposed to the usual written ones.
Original interview from the official YouTube Gundam Channel, conducted by Mafia Kajita and released on February 7th 2025.
— Well then, the words “One Year War” that we so strictly withheld last time have finally been unveiled. […] Director, how do you feel about the public’s reactions, now that this trick you’ve kept secret until this very moment has finally been disclosed?
Tsurumaki: Well… I believe Gundam fans have something to say… to me, or to Studio Khara… “What the hell are you doing?”
Maeda: On X or something I’ve seen people writing “Anno’s clan”… I thought that was a fantastic expression, like, we’re a clan already.
Everyone laughs
Sugitani: I’ve also read a post saying Anno-san is Tsurumaki-san’s M.A.V.
Maeda: Well, that’s true (laughs)
Tsurumaki: Everyone’s saying “Anno this” or “Anno that”, but this idea of writing an alternative version of the One Year War… it wasn’t actually Anno who proposed it. We had him write the script, but it’s not really his fault. It’s… Khara’s fault, if anything.
— You mentioned this in the last interview already, but you said you didn’t expect your proposal to actually get accepted; you thought it would be rejected, but it unfortunately got the green light, right?
Tsurumaki: Yeah… of course I also wanted it to be accepted, but I really believed at least half of it would get turned down. So, I was surprised when they said it was all good.
— I really thought, “that madman, he really did it… he touched the taboo of all taboos…”.
Everyone laughs
— “This will definitely get him in the firing line”… this “Alternative One Year War”.
Tsurumaki: Yeah… well, in the past, during the Gainax era, there was “Cyber Comics” [An anthology comic specialized in robot anime published by Bandai. Gainax’s predecessor, General Products, was also involved in its editing], and inside this… how do I call it, otaku manga magazine maybe…? Well, inside that, there were a lot of bizarre Gundam stories that had nothing to do with it…
— Like side stories?
Tsurumaki: Hm, not exactly “side stories”… there was one featuring a ninja Gundam for example, or one with magical girls… They played around a lot with it. So, yeah, there was also a time when Gundam was written in such a way —not officially, of course, it was just an unofficial manga, but I sort of “grew up” with things like that. There’s also the game, Gihren no Yabou [ギレンの野望, Gihren’s Greed, a series of turn-based strategy video games], I’ve actually never played it myself, but I thought it would have been interesting to do something similar.
[…]
— Thinking about the One Year War in Gundam, there are some historically unshakable and firm points and events; did you ever ponder whether it was really okay to change or alter them?
Tsurumaki: Me personally, I read a lot of alternative versions of stories, so I do know and understand how to effectively set them up, but even so, for this project, I did worry about what the fans would think of the changes like, for example, Amuro not appearing even once. Though, I also understood that worrying too much about that wouldn’t be a good thing, so, in the end, I made it the way I wanted.
The discussion then delved into more specific details about the story; Director Tsurumaki explained how, in his vision, the Gundam itself was the very key that lead the Earth Federation to win the One Year War, and not Amuro, like some may think. Therefore, initially, his and Yoji Enokido’s plan was to make a 5-minutes-or-so introduction, showcasing the alternative OYW just until the moment Char gets his hands on the RX-78-2 Gundam, to then jump directly into Machu’s world, and gradually explain the alternative OYW through “documentaries-like flashbacks” throughout the course of the series.
Since this initial plan didn’t line up well with the serial TV broadcast structure, it was Ikuto Yamashita who proposed the idea to make a whole, independent episode focused solely on the OYW. In the end, Hideaki Anno was appointed as the script-writer for that very introductory episode.
When asked if there was anything he finds particularly impressive about Anno’s work, Director Tsurumaki answered that the number of modifications (and how thorough and attentive they are) is truly remarkable —something he wouldn’t have been able to achieve by himself. Producer Sugitani then mentioned how well-written the dialogues are, as they really “feel like something written by Tomino himself”.
After a brief section where the two new interviewees revealed their favorite Gundam series and Mobile Suit, followed by yet another brief section where the staff answered a few questions Kajita gathered from the fans, to wrap things up, he asked everyone to leave a message for the viewers, starting with Maeda.
