(from Crayon Shin-chan Eiga Taizen/Movie Encyclopedia)
[Machine translated using Google Translate, DeepL as well as some rudimentary Japanese knowledge and additional research. May not be 100% accurate although I'm confident the gist is generally correct. I've noted specific parts that I'm unclear on.]
* I'm Not Good at Making Things for Children *
Did you get involved in "Crayon Shin-chan" right when the TV series started?
Yes I did. I didn't know the original comic, but since the program I was in charge of had just ended, I was transferred to the “Shin-chan” team that was starting next.
Were you Unit Director on all of the first four theatrical films that Mitsuru Hongo directed?
Yes, that's right. I basically shared the storyboarding with Hongo.
The first film, "Action Mask vs. Haigure Maou," was an extension of the TV series, especially in the first half, with everyday scenery and familiar gag exchanges.
Hongo and I divided the storyboards in half, and I was in charge of the first half. Honestly, it was a lot of fun. We proceeded with the familiar day-to-day lives of the characters, but at the same time threading them together and introducing some foreshadowing of what would occur in the second half. This was something I couldn't do in the TV series, so I enjoyed storyboarding that film.
Even though it's all “Crayon Shin-chan,” do you feel a difference between the TV series and the movies?
Hmm... The biggest thing is time. I'm not good at shorts. “Crayon Shin-chan” films are about an hour and a half, but for me personally, even that's not long enough (laughs). But considering that it's a work for children, that's the limit. I'm just not good at making things for children, in general.
But in all your works, you never forget to make something children can enjoy, first and foremost. I think this is also part of why this series has consistently produced masterpieces.
Rather than considering children specifically, I think I just don't want anybody to leave the movie unsatisfied. Maybe that's why I've been able to continue doing it.
* My Parents Loved Movies, So I Went to the Cinema when I was Very Young. *
What made you decide to pursue a career in filmmaking?
I didn't have a single “this is it” moment, but my parents loved movies. From when I was relatively young, they regularly took me to the cinema and I often watched movies on TV.
Were there any particular movies that had a big impact on you?
There was a movie called "Tiko and the Shark" (1963, Italy/France) that I saw in a theater when I was quite young and I often think back to it.
It's about a friendship between a boy and a shark. It's kind of like a semi-documentary.
It was a very strange film. Maybe if I revisited it now, I might think “what the heck?” (laughs), but it had adventure, romance and drama. I feel like it helped make me who I am. Well maybe that's an exaggeration, to say it changed my life, but I feel that the film had a big influence on me. [not certain what he says here, but this is the gist of it]
Do you like the ocean?
I like the atmosphere of the South. I like the tropical climate, or rather, the lazy atmosphere. "Tiko and the Shark" is set in Tahiti, so maybe that's where it all started. I've never been to Tahiti, but I once took about seven months off from work and went backpacking in Southeast Asia. In places like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, nature is unforgiving. The sunlight is intense and the greenery is lush. I love that kind of thing.
Are there any other films or directors who particularly influenced you?
Hmm... There are too many, there is no end to them. I guess the first director I was aware of was... David Lean.
In what way?
Well after all, he did "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962). I saw it on TV when I was little, and I admired that kind of scenery. I just thought "deserts are nice" (laughs). Of course, it wasn't until I became an adult that I realized how interesting it was. You know the part where Omar Sharif comes from far away on a camel, right? At first you don't see anything, but gradually he comes closer and closer, and the figure appears. That had a huge impact on me. I still consider David Lean to be my spiritual mentor.
What led you from your love of watching movies to entering the animation industry?
Well, it was gradual. I was vaguely thinking of going to college without any particular goal in mind, but one day I was browsing through a technical college guidebook at a bookstore, and for some reason the words “animation department” caught my eye. I thought it sounded interesting to study animation, and suddenly decided to go there.
By the way, where was it?
Tokyo Designer Gakuin.
Before that, did you like watching animation?
I liked it quite a bit. However, when I went to study it in technical school, there were intense otaku from all over Japan (laughs), and the level was completely different. They knew the names of the staff, and specific technical details and so on, and I just thought “I can't keep up with this.” However, I gradually realized that such knowledge was very superficial.
* Grasping at Straws, I Asked “Please Hire Me.” *
When did you first become aware of animation as a profession?
At first, I wanted to become an animator because I liked drawing. But at that school, there were many talented people from all over Japan with great skills. I realized that no matter how I tried, I couldn't reach their level, so I changed my mind and realized I could be a director, and have someone more skilled than me draw the pictures I wanted.
