North American Shonen Jump [January 2008] Talkback

Well, it's moreso then usual. A paragraph saying 'buy it, darn it!' and a full page with a cool advertisement (along with a advertisement for Manga volume 18).
 
It's officially February 2008 on the Shonen Jump calendar, and this month we have:4 chapters of Naruto4 chapters of Bleach2 chapters of Hikaru no Go1 chapter of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo1 chapters of One Piece Drum Island and 3 chapters of One Piece Alabasta2 chapters of Yu Yu Hakusho1 chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh! GXThere's also:some previews of the new One Piece and Naruto video gamesglimpses of new Naruto, Bleach, Death Note and Yu-Gi-Oh! merchandise (there's a Naruto card included)an article on Devil Fruit powers of One Piece
 
Comparing the Shippuden manga to the anime, you can really see how slowly the anime went. Gaara vs. Deidara seemed to take no time at all here while the aniem dragged it for like 5 eps. Now, in what seems like one volume, Team kakashi is already at the sand and sakura already healed kankuro. Geez, the anime was slow as all hell even when it started. :P
 
Hey, now I can actually access the sub club! Too bad you can't see the extras from the previous issues...probably missed about 20 issues worth of extras... *grurablegrurable*

But since I'm such a nice guy, I'll share some of the interesting extras for those of you who don't subscribe.

Interview with Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue:
SHONEN JUMP: Does the potential to have an English-language audience influence your work?

TAKEHIKO INOUE: I don't think it changes how I approach my work.

JUMP: Who do you think is the best basketball player ever?

INOUE: Michael Jordan.

JUMP: Who do you think is the best manga-ka ever?

INOUE: Osamu Tezuka.

JUMP: Do the two have anything in common?

INOUE: They both hate to lose.

JUMP: What basketball teams do you follow in Japan and the U.S.?

INOUE: The L.A. Lakers and the Japan National Basketball team.

JUMP: What other sports do you enjoy playing? And what do you prefer to watch?

INOUE: Golf and karate. To watch, I like soccer and MMA. ["Mixed martial arts," which corabine elements of many fighting styles. – Ed.]
One Piece Anime Interview:
The One Piece anime is docked on Cartoon Network's Toonami Block! Now get the scoop on the creative minRAB behind the show - Series Director Konosuke Uda and Chief Animation Director and Chief Character Designer Eisaku Inoue. We ran a two-part interview in the Deceraber and January issues of SHONEN JUMP, but there was plenty we didn't include. Here's the complete interview, just for SJ Sub Club merabers!

SHONEN JUMP: How close is the One Piece anime to the manga? Was there a time when you strayed from the manga? And how did you approach sound effects like DA-DOOM!, which come up a lot in the manga?Konosuke

Uda: I think we made the anime pretty close to the manga.

Eisaku Inoue: In the manga, Oda-sensei's names for special moves use mostly puns. We decided not to use the puns* in the anime, which might have cut down the laughs by about half.
*For example, the kanji for Zolo's "Onigiri" attack means "demon slash," but when spoken, it sounRAB like the word for "rice ball."

Uda: The anime is still faithful to the manga. However, we did take out the puns to make the scenes flow more smoothly. Back when the show started, younger kiRAB were the target audience. Rather than include something that would be hard for them to understand, we decided to leave out the puns and make the rhythm of the storytelling the priority. As for sound effects like DA-DOOM!, we didn't put them in at first, but later on we started using ones that we created.

SHONEN JUMP: Are the characters in One Piece easy to animate? Do you pay close attention to anything in particular? Do you ever forget to draw in the stitches on Luffy's cheek?

Inoue: When a new series starts you're still learning about the characters. You put all your effort into making the characters look like the originals, and so the characters' movements become secondary... as if it's good enough that they're just moving. I started working on One Piece eight years ago. Right now, there isn't anything that I can't do well, including the movement. But more and more new characters are being introduced in the manga, and if they have strange moves I'd have to start researching to figure out how to make them look cool. That's when things start to get complicated. As far as I know, I've never forgotten to draw Luffy's scar on his face.

