JAPAN TOPICS VIDEO

Q: You are also known as an “Anime geek”, aren’t you? How do you view Japanese Anime?

A: Twenty to thirty years ago, Japanese animations were hardly seen in North America. There was basically, a core group of some people who enjoyed them and got a hold of them. Now if you’re in North America on Saturday morning, it’s just North American cartoon time. Probably well over thirty to forty percent of the programs are actually Japanese animations.
It just shows that Japanese animations have now been accepted worldwide. Another thing is that even North American animations are starting to take on Japanese characteristics. People are drawing cartoons in the same way as the Japanese artists.

The person considered to have started animation technology in Japan is Osamu Tezuka. With his internationally known program “Astro Boy”, he started re-using backgrounds, and cut down on the number of frames in the program itself. And by doing so he brought down the costs, making animations cost-effective.

Q: What is the biggest difference, story or expressions, in Japanese animations?

A: A major aspect is visual perspective. If you are looking at Saturday morning cartoon animation, there isn’t that much movement. You don’t get in-depth expressions on the faces of the characters. Shadows don’t move. But in Japanese animations, if you have somebody lying down in a hallway, you see that because of the light that is supposed to be in that hallway. That person’s shadow doesn’t run beside him. It goes ahead of him, behind him, beside him. So in that way you’re incorporating that aspect of realism, whereas at the same time you end up with huge eyes which are physically impossible. But as I say, with eyes being windows to our souls, maybe anyone who watches that animation and sees those big eyes feels they are seeing deep into that character’s personality.

Q: Can you say the same thing about other fields?

A: If you look at food, a typical one is curry rice．Curry itself is considered to be South Asian or Indian. Rice topped with curry and eaten with a spoon is basically an English dish imported to Japan. Most curry and rice in Japan is thicker. And there is more flavour. The British use saffron rice. It’s a completely different product, though its origin is from the same place. So in Japan, curry rice is considered to have an Indian origin, and some people call it an Indian food. But in fact, it’s a Japanese food.

It’s the same thing with anime, it’s a Japanese industry. It’s different from the typical Disney animation. Disney animation still exists, but it’s of a different branch with a different history.

Q: You talked about special effects movies in Japan. I heard that you once worked on such movies.

A: Yes, I actually wanted to be one of the good guys. When I was 20 years old I thought it would be nice if I had such an opportunity. I never had the chance, though.

But I still wanted it. And then I was taken on as an artist. People saw me and they apparently liked the way I looked, so I got the job right on the spot. Even though I was not a main character, I was actually one of the heroes. In fact, they produced a little 17 to 18 centimeter tall soft vinyl doll of me. They came out with three main characters, including mine and a couple of other sub characters. The day when my figure came out, it sold out. They had no plans of making a second figure, but they realized they had to do this. In fact, mine outsold all the others. In all of Japan within that specific category, soft vinyl dolls, my figure was the second-highest seller. I was amazed. I could do nothing but laugh.

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