“Mobile Suit Gundam Zeke Axe” is attracting attention. It is literally a new work in the Mobile Suit Gundam series, but it is a little different from previous works. First of all, it was produced jointly by the traditional production company Sunrise and Studio Khara, led by director Hideaki Anno, known for “Evangelion” and other works, and Anno also participated in the scriptwriting. Secondly, it is set in a world line where the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon depicted in the first work (First Gundam) ended with Zeon’s victory, and it is an alternate story.

In the opening theatrical work released in January this year, the original villain Char Aznable steals a “Gundam” from the Earth Federation, paints it red, and rides it. That Char in Gundam! It is an irresistible “delicious” development for old fans. Hats off to Anno, as expected. However, Char leaves the film early in the middle, and the story moves on to an episode about a new young protagonist. The TV anime currently airing focuses on the exploits of these new characters, while the old characters appear in different positions and circumstances than in the original. As a result, fans of the past and young people who have just become fascinated with the series are engrossed in watching the film and talking about it enthusiastically on social media.

The reason this work attracts so many people is that the content “Gundam” has spun a variety of stories for over 40 years. In addition to the stories set in the Universal Century, which is the main worldview of the series, there are many works set in completely different worlds, and this flexibility not only keeps existing fans from getting bored, but also leads to the development of new fans. Nevertheless, all the works are accepted by fans as “Gundam” because the core of the story, which is the existence of the mobile suit “Gundam” and the story of boys and girls who are caught up in war and political situations and fight desperately, remains unchanged.

The love and respect for the original by the creators can be felt throughout this work. This is probably because the creators are all “Gundam fans.” In fact, both Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, director of Studio Khara, who is also the director of this work, are from the early generation who have been familiar with anime since childhood, and are now leading creators producing new works. Japanese animation is called “Cool Japan” and is highly popular overseas, but it has achieved this status because fans who loved anime for half a century and eventually became involved in the creation of the work have sublimated their passion into works. This momentum is unstoppable, and new creators will be born from among the young people who are currently fascinated by the world of the works, and will continue to weave the history of Japanese anime.

Many fields, including traditional crafts, are losing their skills due to a lack of successors. Through Gundam, I felt that one of the reasons for this is that the younger generation has very few opportunities to come into contact with and be moved by them.

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI