#yoshiyuki tomino

[burgers-in-anime]

The lack of burgers in Witch from Mercury is giving credence to my theory that burgers are not so much a calling card for Gundam as they are a calling card for Yoshiyuki Tomino. Stay with me here.

Burgers most prominently feature in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, in Zeta Gundam and in Gundam ZZ. Each of them have multiple episodes with burgers, and in many cases, those burgers are explicitly addressed — not incidental details. Zeta Gundam, famously, has Bright chowing down on a burger while Emma drops some psychoanalysis of Kamille on him, but it also has Bright being told off for eating a burger on the bridge. Burgers are all over ZZ, including a scene where Judau hands them out to the crew from a basket. And MSG has a burger as Sleggar Law's death flag, but also an entire episode dedicated to Bright trying to procure salt to make the ship's burgers taste better — both of which were iconic enough to become meals in the Gundam cafe.

And one thing these three shows have in common is that they were all written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino.

Four examples of burgers in early Gundam works. The top two are from MSG; the bottom two are (L-R) Zeta and ZZ

Tomino doesn't feature them as prominently in other works, but they do still appear. For example, Victory Gundam still includes a scene of characters eating burgers, and Gundam F91 has a burger on a sign in the background. That second example doesn't seem like much until you remember that F91 was originally planned as a full TV series before being compressed into a movie, and has little opportunity for characters to have downtime — so that one appears at all feels very intentional.

You can also see burgers on display in another Tomino work from the period, Space Runaway Ideon.

L-R: Victory Gundam, Gundam F91, Space Runaway Ideon

Meanwhile, when Tomino was kicked off the franchise, the burgers went with him. In G Gundam, Domon is offered a pizza, and there is no sign of burgers. In Unicorn, Banagher takes Mineva to get some fast food, but they visit a hot dog stand. In Gundam Hathaway, Hathaway and friends get fried chicken. And in Witch from Mercury, the only food on display — aside from the tomatoes — is cafeteria grub and, uh, slabs of ham.

Really, the only instances I know of burgers appearing in a non-Tomino Gundam are in Wing, and all that has is a burger on a billboard and a Wacdonald's sign — both blink-and-you'll-miss-it background details. While on the surface, this may seem comparable to F91, it really isn't: when you have forty-nine episodes and a movie to work with, you can do a lot more than a sign.

Gundam characters pointedly eating something other than a burger

And what happened when Tomino returned to the franchise with Reconguista in G?

The burgers came back too!

Reconguista in G

There is a single exception here: War in the Pocket, not directed by Tomino, does prominently feature burgers (and I don't mean the meme). But that, itself, may be telling. War in the Pocket was the first Gundam series to be made without Tomino's involvement; were the creative leads perhaps inspired to add a gratuitous burger scene to evoke the spirit of Tomino?

All that said, the reason this is still only a theory, and not a master's thesis, is that I don't have all the data yet. I haven't seen every post-Tomino Gundam series (though, frankly, I have no real drive to see what I've missed), and the only one of Tomino's non-Gundam works I've seen is the aforementioned Ideon. If burgers show up in Xabungle, L-Gaim or King Gainer… then I'll really know I've cracked the code.

[anhilliator1]

As a reminder if you're wondering why Gundam has so many weird names for people and things, this is why.

[slowlysointernet]

Char's last words in Gundam High-Streamer Vol 3

I understand why Tomino cried when recalling the scene where 'Char' gives 'Sayla' the briefcase of gold on 0079 in the 40th anniversary NHK special interview:

The full interview can be found here .

I don't want to hear the ''Char doesn't care for his sister'' rhetoric ever again 😤 .

[anjoviva]

AURA BATTLER DUNBINE (1983) Upscaled Ending

[wiz-kaleb]

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM

[bozemane]

[selketshaula]

Char Aznable and Zeong (Kido Senshi Gundam) by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko.

[arcadebroke]

[omercifulheaves]

Oshii. Tomino. Simpson.

[screamofdespair]

[quantumleper]

MOBILE FIGHTER G GUNDAM [1994] | Domon Kasshu & GF13-017NJ Shining Gundam | Future Century

[arra19]

Hideaki Anno + Yoshiyuki Tomino = Hideyuki Tomianno

[roseillith]

TURN A GUNDAM #50 THE GOLDEN AUTUMN (2000)

Directed By: YOSHIYUKI TOMINO

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[balrog-slayer66]

Reawakened Ideon vs Gundam by Yuichi Hasegawa

[wiz-kaleb]

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: F91