Newspaper: "Big project" for series' 40th anniversary in 2019 is underway

Illustrator and anime director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko stated in an interview with the Daily Sports newspaper on Sunday that he would be open to a remake of the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam anime.

In response to a question of whether the ongoing Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin prequel anime series will eventually continue on to the main One-Year War story of the first Gundam anime, Yasuhiko replied "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't do it. The length of the story is no joke, though." He also stated that the staff feel the same way.

Daily Sports reported that there is a "big project" or projects underway to celebrate the anime's 40th anniversary in 2019, but did not state whether this project would be a remake.

Yasuhiko stated that he still has some regrets regarding the 1979 series, and how its scheduling and budget issues prevented it from reaching its best form. "The first series is always #1 to me. But now, even if you want to show it to young people, you can't."

Yasuhiko worked as an animation director and the character designer of the original series, as well as the character designer of the sequels Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam , Mobile Suit Gundam F91 , and Mobile Suit Gundam UC . He later launched the Gundam: The Origin manga in 2001, and ended it in 2011. The manga is a retelling of the original series' story, with some of the details changed. The manga served as the basis for the eventual original video anime (OVA) series of the same name, which began in 2015 and tells a prequel story. Yasuhiko is credited as the chief director for the OVA project. The fifth installment in the series opens in Japan on September 2.

The original series centers on the Earth Federation and the space colony-dwelling Principality of Zeon. The Zeons have recently declared independence from the Federation, plunging the solar system into a devastating conflict that will come to be known as the One-Year War. Amuro Ray, a teen who lives in the Federation colony of Side 7, is embroiled in a surprise Zeon attack, and accidentally stumbles into the RX-78 Gundam, the Federation's newest weapon. He uses it to fend off the attackers, and is then thrown into the front lines of the One-Year War, often facing the Char Aznable, Zeon's "Red Comet" ace pilot.

The first series has spawned sequels, and numerous spin-off works set in both the original series' continuity, as well as alternate universes. Right Stuf re-released the original series on DVD in 2015.

Source: Daily Sports Online via Yaraon!