●SIGNATURE● 30T

Katsuhiro Otomo made a hand drawn T-shirt for the 30T (thirtee) event organized by Hisashi Eguchi (江口寿史) where 30 artist where invited to create unique T-shirts that were auctioned.

●TALK● OTOMO KATSUHIRO GENGA-TEN「大友克洋GENGA展」

Katsuhiro Otomo has joined Katsuya Terada (寺田克也) , Isami Nakagawa (中川いさみ) and  Hisashi Eguchi (江口寿史)  in Nihon Sakeya (にほん酒や) a bar located in Kichijoji in a 2 hour and 40 min talk, commemorating the Genga-ten exhibition that will open it's doors on April 4, 2012. The talk was originally streamed live in Ustream.

●ANIMATION FILM● SPRIGGAN (スプリガン)

SPRIGGAN (スプリガン) was released today in Japanese theaters. Katsuhiro Otomo has been in charge of the Screen Story Structure and the design of Noah's Ark in this last animation film directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki (川崎博嗣). The movie is based on a homonym manga written by Hiroshi Takashige (たかしげ 宙) and illustrated by Ryōji Minagawa (皆川 亮二) that was published by SHOGAKUKAN (小学館) in Japan from 1989 to 1996. The films promotional poster was illustrated by Otomo himself and the illustration is included in the page 35 of his artbook KABA2. 

Official site:

http://www.studio4c.co.jp/works/spriggan/

FILM CREDITS

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Directed by

Hirotsugu Kawasaki (川崎 博嗣)

Script:

Hirotsugu Kawasaki (川崎 博嗣)

Yasutaka Ito (伊藤 康隆)

Storyboard: 

Hirotsugu Kawasaki (川崎 博嗣)

Music: Kuniaki Haishima (蓜島 邦明)

Original creator:

Hiroshi Takashige (たかしげ 宙)

Ryoji Minagawa (皆川 亮二)

Character Design: 

Hisashi Eguchi (江口 寿志)

Art Director: 

Mutsuo Koseki (小関 睦夫)

Animation Director:

Hisashi Eguchi (江口 寿志)

Katsumi Matsuda (松田 勝巳)

Masaaki Endou (遠藤 正明)

Tetsuya Kumagai (熊谷 哲矢)

Yasuyuki Shimizu (清水 保行)

Screen Story Structure & Noah's Ark Design: 

Katsuhiro Otomo

Mechanical design:

Kimitoshi Yamane (山根 公利)

CGI Director: 

Akiko Saito (齋藤 亜紀子)

Director of Photography: 

Hisao Shirai

Color setting: 

Hisami Akiyama

Gun Designs: 

Tensai Okamura (岡村 天斎)

Mechanical animation Director: 

Masahito Yamashita

Setting: 

Yasumitsu Suetake (末武 康光)

Production manager: 

Yasushi Takahashi

Animation Association:

F.A.I International

Production:

Bandai Visual (バンダイビジュアル)

Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (小学館集英社プロダクション)

Tokyo Broadcasting System

TOHO (東宝株式会社)

Production Studio: Studio 4°C

Spriggan Committee (スプリガン製作委員会)

●ANIMATION FILM● PERFECT BLUE (パーフェクトブルー)

PERFECT BLUE was released today theatrically in Japan. Katsuhiro Otomo collaborated in the planning stage of this animation film directed by Satoshi Kon (今 敏). The movie is based on the novel PERFECT BLUE: COMPLETE METAMORPHOSIS (パーフェクト・ブルー　完全変態) written by Yoshikazu Takeuchi (竹内 義和).

FILM CREDITS

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Directed by

Satoshi Kon (今 敏)

Script:

Sadayuki Murai (村井 さだゆき)

Music:

Masahiro Ikumi (磯見 雅博)

Original Character Design:

Hisashi Eguchi (江口 寿史)

Character Design:

Hideki Hamasu (濱洲 英喜)

Satoshi Kon (今 敏)

Art Director:

Nobutaka Ike (池 信孝)

Animation Director: 

Hideki Hamasu (濱洲 英喜)

Original Novel: 

Yoshikazu Takeuchi (竹内 義和)

Sound Director: 

Masafumi Mima (三間 雅文)

Director of Photography: 

Hisao Shirai (白井 久男)

Color design: 

Ken Hashimoto (橋本 賢)

Editing: 

Harutoshi Ogata (尾形 治敏)

Planning:

Koichi Okamoto

Yoshikazu Takeuchi (竹内 義和)

Planning Assistant:

