Anime News (Interview Edition)

Yoko Kanno, who has composed music for Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Escaflowne, etc. performed at a special concert on June 20 in Seoul, South Korea. It was her first public performance in five years. The concert was a precursor to the launch of the Korean online game, Ragnarok 2. Kanno composed music for the game. She performed works from her anime soundtracks (including Bebop and Escaflowne) as well as new songs from Ragnarok 2. Joining her were singers Origa and Maaya Sakamoto (also a seiyuu). The concert was held at the Sejong Center in Seoul.

The Anime News Network (ANN) story:
Yoko Kanno to Perform Special

Copyright © 2007, Gravity Corp. / CREDIA / Kanno Yoko (and staffs of the stage) / 571BO. All rights reserved.

Photo courtesy: 571BO (Note: site language is Korean).

Now for a couple of interviews…first up is an older interview (from 1999…part of that year’s AX coverage from ex.org). The topics ranged from her background and approach to composing anime soundtracks to her collaborations with the various anime directors. In the following excerpt, she discusses her most memorable American convention experience:

“The most interesting experience is the combination of fans and creators. This is the first time I’ve been able to experience this. There aren’t many opportunities at all in Japan for creators to meet fans directly. I was very surprised (laughs). To hear from people directly encourages me.”

Here are the three parts of the interview:

• part 1
• part 2
• part 3

The second interview is more recent. It was done as part of a series of in-house interviews for Production I.G. Part 1 of this interview concentrated on her work for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Here is an excerpt:

“I had this image of a formal and rigid “manly” world for the original comic. So I tried to think of ways to destroy that world. The theme I had in mind was, ‘be human.’”

Part 2 looks at her work on Solid State Society:

“I would quickly read the script. Maybe in twenty minutes to get that valuable first impression. Then I put it aside and compose the score with the holistic image of the story.”

Apparently there will be at least one more part of the interview which will be released at a later date.

Another recent in-house interview by Production I.G. featured Kyoji Asano, the animation director for Le Chevalier D’Eon. Here is part of what he said:

“As for the animation work, I dedicated much attention to their (the four main characters) facial expressions and manners in order to enhance the breadth and depth of their personalities.”

He also mentioned that this was the first project where he “began to feel affection for each character”. There are 11 other interviews with various members of the Le Chevalier D’Eon production team (including the producers, writers, composer, and singer).

ANN’s Christopher Macdonald recently spoke with John Ledford, co-founder & CEO of A.D. Vision, Inc. – parent company of ADV Films, ADV Manga, Newtype USA, and The Anime Network. He talked about his company, his competitors and the industry as a whole (the ups, downs, and changes). Here is an excerpt with his views on fansubs:

“Personally, not professionally, I like fansubs because they come from the fan community. Professionally, if a fansub is not done with a lot of tender loving care, and it’s messy, it can damage the product. In any case, the fansub is not licensor approved, so no one’s running the traps with the author or the creator. No one’s asked for their blessings, so you know, it’s a very delicate situation.”

For me, it was interesting to get a glimpse at how one has to approach anime/manga from the business angle.

Here is the interview.

In another ANN interview Zac Bertschy spoke with Charles Campbell, the (English) ADR director of Gatchaman, Guyver, and recently 009-1 (which was recently reviewed by David). In this brief interview, Campbell talks about 009-1 as well as some of the challenges of ADR work. Here is an excerpt where he talks about how closely he pays attention to fan reaction:

“I usually check pretty often, actually; I go to Amazon.com a lot, since I figure those people are just regular joes watching the show. Back when I started, as a sound engineer on Evangelion back in 1995…back then, so many people were anti-dub. It’s nice now that people are opening up a little bit to the concept of English dubs. “

It’s too bad that the interview is so short.

Here is another interview with Campbell…this one is from spong.com and the interviewer is Svend Joscelyne. The interview is done from a gaming perspective with the anime adaptation of the PS game Zone of the Enders as the central topic. Here is an excerpt about casting decisions:

“Ultimately, I try to choose a cast that sounds good as an ensemble and is the most entertaining. When I’m done with an episode, I like to listen without looking at the picture. To me, a good performance is like a good symphony. If everyone hits the right notes and the piece stirs your emotions then it’s a winning composition.”