Find your tribe in a Sea of Creativity
This interview is found at the back of the first volume of the Zeta Gundam Define manga, and appears to have originally been published in the edition of Gundam Ace where the first chapter of ZGD was serialized.
Kitazume is the manga author for ZGD, and previously Char's Deleted Affair. He previously worked on the TV version of Zeta Gundam as an animation director, and was the character designer for ZZ and CCA. Ikeda is the voice actor behind a certain blonde man with too many names.
It's my first time translating an interview, and I found it to be very different from my normal translation endeavors, which mostly involve song lyrics, dialogue, or narration. I hope that I did a decent job. (As always, many thanks to M.I.-sensei, my Japanese teacher and fellow Gundam fan, who helps me with the tricky bits and cultural context.)
Of particular note to me are Ikeda's comments on entering his mid-20s after a period of political upheaval in his youth and how that related to the way he played 27-year-old Char, and Kitazume's musings on being both a fan and a creator of the same franchise. Ikeda's ending words about the burning feelings remaining in the hearts of 30-somethings were very sweet to me, a 30-something with burning feelings remaining in my heart. (lol)
In order for the Char of "Zeta Gundam" to grow, he needs to encounter a wall that's difficult to climb and go through a lot of frustrations.
The comicalization of Zeta Gundam, which has already started—because the new story is written from Char's perspective, author Hiroyuki Kitazume had an urgent discussion with Mr. Shuichi Ikeda!
If you write Z Gundam nowadays You need a new perspective, namely Char.
―From this month's edition onward, "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Define" (henceforth ZGD) will begin its serialization. Mr. Kitazume, please tell us your reason for making Char (Quattro) the main character.
Kitazume: When I first heard about the idea of doing a comicalization, I thought that, in order to write "Zeta Gundam" nowadays, we need a different perspective than the movie version. When I think about "Zeta Gundam," which exists within the natural progression in the story between First Gundam and "Char's Counterattack," where Amuro and Char settle things, I immediately consider Char's storyline, rather than Kamille's. As a result, following on from the previously serialized "Char's Deleted Affair," I wanted to write with an emphasis on Char.
―How does Mr. Ikeda, who has played Char for over 30 years, feel about this change in protagonist?
Ikeda: When we were working on the TV series version of "Zeta Gundam," I saw Char through a somewhat negative lens, but five years ago, when I was able to reprise the role for the movie trilogy, I wondered if Char was actually so bad, and there were also parts where I was satisfied with him. Hearing that Mr. Kitazume is going to write from a new perspective, I'm looking forward to it, in whatever form it takes. I'm sure Char is happy, too.
Kitazume: Thank you very much. I'm a huge fan of First Gundam, but in particular, amongst other anime characters of the time, Char was on a different level. Rather than simply being a villain, he had his own background and circumstances, to such an extent that he could be said to be similarly developed to the main character. If First Gundam only had the mobile suits and Amuro, I don't think it would have become such a phenomenon. In that way, Char stands as a symbol of the overall work that is "Gundam." So, this time, for both the portrayal of the mobile suits and the buildup of the drama, I have a strong desire to make it feel like a continuation of First Gundam.
Ikeda: I see.
Kitazume: When I rewatched the "Zeta Gundam" TV series from the beginning, there were many points that caught my attention. When we saw Amuro and Char reunite, they were too friendly towards one another, to the point that it didn't seem like two characters who had, a few years ago, been enemies engaged in a battle to the death. As a fan, since they're both very familiar characters, and because the thought that they were able to reunite was so grand, I don't remember being upset by that kind of reunion. But if those two were real people, I think they'd react a bit differently. Those kinds of fine details are the sorts of things I like to carefully consider while designing the direction of the drama. Also, by the time of "Char's Counterattack," Char is acting in accordance with his displeasure towards the Federation military, so I think it makes sense to prepare for that eventuality by writing clearly within the scope of "Zeta Gundam." So, by setting the focus on Char, rather than Kamille or Amuro, I thought I could get those points across nicely within "ZGD."
―Mr. Ikeda, when you were playing Quattro, did you feel like he was different from Char?
Ikeda: Quattro has a certain coldness, or maybe passivity about him. He gave off a feeling as if he were looking at everything from the position of someone standing a little above it all. I've said this before, but I felt that Char's position in the TV series might have been similar to Mr. Tomino's at the time of production. That's why I thought it was best to play Quattro with coldness, as if he was holding everyone at a distance. But when I was able to reprise the role for the movie version, I once again felt, "'Zeta Gundam' is a work that came out fine in the end, after all."
Kitazume: I think that may have been the thing that separated it from First Gundam, and allowed it to attract new fans. That's why I want to, as much as possible, reflect those parts that "Zeta Gundam" fans loved in my manga, without shaving them down. Still, since my personal bias is towards Char being a cool guy, I'd like to somewhat reduce the parts where he's a bit "pathetic," like where Kamille punches him and he tears up. I want his personality to shine through, and to clarify what he was doing and how he felt during "Zeta Gundam." I think, if I'm able to do that, the readers will also be able to accept his actions in "Char's Counterattack."
I want to draw an image of Char Encountering a wall that is challenging to climb
―The Char of "Char's Counterattack" held the belief that humanity could never be truly independent of the Earth unless the planet itself, along with the people who are bound to it, are destroyed.
