“Symphonic Poem Gundam” (交響詩ガンダム), Rare Original Japanese First-Press LP Bonus Poster 1980, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Artwork, Large Format (60 × 84.5 cm) S46

This is an original Japanese large-format poster produced in 1980 as a first-press bonus for King Records’ LP Symphonic Poem Gundam (交響詩ガンダム), featuring specially created artwork by legendary Mobile Suit Gundam character designer and animation director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (安彦良和).

The original LP, catalogue number K25G-7001, was released by King Records on 5 September 1980. Contemporary documentation records the first LP pressing as including a 600 × 850 mm poster newly illustrated by Yasuhiko—closely corresponding to the 60 × 84.5 cm dimensions of this surviving example. 

Importantly, this example is not folded and does not have the regular intersecting fold lines commonly seen on surviving examples originally stored inside the LP packaging.

Released during the formative years of the original Mobile Suit Gundam phenomenon, Symphonic Poem Gundam transformed music from the television series into a ten-part full-orchestral suite, conducted by Kazuhiko Komatsu and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, with music by Takeo Watanabe and Yūshi Matsuyama.

Historical context

When Mobile Suit Gundam first aired in 1979, it dramatically altered the language of Japanese robot animation.

Rather than treating giant robots primarily as colourful superhero machines, creator Yoshiyuki Tomino placed them inside a sprawling military and political conflict populated by psychologically complex characters whose loyalties, relationships and ideals were continually tested by war.

The series’ reputation expanded rapidly following its original broadcast, helped by reruns, records, model kits and an increasingly passionate fan culture.

Symphonic Poem Gundam belongs directly to this crucial early period.

Rather than presenting the television score simply as an anime soundtrack, King Records commissioned a full orchestral interpretation, treating the music as a dramatic symphonic work.

The album comprises ten movements:

「眠りより」 — From Sleep
「珠玉の人」 — A Precious Person
「大地を発って」 — Leaving the Earth
「遭遇の宇宙」 — Encounter in Space
「ララア・ときめき」 — Lalah, Heartbeat
「疾風のように」 — Like the Gale
「女たちよ」 — Women
「戦場空域」 — Battlefield Airspace
「ソーラ・パワー」 — Solar Power
「黎明」 — Dawn

The recording was an unusually ambitious undertaking for anime music in 1980, and belongs to the period immediately before Gundam entered cinemas with its first theatrical compilation film in 1981.

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko artwork

The poster features an exceptionally elegant composition by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, universally known among fans as “YAS.”

Yasuhiko served as the original television series’ character designer and animation director, establishing the human visual identity of Mobile Suit Gundam just as Kunio Okawara defined its mechanical language.

This image deliberately removes the mobile suits entirely.

Instead, Yasuhiko focuses on the people at the emotional centre of the story.

Amuro Ray occupies the lower-left portion of the composition, presented not as a triumphant hero but as a quiet, introspective young man.

Above him are two softly rendered female portraits, dominated by the immediately recognisable blonde Sayla Mass, whose hair dissolves into broad passages of luminous yellow and white.

At right stands Char Aznable, unmistakable in his red Zeon uniform, mask and cape.

Char is the only figure shown at full length, and his formal upright posture contrasts dramatically with the softer, floating portraits surrounding him.

There are no explosions, mobile suits, beam rifles or battlefield imagery.

Instead, Yasuhiko presents Gundam as fundamentally a story about people shaped and separated by war.

Design

The artwork is exceptionally restrained by the standards of early anime promotional material.

Large expanses of deep black negative space dominate the right side of the composition, allowing Yasuhiko’s softly painted characters to emerge almost like memories from darkness.

The palette is equally sophisticated.

Amuro’s uniform introduces muted blue, cream and gold.

Sayla’s blonde hair creates the brightest area of the sheet.

Char provides the strongest saturated colour, his deep crimson uniform standing sharply against the black background.

The figures retain Yasuhiko’s characteristic painterly quality, with areas of loose brushwork, translucent colour and unfinished-looking edges that give the image a spontaneous, almost original-artwork quality.

At the bottom right appears the small:

“YAS.”

signature, identifying Yasuhiko’s illustration.

The absence of conventional advertising text makes the poster particularly striking. It reads less like commercial promotion and more like a large-format character artwork produced at the very beginning of the Gundam phenomenon.

First-press LP bonus poster

This example measures approximately 60 × 84.5 cm, closely matching the documented 600 × 850 mm first-press poster issued with the original K25G-7001 LP.

That makes the format substantially larger than a standard Japanese B2 poster and an important distinction for the listing.

Unlike ordinary record-store advertising, this poster was specifically created as a special first-press premium associated with the original 1980 vinyl release.

Most surviving examples encountered today were folded for storage with the record. This particular example is especially appealing because it does not show the regular factory-style folding associated with many surviving LP copies.

Its large uninterrupted image gives Yasuhiko’s painting considerably greater visual presence.

An unusually human Gundam image

What makes the design especially compelling is precisely what it omits.

The RX-78-2 Gundam, the machine most immediately associated with the franchise, is nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the image concentrates on the relationships, isolation and emotional consequences underlying the One Year War.

That approach is particularly appropriate for Symphonic Poem Gundam.

The orchestral album asks the listener to experience the original story through atmosphere, memory and emotion rather than dialogue or combat.

Yasuhiko’s artwork performs essentially the same function visually.

The characters appear isolated from one another, almost suspended outside narrative time.

For collectors, it represents a strikingly different side of early Gundam imagery from the battle-heavy theatrical, model-kit and mechanical artwork that would later become ubiquitous.

The 1980 Gundam boom

The year 1980 occupies a particularly important place in Gundam history.

The original television broadcast had ended, yet enthusiasm for the series was accelerating dramatically.

Records, specialist merchandise and Bandai’s rapidly expanding Gunpla phenomenon helped propel Gundam from its television origins towards the theatrical trilogy that began the following year.

This poster therefore dates from before the first theatrical Mobile Suit Gundam film, making it a particularly early piece of original franchise material.

More than four decades later, Gundam has become one of the most internationally recognised properties in Japanese popular culture.

Original material from this formative period—and especially large-format Yasuhiko artwork produced specifically for an original 1980 release—has particular historical and collecting appeal.

Condition

Very Good+ original condition overall.

The principal artwork remains extremely strong, with excellent colour retention across the character portraits and a deep, richly printed black background.

Yasuhiko’s delicate brushwork remains clearly visible, while Char’s crimson uniform, Amuro’s blue-and-cream clothing, Sayla’s luminous hair and the softer flesh tones retain very good saturation.

Importantly, this example is not folded and does not have the regular intersecting fold lines commonly seen on surviving examples originally stored inside the LP packaging.

Please review all photographs carefully; they show the exact poster for sale, front and reverse.

This is an original 1980 Japanese first-press bonus poster for King Records’ Symphonic Poem Gundam LP, featuring specially created artwork by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko.

It is not a reproduction or modern reprint.

It is approximately 46 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.

Code: S46