The new series "Gundam G Restoration Movement", directed by Yuki Yuki, the father of the "Gundam" series, will be officially released to the audience. Starting August 23, there will also be a two-week special preview screening of the work, and there will also be a related promotional campaign in September, all of which are warming up for October.

In charge of the mechanical design of this work, Mr. Yasuda, who has been outstanding in many games and anime, and his collaboration with director Tomino began as early as the time of "Inverted A Gundam". Recently, he was interviewed by Japanese media, and he will hear about the secret of the birth of "G-SELF" in "Gundam G's Restoration Movement" and what it was like to work with director Tomino.

■The concept of designing "G-SELF" is "Hikari Gundam"

Q: Below we will ask you questions about Gundam G Restoration Campaign. Can you start by telling us about what you do?

Yasuda: I was in charge of designing the main character's mecha "G-SELF", and I also gave advice on the design direction of some of the mechas.

Q: This is also the latest installment in the Gundam series, and I believe that different fans will have their own understanding of Gundam. Therefore, when designing the mecha, Mr. Yasuda must have also substituted his own concept of Gundam. So how do you apply this concept to design?

Yasuda: In order to make Tomino's Gundam a new development, this design should also serve as a bifurcation point. I'm adding new content to the original Gundam. For example, I will use my brain on my shoulder, and this design will also provide more or less material for the direction of Gundam's future evolution.

Q: Did Director Tomino make any specific requests at that time?

Yasuda: Director Tomino is the type of person who doesn't make specific requests. He'd dismiss what I had designed as if I had "fallen over my back", and that's when I had to pick myself up and keep working hard (laughs). This is a person who will fight back very much. And I've reinvigorated myself several times.

Or, if Director Tomino's "back fall" is useless, then it means that "this is OK". Anyway, there will only be two such cases. Of course, I can't get him to the point of satisfying him all at once.

In addition, the design was based on the inspiration provided by director Tomino. And that inspiration was "Foton Battery".

Q: What exactly is a Foton battery?

Yasuda: This time, the Gundam no longer uses fusion energy, but operates through the "Foton battery". This kind of thing is also put into the body. In Gundam G Restoration, Foton Battery is transported from a mysterious place called Venus Globe using a rail elevator. And this kind of thing solves people's energy needs.

Please understand it this way: as long as there is a Foton battery with the capacity of a small room, it can provide energy for the city for a year.

Q: Then we can also think that if we use it on the body, we can improve the mobility of the machine?

Yasuda: No, not to improve mobility, but to serve as a source of energy. Now there is no longer a ZÀI for nuclear fusion energy. Personally, I think that Foton Battery is a system that encloses light inside matter and uses that light little by little. In other words, the essence is light. I thought that the next generation of Gundam would be the Light Gundam, so I did that in terms of design concept.

So what does the "Hikari Gundam" need? The key is the red part of the head. It's also a sign of light. In addition, the "G-SELF" is supposed to be made from Foton armor. So I also set this armor to be titanium with stealth function. That is, a kind of transparent armor. And this armor is also a stack of display devices. After piling up enough display devices, the armor of the G-SELF was formed. Since it is an armor composed of display devices, it can completely control the light. And the armor itself also constitutes a kind of optical circuit, which thus functions as a battery.

Q: In other words, there is no more zài energy in the heart.

Yasuda: Yes. A large amount of Foton Battery is piled up on the machine. G-SELF has more Foton batteries piled up on it than the others. Personally, I divide Foton battery into the first generation, the second generation, and the third generation. The G-SELF is made by Foton battery, which uses the highest compression efficiency, which is also the difference between the body and other machines in terms of setting.

Q: It's an innovative setting.

Yasuda: Speaking of which, ever since Director Tomino came up with the concept of Foton Battery, we decided to make a new Gundam. Director Tomino is in charge of creating the story, which is the core of the Gundam world, and the new Gundam will make the story even more lively.

In the face of Gundam Tomino, we will have a lot of fun when designing, and our results will become a "carnival" for many fans. Director Tomino continues to create the core of Gundam, which also takes our fun journey to the next level.

■ My idea is "make zuò a normal Gundam"

Q: Does director Tomino feel happy about things that are beyond his imagination or that go against his expectations? Or does he think this should be done and not allow others to change it?

Yasuda: I think as far as Gundam is concerned, he'll be happy as long as it's good for his work.

Q: When you put the design in front of him for the first time and say, "This is it", what was Director Tomino's reaction?

Yasuda: I'm very happy. The original design had a bit of a feel to the RX-78 from Mobile Suit Gundam. If you ask me why I'm doing this, it's because I want to make a normal Gundam anyway.

