Since the release of episode 1 in 2010, Mobile Suit Gundam UC has released seven OVAs. In 2014, Episode 7 "The Other Side of the Rainbow" also came to an end as the Mobile Suit Gundam series celebrated its 35th anniversary. The stage of this work is "Cosmic Century", and according to the timeline, Amuro and Char are still alive, which has caused a series of topics. And this work invited the popular writer Harutoshi Fukui to take over the creative work, which also added a lot of highlights to the work.

This year marks the 8th anniversary of Harutoshi Fukui's novel, and this time he also played a non-negligible role in Mobile Suit Gundam UC. Recently, he was interviewed by the Japanese media, and experienced the charm of the work from the mouth of the creator.

■I was shocked by the way Flau Po was sent flying

Q: First of all, would you like to tell us about how you came across the Mobile Suit Gundam series? When did you first see this series?

Fukui: I first came across Mobile Suit Gundam when it was adapted into a game, when I was in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school.

Q: After the premiere of the Gundam series, it has exploded in popularity through repeated reruns. Did you watch the replay as well?

Fukui: I remember watching the trailer for the new episode before it premiered. I was a little surprised to see Flau Po being sent flying. But at that time, I felt that "robot works or something, it's not for me anymore." I've graduated from it. "So I didn't look at it.

Q: When I was an elementary school student, I thought I had graduated from robotics, which seems a bit early, right?

Fukui: For my generation, the robot genre is similar to the current team theme, and once you pass the second or third grade of elementary school, you think you should graduate. If we want to talk about the peculiarity of our generation, it is that after the "Space Battleship Yamato" series, the Gundam craze followed, and the anime began to become suitable for older people. And we, the children, are among the first to benefit.

At that time, looking at Gundam gave people a sense of maturity. In such an environment, the work was replayed. After that, it felt like we were running around trying to get the Gundam plastic toys.

Q: Is there any difference between Gundam and other titles?

Fukui: I think the shot from Frow Po is the best way to make the difference. This kind of picture makes people's hearts shake, and then they feel that the work comes to life. Although there are also shots of explosions blowing people away in Yamato and other robot animations, it seems that they are all performed in a fixed form of painting. However, Frau Po showed a blank expression when he couldn't figure out the situation for a moment, and then was blown away. I was deeply impressed by the vivid picture.

Q: Because this work set off such a wave of enthusiasm, the teacher was immediately fascinated.

Fukui: That's right. If there's one thing I'm different from others in terms of fashion, it's probably because I read Yuki Tomino's Gundam novels at a very early age. When I was in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, this novel was circulated in the class in turn, and it set off a craze. For those of us who were entering adolescence at that time, it was a "fatal blow" in every sense.

I'm a kid who doesn't want to read at all, but Mr. Tomino's well-designed vocabulary makes me feel very handsome. So from a very early stage, I thought about the author's thoughts when I was reading books, and this aspect can be regarded as different from others.

■In the middle of the discussion, the "unicorn" came into being

Q: What was the reason why you started writing Mobile Suit Gundam UC?

Fukui: The earliest opportunity was to have my ** work sent to Mr. Tomino. At that time, I was very excited, thinking, "My book was actually delivered to Mr. Tomino, I am really amazing!" "I didn't think about what was going to happen at all. After that, Mr. Tomino sent me a letter written with my heart. Among them, "I have worked hard" accounts for 30%, and "comments and criticism" account for 70%. It can be said that it is a letter after reading. And the first sentence after reading it is, "I've finally finished reading this book." When I saw this beginning, I thought, "From the first sentence, I wanted to deny something, and I deserved to be the real Mr. Tomino!" "(laughs) I've been in close contact with Tomino literature since elementary school, and I've been very emotional.

Later, we had a conversation and we discussed the topic of the novel version of Inverted A Gundam. That's why I became inextricably linked to the creation of Gundam works. The next opportunity was because of Gundam Ace, so I had a conversation with Mr. Yasuhiko. At that time, he brought a funny short story project to the editor-in-chief of Gundam ACE. Then he said to me, "I hope you can make something better than this." In other words, I was tasked with designing a project that could be implemented in a serious way, and that it could be developed into animation and model peripheralization. In addition, I was able to consult with the people at SUNRISE to enrich the content. Before you know it, the project has become a big one.

■A UC for adults who have forgotten about Gundam.

Q: Before creating a video animation, this work was first published as a novel. And when you were involved in the live production of the animation, did you have any ideas?

Fukui: My biggest intention was to make this work visible to everyone. Not just for Gundam fans, but also for those who used to love Gundam but now forget about it. These adult customers are now happy to buy good food (with toys) that come with it. And when I was creating, I was working for these 100,000 people.

