Photography and more for the Cosplayer
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By: BSaphire It was with pleasure and great honor to meet and interview the CEO and President of Gainax, Hiroyuki Yamaga. For some of you who have attended Fanime for several years, that name may sound familiar ^^). Mr. Yamaga is no stranger to Fanime. He has been a returning Guest of Honor to Fanime-Con since 1997. Back in 1997, Fanime Con was being held for the second time at Foothill Community College. There were an estimated 1,200 attendees who had the opportunity to meet Mr. Yamaga as Fanime’s first official Guest of Honor from Japan. Since then, Mr. Yamaga has been a returning Guest of Honor for ten years! Mr. Yamaga is accomplished in several areas of animation as a writer, director, and animation producer for such anime titles as Neon Genesis Evangelion and FLCL, both releases of Gainax where he has been for over 20 years. Though Mr. Yamaga speaks English, we conducted our interview through two very nice Japanese translators. After initial introductions we proceeded straight into the interview and here is what we talked about for fifteen minutes:
BSP: “Mr. Yamaga, what is your favorite project, character, or movie and why?” Yamaga: “Maharomatic for television was my favorite project. The movie was only two hours long, so it was a much shorter project from start to finish. The television series was weekly and offered a more continuous project to work on. The television series allowed me to get more acquainted with the development and I was able to get to know the people involved with the project. I was happy to see the story development each week and I enjoyed watching the changes that happened as it matured to its conclusion.”
BSP: “What do you think of the cosplayers of your characters and does it help you in anyway?” Yamaga: “I see very few cosplayers of my characters really. When I do see them, it makes me really happy. I know that they liked those characters because they put the work into the costumes and are cosplaying them.”
BSP: “Do you have a favorite anime, manga, or game?” Yamaga: “I enjoy a weekly morning manga called ‘Jipangu,’ (Jipangu means Japan) and I am a fan of the Gundam series!”
BSP: “What interested you in the animation business and how did you start?” Yamaga: “I was first in the movie industry in Japan. I started by going to school. It was at a University where I studied for movies. Early on there were few jobs in the movie industry and I found there were more jobs available in animation.”
BSP: “I agree that schooling is very important in the movie and animation field. You mentioned earlier that you are a fan of the ‘Gundam’ series. I am a fan of ‘Gundam Wing,’ which series of ‘Gundam’ are you a fan of?” Yamaga: Smiling he says, “The first Gundam series!” He continues on to explain how. “I recently was at a bar and saw a group of Gundam fans. They were in their 30’s, and they got my attention because they were watching the series and they knew all the lines! Each of them took turns saying the lines as the series played. We got acquainted and I stayed there and watched the series with them. I had a lot of fun! ^^)”
BSP: “Is there anything else you would like to add for the readers, maybe to help the American young people to become more successful in the American animation field?” Yamaga: “Yes! There is! Going back to your question earlier, I did the work to build Gainax myself because I wanted it to be less formal and more creative. Before, when I was working for others in Japan, we always addressed those above us as “Senpi.” (Senpi is used as a show of respect when addressing bosses) I respect Japanese customs, but I didn’t feel I could be as creative in this traditional and formal atmosphere. I had many new ideas and I was eager to try them. Japanese animation is Market Driven and that is how projects are done. (*See Authors Note) I decided to go in my direction. I worked very hard and built Gainax by following my dreams. I put my passion into Gainax. My advice to the American young people would be to “Follow Your Passion!” Believe in yourself and your work.
We closed our interview with thank-you and I snapped a photo for you, the reader, of this educated, humble, entertaining and delightful man that I had the privilege and honor to interview. Also in the photo are the translators that were present to help us communicate. Thank you both for your help. I enjoyed interviewing Mr. Yamaga. If you had the opportunity to hear him talk and see him in costume during Fanime, Mr. Yamaga is a fan of samurai movies, then you were lucky!! I didn’t have the opportunity to personally attend either opportunity this year, but I did get some notes from one of my info hounds who attended both panels^^). Mr. Yamaga talked at one about the history of the samurai through the centuries and how they evolved. If you are looking into the animation field, it would be valuable information to know the true history of the samurai. Many times the samurai ideals, costumes/attire, and even history weaves its way into story lines, characters, sub plots, and personalities throughout anime, manga and games. In video games it is more often the Hong Kong, flashy, stunt style samurai that are very often portrayed. In anime and manga you get a mix of both the traditional and the flashy Hong Kong style samurai. If I get the opportunity again, I will be there at the panels too!!! ^^) Thank you again Mr. Yamaga and I very much look forward to another opportunity to converse with you. *Author’s Notes: “Market Driven”: The market is not the grocery store *LOL. All the wall scrolls, posters, action figures, music cd’s, models, trading cards, etc that you buy when you are the convention (or stores that offer these products) are other ways that an anime can generate income for the companies that produced it. A successful anime movie or series (like Neon Genesis Evangelion) can generate a steady profit for years after the anime has been completed. This is how everyone who worked on the project gets paid and continues to benefit from their work. Downloading or buying bootleg copies of the anime, music or other products is taking away from them, their hard work and talent which you enjoyed. In Japan, this market drives which projects are going to be expanded on. If everyone just copied a copy and didn’t purchase anything else animation would become very limited and very expensive. Please, support your animation artist and be a responsible consumer by making sure when you purchase your anime, manga, games, cells, music and other products that you don’t by bootleg. Thank you!!! ^^)
By: BSaphire I came early to my interview with Mr. Takamura and I am very glad that I did. Many of you know him for his work on |
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