Author: Anime Tourist
Source: Anime Tourist
Dated: August 18, 2002
This spring (2002), Gainax fans were treated to a rare opportunity to hear and ask questions of Hiroyuki Yamaga, Co-Founder of Gainax, as he talked about his company's past, present, and future projects. Joining him was long-time friend Takami Akai who has his own successful software company and still works with Gainax on many projects. If you want to know more about Gainax's four new series (including the 2nd season of Mahoromatic), what they thought about Atlantis, regrets about Nadia, and glimpses into the company that is Gainax, then this article is for you.
Assisting with translation for Mr. Yamaga and Mr Akai is Masao Kobayashi. This is a long article (the session lasted over an hour and a half) and we would like to encourage you to read it all the way through. We did not re-order the questions, so bits of information on say, Mahoromatic, are scattered throughout the whole article.
Mr. Yamaga
I've been very busy lately, so I was not able to prepare for today's discussion. Let me explain why I've been so busy lately and afterwards I would like to accept questions about where Gainax is right now and where it is going. In terms of animation, we've been emphasizing Tv animation. We proposed 4 TV series and we assumed that maybe 2 were going pass and get sponsors and distribution. It turns out that all 4 got sponsors and distribution. I've been very busy lately.
Audience
{Clapping}
Mr. Yamaga
Thank you very much. The first of the new shows is called Mahoromatic. This series is based on an original comic and we made 12 episodes for this show. Since the comic book series is not quite over... there are going to be 14 more episodes and that is going to be the end of the anime.
Another series that we are working on besides Mahoromatic is called Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai. [T: Which I can't even begin to know how to translate it]
Anime Tourist
Magical Shopping District [Translator: Thank You]
Mr. Yamaga
This was not originally a comic book. In fact, this was a story that I wrote 10 years ago. This has been sitting around, not turning into anything. Now it has turned into a TV series.
Originally, it was based somewhere in the deep mountains of Finland, whether or not there are actually mountains in Finland. It is supposed to be out in the boonies of Finland and was set about a thousand years ago. It was about a group of boys who had decided that they wanted to become magicians and they go around studying [magic]. That was what the original story was about.
For a TV series, that seemed to be a little bit on the bland side, so we got a script writer who has worked on a lot of flashy animation. Since then, the setting of the story became Osaka in modern Japan, in a place called Abenobashi, which actually exists.
If you know something about Japan, then you'll realize that people from Osaka speak a particular dialect and it's distinctive. If you hear it then you know automatically that someone is from Osaka. For this series, we wanted to portray a true Osaka dialect, so we got voice actors who were originally from Osaka. So translation is going to be very difficult. So far, 4 episodes have been aired in Japan. We plan on making 13 episodes and that will be the end of the series. [Ed note: There is a manga, drawn by Kenji Tsuruta, which is being serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon.]
There are two more series that we are working on the scripts for. They are not quite in presentable shape. One of the series is done by Mr. Akai, here. He did the character designs and it is based on the Princess Maker game. {one guy clapping loudly}
Mr. Akai
Thank you. I made all the original characters, but Tadano Kazuko of Sailor Moon has rewritten all the characters so they look very cute.
Mr. Yamaga
I didn't have much in the way of prepared statements, so I'm done for the moment. Does anyone have any questions?
AT
Can you talk to us about the movie 'Aoki Uru'? Can you talk about the work being done on that?
Translator
{after a little bit of discussion in Japanese} So you just know the title?
AT
Yes
Mr. Yamaga
So far, there is just the title, that's just about it. {Laughter} So we can't say much about it. About 7 years ago, right before Evangelion, it was a project in which Mr. Anno could be the director of a feature film.
Originally, I was supposed to do the story and the script and produce this film. However some things happened and it didn't turn into a film but the momentum turned into the Evangelion series. I have been working on the project for a long time and even though it has been 7 years, I still want to continue it. I'm still putting work into it.
I would like to create a stable, a more solid system in which Gainax produces animation. That is the reason why we are working on the Tv animation series. This way, we could have a system with which we could work with to do future work. [Ed note: Its our impression that what they are talking about here is converting their studio to a digital one.]
