Mailbag 13: Gundam + Freddie Prinze Jr. = Death

Mailbag 13: Gundam + Freddie Prinze Jr. = Death

Posted March 30, 2006

Trendy Hollywood actors invade today's Mailbag.

Ryan Lewis asks:
1. Will a new Gundam series ever go beyond the solar system with a story, like with VOTOMS, instead of staying in the Earth sphere or going to Jupiter?

2. Do you think there will ever be a live action Gundam movie? Would such a project even be possible, do you think?

Chris responds:
1.I don't think this will happen any time soon. Bandai likes to stick with what works - Earth vs space colonies. Shows like G Gundam and Turn A Gundam put twists on this, but even they still featured the same core mechanic.

2. I take it you mean a live action movie made in America? Simply put, no. It's certainly possible to make anything, but I think an American Gundam movie would ruin the story. Gundam doesn't have the history here that Star Wars or Star Trek do. An American movie would probably have lots of explosions, a heavy metal soundtrack, and a cast of pretty young people. If you've ever seen the live action Wing Commander movie, I think that's how Gundam would end up.

lalahsghost asks:

1. Seeing how most people do have obligations outside of the internet, I was wondering how many hours you spend a day/week working on MAHQ. I'm guessing it's a time sucker!

2. In the "A New Translation" reduxes of the Zeta series, were there any things in the the movies (that you have seen so far...), added or removed, that have irked you?

3. It has been a while since I've heard the specifics on this subject, and decided to ask to have my memory refreshed... What were the motivations to cut Gundam X short? Of course ratings, etc, but were there any behind the curtain events or actions?

Chris responds:
1. The amount of time I spend working on MAHQ depends on two factors: a) how much time I have available, and b) what I'm specifically working on. Sometimes, it can be as little as zero hours a week, or as many as 15. It really depends on the complexity of what I want to do.

2. My answer here may change in the future, given that I haven't yet seen Love is the Pulse of the Stars. For the first movie, Heirs of the Stars, there were no changes that bothered me. Lovers features some major changes, the biggest one being an early death for Four Murasame. This means that the Kilimanjaro arc was cut out of the third movie, and that happened to be one of my favorite parts of the series. I'll have to see how that plays out in that movie. Also, I'm a bit bothered by the minimal screen time Jerid Messa has received so far. A lot of the interesting bits with his character got the axe, which makes him look even less sympathetic.

3. Maybe no one will ever know the real reasons behind the cancellation of Gundam X, but we can take some guesses. A long time back, Gunota Headlines posted the Japanese TV ratings for every Gundam series. In its original timeslot, the first 26 episodes of Gundam X did about the same as its three predecessors from the 1990s. It's clear that ratings took a dive after the show was moved, and not that the show was moved because of bad ratings. The culprit, I think, was probably poor kit sales. While Gundam X featured some great designs, some of Okawara's designs were a bit of the same old, same old. Or maybe Gundam fans were exhausted from buying merchandise from shows for four years straight.

Ezero8 asks:

1. With the story of Crossbone Gundam taking place after the end of F91, would it be considered canon since the story was created by Tomino? Or would it be considered as a side story and be listed as an unknown like Blue Destiny since it is assumed that the whole story would never really be explained?

2. How did the ZZ ever become the junk suit as in the Victory Gundam side story manga (sorry, I forgot the name of it) and how did it end up with Judau again? Last I checked Judau was heading to Jupiter in a ship that didn't look like it carried MS, and seemed to have moved on beyond piloting just like Kamille.

3. Were the G-Units ever intended to be used against the Gundam boys in Wing? From reading the reviews posted in MAHQ, White Fang seemed to be interested in using the units against the Treize Faction/OZ, but what about against the 5 Gundam pilots?

4. Is the rumor that the Turn X is actually a DG cell infected Shining Gundam true? They both use the Shining Finger, and the Dark History seems to imply that every Gundam Universe are linked together, so could this be a possibility?

Chris responds:
1. Here we go again with the issue of what qualifies as canon. For me, the fact that Crossbone Gundam was written by Tomino himself makes it canon. If a manga by the creator of Gundam isn't canon, what is?

2. I can't fully answer this question because I've never read that particular manga. Yes, at the end of Gundam ZZ we see Judau leaving for Jupiter. However, there's a good 64 years that pass between the end of ZZ and Victory Gundam. That's an entire lifetime, and something could have happened that would make him want to come back and get involved with events in the Earth Sphere.

3. It's been awhile since I read G-UNIT, but I think that's probably the reason that OZ wanted the G-Units. Until the mad scientists created the Vayeate and Mercurius, OZ didn't really have any mobile suits that could stand up to the five Gundams. Fighting off Gundams with Gundams would make sense for OZ, especially since MO-V had already completed the G-Units, which would save OZ the time and trouble of developing their own Gundams.

4. Ah, the good old Dark History. One of many rumors floating around is that the Turn X is a rebuilt version of the Shining Gundam, and that the Turn A Gundam is the final evolution of the Devil Gundam. It's certainly an interesting theory, but there's no proof at all for it. Yes, the Turn X does have a "Shining Finger" attack, but it's not the same as the Shining Gundam's version. And while both suits use nanomachines, they don't seem to work in the same way as DG cells. Since you raised the question, I'll take this opportunity to give my opinion on the Dark History and the so-called fan created "Turn A Bang" theory. Do I think all the Gundam universes are connected? No. If Turn A Gundam is connected to any universe, most of the evidence points to it being the distant future of the Universal Century. So what about all those references to G Gundam, Gundam Wing and Gundam X? Well, the Dark History seen on the Moon shows glimpses of all those universes. But how do you know any of it is real? The series is set several millennia after the destruction of civilization. How do you determine what's a historical fact? What if, say, Gundam X was just a TV show created at some point in the Universal Century? If the world goes through a veritable Dark Age and someone finds Gundam X, how would they know it's entertainment and not history? Two thousand years from now, someone could find The Hunt for Red October and think it's about a real event. Well, perhaps that was a bit long-winded, but that's how I see it.

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