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Gundam's Yoshiyuki Tomino Wants Next Work to Reflect Current Wars Such as Ukraine, Israel

NHK's June 17 edition of News Watch 9, a weeknight news broadcast, featured an interview with Mobile Suit Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The “Yoshiyuki Tomino Speaks on the Reality of War” segment focuses on Tomino's experiences during World War II, his thought process when creating Gundam, the current state of the franchise he created, and plans for future works.

The nearly six-minute segment on Tomino opens with the legendary director speaking about his memories of World War II. He specifically remembers escaping an air raid with two or three picture books in hand when he was three years old. His home happened to be the farthest from the neighborhood's air raid shelter. By the time his family arrived at the shelter, the only space available was near the entrance, protected only by woven-rush mats fluttering in the breeze.

The narrator then explains it was not until Tomino grew older that he understood why the U.S. military targeted his hometown. “I kept looking at the mountain of batteries. I realized they were military products. It's simple to say war, but industry is tied to it. So, supplies are needed. Without those supplies, war is impossible.” According to Tomino, he used these thoughts and experiences when making Gundam.

The news segment expressed this by showing the clips of the first episode of the first Gundam anime overdubbed with Tomino's comments. “The first enemy the Gundam encounters are three Zaku mobile suits,” said Tomino. “There needs to be a military industry and an industrial system in place to mass-produce it. I guess I had no choice but to depict a war between nations.” The narrator then states despite the series showing mobile suits fighting each other, those fighting and the casualties are people. Reinforcing this point, NHK showed a scene from the first episode when civilians are attacked.

With the Gundam franchise surging in popularity after the first Gundam anime's broadcast, Tomino spoke on his thoughts regarding the current state of the franchise. “When you say 'I like Gundam,' the words that come up are, of course, 'mobile suit battles are cool.' That is not the point. At all.” Tomino lamented. Speaking about those currently making Gundam the director was a little less abrasive. “My younger colleagues are making Gundam series today, and I don't feel a sense of experience with war.” He continued by saying he's not sure if he could teach wartime experiences to a younger generation who has not experienced them firsthand.

Finally, when asked about future endeavors, Tomino said he has something he would like to make. While he did not go into much detail, Tomino did elaborate a bit: “The war in Ukraine has been going on for three years now and the conflict in Israel for 30 to 40 years. I don't think we understand these things very well. So, the theme is whether humanity can stop this social behavior.”

The segment is available on NHK+ in Japan until June 24 at 10:00 p.m. JST (9:00 a.m. EDT). The NHK website also posted a text article which uses different excerpts of the interview from the ones the video segment used.

Sources: News Watch 9, NHK, Mobile Suit Gundam on Amazon Prime Video Japan