In the midst of the rushed pre-production process on the third Gundam TV series a last-minute design change created one of the more interesting production footnotes in Gundam history.
Author: Sean O'Mara
Creator of Zimmerit. ARTMIC OVAs, Kazuhisa Kondo, and Kow Yokoyama are his aesthetic ideals. Can occasionally be found at Otaku USA Magazine and once upon a time at Colony Drop.
Gunpla Boom Ephemera: Kunio Okawara’s Gouf Lady
With the gunpla boom riding high and Bandai rolling out its new Mobile Suit Variations series, original Gundam mechanical designer Kunio Okawara tried his hand at sculpting an original garage kit.
Never Let a Good Idea Die: ARTMIC’s History of Recycled Ideas and Design
Drawing from their experience in TV anime, 3D photo stories, and other media, ARTMIC created rich OVAs that, more often than not, shared familiar thematic elements along with a consistently recognizable visual style.
Kenichi Sonoda, Lumroid, and Hobby Shop Musasiya
Before he started working for Gainax and ARTMIC, a young Kenichi Sonoda illustrated a series of popular advertisements for a hobby shop in Osaka.
Flip Through Nitto’s Second S.F.3.D Original Catalogue
Take a quick trip back to 1984 and check out the latest SF3D Original kits from Nitto.
Doujin, Cosplay, Garage Kits and Dinosaurs: A Look at Do-Pe Magazine
There was no shortage of anime magazines in the 1980s, but what about all those other things the maniacs cared about? Cosplay, garage kits, doujin, dinosaurs… Do-Pe covered an eclectic array of otaku interests over its brief three-year run.
Look Both Ways! Railway Crossing Warrior Shadan
During the gunpla boom of the early ’80s, giant robots were everywhere… even safety campaigns for kids. Meet Japan National Railways’ Gundam doppelganger, Railway Crossing Warrior Shadan.
In Pursuit of the Powered Suit: The Class of ‘83
Parallel to the development of giant robot anime in the 1970s, Studio Nue’s revolutionary renderings of Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers powered suit changed the game, and in turn lead to smaller, more “realistic” powered suits appearing in the pages of manga weeklies and hobby magazines.
The Sony HiTBiT F1 Game Robot: When Gall Force Sold Computers
Sony’s marketing campaigns for their MSX computers involved everyone from Syd Mead to Seiko Matsuda, but their most memorable bit of advertising may have been a print ad featuring a scratch-built powered suit to advertise their HiTBiT HB-F1 MSX2 machine.
Macross, Too: Shoji Kawamori’s Return to Macross
After years of swearing off sequels, Shoji Kawamori returned to Macross with not one, but two new Macross projects in simultaneous production.