There is a small reason why I chose “experimental film” as the title this time. The name “experimental film” turns up often in the curricula and study groups of Chinese universities. I’ve never actually looked into what exactly the term refers to in Chinese universities, but Japan certainly had an age that could be called experimental film, and the animation it left behind had its own influence — so my motive was simply to make it one of my topics. ...
Before I get into the story of Wolf Boy Ken, I want to say a few words about how I came to leave Master Tezuka’s studio and join Toei Animation. The original plan was for me to return to my master’s side once production on Saiyuki was finished. But as the film neared completion, someone on the Toei Animation side — Mr. Shirakawa, an assistant director — asked whether I might consider staying on at Toei. I told him I wanted to keep doing animation, but my promise to my master came first, so it wasn’t possible. ...
It must have been 1958 when I came to Hatsudai in Shibuya, having accepted Master Tezuka Osamu’s invitation to work as a manga assistant right after graduating from the architecture department of my high school in Shibata, Niigata. Less than two years later, around 1960, Toei Animation approached my master about adapting his manga “Boku no Son Goku” (published by Akita Shoten) into an animated film. And so, quite unexpectedly, I found myself dispatched to Toei Animation as Master Tezuka’s representative, commuting to their studio near Oizumi-Gakuen Station. ...
The word ukeru has no single kanji that captures its full meaning. The character 受ける means to receive or to hand over an object, but when we say a manga or anime uketa or ukenai, the word becomes an indicator of whether something has reached the hearts of the audience – those who watch, those who listen. One day, Master Tezuka invited me out. “Tsuki-san, I’m heading to Ginza today. Want to come along?” ...
Verisimilitude These two words are surprisingly often conflated. Not just by young students, but by professionals as well. I would like to think about that a little. Animation is, above all, a job that involves drawing a great many pictures. Twenty-four per second. In the days of film, early animation drew every single one of those frames. One drawing per frame — each one drawn individually. Then it was discovered that shooting each drawing for two frames did not greatly alter the movement. ...