Mobile Fighter
The silence in the conference room was broken by the sound of a chair being moved.
That was Mitsui Chuta suddenly stood up from his chair.
His gaze was fixed on Nakayama Takuya. He walked around the conference table and rushed to Takuya in a few steps. Judging from his posture, he wanted to kidnap Takuya from the conference room of Sunrise and take him back to the factory in Shizuoka.
However, a hand landed on his shoulder, forcefully stopping Mitsui Chuta's forward momentum.
"Mitsui- san, please calm down."
It was President Ito of Sunrise.
Mitsui Chuta stiffened, realizing his lapse in composure.
He glanced back at Ito, then at Nakayama Takuya, who also seemed somewhat amused and exasperated. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard.
President Ito - Me -
"I understand how you feel." President Ito withdrew his hand, turning his gaze to Takuya, his eyes filled with a hint of apology, but even more so with an overwhelming expectation. "But I think Executive Director Nakayama hasn't finished speaking yet."
All eyes in the conference room were once again focused on Nakayama Takuya.
After everyone was seated again, President Ito spoke once more.
"Executive Director Nakayama, you suggested that we start from scratch and create a TV Victory Gundam anime that doesn't follow the Universal Century storyline. We agree with this direction in principle. However, an idea that can support a 50-episode, year-long series can't be conceived overnight."
"I presume you already have a draft in mind?"
His words immediately caught everyone's attention.
Yes! Who doesn't know what the name Nakayama Takuya means in the industry?
He spearheaded the creation of the Fatal Fury anime, which remains a benchmark for fighting anime to this day.
Pokémon has swept the globe, becoming a phenomenal national IP.
Even Masami Kurumada's inspiration for creating Saint Seiya came from the guidance of this young man.
How could the direction proposed by such a creative master be merely an empty concept?
Takuya faced everyone's gaze without any pressure on his face; instead, he revealed a confident smile.
He readily agreed.
"Certainly."
Two words, spoken lightly, yet carrying a profound weight.
Instead of returning to his seat, he turned and walked towards the large whiteboard at the front of the conference room, picking up a black Mark at random.
After organizing his thoughts, Takuya began to write.
"Since the target audience is a younger demographic, the core of the story needs to be simple, direct, and exciting."
As Takuya spoke, he wrote several large characters on the whiteboard, "Gundam Fight Tournament".
"My vision is this: due to the deterioration and pollution of Earth's environment, humanity will be forced to migrate to space on a large scale, building massive colony satellites in space, and establishing a satellite federation of nations named after old-era countries, such as ' Neo Japan,' ' Neo China,' and ' Neo America United States.'"
"To avoid repeating the mistakes of the old Earth Sphere Wars, the Colony Satellite Union signed an agreement to determine world hegemony in a completely new way—the Gundam Fight Tournament!" Takuya tapped the whiteboard heavily with his pen.
"Held every four years, each country sends its strongest representative, piloting the most powerful Gundam, to battle. The representative of the victorious nation, and the nation to which they belong, will gain control of the entire Earth Sphere for the next four years."
A lively discussion broke out in the conference room.
This worldview is simple and brutal, yet it possesses a strange allure! Deciding world domination through a fighting tournament? How novel!
Moreover, one-on-one Gundam battles are much less stressful to produce for Sunrise, which has over a decade of experience in creating robot anime, compared to the large-scale war scenes of the Universal Century.
"The rules are very simple," Takuya continued writing.
"During the battle, victory is achieved by destroying the head of the opposing Gundam. To avoid killing the pilots, attacking the cockpit is strictly prohibited. And Earth—" Takuya's voice carried a hint of cruelty, "Will be reduced to an arena without any rules, where destruction can be carried out at will!"
The murmurs in the meeting room grew louder.
That's a really interesting concept!
It emphasizes the destructive nature of Gundam battles and demonstrates the openness and barbarity of such martial arts tournaments, while cleverly using a set of rules to circumvent the cruelty of war, thus meeting the need to expand its audience to younger viewers.
"So, what about the main character?" President Ito pressed.
"The protagonist comes from Neo Japan." Takuya wrote the letter J, then drew a circle around the letter A.
His father was an excellent scientist, but was sentenced to cryogenics for developing the extremely dangerous "Devil Gundam." The protagonist's older brother stole the prototype of the Devil Gundam and fled to Earth.
"The original design concept of the Devil Gundam was to use DG Cells technology to automatically repair the polluted Earth's ecosystem."
However, due to the DG Cells going out of control, it transformed from a "saving device" into a "weapon of destruction." To control this terrifying machine, its core requires a human pilot with powerful mental strength as its "central unit."
"To clear his father's name and to find his brother, the protagonist will represent Neo Japan in this Gundam Fight Tournament."
A revenge storyline interwoven with family tragedy and saving the world instantly gives this passionate framework a solid core.
"On his journey, he will meet representatives from Neo China, Neo America, Neo France, and Neo Russia, turning them from rivals into allies." Takuya then wrote the letters C, A, F, and R, and drew several circles to connect them. "Of course, there will also be nemesis."
For example, his master, the champion of the previous martial arts tournament, is an ambitious man who ostensibly protects the Earth but is actually involved with the Devil Gundam.
Takuya put down his pen and looked around at everyone.
"The main storyline is about the protagonist saving his family, making friends, fighting his nemesis, and saving the world—it's clear enough. At the same time, each episode takes him to a new country and challenges a new opponent, giving it an episodic nature."
This work will no longer emphasize the telepathic connection of Newtype, but will return to a purer form of "martial arts," emphasizing the "heart."
The unity of skill and body. The protagonist's ultimate move can even directly materialize intense emotional energy into a devastating attack.
"At the same time, the Gundam designs from different countries will deeply incorporate their national cultural impressions. This is both a tribute to the internationalism of the Olympic Games and allows audiences worldwide to find familiar cultural symbols within them."
He looked at Chuta Mitsunami, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"In this way, each country will have its own unique machine designs, and new models will be continuously introduced."
"Furthermore," Takuya added, "This episodic format is extremely beneficial for project management. We can outsource episodic stories from different countries, ensuring the main production team can focus on polishing the main storyline and allowing for ample production time. When viewers get a little tired of the episodic format, we can accelerate the main storyline to guarantee viewership. The main storyline provides depth, the episodic stories provide breadth, and we can even sell models along the way—we can do both without any problems."
After finishing his speech, Takuya gently placed the Mark back in its place, and the entire conference room fell silent.
President Ito and Mitsui Chuta exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise on each other's faces.
The story's core is action-packed and patriotic, perfectly matching their desire to attract younger fans.
The story structure can balance viewership and production management, and can also greatly expand the model product line.
This project is simply... perfect!
The creative team members were so excited that their faces turned red. This story framework had the spirit of Gundam, but it also broke free from the heavy constraints of the Universal Century, giving them unlimited room to maneuver!
Director Tomino also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Great! Excellent!" President Ito slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "That's it! We'll take this proposal! We'll immediately organize a team to refine it!"
The atmosphere at the meeting instantly reached a fever pitch.