Creating the Opening Animation for the Osaka Sci-Fi Convention
— After that, you were invited to join the opening animation for DAICON III*, right?
*DAICON III: The 20th Japan Sci-Fi Convention, held in Osaka in 1981. It was the third time the event was held in Osaka, hence the name.
Anno: A friend from high school had gone on ahead to a university in Kyoto, and there he got to know people from Kansai’s Sci-Fi fan groups.
When they participated in an event in Tokyo, it seems that the local Sci-Fi fan groups there were making opening animations, and not wanting to be outdone by them, they decided that Kansai should do something similar as well.
But none of them had actually made one before, so they started looking for someone with experience in independent production and that’s when I was introduced. It seemed interesting, so I joined in. It wasn’t like I had this strong desire to do it. I kind of just went along with the flow.
— It was cel animation, right?
Anno: Yes, cel animation. Since we wanted to make it into a proper piece of work, we said, “Let’s not use paper, let’s do it with cels.” It was a group effort, so we had both funding and mobility. The staff were all volunteers, but with that kind of setup, I thought maybe we could actually pull off a cel animation.
— Cel animation really does require a lot of people, especially because coloring is such a big job, right?
Anno: Right. Also, at the time, we didn’t even have a Xerox machine, so we needed tracers too. Cels weren’t cheap either, so if you wanted to make something three or five minutes long, it would cost at least several hundred thousand yen.
*Xerox: A copier used to transfer drawn lines from animation drawings onto cels.
*Tracer: A person who traces original drawings onto cels.
— That’s a large budget for an independent film.
Anno: It was large.
— Even though it was an independent production, it was the first time you made something under a setup where there was a commission and a full staff, correct?
Anno: That’s right. Though, for DAICON III, it wasn’t like we had a director. We made it more like a collective decision-making process. By the time of DAICON IV, the approach had become closer to that of a professional production.
— I see.
Anno: Rather than calling it independent animation, it felt more like amateurs imitating the proper production methods of commercial anime.
— DAICON III was in 1981, and IV was in 1983, right? And during that time, there was also Patriotic Squadron Dai-Nippon*, correct?
* Patriotic Squadron Dai-Nippon: Directed by Takami Akai, with special effects direction by Hideaki Anno. A parody of the Super Sentai series. Shot on 8mm film, 19 minutes, 1982.
Anno: That one came about because the DAICON III opening animation was so well received that everyone became eager to make more videos.
Also, I think we had already decided by then that we were going to do DAICON IV. So, partly as staff training, I think the idea was to make several independent films and show them at the next Sci-Fi convention in Tokyo as a kind of promotion.
Dai-Nippon and Return of Ultraman* were part of that.
* Return of Ultraman: Directed by Hideaki Anno, with special effects direction by Takami Akai. Shot on 8mm film, 28 minutes, 1983.
— Did the production of DAICON III take quite a bit of time?
Anno: I think it did. It probably took around three months. I believe we spent the entire summer working on it.
— How was it received when it was screened at the Sci-Fi convention?
Anno: It was really well received. I think the evaluation was quite positive. People thought the quality was high for something made by amateurs.
— I heard there was an issue where no sound played during the screening.
Anno: During the first screening, the sound didn’t play due to a connection problem.
— But even just with the visuals, the audience reacted strongly, didn’t they?
Anno: Yes. It seemed like people didn’t even expect there to be sound.
— People just watched it thinking it was a silent film. Even so, the movement was so impressive.
Anno: Luckily, for the encore screening at the end, the sound played properly.
— Did you personally feel a sense of accomplishment from having made it?
Anno: Yeah, I did. It was good that we managed to finish a complete piece. We met the deadline for the opening just in time, since we actually completed it on the morning of the event.
— So you were working on it right up to the last minute.
Anno: Right up to the edge, yeah.
When I'm Focused on Drawing, I Don't Need to Eat
— I’ve heard that once you start drawing, you get completely absorbed in it.
Anno: The time I was most focused was probably when I was working on Sturdy Tires! Other times… well, I do think you have to be focused or you just can’t keep drawing.
— I heard you skipped meals and just kept drawing while snacking on junk food.
Anno: It’s just a hassle to go out and get food.
— I also heard you're a picky eater. Do you think that has something to do with it?
Anno: I’ve been picky ever since I can remember. I don’t even know myself why I can’t eat certain things.
―― Is drawing more important than eating?
Anno: Yes, that’s true. I don’t really place much importance on eating. It was more interesting to be drawing. While drawing, I could forget about everything else, so that was nice. But during DAICON III, I was drawing while people were around me, so I wasn’t really that focused.
―― Ah, I see. Because during Sturdy Tires! you were holed up alone drawing.
Anno: Yes, I was really able to concentrate by isolating myself and working alone.
―― So DAICON III was more of a group effort with everyone around while you were drawing?
Anno: Yes, exactly.
・・・
おわり
<Original JP site: https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/77973>