×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Interview: Gundam Wing screenwriter Katsuyuki Sumisawa


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Zeino



Joined: 19 May 2017
Posts: 1098
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:16 pm Reply with quote
Mr. Sumisawa sounds like an amazing guy who deserves more recognition for his work than he gets. (Though I'm sure certain obnoxious sections of the Gundam fandom are going to slam him as a hack just like they do Mitsuo Fukuda and Mari Okada because they don't like Wing.) Also jerk move on your part, Tomino for rewriting his work without telling him and after praising him on it to boot.

Last edited by Zeino on Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:24 am; edited 4 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Zhou-BR



Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 1419
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:20 pm Reply with quote
Sumisawa worked on so many of my favorite shows that I think I could bother him with questions for hours on end. That Tomino anecdote was the best, though, and it confirms my suspicions that he rewrites the hell out of every script during the storyboarding stage. That's why his shows have that distinctively weird dialogue regardless of who's credited for the scripts.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MadHi



Joined: 10 Mar 2014
Posts: 188
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:20 pm Reply with quote
Zeino wrote:
Mr. Sumisawa sounds like an amazing guy who deserves more recognition for his work then he gets. (Though I'm sure certain obnoxious sections of the Gundam fandom are going to slam him as a hack just like they do Mitsuo Fukuda and Mari Okada because they don't like Wing.) Also jerk move on your part, Tomino for rewriting his work without telling him and after praising him on it to boot.


The Gundam fanbase really is obnoxious. What I hate most about it, and this applies to every fanbase of a property that has multiple iterations, is the mindest that the original version is always the best no matter what for absolutely no reason except that it's 'the original'. Wing may not be the first Gundam series but I don't give a rat's ass one way or the other. It's still to this day by far the best in my opinion.

SEED may have borrowed elements from the original Gundam but there was enough of it's own content, for the better or worse depending who you ask, to be it's own thing. But apparently, by the SEED hater's logic, a new Gundam series is not allowed to borrow from it's very own predecessor even thought EVERY Gundam series borrowed from it's predecessors.

- Zechs's backstory and role is very similar to Char's but no one seems to mind.
- Setsuna, personality-wise, is practically Heero Yuy and no matter how much people point it out, very few complain.
- X explores Newtypes in greater detail and all of UC ever did, despite it's constant presence, yet even if it's no one's favorite Gundam, nobody hates it either. Probably the only Gundam series that doesn't have a chunk of fans bitching over it 24/7.

But God forbid SEED to ever lay it's hands on older Gundam shows. That's like telling Hasbro to drop Optimus Prime and Megatron entirely in the next line and start fresh with different unrecognizable characters.

EDIT: Anyway, regarding the interview. I was really hoping we'd get an insight as to what happened during production. Some of the writers left midway, the director quit, Episode Zero's story got shelved in favor of recap episodes. But.... nothing. A chance to find out why things turned out that way just wasted.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
belvadeer





PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:42 pm Reply with quote
What an impressive resumé. He's quite a multifaceted writer.
Back to top
Codeanime93



Joined: 28 Jul 2017
Posts: 599
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:02 pm Reply with quote
Zeino wrote:
Mr. Sumisawa sounds like an amazing guy who deserves more recognition for his work then he gets. (Though I'm sure certain obnoxious sections of the Gundam fandom are going to slam him as a hack just like they do Mitsuo Fukuda and Mari Okada because they don't like Wing.) Also jerk move on your part, Tomino for rewriting his work without telling him and after praising him on it to boot.

I legit didn't like Okada's writing in the second season of IBO, I wouldn't call her a hack though, just someone who doesn't think a story all the way through and also can't end a show well apparently.
Fukuda I wouldn't call a hack at all, Destiny was done at a bad time from what I heard and that's why it turned out the way it did. A lot of behind the scenes turmoil made it the show it is today.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Codeanime93



Joined: 28 Jul 2017
Posts: 599
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:04 pm Reply with quote
MadHi wrote:
Zeino wrote:
Mr. Sumisawa sounds like an amazing guy who deserves more recognition for his work then he gets. (Though I'm sure certain obnoxious sections of the Gundam fandom are going to slam him as a hack just like they do Mitsuo Fukuda and Mari Okada because they don't like Wing.) Also jerk move on your part, Tomino for rewriting his work without telling him and after praising him on it to boot.


The Gundam fanbase really is obnoxious. What I hate most about it, and this applies to every fanbase of a property that has multiple iterations, is the mindest that the original version is always the best no matter what for absolutely no reason except that it's 'the original'. Wing may not be the first Gundam series but I don't give a rat's ass one way or the other. It's still to this day by far the best in my opinion.

