Can Japan's anime production system be changed? Toshiyuki Inoue, Kiyotaka Oshiyama, and Takashi Kojima engage in heated debate at 'ANIME FANTASISTA JAPAN 2024'
At '
Anime Fantasista Japan 2024
https://anime-fantasista-japan.jp/
From left, moderators at the event: Koji Takase, Kiyotaka Oshiyama, Takashi Kojima, and Toshiyuki Inoue.
◆ Kojima's speed at work
The three who appeared at this event have worked together on the TV anime 'Flip Flappers,' which aired in 2016, and the animated film 'Look Back,' which will be released on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Inoue first became aware of Kojima's name during the 'solo animator' episode of the TV anime '
'Your Lie in April' 3rd trailer - YouTube
According to Inoue, 'solo animators,' who draw all the key animation for one episode, used to be quite common, but around Inoue's generation, the density of images and movements increased, making it difficult for one person to draw an entire episode.
Kojima said he ran for the position because he wanted to 'try doing it solo just once,' and that he was inspired by Tetsuya Takeuchi 's solo illustrations of ' Honey and Clover .'
The entire work took 'four months, including retakes,' and Inoue was amazed at the speed, saying, 'It's almost superhuman.' Inoue is also known as a skilled animator, but he said, 'If I could draw half a part in a month, I'd be a full-fledged animator, but I couldn't.' He praised Kojima for achieving the density of pictures and movements in 'Your Lie in April' as a 'solo animator,' even though it was difficult to achieve that level of density in the 80s. Kojima also said that he was helped by director Ishihama Masashi, who 'kept the flow going without stopping.'
Oshiyama Kiyotaka, who has experience as a solo artist, commented that his own drawings 'don't have a high level of precision in the lines,' and said that because it's easy to use an eraser in a digital environment, he is able to 'draw and erase' quickly, which ultimately allows him to improve his work more quickly.
On the other hand, Inoue, who I once had the opportunity to peer at while working on 'Dennou Coil' because I was sitting at the desk behind him, said, 'His lines are slow, but he draws them with a minimum of effort, so he's fast.' Inoue also admitted, 'It doesn't look fast, but he makes it fast by reducing waste.'
Oshiyama also praised Kojima's drawings, saying, 'When I draw my own drawings, they end up looking rushed and I'm trying really hard, but it's amazing that Kojima doesn't do that,' and 'He's fast and precise.' Furthermore, Kojima does this using software called
◆The original animation of 'Look Back' uses the lines of the original drawing as is
The animated film 'Look Back,' based on the manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, was directed by Oshiyama and incorporated a system called 'original animation,' in which the original drawings are used directly as animation.
According to Inoue, the revisions made by Director Oshiyama early on gave the impression that the film would not be very realistic, and he thought, 'Is that the rough feel?' However, in the second half, perhaps because Oshiyama got into it, the film took on a more realistic and solid feel.
Oshiyama commented that in the early stages of production, there were no other staff members and it was just the two of them, with Inoue working alone, so Inoue's drawings became the standard of judgment and the quality level rose. He also said that his own skills may have honed as he continued to draw the original drawings.
By the way, Oshiyama drew 1,000 original frames in one week for 44 cuts, including Fujino's skipping scene, the scene at his desk, and the youthful scenes of Fujino and Kyomoto. Kojima was speechless, saying, 'It's beyond human understanding.'
◆Ideal production system
According to Inoue, apart from cases where the Japanese way of doing things is followed, overseas there are no animation directors in the sense of 'someone who corrects the drawings of the key animator', and the practice of the animation director correcting the pictures and movements drawn by the key animator is a uniquely Japanese way of making things.
In some Western works, the main staff creates 'key poses' at the layout stage, which are simple rough sketches that are fewer in number than the key drawings. The animator then draws based on these layouts and key poses, which allows for a sense of unity in the images and movements.
After looking at works such as ' The Legend of Hei ' and ' Long Way North, ' Inoue said he believed that 'this would not have been possible by simply making partial edits to the original artwork.'
Inoue said that it takes time for a chief animation director to revise key drawings and that it is a waste of money, and that he believes it is necessary to introduce this Western-style production system into Japanese productions as well.
In response to Inoue's argument, Oshiyama argued that 'it would be difficult to gather enough talented staff to make that happen,' and stated that while it would be possible to leave it to an animator like Inoue if he was available on-site, that's not the case everywhere, so each site has no choice but to find the optimal solution, and ideally, he said, there's no point in production companies fighting over talent, so the only solution would be to 'extend the production period.'
While Inoue agreed with Oshiyama that it was difficult to gather the main staff to draw the layouts, he still seemed to be thinking about whether there was any way to change the current way of doing things.
The book ' Inoue Toshiyuki's Drawing Fun ' also includes footage of Inoue exchanging opinions with famous animators about the production system.
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