Maeda: I’ve always thought that Tsurumaki-san is an incredible person. We’ve always worked together on Shin Evangelion [シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版, Rebuild of Evangelion]; not on the TV series, but I’d always been looking at it from afar, noticing the parts he worked on and thinking “Ah…! this is Makky’s work!”
Tsurumaki: (laughs)
Maeda: Of course, Anno-san is an incredible person too, but I’ve always believed that, looking from afar, it’s thanks to the individuality and great qualities of all the people around him, like Tsurumaki-san‘s, that they were able to create such an amazing work. He really is his right-hand… his M.A.V., his buddy… though he may not like me saying this (laughs)
Tsurumaki & Sugitani: (laugh)
Maeda: I believe he created some amazing works, and he still is to this day; when I went to the US, anime fans over there were saying things like, “if I have to pick a favorite anime series, that’d be FLCL!” —the works he creates are just that incredible. And that [FLCL] was his first ever TV series, right? Having your first major work become that famous and popular is truly outstanding, so I’d be glad if you could support and enjoy this new project as well.
— […] Next, it’s Komatsuda-san’s turn.
Komatsuda: Evangelion has become the “main” title associated with Studio Khara, and it’s always talked about as the work by the genius director Anno-san… but, well, since Eva Ha [ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:破, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance] I’ve been working on it as the assistant director; basically, there was Anno-san at the top, then Tsurumaki-san supporting him, and then me supporting him in turn, and Tsurumaki-san supervised a very substantial part of the work, like the storyboard —the blueprint of the animation; basically, he was the one who controlled and checked it, for example-
Maeda: -and [he managed] the communication between the staff as well.
Komatsuda: Yeah! So, an entire TV series directed by Tsurumaki-san is something I’d wholeheartedly want everyone to watch and appreciate. After all, I’m one of the “Tsurumaki children” within the industry; back at Gainax, I was one of his students. One of Tsurumaki-san’s amazing qualities is his ability to communicate, he’d often come up to me while I was at the desk to ask questions about my work. Whenever he has a doubt or a question, he immediately speaks up and asks it. This quality and nature he has to start conversations, being frank and honest with the people around him no matter whether they’re younger or older, asking about every doubt he has, makes him really approachable. So, when even someone like a key animator is struggling with something, like, say, having problems understanding the time-sheet, it just feels natural to go ask Tsurumaki-san. He’s the kind of person who can teach many different skills to many different people; he’s a mentor to everyone who’s ever worked under him, on his projects. This is something I really want people to appreciate this time as well.
— […] Now, Sugitani-san.
Sugitani: Well, I’m someone who stays outside of the actual production so, for me, it’s a bit different from what Komatsuda-san said, but even so, when we had to work on Evangelion for example, if I had doubts about something, like the content of a scene or some directorial decision, it was natural for me as well to just ask Tsurumaki-san. I too thought that Tsurumaki-san was simply amazing in that sense, and this time too I feel very grateful that we managed to make a show with him as the director. At times, I wonder why, given how strict and severe he is about the production, everyone seems to love him (laughs). He’s the type of person who never gives in to compromise… but people just naturally gather around him. Sometimes I think it’s really unfair (laughs)
— I think it’s really admirable and charming.
Sugitani: The Director alone cannot make an anime by himself, but many people gather around him with the will to assist and support him…
Tsurumaki: It’s something I’m truly grateful for. […] Well, Sugitani-kun… Producer Sugitani was behind the production desk managing the schedule for Shin Evangelion, and that was an extremely tricky and difficult task, so half the reason why I accepted this job was to pay the favor back. I’m really glad it worked out so well… well, I mean, it’s not over yet [talking about the production of the TV series], so I don’t really know how it’ll actually play out in the end (laughs), but at least, as of now it’s been a great success, and it’s an important achievement for Sugitani-kun as well, so I’m really glad.
Part 1 – Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-: Creators Talk – Interview Highlights
SHINSEIKI 