There was a recent gathering regarding the astronomy and physics that ensconce the Gundam mythos. Entitled Introduction to Gundam Astronomy: Where’s Side 7? Are Space Colonies Possible?, it featured luminaries such as Harutoshi Fukui (novelist and writer of the Gundam Unicorn novels), Jun Fukue an astronomy professor and of course Yoshiyuki Tomino.

As Tomino has a habit of doing, he seemed to spend a lot of the meeting pissing on other people’s chips. From saying that the whole premise is unrealistic to it being “just an anime”, Tomino even goes so far as to calling people who design the titular mecha to being somehow “empty”. Despite coming across as overly curmudgeonly, Tomino has a history of playing devil’s advocate and generally inciting debate – so interpreting his comment’s at face value and taking offense, is missing the point a bit. Considering that much of the technological and scientific background was openly based upon Gerald K. O’Neill’s work as well as the practical output of the JPL, shows that Tomino is just trying to get people to use a modicum of insight to question the saga as a whole rather than accept it blindly for what it is – something that the sprawling fanbase does do on occasion.