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Mika Akitaka loved to draw as a child - and he enjoyed the Gundam saga.
Akitaka drew so many giant mecha that he started submitting them to the
company that created Gundam, and won himself a job. Soon, Akitaka was part
of the Gundam universe, designing mecha for Gundam Zeta, War in the Pocket
and Gundam 0083. His mecha brighten Martian Successor Nadesico, and he
is the creator of Galaxy Fraulein Yuna. |
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With Gundam celebrating its 20th anniversary and Bandai ready to start
selling Gundam tapes through its American subsidiary in September, Gundam
will draw its widest American audience ever. Akitaka is pleased by this,
but he wonders why so many Americans have sought out the Japanese originals
of Gundam, even though the tapes and disks are not translated into English.
On the other hand, Akitaka admits that he saw Star Wars in English, without
subtitles or Japanese voices, and enjoyed the movie. (He also notes that
some elements of Star Wars were borrowed for Gundam plots.) |
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Are anime mecha drawn so they'll look good on screen, or are they engineered
as if they could be actually built? Akitaka said mecha design starts with
the producer, who decides what the robots can do. Then, character designers
create the mecha. They have to be drawn so they look good - yet can be
easily animated. Watching over at all times is the firm hand of the show's
sponsor. "I work a lot for the sponsor, so I have to abide by that," said
Akitaka. "I'm trying to make my mecha stand out. I always draw it so I
think it looks neat. Until it looks right, I never show it to my staff." |
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Haruka Takachiho, creator of the Dirty Pair, says he he gets his best
ideas in the bath. Akitaka said he needs to get out of the office for his
mind to start working. "I need to go out on a walk. I try not to think
about anything, and then an idea comes up. I also get a lot of ideas before
I go to sleep," he said. |
