|
Anime Central - Day Three - Chiho Saito
|
| |
 |
Walk through the halls of anime conventions, and you can see that there
are many fans who make costumes based on the characters from Revolutionary
Girl Utena. Chiho Saito designed those uniforms and drew the manga version
of the series, and has had two opportunities to see fans in Utena costumes
at U.S. conventions. She likes what she sees. "I was pleased to see how
my characters were being received," said Saito. When I see an exceptionally
beautiful costume, I have my picture taken with them." |
|
| |
| Saito designed those costumes on the directions of Utena's director,
Kunihiko Ikuhara, who wanted uniforms with simple lines which would be
easy to animate and "show beauty in each line." She drew upon 18th century
and 19th century French military uniforms as her inspiration for the look
of the Utena characters. "I would like to dress like this but I don't think
it would fit me. Your legs would have to be really beautiful to wear this,"
she said. |
 |
|
| |
 |
If you were confused by the complexities of Utena's universe (most
of which has not yet been seen in North America), Saito knows how you feel.
"There were some metaphors in the TV series that I didn't understand. When
I saw the movie, I understood them. The directors were using a lot of imagination."
Saito noted that there were "many layers of development" in the making
of the Utena story. |
|
| |
| Saito was a large part of Utena's production, but it was a team effort
of producers and directors which took months of pre-production and scripting
before the first cel was painted. By contrast, Saito is used to the nearly-solitary
work of the manga artist, punctuated by unyielding deadlines. With the
Utena series completed, Saito has gone back to manga drawing, taking her
story ideas from movies and from the lives of their friends. |
 |
|
