Starting Point: 1979-1996

When the editors of Animage encouraged me to create a manga, I got all excited and, as fate would have it, decided to create my own version of Nausicaä. I am now forced to reflect yet again on why, years ago, I once gave up drawing manga because I felt I lacked talent. At this point, I hope that I can somehow bring this young heroine into a world o

What’s funny about this is that at the time some theorists tried to rationalize what was going on. Some even claimed that we were in a new age, one of “limited animation,” where too much emphasis on making drawings move only hindered story development. They started saying that use of the tome-e, still images employed for effect, was a “new form of

Rick (Richard) Corben is currently one of the leading comic book artists in America. Rowlf, which he created and self-published in 1971, was one of his first works, but it is also, without a doubt, one of his most famous. With Rowlf, Corben has created a true modern fairy tale.

This sense of dark awe is the sort of veneration that Japanese have toward certain forests and natural objects—in short, it’s an animistic primitive religion. Many places have a “forest that shouldn’t be entered.” Even people who are used to working in the mountains feel there is something there. They are suddenly overcome with fear and it becomes

To do this, I sometimes slept on the floor of the studio, consoling myself with the idea that when we overcame this extraordinary situation, I would be able to sleep in my own bed the next time around. Of course, when we eventually finished producing the series I realized that what had seemed an extraordinary situation wasn’t unique. I realized tha

I’ve always thought that, if given the chance, I might as well do what I really want.

I know I shouldn’t criticize others, but why do the final scenes of cartoon movies always have to be so ridiculous?

If we deconstruct a real person’s way of running and animate it, it wouldn’t look as though the character were running. Actual running cannot be expressed simply by drawing lines and coloring in spaces. This is, I think, because in reality it also includes subtle movements of quivering muscles, the flapping of hair and clothing, the speed of leg mo

For the finish inspector, that meant that an extraordinary situation essentially became a normal condition. And she adapted to it. I haven’t worked with her since then. When I drop by, though, she is, as always, working in a pile of thin sheets of paper. I call out hello, and she turns around and smiles at me. [laughter] And she offers me tea and s