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Hamano:
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Kamiya-san, I heard you were invited to the U.S. for a Japanese animation event.
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Kamiya:
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Yes, I was invited to Anime Expo '97 in Los Angeles.
And what really amazed me there was the number of American fans of Japanese animation. And not just American fans ﾑ there were people there from Canada, England, Austria... I had been wondering why they'd invited me to come, but I found out it was because not all the movies were dubbed into English; some were left in the original Japanese, with subtitles. Apparently, there are few professional voice actors (seiyu) in the U.S., unlike Japan. So in the U.S., they'll have a fan club for [voice actor] Hayashibara Megumi, for example. Through taking part in the Anime Expo, I gained pride in Japanese animation. Japanimation brought all of us there together. If Japanese anime fans were added to the mix, to meet and interact with American fans, it would be really terrific.
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Hamano:
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After this talk, we'll be going to the Awards Ceremony, with you acting as emcee ﾑ what do you think of this sort of animation event?
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Kamiya:
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Not much of Japanese culture has gone out into the world, but animation is reaching people everywhere. I do find it significant that these awards are being presented in Yokohama and Kobe, port cities that were open to foreign countries already long ago.
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Hamano:
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Mr. Hindman, is it really true that Japanese animation is highly regarded in the United States?
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Hindman:
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Hamano:
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We might say that what lies at the base of Japanese animation's popularity is the system of using voice actors.
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Kamiya:
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Yes, that's true. In creating an animation work, the people who draw the pictures do just as much as voice actors, but the spotlight tends to fall on us. And so you have the current boom in voice actors.
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Hamano:
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Americans are famous for disliking subtitles, but many American anime fans prefer hearing your original voice to that of an English-language overdub. So it would seem that voice actors are having an impact over and beyond the language barrier.
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Kamiya:
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Well, intonation and nuance are universal, so I think voice alone can convey emotions such as warmth, gentleness, strength, fear and so on. But this does not mean Japanese animation is accepted by the majority of Americans. I agree with Mr. Hindman that Princess Mononoke may be the turning point that brings Japanese animation to the world's attention, but for the time being I was really happy to meet some of the tiny minority that are already fans. What's interesting is that those who want to understand Japanese animation in its original language are actually studying Japanese. Jeff, the guy who invited me to Anime Expo, is studying Japanese with a private teacher. When I communicate with him over the Internet, I have to use English ﾑ so I was really glad to find out he was learning Japanese!
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Hamano:
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When discussing Japanese animation, one thing that is often forgotten is that many works that might seem to be made overseas are actually made in Japan. Tokunaga-san's Walt Disney Animation Japan makes Disney videos in Tokyo. Tokunaga-san, can you tell us something about your work?
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Tokunaga:
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I hear that much Japanese animation today is actually drawn in South Korea, China, Vietnam and other places. In the same way, Disney set up production offices in Tokyo, Australia and France in the late eighties, due to the shortage of creative staff in the U.S. At first, design drawings were prepared in America and sent here, which is exactly what Japanese animators do when contracting work out abroad, but in 1994 the influence of Japanese animation had Disney wanting to make an action feature ﾑ and Tokyo's designs were chosen when artists in each of the four countries put forward character ideas. Since then, the work we do has begun to change. The Annies are prizes awarded in the U.S. to outstanding animation works, just as the Animation Kobe awards do here. In 1995, Disney Tokyo's storyboard for that action movie I just mentioned won the Annie prize for best storyboard. So now, Tokyo has been put in charge of direction and everything else for the video, which will come out in 1999. Disney also established a new production office in Canada last year, but I would say Japanese production technology is higher for animation than in other countries. Winnie-the-Pooh's Grand Adventure, which came out in the U.S. last August, was an original video that sold over five million copies in one month ﾑ and that animation movie too was made entirely in Tokyo.
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Hamano:
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Does that mean there are Japanese names in the credits?
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Tokunaga:
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Yes, of course.
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Hamano:
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What is the process by which an animation video is made?
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Tokunaga:
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It used to be that staff would spend a week or two in Los Angeles to develop characters and so on, but now we can send data back and forth by computer in the blink of an eye. We do video conferencing as well, when it's morning in Japan and late afternoon over there. When we need to be real exact, such as to decide the shade of a color to be used, we'll deal with that by computer.
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