A Discussion of Gundam's Development Sparked by the 0083 Planning Meeting (4,000 Words)
Nakayama Takuya has come to Sunrise once again, this time for a launch meeting to discuss "Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Memories of the Stars".
The conference room was filled with smoke, and the main creators sat around a long table, their expressions serious.
These people are all veterans of the Gundam series, exuding a calm and collected demeanor born from countless battles.
After the creators finished presenting the story framework they had been working on, everyone's attention turned to Nakayama Takuya.
As Sega's representative on the Production Committee, his opinion carried considerable weight, especially regarding the outsourcing strategy he spearheaded for China.
After saving a large amount of money on "Wudou Densetsu", Sunrise was given a low-cost animation project for children, "Kirby". Sunrise employees had even higher regard for this young executive director.
"Executive Director Nakayama, what do you think of this story framework?" Sunrise producer Ueda Masuo asked cautiously.
Takuya smiled and nodded, first giving his approval. "The story framework itself is fine. The historical gap between the One Year War and the rise of the Titans definitely needs a work to fill it. <0083> is very well positioned, making the entire Universal Century worldview more complete, which I appreciate."
Upon hearing the first part of the sentence, the atmosphere in the meeting room visibly relaxed.
However, Takuya suddenly changed his tone and became sharper.
"However, I have several major questions regarding the specific character portrayals."
He held up one finger. "The protagonist, Kou Uraki, a second lieutenant in the Earth Federation Forces who experienced the One Year War, what was his reaction when he first faced Zeon's ace, ' Nightmare of Solomon,' Anavel Gato? Stiff, rigid, like a student who's never seen the world. Gentlemen, is that reasonable?"
"Those are enemies of war, war criminals! Even if they don't immediately draw their guns and shoot, shouldn't there be at least basic hatred and disgust? He's acting like a tourist from a neutral region, which makes no sense at all. Unless he's from places like Von Braun or Side 6, but he's not."
We are creating a constantly evolving ace pilot, not a slow-witted test doll. The character's emotional core shouldn't be limited to the shame of having their Gundam stolen.
These words were quite blunt, and the faces of the scriptwriters instantly became somewhat embarrassed.
Takuya, seemingly oblivious, continued, "Speaking of the villains, Anavel Gato and Aiguille Delaz. Their 'righteous cause' is too hollow. 'For the revival of Zeon!' Such slogans might boost morale when shouted to lower-ranking soldiers. But who are these people? The high command of the Delaz Fleet, the opportunists of the Cima Fleet, and the envoys sent by Axis. They're all shrewd and calculating individuals. Big shots who can still stir up trouble in the Earth Sphere, right under the noses of the Earth Federation Forces, three years after the Principality of Principality of Zeon's defeat."
"In this kind of situation, isn't it foolish to keep repeating empty slogans? It makes the characters seem very flat. There should be more subtle exchanges, more probing and maneuvering between them. Even a few cryptic but information-rich lines can instantly elevate the depth of the work."
"Especially Aiguille Delaz." Takuya's gaze swept across the room, finally settling on an unassuming middle-aged man in a corner. "He's been lying low for three years, scheming and plotting, and his ultimate goal is just to smash a colony satellite into Earth? What's his motive? Is it merely revenge? That's too simplistic, and it underestimates a military leader who can command a fleet. Was he trying to cripple the Federation's barns in North America, shaking the foundations of their rule on Earth? Or was he trying to demonstrate his power and resolve to other Zeon remnants in space, like Axis, to gain political capital? These interpretations, even just a little bit, would make this character's actions more believable."
"The script still has a lot of room for polishing."
At this point, Takuya glanced discreetly at Imanishi Takashi in the corner.
This director is known for inserting his own agenda into his works, and is particularly adept at using grand slogans and so-called "righteousness" to package his right-wing historical views.
Takuya sneered inwardly. This time, he wouldn't give him another chance to ruin a hardcore military work into a propaganda film promoting empty rhetoric.
As long as the foundation of the story is solid and the logic of the characters is straightened out, Imanishi Takashi's ideas will lose their fertile ground and cannot be forced into the story.
Imanishi Takashi heard Takuya's question about the script, his eyes behind his glasses narrowed slightly, and his hand under the table tightened unconsciously.
The entire conference room was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Takuya's words exposed almost all the core issues of the script, and they were incisive and merciless.
