Dream Hunter: a Yoshitaka Amano Interview
by Simone Satta (special thanks to Yoshi Segoshi/Camui Inc.)

 

     How do you feel, at just over fifty years of age, being considered yet a legend?

     Am I? A legend? Gee, I never thought of it. I honestly don't know what to say!

     You began working in the field of animation very early, at the age of 15. Had been difficult leaving your family so young to chase your dreams, passing from two such different realities like your small village in Shizuoka and a big metropolis like Tokyo? Was ever there a moment in which you thought to give up?

     There were moments when I was confused, troubled, wondered (and I still do once in a while!), but never thought of quitting.

     Right at the age of 16, you carved out a space for yourself in an important animation studio like Tatsunoko. Up to the age of 30, this was your principal job. How much of Yoshitaka Amano is there in the characteristic style of Tatsunoko? And how much Tatsunoko is there in Yoshitaka Amano?

     Designing an anime character starts from zero. You just rely on your own imagination. That's the same whatever company you work for. However, looking back at the works I've done in Tatsunoko, there must be some atmospheric effect Tatsunoko had on me. Tatsunoko wanted certain emotional reality in their works, so the deformation of the character design was unconventional compared to other, more traditional animations such as Disney, at least at that time. I was given much of freedom to design the visuals of the characters whatever the way I felt like, but then again, the basic line, stories, personal character of each individuals, etc., were set by Tatsunoko, so I'd say it was a team work.

     You played a role of primary importance in the creation of most of the Tatsunoko characters. Which series or character do you love particularly?

    Kashaan.

     What do you think about secondary developments that had some of your creations (I was talking of, for example, the Gatchaman comics published in USA or the coming soon Kashaan movie)?

     I enjoy it. Even though I designed the original, those secondary developments are not my responsibility, so I can enjoy them just as an audience and am very happy that my creations are given another chance to be seen by younger generations.

     One of the principal reasons of your fame is your work for concept and character design of Final Fantasy. How much your work changed in this way, with the technological development in the field of videogames, now that restrictions are certainly lesser?

     Yes, the visual aspect of games did improve quite a bit, but it doesn't really affect me or what I do. The only restriction we have when designing characters and environments is our own imagination. The improvement is on realizing what we initially designed into the screen and not on our brain!

     What are your influences?

     I've been influenced by many artists and art movements, pop art, pre-Rafael, etc. Among Italians, I like Michaelangelo and Da Vinci a lot. I also love Italian pasta a lot too!

     You worked for the big companies of US comics industry (Marvel and DC). How was working for them? What kind of approach did you use? Is it a closed experience or you think to repeat this experience in the future?

     Whether it's a project with a big company or a small company (or just on my own for that matter) doesn't affect me at all. Right now, I'm working on Hero (a graphic novel) with a Canadian publisher. Fortunately, I didn't have to do many works that I'm not so interested in, so I could pretty much run my imagination free and just put it down on the paper.

     You embarked on all kinds of artistic routes. Which is the one with that you feel more affinity?

     Whatever the media, what I do is pretty much the same. Draw the damn images on the paper! The project team will transform them into different media. Did you know that when I first worked on a computer game (Final Fantasy l), I thought I have to do my drawings in pixel. So I made the characters with square blocks!

     Which is the work you are more satisfied of?

     There's so many that I enjoyed! It's impossible to point out just one!

     Unfortunately arts like comics and illustration are considered minor arts. What do you think in this connection? Had ever been a problem, for your work in the field of "high" art, your familiarity with these "marginalized" art forms?

     Yes, the so-called "high art" and "minor art" are perceived under different context, historically and sociologically. For me, it is a point of view. How a work being evaluated under certain context. I think the boarder line is more ambiguous these days compared to, say, 20 or 30 years ago and it will continue that way. These days, I'm interested in initiating the whole project by myself. I like to create an entire world under my own theme and choose whatever the media that I think suites best. It can be just one media, or can be a combination of different medias, and fine art can be one of the medias that can convey a certain aspect of my work.

     Are you a big fan of comics? What do you read?

     I am. I think Osamu Tezuka's Firebird is a real masterpiece.

     Do you know Italian comic artists and illustrators? What do you think about them?

     Sorry, I don't know any.

     What are your current projects?

     I'm working on several projects simultaneously at the moment. One of them is a game with which my original drawings are directly transformed into 3D animation. I'm very excited about it. The others include Hero (graphic novel), another 3D animation with a French company, a large exhibition in Tokyo, etc.

     The Comics Code trademark question. Name three comics comic fans should have on their shelves...

     Firebird, Joe of Tomorrow (Ashita no Joe), Gallery Fake.