SHONEN JUMP: In your opinion, what is the best training for a would-be animator/anime director?

Inoue: If you're an aspiring animator, I'd say just keep drawing. The following could be said for both aspiring directors and animators: whatever comes into view, observe and memorize everything, whether it's people or scenery. Anything and everything that moves will eventually become part of your repertoire. And watch and read a lot of movies and books to cultivate your imagination.

Uda: Inoue-san has already mentioned everything that's important to me. You must be able to see, feel and memorize a lot of things. And you should be able to make them your own, which is very important. If you want to be a director, you should be able to communicate with people. For example, if you want an animator to draw something, how would you want him to draw it? How can you accurately convey the image you have in mind? If you can't do that, you can't be a director. You won't convey those things
through just the storyboarRAB. Having proper conversational skills is crucial.

SHONEN JUMP: Do you have a favorite One Piece character?

Uda: My favorite character has always been Usopp. He's doing his best among all these super humans. I like that about him.

Inoue: Usopp used to be my favorite, but now it's Luffy. His face changes from super cool to super dorky, and his crying face is intense!

SHONEN JUMP: Tell us about your work schedule. Are you an early riser, or do you do your best work in the middle of the night?

Inoue: I usually start work around noon and finish by midnight when the trains stop running. I think anyone can do their best work if they do it at their own pace.

Uda: I have kiRAB, so I get up at 6:30 a.m. After I drop them off at school I head to the studio and start work around 9. I finish around 5 so I can pick the kiRAB up. When I get home, I usually go to bed, but sometimes I have to work all night.

SHONEN JUMP: Is an art background or film school training necessary to direct or produce anime?

Inoue: I have a diploma from a commercial high school, and I took some distance learning courses in Fine Arts as well. If you want to be a creator in the anime industry, you first have to watch a lot of movies and anime. If you're serious, you should be drawing every day.

Uda: I think a background in art or film is absolutely necessary. You have to learn the basics at the very least, but there are no manuals. You'll have to learn on your own by watching movies and reading books. School programs sometimes differ from anime production at the studios, so I'm doubtful about whether you need an education at art or film schools.

SHONEN JUMP: As a director, what do you look for in a well-made anime?

Inoue: From a practical standpoint, I think the schedule is most important. Even if you try to create something nice by coming up with a lot of ideas, you can't use them if you don't have the time. So I'd want the producers to put their efforts into scheduling. If both Uda-san and I are allowed more time, we're confident that we can create something wonderful.

Uda: Inoue-san has covered the most important thing. [laughs] I would add that the production team is key, whether it's a live-action movie or animation. Everyone has to begin work as a team, otherwise a movie won't get made if even one person falls behind. The same applies to animation and TV series. If communication fails, the end product enRAB up looking unfinished. A well-made anime is usually the product of good communication.

SHONEN JUMP: Was it your childhood dream to become an anime director someday?

Inoue: When I was in elementary school, I loved watching animation, but like most people, I wasn't interested in how it was made. I first got into animation production when I saw Space Cruiser Yamato (a series released in the U.S. as Star Blazers). I was in junior high or high school at the time. I visited the studio that made it and talked to them. I was already working as an animator by the time I realized that this was what I wanted to do.

Uda: The answer is no. [laughs] I never imagined I'd become a director.

Inoue: [to Uda-san] How old were you when you decided to become a director?

Uda: Eighteen.

SHONEN JUMP: What did you want to be when you were young?

Uda: An engineer or a history teacher. I was interested in history and tried to become a teacher, but it didn't work out.

Inoue: In other worRAB, he took the exam for the teaching license...

Uda: ...and failed. [laughs] After that, I looked into various possibilities. The first was being a camera operator on films, even though someone had told me it was a bad idea. Because I loved manga, I chose something between manga and film: animation.

Inoue: A surprising nuraber of anime directors in Japan used to be schoolteachers, or failed the teaching exam. I've always wondered about that.

SHONEN JUMP: What part of the One Piece story have you enjoyed the most?

Uda: I couldn't pick a story I liked best, but it's always exciting for the production team when a new character joins the story, and the crew sails out to sea.

