| Katsucon Saturday -
Ryo Ramiya and Hiroyuki Utatane |
| |
|
|
 |
|
At Anime Expo in 1999, fans met the husband
and wife artistic team that created the Sailor Moon TV show. At Katsucon
fans greeted Ryo Ramiya (left) and Hiroyuki Utatane (right), who sometimes
work on the same projects, but mostly have separate careers. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
"You have to write what people want," Utatane said
on Saturday during his Katsucon panel appearance. "You have to get their
attention." For Utatane, that attention in the U.S. comes mostly from his
erotic works such as Countdown and Temptation, with Seraphic Panther on
the way. Keeping erotica original isn't as easy as it looks, and Utatane
admits he spends a lot of time thinking up fresh ways to tell sexy stories.
"There's only so many ways you can show the human body that look really
nice. It's up to the story line to make it seem different." On top of that,
Utatane has to deal with Japanese censorship procedures which discourage
the display of genitalia. His art tend to hide the private parts, adding
that "In Japan, it's more erotic if you can't see that kind of stuff." |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Ramiya draws erotic pinups, but she likes to collect
more girlish things - like merchandise from the Powerpuff Girls. Would
you believe she has a Bubbles watch? Her enjoyment of Sailor Moon led Ramiya
to draw a Sailor Moon fanzine once. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Do American anime fans seem strange to you? Utatane
tells the story of a Japanese girl who, when asked what she would do if
she had one month to live, replied that she would kill Utatane "because
she wouldn't be able to read any more of his stories." |
