Hailed as the "Father of Gundam," Yoshiyuki Tomino holds an incredibly esteemed position in the anime industry today. Now 83 years old, he has yet to announce his retirement. While he has mentioned that his physical capacity for creation might be limited in the future, he remains deeply concerned with the "Mobile Suit Gundam" series.
Friends of Director Tomino know he's deeply concerned with war. Recently, he was interviewed by Japan's Kyodo News, discussing Japan's 80th post-war anniversary and sharing the core philosophy behind his works.
Born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1941, Yoshiyuki Tomino was young during the war and doesn't recall many specifics. However, he vividly remembers the sound of incendiary bombs falling and the sky lit up by fires. He understood the horrors of war and hopes everyone grasps its true meaning.
In his animation work, Director Tomino has been involved in numerous sci-fi war productions. Back then, aliens were typically cast as the "enemy," a common feature in many contemporary sci-fi works. But when creating "Mobile Suit Gundam" in 1979, he decided the "enemy" had to be human.
This meant there had to be war between nations, as only this could justify the existence of heavy weaponry—in other words, he had to create "a reason for war." While aliens could simply invade Earth, humans couldn't easily start a war with just one dictator.
So, Director Tomino set the stage: "people living in space colonies, feeling humiliated by Earth treating them as outcasts, eventually sparked a war of independence." This concept also drew inspiration from the American Civil War and incorporated the idea of ethnic integration. The result was a story of a young boy piloting the humanoid weapon "Gundam" in conflict against space colonists.
This idea stemmed from Director Tomino's perception that fewer and fewer people truly "know war." Although many war films were made after the war, if creators haven't personally experienced war, they can't truly understand it and will only treat war scenes like a game or an action movie.
He hopes to convey the reality of war through his works. Regardless of who you see as the villain, war arises from friction and hatred between humans. He wants viewers to reflect deeply and adopt the mindset of "don't let war start," because once war begins, it cannot be stopped!
As Japan approaches its 80-year post-war history, the 83-year-old Yoshiyuki Tomino observes that wars continue worldwide. Conflicts like Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli military's attacks on Gaza make it painfully clear that in international politics, many politicians are bound by history, and their understanding of war is deteriorating.
Each side, based on its own "justice," believes it "can win now," and so they start wars. Hatred accumulates endlessly, eventually becoming unstoppable. It's like a sword: once drawn, it's hard to put down; once a weapon is used, it continues until its user dies.
Director Tomino believes August 15th should be called "Defeat Memorial Day," not "End of War Memorial Day." He feels that over these 80 years, the media should have done more to convey the raw voices of military and political figures who ordered "gyokusai" (honorable death), to help future generations understand the true face of war—but this hasn't happened. Those born after the war need to correctly understand war even more.
This clearly shows Director Tomino's desire to use his own experience of war to convey to the younger generation the proper respect for war, not to dismiss it as mere "fighting" or child's play.
via： 47 NEWS