Nowadays, many adults think that "animation is just something that middle school students watch". And they prefer foreign TV series such as "24 Hours of Anti-Terrorism" and "Lost". But when I created this Gundam, I wanted it to have the style of those foreign TV dramas. But this was something that had never happened before, so I had to be involved in the whole process of animation. So there is a very close connection with the animation scene.

I've had a few times when after making a live-action film completely commercial, it was hard to get good results. So this time I decided to make it according to my own ideas. Our generation came out of society after the bubble economy collapsed, so the adventurous spirit has left us. No matter what, we must "keep the data" and "improve the data", and it seems that the value of people is also determined by data. Our generation has felt deep pain.

Many of the UC production staff had similar thoughts to me, and they felt that it was almost time to go on the offensive in the direction they wanted. And by chance, we were able to get together through Mobile Suit Gundam UC. It's a real blessing.

Q: You mentioned the topic of a generation, and this time at UC, fathers have become a very important theme. Banerjee, for example, is not a party to the story, but emerges on stage as a being watched by the previous generation. The portrayal of this aspect is also stark.

Fukui: Banaji has always been a "character who has been climbing". The camera didn't capture a shot of Banerjee rising up, but a shot of everyone pushing him in the back to allow him to move forward. That's the way the painting style is overall. And the objects that the camera is aimed at are, of course, those who support Banaji.

Almost eighty percent of our generation have become fathers. Instead of discussing whether or not we want to go to the Gundam, we are looking at the images of our past selves or our children traveling in the Gundam. We became the watchers. From this point of view, UC is not so much a story about Banerjee's growth as it is a story of adults who are gratified by watching Banerjee's growth.

Q: In the audience, there will naturally be a younger generation. Do you also have a wish for this generation to be watched like this?

Fukui: I didn't pay much attention to this when I was working on it, but we were able to create a very good work. Since it is a very good work, it should be suitable for all ages. We can only create according to our own ideas. Of course, we are also very concerned about social trends and the feelings of the target audience, but once we start creating, it is not so easy to be swayed by the outside world. If we only create something with the market and efficiency in mind, then the product cannot be called a "work", but a "commodity".

Mobile Suit Gundam UC episode 7 "The Other Side of the Rainbow" was released a few days ago, and it is also the last work in the UC series. Recently, a Japanese media conducted an exclusive interview with the popular writer Harutoshi Fukui, who is responsible for the plot of the work. Learn all kinds of interesting stories behind the works from his mouth. In the second half of the interview, he will introduce us to the "Laplace Box", the origin of the Laplace incident, and his thoughts on the work.

■ "Laplace's Box" and the origin of the Laplace incident

Q: How did the "Laplace Box" and the Laplace incident come up with it?

Fukui: There is a famous novel called "Yoshiwara Imperial Exemption". In the novel, the Edo shogunate secretly uses Yoshiwara as a special economic zone in a sense, but this has been hidden. This work was later put on stage, and that's why I saw it.

In addition, there is the question of the core part of the cosmic century, and I am trying to create it in a way that makes people feel that "this is a person who is evaluating this history in 100,000 years", but I also think that this chaos actually happened 50 years after the story of the cosmic century. Conceptualizing around this era gave me new inspirations, and so there was the "Laplace Box" and the Laplace incident.

Q: This time, the story includes the background of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam Z, and Gundam ZZ, and the setting is irresistible to fans.

Fukui: It's the ultimate gamble. And there is no doubt that such a gamble will definitely be the last laugh (laughs). After all, we've got a lot of information.

Q: How did you feel when you came up with the concept of the Laplace Program?

Fukui: When I was thinking about it, I was worried about it for a long time. Because I'm not sure if the idea will be the real story. The reason why I really got started was when I added a little trick for the protagonist to transform in a pose that didn't quite fit the style of Gundam, and the title was hung with "Unicorn (UC)" and "UNIVERSALCENTURY (UC)".

■The meaning of making Volento truly exist

Q: Did you encounter any problems when adapting the novel into an anime?

Fukui: First of all, it's about length. At first, I thought that if I made an anime for 2 seasons, it would not be a big problem, but it turned out to be too difficult. Anyway, I had to keep the plot short.

Another point is that by visualizing the work, the work has a kind of substance. Especially regarding the role of Volento, I invited Mr. Shuichi Ikeda to voice it. When discussing the plot at the beginning, director Kazuhiro Furuhashi said to me, "I hope that Volento can also become the person who helps Banaji grow, and make a full break with Banaji." At that time, Volento was designed to be a "definite bento" character, so I kept this opinion on hold.