In short, there is one of the biggest taboos when designing a Gundam: you can't change the position of your eyes and horns. A Gundam has horns attached to the two eyes, and if there are no horns, then it is not a Gundam.

Q: You care a lot about the appearance of the RX-78?

Yasuda: By taking out this design drawing, which is similar to the RX-78, I guess I was telling Director Tomino, "I want to make a regular Gundam" (laughs). I think the Gundam has to be blue, red, yellow, and white. When I first saw Gundam, I felt that this machine was gorgeous. Watching Gundam for 10 years in a row convinced me that "Gundam is the only way to do it." To do this, I had to use the most suitable color scheme, otherwise it wouldn't work.

In terms of color balance, the modern painter Peter Cornelius Mondrian once adjusted the position of red, yellow and blue to realize. And he uses the smallest amount of color integration to study what is the best structure and how to resonate with everyone. And this theory was also used by me in Gundam. In other words, if the Gundam I designed was even a little less colorful, it wouldn't be able to make an impression on people.

Q: It's just a machine, but in Mr. Yasuda's mind, he thinks "it's Gundam."

Yasuda: That's right. The Gundam I had in mind had to be gorgeously colored and powerful.

Q: Could you please tell us how the project for "Gundam G's Restoration Campaign" came to fruition? When did the project for this work come about? How did you get involved?

Yasuda: This was a long time ago, and I don't remember it very well. Back in 2010, my friend Mr. Nishimura was involved in the planning of this work and asked me, "Would you like to do it with Mr. Yasuda?" ”

At that time, I was a little busy, and I felt like I could just watch Gundam Tomino from the sidelines. Then in 2012, I participated in a pie duì, and it happened that director Tomino was also there. As soon as he saw me, he shouted, "Help me!" So I replied, "I'll do it if I have time." The phrase "help me" may have meant "come and help me," but I took it literally.

Q: Even though you're busy, do you want to do something for Gundam? Doesn't that reflect your love for Gundam?

Yasuda: I've been thinking about when I'm going to make Gundam. But to be honest, the Gundam I wanted to make was something that could be sold to children as toys. And while thinking "What is the highest peak of Gundam?" At the time, I thought that a toy might not be able to embody this effect. I had previously worked on "Inverted A Gundam", so I was reminded of my methodology for that work.

■ The machine qì person is also a character: while thinking about the face of the machine qì person, he designs it

Q: How did Mr. Yasuda grasp the illustrations, characters, and mecha characteristics that he draws? Have you ever found yourself different from other people, or unconsciously expressed something?

Yasuda: What I'm concerned about is the shape of my face. I take my face very seriously. I think that's what makes it different from other people.

Q: As a result, the face of G-SELF in Gundam G Restoration Movement was formed.

Yasuda: Yes. I understand the machine qì people as characters, so I feel that I have to enhance the role of the machine qì people no matter what. I attach great importance to the "human form" of the machine.

Q: Have you ever considered portraying something like Zagu from Mobile Suit Gundam?

Yasuda: Zaku is also a "human". At first glance, it feels like a person in a spacesuit. The character of this machine is quite amazing. I should say that I am afraid to see the machine qì people as a simple machine.

When I was in the lower grades of elementary school, I watched the anime "Big Demon God Z", which showed the history of the giant machine qì people in the form of entertainment, which made us happy. And I realized that if you want to embody the evolution of the machine qì people, then the machine qì people must be like a character.

When I first saw Gundam, I thought Gundam was like a warrior. In addition, compared to ordinary Kiqì people, the Gundam has a lot of white parts on its body, which made me exclaim, "What a perfect samurai this is!" ”

Compared to the past, the age group of Gundam fans is rising, so it is possible that the current audience will not have such thoughts. I can't do the same thing as the people I used to do, but I still hope that even in front of adults, I can offer this kind of shameful design.

Q: You said it was a shameful design, but it doesn't look shameful at all.

Yasuda: Yes. And I want to keep the Superman's design blue and red all the time. Of course, something has changed.

However, Wolverine, the most popular in "X-Men", is actually set in yellow from the beginning. It used to be brown and yellow, but in the movie version, it was black. Why? Because yellow looks too inferior. But I also know that yellow looks inferior, but if I had to do it, I would definitely choose yellow. There will be no concessions.

Q: Finally, would you like to say a few words to the fans about the upcoming work "Gundam G Restoration Campaign"? What are the highlights that we would find interesting if we paid attention?

Yasuda: There will be a lot of airframes coming out this time, and that number alone should be worth the ticket price. I'm afraid that "G-SELF" is also a strong guy, so please look forward to it!