Mahiro Maeda -
Anime
Convention Personality of the Week - February 24, 2008
Few animated series have
had the visual impact of Gankutsuou - Count of Monte Cristo.
From costume designs by Anna Sui to unique texture mapping and intense
use of three-dimensional backgrounds, Gankutsuou was as much a
treat for the eyes as its story was fascinating to follow. Holding all
of this together was director Mahiro Maeda, no stranger to the idea of
long and epic stories. While he had handled some designs for series
such as Evangelion, Maeda first came to the attention of
English-speaking fans through his direction of Blue Submarine No. 6,
the animated adaptation of Satoru Ozawa's manga. That four-episode
series, with its unusual balance of characters and conflict, caught the
attention of viewers around the world, especially those who saw the
series on the Cartoon Network. There are echoes of the conflict between
Blue Submarine's characters in Gankutsuou,
which also has viewers wondering who is a hero or a villain until the
end. However, Maeda's talents were really put to the test when he was
selected as one of the directors who created a brief animated film for
the Genius Party anthology. Used to large projects with large
amounts of time to establish and build a story, Maeda had only a
fraction of that to tell his Genius Party tale. "For me, it was
challenging to work on
a short film," Maeda said at the film's U.S. debut. "When the time is
so limited, you are not allowed anything
unnecessary or allowed any mistakes."
Few animated series have
had the visual impact of Gankutsuou - Count of Monte Cristo.
From costume designs by Anna Sui to unique texture mapping and intense
use of three-dimensional backgrounds, Gankutsuou was as much a
treat for the eyes as its story was fascinating to follow. Holding all
of this together was director Mahiro Maeda, no stranger to the idea of
long and epic stories. While he had handled some designs for series
such as Evangelion, Maeda first came to the attention of
English-speaking fans through his direction of Blue Submarine No. 6,
the animated adaptation of Satoru Ozawa's manga. That four-episode
series, with its unusual balance of characters and conflict, caught the
attention of viewers around the world, especially those who saw the
series on the Cartoon Network. There are echoes of the conflict between
Blue Submarine's characters in Gankutsuou,
which also has viewers wondering who is a hero or a villain until the
end. However, Maeda's talents were really put to the test when he was
selected as one of the directors who created a brief animated film for
the Genius Party anthology. Used to large projects with large
amounts of time to establish and build a story, Maeda had only a
fraction of that to tell his Genius Party tale. "For me, it was
challenging to work on
a short film," Maeda said at the film's U.S. debut. "When the time is
so limited, you are not allowed anything
unnecessary or allowed any mistakes." 