Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem of Revenge, a new installment of the popular Gundam anime series, is now available worldwide on Netflix. It is an original 3D anime focusing on the European front of the One Year War, the first in the series, Mobile Suit Gundam, and was produced as a "Gundam for the world." The Earth Federation's mobile suit, Gundam EX, appears in the film and is portrayed as a frightening presence, sometimes appearing as the protagonist's enemy. Why was Gundam EX portrayed as a frightening presence?
◇Overwhelming the Zeon forces with overwhelming mobility and firepower
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 forces, and a mixed battalion including Illya Solari, who has just come down from space, and the Zeon Red Wolf Corps, heads out to recapture it... This is the story.
Gundam EX is the latest mobile suit developed by the Federation forces. It was designed with an emphasis on maneuverability and operating time on the ground for forced reconnaissance deep in enemy territory and rear disruption, but all development materials were destroyed in the chaos after the war, so details are unknown. The pilot's age, origin, etc. are not recorded, and his real name is also unknown.
Gundam EX overwhelms the Zeon army with its overwhelming mobility and firepower. Since it is a work from the perspective of the Zeon army, Gundam EX, which defeats his comrades, should look like a devil to the protagonist Solari. By depicting the huge MS from a human perspective, it feels like he is being attacked by an unknown giant. In "Requiem of Revenge," the fear of Gundam is emphasized.
◇Clearly a villain! Grim Reaper, like a skeleton
In an interview, Kenichi Yatomi, producer of Bandai Namco Filmworks, who worked on the work, said, "The theme was 'scary Gundam.' Since it is a work drawn from the perspective of Zeon, I tried to design it so that the 'white devil' Gundam would be frightening."
Director Erasmus Brosdau explained, "I wanted to give the impression that Gundam is clearly an enemy, unlike previous Gundams," and "Gundam is designed to look like the Grim Reaper or a skeleton, and by making its eyes red, it is clearly a villain."
The chest and thighs are designed to look like bones, giving it the image of the Grim Reaper. It is clear that it was designed as an enemy rather than a hero.
As it was created using the 3D game production tool "Unreal Engine 5," producer Yatomi said, "Since it moves with CG, we can show the details. We tried to express details that would be difficult to express by hand," and it seems that the details are also a factor in the fear.
How will the Solari resist the powerful Gundam EX, the details of which are unknown? Please check out the main story.