So far, for 'Aoki Uru', nothing like a complete work has been presented publicly, but I am currently working on a novel for the movie that I would like to publish it within the year.
Mr. Akai
Since Evangelion was so successful. Gainax stopped making animation because.. well .. everybody was getting paid. When they noticed this, they realized that Gainax could no longer make animation because they had stopped making animation all together. In order to change the situation, Mr. Yamaga has come up with the projects for the 4 series. This is so Gainax can get into shape making animation again.
Mr. Yamaga
Finally, this year, I feel that we are a normal animation company again. Actually I wonder whether Gainax was ever normal. {Laughter} That is up for debate. The last CEO, who was in prison for tax evasion, just got out. That is also good.
Mr. Akai
Gainax as a group became very fat because of Evangelion and was really not able to move because of it, there was too dead weight. These projects are designed so that they can loose some of the dead weight. So they are in better shape to do some work.
Surprisingly enough, the CEO who had been arrested for tax evasion was very large when he went into prison but when he came out he was very slim. An ironic twist. {laughter}
Mr. Yamaga
While I feel that the ending is unsatisfactory, there is the original comic book. It is rather difficult to work with a series that is based on an original comic book. We were working from the comic book and thinking that if we did it in a particular way, it would be an interesting series. However, the author of the original comic book did not agree.
Kare Kano was supposed to be romantic comedy and we wanted to emphasize the comedy and not the romance. The author wanted to emphasize them both and that is where the conflict came to be.
We would like to continue to work on it but we have upset the author, so it is very unlikely that there will be a continuation of the series. I am very sorry.
AQ
In terms of the 4 shows, you mentioned Mahoromatic, Abenobashi and the new series by Mr. Akai. Did you talk about the 4th one?
Mr. Yamaga
The name of the 4th series is called the Forgotten Melody. The script is written by Mr. Enokido who worked on Utena and it will run for 15 episodes.
AT
What was the name of the third series?
Mr. Yamaga
He (points to Mr. Akai) has decided that the English title is going to be Little Princess U.C. because the Japanese title does not translate well.
AQ
The Forgotten melody series, what will it be about?
Mr. Yamaga
I just told Mr Enokido the title and he has come up with 15 episodes so far. It was originally a game that we had previously produced but the story line for the game was rather bland or not flashy enough. Yet again the game got thrown away and the title remains. There is an ongoing comic book series published from Kadokawa by the same title.
AQ
Is Mahoromatic cel based?
Mr. Yamaga
It is cel based and it will be the last one. Originally when the project came to be, I thought that it was still possible to make cel animation. However, it is getting harder and harder to find people who will paint the cels and people who will film the cels. It seems like the industry is going more and more toward computers and it is getting harder and harder to make cel animation.
Mr. Akai
The first series was on cels and it was filmed on 35 millimeter prints, kind of like feature films, but the second season is going to be on computers.
AQ
Will this cause a big difference in the look of the series or is it going to have the same basic style?
Mr. Akai
As long as you are watching it on television, it is not going to make a big difference. It might actually get slightly better. If you are watching it on a large screen, then you will be able to tell a difference. [Ed note: Large screen=movie screen]
AQ
Do you have any advice for an animator who would like to create his own company like Gainax?
Mr. Yamaga
I really don't know what the situation is like in the US so I can't really give any advice, but if you were working in Japan and starting a company similar to Gainax, I would suggest starting it right now because it is really easy to pass projects. {Laughter} That won't last. I am not very knowledgeable about how the business would work in the US, but if you were working in Japan, I recommend getting in a fight with virtually everyone.
Mr. Akai
When Gainax originally came to be, they were like skinny stray dogs and pretty much bit everything that moved. After you bite them, you start to become friendly with them.
Mr. Yamaga
Well, not really...{Laughter}
AQ
Is there supposed to be a new Gunbuster series going into production?
Mr. Yamaga
Your information is very fast. In fact, I haven't released any information in Japan about it.