Did you actually get a job in animation right after graduating from Designer Gakuin?
There were no jobs available. The number of people who wanted to enter the industry was rapidly increasing, but there wasn't that many projects being made, so there was a surplus of people at all the studios. After graduating, I worked part-time to make ends meet and thought about which studio I wanted to work for. I did a self-analysis on what kind of animation I liked the most, and it seemed to be “Tokyo Movie.” At that time, Tokyo Movie allowed tours of their facilities. I participated in it, and I think it was around the time they were working on the second series of Lupin the Third. When I went to the director's room, I asked the chief director, Kyosuke Mikuriya, “I want to get into the industry, what can I do?”
During the tour?
I was grasping at straws. Then Mikuriya said, “hey, I'm not a full-time employee either. We're all just freelancers. But if you really want to direct, go ahead and draw a storyboard for now,” and he handed me a script. I was desperate, so I actually drew it and brought it back to him, although I'm sure it was a mess. Mikuriya said, “I didn't think you'd actually come back” (laughs).
Did you study how to draw storyboards at the technical school?
Somewhat, but it was mostly self-taught. Mikuriya said, “it might not be possible right now, but if anything comes up I'll contact you.” I was ungrateful and never thanked him or anything after that (laughs), but I really consider him a benefactor.
So did he contact you?
A while later, Mikuriya happened to meet an old acquaintance, who runs a company that makes commercials and was just looking for someone. He said “if you don't mind, I'd like to introduce you to someone.” I thought it would be good to experience something like that, so I became an employee of the company, which made commercials and promotional films.
What kind of work did you do there?
I was a lowly assistant. They made me do all the menial work. In the end, I was only there for about a year and a half, but compared to that, animation is easy (laughs).
What made you leave?
I was just getting tired. Also, in the world of commercials, you have no choice but to do whatever the sponsors and agencies say. That sort of thing gets dull. Then one day, I was called in by the president of the company, and he said, “you've been bored with your work, haven't you?” The president of the company used to work in animation, and he knew Mikuriya. He said “you want to do animation, don't you?” I'm very grateful to the president of the company. He connected me with Shin-Ei Animation.
* I was Lucky in Many Ways. *
At that time, what did you think about Shin-Ei Animation?
Of course I knew it existed. I love Fujiko F. Fujio, and after all, this was the company that made “Doraemon,” so I was enthusiastic about them.
What was your first job when you arrived?
At first, I worked in production. In animation, the staff work in various places. Some people who draw or paint cels remotely, and somebody has to collect and bring them back in, contact them on the phone, manage the schedules and so on.
Did you tell the company that you wanted to direct?
Right from the beginning. While watching the work of other directors, I tried to study what kinds of things they were doing, and I thought that if I had even the slightest chance, I would try to help out in areas related to directing. But before that, I didn't want anybody to say “a sloppy guy like that can't be a director,” so I think I took my production job pretty seriously.
How long did that progression take?
About a year and a half. I was really lucky in many ways. There was a director's spot open, and I volunteered myself for it. I was assigned to be a director's assistant, and was in charge of checking the key animation that the director had approved to make sure nothing was overlooked, as well as assembling the finished cels with the backgrounds before shooting.
How long did it take you to get promoted to director?
I got lucky again. I wasn't doing much creative work, but Motohira, who was the chief director of “Doraemon,” retired, and that prompted a promotion for me. After Motohira, Tsutomu Shibayama became the chief director, but since he wasn't a full-time Shin-Ei employee, he was also busy with other jobs. Since he couldn't keep a close eye on the “Doraemon” production site, it was decided to appoint a few more directors instead of “assistants” and divide the responsibility of the work a little more. [not sure about this section]
So your first directing work would be “Doraemon”? Did you work on it for a while?
I wonder how long I did that, I think it was two or three years.
What was your next work after that?
"Esper Mami." I really liked the source material, so I was hoping to be involved in some way when it was made into an anime, but I was very surprised when I was asked to be the chief director.
Why, did that seem like a big jump?
Well, I guess maybe not. Nowadays there are a lot of young directors in anime, but at the time I was still in my twenties, so I think it was fairly unusual.
* I Felt Hopeless at the Thought of Storyboarding Again *
So in 1988, you made your theatrical debut with “Esper Mami: Dancing Dolls in the Starry Sky,” which was shown in theaters alongside “Doraemon.” Sorry for getting personal, but I was still in college at the time, and happened to see “Dancing Dolls in the Starry Sky” in the theater. I hope this doesn't sound rude, but I had no expectations going in, and I was surprised at how compelling it was.
