Following up on a recent announcement regarding Yasuhiko Yoshikazu’s Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN manga getting a Deluxe Edition, the newest episode of NHK WORLD-JAPAN’S docuseries, Anime Manga Explosion focuses on the career of the legendary creator, Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, the character designer and animation director of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime.
In the episode, we got a look at Yoshikazu’s iconic career in animation and his work in the Mobile Suit Gundam series, which featured other notable creators in the Mecha Anime genre such as Go Nagi (Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z), Okawara Kunio (Mechanical Designer, Creator of Mobile Suit Gundam’s Mobile Suits), and Takachiho Haruka (Crusher Joe, Dirty Pair, Dirty Pair Flash). It also focused on Yoshikazu’s work in manga, which discussed his work in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, even returning to the anime industry to adapt his manga into Anime. It also featured his newest work called Silver Road -Strange Stories of the Handa Silver Mine- which launched in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump Magazine in March. Listed below is a synopsis of the episode, which is available to watch for a limited time.
This episode features creator Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, an industry legend who worked on many early Japanese TV anime, including Mobile Suit Gundam. After retiring from the anime industry, he became a manga artist until he returned to anime 25 years later. What brought him back? And what drives him to continue creating at 77 years old? Join us as we explore the passion of Yasuhiko Yoshikazu.
Anime Manga Explosion: Legendary Creator Yasuhiko Yoshikazu Synopsis
Another fact I would like to point out that wasn’t included in the special was that his last work in animation was the animated film adaptation of the Lost Mobile Suit Gundam episode and the manga created by Oono Junji, titled Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island. It would earn praise from many, and be nominated in the 77th Mainichi Film Awards for the Best Animation Film / Ōfuji Noburō Award.
Available Now from TAMASHII Nations – Mobile Suit Gundam – RX-78-2 Gundam (Marking Plus Ver.), Gundam Universe Action Figure
Mobile Suit Gundam was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network and its affiliated ANN stations on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes. In 1981, the series was re-edited for theatrical release and split into three films. The characters were designed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, and Kunio Okawara was responsible for the mechanical designs, including the eponymous giant robot, the RX-78-2 Gundam. Tomino himself also wrote a trilogy of novels that retell the events of the series. While the series wasn’t as popular in the beginning, it revolutionized the Mecha anime and Real Robot genre, not to mention serving as an inspiration for anime thereafter, including Guillermo del Toro’s film, Pacific Rim. Mobile Suit Gundam would mark the beginning of the Gundam franchise, consisting of 50 TV series, films, and OVAs as well as manga, novels, and video games, along with a whole industry of plastic model kits known as Gunpla. You can watch Mobile Suit Gundam now on Crunchyroll, and the newest Gundam anime Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX on Prime Video.
Source: NHK WORLD-JAPAN
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