Mr. Akai
SHHHH.....They are not working on it it. It is a big secret. Also, the Little Princess U.C. information has not been released in Japan. It will be released the 10th of next month (May) so you guys are actually getting the information before it is even released in Japan.
AT
A couple of questions about Mahoromatic: Where does the second season pick up in the story?
Mr. Yamaga
In the comic book series, the first season covered up to the third book. The second season will pick up from the beginning of the fourth volume. However, the Tv series has surpassed the comic book in its speed and the Tv series is going to end before the comic book. The author has said that you can't really end it in the same way, you just cant. So the later half of the second season is going to be very different from the comic book.
In fact, Gainax itself has not been given the details of the way that the comic is going to go. So we are kind of .. trying to find our way in the dark.
AT
What was it about the Mahoromatic story that said to you, "This is going to make a great animation. People are really going to want to watch this?"
Mr. Yamaga
Originally, Pioneer had brought the comic book to us and presented the series. We did not really look at it very carefully. We realized that it was a particular genre called the Maid genre. We hadn't done that yet and it seemed a little bit interesting, so we decided to make Mahoromatic.
AQ
What does FLCL mean?
Mr. Yamaga
FLCL was originally designed by Mr. Enokido and the director, Mr. Tsurumaki. They came up with it themselves. Even within the series, the question of what exactly is FLCL is thrown out there..
Mr. Akai
In fact, I asked the director, "What exactly does FLCL mean?" and the director said, "I don't really know."
Mr. Yamaga
When you abbreviate longer words in Japanese, you take the first couple of syllables of each word and connect them up.. It seems like the younger generation has been doing that with absolutely everything. He wanted to give the aesthetic of a longer title that had been shortened but in reality there is no longer title.
Audience
So feel free to make one up.
Mr. Yamaga
Since the title doesn't really describe anything. It was very hard for the advertisers and distributors to say, "No, we don't want to do that." because they weren't exactly sure what it meant. {Laugther} It is really hard to argue with something when you don't know what is going on.
Mr. Akai
In fact, when the studio was younger, since they were biting everything that moved, it seemed that they stranger they were, the less likely that they were going to be opposed. They [the sponsors] just saw it as, "Oh, good old Gainax, saying those weird things again." They didn't really want to deal with it so they just let Gainax say whatever they wanted.
AQ
How did the creators present FLCL for approval?
Mr. Yamaga
Since King Records made a lot of money on Evangelion, the connection between King Records and Gainax was pretty much, "Oh, it's Gainax, we'll probably make some money on it", and they let just let it through [the approval process]. Since it was a direct to video release, there was less controversy over content because it was direct to video.
AQ
How did Mr. Tsurumaki present it to Gainax?
Mr. Yamaga
Since Mr. Anno didn't really want to do animation after Evangelion, his 'kohai' (understudy) was supposed to make an animation series, but seemed to take a while to come up with a concept. So when he did finally come up with one, it was like, "Okay, that sounds good."
AQ
What is up with Ebichu?
Mr. Yamaga
When Mr. Anno was making Evangelion, one of the voice actors, Mz. Mizuki, was reading this comic book called Ebichu that had all this obscene text. They thought, "What if we get Mz. Mizuki to be this little mouse which reads this comic book and make a series out if it." That is pretty much what Ebichu is.. they just went with it.
AQ
This summer, Hamtaro will be on the cartoon network. We hope that Ebichu will be on in the evenings. {Laughter}
Mr. Yamaga
Im am not exactly sure if you could put that on air in the United States.
Mr. Akai
The thing about Ebichu is that it looks really cute but the text and the dialog is very 'controversial'. {Laughter}
Mr. Yamaga
In the theatrical release of Hamtaro, Mz. Mizuki is actually playing a role. However in an interview she was rather disappointed when she found out that she couldn't say the interesting things that she says in Ebichu. It is very difficult to translate. Almost impossible.
AQ
Is there any chance that they (Gainax staff) are going to voice act any characters in their own series?
Mr. Yamaga
No, I'll never do that.
