Gundam Producer Reveals How Teenagers Really Think About the Franchise

Mobile Suit Gundam has continued telling stories surrounding mech suits for decades, with the first anime premiering in the 1970s. With anime such as Gundam Wing, G Gundam, and the latest, Witch From Mercury, taking an opportunity to span timelines and alternate realities, a producer on the latest Mobile Suit series revealed a shocking conversation he overheard, in which teenagers discussed how they felt that the series ultimately wasn’t for them and believed the anime franchise was aimed far more at adults.  

Takuya Okamoto is the current producer of the latest Gundam series, with the creator having worked on previous Gundam series such as Iron-Blooded Orphans, Unicorn, and Build Fighters to name a few. Okamoto’s resume also covers a number of other heavy hitters in the anime world including Attack on Titan, Code Geass, The God of High School, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Vinland Saga. In The Witch From Mercury, the series focuses on a school where decisions are made thanks to mech suit battles, putting a major spin on the franchise, especially considering that Gundams are outlawed. As Okamoto explains, he had overhead visiting students to Sunrise’s headquarters reveal that they felt the franchise “wasn’t made for them”:

“There have been Gundams where schools have appeared before, but I think there were many works that were serious from the start, such as starting with a child soldier. This time, “The Witch From Mercury” also had several turning points in thinking about the story. However, it was just around that time that I had the opportunity to hear from some teenagers who had come for a social studies field trip. Then I was told that “Gundam is not for us” and “I won’t watch it if it has Gundam in the title”…”

Takuya then took the opportunity to state how he believed that it has been “more difficult” for younger fans to get into the Gundam series and how attempting to make this latest anime more relatable to a new generation helped push the school environment. 

How have you felt about the latest Gundam series so far? Do you think the Mobile Suit franchise is more focused on an adult audience? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of mech suits. 

Via ANN