Takeshi
Honda has been part of three of the biggest anime project of the last
few years, and one of the most fun. He worked on Metal Fighter Miku,
the spoof of Japanese women's pro wrestling, then moved on to direct
the animation for Neon Genesis Evangelion and also work on Millennium
Actress and Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. Had Honda not traveled to
Virginia for Katsucon, he would have likely attended the Ghost in the
Shell movie premiere that was scheduled for about the same time, but he
spent the middle of February with anime fans - who were very curious to
learn about his Evangelion work.
Honda
said it wasn't easy to work with director Hideaki Anno on the
Evangelion TV series. "When you deal with Anno as a person, he's just a
strange middle-aged man who has a deep fetish for anime," Honda said to
chuckles from the audience. Some of Anno's tendencies led to Evangelion
production arguments with Honda, he said. Anime series usually are
planned down to the scene before production starts, but Honda said Anno
tossed out much of what had been planned as production continued,
making the animators change things on the fly. "His tendency escalated
as the series went along," Honda said. "At the end of the series he had
to create everything out of nothing - we had to wait for him complete
his plans, and I lost my patience and fought with him." Honda said he
eventually quit speaking to Anno when the crew animated the Evangelion
features, but all of the tension paid off when those films were
released.
Miku
was a fun comedy, Honda recalled, while Millennium Actress was a far
more serious experience, but the newest Ghost in the Shell film had a
far more serious story. "For Millennium Actress the director had very
strict expectations and we had to live up to those expectations. We had
a lot of freedom on Metal Fighter and we had a lot of fun, but I
learned a lot working on Millennium Actress." Fans of the Ghost in the
Shell manga are going to find that the 2004 film is different than the
story in Masamune Shirow's manga, Honda noted. He also said that Mamoru
Oshii, who directed the first Ghost in the Shell film, had a larger
role in the second movie than had been expected.
Takeshi
Honda has been part of three of the biggest anime project of the last
few years, and one of the most fun. He worked on Metal Fighter Miku,
the spoof of Japanese women's pro wrestling, then moved on to direct
the animation for Neon Genesis Evangelion and also work on Millennium
Actress and Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. Had Honda not traveled to
Virginia for Katsucon, he would have likely attended the Ghost in the
Shell movie premiere that was scheduled for about the same time, but he
spent the middle of February with anime fans - who were very curious to
learn about his Evangelion work.
Honda
said it wasn't easy to work with director Hideaki Anno on the
Evangelion TV series. "When you deal with Anno as a person, he's just a
strange middle-aged man who has a deep fetish for anime," Honda said to
chuckles from the audience. Some of Anno's tendencies led to Evangelion
production arguments with Honda, he said. Anime series usually are
planned down to the scene before production starts, but Honda said Anno
tossed out much of what had been planned as production continued,
making the animators change things on the fly. "His tendency escalated
as the series went along," Honda said. "At the end of the series he had
to create everything out of nothing - we had to wait for him complete
his plans, and I lost my patience and fought with him." Honda said he
eventually quit speaking to Anno when the crew animated the Evangelion
features, but all of the tension paid off when those films were
released.
Miku
was a fun comedy, Honda recalled, while Millennium Actress was a far
more serious experience, but the newest Ghost in the Shell film had a
far more serious story. "For Millennium Actress the director had very
strict expectations and we had to live up to those expectations. We had
a lot of freedom on Metal Fighter and we had a lot of fun, but I
learned a lot working on Millennium Actress." Fans of the Ghost in the
Shell manga are going to find that the 2004 film is different than the
story in Masamune Shirow's manga, Honda noted. He also said that Mamoru
Oshii, who directed the first Ghost in the Shell film, had a larger
role in the second movie than had been expected.
