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INTEREST: Anime Director Shinji Takamatsu Discusses Sunrise Shuffling




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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 12:24 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for translating this. Interesting to see some more commentary on it, as it appeared like people were figuring this was overblown. I feel like we just recently got a better impression of what was going on in the 90's with Sunrise in recent fan translations and this seems to back that up.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2696
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 1:38 pm Reply with quote
Kicksville wrote:
Interesting to see some more commentary on it, as it appeared like people were figuring this was overblown.


I don't think anything was overblown, and Takamatsu's comments don't change it. Sunrise will continue to operate as an anime studio, as it always has, but it obviously isn't the same kind of studio it once was, either during the early days before Bandai bought it or the Bandai-owned days until the past few years or so. This is essentially true of any studio like this that's been around for decades, as nothing stays the same as time goes on & leadership/ownership changes.

I do like the revelation that Tomino seriously wanted to bust some Bandai heads during the production of Victory Gundam, though. Just shows all the more where that show's infamously dour tone truly came from.
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Nate148



Joined: 24 May 2012
Posts: 521
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 1:52 pm Reply with quote
Yea we kinda knew that one from how the show's first arc got mangled for the toyline
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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1260
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 2:00 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
I don't think anything was overblown, and Takamatsu's comments don't change it. Sunrise will continue to operate as an anime studio, as it always has, but it obviously isn't the same kind of studio it once was, either during the early days before Bandai bought it or the Bandai-owned days until the past few years or so. This is essentially true of any studio like this that's been around for decades, as nothing stays the same as time goes on & leadership/ownership changes.

The impression I was getting was that folks thought there was absolutely nothing worth talking about here at all, but Takamatsu's take on the subject has in itself been rather informative. It's not quite so "obvious" to everyone.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2696
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 2:49 pm Reply with quote
Kicksville wrote:

The impression I was getting was that folks thought there was absolutely nothing worth talking about here at all, but Takamatsu's take on the subject has in itself been rather informative. It's not quite so "obvious" to everyone.


All Takamatsu's take really amounted to was "Yeah, looks like the Sunrise of old is truly gone now, but that more or less started the moment the studio was sold to Bandai while production on Victory Gundam was happening. Boy, did Tomino really want to kill those Bandai higher-ups at the time, but luckily he didn't go through with it."

I enjoyed the bit about Tomino, because those are always fun or amusing stories, but nothing Takamatsu said was really all that shocking. He was with Sunrise for a long time, and he was just comparing how the studio used to be when it was more independent & how it slowly became just part of a larger conglomerate after it was sold to Bandai. I've seen similar takes stated about other companies from other industries that went through similar transitions, so that's why I felt it was "obvious".
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Triltaison



Joined: 03 Jul 2011
Posts: 799
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 4:49 pm Reply with quote
This cleared up a little bit of the timeline for me, so I'd also like to post thanks for the article. I hope that "Sunrise" doesn't just become a label for a certain kind of show released by Bamco, like the "Shojo Beat" imprint for Viz's shoujo titles. But I think that's also too much to hope for.
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seoulman1985



Joined: 01 Oct 2009
Posts: 112
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 5:19 pm Reply with quote
Considering the antagonist faction of the Zanscare Empire of Victory Gundam implemented the guillotine, a more on the nose Tomino could have also said "heads will roll."
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Zeino



Joined: 19 May 2017
Posts: 1098
PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 9:28 pm Reply with quote
Granted I think Sunrise's zenith were under Bandai in the 90s and 00s, but it's true that they are a shell of what they once were for some time now. Aside from Love Live and more stale uninspired UC Gundam entries, what have they got currently? Gintama is done. AU Gundam has lay dormant since Iron Blooded Orphans' lukewarm reception and their original non-Gundam mecha anime keeps being forgettable at best. Oh, and Yashahime is terrible. Maybe the Seed movie and and the Witch from Mercury will help turn things around but their glory days when they lit the fandom on fire with likes of Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Inuyasha and Code Geass seem over.

And it's good to confirm that yes, Tomino was pissed when making Victory Gundam and took it out on the series. No wonder it turned out to be a wreck of a show.


Last edited by Zeino on Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:02 am; edited 2 times in total
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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 14216
PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:29 am Reply with quote
Interesting getting the perspective of someone who has a long history with the company. I'm glad Tomino didn't murder anyone even if that got channeled into the production of Victory Gundam.

I guess I can't say I know what to expect from Sunrise moving forward but I guess I'll just hope for stuff I and others can still enjoy and at least the creators enjoy making.
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jdnation



Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 2127
PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 3:38 pm Reply with quote
I believe Sunrise still has the Gundam Hathaway trilogy to finish up?

Also there is Katsuhiro Otomo's Orbital Frame and the Akira Trilogy. So that's some big stuff in the works.
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SpiritSmoocher



Joined: 06 Mar 2021
Posts: 182
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:42 pm Reply with quote
I think the new mercury gundam wont be a hit since they already lowered the age target. Ibo largely became a butting joke of the asian gundam community where build divers openly threw shade at the deaths. Seed movie will probably get people in their seats but that wait is far too long.

For love live, it looks like they are trying to gather new audiences since they hired liyuu in superstar. No statistics on how well nijisaki and superstar are doign but i imagine aquors fared better since it was able to capture muse nostalgia.
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Ugly Bastard



Joined: 16 Feb 2022
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 7:06 pm Reply with quote
So they already cancelled AKIRA remake??
Also, it all went downhill for Sunrise when Bandai replaced this guy back in 2010.
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SpiritSmoocher



Joined: 06 Mar 2021
Posts: 182
PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:26 pm Reply with quote
I highly suspect sunrise lost general interest of the public. In the 2000s they were viewed as ufotable is today. But starting with 00 season 2, sales dropped whereas destiny outsold seed and is to the day one of the best selling anime. Now you sort of have to heavily knowledge about gundam to enjoy the franchise. Build ironically has the highest entry since you it references like all the shows. Ibo ended up getting mocked by everyone and underperformed in sales. So they r largely using uc gundam as a crutch. Their new show is a pretty heavy gamble
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