This April, Mobile Suit Gundam series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino received the Order of the Rising Sun (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon), a prestigious award granted by the Japanese government. In a recent interview commemorating the award, Tomino spoke about his commitment to anime direction, and shared his thoughts on some of the recent trends in the art of film (Kyodo News).
Emphasizing the importance of a director’s role in an anime or a film production, Tomino says that “In the digital age, there are people who just shoot panoramic images without an actual story and just call them ‘movies.’ What I want to say is – that’s not directing.”
The Gundam director suggests that one problem with modern day filmmaking may be the lack of a “sense of wonder.”
Back in the day, the pursuit of said “sense of wonder” was a major work philosophy among many aspiring film directors and students, he says. For example, after 5 or 6 regular shots, there’d be a shot which encourages the viewer to follow the characters with their eyes. Then, a shot featuring vast background scenery would appear. “The audience gets immersed in the story by searching for the characters within the huge background. That process of searching is where ‘the sense of wonder’ comes from,” Tomino explains.
“But now that digital technologies are so widespread, do films still have the sense of wonder?,” he asks.
Now that technology has evolved to the point that you can create literally anything with it, that leaves little room for the audience to actually be surprised. “CG is quite a convenient tool that lets you copy or move objects freely. However, there are so many anime and films that desperately try to show off the CG simply because they went to the trouble of making it. We’ve forgotten the principles of direction and storytelling that give films their sense of wonder.”
“There’s something that’s been bothering me recently. Images have become too high resolution, so when there’s a close up shot so detailed you can even see the pores on the skin, it makes me think – is it really okay for them to be visible? There are characters whose pores we don’t want to see. Directors have become too reliant on the cameras, which results in films that look like they were made the easy way,” Tomino adds.
When asked about his opinion on generative AI, Tomino said that, while the technology is becoming increasingly convenient, many lack the ability to judge whether it actually suits a drama or not. “I feel like the ‘eye of the director’ really isn’t being exercised these days. In the case of close-ups, you can get such convenient and great shots that the actor only needs to be a little good to carry the scene.”
“There are even films that forget to follow the narrative. What I’m trying to say is, we need to make an effort to depict the process of the dramatic play itself.”
As for Tomino himself, the director is currently working on a brand-new project of his own. Though he’s remained quite secretive about it, he says that if allowed to produce it, he’s confident it will be a masterpiece.
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