SEED may have borrowed elements from the original Gundam but there was enough of it's own content, for the better or worse depending who you ask, to be it's own thing. But apparently, by the SEED hater's logic, a new Gundam series is not allowed to borrow from it's very own predecessor even thought EVERY Gundam series borrowed from it's predecessors.

- Zechs's backstory and role is very similar to Char's but no one seems to mind.
- Setsuna, personality-wise, is practically Heero Yuy and no matter how much people point it out, very few complain.
- X explores Newtypes in greater detail and all of UC ever did, despite it's constant presence, yet even if it's no one's favorite Gundam, nobody hates it either. Probably the only Gundam series that doesn't have a chunk of fans bitching over it 24/7.


Mikazuki from IBO is basically Heero Yuy too or Setsuna. The Heero Yuy clones in Gundam are getting tiresome though. Also Kudelia actually in my opinion is an even more useless Relena clone.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Codeanime93



Joined: 28 Jul 2017
Posts: 599
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:18 pm Reply with quote
belvadeer wrote:
What an impressive resumé. He's quite a multifaceted writer.

He was also responsible for a lot of episode scripts to the first Naruto show along with the first movie script. Apparently he didn't continue on into Shippuden or Boruto though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 1804
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:36 pm Reply with quote
8 panels?! Shocked
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MadHi



Joined: 10 Mar 2014
Posts: 188
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:45 pm Reply with quote
Codeanime93 wrote:

Mikazuki from IBO is basically Heero Yuy too or Setsuna. The Heero Yuy clones in Gundam are getting tiresome though. Also Kudelia actually in my opinion is an even more useless Relena clone.


I think the quiet loner archetype in all of anime shined brightest with Heero (and even Trowa). I would also say Blade from Teknoman but he's not as widely remembered and he became quippy when he transformed.

I wouldn't say Relena is useless. I find her being naive was a deliberate character trait that the series dealt with. Also because she's only a teenager and she was thrust into politics and her lineage which she was unaware of until early in the series and she never really witnessed a battle first hand, at least not as a soldier or rebel. It made sense that she was naive and unrealistic and at times even doubted what she preached spoiler[ which she eventually did at end of Endless Waltz].

Kudeila on the other hand, keep in mind I haven't watched season 2 yet, just comes off as a total preacher with no understanding of anything. But I have to finish it before I can say she's a complete fool.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BlueAlf



Joined: 02 Jan 2017
Posts: 1493
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 7:11 pm Reply with quote
I've always had mixed feelings about Mr Sumisawa's work in Gundam Wing. Especially the more recent Frozen Teardrop novel. But for some reason, I just can't hate the guy.

He's the rare type of all-around worker who somehow always manages to get the job done, while also putting in some quality too. In the sense that he's not a genre-specialist, I mean.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Codeanime93



Joined: 28 Jul 2017
Posts: 599
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:22 pm Reply with quote
MadHi wrote:
Codeanime93 wrote:

Mikazuki from IBO is basically Heero Yuy too or Setsuna. The Heero Yuy clones in Gundam are getting tiresome though. Also Kudelia actually in my opinion is an even more useless Relena clone.


I think the quiet loner archetype in all of anime shined brightest with Heero (and even Trowa). I would also say Blade from Teknoman but he's not as widely remembered and he became quippy when he transformed.

I wouldn't say Relena is useless. I find her being naive was a deliberate character trait that the series dealt with. Also because she's only a teenager and she was thrust into politics and her lineage which she was unaware of until early in the series and she never really witnessed a battle first hand, at least not as a soldier or rebel. It made sense that she was naive and unrealistic and at times even doubted what she preached spoiler[ which she eventually did at end of Endless Waltz].

Kudeila on the other hand, keep in mind I haven't watched season 2 yet, just comes off as a total preacher with no understanding of anything. But I have to finish it before I can say she's a complete fool.


I really didn't mean Relena was useless as more Kudelia was useless. I thought Kudelia was basically kind of like Relena except useless and yes even more clueless. I really don't want to spoil season 2 for you then but her character kind of... well is disappointing in season 2 compared to season 1.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lynx Amali





PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:46 pm Reply with quote
Zeino wrote:
Also jerk move on your part, Tomino for rewriting his work without telling him and after praising him on it to boot.


As someone who's worked on play scripts frequently, that's actually quite common as the director does have final say and is not obligated to use your work. I'm not sure its as prevalent in TV/animation however.