Mr. Akai
There is an animation shop chain called Animate and they have a character called 'Anime Store Manger', a shopkeeper. The illustrator who is doing the drawings for the character is also doing the voice acting for the commercials. He is actually a friend of theirs from college. He actually did voice acting in Royal Space Force.
He did a soldier very far away saying 'Attention' in a fictional foreign language. He (Mr. Yamaga) actually did the breath, 'huff huff', of the main character. The noise made by the main character throwing up was done by the character designer. {Laughter}
Mr. Yamaga
I've been told many times that I have a nice voice and that I should do voice acting but I can't act. There is no getting around it. It is very easy to tell people to do something but it is rather difficult to do it [Ed note: He really does have a nice voice.]
AQ
Do either of you get involved in approval of merchandise of Gainax products?
Mr. Yamaga
It depends on the series. For Evangelion, we did actually approve it at Gainax.
AQ
I like Clamps's Clover. It is absolutely gorgeous. Do you know if anyone is going to make an anime of it? Are you guys interested in doing that?
Mr. Yamaga
Hmm, Clamp is very very difficult. Clamp actually likes Gainax a lot, but we've seen Clamp working on an animation series and we really, really, don't want to work with them.{Laughter}
Mr. Akai
Clamp likes Gainax a lot and Gainax likes Clamp a lot, but in order to keep this good relationship we'd rather not work with each other. {Laughter}
AQ
Where does Gainax get their inspiration?
Mr. Akai
That is a very difficult question to answer. Some of it they've been wanting to do since they were children. For some of them, they are walking down the street and it just hits them and some of it they are kind of half-forced into doing.
Mr. Yamaga
When I am just sitting around, I don't seem to get any inspiration. When I decide to work on something, I sit down and start writing. About a day or so into it I get an idea and go from there. If somebody told me to come up with an extremely touching story about this plastic bottle [points to bottle on table], I really wouldn't be able to do it right now. but if I thought about it for 3 days, I'm pretty sure that I could come up with something that would make people cry.{Laughter}
AQ
When can we be expecting that?
Mr. Yamaga
Give me 3 days and I will make you cry. {Laughter}
AT
Gainax has a long line of successful computer games. We wonder if there are any plans to internationalize some of the older games and release them in the US. What about the new games in production? When you develop them do you do so with an eye towards releasing them internationally?
Mr. Akai
I have been really wanting to make games for the INTL. market but I have been having difficulty doing so. There are a variety of reasons but now I feel that just making the games.. I am overwhelmed just by making the games.
AT
What about the older games? Like Princess Maker and Princess Maker II, releasing those back in the US
Mr. Akai
It's not going to be very difficult to make an English version of Princess Maker and Princess Maker II, but to actually make a marketable product that could be released in the US. I don't think that I could do that right now.
Mr. Yamaga
He doesn't really understand how to distribute it in this country.
Mr. Akai
In reality, I don't really understand how it works in Japan either. {Laughter}
Right now, we make the game, make the game, make the game and now it's done, buy it. We realize that is probably not the best way of going about it but that is how we do it. That won't quite work in the US
Mr. Yamaga
Gainax is a corporation that has 100 people but doesn't actually have a marketing department or a sales dept. In terms of distribution, they are kind of not quite there.
AQ
Aside from Evangelion, what has been your most profitable Anime and your most profitable product.
Mr. Yamaga
There really hasn't been a profitable series besides Evangelion. In fact, That was such an anomaly, it kind of did something strange to Gainax. they didn't know how to deal with it because it was so profitable. In fact, the more interesting the story was, the more money that they put into it, they would lose more and more money. Until then they were hoping that they would get some of the copyright money but until then they were always kind of hungry and then suddenly there was too much food, and they ate too much and they kind of a got a stomach ache. And that is what happened.
Mr. Akai
What he meant by getting a stomach ache is that they stopped making animation and then they did tax evasion.
Mr. Yamaga
The structure of the organization has never really been concretely established. But, it is getting better year after year and it seems that we have been turning a profit on Mahoromatic.
AQ
Is there a series or game or some product that Gainax has done that they wish that they hadn't done?
Mr. Yamaga Do you mean like not do it at all or make a mistake in the process?
