The Mecha Design Panelists: Top: Guest of Honor Akitaka Mika (left). Bottom: Guest of Honor Izubuchi Yutaka (right).

This panel featured Japanese Guests of Honor Akitaka Mika and Izubuchi Yutaka. Akitaka is best known as the creator of GALAXY FRAULEIN YUNA, but his credits also include work on GUNDAM 0080, GUNDAM 0083, GUNDAM ZZ, and MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO. Izubuchi is known for his work on GASARAKI, PATLABOR, GUNDAM ZZ, GUNDAM 0080, and CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK. This panel was held on Sunday of the convention.
Since there was no set agenda for the panel, the guests of honor took questions from the audience. To get things started, Akitaka and Izubuchi began reminiscing about the time they spent together working on GUNDAM ZZ. Akitaka remarked at one point saying that he never really wanted to work on ZZ because the pressure was too high. But Izubuchi quickly cut him down by saying that was a lie, because once Akitaka would finish a set of drawings, he would eagerly bring them to Izubuchi and ask him to look at them. They both laughed as they remembered this time in their careers.

Q: Some designers model after knight in armor while others model after walking tanks. Which would you say you take your influence from?

AKITAKA: I came from a background of designing toys, so I'm thinking about modular parts. For me, I would say my designs are mostly of the "walking tank" kind.

IZUBUCHI: There are times I model after Western armor but there are also times I reference current military hardware and weapons. But as a professional, I think my job is to design what is best called for by the show I'm working on. So, it really depends on the story and its setting.

Q: Isn't most mecha design done by a "committee"?

IZUBUCHI: Depending on the project, I could be doing things that have been designed before, or I could be involved from the beginning but if I feel strongly that something needs to be done or changed, I will say so. I would have to say it is on a case-by-case basis.

AKITAKA: For ZZ, the two of us worked together so that was our "committee."

Q: Are there any other areas of mechanical design that you would like to try, say toasters or silverware, etc.?

AKITAKA: I don't know if you know, but I worked on CITY HUNTER drawing non-character items and toasters do appear and so I designed them! Actually, there are a lot of small items in CITY HUNTER such as underwear which are considered non-character, so I designed them, too!

IZUBUCHI: Did you enjoy designing those brassieres?

AKITAKA: No, not really [laughs], but I was just happy to have the job ...

Q: When do you consider when an artist has "made it"? When their designs are made into plastic models? And do you collect the models of your own designs?

IZUBUCHI: As far as plastic models are concerned, we don't really collect them, but when a model is made, sometimes we get samples, but I just have no time to build them. They just stack up and take up space until I give them away when someone wants one. If anyone would like to build them for me, they can have that job! Just when you build them, make sure to give it back to me and not keep it for yourself! (laughs)

[Then, without prompting, Izubuchi continued reflectively ...]

I don't think I could design something completely realistic [in the sense that it could exist and work in the real world], but at the same time, I don't think I could design something based totally on design considerations only. It depends on the story, so I think I live somewhere in-between.

AKITAKA: Design style does depend on what the mecha is supposed to do, but I also consider if the mecha will be made into a plastic model or toy ... Sometimes I have to wonder if I design something, could it really walk? But in the end, the design must be representative of the story being told.

Q: The future for our two esteemed panelists?

IZIBUCHI: In the future, I do want to work on something which will be considered a milestone for Japanese mecha design. It will probably not be GUNDAM ... I know it is a bit vague, but that is all I can say for now.

AKITAKA: The project I was working on recently, SEGA SAKURA 3, has ended. For my future projects, I hope to work on a TV series.

And with that, time ran out and the panel was gracefully ended.