Anime Expo 2025 ended not too long ago, but the fun’s not over. We had the honor of doing a special featured interview with the cast of the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX! Featuring Tomoyo Kurosawa (Amate Yuzuriha “Machu”), Simba Tsuchiya (Shuji Itō), Shinji Kawada (Chalia Bull), and Yuki Shin (Char Aznable). Join us as they share how they felt when they were cast in their roles for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuux!
Kawaii Kakkoii Sugoi: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! To start off, how did you feel when you were cast in a mainline Gundam series?Did you grow up with the franchise or have any past experience with it?
Tomoyo Kurosawa: So until Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, there was no female lead piloting a mobile suit. I was really happy that my character would actually be inside and controlling the mobile suit in an actual Gundam TV show. After it aired, so many people messaged me saying “Congratulations!” That’s when I realized that it was a historic moment and I was lucky to be part of it.
Yuki Shin: My father was a big fan of the original series, so he was very happy. As a voice actor, it’s everybody’s dream and an achievement to be able to play Char and pilot both Zaku and Gundam. It’s more than I could ever believe. Thank you.
Shinji Kawada: I’m also part of the generation that grew up watching Gundam. After I auditioned and got the role for this series, I took a look at the script and realized the character designs and the way the story progressed felt different. It gave me the impression that this series was departing from what you’d normally expect in a traditional Gundam story.
The producer and director often said, “This is a ‘what if’ story that takes place in a different timeline.” Since I had that same impression from the start, I decided to set aside any prior knowledge or preconceptions I had about Gundam and focus on this show’s story, treating it as something separate from the previous series.
KKS: How did you feel as the story progressed in later episodes that tied back to previous Gundam works?
Kawada: Well, like I said earlier, when I was playing my role, I made a decision not to draw from any other Gundam series. But when you look at the completed show, it ended up connecting to all sorts of other Gundam stories.That made me think that it was the show itself that naturally led everyone to those connections. It didn’t need to come through in my performance.
So even though there were moments that paid homage to certain previous scenes or made those connections, I made surethey weren’t reflected in how I acted.
Simba Tsuchiya: I started thinking about wanting to be part of Gundam about 5 years ago. When I had the opportunity to audition for the series, it felt like a dream come true. I really did everything I could to prepare for the role. Like Shuji tried his hardest to save Lalah, I had such deep, intense feelings throughout the process. Being able to pilot the Gundam was such a special experience.
KKS: [To Kurosawa-san] Over the course of the series, Machu is pulled in many directions by the adults around her. What influences did you rely on to bring the character to life?
Kurosawa: There’s a Japanese slang word called “Bamen de” (場面で). It means “play it by ear” and describes how young Japanese people might feel in their everyday lives. So I was thinking about that while playing the role.
KKS: Now that the show has just ended, do any of you consider yourselves “NewTypes” now?
Kurosawa, Kawada, Shin: No!
Tsuchiya: Yes!
(Everyone Laughs)
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is a brand new series directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and is the first-ever major collaboration between EVANGELION series creator studio khara, and SUNRISE, the historic home to the Mobile Suit Gundam works. The anime series is currently streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in the United States.
The series follows Amate Yuzuriha, a high school girl living peacefully in a space colony, who is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling competition known as “Clan Battle” after encountering a mysterious girl named Nyan. Taking the entry name “Machu,” Amate dives headfirst into the intense world of mobile suit dueling.
Around the same time, a mysterious Gundam mobile suit and its pilot, a boy named Shuji, who are being hunted by both the space military and the police, appear before her.
The world is now on the brink of a new era.
Streaming Platform: Only on Prime Video https://amazon.com/dp/B0CY9Q3TVR
Official Website: https://en.gundam.info/about-gundam/series-pages/gquuuuuux/
X (Japanese Only): https://x.com/G_GQuuuuuuX
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