Gundam Music Through the Decades #03 — Mobile Suit Gundam ZZcolmun

“It’s Not an Anime!” — When Gundam Came Closest to the Sound of 1980s J-Pop

1986.
Not long after Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam came to an end, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ began its television run.

The original Gundam had introduced a new kind of war story.
Zeta Gundam had pushed that world into darker political and psychological territory.

Then came ZZ.

The tone changed. The characters changed. And, perhaps most noticeably, the music changed as well.

Nothing captures that shift better than one of the most famous — and most unexpected — Gundam theme-song titles ever written:

“Anime Ja Nai — Yume wo Wasureta Furui Chikyuujin yo”

“It’s Not an Anime — You Old Earthlings Who Have Forgotten Your Dreams.”
Singing “It’s not an anime” as the theme song of an anime series sounds almost like a joke.
But listen to the song itself, and you’ll find something very different: a concentrated dose of the bright, polished, larger-than-life sound of Japanese pop music in the mid-1980s.

This time, we’re looking at Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ through the music of its era — and at the point where Gundam came remarkably close to becoming straight-up 1980s J-Pop.

1986 — When 80s Pop Was at Its Most Colorful

By 1986, Japanese popular music had evolved considerably from the New Music scene of the previous decade.

Synthesizers and electronic instruments were now commonplace. The boundaries between pop, rock, and kayōkyoku were becoming increasingly blurred.

And the ingredients of what we now recognize as the classic “80s sound” were everywhere:

Shimmering synthesizers.
Thick layers of backing vocals.
Tight drums.
Electric guitars.
And huge, unforgettable choruses.

The theme songs of Gundam ZZ were born directly from this musical environment.

The original Gundam had started with the conventions of anime songs and gradually moved toward pop and kayō rock.

Zeta Gundam brought in Western pop influences and a more sophisticated electronic sound.

And with ZZ, that evolution moved even further toward mainstream Japanese pop.

“Anime Ja Nai” — A Title That Screams 1980s

The first opening theme is:

“Anime Ja Nai — Yume wo Wasureta Furui Chikyuujin yo”

The song was performed by Masato Arai, with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto, music by Hiroaki Serizawa, and arrangement by Shiro Sagisu.

Even the songwriting credits reveal how closely the song was connected to the broader Japanese pop industry of the time.

Musically, it can broadly be described as:

1980s J-Pop / Pop Rock / Kayō Pop

And the first thing that hits you is the sheer energy of the arrangement.

Synthesizers, guitars, drums, backing vocals, and a huge chorus come together to create an unmistakably mid-1980s sound.

Compare it with “Tobe! Gundam” from 1979, and the difference is enormous.

“Tobe! Gundam” is a classic hero song built around the identity of the series and its giant robot.

“Anime Ja Nai,” meanwhile, feels much more like a fully developed pop single that happens to be the opening theme of a Gundam series.

That distinction is important.

Gundam was getting closer and closer to the world of mainstream pop music.

“Yume wo Wasureta Furui Chikyuujin yo”

There’s another fascinating element to the song: its lyrics.

Not only does it boldly declare “Anime ja nai”, it also addresses:

“You old Earthlings who have forgotten your dreams.”

That idea fits surprisingly well with the tonal shift of Gundam ZZ.

Zeta Gundam had focused heavily on politics, war, human conflict, and tragedy.

ZZ, particularly in its early episodes, moved in a much brighter and more comedic direction.

And then comes the word:

Dreams.

Dreams.

The future.

Love.

Youth.

Hope.

These were all recurring themes in Japanese pop music during the 1980s.

From that perspective, “Anime Ja Nai” doesn’t feel quite as strange as its title initially suggests.

It’s almost as though the language of 1980s pop culture has been dropped directly into the Gundam universe.

“Silent Voice” — When ZZ Gets Serious

The later opening theme takes a very different approach.

“Silent Voice”

Performed by Jun Hiroe, the song has a noticeably more dramatic character than “Anime Ja Nai.”

Where the earlier opening is bright, energetic, and unapologetically pop-oriented, “Silent Voice” is more emotional and theatrical.

Its musical character can broadly be described as:

1980s J-Pop / Pop Rock / Ballad / Symphonic Pop

One of its strongest characteristics is its sense of melancholy.

