In recent days, Mobile Fighter G Gundam has been seeing a resurgence, thanks in part to a sequel novel series that has been released in Japan. Decades following the arrival and conclusion of Domon’s story, series director and co-creator Goro Taniguchi is still hard at work on the anime medium thanks to the anthology series, Enter The Garden. With the second entry, “Azuki“, hitting the internet last month, Taniguchi recently talked with us here at ComicBook.com to discuss this new anime while also delivering some harsh commentary regarding the current state of the Gundam franchise.
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In discussing his current thoughts on series like Gundam: The Witch From Mercury and the upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, Taniguchi stated that the franchise had grown to be more of a “business entity” than a creative enterprise. He also explained that the rise of Gundam might be a hindrance to other mech anime, “At this point, Gundam has become more of a business entity than just a creative work. The Gundam series has been developed in many forms, and I respect the efforts of the staff who are constantly searching for something different from the previous series, something that has not yet been done. However, there’s always the risk of catering solely to longtime fans, which could limit its appeal and I hope the franchise doesn’t take that path. I am saying this because I feel Gundam has significantly reduced the number of robot-themed anime in Japan. There’s been an increase in the number of Japanese viewers who say, ‘I will be able to enjoy this anime only because it is a Gundam.’ This could lead to the decline of the robot genre.”
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Goro’s Gundam Thoughts
G Gundam’s director continued, stating that he has well wishes for the current creators steering the franchise, hoping to expand on the mech stories within it, “Originally, Gundam was one of many robot anime seeking to explore the production possibilities of expression. Now, that very Gundam is suppressing other robot anime possibilities. Currently, robot anime other than Gundam are maintaining their potential due to the efforts of people like Hideaki Anno, director of Evangelion, Shoji Kawamori, director of Macross, myself who directed Code Geass and Masami Oobari. I know those involved with Gundam don’t intend for this genre to decline, so I hope they continue to pursue new possibilities of the Gundam franchise.”
The next Gundam series, GQuuuuuuX hit theaters in both Japan and North America with a compilation film, stringing together the first episodes of the series. Arriving on Amazon Video next month, the anime adaptation will release episodes weekly to tell its brand new story in the mech universe.
Goro’s Azuki Creation
You can check out the second episode of Enter The Garden above to witness how Goro Taniguchi hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to creating anime. While he had plenty to say about the Gundam world, Goro also broke down his latest work to hit the internet, “I see this project as exploring the possibilities of the Azuki world. While Azuki doesn’t have a concrete storyline, it holds ideals and hopes. How we choose to shape that is entirely up to us. In a sense, creating this anime itself is our way of participating in what Azuki represents.”
The director of Enter The Garden’s second installment further explained the new anime world, “Though Azuki does not own a fixed storyline, it does possess its own defined
world. Protecting that world is essential. As the episodes unfold, we structured them to
gradually expand the possibilities of Azuki, reaching beyond what has already been
established within their defined world. Ultimately, by presenting designs that diverge significantly from the current Azuki aesthetic, the aim is to prompt those involved with Azuki to reconsider what defines the brand. That itself can become an interesting form of creative expression.”
Want to follow along with the mech franchise that has carved out its place in the anime medium? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Gundam and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
