{"id":4297,"date":"2014-07-31T23:25:46","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T14:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/?p=4297"},"modified":"2014-07-31T16:43:58","modified_gmt":"2014-07-31T07:43:58","slug":"the-art-of-gundam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/2014\/07\/the-art-of-gundam\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Gundam<\/b>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Mobile Suit Gundam<\/i> was principally developed by renowned animator Yoshiyuki Tomino and made its tentative first steps as the rather more punchily titled Freedom Fighter Gunboy<\/i> before its initial TV debut on April 7, 1979. The original series was based upon a premise that recurs frequently in the milieu \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that of a child who stumbles upon, and consequently befriends, a hulking robot, usually at a time of personal or social upheaval, and they begin a cathartic and ultimately redemptive journey together. The show is now a fifty billion yen industry, spawning over 600 animated episodes, 14 movies and numerous live action spin-offs, not to mention a variety of merchandise ranging from rocket shaped backpacks to 3 Gundam caf\u00c3\u00a9s in Tokyo, serving up \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcJet Stream Chicken\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcChar Aznable Pilot Lunch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 since 2010.<\/p>\n

\"gundam<\/a>The difference with Gundam is that rather than the robot being an anthropomorphic guardian, our hero Amuro, a 15 year old mechanic, is controlling his own redemption from within as he wears the robot as a suit, or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmecha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (\u00e3\u0192\u00a1\u00e3\u201a\u00ab) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a sort of autogenous patriarchy, but with rocket boots and jerky movements impaling evildoers at will with the aid of a retractable light sword.<\/p>\n

On a turbid afternoon in an unfamiliar part of Osaka myself and two other ALTs decided to check out what on earth (or maybe space) any of this meant.<\/p>\n

Our first point of call in the show was the deck of White Base<\/i>, an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcassault all environment use carrier\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 if you are au fait<\/i> with the genre, or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcspaceship\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 if not. Usually when I visit an attraction of this type and am led into a large dark room I expect a certain level of entertainment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c disgruntled teenage staff members lurking in the shadows spraying shaving foam at non-plussed fathers, intermittent subwoofer blasts, salacious rumors, sticky flooring. However the expected three tier strawberry chocolate fondue turned out to be more like half a mince pie found down the back of the sofa as we were treated to ten minutes of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcspecially commissioned\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 animated footage of people talking, including a rear accoutrement of another person talking which nobody seemed to notice.<\/p>\n

\"gundam<\/a>After this somewhat deflated opening we were spat out into the exhibition proper. According to the sleeve notes there are over 1,000 works on display, with original character sketches, storyboards and painted backgrounds making up most of the numbers. The early character sketches in particular are breathlessly executed and exude a warmth and dare I say it, humanity, that is often missing from the final production, and are a must for those interested in character design. There are also a number of hand painted cels which reveal a deftness of touch that transcends the computer assisted coloring of today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s animation processes. The show focuses primarily on 2D works but in one of the central rooms there are also some detailed models housed, disorientatingly, behind magnified glass which provides the viewer with a unique experience akin to reading the small print on the back of a shampoo bottle whilst wearing your grandma\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inch thick bifocals.<\/p>\n