Interview with CG team members at Production I.G I also had some generic questions for the Production I.G CG team that were discussed in a group setting between the animators. Justin Leach: Where do you see the future of Japanese CG heading? Mizutani san: I think that it is open-ended as CG in Japan is still in its infancy. We want to make the best use of the expressive power of CG in an animation piece, rather than developing the realistic quality of CG itself. CG has unlimited potential. We hope that we will be able to pick its strong points and use it to express stories. It will be great if we can renew our understanding of being Japanese, and make CG productions that are distinctly Japanese. Sato san: I think that animation and 3D CG will fuse together to create a blend of animation styles. Shimura san: The quality will get better and better, but I personally don’t see any drastic changes happening. Souma san: Individual commercial works will probably increase. In animation production, CG will be applied more as a means of saving labour. Tamori san: Some friends of mine asked me the same question before. I think that we have freedom of choice, therefore we can go anywhere. We’ll wait and see. I’d say that it does not really matter what kind of CG you are working on (realistic, animation, artistic or design work) as long as you keep moving forward. I am excited to see where we are going. Justin Leach: How do you feel about western CG animation? Mizutani san: I think that it is amazing. They have good technical groundwork, which creates very high-quality CG and helps software development. I think a lot of people are gathering and everyone makes the full use of their talents to make it possible. It is wonderful. Sato san: I think they are fantastic. I like works from Pixar in particular. Shimura san: They really produce an overwhelming quantity of works at the highest quality standard. Souma san: To be honest, I cannot take to CG character designs. Specifically in that respect, it is not so appealing. Tamori san: I think it is great because I can feel the energy of the animators. It is simply fun to watch. In fact, I made my mind to become an animator because of western CG work. I must admit that I am influenced a lot by western CG. I would like to catch up with them and give some influence to them in return some day. Justin Leach: How do you feel Western animation differs from Japanese CG animation? Mizutani san: Of course, we express things differently due to cultural differences. This is not only apparent in the finished works, but in the production as well. Japanese creators tend to use ready-made software efficiently. Compare this to the western studios that seem to do more custom programming work such as writing shaders and developing in-house tools. Thinking back, 3D software was developed in western countries and based on the English language, which naturally gives advantage to western CG creators. Also, western people might have a cultural tendency to prefer and express things in more realistic approach. Anyway, we respect their attitude and technology for developing appropriate software which enables them to exemplify their imagination and deep understanding towards programming. We must learn from this and continue our own effort, too Sato san: I think that the major difference is that Japanese CG animation is influenced by its manga and 2D animation, while western CG animation is influenced by its own culture [such as Disney and Warner Bros. Animations]. Shimura san: There are also differences such as budgets, project and information pipelines. For me, I think there is no essential difference in CG itself. Souma san: I would rather feel that we are influencing and learning from each other. Tamori san: I cannot think of any famous Japanese CG animation works. It is easier to name western ones, such as Monsters, Inc., Shrek and so forth. This is the biggest difference for me. Actually, CG has already come into common use in various scenes in Japan, but I feel that many of them are somewhat immature and half-baked. Yoshida san: I think that Japanese CG is probably more limited in scope than western CG animation. Justin Leach: What do you feel are the most important aspects of creating CG? Mizutani san: For me, being conscious of my own style is the most important. The computer does a lot of work such as lining, coloring and key framing, which is what makes traditional animation unique. I believe that we can give life to CG animation when we are aware of the difference between the style of what we produce traditionally, as well as the practical efficiency of computer animation. Sato san: Being choosy, and obsessive are the most important aspects of creating CG. Souma san: Not to pursue perfection unnecessarily. Tamori san: Believe what you feel. Your feelings and the things and that came out of your feelings. Imagine and expand your imagination. Make your own ideas and learn from experiences. Yoshida-san: A playful mind and humor.
Images (right) - Kill Bill: Vol. 1 - When a rubout sequence from a yakuza film is presented in Japanese anime imagery with a score lifted from an Italian Western, what comes through is a sense of the thematic and emotional binding energy that gives all of these forms their enduring power. Tarantino evokes not just the gaudy, engaging surface of genre cinema but also its rebel spirit. As a result, the archetypal characters of Vol 1 have a surprising undercurrent of emotional conviction that pulls us toward the ultimate confrontations of Vol. 2. | 
During my time working at 
Interview with Eiji Mizutani
