Hiroshi Nagahama, Akitaroh Daichi and Yoshihiko Umakoshi
2004
Here's
an intriguing trio of artists and animators, full of observations and
ideas. From left to right they're Hiroshi Nagahama, who designed the
Jubei-chan characters and worked on the Utena movie; Akitaroh Daichi,
director of Jubei-chan and the Child's Toy series which is expected to
get a U.S. release in the coming months; and Yoshihiko Umakoshi,
well-known for designing the Marmalade Boy characters. Together, they
have nearly a half-century's experience in the anime industry, so their
chatter about their series and the way they're created are welcome
revelation for fans.
Daichi
was the director of the Grrl Power series to be released by ADV Films,
the story of a trio of little girls who run their own business. Among a
collection of series with teenaged protagonists, Grrl Power takes the
anime youth movement in new directions by making the lead characters
fifth-grade girls (and one of them communicates only in sign language).
"They live in a seaside town in Japan, it's in sort of a south seas
setting," Daichi explained. "The girls are orphans and they try to be
independent by taking on jobs." But why are these characters so young
and independent? "Children can't control this world - it's a difficult
enough world for adults. The adults who are supposed to help the
children don't. I'm trying to show how these girls can go the right way
and stay independent and positive, and use this to keep going. I'm
trying to show how children can survive - not in a serious way but in a
very light and positive way." The original title for the show, by the
way, means "You want to leave it up to us?" when translated into
English.
The
Grrl Power show and many others where females are the heroes leads to a
question: why there are so many strong female characters in anime,
especially since those shows come from a mostly-male industry?
"That's a difficult question," replied Nagahama. "When I create a
strong female character, it seems to create more opportunities for
conflict and strong story lines than it does when I create a strong
male character. For a male character, it seems to be a given that men
are born with a desire to be strong. For women to want to become
strong, it brings up many questions like `why should I become strong?'
It offers a lot more opportunities for drama. Instead of just having
someone who would normally want to become strong, having someone who
might not want that power is interesting. You have stories about
children who gain that power or normal people gaining some sort of huge
power, and that would bring up those same situations. As opposed to
live action, in anime, extremes offer more chances to show visual power
- having a person with big muscles or having someone cute is a contrast
in extremes."
Umakoshi
had a joking reply to the question of strong female characters - "My
opinion is that it's the hidden wishes coming out. They have a wish that
they want to be hit or kicked by a pretty woman." He got into the
business because "I thought if I could draw and make a living, it would
be fun - that was what I wanted to do." Anime character designers often
are re-designers, because they need to rework and simplify an existing
design for animation. While the re-design has its challenges,
especially satisfying an artist who is picky about the animated version
of their characters, Umakoshi said "It's more difficult to work on an
original character. It's easier to work on existing characters as long
as we have the original designs to work from." When Daichi asked
Umakoshi, "Have you ever worked with an evil person who was the
original author, Umakoshi's reply was "Yes I have."
Here's
an intriguing trio of artists and animators, full of observations and
ideas. From left to right they're Hiroshi Nagahama, who designed the
Jubei-chan characters and worked on the Utena movie; Akitaroh Daichi,
director of Jubei-chan and the Child's Toy series which is expected to
get a U.S. release in the coming months; and Yoshihiko Umakoshi,
well-known for designing the Marmalade Boy characters. Together, they
have nearly a half-century's experience in the anime industry, so their
chatter about their series and the way they're created are welcome
revelation for fans.
Daichi
was the director of the Grrl Power series to be released by ADV Films,
the story of a trio of little girls who run their own business. Among a
collection of series with teenaged protagonists, Grrl Power takes the
anime youth movement in new directions by making the lead characters
fifth-grade girls (and one of them communicates only in sign language).
"They live in a seaside town in Japan, it's in sort of a south seas
setting," Daichi explained. "The girls are orphans and they try to be
independent by taking on jobs." But why are these characters so young
and independent? "Children can't control this world - it's a difficult
enough world for adults. The adults who are supposed to help the
children don't. I'm trying to show how these girls can go the right way
and stay independent and positive, and use this to keep going. I'm
trying to show how children can survive - not in a serious way but in a
very light and positive way." The original title for the show, by the
way, means "You want to leave it up to us?" when translated into
English.
The
Grrl Power show and many others where females are the heroes leads to a
question: why there are so many strong female characters in anime,
especially since those shows come from a mostly-male industry?
"That's a difficult question," replied Nagahama. "When I create a
strong female character, it seems to create more opportunities for
conflict and strong story lines than it does when I create a strong
male character. For a male character, it seems to be a given that men
are born with a desire to be strong. For women to want to become
strong, it brings up many questions like `why should I become strong?'
It offers a lot more opportunities for drama. Instead of just having
someone who would normally want to become strong, having someone who
might not want that power is interesting. You have stories about
children who gain that power or normal people gaining some sort of huge
power, and that would bring up those same situations. As opposed to
live action, in anime, extremes offer more chances to show visual power
- having a person with big muscles or having someone cute is a contrast
in extremes."
Umakoshi
had a joking reply to the question of strong female characters - "My
opinion is that it's the hidden wishes coming out. They have a wish that
they want to be hit or kicked by a pretty woman." He got into the
business because "I thought if I could draw and make a living, it would
be fun - that was what I wanted to do." Anime character designers often
are re-designers, because they need to rework and simplify an existing
design for animation. While the re-design has its challenges,
especially satisfying an artist who is picky about the animated version
of their characters, Umakoshi said "It's more difficult to work on an
original character. It's easier to work on existing characters as long
as we have the original designs to work from." When Daichi asked
Umakoshi, "Have you ever worked with an evil person who was the
original author, Umakoshi's reply was "Yes I have."