Thank you (laughs).
Did you feel like you were able to do what you wanted?
Well, I got very wrapped up in it. But of course there's a set limit to the running time, and I remember crying about having to cut out a big portion of the film.
Because it was only a medium-length feature of about 40 minutes, wasn't it? Still, did you enjoy getting to make a longer story than a usual TV series episode?
I did. After doing that, my desire to do something longer grew even more.
After “Esper Mami” was over, you wandered around Southeast Asia, as you mentioned earlier, and then after you returned to Japan, you did “Chimpui?”
That's right. But over the course of the trip, I lost all desire to work after I returned. I still feel that way (laughs), but I remember feeling extremely hopeless at the thought of having to draw storyboards again.
Like a giant version of that doomed Sunday night feeling of “I have to go back to work again tomorrow” (laughs).
Yeah, it was just like that. Eventually I just had to come to terms with it.
After that, you directed two medium-length films of "Dorami-chan" which screened with "Doraemon" again.
I was happy to have the opportunity to do more movie work, even if just a medium-length film again.
So after that, was “Crayon Shin-chan” next?
No, after “Chimpui” I did a show called “21 Emon.” I actually set a shameful record for the shortest run of any Fujiko show. It was commissioned on short notice, and we didn't really have any time to prepare for it. The numbers weren't great, so it ended quickly. I felt like we were doing something new and exciting, but I guess the show didn't really come together and I feel bad for Fujiko F.
* Getting One Film Under My Belt Made Me More Comfortable. *
From the 5th film “Pursuit of the Balls of Darkness” you took over as director from Hongo. How did you feel?
I was thrilled. This was finally my big chance to do a feature film. But when I started doing it, I just couldn't make it the way I wanted at all. I thought I could deliver a lot more, but I came up short of my expectations. Maybe there were some bright spots here and there, but to be honest, I was disappointed in myself.
What caused that?
Well, one thing was Shinnosuke didn't get to be the main character in the movie. I was astonished at myself for not even noticing that. During the dubbing, I saw that Akiko Yajima was always away from the microphone, and said “how is this happening?!” (laughs). I hadn't noticed because in a literal sense he's onscreen plenty, but in terms of actually doing things, I got distracted by other characters being more active and didn't give much attention to Shinnosuke.
I thought the next film, “Blitzkrieg! Pig's Hoof's Secret Mission” showed a great awareness of Hollywood-style filmmaking.
Yes, I deliberately scaled everything up. I even included overseas locations (laughs).
How did it go?
This one was a lot of fun. I wasn't really comfortable on “Balls of Darkness” but “Pig's Hoof's Secret Mission” was fine.
What changed?
It was... Well, I'm not sure. It's not like I approached it in a very different way. I guess having already completed one film made me more comfortable. I was able to relax a little bit, and I think that allowed me to do some more playful things that I couldn't do before. Having watched a lot of movies since I was a kid helped a lot too.
* I Always Wonder "Will the Kids Be Into This?" *
The following film, “Explosion! The Hot Spring's Feel-Good Final Battle” is a parody of kaiju movies likely to delight adult audiences.
Yeah, that was my intent. I wanted to recreated the excitement of the “Godzilla” movies I watched as a kid. It's a bit of a stretch though (laughs).
I thought it was a great adventure, but considering it's supposed to be a cartoon for children, was there any pushback?
Ahh yeah, that aspect is always kind of tricky for me. I always end up making people worry, “is this stuff going to be entertaining to children?” I get a lot of concern from people. I always say “okay, don't worry, I'll handle it,” to reassure them and myself. And then when it's finished, I end up thinking “oops, I guess I went too far” (laughs).
But in a way, audiences who weren't previously familiar with “Crayon Shin-chan” ended up responding to that aspect of the film. Did you feel that reaction as the director?
Yes. I was happy to find that so many viewers felt that same way.
...That such a direction isn't wrong.
I didn't think it was wrong myself. I felt validated. But I do think it would be wrong to exclusively target an adult audience. I didn't necessarily see it as some kind of crisis, but it's not something I should get comfortable doing.
I thought the next one, “The Storm Called the Jungle,” was a bit of a return to a child's perspective, as the previous one had been more adult-oriented.
Yes, that's right. I reflected on it a little (laughs) and decided that with the next one I should just make a fun, light adventure film. So I made it without letting too much of my personal taste creep in. But it takes place in the South Seas, so I would be lying if I said there were none at all.
