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Gundam Seed Lead Character Designer Draws Art of T.M.Revolution
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
The new Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM film is setting the franchise's box office record, and it's safe to say the Gundam Seed franchise is still as popular as ever. One of the catalysts to its popularity can potentially be attributed to the first opening theme song of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, “Invoke” by T.M. Revolution. The man behind T.M. Revolution, Takanori Nishikawa, has voiced two characters in the franchise: Miguel Aiman from Gundam Seed and Heine Westenfluss from Gundam Seed Destiny. Although Nishikawa provided the theme song for Gundam Seed Freedom, “Freedom,” he unfortunately did not provide his voice to a character. Instead, he was made into a character.
#西川貴教 最新アーティストビジュアル公開！
— 西川貴教オフィシャルファンクラブ「turbo」 (@turboFC) January 24, 2024
「機動戦士ガンダム #SEEDFREEDOM」
キャラクターデザイン担当#平井久司 氏描き下ろし！@SEED_HDRP #ガンダムSEED #g_seed #TNNK pic.twitter.com/E8HaayK570
#西川貴教 (Takanori Nishikawa) Latest artist visual released!
"Mobile Suit Gundam #SEEDFREEDOM"
Drawn by #平井久司 (Hisashi Hirai)
Lead character designer
@SEED_HDRP #ガンダムSEED #g_seed #TNNK
Nishikawa revealed his Gundam Seed likeness on Twitter on January 24, two days before the film's opening in Japan. In his tweet, Nishikawa said his likeness was made by the film's character designer, Hisashi Hirai, and you can tell Hirai expertly captured Nishikawa's essence. It also appears Nishikawa's likeness is a high-ranking officer in the ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty) military since he's wearing a white uniform and a long asymmetrical jacket worn by other ZAFT military officers. This would suggest the Nishikawa in the Gundam Seed universe is not a musician, but rather a military officer and a Coordinator (genetically modified human). Somehow, this makes all the sense in the world as the two characters he portrayed in the franchise were both ZAFT military officers.
Hopefully, Nishikawa will appear on stage wearing his likenesses uniform for a performance of “Freedom” in the future. Nishikawa has also appeared in B-PROJECT as Takanori Nishiyama, Sengoku Basara: End of Judgement as Sakai Tadatsugu, and the Thunderbolt Fantasy franchise as Làng Wú Yaó, among others. He has also performed theme songs for in ReLIFE, Rurouni Kenshin, and Edens Zero, among others. His biography can be found on his official website.
Sources: Takanori Nishikawa's Twitter account and website via Otakomu
