The Hokkaido-based news website Real Economy reported on Monday that Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino spoke at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art for the “World of Yoshiyuki Tomino” exhibit, which will run in Sapporo from October 17 to January 23. There, he spoke highly of the Hokkaido-born creators he has worked with, such as Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Mobile Suit Gundam), Tomonori Kogawa (Space Runaway Ideon), and Akira Yasuda (Turn A Gundam). However, he also spoke of the challenges in Japan’s creative environment today, warning that “Japan is no longer a leader in animation.”
“As digital techniques evolves, I feel that the animation industry’s position will become precarious,” he said, bringing up the high-quality animations in music videos as an example of progressing technology. “As an anime industry person, it rankles me that they’ve come so far that they can even do animation….