Gundam Creator Says the Anime Industry Must Avoid Disney’s Worst Mistake

At this point, it is hard to think of another studio bigger than Disney. Over the decades, the company has turned itself into a household name. From Star Wars to its princesses and Marvel, Disney has it all these days. Still, a growing number of netizens are questioning Disney’s profit-hungry POV, and it turns out the creator of Gundam is amongst them.

Recently, Yoshiyuki Tominosat down for an interview with Toyo Keizai to chat about his time spent in the anime industry. It was there the creator admitted anime was in a golden age of sorts, but it could all end if the industry takes after Disney.

In fact, Tomino used Disney as an example of what happens when animated titles lose heart. The creator of Gundam first critiqued Disney’s choice to move on from hand-drawn animation to digitalized media. Tomino went so far as to call Disney’s most recent releases “boring” and “depressing” at worst. So when asked why he felt that way, Tomino said his disappointment in Disney stems from its production goals.

After all, the creator of Gundam is already worried the anime industry is learning bad habits from Disney. Bandai Namco Filmworks, the company behind Gundam, is tackling bigger projects that stray away from traditional animation. For Tomino, this worries him because he sees Disney as a brand that puts out “empty blockbusters without any personality.” To make good content, Tomino believes creators must be allowed to experiment, and execs like producers must get their hands dirty when developing a project. They cannot simply stand to the side and churn numbers in hopes of convincing creators to follow lucrative trends.

As of late, Disney has found itself at odds creatively, and netizens have critiqued the company for the same reason Tomino has. Star Wars suffered numerous creative blunders in theaters this past decade, but the IP is turning around on TV. These days, Pixar and Marvel Studios are being fired upon over quantity-versus-quality concerns. Clearly, Tomino’s worries are not unique when it comes to Disney. So as the anime industry grows, we can only hope its execs avoid this growing pains pitfall.

What do you think about this Gundam update? Do you agree with Tomino? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!