The part that made me laugh the most was when Hiroshi and the others were forced to make anime as slaves.
The was the idea of Tsutomu Mizushima, the enshutsu/ unit director. I was talking with him about something funny for the enslaved adults to be forced to do, and he said “how about being forced to work in animation?” I thought it was very funny. Mizushima drew the storyboard for that scene.
* I Went to the Expo when I was Ten Years Old so I Could Make this Film *
Now for last year's “The Adult Empire Strikes Back.” Since you had eased off with the previous one, did you feel that you could really go for it this time?
I stepped on the gas pedal as hard as I could. But really, what happened initially there is that I couldn't find anything I wanted to do otherwise. When we started talking about what to do this time, we were almost empty. I struggled a lot, but in the end, I decided to draw on some personal memories, and the Osaka Expo came up.
It started with the Expo then?
Right. Actually, I had a strange experience before that. It's not like I'm always walking around lost in memories of the Expo, but I had this realization of “wow, it's been a long time since I went.” One day I was standing around talking with a staff member about the same age as me, and for some reason we started talking about the Expo, and it got weirdly exciting. I knew a lot of the “Shin-chan” staff were around my age, but when I asked them all about it, it turned out that many of them had been to the Expo. It was as if everyone had been possessed by something (laughs), to make this journey to Osaka, where this great event was happening. I went there myself, and everyone else had similar experiences where we didn't get to see anything we wanted to see. I mainly remember that there were just way too many people. Before I knew it, I found myself standing around talking about this for hours, and suddenly started to wonder how we'd come to this.
Audiences of your generation who saw this movie must have felt the same strange feeling as you had experienced.
I think if I had gotten to fully enjoy the Expo as a kid, I probably wouldn't have made this film (laughs). I had to convince my parents to take me on a trip all the way from the countryside of Gunma, so I only had one day there. We did the Expo and Kyoto as a combined trip, and the next day was sightseeing in Kyoto. At the time, I didn't care about Kyoto (laughs). I just thought “why can't I see the Expo for one more day instead?” This bittersweet memory suddenly came rushing back to me as we stood there chatting about the Expo.
I heard that you also went to the site of the Expo for location scouting.
The Tower of the Sun is all that remains in Expo '70 Commemorative Park. I was very moved, and thought to myself, "I went to the Expo when I was 10 years old so that now I could make this movie," and it made me very happy. That's why I'm glad it was such a half-hearted experience.
What about the child audience, how did you account for them with “Adult Empire?”
I was just struggling so hard to get a film going, I didn't even really care about how to make it suitable for children. The one who really helped me there was Mizushima, because he was very eager to create images that would appeal to children, so he added lots of stuff that would make children laugh. I was personally kind of torn by the end of the storyboarding process, but in the end I just let go of the idea of it being a children's film. I felt very refreshed when I did that. It was painful, but very moving, as if a clear view opened up ahead of me.
* My Respect for Cinema has Swelled Up*
And now finally, the upcoming film "The Battle of the Warring States." What motivated you this time?
This time, a kind of reverence for cinema has swelled up inside me. I think the fact that I was able to direct six films, even though they're part of a series, is connected to the fact that I used to watch a lot of movies in the past. So I feel like I'm “giving back” to those films, and in my own way I'm trying to make it with serious respect for the medium. However, the more I do that, the less room I have for child-audience considerations (laughs).
What made you decide to do a period piece?
There really aren't many large-scale period dramas being made these days. My starting point was to see whether it would be possible to do it in animation. I quickly realized it was a huge challenge (laughs). In live-action, you can just dress the actors in samurai armour and put them on a horse, and that already gives you a lot of mileage, but with animation, you have to draw every single picture one by one. I didn't think about how reckless this would be until I tried it. I made a lot of hard work for the staff.
The Hongo-directed "Unkokusai's Ambition" was also a period drama, but you were in charge of the storyboard for the sword-fight scene, right?
When we first started that one, I was at a loss. I had no idea where to start. However, as I began to gather reference material and start researching, it became more and more interesting, like I was tapping into “the spirit of Japanese cinema” (laughs). I was so absorbed in it I was sad to finish the storyboard. I thought that if I did a period drama, I could have that kind of experience again, so ever since I finished “Unkokusai” I wanted to do another one. Now that I've finished the storyboards, I feel like I've done it to the point that I never have to do a period drama again (laughs).
We're looking forward to the finished product.
I hope you'll find it satisfying. I think the staff are certainly doing their best (laughs).
March 16, 2002 at Shin-Ei Animation