MadHi wrote:

- Setsuna, personality-wise, is practically Heero Yuy and no matter how much people point it out, very few complain.
- X explores Newtypes in greater detail and all of UC ever did, despite it's constant presence, yet even if it's no one's favorite Gundam, nobody hates it either. Probably the only Gundam series that doesn't have a chunk of fans bitching over it 24/7.


1) Setsuna is nothing like Heero. Heero didn't develop a Messiah Complex like Setsuna, nor did he worship Gundams. Same archetype and origin, sure, but the ultimate results? Completely different. I don't recall Heero ever having anybody like Setsuna does in Lockon either. The end result is what matters the most more than anything IMO.

2) Tomino novels. People bring up "they didn't explain Newtypes!" while they kinda did. The Tomino novels started to come out in 79 as well. X also completely throws the ideas of Newtypes as they are in UC proper out of the window. Hell, that's why the Frosts are probably one of my favourite sets of villains. spoiler[Motivations end up so petty.]
Back to top
Strike105



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 1:36 am Reply with quote
Codeanime93 wrote:
MadHi wrote:
Codeanime93 wrote:

Mikazuki from IBO is basically Heero Yuy too or Setsuna. The Heero Yuy clones in Gundam are getting tiresome though. Also Kudelia actually in my opinion is an even more useless Relena clone.


I think the quiet loner archetype in all of anime shined brightest with Heero (and even Trowa). I would also say Blade from Teknoman but he's not as widely remembered and he became quippy when he transformed.

I wouldn't say Relena is useless. I find her being naive was a deliberate character trait that the series dealt with. Also because she's only a teenager and she was thrust into politics and her lineage which she was unaware of until early in the series and she never really witnessed a battle first hand, at least not as a soldier or rebel. It made sense that she was naive and unrealistic and at times even doubted what she preached spoiler[ which she eventually did at end of Endless Waltz].

Kudeila on the other hand, keep in mind I haven't watched season 2 yet, just comes off as a total preacher with no understanding of anything. But I have to finish it before I can say she's a complete fool.


I really didn't mean Relena was useless as more Kudelia was useless. I thought Kudelia was basically kind of like Relena except useless and yes even more clueless. I really don't want to spoil season 2 for you then but her character kind of... well is disappointing in season 2 compared to season 1.


No, Relena was doubtlessly one of the most useless female leads in the franchise, As she was built up to be an important character that came into extremely high positions of political power, but did practically nothing worthy of her supposed importance, whether it was on-screen or off.

Kudelia, on the other hand, actually did something important to the plot from time to time, and it fit in with the type of character that the writers wanted to portray her as. She didn't go into battle herself, no, but spoiler[using the media, she single-handedly stopped an attack on Tekkadan at the Dort colonies, in addition to a military massacre of oppressed and striking workers (Who were armed, yes, but their arms were mostly for show, and they had no intention of actually using force. When the workers were actually forced to fight back after a set-up, they were completely helpless when their equipment was found to be nonfunctional) At the end of S1, she delivered another speech that hit Gjallarhorn's public image pretty hard once again, which helped set the stage for the events of S2.] She didn't really do much throughout S2, but a there was still evidence that she did a fair bit of minor stuff off-screen, but not really anything worth noting.

Kudelia also grew as a character throughout the series. At the beginning, she was naive, yes, but as the series progressed, she came to understand the motivations of the child mercenaries she had allied herself with, alongside other elements of the messed up world in which she lived, and her views and actions changed accordingly to change the things around her for the better, from educating Tekkadan's members to become literate to opening an orphanage to keep other children from suffering similar circumstances as Tekkadan and Human Debris.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Zeino



Joined: 19 May 2017
Posts: 1098
PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 4:48 am Reply with quote
Strike105 wrote:
No, Relena was doubtlessly one of the most useless female leads in the franchise, As she was built up to be an important character that came into extremely high positions of political power, but did practically nothing worthy of her supposed importance, whether it was on-screen or off.

Her managing to outmaneuver Duke Dermail who had intended to uses her as a pawn for his schemes and strip him of power and calling on people to raise up and resist the Mariemaia Army at the end of Endless Waltz count as "nothing worthy of her supposed importance"?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
belvadeer





PostPosted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 11:21 am Reply with quote
Codeanime93 wrote:
He was also responsible for a lot of episode scripts to the first Naruto show along with the first movie script. Apparently he didn't continue on into Shippuden or Boruto though.


I'm aware, which is why I said multifaceted. I scoped out his resumé and read the article prior to my post.
Back to top
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group