To commemorate the 44th anniversary of the legendary event "Anime New Century Declaration" held on February 22, 1981, just before the release of the theatrical version of "Mobile Suit Gundam," a popular anime series, a "Mobile Suit Gundam" selection screening with talk show was held at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) on February 22. Appearances included Hideaki Anno, known for the "Evangelion" series, Yutaka Izubuchi, who has participated in "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack," and Ryusuke Hikawa, an anime and special effects researcher. Anno has also been in the spotlight for his participation in "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-," the theatrical pre-release version of the latest "Gundam" series, "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX," which began screening on January 17, and Anno revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the production.
Anno also participated as one of the scriptwriters for "Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX -Beginning-". Izubuchi praised Tomino, saying, "Yoshiyuki Tomino's lines are distinctive. You pick them up when you listen to them. When you watch GQuuuuuX, you're like, 'That's right!' It's amazing." To which Anno replied, "I did my best."
"Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX" is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, and series composition and scriptwriting is handled by Youji Enokido. Anno explained his involvement in the project, saying, "I ask, what do you think? Sometimes my work is accepted, sometimes it's rejected. The last time, it was rejected completely. I'm just a helper. It's up to Director Tsurumaki to decide whether to accept it or not."
Izubuchi praised, "When I asked him before if he would do it himself, he said, 'I'm satisfied with it, so that's fine.' I understood after watching the main story. I didn't know the details. I didn't think it would go this far." Hikawa said, "When I first saw it, I didn't ask! What does it mean? How far will it go? There were three stages."
The screening included episodes 1 "Gundam Stands on the Earth!!", 2 "Order to Destroy Gundam", and 14 "Stop Time" from the TV anime "Mobile Suit Gundam", as well as the "Yasuhiko Yoshikazu and Itano Ichiro Original Photography Collection", which was streamed at the Japan Animator Expo in December 2014.
