Q: |
|
Will DARK ANGEL be
animated? |
AK: |
I'd love it, but first I should take the manga out of hiatus (laughs). We're
adjusting things and working on this right now. |
Q: |
Did you say SILENT
MÖBIUS is ending? |
AK: |
Yes, it's ending in September. We're working on trying to get the last story
turned into a movie, but I don't know if that will happen yet. |
Q: |
Will there be a manga adaptation of the NADESICO movie? |
AK: |
The movie is its own storyline; there are no plans to make it into a manga.
The TV and manga versions of NADESICO have similar characters but go in to different
directions. |
Q: |
What are your favorite science fiction movies,
Japanese or American? |
AK: |
I like the old Toho SFX movies a lot, and for the
US, I'd have to say STAR WARS,
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and DEEP
SPACE NINE and BATMAN. I love American movies,
there are too many to list. |
Q: |
Have you been influenced by any foreign artists? |
AK: |
Many. Frank Miller, Jim Lee. I seem to be greatly influenced by American artists. |
Q: |
Are there any science fiction authors you like? |
AK: |
I don't read much text. I do like Edmond Hamilton and Arthur C. Clarke.
  |
Q: |
What do you see as the role of computers in the
future of anime? |
AK: |
I guess the number one benefit is that it's kind to the earth, since you
don't have to use cels. But let me apologize to all the cel collectors
for saying that. Cels, though, are nothing but the waste products of
creating animation. |
Q: |
Do you have any hobbies? |
AK: |
Sleep is my number one hobby. If I'm not sleeping, I'm working. I like
watching movies and collecting action figures and statues. |
Q: |
What do you think of Comic Con and the
US? |
AK: |
It's fabulous. The attendees are great. In Japan, I feel this aura of gloom
around convention attendees. Everyone has a very strong desire to buy
things—it's sort of scary. Here it is friendly and more relaxed. |
Q: |
Why don't you like publicity? |
AK: |
The reason I don't appear much is because I'd rather have my work out
there than myself. Yeah, that's it. |
Q: |
Have you ever considered selling your
original art like American artists do? |
AK: |
In Japan, the system is very different than in the United States. When art
is printed, it is automatically copyrighted and the artists get paid for
sales of comics, so they have no need to sell original art. Also, in Japan,
copyrights are shared with the publishing company and the artist, so one
creator's characters don't get drawn by many artists. |
Q: |
What's your favorite project you've worked on? |
AK: |
SILENT MÖBIUS. But I put extra amounts of
effort into all of my characters and stories, so it's hard to just say
that that's my favorite. |
Q: |
Which of your characters is most like you and why? |
AK: |
Oh, I don't think any of them are like me. Everything is out of my imagination. |
Q: |
How many pages do you draw per month? |
AK: |
Right now, it's approximately 75 pages/month. When I was young and
energetic, I could do 100 a month. But now I'm an old man, so my body
won't do what it used to. |
Q: |
Where did the name for Studio Tron come from? |
AK: |
Not from the movie TRON. There's a Tron Systems, I
took it from there. It's very complicated to explain; I'm not sure I
can. I'm sure I wrote it down in the Studio Tron art book somewhere. |
Q: |
Do you like nurse uniforms? |
AK: |
Well, I don't hate them. I thought it
would be nice to use because it doesn't show a lot of flesh. It does
seem to tear a lot, though, which is a sales point. (laughs)
In the comics, her hat has a red cross on it,
but in the anime it won't be there. The Red Cross denied us
permission to use it.
But seriously, that's just one of the issues we
had to deal with when making a TV series. There
was a whole set of new problems. For example, some people didn't
like the fact that Narutaki, a child, carries and uses a gun. I
thought I might have to take it away from him, but then there would
be no story left. So we made an important decision: he will never
point or fire the gun at people. Robots are ok, though. Also,
the bullets in his gun are made of a special fiber. If they hit
soft material, there is no impact, but if it hits something hard, it
will go right through it. |
Q: |
Any closing thoughts for your
US fans? |
AK: |
I was unsure about appearing at a US
convention. Having done so, I am very pleased. One thing that
impressed me the most was how polite the fans are. Comic Con is so
big, Japan needs to take a lesson from this.
If Viz will let me, I'd like to come again
next year. I was very glad to have the chance to meet all of you.
Thank you very much.  |
