Animation Director/JAniCA President Yasuhiro Irie Long Interview! (Animation and Game "Inside Man" No.6)

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 sixth installment, we interviewed Yasuhiro Irie, animation director and president of the Japan Animators and Directors Association (JAniCA). As an animator, Yasuhiro Irie has participated in numerous animation masterpieces such as "Escaflowne in the Sky," "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Platoon," "Mobile Suit Gundam," "Cowboy Bebop," "Spriggan," "Tekkonkinkreet," and "Soul Eater," and as a director has directed "Alien 9," "KURAU Phantom Memory," "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST," "CØDE:BREAKER," and "Burning Table Tennis Girl. He talked extensively about his career to date, the works he has directed, his future goals, JAniCA activities, and his thoughts on the animation industry.

Animation is "a job that allows me to express my color across works.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today. First of all, could you tell us about the works that have influenced you?

Yasuhiro Irie (Irie): The first time I thought about doing animation for work was when I was in the first year of junior high school and saw "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (1984), directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Before that, I had seen "Super Electromagnetic Robot Con Battler V" (1976-77) and "Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V" (1977-78), as well as Miyazaki's "Conan: Future Boy" (1978), but I did not think of animation as a career at that time. However, when I watched "Nausicaa" after "Conan," I realized that the characters in both films had the same running style and were created by the same person. Once I realized that there was a job that allowed me to express my colors across works in this way, I became interested in the job of animator.

─ Are there any works other than animation that have influenced you?

Irie: I watched a lot of dramas that were on at the time. I watched "Taiyo ni Hoero! I also watched rather serious NHK dramas such as "Ginga TV Shosetsu" and "Dorama Ningen Pattern. I loved "Sequel to Case: Family on the Seashore," "Sequel to Case: Views of the Moon," "Yumechiyo Nikki," and "Ryota Mandaraya no Ryota" starring Tetta Sugimoto.

-Before becoming an animator, what kind of work were you interested in?

Irie: Before I saw "Nausicaa," I wanted to be a potter. I was inspired by watching a TV show about turning a potter's wheel to make plates and pots, and by the time I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I was attending a pottery class near my house. Looking back, I think I developed a strong interest in the idea of transforming something that had a different shape into something familiar.

─ Did you practice making animation when you were in junior high school?

Irie: I wanted to try my hand at making animation, but I couldn't get access to cels, so I practiced by buying animation paper at a nearby animation store.

After graduating from high school, I made my debut as an animator at Nakamura Productions

How did you become an animator? Did you attend a technical school?

Irie: I did not attend a technical school. I had wanted to become an animator since I was in junior high school, but my parents wanted me to finish high school, so I moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school. Living in Yamaguchi Prefecture, I had a hard time at first because I did not know how to become an animator. By the time I graduated from high school, I had learned to apply for jobs through job advertisements, so I sent a letter to Nakamura Productions' advertisement in Animage and came to Tokyo for an interview.

─ Did you think about going on to college?

Irie: When I was in my second or third year of high school, the people at Gainax, who produced "Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise " (1987) and other works, were all art-related university graduates, so I went to drawing classes and studied to go to art university for a while. However, I began to feel that spending another four years in college to become an animator would be too much of a hassle, so I decided not to go to college. At the time, Miyazaki had just released "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) and was working on "The Witch's Delivery Service" (1989), and I think I was impatient because I couldn't participate in those projects.

Irie: So you joined Nakamura Productions, where you had your first interview?

Irie: Yes, I did. When I think back on it now, I think they were puzzled because I brought in a terrible picture (laughs). (Laughs.) The day before I came to Tokyo for the interview, I went to Studio Ghibli for a visit. Ghibli was located in Kichijoji at the time, and I visited the studio early in the morning and asked the production staff to show me the freshly painted art backgrounds and temporarily painted cells.

How was your first job at Nakamura Productions?

Irie: I joined as an animator, but I couldn't draw clean lines or produce a good number of pictures, and I don't think I was very effective as an animator. Even after I was allowed to work as the second original, I had a hard time at first because I did not know how to draw in accordance with the character chart. Good artists were able to quickly progress from the second original to the first, but I wondered why I couldn't draw the characters the way I wanted. On the other hand, I also had an unfounded confidence that I could do a much better job, and that I could do it better if I drew from scratch.

Irie: So you wanted to be a director from that time on?

Irie: "I wanted to make the stories I envisioned into animation, just like Hayao Miyazaki did. That's why I became an animator. Even in difficult times, I used that as support.

What was your first job as an animator?

Irie: The first animation I did was "GO! The Wrestler's Army" (1989). At that time, we didn't put all of the video crew on the end roll, but rather, the production company put them together, and a few of the production company members were put on the roll, so I don't remember my name being on the roll. The first two original works were "Wataru 2" (1990-91). Actually, I was allowed to do one or two cuts of L/O for "Wataru 2" before Futabara, but I couldn't draw it well, so I decided to start with Futabara.

Nakamura:At Nakamura Productions, did you mainly work for Sunrise?

Irie: Yes, after I became Nihara. After "Wataru 2," I worked on "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula" (1991) and "Phibird, the Brave of the Sun" (1991-92) as a nihara. I was with Nakamura Productions for about two and a half years, and was there until the middle of "Phibird".

Irie: Was your life difficult at that time?

Irie: Fortunately, my parents sent me money, so I rarely had to live on 120 yen a week (laughs). I lived in an apartment without a bath, but public baths were cheap at the time, so there was no inconvenience.