Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance Special Premier/Talk Event Official Report! Director Brosdau Commented: "We Wanted to Portray the Gundam as the Enemy."

Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance finally begins streaming across the globe on Netflix on Thursday, October 17th. A special premier screening/talk event to celebrate the series's release was held today, Saturday, October 12th at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.

Director Erasmus Brosdau, who had come to Japan for the screening event, animation producer/sound director Hiroaki Yura, and producer Ken Iyadomi appeared on stage. They shared what they especially put effort in when creating the series, the difficulties they faced during production, and the challenges they took on, resulting in a lively conversation.

An official report has arrived, so let's dive into it right away.

The event featured Erasmus Brosdau: an up-and-coming director from Germany who has depicted the One Year War from a new and stunning perspective, and the first director from a country outside of Japan to work on the Gundam series, Yura Hiroaki: the animation producer and sound director, and Ken Yadomi: the producer of the series. GUNPLA kits and GUNDAM UNIVERSE figures of the Mobile Suits that appear in the series were also on display.

Before the talks session, Director Erasmus stated: "I'm honored to be the first Gundam series director from outside of Japan. I grew up playing with GUNPLA since I was a child and the Gundam series has been a part of me just like members of the audience, so I hope I can use this opportunity to talk about it." Producer Yura explained: "Through this series, we expressed the human drama aspects at the root of Gundam, as well as the realism of the series and the size and horror of Mobile Suits. We’ve conveyed this through both visuals and sounds, so we hope you'll pay attention to them." Producer Yatomi said: “The fact that this entire series was created using Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) is one of its major highlights. It's a story of the One Year War depicted with unprecedented visual expressions."

When asked about the pressures he felt when directing the series and his overall feelings about Japan, Director Erasmus commented: “I did feel pressured, but I tried to express what I truly believe in." "I grew up in Germany, but I grew up watching Japanese media from a young age, so Japan feels close to me. It's hard to believe that I'm the director of the Gundam series that I watched almost every week since I was a child," excitedly expressing his love for the franchise. When asked about the difficulties the three came across during the production period (which spanned approximately three and a half years), they stated: “Communication was a difficult hurdle. Since people from various countries were involved in this project, it was hard to convey the subtle nuances. (Director Erasmus)” “Since we decided to make the script in English first, we had difficulties trying to create Gundam (an originally Japanese series) in English. (Producer Yura)” “Keeping things on schedule and checking progress was especially hard (laughs) (Producer Iyadomi)"

This was a rare series where the English voice actors used motion capture to play the characters instead of using suit actors.
Director Erasmus commented: “We could have used suit actors, but we decided to have the voice actors act since the character's motions and dialogue are very closely related." This may have led to the realism that lies within the subtle changes in expressions that can be seen throughout this series.
When asked what kind of Gundam he wanted to create, the director explained, "I wanted to give the impression that Gundam is clearly an enemy, unlike preexisting titles." The Gundam that appears in this series has an extremely intimidating presence. When asked about the challenges he took on, the director stated: “We were tasked with creating a high-quality series. Creating such a long film with UE5 was especially a challenge, as unexpected bugs appeared." Producers Yura and Idadomi nodded in agreement.

After the talk session, a lottery for merchandise for the audience was held, bringing even more excitement to the venue. Director Erasmus closed the event saying: “I hope people across the globe will enjoy this series. We paid attention to the intricate nuances of the Mobile Suits, so we hope you'll closely examine them.” The guests left the stage as fans (who were looking forward to the release of the series on Thursday, October 17th) applauded.

Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance Special Premier / Talk Event
Event date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Venue: TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills

[Series Title]
Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance

[Distribution]
Available via streaming worldwide exclusively on Netflix from Thursday, October 17, 2024

[Staff]
Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. Presents
A SUNRISE Production
Co-Production: SAFEHOUSE, Inc.
Director: Erasmus Brosdau
Executive Producers: Makoto Asanuma, Naohiro Ogata, Taiki Sakurai, Gavin Hignight
Animation Producer/Sound Director: Hiroaki Yura
Producer: Ken Iyadomi
Writer: Gavin Hignight
Character Design: Manuel Augusto Dischinger Moura
Mechanical Design: Kimitoshi Yamane
Director of Photography: Junpei Kasaoka
Music: Wilbert Roget, II
Production: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.

[Cast (English/Japanese)]
Iria Solari: Celia Massingham / Nanako Mori
Kneeland LeSean:Lavance / Shoya Ishige
Reid “Chubs” Ghelfi: James Watt / Shunichi Maki
Kale Zavaleta: Daniel Wishes / Ryunosuke Watanuki
Ander Heaton: Andrew Woolner / Ryosuke Hara
Ony Kasuga: MaXwell Powers / Takeo Otsuka
Hailey Arhun: Jessica Spies / Maki Kawase
Alfee "Gearhead" Zydos: Maurice Shelton / Hiroshi Naka