Anime Industry Watching Vol. 25: From "Gundam" Production Producer to Chairman of Aniplex... What is Masuro Ueda's "Anime 100th Anniversary Project" aiming for!

Masuro Ueda, who served as president and chairman of Aniplex, stepped down as chairman this year. He is now a full-time advisor to Sony Music Entertainment. He is now a full-time advisor to Sony Music Entertainment.

Mr. Ueda entered the animation industry 37 years ago as a production assistant on the first "Mobile Suit Gundam. His career was so spectacular that people envied him, saying, "There's no way to rise any higher," but why did he even have to dress up as Char?　Why did he have to dress up as Shia? What is the "Anime 100th Anniversary Project"?　We interviewed Mr. Utsuda himself.

From the Field to the Maker: ...... "Why are you joining an enemy company?"

─ ─ Mr. Ueda, you worked as a production manager on "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979), and that was the start of your career in the animation industry, wasn't it?

Ueda: When I was out of work after graduating from school, I happened to see an advertisement for a job as a production assistant at Sunrise. When I went for the interview, I saw a poster of "Gundam" just before it was to be broadcast, and I thought, "What's Gundam?　I had never even heard of it. It was a tough job, but if I had not been assigned to "Gundam" at that time, and if I had not met the people who were there, I might not be in the animation industry today.

─ After working as a production assistant, you became a producer on "Galactic Drift By Pham" (1983), didn't you?

Ueda: I was credited as co-producer on "Mobile Suit Gundam: Meguriai Universe" (1982), but it was a compilation, so the staff was already there from the beginning. The first film I produced from scratch was "Byfam. I think I was the most varied producer at Sunrise. I even produced the TV special "Obatarian" (1990) with the idea of "taking on a genre that Sunrise had never tried before. From "Gundam" to "Obatarian," my policy is to have no policy. I don't dislike artistic works, but my personal preference is for entertaining anime that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, not just those who get excited about it.

─ After producing a number of works, you became a board member of Sunrise, didn't you?

Ueda: That was around the time of "City Hunter" (1987). At the time, I was called "City Hunter personnel" (laughs).

───I heard that you did not stay at Sunrise and worked as a freelance producer for about three years.

Ueda: I quit Sunrise, where I had worked for 20 years, right after Sunrise decided to produce "Inuyasha" (2000). I was involved in the start-up of the project, so I became involved with "Inuyasha" from the outside as a freelance producer. My main motivation was to see what I could do as a freelance producer. After working as a freelance producer for about three years, I ventured to work with people from different industries, but I found that in Japanese society, people are judged more by the company sign on their backs than by the individual. It was disappointing to realize this, and I wondered what I should do.

───Then, in 2003, you were invited to join the newly established Aniplex as "Chief Producer.

Ueda: To put it simply, I was headhunted. At the time, Sony Music Entertainment's animation division (SME Visual Works) was not doing well, and we were in the midst of a period in which we were trying to reestablish a new structure and take our time in creating animation. I felt that I would be able to do what I wanted to do if we were to start from near zero to a new structure. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have wanted to join Aniplex if it had been the larger company it is today, and I'm sure they wouldn't have even taken me seriously, coming from the field (laughs).

─ ─ Back in 2003, it was said that it was rare for a person from a production company to join a manufacturer.

Ueda: I was once asked in an interview, "Why are you joining an enemy company? (laugh). I thought, "Well, production companies and manufacturers sometimes fight, but aren't they enemies? (Laughs.) I thought, "Well, production companies and manufacturers fight sometimes, but they are not enemies. When I quit Sunrise, some people said to me, "Why did you quit when you could have been a board member or even the president?　I was told many things like, "You are an idiot. But I thought that if joining a manufacturer, with my background in the field, could stimulate something new, then that would be a good thing.