After a long pause, producer Ueda Masuo broke the silence with a dry cough. He looked at Takuya with a mixture of inquiry and expectation in his eyes. "So, Executive Director Nakayama, in your opinion, how should it be revised specifically?"
Takuya continued, "My idea is simple: although our overall story is very complex, we don't need to cram everything into the animation."
He glanced around at the creators, whose expressions varied due to his previous sharp criticism, and his tone became more relaxed, as if he were sharing an interesting discovery.
"We can consider multimedia integration based on the Universal Century Chronology, or in other words, a ' Gundam Universe Completion Plan.'"
"Gundam Universe Completion Plan?" Series director Yoshiyuki Tomino muttered to himself, the trendy term catching his eye.
"That's right." Takuya snapped his fingers. "For example, we could make a manga specifically about what the Zeon remnants who fled to Axis experienced after the One Year War ended."
He held up his fingers and counted them one by one, his clear thinking startling even the professionals present.
How did Haman Kahn, a young girl in the prime of her life, take over her father's power, break through a group of cunning old officers and politicians, and sit in the top seat of Axis? How did Char's relationship with Haman go from close to distant? And what about that little princess, Minerva Zabi—was she a puppet, or did she have some hidden agenda? And what about the various factions within Axis?
What are the connections between this and the Delaz Fleet and the Republic of Zeon under Federation control? If this were made into a manga and published in Newtype, it would definitely be a hit with core Gundam fans.
In the conference room, several scriptwriters had unconsciously picked up pens and began sketching rapidly in their notebooks, as if inspiration was bursting forth. "And then there's Sima Karahau," Takuya said with a hint of regret. "Her story could easily be a standalone short story, or even a full-length manga. I've already thought of a title: ' The Space Oyster.' It would tell the story of how her fleet went from a regular army to space pirates betrayed by their own people, and the struggles and betrayals she endured to keep her brothers alive. That way, when viewers see her actions in the anime, they won't just see her as a treacherous woman, but will understand her despair and madness. Her death would truly be impactful."
At this point, he changed the subject and revealed a shrewd smile.
"Moreover, from a business perspective, this is also a grand strategy. The production costs of comics and novels are far lower than those of animation, allowing for early market warm-up and building up popularity for 0VA. As for Bandai, aren't the various early Axis prototypes appearing in the comics, and the various temporary solutions pieced together to form combat capability in the early stages of the Delaz Fleet's formation, all good ideas for new models?"
When he was called out, Bandai's Bandai Mitsui Chuta, was taken aback at first. Then he exchanged a knowing look with his colleague and his smile was brighter than anyone else's.
Is this what was previously agreed upon—granting Fangdai more model licenses?
"Most importantly," Takuya said, his smile fading and his voice becoming serious again, "This will liberate our animation."
The OVA can focus on the main storyline of "Operation Stardust," vividly portraying the hardcore military aspects, political maneuvering, and Kou Uraki's growth, with a tight pace and no dragging. For those who want in-depth background information, there are manga and novels; for those who want to see mobile suit battles, there's the anime itself. Clear division of labor, everyone gets what they need, and everyone's happy.
After he finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.
The few who had previously looked grim because of the script criticism now looked at Takuya with nothing but admiration.
This isn't just a suggestion for improvement; it's a perfect solution that will elevate the work to a whole new level and also make money along the way.
Ueda Masuo's cheeks flushed with excitement. He looked at Takuya as if he were a wise sage offering guidance. "Executive Director Nakayama, your words have truly enlightened us!"
Director Tomino nodded thoughtfully. "With this approach, many future anime productions won't be so agonizing over plot choices. Any elements that are separated from the main anime storyline can be released in advance in various forms such as manga, novels, art books, and MSV, which can both generate buzz for the anime and enrich the overall story."
Only Imanishi Takashi, standing in the corner, had an increasingly gloomy look in his eyes behind his glasses.
He understood that Takuya's "Space Completion Plan" had eliminated any possibility of him smuggling in his own agenda.
When each character's actions are supported by a detailed, specific, and humanly struggling backstory, there is no longer any room to insert their grand but empty "righteousness," "spirit," and "glory."
Those vague and unrealistic slogans can only be regarded as a despicable means of "fooling the people" in stories.
