Expressing the Universe that Seems Reachable but Is Unreachable in Manga Films: The Work of Toshiyuki Inoue, Main Animator of "Extraterrestrial Boy and Girl" [Watching the Animation Industry No. 87

Director Mitsuo Iso's "Extraterrestrial Boy and Girl" is now available on Netflix, and the first three episodes were shown in theaters. The second part (episodes 4-6) will be screened in theaters on the 11th of this month, and what makes it worth seeing in theaters is the warm and careful hand-drawn artwork, which is rare these days.
The main animators of this "Extraterrestrial Boy and Girl" have worked on "AKIRA" (1988), "MEMORIES" (1995) and other works by Katsuhiro Otomo, "GHOST IN THE SHELL" (1995), "Shin Evangelion the Movie" (2021), and other works by Satoshi Kon, "Ghost in the Shell" (1995), "Shin Evangelion the Movie" (2021), and others. Inoue is a veteran animator who has participated in a wide range of epoch-making works, including "Ghost in the Shell" (1995), "Shin Evangelion the Movie" (2021), and other works by Satoshi Kon, Studio Ghibli, etc. He is a representative animator of the "realistic drawing" that dominated in the 90s and 00s, but he was not able to participate in "Extraterrestrial Boy and Girl" because he was "de-animated". However, he had a clear intention to "break away from the realistic style" when he decided to participate in the "extraterrestrial boys and girls" project.

In "Dennou Coil," he was unable to fully meet Director Mitsuo Iso's expectations.

───You were the main animator for "Extraterrestrial Boy and Girl," but you were also the animation director.

Inoue: This time I was called in as an original picture man, but as the work became more and more difficult, I started to help out as an animation supervisor as well. I mainly helped supervise the production of cuts that were troublesome to correct. I supervised the first episode with Kenichi Yoshida, a character designer, and the second episode with Hideki Ito. I also helped a little with episode 5. I also took over as chief animation director for "Dennou Coil" (2007), directed by Mitsuo Iso.


─ Did Director Iso invite you to participate in "Dennou Coil"?

Inoue That's right. At that time, I was working on many realistic productions for Production I.G., and I wondered if I could continue working like this. I was thinking, "Shouldn't we be looking for something more enjoyable as animation, and not just realistic animation? It was right around that time that Iso-kun invited me to work on "Dennou Coil. At first glance, Iso-kun himself may appear to be an animator who has led the way in realistic animation, but he is capable of expressing something more than realism, and he was looking for that from us as well. However, at the time, I had been involved in I.G. and director Satoshi Kon's works for a long time, so realistic movements were ingrained in my body. Therefore, I could not digest what Iso-kun was demanding of me and could not respond adequately. In that sense, I had a hard time during the production of "Dennou Coil.

─ ─ What did you think of "Dennou Coil" as a work of art?

Inoue It was interesting. The more time passed, the more I felt that way. It has been more than 10 years since "Dennou Coil," and I have forgotten the painful feelings I had during the production to a good degree. Then, I decided to participate in "Extraterrestrial Boy and Girl," thinking that this time I might be able to try again to break away from realistic animation.

───How did Director Iso request your participation?

Inoue: He asked me to help him by direct mail on Twitter. I remember that it started out by asking me to tell him what I thought of the scenario.

───When you joined the project, did you already have Kenichi Yoshida's character design done?

Inoue It was almost ready, but we started drawing without having a final draft. Such a pattern is rare, but we were able to do so because we had a total of six films. I guess they decided to put it on hold for the time being and let the details be finalized during the supervising work while they were working on the six films.

─ What was your impression of Mr. Yoshida's character design?

Inoue: You grew up at Studio Ghibli and later participated in Sunrise productions. He is a person who draws "good but not realistic pictures", which recent animation has lost. Like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, his designs are not consistent as three-dimensional, but they are masterful and unique. This time, since the story takes place in space, I want the viewer to feel the realism of the story. However, I thought that Iso's intention of not going overboard with realism was reflected in Yoshida's character design.