Games ‘The Men Who Created Gundam’ Manga Review: A Wonderfully Exaggerated Parody Of How ‘Gundam’ Was Made Ollie Barder Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover gaming in Japan as well as the pop-culture here. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.
Got it! Aug 24, 2022, 03:39am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin While Gundam may be a monstrously huge franchise these days, its beginnings were far more uncertain and quite tempestuous. So it makes total sense to do a thoroughly over-the-top parody of what happened in manga form. Released back in 2009, The Men Who Created Gundam ran until 2011 and told a very exaggerated story of how Gundam got made.
From Yoshiyuki Tomino portrayed as a bald, sunglasses wearing gangster that punches voice actors to improve their performance, to the Lamborghini Countach driving and very slick Yoshikazu Yasuhiko . All of it is just very silly and very roughly based upon what actually happened. I mean, if you know anything about Yasuhiko, the fact he drives a Lamborghini in this manga is so far out of character for him that it is wonderfully amusing.
Even the mechanical designer Kunio Okawara gets similarly kickass treatment, with long mutton chops and tough demeanor, again so very far removed from what he is actually like and subsequently very funny with it. This is because the manga author Hideki Ohwada had already made a name for himself portraying the former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in manga form. Called The Legend of Koizumi , it told a ridiculous story of how world politicians settled their disputes via mahjong battles.
MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry With the history behind Gundam’s origins already being rich pickings, Ohwada had an absolute field day re-imagining these real-world figures into ridiculous manga legends. ‘The Men Who Created Gundam’ is a very silly and funny account of how ‘Gundam’ was made. Denpa Books Coming in at 564 pages, The Men Who Created Gundam is a weighty tome indeed.
It covers much of how Gundam was made, as well as its initial failings and later salvation through the popularity of its model kits. You also have sections that actually explain the real history of what happened, which only helps to accentuate the humor once you realize what is being sent up. As someone that has actually met and interviewed the likes of Tomino, Yasuhiko and Okawara among others, this manga makes for a surreal read albeit a very funny one.
Knowing how vastly different these people are from their manga counterparts is a uniquely amusing experience. Overall, The Men Who Created Gundam is a deeply funny manga that takes obvious and very silly liberties with its historical source material. Even if you know nothing about Gundam or how it was made, this will still be a worthwhile as well as an amausing read and comes very much recommended.
The Men Who Created Gundam is available from Amazon for $21. 55. Disclosure: Denpa Books sent me a copy of this manga for the purposes of this review.
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From: forbes
URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2022/08/24/the-men-who-created-gundam-manga-review-a-wonderfully-exaggerated-parody-of-how-gundam-was-made/