And when it came to the question of the amount of weight that animation can accept, I finally thought about it again. The change in the ending of Volento also makes the atmosphere of the ending of the work different. I thought about how to make Volanto perfect "Buddhahood", without even thinking about the difficulties of the production side, and I had to make the ending feel like it was over. After figuring these things out, I came to a conclusion.

Q: The appearance of an unknown character after Char's Counterattack has sparked a strong conversation.

Fukui: That character doesn't have to be a posthumous corpse. Maybe it's a "living soul".

Q: You have left room for everyone to think about this question.

Fukui: That's true.

■The part of the human body that embodies humanity

Q: I think the novel also contains the teacher's "thoughts" and "wishes". So what exactly is this? And in the animation, does it also convey the teacher's "thoughts"?

Fukui: I'm going to make everything I can think of. Previous Gundams (including UC) have all had a similar theme, that is, to aim for a NEWTYPE horizon that will eventually reach one day, and to persevere in survival. And this time, Banaji finally became a god-like being. Maybe he's just a full-fledged NEWTYPE.

However, although it is the result of "very good, congratulations", it does not give people a feeling worth celebrating at all. What is this for? I hope you will think about it. Everyone should be questioning, "Why do you want to design like this?" "There are also contradictions in the plot. But I think it's this contradiction that reflects the humanity in people, which is the essence of love.

Q: After the end of UC, what kind of existence do you think Gundam is?

Fukui: UC is over, but Gundam is still not over. It's not appropriate to use the past tense.

Q: It's true that the Gundam is still going on.

Fukui: That's it. I think that in the Gundam series, you can see something called "possibility" everywhere. Whether it is a foreign film or animation, once it moves in the direction of the market and efficiency, it will inevitably become a commodity.

In such an environment, Gundam works fully portray the characters and make the story seem full. This is a good example of a possibility. In this society, it is really not easy to create works that can make people feel and tell the story of flesh and blood. Gundam, on the other hand, was able to continue to tell the story while maintaining the view of the universe century. This makes it an extremely rare existence. I don't think this series of animations is about "products", but about "works". With it, the flame of the "work" will not be extinguished.

Q: I had some contact with Mr. Fukui at the stage appreciation party when the work was released, and in 2010 I staged a reading play called "Red Portrait ~ From Char to Volento". Correspondingly, are you also thinking about a reading drama called "White Portrait"?

Fukui: Hmm~ What should I say? Hahaha (laughs).

I'm thinking about whether I should think of such a reading drama.

Q: Can we expect Mr. Fukui to continue to be involved in the production of the Gundam series in the future?

Fukui: Please look forward to it. As long as the "possibility" exists.

【Producers】

Original case: Ya Tachi, Tomino Yuyuki

Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi

Script: Yasuyuki Muto

The original case: An Yan Lianghe

Animation character: Kumiko Takahashi

MS original case: Kunio Ogawara

Mechanical settings: Hajime Kakuki, Junya Ishigaki, Nobuhiko Genma

Mechanical Setup Assistance: Minggui Miga

Background setting: Zenori Sayama, Hidekatsu Uemura

Setting Proof: Nobuya Ogura

Original story: Harumoshi Fukui

Music: Hiroyuki Sawano

Sound director: Oriko Kimura

Art Director: Shirumi Ikeda

Color design: すずきたかこ

Director of Photography: Tsuyoshi Katsuyama, Yui Tanaka

CG Director: Tomohiro Fujie

Compilation: Daisuke Imai

Animation: SUNRISE

【Voice Actor List】

Banaji Links: Angki Uchiyama

Audrey Byrne: Ayumi Fujimura

Takuya Ili: Shimono

Micott Patch: Haruka Tomatsu

Mr. Bancroft: Kusunami Shoji

Bertekika Ilman: Manria Kawamura

Kay Siden: Noboru Furukawa

The old owner of the restaurant: Sen Gongzhi

Tikwe: Tamura Harmony

Fur Volento: Shuichi Ikeda

Marida Kurus: Yuko Kaida

Angelo Sobae: Tetsuya Kakihara

Frost Skaul: Riya Koyama

Katias Bister: Takayuki Suga

Saiyam Bister: Ichiro Nagai

JJ: Aoyama

Ronnie Javi: Jasmine Ise, too

Albert Bister: Takagi

Liddy Massenas: Daisuke Nanikawa

Mihiro Oywaken: Megumi Toyoguchi

Ott Mitas: Naoya Uchida

Nigel Garrett: Yuichi Nakamura

Larry Maginis: Anri Katsu

Watts Stepney: An Yuan Yanggui

Tuksa Markle: Hiroki Higashichi

Conroy Hutchinson: Kenta Miyake