The gag anime "Kabatot," which aired in 1971, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year!　Director Hiroshi Sasagawa's view of the early days of Tatsunoko Productions [Watching the Animation Industry Vol. 70

In 1971, during the prosperous years when Japan achieved economic growth after the Tokyo Olympics and Osaka World Expo, a small animated program called "Kabatot" was broadcast. It was a gag short with almost no dialogue that ran for five minutes every day from Monday to Saturday at 6:55 p.m. on the Fuji Television network. Tatsunoko Productions (then known as Tatsunoko Productions), which produced the program, had already won critical acclaim for "Mach GoGoGo" (1967) and was preparing to broadcast the hit "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" (1972) the following year.
For Tatsunoko Productions in its early days, which was trying to establish its own style with realistic illustrations, what significance did a band program like "Kabatot" have?　Hiroshi Sasagawa, who was deeply involved in the establishment of the company and also directed "Kabatot," looks back on Tatsunoko Productions in the 1960s and 1970s.

Is the character of Tatsuo Yoshida too difficult for anyone to draw?　Up to the birth of the first "Space Ace

─ ─ "Hippopotamus Tot" is a comedy with a structure similar to "Tom and Jerry" in which a hippopotamus and a bird, Tot, play tricks on each other.

Sasagawa: Yes, something happens every time, and we make people laugh with gags. It is the same with the Time Bokan series as well as short films like "Hippo Tot. I think that is the basis of both animation and manga. Among Tatsunoko's works, people often say, "If it's a gag, it's Sasakawa. ......


─ ─ Before "Kabatot," you had already directed several gag films such as "Oraa Guzura dada" (1967), "Dokachin" (1968), and "Hakujon Daimaou" (1969), right?

Sasagawa: Yes, of course I like gags. But I also like to direct science fiction films and suspense films. I love "Detective Columbo," Agatha Christie, and Hitchcock's films, and I think "2001: A Space Odyssey" is the best science fiction film.

─ ─ Tatsunoko Productions was founded in 1962, wasn't it? In the beginning, I don't think it was a studio dedicated to making gag cartoons.

Sasagawa: Tatsunoko was an independent production company founded by Tatsuo Yoshida with the goal of creating realistic animated films using his own characters. However, Mr. Yoshida's characters are so difficult to draw that even the slightest movement of his face causes them to collapse. The animators didn't want to work on them because they were too difficult to draw. At that time, in TV animation, abbreviations and deformations were the norm, as in the case of "Astro Boy" (1963), and the same picture was used over and over again. The fate of TV animation was how to create it with a small number of pictures. I think that Osamu Tezuka, who created "Atom," went through a lot of trouble in his own way.

─ ─ I understand that you also had experience writing storyboards for "Atom".

Sasagawa: I was Mr. Tezuka's assistant, so when the idea of founding Tatsunoko Productions came up, I went to him for advice. When I told him that I had met Tatsuo Yoshida and that I was interested in creating an animation company, he looked at me with dismay. He didn't say so, but I think he wanted me to remain a cartoonist. Also, if Tatsuo Yoshida's hard drawings were to be used in an animated TV series, Mr. Tezuka, who was working hard to produce the animated cartoon, must not have been at ease inside. Although Mr. Tezuka had never met Mr. Yoshida before, I think he must have felt threatened.
My drawings are in the Tezuka style, so I tried to persuade Mr. Yoshida with my own logic, saying, "The basis of TV animation is to repeat three original drawings for mouth movements," and "Mr. Yoshida's drawings are too difficult and probably not suitable for TV animation. Besides, unlike manga, TV animation requires a total of 200 to 300 staff members to complete a single work. However, Mr. Yoshida stubbornly refused to budge, saying, "If a person can draw pictures, there is no reason why he cannot draw pictures by copying his own pictures. In the meantime, Toei Doga asked me if I would like to work together with them on an animated film.


─ Toei Doga was founded in 1956 and had already entered the TV animation business with "Ken the Wolf Boy" (1963), right?

Sasagawa: That's why Mr. Yoshida asked me to join the Tatsunoko side of the staff, saying, "This is a great opportunity for you. I was still drawing manga at the time, but I took a break for about three months to go to Toei Doga for training. I received special training in animation from a famous person named Masao Kumagawa. The Tatsunoko side entrusted me with the story, script, and even direction. It was a good deal that Toei Doga would take care of the animation, finishing, filming, etc. after that, but we couldn't agree on the rights, and the deal fell apart. Soon after that, Toei Doga launched a project called "Space Patrol Hoppa" (1965).
Now, "What should Tatsunoko Productions do?　Let's take a vote on whether or not to continue the project. I voted to quit. However, Tatsuo Yoshida has three brothers, right?　The vote was 3 to 1 in favor, and we decided to continue with the animation. After all, Mr. Yoshida is an artist, and he is stubborn (laughs). The first Tatsunoko Productions work that he managed to create was "Space Ace" (1965; Mr. Sasagawa was in charge of directing).