Atsushi Naito 

Katsuhiro Otomo

Toshio Higuchi

General Producer: 

Takeshi Kitano (武 北野) (as Takeshi Washitani)

Animation Production:

MADHOUSE (マッドハウス)

Oniro

Background Art: 

Team's Art (ティームズアート)

Special effects:

Visual Workshop (ビジュアルワークショップ)

CGI Assistance:

Animation Staff Room

D・Shop

Imagica (イマジカ)

Marcus

Satelight (サテライト)

Distribution Assistance: 

City Publishing

Production & Distributor: 

Rex Entertainment

Photography: 

Studio Cosmos (スタジオコスモス)

Film Developing: 

Tokyo Laboratory (東京現像所)

In-Between Animation & Paint:

Dr. Movie

Kyung Kang ANIA (京江ANIA)

Ligthwork & Titles: 

Maki Production (マキ・プロダクション)

Music Production: 

iNoks Records

Recording Studio: 

Aoi Studio (アオイスタジオ)

Sound Effects: 

Sound Box (サウンドボックス)

Sound Production: 

Techno Sound (テクノサウンド)

Planning: 

Double Max

●TALK● KATSUHIRO OTOMO vs. HISASHI EGUCHI

A 4 page talk between Katsuhiro Otomo (大友克洋) and Hisashi Eguchi (江口 寿史) has been pubished in this week's Japanese Playboy (週刊プレイボーイ) magazine. Hisashi Eguchi recently collaborated as character designer in the animation film Roujin Z in which Otomo created the script

MAGAZINE DETAILS

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Weekly Playboy No.39

(週刊プレイボーイNo.39)

Publisher: Shueisha (集英社)
Release date: 1991-IX-24
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: 266
Size: B5
Retail price: ¥250

●ANIMATION FILM● ROUJIN Z (老人Z)

Roujin Z (老人Z) was released theatrically today in Japan. This animation movie directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo (北久保 弘之) was is an original story by Katsuhiro Otomo (大友 克洋) who was as well in charge of the script and the mechanical designs that featured in the movie. Those designs are collected in the pages 110 to 115 of the art book KABA 2. The story was also adapted to manga with the title ZeD.

FILM CREDITS:

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Directed by

Hiroyuki Kitakubo (北久保 弘之)

Written by

Katsuhiro Otomo

Storyboard:

Hiroyuki Kitakubo (北久保 弘之)

Tatsuyuki Tanaka (田中 達之)

Toshiaki Hontani (本谷 利明)

Music

Bun Itakura (板倉 文)

Character Design

Hisashi Eguchi (江口 寿史)

Art Director

Hiroshi Sasaki (佐々木 洋)

Animation Director

Fumio Iida (飯田 史雄)

Mechanical design:

Katsuhiro Otomo (大友 克洋)

Mitsuo Iso (磯 光雄)

Art design:

Satoshi Kon (今 敏)

Director of Photography: 

Hideo Okazaki (岡崎 英夫)

Layout:

Hiroyuki Okiura (沖浦 啓之)

Kazuya Tsurumaki (鶴巻 和哉)

Planning:

Kazufumi Nomura (野村 和史)

Masaki Sawanobori (沢登 昌樹)

Mitsuhisa Hida (肥田 光久)

Shinichiro Inoue (井上 伸一郎)

Tsukasa Ariyoshi

Producer:

Kazufumi Nomura (野村 和史)

Yasuhisa Kazama (風間 康久)

Animation Assistance:
AIC
Ashi Productions (葦プロダクション)
Aubeck (アウベック)
DAST
Magic Bus (マジックバス)

Animation Production: 
A.P.P.P.

Finish Animation: 
Hana Pro

Photography:
IMG

Production:
MOVIC (ムービック)
Sony Music Entertainment (ソニー・ミュージックエンタテインメント)
Studio A.P.P.P.
The Television
Tokyo Theater
TV Asahi (テレビ朝日)

●TALK● CONVERSATION with HISASHI EGUCHI

Manga artist and illustraton Hisashi Eguchi (江口 寿史) had a conversation with Katsuhiro Otomo that was published in Monthly Bears Club (月刊ベアーズクラブ) magazine in august 1990 and was later reprinted in the book THIS IS ROCK!!  that collects articles by Hisashi Eguchi from that period.

