Interview with Makoto Ishiwata, Mechanical Designer of “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet” [1/4]

A boy named Ledo and his mecha, Chamber, drift to an unknown planet. What strange things await them in this new world?

Voicing Ledo is Kaito Ishikawa, who makes his voice acting debut with the role.

There are many more people working on this anime besides the voice actors, such as animators, scriptwriters, and producers. What kind of people are they? What kind of work are they doing? There are so many things unknown...

Just like Ledo, let’s set off to encounter the unknown!

In this interview, Ishikawa will be talking with Makoto Ishiwata, mechanical designer of Gargantia with the guidance of Hirasawa P from Production I.G.

At what point is it mecha?

Ishikawa: Well then, let’s cut to the chase...by the way, I’m Kaito Ishikawa (laughs). What is it that you are mainly doing under mecha design?

Ishiwata: Ahm...well (laughs).

Ishikawa: As the name suggests, you design mecha?

Ishiwata: That’s right.

Hirasawa: But even in mecha, there are also vehicles and small types. He also designed the firearms in one of our company’s works, Psycho-Pass. There are talking guns (laughs).

Ishikawa: So all those small parts are also included in mecha?

Ishiwata: Yes, they are all mechanical.

Hirasawa: On the other hand, don’t you usually design tables in a room, for instance?

Ishiwata: No, I don’t design things like that.

Hirasawa: Robots go without question; cars, too. You even do small handheld things like guns. In your job, what is the range of designs you do?

Ishiwata: Maybe things that have some gimmick to them, probably. Or should I say, things with mobile parts.

Ishikawa: In that case, are cities included?

Ishiwata: Possibly, yes. If they change shape. Even tables, possibly.

Real or fantasy?

Ishikawa: When you design something with a gimmick, do you think about the physics or if it could really move if it was actually made as a solid body?

Ishiwata: It depends on the piece of work. I am always looking for a middle ground as to how real I should make it.

Hirasawa: There is something that is very important in each and every piece of work, that is, the so-called “degree of fantasy,” meaning, how far it is from reality. For example, in a lot of robot anime, the degree of fantasy is as follows: You would think the joints can move without failure, but when you think about the strength of the materials used, it would be difficult to actually operate.

Where to keep it the same as reality and where to ignore it is very important in determining the orientation of a work.

Ishikawa: When designing Chamber and Striker, what parts did you pay attention to?

Ishiwata: Chamber and Striker are rather apart from reality, closer to fantasy.

Hirasawa: Speaking in a more mecha way, they’re more closer to ultra high tech.

Ishiwata: In contrast, Yumboroids are reminiscent of real heavy machinery in their shapes and movements.

Ishikawa: Yumboroids, Yumboroids...they are awesome. Although they kept their resemblance to heavy machinery, they are still mecha.

Hirasawa: For instance, looking from the outside, you can’t even know what fuel Chamber uses or where it is stored. If you probe into those questions, it quickly loses its ultra high-techness. Plus, when speaking about what kind of material he is made from or that his legs should be thicker, it becomes more realistic.

Gargantia x Tokyo Otaku Mode Special Site:
http://otakumode.com/sp/gargantia

Source:
http://gargantia.jp/#kaito_1 (Japanese)

© Oceanus / Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet Production Committee