>>132831256YO: When I was drawing as a hobby, many of my designs were based off the idea of updating and modernizing the original mobile suits, because I thought that could be interesting. With Thunderbolt, it was too important for me to approach it that way. In order to not be beaten by the other Gundam manga, I felt that I had to do more than just change the arrangement and instead go with the strongest things I could come up with. That’s why the results were so different. When I first drew the Full Armor Gundam, I thought to myself, “This is a good design!” but when thought if it being serialized and I pictured myself having to draw it every time, that scared me to death (laughs).
CS: There are actually quite a few lines in the Gundam suits, aren’t there (laughs)!
YO: There are a LOT! Sometimes I feel like I could just cry like a baby whenever I’m drawing them.
CS: But in terms of mecha, you had the chance to draw them white a bit in Midnight Mile, didn’t you?
YO: Of course I’ve gotten used to that sort of work so it’s not as hard for me anymore, but when it was first serialized, whether it was Gundam or Zaku, It was quite a bit of trouble getting a hang of the face.
CS: The “face”?
YO: A Gundam’s face in particular can change quite a bit depending on the artist and their impression. In Thunderbolt, I wanted to draw the Gundam as the villain, so I wanted to give it an intimidating and scary face. But when I think about having to draw it every time, it gets to be too much… Well, I guess I wouldn’t be doing this work if I didn’t enjoy it (laughs).
CS: When compared with other mechs, or even the Panzer from Front Mission Dog LIfe & Dog Style, don’t you think the character aspect is stronger with the Gundam mobile suits?
