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Presentation PA #73The Reality Of War: Director Yoshiyuki Tomino's Conception On Wars Through Gundam. In this issue, we are introducing you to one of the best classic anime movies: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988), directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino -- one of the very few anime directors who have been picturing the realities of war through the anime medium. The Mobile Suit Gundam TV series began in 1979 (23 years ago already!) and, at first, the ratings were not too great, except with the hardcore science-fiction fans. However, the rumors about Gundam's concept and world gradually passed from mouth to mouth and the show's popularity grew, leading to new series and theatrical movies. When Char's Counterattack was released in the theaters, Gundam's popularity grew even more and this movie is now considered one of the zeniths of Tomino's stellar career. In Char's Counterattack, it seems that Director Tomino really wanted to send some messages through Char Aznable, who literally delivers divine punishment (a well-deserved one?) to the arrogant Earth Federation people who had treated the space colonies' people like dirt! Char decided to use meteors to make the planet uninhabitable so that its people would have to migrate to the colonies and all humans would become Newtypes. When Char appeared as Amuro's rival in the first Gundam series, many girls became fans of Char because of his extreme good looks and aristocratic demeanor, but, to me, Director Tomino seemed to be using this character to say what he thought of humanity: that we are still very childish and immature and that we would have to face tremendous disasters to grow up and free ourselves from our egos. Of course, in reality, there is no such thing as "Divine Punishment", so Director Tomino probably used Char as if HE was in a position to wake people up! Then he created Amuro, who insists that we would have to just wait until all humans accept the idea of peace and thus progress together to become Newtypes. By the end of the movie, Director Tomino shows the viewers the miracle of comprehension and hope, as everybody, may they be comrades or enemies, try their best to push back Axis and save the planet. In Gundam, many characters die mercilessly, as if Tomino wanted to say that war is not a game. People DIE in war. When any establishment decides to go to war (a nation, a group, a state, even terrorist organizations), the individual's freedom of choice does not exist anymore. This is the reality of war! Tomino-san pictures lots of deaths (even suicide bombers in Zambot 3!) and people who live despite the hardships of wartime. Amuro used to be a shy introvert boy who loved computers, but he is then forced to pilot a Mobile Suit and fight against his own principles and will. This is the reality of most wars, people who are forced to go along with the establishment. Amuro gets tired of fighting, but he realizes that he cannot escape. Director Tomino positively pictures characters who cannot escape from reality, no matter what the outcome will be, even if it means death! Now it has been more than a year since that horrible September 11, 2001 took place and the war in Afghanistan is still going on (where are Osama Bin Laden? Mullah Omar?) and the wind of war is blowing in an attempt to deal with that horrible dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq. We are now living this ugly reality (this is not an anime show!) and facing an uncertain future. So, the ending of Char's Counterattack really gives the viewers some hope. Someday we, humanity, could wake up as Newtypes and live beyond wars. Meanwhile, we still live in an immature system, but let us hope that we can reach that point one day! Miyako Matsuda * * *This issue is focusing (with a 10-page spotlight) on Char's CounterAttack, the best of all the Gundam movies, just released on DVD by Bandai. Of course, PA continues to offer lots of overviews on new anime titles to introduce readers to Japanese animation of all styles: Azumanga Daioh, Cosmo Warrior Zero, Cowboy Bebop The Movie, DiGi Charat The Movie, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Kin-niku Man II (Ultimate Muscle), Natsu He no Tobira, Project ARMS, Sakura Wars Movie, Scryed, Slayer Premium, and Vandread Second Stage. It also includes the usual "Anime World" articles (Interview with voice actor Dorothy Mellendrez, The Modern Japanese Music Database Part 17, more convention & festival reports: Fanimecon, SakuraCon & Anime North, Anecdotes from Steve Bennett, Senno Knife, Nekoi and Takayuki Matsutani), the reviews of lots of recent anime & manga-related products (about 53 anime videos, 2 CDs, 24 manga, 12 model kits, 5 live-action movies or series) and the latest news. That's hopefully enough to momentarilly quench your thirst of anime information! The particularity of this issue is that it comes in two different covers: one with Char's CounterAttack's characters, and the other (available exclusively through Diamond Comic Distributors) with its mecha. Many magazines are now doing this and we thought of trying it in our quest to always give our readers more! Let us know how you feel about those covers. Do you want to have more issues with multiple covers? Protoculture Addicts has always been dedicated to give its readers the best and the most information possible. We have done it for fifteen years and we will continue. We put an emphasis on contents because we know that, in the end, that's what really matters. We put as much information as we can fit in an issue because we want to keep you informed about what is really going on in the anime industry (both in Japan and in North American) and we want to help you make an informed decision when you purchase an anime good. What's the use to have nice, full color, splash-page illustrations, if you give just a little information? However, the fact that we chose contents over a flashy look doesn't mean that we cannot improve the look once in a while. Last issue we gave you a glossy paper, this time we offer a little more color. Do you like it? If so, we will continue in that direction. Don't hesitate to give us feedback: what do you like or dislike in the magazine? Which subjects would you like us to cover? Did you like the Char's CounterAttack Movie? (comments@protoculture.qc.ca). Next Issue: Since Bandai has postponed to 2003 the release of Kikaider, we have decided to do the same and give you a 12-page feature article on Mobile Fighter G Gundam instead! After all, it is currently the highest rated show on Cartoon Network's Toonami Block -- consistently beating out Dragon Ball Z! We will include another great harvest of "Anime Stories" (Babel II, Cyborg 009, Crush Gear Turbo, Full Metal Panic, Guystars, Kaidohmaru, Rave, Rurouni Kenshin OVA, X TV, etc.), "Anime World" articles, reviews, and the latest news. Don't miss it! Claude J. Pelletier |