What is especially interesting is how the official sources quickly picked up on the growing meme and joined in. In the official merchandise promotion videos, Shūji says lines like, “Our products are coming, said Gundam,” and “Don’t miss any of them, said Gundam.” Even the official account uses the Shūji sentence structure in its posts, which has been warmly received by the fans.

There is something mysterious about Shūji—although it’s impossible to tell what he’s thinking, audiences somehow end up believing him. It’s fascinating how this entire nuance is conveyed in a single phrase.

In any case, this line has become more than just a quote. “~, said Gundam”—a time has come when that alone is enough to be understood. You’ve read this article all the way through. “It was worth reading,” said Gundam.

“Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX” is the latest installment of the “Mobile Suit Gundam” franchise, which has been ongoing since 1979. The story follows Amate Yuzuriha (voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa), a high school girl peacefully living in a space colony, whose fateful encounter with the girl Nyaan (voiced by Yui Ishikawa) drags her into the illegal mobile suit duel competition known as “Clan Battle.” The joint production between Studio Khara—famed for the “Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition” series—and Sunrise generated much buzz, and the advance theatrical screening held this January became a massive hit, grossing around 3.4 billion yen. A nationwide re-release in 368 theaters has also been decided for June 20.

(C)SOTSU·SUNRISE

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