by A theme song born out of complicated circumstances
“MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM” is sometimes called the first “real robot anime,” it is a work that has the dignity of a Taiga drama, in which the well-crafted setting and the many works that have been announced complement each other.
For that reason, I felt a gap in the theme song “Fly! Gundam”, which calls out the main robot’s name repeatedly, which seems to be a 1970s robot anime from when it was aired. “Fly towards the galaxy; he’s a Gundam,” Gundam and White Base fly against the backdrop of the galaxy, and phrases like “reviving Gundam,” almost like a super robot, are used.
The lyrics don’t match. “Fly! Gundam” was written by Rin Iogi, but since this is the pseudonym of director Yoshiyuki Tomino, it is unthinkable that the lyricist does not understand the contents of the work.
This is due to the battle between director Tomino and the sponsor company. It wasn’t even revealed to the sponsor that “Gundam” would be an exceptional work on the SF route. Therefore, there are children’s books at the time that say “evil Zeon aliens,” and there are picture books about Char attacking an amusement park with a Zaku.
The theme song was also made to be “existing robot anime-like” content in this flow. Because of such lyrics, it is sometimes described on the Internet as “lyrics made as propaganda for the Federal Army.” However, when I read the lyrics from the perspective of “the white devil of the Federation Forces, a Zeon soldier who fears Gundam,” I think I could understand it quite well. I realized.
At the song’s beginning, he yells “Burn up” three times, followed by Gundam. Then, “You run,” and “If you still have the fighting spirit to burn with anger, beat the huge enemy.” I can understand this if you think of the lyrics encouraging the soldiers burning with anger after the Gundams defeated their comrades, saying, “You, run! Defeat the giant enemy, the Gundams.” And “Let him vent his righteous wrath Gundam,” but General Gihren, who leads the Zeon army, has said that the purpose of the war is justice.
This is considered to be the lyrics that the commander-in-chief is appealing that “Gundam is the target of righteous anger.” The 2nd “Stand up, he is a Gundam” can be taken to mean that he is encouraging the Zeon soldiers to “Stand up towards the Gundam.” “You, scream!” “If you still have the sadness of despair, get rid of your fear!” are deep-rooted fears of the “white devil” that cannot be shot down no matter how hard you try. I’m preaching.
For Zeon soldiers, the Gundam is a formidable enemy suitable for the following lyrics, “burning swirling blood” So far (in my subjective opinion), I can only agree. The beginning of number 3, “His Gundam Reviving,” can be understood from the current point of view, where “new Gundams” are added in subsequent works. Even if you can miraculously defeat the Gundam, it depicts the nightmare state of mind when the next work introduces a new Gundam.
“Grab you” means “give you the glory of victory.” And “If your heart still trembles with love,” and “fly in search of peace” means that a soldier who wants to end the war for the sake of his family waiting for him in his hometown will approach peace if he defeats the powerful Gundam. , It is thought that it contains an earnest vow to inspire. Furthermore, “Fly toward the galaxy If you think that “Gundam” is a Gundam that can’t be defeated no matter what you do, it has a strong desire to “go somewhere to the end of the galaxy!” It is.
So when I sing this song, it becomes a Zeon soldier’s interpretation in my head and has a strange tension. Well, of course, many people say, “There’s no reason for the lyrics to mean that!” However, I think the appeal of “Gundam” is the depth of its worldview that allows for such interpretations. How do readers feel about the OP theme song lyrics?
