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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.6 - SEPTEMBER 1999

Inside Japan's Beloved Toei Animation
(continued from page 1)

A Toei background artist at work.

Practicality and Tradition
Another characteristic "Japanese" method is the usage of "Kime" postures -- static, dramatic pauses -- as the ones used in traditional kabuki theatre. Should we call it "beauty of form" or "beauty of abbreviation," Japanese animes contain a lot of "Kime" postures. One "Kime" posture reveals so many things. But in fact, this technique has been derived for a very practical reason. By holding poses, the number of needed drawings and animation is reduced, which is a key cost cutter. I believe this realistic solution made a happy marriage with the stylings of Japanese traditional art.

Such a combination of traditional arts as kabuki and Japanese animes may not be anything surprising. Japanese animes, especially TV animes are, as described in Mr. Shimizu's quote, based on manga, and manga itself is called an "art of intervals" (from Understanding Comics by Mr. Scott McCloud). How to express scene changes and characters' feelings and emotions in the most efficient and impressive way -- this is what Japanese manga has been pursuing. The unique world that Japanese manga has established has already become part of Japanese culture. Especially in TV animes, some specific expressions and marks used in mangas can often been seen.

Most of the TV animes Toei Animation produces are based on manga. For example, the series now on air The File of Young Kindaichi 2, Jeanne the Kamikaze Thief, Digimon Adventure and Dr. Slump are all based on mangas. Recognition of characters is very high in manga-based animes. Sometimes even the anime director is a big fan of the manga.

Daisuke Nishio, director of the well-known series Dragonball and Dragonball Z.

Behind Dragonball
I also met with Mr. Daisuke Nishio, director of the well-known series Dragonball and Dragonball Z (he worked as Sub-Director on Dragonball and Chief-Director on Dragonball Z). Mr. Nishio was very familiar with the original manga and the heroes and other characters. It must be a very exciting experience to direct and animate a manga you like so much, I said to him. "In the case of Dragonball, the original cartoonist, Akira Toriyama's strength was the driving force. In other words, I was doing my best to follow his great works. During the production of the series, Mr. Toriyama left a large part of the work to me. That was such an honor but was also a lot of pressure for me," says Mr. Nishio. Sometimes people say that characters grow so alive, they seem to start acting autonomously. Is this true? "Sometimes characters do get very alive, but characters do not just begin to act independently and automatically, as the production process is very involved," answers Mr. Nishio.

In addition to the Dragonball series, Mr. Nishio has been involved in the production of Shoot!, Gegege no Kitaro, etc., and is now directing the feature version of The File of Young Kindaichi 2 for its summer vacation 1999 release. "As a director, I need to take the leadership role. It is not an easy task to show a vision to the staff clearly, and share it with them, but this is vital for a successful production," says Mr. Nishio about his duty.

The title "Director, Toei Animation" must be one of the dreams of every animator. What kind of person is he? Mr. Nishio, now in his late 30s, joined Toei Animation in 1981, and now has a career spanning 18 years at the studio. Graduating from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto with a BA in economics, Mr. Nishio had no experience with movie making until he joined Toei. When he was job seeking, one of his friends found out that Toei Animation was recruiting new staff, and Mr. Nishio applied...and was accepted! It was this simple. I asked for his message to his successors. "Life itself is a big subject, and contains a lot of hints for movie-making. Even daily conversations can give you great hints. Challenge a lot of things. Be bold. Then, think carefully how to appeal and show what you can do."

Finally, I asked Mr. Shimizu about his future goals. "This isn't anything extraordinary, but I would like to keep making animations full of dreams, love and hope. Animations you can see with your children, that is. And hopefully, I would like to make an original full-length feature film for the audience all over the world."

Toei's animes are indeed in the soul and blood of many Japanese people. Children of today grow up with Toei's animes, and so have their parents, and even their grandparents. I hope Toei will keep producing animations to give dreams to the many children of the world, and to those who once were children.

Mayumi Tachikawa is a manager in the corporate planning department of Kyoto Research Park in Japan.


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