Yoshiyuki Tomino is not only the creator responsible for Mobile Suit: Gundam, but he has also had a heavy hand in the series since its inception in the 1970s. While Tomino might be in his 80s, it doesn’t seem as though the prolific creator is retiring any time soon. In fact, a character designer in the anime business recently revealed that the Gundam creator might just be preparing to work on a new project in the medium for the first time in some time.
At the tail end of 2023, Yoshiyuki Tomino participated in an interview that made anime fans believe that retirement was on the horizon. When asked by outlet Mantan Web what he would do if he was a teenager again, the anime director dismissed it via a somber response, “Such questions are nonsense for people who are over 80 years old. Because I have already started preparing for my death. I have no control over my body. I am thinking about what I can do to die without suffering.” Despite this exchange, it would seem that Yoshiyuki might very well have ideas for a new project regardless of his age, taking a page from Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki when it comes to working in his eighties.
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Does The Gundam Creator Have a New Anime in The Works?
In a recent social media post, an animator that works for Bandai Namco Filmworks, Akira Yasuda, spilled the beans that he had a meeting with Tomino. The meeting itself reportedly lasted for around four hours, and while this doesn’t confirm that the pair have a new anime in the works, it’s a good sign that Tomino might not be out of the anime game. Yasuda’s specific quote reads as such, “Today from noon, I had a meeting with director Tomino for about 4 hours at Bandai Filmworks Studio 1.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the name Akira Yasuda, you might know the anime character designer for some of the big franchises that he’s contributed to in the past. Yasuda has worked on series including Code Geass, Bodacious Space Pirates and Overman King Gainer. This wouldn’t be the first time that Yasuda has worked in the Gundam franchise, lending his talent to Turn A Gundam and Gundam Reconguista in G.
Do you think Yoshiyuki Tomino is working on another Gundam series? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of mechs.
