What makes anime anime? --Director Kenji Kamiyama, who has been involved in blockbuster projects such as "Star Wars," "Blade Runner," and "The Lord of the Rings," asks this question.

Director Kenji Kamiyama's surroundings have been fraught with activity. He co-directed the 3DCG anime "ULTRAMAN" and "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045" with Shinji Aramaki, both of which are currently awaiting season 2. He is also one of the directors of "Star Wars: Visions," a series of short films by a Japanese director and a Japanese animation studio, which will be available on Disney+ (Disney Plus) starting this month. In addition, "Blade Runner: Black Lotus," a series of 13 films set in the world of the "Blade Runner" films, will be available in the US this fall. Not only that, but he is also set to direct "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," an animated spin-off of the blockbuster "Lord of the Rings" movies.
There is more. A series based on Kamiyama's original script called "Eternal 831" will be distributed by WOWOW starting next January. With a total of six projects in the works, the fundamental question on Director Kamiyama's mind was, "What is anime? The fundamental question that occupied Director Kamiyama's mind was, "What is animation?

Japanese animation is indiscriminate. It is like boxing between lightweight and heavyweight.

──There are a total of four new works by Kamiyama scheduled for release and distribution in the near future. The film that comes closest is "Star Wars: Visions. Was Director Kamiyama's "The Ninth Jedi" your own idea?

Kamiyama: Yes, it was. In the beginning, Production I.G. asked me, "Kamiyama, what do you think of 'Star Wars'? I found out about this project when I was asked by Production I.G. "Kamiyama, what do you think about 'Star Wars'? At first, they may have been talking to another creator, but I was like, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" I immediately thought of the story. I'm sure there are people all over the world who fantasize about "My Star Wars," but when I first saw "Star Wars," it was a simple composition of the Empire versus the Rebellion, a young man from the countryside who sets out on a journey and gets caught up in a battle over the galaxy. I wanted to go back to the simple composition of the Empire vs. the Rebellion, the story of a young man from the countryside who travels to the galaxy and gets caught up in the battle for the galaxy. Although it does not appear in this film, I also have my own idea of the power structure of the galaxy after the movie Episode IX ("Star Wars: Dawn of the Skywalkers").

─ ─ Don't you think that Lucasfilm or Disney will interfere with such a setting?

Kamiyama: I was allowed to do that freely. The person supervising the setting gave me a lecture saying, "This is the way it is in the official history," but there were almost no restrictions.

─ Next is "Blade Runner: Black Lotus," which is based on the same worldview as "Blade Runner. This is co-directed by Shinji Aramaki and produced by SOLA DIGITAL ARTS, the same company that produced "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045" (2020), is that correct?

Kamiyama: Yes, "Blade Runner: Black Lotus" has already been completed. We are currently working on "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim". First of all, the live-action "Lord of the Rings" series, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and directed by Peter Jackson, is very important to us. For Hollywood, film is not a national policy ......, but it has become a key industry for the country. I feel that the small-scale nature of the Japanese animation industry is a different dimension from that of pure film production. Blade Runner: Black Lotus" was produced by Alcon Entertainment, which also produced the movie "Blade Runner 2049. Star Wars: Visions" was produced by Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios, two very major production companies, but they gave priority to the creativity of the Japanese side. However, working on "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" was completely different from other projects because it was both difficult and interesting, making me realize that this is probably how they make movies in Hollywood. As a result of working out how to make a film based on the absolute theme of entertainment, we are able to create a film that guarantees a certain level of quality, depending on the size of the budget and staffing. The scenario is based on a council system, similar to building a stadium or a bridge. I think "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" will create a new animation studio for this film.


─ ─ Another TV series called "Eternal 831" has been announced.

Kamiyama: This is an original project commissioned by WOWOW, and as is the case with WOWOW's live-action dramas, it has a political theme and action that is not done on terrestrial TV. It looks like a coming-of-age story and has fantasy elements, but I guess what they want from me is the political elements. It is produced by my company, Craftar, so it is a cell-look 3DCG animation. What I feel is tough these days is that people who watch animation think that every work is a big production, and they don't take into consideration the budget, schedule, and other circumstances of the creator. In the case of live-action films and TV dramas, the actors are largely responsible for the production, but in anime, everything is the responsibility of the director. If we were to compare it to sports, Japanese anime is a non-discriminatory class. It is like a lightweight and a heavyweight boxer punching each other, but it is also a freedom.