Takuya took a sip of water and continued, "Gundam, especially the Universal Century story, is a world that can continuously evolve on its own. The characters, events, and various settings that arise from this evolution will be an invaluable asset for Sunrise that will never fade. Any actions we take regarding the Universal Century should adhere to one principle: the story framework and core spirit must remain consistent from beginning to end. We must evolve with a unified approach to avoid any sense of disconnect. In this way, no matter what stories we create on this foundation, the audience's level of enjoyment may differ, but their sense of identification will not diminish; on the contrary, it will deepen as the unified approach evolves."
"The Universal Century has evolved to a point where it can no longer be easily created with a juvenile mindset; the depth of its stories dictates that the audience is primarily young adults and above."
"What about attracting new fans to Gundam? We can't just rely on us old guys," screenwriter Takahashi Ryosuke muttered to himself.
Nakayama Takuya smiled and looked at him, "Takahashi- san, that's a good question. If we want to attract new young Gundam fans, we should start from scratch and try to attract them with other, relatively lighthearted new worldviews. For example, the currently airing ' Mobile Fighter ' has successfully attracted a large number of elementary and junior high school students, hasn't it?"
He paused, giving everyone time to think.
"When these kids become Gundam fans because of Mobile Fighter, they will naturally look for other Gundam works. And when they grow old and experienced enough to understand Universal Century stories, we release a well-made new UC work, and they will naturally become loyal viewers of the Universal Century. Then they will actively learn about other Universal Century works. That's the vitality of Gundam."
Takuya spread his hands and concluded, "I would call it 'each generation has its own Gundam.'"
"Each generation has its own Gundam—" Yoshiyuki Tomino repeated the sentence softly, his eyes flashing with a complex light, a mixture of approval and reminiscence.
"There will always be a Gundam that represents your childhood or youth. As long as we can achieve that, that's enough for Sunrise." Takuya's words were resolute. "If you don't believe me, you can start paying attention to the VHS rental data for the earlier Universal Century games right now. I bet there's been a significant increase recently."
Bandai's head Mitsui Chuta, immediately nudged his subordinate and whispered a few instructions, clearly telling him to verify the data immediately.
"Furthermore, I have a bold idea." Takuya's gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Yoshiyuki Tomino, "We can recruit more people from veteran Gundam fans who are willing to contribute to this world."
A murmur rippled through the conference room. "Does Executive Director Nakayama mean fan fiction?" Ueda Masuo asked uncertainly, as the idea was far too avant-garde for the commercial animation industry.
"That's right!" Takuya admitted without hesitation. "As long as the story framework and core spirit do not deviate from our established Universal Century Chronology, we can consider incorporating some excellent fan works into the Universal Century canon after our professional adaptation and polishing."
Of course, we still need to be cautious about granting licenses in this regard. We shouldn't grant licenses lightly before we've determined that a work is truly suitable for inclusion in the Gundam story system. As for the final review and approval, I suggest that Director Tomino personally take charge.
All eyes were on Yoshiyuki Tomino.
The bald-headed director, who had just finished his recovery, looked much better. He was picking up the story of the sequel to <Gundam F91> again, slowly building a new chapter. Upon hearing this suggestion, he was taken aback at first, then leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. Letting fans create official history? This was simply unheard of.
But upon closer examination, this is indeed a brilliant plan to revitalize the entire IP, and can supplement the Gundam creative team's creative output or conservative thinking.
After a long pause, Tomino slowly spoke, "If their stuff is truly good enough, and I can see their love for Gundam and their respect for life, then it's not necessarily a bad thing."
He agreed!
The entire Sunrise Gundam creative team was instantly injected with a powerful stimulant.
The somewhat oppressive atmosphere caused by Takuya's criticism vanished, replaced by an unprecedented excitement.
Their previous creations of Gundam stories were somewhat spontaneous and creative, often leading to endless debates over a single idea.
But Takuya's systematic approach opened a new world for them.
Although the preliminary work will be much more extensive and the creative constraints will be greater, the grand story framework of a logically consistent world that can be infinitely expanded and grow together with fans is just too appealing to these creators, making it impossible for them not to be captivated.
Mitsui Chuta, the representative of Bandai who was attending the meeting, kept writing with his pen, filling his notebook with drawings.
Attending this animation project meeting was totally worth it!
He had previously mentioned during the discussions between Sega and Takuya regarding a share swap between Bandai and Sega that he hoped Sega and Sunrise would grant Bandai more licenses for anime characters. Now it seems his vision was too limited.
He is the god of wealth who can determine the future performance of Fangdai over the next ten years! We must keep him firmly tied to Fangdai's chariot!