AQ
Something either artistically they decided was a bad thing or financially it was so bad that they wished that they had never gotten into it.
Mr. Yamaga
Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water is the series that we feel regret for. We feel that they didn't do the best job possible.
Mr. Akai
In fact, they were working for another corporation when they made Nadia. They did all of the creative work, yet they had absolutely no rights to it. A lot of people have come to them asking questions about the series or about merchandising and they really can't answer because it is not their series. They just did all of the work.
Originally, NHK would send them the script, saying this is how exactly they want it done. The director, Mr. Anno, what he would do was take the fax, staple it and throw it in the garbage. For some strange reason, every single week they would get the scripts.
Mr. Yamaga
Since NHK wasn't getting the product that they thought they were getting and the delivery of the product was getting slower and slower, NHK actually called them to scold them. In fact, Gainax got really upset and ended up yelling at NHK.
Mr. Akai
Since NHK is half run by the government, they've kind of cycled through all the people, so there are all these fresh faces. Yet in Grouptux(sp?) and Gainax there are pretty much the same people that were working on Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water are still working there. Now, they (NHK) are making lots of money on the Nadia DVD and they wanted to have a reunion party but they did not realize how incredibly bad the situation was originally. They (Gainax) decided that it would not be a good idea because there would be a very big conflict.
Mr. Yamaga
NHK was very happy about it. They were very friendly about the reunion party but the people from Gainax were perplexed.
Mr. Akai
When Atlantis got released, NHK actually asked them what exactly they thought about Nadia. They were kind of puzzled because they are kind of a subsidiary and it was not like they had any kind of decision making power. So they were mystified as to why NHK bothers asking them.
On the internet, there was a lot of talk about how Atlantis was so similar to Nadia. Of course, Disney says that they have never seen or heard of a series called Nadia. NHK came to Gainax because of this and asked them how they felt about this implication that Disney was plagiarizing the series. They didn't really have anything to say because they weren't the parent corporation. It was not like they had any rights anyways.
Mr. Yamaga
We actually tried to get NHK to pick a fight with Disney, {Laughter} but even the National Television Network of Japan didn't dare to mess with Disney and their lawyers. What we said to them was, this really had nothing to do with us but if it did we would definitely take them to court. Of course, it is all a lie. We actually did say that but we wouldn't actually take them to court. We would be so terrified about what they would do to them in return that we wouldn't dare.
AQ
Has there been a series that Gainax was not happy about how the localization was done for the US market? Has any Japanese company ever formed a corporation to bring movies over to the US they way that they wanted them done?
Mr. Yamaga
It would be very difficult to say anything because there are people who have been doing the translation right here. To be honest with you, we don't actually speak English so we are not exactly sure how it is being translated. So we are not exactly sure if it is being true to the original series or if they (the translators) are doing something different.
There is really nobody in Japan that actually created a corporation for importation. The reason for that is that maybe the creator might understand it if it is in English, but if it was in Italian, they would have absolutely no clue how it was translated. If they spent the money and the time, I'm sure that an assessment could be made, but I am not aware of any company that actually puts in that much effort.
Audience
An example of that was in Jin Roh by Hiroyuki Okiura, the script was translated back into japanese for his approval and they also gave him a cd of the english people who were applying for each role, like 8 or 9 guys, and they had him choose the best voice from that. That is an example of getting the Japanese director involved.
Mr. Akai
It is actually very common that they translate the script and then retranslate the script to see how different the two scripts would be. That really doesn't help because the two languages are so different..
Mr. Yamaga
AQ
Is he saying that unless the director is really fluent in both Japanese and English he is not in a position to judge it?
Translator
Yes [Ed note: this was very difficult point for the guests to get across.]
AQ
This is just a curiosity that I have had for a while. To my knowledge, Mz. Mizuki in her career as a voice actor has never done anything even mildly risqué. So I was wondering how Gainax got her to do the lead voice in Ebichu which is very risqué anime.
Mr. Akai
It is because of the relationship that she had with Mr. Anno, the director.
