Recently, we got a chance to talk with Gundam GQuuuuuuX Director Kazuya Tsurumaki, and in our conversation, he shared how Evangelion shaped the new Gundam anime.
GQuuuuuuX is an exciting series, not just because it’s a new Gundam anime. There’s also the fact that it’s a collaboration between Sunrise and studio khara, known for Evangelion. As such, this new series is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, the director of the Rebuild of Evangelion series. Plus, it’s co-written by EVA creator himself, Hideaki Anno.
Given this, we asked Tsurumaki how Evangelion influenced their new Gundam anime. After all, EVA and Gundam are icons of the mecha genre, so having studio khara helm a new Gundam series is no doubt quite exciting.
Director Kazuya Tsurumaki
Interestingly, Tsurumaki remarked that Evangelion protagonist Shinji Ikari is a big influence in the GQuuuuuuX, though not in a way we expected. Instead of having the new Gundam protagonist be similar to Shinji, Tsurumaki said that they wanted a main character to be almost his exact opposite.
“The protagonist in Evangelion was a somewhat nervous kind of person,” said Tsurumaki. “He was also an introverted kind of person. So, I think that this time, I wanted to make the protagonist much more proactive, much more dynamic, and bold.”
We are only a couple of episodes into GQuuuuuuX, but we can already say that the team has indeed written a protagonist who is quite unlike Shinji. After all, Amate Yuzuriha immediately showed her willingness to jump into a Mobile Suit.
Of course, while Shinji influenced the anime, that’s not to say GQuuuuuuX is EVA in a Gundam skin. This new anime is still very much a Gundam series, to the point that its premise is a different take on the original Universal Century timeline.
Aside from the OG series, we asked Tsurumaki what other Gundam titles inspired their new project. He mentioned to shows:
“First of all, there is one called War in the Pocket. And another one is F91. Both play out in a space colony, and I like both of them very much, so I think that there has been some inspiration there.”
Long-time fans of both mecha franchises likely won’t be surprised. After all, these titles are set in a space colony in the Universal Century timeline.
Along with taking inspiration from older titles, Tsurumaki also remarked that their anime will explore Newtypes – a key theme in many Gundam works.
“I was a big fan of the first Gundam. I really liked it,” said Tsurumaki. “And one of the biggest aspects of the first Gundam was the Newtypes, and so I wanted to definitely continue with this theme.”
Based on what Director Tsurumaki said regarding the influence of EVA and other Gundam anime, it might seem like GQuuuuuuX is simply a big homage-fest. That’s far from the case, as the anime still promises to deliver a fresh experience as the story progresses.
Because the show is still airing, we weren’t able to discuss future plot developments in the series, but we did talk about something new: Kenshi Yonezu’s theme song “Plazma.”
As is the case with many of Yonezu’s anime songs, “Plazma” is an interesting theme song given how its lyrics reflect the anime’s story. More than the lyrics though, the song’s upbeat tempo is also a great match for the series’ action.
“I have always been a great fan of Kenshi Yonezu,” said Tsurumaki. ”I’m really happy that we were able to get him to cooperate for this. He has a very wide range in terms of styles. This time, what he provided to us is very up-tempo. I think it really works, and we are really happy to have that kind of song for the opening of the anime.”
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is streaming now on Prime Video, with new episodes being released every week.