Long interview with Masafumi Mima, sound director! (The "inside man" of anime and games, Vol. 3)

In this series, we interview creators active on the front lines of the animation and game industry to get a closer look at their work styles and personalities. In this third installment, we interview sound director Masafumi Mima. Mr. Mima has been involved in many masterpieces such as "Pokémon," "Yokai Watch," "Fafner of the Blue Sky," "Fullmetal Alchemist," "Kuroko no Basket," "Kabaneri of the Iron Castle," "Macross Delta," "My Hero Academia," "Ushio-Tora," etc. He told us about his career and his passion for each work, among many other valuable things. We asked him about his career and his passion for each work, as well as many other valuable things.

Learning Anime Sound from Susumu Akedagawa

───Can you tell us how you got started in the field of animation sound?
Masafumi Mima (Mima): When I was in college, I wanted to do radio dramas and never thought about animation. I joined Magic Capsule, a company owned by my relative Susumu Aketagawa, because it also did radio dramas, but I did not know that it was a company that mainly did animation. My first job was special effects for Disney's opening ceremony, then I worked as an assistant director for MTV, and after that I became Mr. Akedagawa's assistant and learned how to make animation.

───How often did you watch animation back then?
Mima: I watched Hanna-Barbera animation (editor's note: animation created by two American animators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera). At the time, Tokyo 12 Channel (now TV Tokyo) had an anime broadcast slot called "Manga no Kuni," where I watched the dubbed version of "Chiki Chiki Machine Raging Race. In Japanese anime, it was "Space Battleship Yamato.

Drifters is my root.

─ ─ Are there any works that have influenced you?
Mima: In terms of influences, the Drifters are my roots. I recently met Ken Shimura, but I was too nervous to speak out of respect. The basis of my direction of gags such as "Pokemon" and "Yokai Watch" is based on Drifters.

─ How about animated films?
Mima: "Saraba Uchu Senkan Yamato Ai no Senshi-tachi" (1978) was very well done. However, I never try to make animated films influenced by anime. That would make the core smaller, and I think that's no good. Rather than asking a baseball player to convey the fun of baseball, I think it would be more convincing to have someone watching from the outside say, "Baseball is so much fun. Pulling out things that have been done in past animated films is just copying, so I try to incorporate anything that I notice in my daily life, anything that sparkles and inspires me that hasn't been seen in previous animated films.

Debut as sound director at Toei, which had no sound director

─ ─ As early as 1988, you made your debut as a sound director with the OVA "Madonna Flame Teacher.
Mima: While I was working on the TV animation "GALACTIC PATROL Lensman" (1984-85) with Akitagawa-san, a producer at Seiji Kikaku told me, "There's an interesting young guy here, I'd like to give him a try.

─ That was a speedy rise to the top.
Mima I don't know... There were only about five sound production companies at the time. My peers were me, Kazuhiro Wakabayashi (sound director for Mamoru Oshii's and Studio Ghibli's works), and Jun Watanabe (sound director. (Note: Sound director, representative works include "Medaka Box" and "Bakuman. series, etc.), and we even went out drinking together even though we worked for different companies.

─ What did the producers notice about you?
Mima: Well, I think it was because he moved around a lot (laughs). (laughs) Or maybe it was because they thought, "Can't we do something different from what Mr. Akutagawa can do? (laughs). Anyway, he was the kind of person who said, "If it doesn't work out, I'll take full responsibility," so I was allowed to work freely.

──You saw new possibilities in your youth, didn't you?
Mima Another thing to mention is that "Madonna" was produced by Toei Video. The sound production was done by TAVAC, a Toei affiliate, and at that time there was no system for appointing an independent sound director. I think it was a challenge for us to bring in a sound director into a world that didn't exist in the first place, rather than trying to get rid of someone else.

─ ─ I imagine you must have had a lot of difficulties making your debut as a sound director in an away place.
Mima: At first, I was treated like a foreigner. But only the mixer, Nobuteru Ikegami, accepted me, saying, "It's not foreign, it may be a new style," and I am very grateful to him.

─ ─ "Dragon Quest: The Legend of Abel the Brave" (1988) was your first experience as a sound director for an animated TV series.
Mima: The producer at Aoni Kikaku was the catalyst for this as well. I was also given a chance by the director, Rintaro, and it was thanks to their encouragement that I was able to work on such a big title.

───After you joined the company, did you work on radio dramas?
Mima: About 10 years later, I received an offer from Shueisha to work on cassette collections such as "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," which finally allowed me to fulfill my dream.

Meeting Mr. Siba was a shocking experience

─ When you started working freelance, you visited the studio of another sound director, Shigeharu Shibashi, didn't you?
Mima: Mr. Shiba is a major figure in the industry, but I did not have a specific target in mind. I thought I was a frog in a well, so I wanted to see how someone other than Mr. Akutagawa did things. I contacted a number of sound production companies. I called every single one of them, but they all turned me down, and there were only three that gave me permission, including Mr. Shiba. I visited Mr. Susuha's studio three times, and when he showed me how he did it, I was honestly impressed and said, "Wow! I was honestly impressed. It was totally different from Mr. Akutagawa's work.

─ How was it different?
Mima: Mr. Shiba values acting the most. I had been in the industry for about 15 years, but my encounter with Mr. Shinba was shocking. I was smitten by the stubbornness or strength that a craftsman possesses.

─ What kind of animation were you recording in Mr. Shinba's studio?
Mima I don't remember at all (laughs). (laughs) I was concentrating on watching "the work of Mr. Shinba. However, I do remember that the ramen that Mr. Shinba treated me to after the recording was very good, and I do remember that the studio was in Abaco (laughs).

Stimulating the "language of experience" during postrecording

─ Can you tell us about your postrecording methodology?
Mima: If you use the same language to communicate with actors from various backgrounds, they will not understand you. People have a "language of experience," and I have gradually come to realize in my 40s that they will not understand unless I stimulate that language.

─ I heard that in addition to the director, the original author and the director sometimes participate in the postrecording sessions.
Mima: There is no coordination. The sound director's job is to "materialize the abstract things in the director's head," so I focus my attention on what the director is thinking. Therefore, I am happy when I am approached by the original creator or receive comments from him or her. I was very moved when I received a thank-you note from Tadatoshi Fujimaki, the director of "Kuroko no Basketball" (2012-15). Mr. Fujimaki is a very dedicated person, and he was present not only during recording, but also during dubbing.

─ How about the casting?
Mima: It depends on what you call casting, but if you mean "selecting actors," I do not cast. That is for the director to do. No matter how good the performance is, if it does not fit the director's image, he or she will not call for an audition. And at the audition, we consult with the actors, not give them bad advice. For example, I might say, "Please do the scene you just laughed at while crying," to see if the director and I understand what we are talking about. At this point, even if the laughing play does not turn into a crying play, I will not deny it. Even if the actor doesn't have much experience or draws from the audience, I will follow the director's intention.

─ So you are supporting the director rather than selecting the actors?
Mima: Sometimes people say, "How come you keep getting so many Kaji's?" but that is because Hiroki Kaji does what the director likes. I don't think there are many people who have such a high level of professionalism. I can feel that he is trying to create a work with responsibility as a participant in the production.

─ What do you think about actors and entertainers working as voice actors?
Mima: I enjoy the scientific reactions that occur among the voice actors when we include people who show their faces. Since the voice actors know each other, it tends to create a good friends club atmosphere. Just having Shun Oguri or Shoko Nakagawa there changes the mood of the voice actors. So I would like to see more and more stage and face actors participate in the future.

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