Neon Genesis Evangelion Creator Reveals Gundam Brought Him Back To Anime With Franchise’s Co-Creator
The encounter between these two renowned mech designers was initiated by an exhibition celebrating Yasuhiko’s contributions to the anime world, titled “Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, The Artist.” Anno quickly paid tribute to the Gundam director, acknowledging his role in launching the franchise and inspiring Hideaki’s animation career. He stated, “It was Yasuhiko’s original drawings in a book accompanying the movie version of Mobile Suit Gundam that ignited my desire to work in the animation industry. I thought, ‘I want to be an animator.’ In this sense, Yasuhiko is the one who sparked my interest in animation.