Mr. Yamaga
For the most part, voice actors will do pretty much anything that you ask them.
AQ
Were there any problems or misunderstandings?
Mr. Yamaga
No, not at all. It is very very rare that there is a conflict between the studio and the voice actors. As long as the studio that the voice actors work for say it is okay, everything pretty much goes.
AQ
What is your opinion on anime music videos from a company standpoint and from a personal standpoint? Have you seen any anime music videos?
Mr. Yamaga
What exactly do you mean?
AQ
Like the anime music videos that we are going to be showing tonight?
Mr. Yamaga
I like them a lot. I thinks that they are very well done.
Mr. Akai
I didn't know that they existed. I actually like them personally.
Mr. Yamaga
I feel that copywriting is only for professionals. For people who are doing it for their own enjoyment as a hobby, I feel that the line is very blurry. The reason that copywrite laws are so strict is because it is very difficult to make the distinction whether or not someone is professional or amateur. But as Gainax, they got their start doing similar stuff so it's very hard for them to say, "No, We won't allow that'. They also feel that they don't really want to say that. As Gainax, the corporation, they have to say, 'No, we haven't seen it', 'Nope, haven't heard about it'. That is how they deal with it.
AQ
How would you feel if Hollywood wanted to make a live action Royal Space Force?
Mr. Yamaga
That would be a very difficult question to answer because we really don't have any details. It would depend on what kind of script that they have, how much money they are going to put into it and whether or not they think that it is going to be a success. We don't really want it to flop.
AQ
When you are producing an anime, what exactly do you have control over.?
Mr. Akai
It really depends on the producer.
Mr. Yamaga
It really depends on the dynamic of the relationships. If the producer was very adamant about something and said,"This is the way that it has to be." he would probably get away with it. But if he said, "Well, this is kind of the way that I want to do it" and if everybody doesn't agree with them it would kind of get ignored. So, it really depends on the person to person relationship.
AQ
The ending of Mahoromatic has a very enjoyable dance video sequence. Did you come up with that using live dancers?
Mr. Yamaga
Actually, I came up with it at night and just kind of figured it out. I felt very silly when I'm did it at night. I did a little bit and wrotes it down, did a little bit more and wrote it down. That is kind of how it was made. [Ed note: Its our impression that he acted it out, which is why he felt silly doing it.]
AQ
I found it kind of interesting how the ending song of Mahoromaticwas like advertising. Did you write the lyrics?
Mr. Yamaga
Actually, I did not write the lyrics myself. Somebody else wrote the lyrics.
Any other questions?
AQ
This is not a general Gainax question but a question for Mr. Akai and his work with other creators. In regards to Crest of the Stars and Battle of the Stars, are there new projects planned and what might his role be?
Mr. Akai
Actually, since the novel series is already done, there is talk of continuing the series, but the director seems to be busy at the moment. That is why... There is a television station called Wowow. The person who is in charge of animation at Wowow is Mr. Kaifu and he is on vacation. He seems to be the only person who understands animation at Wowow. so...
Mr. Kaifu is actually the son of a prime minister of Japan about 20 years ago. There is talk about him going into politics after he gets off of his vacation so... That is actually only a rumor and not a very official statement. If he actually becomes a politician. it might actually be good for animation in Japan because he would be the most knowledgeable politician that Japan has ever had in terms of animation. {Laughter}
AQ
If he goes into politics, could he get NHK to use the Japanese military against Disney? {Laughter}
Mr. Yamaga
Theoretically, the Japanese army is not an army. It is a self defense force so we can't really attack foreign targets.
Mr. Akai
There are also American military bases in Japan and they don't want to mess with them either. {light laughter}
AQ
Is there any likelihood of another shoujo series like Kare Kano that Gainax could produce? Something that is aimed at the same age range that Kare Kano is aimed at?
Mr. Yamaga
It is not that they don't want to do it abut there are no projects that they are currently working on that fits that... It seems like they are a very unstructured group and when somebody says, "Well that this is what I want to do..", that is what gets done. So at this point, Im not exactly sure who would be making another series like that.
