- Hideaki Anno talks about the appeal of "Mobile Suit Gundam" and the importance of original drawings.
Aug 01, 2013
This is the 5th part of the interview.
https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20130801-gft/images/009l.jpg
Drawing a Gundam cannot be the same speed as drawing a Nu Gundam.
What inspired Hideaki Anno to become an animator?
Anno: I helped Mr. Itano with his work when I was a student, and at that time he showed me the original and revised drawings of "Gundam" by Yasuhiko.
Also, when I learned about the existence of timing instructions for original drawings for animation, I thought I would like to do something like this myself.
I was a university student at the time, but I thought, "I have to do this now, I want to learn.
The original drawings for "Gundam" really encouraged that feeling.
If I hadn't met Mr. Itano, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I first met Mr. Itano, and then Mr. Miya (Hayao Miyazaki).
I'm the only person in the world who has met the combination of these two people (laughs).
Hikawa: It's very encouraging to hear Mr. Anno, who has been guided by such amazing people, say that the charm of animation lies in the original drawings.
Anno: I think the essence of animation is in the drawings.
There are many things other than the pictures, but the pictures are a big part of it.
If the first episode of "Gundam" hadn't been drawn by Yasuhiko-san, it wouldn't have been as successful as it was.
Hikawa: It may be an exaggeration to say that it's perfect even now, but it seems that everything he wanted to do was captured in the animation.
Anno: The very lucky thing about the first episode of "Gundam" is that Yasuhiko-san did all the original drawings and revisions based on Tomino-san's storyboards.
If someone else had done it, it wouldn't have been as good. It's very likely that "Gundam" would have ended with Tomino's storyboard was not bad, but the anime was not so good.".
That's how great Yasuhiko's achievement is.
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The reason why Mr. Anno says so much is because of this precedent.
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Hikawa: "Invincible Super Man Zambot 3(*1)" didn't have an animation director.
*1) A Super Robot anime series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Yoshitake Suzuki, featuring character design by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and produced by Sunrise. It was first broadcast on Japanese TV in 1977.
Anno: "Zambot" was awful! (laughter in the hall)
Anno: I stopped watching "Zambot" halfway through because the drawings were so terrible. I couldn't wait to see the episode where Mr. Kaneda did the original drawings (which was about once every four episodes). I couldn't wait to see Kaneda-san's episode (it was about o. 4 times) where he did the original art, but I started watching it when it became about the human bomb.
It's such a shame the drawing for the King Beal gets combined! I wish the drawing was better. I was a high school student at the time, but I wanted to fix it myself.
Hikawa: You wanted to make some corrections (laughs).
Anno: That's how bad it was. The opening and ending were corrected by Yasuhiko-san, so it was fine.
Hikawa: I heard that the bank of the drawings for combining scenes in "Zambot 3" was drawn by Tomino-san.
Anno: I heard that the original drawings were so terrible that he fixed them himself. "Space Runaway Ideon" is also terrible at times.
Hikawa: If you say that, even the TV version of "Gundam" was terrible at times.
Anno: "Gundam" is just barely safe. I stopped watching "Ideon" halfway through because it was so bad. I was turned back again when Mr. Abade died.
Hikawa: It seems that Mr. Kogawa (character designer) was also fixing a lot of things even when he was not in charge.
Anno: Yes, there are some good cuts here and there. When I really want to fix something, I do it. I did it with "Nadia". I took a can of coffee and asked, "Can you fix this one for me?". I couldn't pay for it, so I just asked him to do it from my heart.
The animation director was there, so it was taboo to make any more changes than he had made. Of course, he didn't get paid in that case, so I paid him out of my own pocket. I think this is unavoidable in the production of anime.
Hikawa: Yasuhiko-san looked at the storyboard and checked all the parts that he thought would be the most important parts and made changes. Like Miharu's episode.
Anno: A lot of work went into that episode. In animation, the power of drawings is very important. You have to look at the storyboard and create a picture based on the director's image.
If something didn't fit his image, Miya-san would redraw it himself. When he was young, he did most of the drawings himself. When I worked on "Nausicaa," he did most of the redrawing for me. He drew almost all day long. He put down the original drawings done by other people and drew on top of them himself. Almost everything (laughs).
Hikawa: He's very quick. Yasuhiko-san is fast, too.
Anno: Miya-san is fast too. In today's anime scene, there are some people who really have speed and quality.
Honda (2), who was the general supervisor on "EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO.", and Inoue (3), who joined us as an assistant supervisor, both produce high quality work at a very fast pace. However, the amount of lines used for drawing is different from the time of "Gundam", so drawing Gundam and NU GUNDAM cannot be done at the same speed.
*2) Mr. Yu Honda, in terms of "Gundam", participated in 0080 and 0083 as an original drawing artist.
*3) Mr. Toshiyuki Inoue, one of the animators who insists on original drawings. He has participated in many famous theatrical animations such as "The Witch's Delivery Service", "AKIRA", "Steamboy", "Innocence", and "Wolf Children: Rain and Snow".
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It is not possible to compare the past and present in terms of simple monthly production numbers.
However, it is a fact that animators are required to work fast, and this has not changed.
Even if I were told that I would get good at drawing 700 to 900 pictures a month, it would be a dizzying figure for me who cannot draw well.
Only those who don't find it so hard to draw can grow up to be animators, which is an unbelievable world.
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<Original JP site: https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20130801-gft/5>