 Takayuki Goto
is modest about his position at Production I.G., but it's hard to ignore
that his last name is the "G" in the anime production company's name. And
he has an impressive list of production credits as an animator and character
designer, including Please Save My Earth, Video Girl Ai and Kimagure Orange
Road. I.G. and the rest of the anime industry pump out episodes for 30-40
shows a year, and while it seems like every major anime has come to North
America in recent years, Goto said that only a handful of the available
titles cross the Pacific. |
 The eyes of
the experienced artist - and the seasoned fan - can pick out the subtle
differences in character design in a series' episodes as animation directors
change. "When you reach the point that you can say `There's a different
animator on this show,' you have reached the stage of animation otaku,"
said Goto. Beyond the character designs come the art of creating the illusion
of movement through still drawings. "It's trial and error," Goto said.
"I'll do test animation and if it works, great. If it doesn't, you learn
from that mistake." He admitted that animators have been known to copy
each others' techniques, but they also have to learn how to improve on
what their competition has done. |
 No one's getting
rich on the production side of the anime business, Goto noted. Studios
get $80,000-$100,000 to produce a half-hour episide, of which around $2
is left for each cel that is produced. And studios now use 3,000 cels for
30 minutes where once they used 5,000. With those finances, it's no surprise
that half of I.G.'s output is the opening animation and cut scenes for
video games, with the rest going into anime shows and movies. |