This is particularly interesting when viewed alongside the development of Gundam ZZ itself.

As the series progresses, its story gradually becomes more serious.

The music follows that change.

If “Anime Ja Nai” represents the bright and optimistic side of 1980s pop culture, “Silent Voice” brings out another side of the decade — the emotional, dramatic, and almost cinematic quality that could also be found in Japanese pop music of the period.

“Issenman-nen Ginga” — An Ending on a Cosmic Scale

The later ending theme is:

“Issenman-nen Ginga” (“Ten-Million-Year Galaxy”)

Also performed by Jun Hiroe, the title itself immediately suggests something enormous.

Musically, the song can be broadly described as:

Ballad / Symphonic Pop / 1980s Pop

Compared with the contemporary pop sensibility of “Anime Ja Nai,” this song feels much more expansive.

Its scale seems to extend beyond the individual characters and toward the vastness of the Universal Century itself.

The idea of a “ten-million-year galaxy” shifts the perspective from individual human lives to an almost cosmic sense of time.

Yet it still retains the melodic accessibility and polished arrangements of 1980s Japanese pop.

That combination gives the song its distinctive character.

From Zeta to ZZ — Gundam Gets Even More Pop

Now let’s compare Zeta Gundam with Gundam ZZ.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

1985

1980s Pop
↓
Western Pop Influences
↓
Synth Sounds
↓
Symphonic Pop

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

1986

1980s J-Pop
↓
Kayō Pop
↓
Pop Rock
↓
Symphonic Pop

Only one year separates the two series.

Yet their musical identities feel remarkably different.

Zeta Gundam sounds sophisticated, urban, and strongly influenced by Western pop.

ZZ feels brighter, catchier, and more directly connected to the mainstream television pop culture of its time.

And nothing summarizes that change better than the phrase:

“Anime Ja Nai.”

When Gundam and J-Pop Got This Close

Looking at the first three entries in this series, the progression becomes increasingly clear.

Mobile Suit Gundam

Anime Songs → Pop → Kayō Rock

↓

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

1980s Pop → Western Pop → Synth Sounds

↓

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

1980s J-Pop → Kayō Pop → Pop Rock

The theme songs were gradually moving beyond the traditional boundaries of “anime music.”

The distinction between anime songs and mainstream Japanese pop was becoming less obvious.

And that trend would continue.

In fact, the music of Gundam would soon enter an even more interesting phase — one where major mainstream artists and contemporary pop acts would become deeply connected to the franchise.

Was “Anime Ja Nai” Actually Singing About Its Own Era?

Looking back at the title today, “Anime Ja Nai” feels almost comically bold.

It’s an anime.

And yet its theme song insists:

“It’s not an anime.”

In 1986, however, the phrase carried a slightly different weight.

Anime music was still often associated with the conventions of children’s television and robot shows.

Against that background, declaring “Anime Ja Nai” could be interpreted as a statement of intent:

This isn’t just a song for an animated robot show.

It’s a pop song.

It’s about dreams.

It’s about the future.

It’s about something bigger.

Of course, that’s only one possible interpretation.

But considering how rapidly Japanese pop music was evolving in the mid-1980s — and how the gap between mainstream music and anime culture was beginning to narrow — the title feels remarkably symbolic of its time.

The Evolution of Gundam Music So Far

Putting the first three series side by side gives us a fascinating snapshot of the musical evolution.

The pattern is becoming hard to ignore.

Gundam’s music evolves with its era.

The franchise doesn’t simply preserve one musical identity.

It absorbs the sounds around it and transforms them into something that belongs to Gundam.

And the next step would be another major change.

Next — Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

1988.
The Universal Century story moves from television to the big screen with Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.

And once again, the music takes a dramatic turn.

This time, the theme song comes from:

TM NETWORK.

Their iconic track:

“BEYOND THE TIME (Beyond the Mobius Universe)”

As Japanese pop music entered the late 1980s, synthesizers, New Wave influences, and electronic production had become increasingly sophisticated.

Gundam was about to bring those sounds together with the scale and atmosphere of a science-fiction film.

After following the musical evolution from the original Gundam through Zeta and ZZ, what would the final chapter of the original Universal Century saga sound like?

Next, we’ll take a look at Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.