Mr. Akai
The problem is that there really isn't anyone who understands romance, that's why they can't make a similar series.
Mr. Yamaga
However, Mr. Anno just got married so maybe ...it looks good. {Laughter}
AQ
When working late at night, what is the official drink that helps you get your work done?
Mr. Yamaga
We don't drink[alcohol] a lot. For the most part, we drank Oolong tea.
AT
This is a question about Abenobashi. We understand that Kenji Tsurata did the character designs for Abenobashi but he is notorious for not making a deadline. We are curious as to how you got him to deliver the character designs on time.
Mr. Yamaga
It is not that he can't make a deadline, for the most part he just doesn't like deadlines. If he is really interested in a series for the most part, he actually produces work quite efficiently.
Mr. Akai
It is not that he can't keep a deadline, it is just that he doesn't really care about a deadline.
Mr. Yamaga
Other things that we did was.. we would all go to the hot springs and we would make him write and work while we did that. A variety of other things..
AQ
I have a question about Seikai no Monsho and Seikai no Senki. In watching the Seikai series, while I certainly enjoy it, I love the designs, that have been supervised by Mr. Akai and I also love the writing, especially the dialog. It is a wonderful show and as a science fiction fan I appreciate good science fiction like that. It is not often that I see it animated so well. One thing that does concern me is the fascist overtones of it. Sort of the glorification of imperial Japan. What are his observations about that?
Translator
The question is about the fascist undertone of the Seikai no Senkiseries?
AQ
Yes
Mr. Akai
The reason why I like the original series, is not because of the fascist undertones, it is because of the characters striving and acting within the society. It's really not about the society, it's more about the people. I don't feel that I am promoting fascism, I am just portraying a character that is within a fascist society.
The concept behind the series is the fact that it is not the system itself which is good or evil. In the present society, in reality, our democratic society is better than a totalitarian fascist government, But within it's context, whether or not the fascist government is worse or better than the democratic government that its fighting is debatable, within its context.
AQ
I notice that we never really get to see anything of the United Humanity Forces. They just exist as the enemy.
Mr. Akai
In the authors mind, there is actually an entire society and an entire universe surrounding the Senkai series. He just focused on a particular point of that universe in the Senkai series. It is somewhere in his head that this entire world revolves. He could write a series that is set somewhere else within that universe. Until then, as the character designer, there is nothing that I can do.
There is even the language of the Og and the only one who can speak it or understand it is the author. So, when they have a narration in the beginning of episodes, the author goes there and narrates it. The voice actor listens to it and regurgitates exactly what the author says. That is actually what is written on his patches. [Ed Note: The last comment is about the Seikai no Senki patches that were on Mr. Akai's coat.]
Translator
We have time for one more question?
AQ
The DVD release of FLCL had english subtitles on it. I was wondered if those were included with an international audience in mind and if any future Gainax DVDs might have subtitles on them?
Mr. Yamaga
Umm, Im not eactly sure if 'international' is the right word for it. When I came to Fanimecon 2 years ago, there were a lot of requests for subtitles on the FLCL series. That is why the first DVD doesn't have subtitles but for the second one I looked into that and it didn't cost that much money so we decided to throw it on. So you could say that it was done for Fanime Con. {clapping} [Ed note: This is interesting. Last year I asked Mr. Yamaga about the FLCL subtitles and he said that the distributor of the DVD had decided to put the subtitles on and that they were responsible for them. In fact, Synchpoint had to redo the subtitles since they could not license them. If they had been Gainax subtitles, then they would have gotten them along with the series and it wouldn't have been a problem.]
If there are any more questions?
AQ
When are you going to bring Mr. Anno?
Mr. Akai
There was a talk show recently called Live Gainax and Mr. Ano actually did appear in that. They managed to drag him all the way to Osaka and Fukouka from Tokyo. So maybe, someday, they could drag him here..
Mr. Yamaga
However, if you look at it directionally speaking, it is actually getting further and further from California. Might be better off going somewhere else. {Laughter} He is currently not working on any animation but he is planning on doing so. When it's done maybe.
Thank you very much.
Editor's note:
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