 Even the
most popular manga characters need to be redesigned for animation. The
detailed lines that make manga characters so popular and vibrant must be
simplified so they can be reduced to cel form without long delays in drawing
details. The anime industry typically hires artists to handle this character
design work, and Atsuko Nakajima has gotten some of the best design jobs.
She redrew the characters for the animated Moldiver, You're Under Arrest
and Ranma 1/2, among other series. |
 The Ranma
1/2 series provided Nakajima with her first - and favorite - character
design work. "It was one of the longest-running shows I worked on, and
that made a lasting impression," she said. And "Once I finish designing
one character, that leads to ideas for another character - I never get
stuck that way," said Nakajima. The audience at the panel discussion was
asked if they preferred the more-realistic look of the 1990's anime shows
or the appearance of the Ranma 1/2 characters, and they fans showed that
they preferred the look of the Ranma characters. That pleased Nakajima,
who said about Ranma, "That was a fun show to work on." |
 One fan
asked Nakajima if she ever got tired of her job. "I don't get bored with
work, although I'd like to work on a different show every once in a while.
I never dislike my characters," she said. However, Nakajima acknowledged
that she does get more pleasure out of making her own paintings than in
setting up character designs that will be drawn and colored by other artists.
"Since I have full control of the watercolor medium, I like that the best,"
she said, adding that she sometimes is less than overwhelmed by the animation
cels that are produced from her character designs. |
