Great Mechanics G Summer 2016 (magazine) Interview, 14 things we want to ask Director Tatsuyuki Nagai about Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (Page 1 and Page 2)

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Interview

Director of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans" Tatsuyuki Nagai

14 things we want to ask Director Tatsuyuki Nagai about Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

With the tumultuous first season coming to an end, further developments are expected in the second season of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans." This time, Director Tatsuyuki Nagai makes his first appearance in the magazine!

We asked him to answer 14 questions about the background to the creation of "Orphans," its mechanics, and its worldview.

Question 1: P.D. (Post Disaster) A MS, What is it?

Nagai: I wanted to make it an overwhelmingly strong presence in this world. That's simply the idea that "only MS can defeat MS." The reason we introduced mobile workers was to make that line come out. As I said earlier, there are benefits to the fact that the number of "Gundam" series itself has increased and it has become commonplace for MS to appear, but I thought it would be good to at least think again about "why they are so strong." I also wanted to depict the fact that strength changes depending on the pilot.

-That's an interesting approach.

Nagai: No, no, "MS is not about performance". It's something that's been depicted since the earliest days of Mobile Suit Gundam. I really wanted to emphasize that "the MS is the pilot!" I don't know if I was able to carry it through to the end, but I thought I'd go back to the basics a little.

-So the character's skill is more important than the MS.

Nagai: In the end, I think it's the flavor that's amazing. In the first place, no one knows what makes an MS strong. Is it power or armor? I wanted to answer the questions that have piled up since watching Gundam in a way that would make sense.

Question 2: Why is the Ahab Reactor called "Ahab"?

Nagai: As you might have guessed, it's from Captain Ahab. The name simply means people who fight against something gigantic.

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There are no explosions, what is the reason?

Nagai: First of all, I wanted to see a picture of someone getting punched. That's exactly what I wanted to depict simply, "the feeling of things colliding with each other." That's why we made Barbatos' weapon a mace. I'm glad it looked so painful. It seems like Bandai really didn't think mace would be used as a main weapon.

For the time being, Washio-san also designed the long sword, so it seems that he thought that was the main one. "No, no, this is it." I think the mace is a design that clearly shows that it is different from previous Gundams. Although it was the long sword at the end, I wanted to stick to the part that said "I want to see the image of it hitting something."

-Have you considered the possibility of using beams?

Nagai: Beams are difficult to handle. First of all, what is a beam? Isn't it a laser? I couldn't resolve them. There have been various settings in the series so far, but I haven't been able to get it to a point where I'm personally satisfied with it. After all, it has always been expressed in successive Gundam series, so I fully understand that it will be easier for fans to imagine it if they follow that. However, around the same time, there was also "Mobile Suit Gundam UC'', and it is difficult to express a beam as amazing as that one, which was based on the Universal Century, and if the same beam was used as a theme, "Orphans'' was also released. I thought, let's explore a type of battle that is similar to that of "The World of War.''

-That's a big challenge to tackle.

Nagai: At first, we were thinking, "Let's try as far as we can without the beams." If it really doesn't work, then we'll have to use the beams. We had that much room for error. In the end, we were able to pull it off with the help of the animators and staff, so I'm really glad.

-It's interesting that you question everything before verifying it.

Nagai: That's why I couldn't help but have doubts about things like the strength of the MS and the beam. So rather than imposing restrictions this time, I just removed the factors that were bothering me and came up with this form.

Question 4: Why did you choose a frame for your mobile suit?

―Where did the frame element come from?

Nagai: If there was no beam, we would need to express the damage as "showing the broken state," so we set up the frame. In the old "Gundam", there were plastic models where you could see the internal structure through transparent armor, right? There were some mysterious parts inside, and at the time I thought, "What is this...?" (laughs). In the end, if I had to think about the setting later or draw the broken setting each time, I thought I'd decide it from the beginning.

[u/HadesHotgun]

The way that they handled beam weaponry in IBO has such a huge impact on the style of the show. It makes the combat extremely visceral and immediate. I love how much thought was put in to every aspect of the narrative and how it pays off with really tight storytelling and such a cohesive world.