On October 19th (local time) at the New York Comic Con 2024 event held in New York, a talk event for Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, a popular anime series from the Gundam series, was held. Screenwriter Gavin Highnight, animation producer and sound director Hiroaki Yura, and producer Kenichi Yatomi appeared on stage to reveal the behind-the-scenes story of the production.
The series is an original 3D anime focusing on the European front of the One Year War in the first Mobile Suit Gundam series, and was produced as a "Gundam for the world."
The beginning of Episode 1 is a complete change from the intense battle between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation forces, with the Red Wolf team appearing from the sky. Gavin said, "I was inspired by various war movies other than Gundam works, but the story of this work is centered on soldiers who are tired from fighting on Earth, people who are exhausted but still have their duties," and Yura said, "I was particular about showing the correct scaling, and how big a mobile suit that is several meters tall would feel when it descends. I was always concerned about the contrast with the surrounding environment and background."
The Gundam EX, which stands in the way as a "white devil," has been met with comments such as "It's scary," and "It really is a white devil." Gavin said, "We wanted to make Gundam EX a terrifying mobile suit, and the mechanical design by mechanical supervisor Kimitoshi Yamane was wonderful. He designed the eyes to glow red to match the story, and we unanimously agreed on that." He talked about the story behind the creation of the work.
The work was created using the 3D production tool "Unreal Engine 5." Yura commented, "The opening wasn't UE5, but it incorporated various homages to past Gundams. And I was very impressed that all of them were made with respect for (original author) Tomino Yoshiyuki."
Gavin revealed, "I think we were on the same page from the beginning, but I was conscious of a horror movie taste in terms of the fear of war. I usually make works from the Earth Federation's perspective, but I thought how terrifying Gundam would be from the Zeon's perspective."
The story is set 11 months after the outbreak of the One Year War, one of the bases under Zeon occupation in Eastern Europe is seized by the Earth Federation, and a mixed battalion including Illya Solari and the Red Wolf Corps, who have just come down from space, heads out to recapture it. It is produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks and SAFEHOUSE. It has 6 episodes. It started streaming worldwide exclusively on Netflix on October 17th.
