'Gundam' creator talks war and robot anime

NHK

2 days ago

Tomino Yoshiyuki's traumatic childhood experience of World War Two left an indelible impression on his young mind. The raging conflict, which ended 80 years ago this year, eventually inspired him to create the globally renown anime franchise 'Mobile Suit Gundam,' one of the most celebrated depictions of the tragedy of war. The 83-year-old recently spoke with NHK about his most famous work, and why the themes it explores resonate more forcefully now than ever.
Tomino Yoshiyuki as a baby
Tomino Yoshiyuki was born in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 1941, the same year the Pacific War began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war, US fighter jets frequently targeted a military factory near his home.
"A couple of times I could feel the heat from buildings burning nearby while I was hiding in an air-raid shelter. The most terrifying experience for me as a child was when I was in a shelter that the neighborhood association was digging. Because my house was the farthest away, when I got there it was crowded and I could only sit at the entrance. There was a straw mat hanging at the entrance to block the wind, and the way it swayed back and forth was extremely frightening."
"I clearly remember running to the air-raid shelter with two or three of my favorite picture books in my arms. I also remember our kind, elderly landlord dying when a firebomb exploded as he was trying to extinguish it. I saw him buried in a grave. I think that took place about a month before the end of the war." War and values Tomino Yoshiyuki
Tomino was just 3 years old when the war ended, so he doesn't think of himself as being part of the war generation. But he notes a significant difference in values and ways of thinking between those who experienced World War Two and those who did not.
"I specifically remember the sound of a B-29 formation flying overhead. I think the noise reflected the magnitude of war. But that was just the experience of a 3-year-old child, so it's not the same as the experience of someone older who lived through the war."
"There was a time during elementary school when I became interested in the Zero fighter (a fighter plane used by the Imperial Japanese Navy). During middle and high school, as I read accounts of wartime, the roar of B-29 bombers became something I had once perceived as part of my daily life."
"It took me 20 years to realize that this was different from the generation that had never experienced war. When I look at the people younger than me, my juniors, with a 20-year time gap, I think for them, it's all just a fantasy."
Vision behind "Mobile Suit Gundam"
After graduating from university, Tomino joined Tezuka Osamu's Mushi Production. He then went independent and worked as director on the robot anime "Reideen the Brave" and as executive director on "SUPER MACHINE ZAMBOT 3."
In 1979, he created "Mobile Suit Gundam." Asked about his vision, he explains that it was not the typical good-versus-evil narrative of traditional robot anime, but rather a depiction of human warfare using robots. A scene from "Mobile Suit Gundam"
"At the time, the production team thought it was wrong to show war stories to children. Perhaps because of Japan's experience of defeat in the war, there was an instinctive aversion to depicting war stories. Fighter planes are flown by a single pilot, so I made the size of my mobile suits small. They are only about 20-meters tall, about the same size as a fighter plane."
"Creating a story about a single pilot and having aliens as enemies in Gundam was something we'd been doing for nearly 20 years with giant robots, so I thought it was time to move on. To operate a 20-meter-tall weapon like the mobile suits, you need a system to manufacture it, which requires a military-industrial complex and the infrastructure for mass production. So, in the end, we had no choice but to depict a war between nations." Realistic depictions of war
Tomino was particular about ensuring the anime depicted war in a realistic fashion. He explains his thinking behind a famous scene involving deserter Cucuruz Doan:
"I suddenly realized that if everyone thinks the same way, the entire team will be wiped out. The character who regains his sanity (Cucuruz Doan) would act that way. After all, his team was wiped out. But ultimately, there are Japanese soldiers who escape, end up joining the American army, and become prisoners of war. I wrote the story with the understanding that this is a natural outcome." Main character Amuro Ray in a scene from "Mobile Suit Gundam"
He also revealed that one of the final scenes in "Mobile Suit Gundam," where Amuro drifts toward his allies' ship, was inspired by real events.
"I thought about whether Japanese soldiers and civilians who were sunk in the Pacific Ocean could be saved or not. When I chose scenes from war stories where they were rescued, I found myself tracing back through history." Sense of crisis
Tomino sought to depict the reality of war and convey its cruelty and folly. But he says the fighting currently taking place in the real world exceeds his imagination. Tomino Yoshiyuki
"What Mobile Suit Gundam did was try its hand at a war story set in the near future. The weapons known as mobile suits are more advanced than today's fighter jets. When you start a war using such weapons, drones inevitably appear. Human-piloted weapons are becoming obsolete. Drones are already commonplace, and I think we'll see even more advanced unmanned weapons in the future. What does it mean to wage war in such a world? I've started to think that it's just about creating the spectacle of a battlefield." 'They stopped thinking'
Tomino also spoke of the conflicts he faced as the creator of Mobile Suit Gundam, which has many fans both in Japan and abroad. Tomino Yoshiyuki
"Humans are surprisingly quick to shut down their ability to think. They play with Gundam model kits and say, 'This is cool.' That's how I feel about the modern world. It's not just a problem of the present; when humans first saw steam engines during the Industrial Revolution, they were so awed by their power that they stopped thinking for themselves."
"However, I am not an educator, so I couldn't teach this to young people. For the past 20 years, I have been eagerly waiting for someone to pick up on my vague words and convey them in a way that is easier to understand, but I feel that no one has appeared yet." Future plans
Despite being in his 80s, Tomino shows no signs of slowing down. He reveals he currently has a new title in the works.
I'm really trying to make it a battle story, but there are no enemies in this one. The enemies might be humans who are using the Earth. I want to create a story like that. I'm confident that I can do it because it's anime.