BOOK DETAILS

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Publisher: Kadokawa (角川書店)
Release date: 1994-VI-1
Language: Japanese
Number of pages: 231
Size: 21 x 15 cm
Retail price: ¥950
ISBN-10: 4048524844
ISBN-13: 978-4048524841



AVAILABILITY

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Amazon JP: http://amzn.to/29lx5TT
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/29nHNL5
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/29b8VYp
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/29mayaB
Amazon DE: http://amzn.to/29maw2p
Amazon FR: http://amzn.to/29ma18R
Amazon IT: -
Amazon ES: -

CONVERSATION EXCERPT 1

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Otomo: People overseas know a lot about Japan.  I think that makes them fans.  They make magazines, special reports on Japanese mangaka, topics on HOKUTO NO KEN (北斗の拳) and so on.

Eguchi: Really?  Not pirated copies?

Otomo: Not pirated copies.  No, actually I don't know.  Maybe they don't know Shueisha there (laughs).

Eguchi: That wouldn't be terrible.  (laughs).  I heard they got a lot of our anime.

Otomo: In London, there's a famous comic book store called Forbidden Planet.  When you go there they have a manga corner.  They have Animage Newtype and so on.  Lots of people there watch Japanese stuff.

Eguchi: French children believe that CANDY CAND (キャンディ・キャンディ) is a manga from their own country, and if a Japanese child were to tell them that it was from Japan, they would be bullied.  "What are you talking about, idiot?"

Otomo: Yes.  Dragon Ball is going strong there.  They say the market share is 60%.

Eguchi: It's amazing.  I wonder if people here know that.

Otomo: I think it's only in Japan that people don't know about it.

Eguchi: YAMATO (ヤマト) and CAPTAIN HARLOCK (キャプテン・ハーロック), etc., everyone wants to see Japanese things and the Japanese completely ignore it. I heard you surprised your people there when you told them you were drawing 40 pages a month.  (laughs).

Otomo: Yes, yes.  Over there, it's more like four boards a month.

Eguchi: How can you live with that?  The cost per board is too high?

Otomo: No doubt.

Eguchi: Is comics recognized as an artistic field?

Otomo: Yes, yes.  You know Enki Bilal?  He wins prizes and receives money from the government.  In other words, organizations like the French Agency for Cultural Affairs provide money.  Unlike the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs, which gives money to manga at large.  We are talking here about a very anarchic story of Bilal.  It's not like they give grants to Doraemon, they give money to something really cutting edge, which is totally different from the situation in Japan.  Everyone has a sense of pride there.  It has nothing to do.

CONVERSATION EXCERPT 2

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Eguchi: Now this'd be a perfect opportunity to plug Rojin Z, don't you reckon (laughs)?

Otomo: Rojin Z (laughs)? Could you perhaps explain a bit more for our readers' benefit?

Eguchi: It's your new original animated video. You wrote the script, and I did the character design.

Otomo: As far as OAV (Original Animation Video)s go, I think this one's been made in quite an unusual way. That is to say, writer-led, if you like. Generally a proposal arrives from somewhere, and you have to come up with the goods accordingly. In this case the director and I also came up with the proposal, and the funds. It's not often that the makers get to make the thing they want.

Eguchi: The concept for the story is also totally different to most anime these days, isn't it?

Otomo: Completely.

Eguchi: Which is what makes it so interesting. Plus it feels like one of your short stories from way back, with its own unconventional sort of humor. Word has it it's about an elderly bedridden man?

Otomo: Well, I wouldn't class it as social comment. Ultimately it is really just a robot anime.

Eguchi: But for you, the animating comes first and foremost, right, the desire to make your own visuals move?

Otomo: Well, I was always mad about movies. So I guess over time I've ended up taking a movie sort of approach to what I do.

Eguchi: So is it about making something that you're 100% satisfied with? More than in the case of manga?

Otomo: ... Hmm, that's a bit of a tricky question actually.

Eguchi: Tricky.

Otomo: Yes. tricky.

Eguchi: Different, isn't it?

Otomo: You have to think of them as different. If you thought of them as the same, you'd have no choice but to do the whole thing by yourself. That is, it'd end up being private animation of the sort you often strike in Europe. But that's not what I'm aiming for. If that's the aim, even with manga. you might as well publish in Garo. It's that sort of world, for the most part. If you treat them the same.

Eguchi: Well, come to think of it, I suppose it's precisely because they were different that even Osamu Tezuka dld both (manga and anime) right to the very end.

Otomo: Exactly. There's something isn't there, about contributing to that kind of culture. A desire to utilize the animators, that kind of thing. The urge, instead of doing things the way you want to yourself, to pull that whole community up with you. You have to think that way, or you can't do it.