The anime series Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, which began airing on TV in October 2015, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The Gundam Barbatos, piloted by protagonist Mikazuki Augus, is a mobile suit (MS) with a Gundam frame internal structure. Its realistic yet somewhat wild design still looks fresh even after more than 10 years. The Barbatos was designed by Naohiro Washio, who is also known for Fafner in the Azure. We spoke to Washio about the Barbatos' design.
◇The image is of a delinquent dragging a nail bat!?
As mentioned above, the Barbatos is a mobile suit with armor attached to a Gundam frame. By allowing part of the frame to be seen, the internal structure is clearly visible.
"First there was a competition, and the design by Shinohara Tamotsu, who designed the Teiwaz MS, was the closest to the Gundam frame, so they chose my design for the exterior. However, Shinohara's design wasn't actually a frame, so I used that as the frame and added the exterior, and it became Barbatos."
The Barbatos incorporates a curved design, and its slender yet powerful silhouette resembles armor.
"Director Tatsuyuki Nagai gave me the idea of an image of a delinquent dragging a nail bat. Because of the image of dragging, the shoulders are lowered compared to other Gundams. Gjallarhorn's MS are also seen as armor-like, but the Barbatos is more like an ashigaru (foot soldier). It's sometimes called armor-like, but to be honest, I wasn't really conscious of that.
Another characteristic of the Barbatos and the mobile suits in "Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans" is their down-to-earth fighting style, using maces and long swords rather than beam weapons.
"The director said from the beginning that we would fight with a blunt weapon, a mace, but I was a little skeptical, thinking the main character's Gundam would use a mace (laughs). There are mecha that fight with blunt weapons, like in 'The Five Star Stories,' but I couldn't really imagine it in Gundam. When I saw the actual scene in the first episode, I understood what the director meant."
The scene in the first episode where Barbatos slams down with a giant mace certainly made a big impact. It gave the strong impression of "Gundam hitting with a blunt object."
"At first, I struggled with designing a cool blunt weapon. I had to experiment a bit, making sharp points to concentrate the damage mass in one spot."
◇The design changes to match the crescent moon
The Barbatos design is different from previous Gundams, but it still feels Gundam-like. Its innovative design, while still feeling connected to the Gundam lineage, is still fresh even today.
"If it had horns (antennas) and a tricolor color scheme, it might look more like a Gundam. However, since it's the main character's machine, it can't stray too far. If you reduce the Gundam symbols too much, it won't look like a Gundam. The other thing is the proportions. With Barbatos, we're thinking about a human-like balance."
Barbatos can change into forms 1 to 6 by changing its armor. It is further modified into Gundam Barbatos Lupus and Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex. Its design also changes as the protagonist, Mikazuki Augus, grows.
"Tekkadan combines parts they steal from their enemies and changes constantly. Lupus is tuned to match Mikazuki's fighting style. When it becomes Lupus Rex, this becomes even more extreme. After the battle with Hashmal in the mobile armor, Mikazuki loses feeling in the right half of his body and his condition worsens, but when he pilots the Gundam he becomes stronger and stronger. His fighting style changes as well, and he becomes more and more beast-like. Personally, I like Lupus because it has the most cohesive design. Overall, Barbatos is cool even when it's broken. I think the anime really brings out that coolness."
◇A white star inspired by armor
Washio also designed the Gundam Hajiroboshi, the protagonist's mobile suit in the spin-off series Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt, and was also responsible for the design of the Gundam Marchosias and other mobile suits in the series.
"Actually, I designed the Marchosias first. Since it's a machine that appears in the app game, I didn't think about the animation, and I designed it more freely than for the anime. I heard later that the Marchosias would be made into a three-dimensional model, and at that point I had already added lots of small parts without thinking about it being three-dimensional. With the White Star, I knew it would be drawn, so I designed it so that the frame would not be visible as much as possible. If the frame was visible, it would be difficult to draw. Earlier, you mentioned that the Barbatos looks like armor, and the image of armor came from the White Star."
In "Mobile Suit Gundam 00", he designed the Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City and Gundam Bael, among others, but before that he also designed the Gundam Throne and Arche Gundam in "Mobile Suit Gundam 00".
"I never thought I would design Gundam. I thought of Gundam as something to look at, something far removed from me. Of course, I wanted to do it."
Washio has designed mecha for various anime and games in addition to "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans." There is something he values when designing.
"I think the job of mecha design is to incorporate the opinions of many different people. It works well when you incorporate opinions and make a consensus within yourself, not just what's in your head. If it's not a consensus within yourself, it's no good. With anime and games, you have to consider the worldview of the work, how it will be used within that world, and what kind of characters will be riding it. If you just try to draw it in a cool way out of habit, it often doesn't turn out well. If you draw it however you like, it may end up being plain. Since the base is military, you think too much about practicality. Character is important with robots. I try to bring out their character well."
The Barbatos's design, which feels realistic in the world of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans," is also a major attraction. This is probably why it has become such a beloved mobile suit for so long.
As part of the project commemorating the 10th anniversary of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans," a special edition "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt - The Trail of a Little Challenger" and the simultaneous screening of the new "Iron-Blooded Orphans" 10th anniversary commemorative short film "Intermission Wedge" are being screened for a limited four-week period starting from October 31st. In addition, a finale event commemorating the 10th anniversary, "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans 10th Anniversary Event - Tekka Festival", will be held at Tachikawa Stage Garden (Tachikawa, Tokyo) on February 15th, 2026. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