Kitazume: If you don't give him some pretty terrible experiences, he wouldn't reach such an outlandish conclusion. In First Gundam, Char was acting on his personal grudges, but by "Zeta Gundam," he's started to grow up. Although Char was concerned with the Spacenoid independence movement that his father, the late Deikun, advocated for, and the Reformation of Man, which Newtypes typify, and acted in the hopes that he could change the world by moving all of humanity forward, the hard-headed people around him didn't accept these ideas. He himself is trying to grow, but his circumstances don't allow for it, and he feels he isn't able to overturn the current regime. That's why Char has to encounter a wall that's difficult to climb and go through a lot of frustrations. In that sense, I don't think there's any option, when writing the Char of "ZDG," except to have him push forward unwaveringly and encounter a lot of hardship, perhaps to the point that the contents end up far more desolate than the TV series, and possibly going in the opposite direction to the movie version of "Zeta Gundam."
Ikeda: I felt like the movie version had to compromise in that it could only go in the direction of saving the characters. Whenever I'm performing a role, to a considerable extent, I end up putting something of myself into the performance. I'm from the Zenkyoto generation, but if I imagine the One Year War as my own past as a student, once I reached my mid-20s, I looked back, thinking "Huh, what was that about, I wonder?" as if I had been overcome with sudden apathy. When I was playing Quattro, I was doing so while feeling even more apathetic at the time. So, that scene where he's punched by Kamille and sheds tears saying "So, this is youth," I was playing that part while thinking, "You know, [my generation of] middle-aged guys were saying 'bring change to Japan,' and building barricades, and doing this and that, but in the end, didn't accomplish anything, did they?" It may just be my bad habit, but as a performer, if I don't change the character's lines to something that's inside me already, I can't really perform it. For "Zeta Gundam," I think it was that era of my own life, so now Kitazume's writing might show something like, "Those middle-aged guys weren't so bad, you know!" I'd be happy to see that kind of Char.
Kitazume: Between the time when "Zeta Gundam" was airing on TV and now, not only is the era itself different, but the readers have also changed, so I think that it's only natural that the way I, as a middle-aged man, write will also be different. That's because the feelings held by the 30-somethings of today towards Quattro, and the impression of Quattro they had as middle school students who saw him on TV, are different. This is true for any anime, but the thoughts you have when watching it and the impression you have after time passes and you mature as a person are completely different, which causes you to feel a sense of incongruence when you go back and rewatch it. In that sense, I'd be very grateful if you could read "ZGD" without rewatching the anime, and, after some time passed since your last viewing, feel convinced that it could have turned out like this. (laughing)
Besides Char, the supporting cast Changes to the characters
―In the movie version, Bright is also a rather fatherly character, but in "ZGD," what do you think Bright's role will be?
Kitazume: In the TV series, there's a passive impression of his participation in the AEUG, but I think the movie version brings his thoughts to the fore and shows him proactively working with the AEUG out of antipathy towards the Titans. I'd like to progress through the story while showing the situational relationships between the various factions—the older characters who embrace their own personal ideals within the AEUG and Titans, and Scirocco, who leads the Jupitris. On the other hand, Kamille has great combat potential and is a stronger Newtype than others, but I'd like to emphasize his youth and naivety, and the way he's unable to influence the political plot. Even compared to all the other series that make up Gundam, "Zeta Gundam" has a very complicated story. There are numerous factions participating in the conflict and there's also a large number of characters. Despite this, it's also true that there's an extraordinary amount of fans of the series. When I was doing the sakuga for "Zeta Gundam," I felt as though I was a representative amongst First Gundam fans who had been allowed the honor of drawing a continuation, and I see this manga in just the same way. I personally really love the story of Amuro and Char, not just limited to First Gundam, but also including "Char's Counterattack," and I'm also a fan of Tomino, so I want the driving force of my writing to come from my viewpoint as a Gundam fan.
Ikeda: With both Mr. Kitazume's manga and my discussion, it would be great if the people who were watching "Zeta Gundam" in real time can recall some of the feelings they held back then. It's an invitation to all those 30-somethings who admired the Kamille they saw on TV and thought that they, too, might be able to become Newtypes someday. You may not have been able to become Newtypes, but those burning feelings from that time are still within your hearts... That's what I'd like you to look for. At the premiere of the movie version of "Zeta Gundam," when greeting the men who had become adults, yet still came all the way to the theater to watch anime, I was left with a strong sense of gratitude that this work had come into being. There probably aren't that many anime that grown men can really enjoy watching. Just as with the movie version, I think Mr. Kitazume's manga will be something that adults can enjoy.
―Lastly, let's have a few words for the readers who are looking forward to the progression of the story.
Kitazume: Regarding the comicalization, Mr. Kobayashi, who was editor-in-chief of Gundam Ace when it first began its publication (and is currently Director of the Media Division at Kadokawa Shoten) told me that, "There aren't many people who we could ask to draw 'Z.' Because you're the person who can do it, you have to do it." Ultimately, him saying that to me was the deciding factor that got me to take on this project. As a Gundam fan, and as someone who has been involved in making Gundam for a long period, it was maybe inevitable, or I felt like I should face the work with gumption, like there's nothing for me except to do it. The genre of robot anime itself has changed, so in order to keep the people who read it from saying that it's "old-fashioned," I want to create a work that is able to incorporate new elements while also keeping the good parts of the old work, so that fans from the olden days can also enjoy themselves.