After the screening of Combustible, Otomo sat with the animation historian Jerry Beck along with an interpreter for an interview. Here a some fragments from the interview from the original article by Justin Sevakis.
●On where did it start for him, in terms of influences.
"I used to love manga as a kid, and wanted to become a manga artist, and when I was in high school I got into movies as well. But being a director was quite a lofty goal, so I decided to become a manga artist instead. The world of manga, as created by Osamu Tezuka ① in Japan, had its methods rooted in filmmaking, so the two weren't so different. He was able to move onto making films from that point, as well."
●On thematic pattern in his work, of tradition versus new technologies.
"I've tried to present both sides. I like new things -- movies, music, technology and such, but there's value in the past as well, so I try to be even-handed."
●On Combustible ②, is this the sort of image he had of old Japan.
"I really wanted to describe the Edo period in a movie for a long time, but it's not easy to bring the Edo period to a feature film. Hence, this short project."
●On what he said in an earlier conversation that it'd be easy for him to get funding for a new Sci-fi film, but that really isn't what he's interested in.
"Well, sure, but it's not like it'd be easy to get funding to make Sci-fi either. Recently it's become very difficult to make sci-fi films as well. The biggest challenge is that, 20 years ago, no sci-fi had people using cell phones, and now everyone has one. Something so basic to our everyday lives, and we got it wrong. Trying to imagine the future is really tough."
●On what were his influences in making The Order to Stop Construction③.
"It's a long story. It was from a novel originally. It was the first thing I directed, and the project also involved Rintaro ④ and Yoshiaki Kawajiri's ⑤ work as well. At the beginning we discussed picking up the stories from short novels, but the other two ended up changing their minds, so I was the only one left adapting fiction."
●On Akira, if it was an immediate demand to bring it to theaters, even before he were done with the manga.
"Yes, I was asked to make it, because at the time there was a huge animation production boom. During the manga writing of Akira ⑥, I was asked to make it."
●On if it was it given a bigger budget, or was it special in any other way as a production at the time.
"We had a huge budget. I don't remember how I got so much to work with. (laughs)".
●On of it was it a big hit in Japan as well.
"It wasn't a huge hit, really. That's my opinion, but I don't think it was such a huge hit."
●On what happened afterwards if he had lots of producers knocking on his door.
"I had quite a few offers, but I had my own list of things I wanted to do. I wanted to make a live action film, and someone asked me to direct one, so I did. And then someone asked me to make Akira 2, which I didn't want to do. And then Steamboy ⑦ came a long. And that took many years."
●On if he was familiar with the Hollywood remake of Akira that 's in produciton.
"Huh? Nope. I work on manga, and I work on animation. There's no need for me to be involved in that."
Audience questions:
●On his opinion on Looper ⑧:
"I was really floored by it.
●On Freedom if the project was born out of any substantial interest in space exploration in Japan at the time.
"Actually, I wasn't the director of Freedom ⑨, that was Mr. Morita. So I have no idea."
●On if he would say that there's anything missing from animation today and what would he like to see more of.
"There's a lot to be desired in Japanese animation right now. We have a ton of animation, but it's not easy to come out with something original in that world."
●On the work of French comic artist Mœbius:
"Oh yes, I love Mœbius ⑩. There was a time when we discussed working together on something, but unfortunately, that opportunity disappeared."
●On what was it like to work on the script for the feature film version of Tezuka's Metropolis.
"When I worked on the scenario for Metropolis ⑪, I was very mindful that it was one of his very early works, so he always regarded the layout and the work in general as incomplete. So I wanted to fill in the cracks and bring it up to date."
●On the inspirations behind Akira in Gigantor ⑫.
"I read it a lot as a kid. But you really can't tell that from the resulting work, can you?"
●On why is it hard to tell historical stories.
"We've been watching a lot of period films since the early days of Japanese film and TV. So when I go to research the Edo period, most of the the material is from other directors. Avoiding all of that and coming up with new imagery is very hard."
●On if there is any fundamental question he tries to answer with his work.
"That I want to enjoy life. But I don't have that much time left for that."
●On his current manga project:
"I don't want to tell you about the story yet, but it takes place in the Meiji era."
●On his characters, which does he personally identify with the most.
"It's very hard to say, because they're all part of me."
●On any words of advice for any of the artists here.
"Please do your best, because being an animator is one of the best jobs in the world. When I was a kid, my father asked what the hell I was doing in animation, because it wasn't a great job. But it is a great job, so please do your best at it."
●On what makes Japanese-made anime so special.
"What I believe is that, Miyazaki ⑬ and Oshii ⑭ for example, both have created their own personal worlds within their animation. I guess you could say that I have too. I don't think we could get a job in the United States, because we don't listen to other people."
●On what kind of stories do you want to tell in animation and manga these days.
"I have lots of ideas and lots of projects that I want to work on, but we haven't decided which ones yet."
●On how much is he aware of how influential his work has been to American filmmakers and animators.
"I have no words to answer your questions. I watch a lot of American movies, and all of my films reference them, so it's all just one big conversation, I guess."
●On if there is anything that's difficult to translate from manga to anime.
"The basics are the same, but what's difficult bringing manga to anime is the time limitation. Cramming everything into 2 hours is the hardest part."
●On making an epic like Akira over many years, if does his intention with the work change over the time it's being made.
"It doesn't change much, because at the beginning I storyboard everything out in advance."
●On if he would ever want to make a Samurai movie set in the future.
(He doesn't answer this one, but rather joins the audience in giggling at the question)
●On the style of art in Combustible.
"we researched a lot about the history of Japanese art, namely the emakimono ⑮ tradition. How we pass the image in front of the screen is all coming from that research."
●On how long did it take to make Combustible and what was his favorite part.
"About one year. When you see the fire, in the eyes of Owaka, is my favorite part."
●On what is his favorite stage in making a film.
"Maybe the planning stage, before development."
●On the progression of computers in animation, and he availability of new techniques.
"Memories ⑯ was the first time computers were used in Japanese animation."
●On how many animators worked on Combustible.
"There were 5-7 key animators."
●A long question about aspects of humanity portrayed in his work got an amusing but non-sequitur response:
"Uh, no. I don't have a driver's license."
●On his work been about the destruction wrought by technology, if he is scared of technology in some way or a traumatic experience in his life, perhaps.
"You might think so from my stories, but no, I'm not scared of technology."
●On what living Japanese animators does he admire most.
"My favorites are all the old ones, from back in the 1950s."
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