- Hideaki Anno talks about the appeal of "Mobile Suit Gundam" and the importance of original drawings.
Aug 01, 2013
This is the final part of the interview.
https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20130801-gft/images/011l.jpg
Anno has already pre-ordered the Blu-ray box of "Mobile Suit Gundam".
Advantages of hand-drawn, advantages of CGI
Hikawa: But that doesn't mean you want to use CGI, does it?
Anno: CGI has its own advantages. Hand-drawn images have their own merits, and we use them in different ways. The aerial battleship in EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO. cannot be done by hand. If you can't do something without CGI, you should do it with CGI. I think that all the mecha should be done in CGI over time. Everything except mecha should be hand-drawn.
But the number of good animators is relatively decreasing nowadays. The momentum of the 70's and the amazing evolution of the 80's were followed by the stagnation of the 90's and beyond for almost 20 years. The level of expression in animation itself has improved, though.
Hikawa: So, Anno-san edited Yasuhiko-san's original drawings, and the book came out.
Anno: It's nice to go back almost 30 years and look at the origin. Something close to the origin. I want people who are currently working and those who want to become animators to have this book.
Hikawa: Mr. Yasuhiko also draws illustrations and cartoons, but I think the true Gundam that he drew can only be found in his original drawings.
Anno: Yasuhiko's original drawings are really cool. I didn't know they could be so cool.
The movement of the Gundam in "Gundam the Movie III" has a wonderful sense of weight and gravity, which is hard to find in other "Gundams". The timing of the walk and the return to normal from the slow speed when fighting the Gelgoog is very pleasing. The way he slashes away, or the way he stabs. It's actually a gamble (laughs).
Hikawa: (In the movie version) it was redrawn as a Gelgoog (laughs).
Anno: The way he dodges the strike and then highlights it when it goes for his ear is really great. Yasuhiko-san was able to trace the human movements onto the mobile suits. It's good that the mobile suits move like humans.
Hikawa: The character of the person in the suit is expressed in the armor, isn't it?
・・・
Some people may think it's strange that a mobile suit can move like a person, even though it's a mecha.
There are probably many people who prefer the more mechanical designs and mechanical movements of the current plastic models.
However, I dare to say this.
One of the reasons why "robot anime" has fallen out of the mainstream of the animation industry is the loss of character.
In the so-called last shooting scene, Amuro was not on the Gundam.
Even so, the fact that we have a special feeling for that scene is proof that Gundam, a robot depicted as a weapon, was at the same time an irreplaceable character.
・・・
Eye contact, misalignment, and CGI.
Hikawa: I'd like to talk about the characters' eyes. How about Char's eyes when he and Amuro are fighting in the last episode?
Anno: The eyes are the lifeblood of a character. Not only the characters, but also the eyes of the Gundams drawn by Yasuhiko-san are very good, aren't they? Zaku also has good eyes. The single eye angle. The eyes are drawn with great care.
I can always tell where the characters are looking when Yasuhiko-san draws them. Char is wearing a mask, but you can tell where he is looking. Gundam's eyes don't move, but the eaves make it possible to get a line of sight.
Hikawa: (Looking at the original Gundam drawing) The eyes are a little off, aren't they?
Anno: Yes, it's drawn by shifting it.
That's how the line of sight is created.
With CGI, this kind of shifting and line of sight is quite difficult to achieve.
Hikawa: Why do you think that happens?
Anno: It's because of the way the hand shifts slightly, and since CGI doesn't shift slightly, I have to force it to shift slightly.
Hikawa: If you make this composition in CGI and overlap it with Yasuhiko's original drawing, does it shift?
Anno: That's a good gap; it's hard to achieve with CGI.
Hikawa: With CGI, it's very accurate, I see.
Anno: Like a certain space battleship. I would have preferred it to be hand-drawn (laughs in the audience).
https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20130801-gft/images/012l.jpg
・・・
It is a fact that with the rise of the new CGI technology, the demand for hand-drawn animation is also decreasing.
However, I don't think that animation can continue without hand-drawing. If we don't do something to preserve the techniques, we may end up in a dead end.
Such fears can be seen in Anno's talk. It may be easy for those of us on the viewing side, but I think it is a very serious matter for those on the frontlines.
・・・
<Original JP site: https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20130801-gft/6>
おわり