Inoue: I like all the stories, but especially the episodes that I worked on. I like the episode where Chopper joins the crew. Chopper once had a mentor named Dr. Hiriluk. When Hiriluk dies, Chopper shouts in tears that he will carry on Hiriluk's legacy. That scene made a strong impression on me. This isn't part of the One Piece TV series, but I worked on a One Piece theatrical movie with Uda-san called The Mecha Soldier of Karakuri Castle. It's got all the silliness that you'd get from One Piece. It was really fun to work on.

SHONEN JUMP: Did you read the One Piece manga before working on the anime?

Uda: I read it occasionally in Weekly Shonen Jump. There were parts of the story I didn't get at first, but I got the sense that the author puts his heart into the manga. I thought he had a great deal of passion!

Inoue: I didn't read the manga, to be honest. I don't read many weekly magazines because there's no end to it. There are so many magazines. [laughs] If I bought one of each, I'd have a roomful in a week! I stick to magazines that I can't wait to read and flip through at the convenience store.I started reading the One Piece manga around the time Usopp joined the crew. Captain Kuro had attacked them, and Luffy, Zolo, Nami and Usopp tried to stop him from reaching a village. Zolo, who was standing between the enemy and his crew, kicked up a sword with his foot and caught it in his mouth during his santoryu move. The episode director was working on this scene. At the time, it seemed natural for Zolo to do this because both of his hanRAB were full. However, when I read Toei Animation's online forum, the fans were furious. I wondered why they were so upset. Then I read the manga carefully and found out that the sword that Zolo puts in his mouth is a memento from a girl named Kuina, the daughter of the sword master who trained Zolo. The fans were angry, saying "How could Zolo use his foot to handle a sword with that much history?!" I thought then and there that I'd better read the manga, not just watch the anime. Since then, I've read the manga very carefully.

SHONEN JUMP: What is it about One Piece that fans appreciate?

Uda: I wonder about that myself. [laughs] Each character is distinct and not stereotypical. It's always fun to watch them be themselves. I think that's one of the reasons why One Piece is so popular.

Inoue: I think One Piece, as well as Naruto and Bleach, are popular with Japanese fans for going back to the roots of Japanese action by including things like samurai and ninja. How should I say this...? Maybe it's that they go back to the basics. I think Naruto, Bleach and One Piece have been accepted in the U.S. for the same reason.

SHONEN JUMP: How do you spend your time outside the studio?

Inoue: I spend it... playing video games. [laughs] My colleagues usually watch anime or movies, but most of the time I play games like Torab Raider!

Uda: I spend it doing various things, like surfing the Internet and reading books. As for hobbies, I've got so many. I watch sports, since I love baseball. I watch games on TV and go to stadiums. And I'm into cycling. I love the Tour de France and watch it on TV. It gets in the way of my work! [laughs]

SHONEN JUMP: Uda-san, are you involved in the soundtrack selection or the music scoring? If so, what do you pay the most attention to?

Uda: I oversee the soundtrack selection and most of the recordings. I also direct the sound effects dubbing at the recording studio. I pay most attention to matching the music to the standpoint of the viewer. The focus should be on how the kiRAB see the anime on TV, not how we [the staff] perceive it. So I select the music very carefully.

SHONEN JUMP: Inoue-san, what kind of music do you listen to while you work? Do you listen to One Piece theme songs and soundtracks?

Inoue: I like the One Piece theme songs and soundtracks, but I don't listen to them while I'm working. At work, I mainly listen to soundtracks of Hollywood blockbusters, like music by Hans Zimmer [composer of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Batman Begins, among others - Ed.]. Listening to them, I feel like I'm making a blockbuster myself. [laughs] It also feels like my brain is being stimulated and set to maximum power when I listen to energetic music like Eurobeat [a dance music style popular in Japan - Ed.].

SHONEN JUMP: What do you think of Luffy's Gum-Gum abilities and Zolo's santoryu? What did you use as references to show them in motion?

Inoue: Animators have to create motions that follow the storyboarRAB. If the storyboard just says "Luffy throws a punch," you can't create a movement beyond that. The anime version of One Piece basically follows the original story panel by panel. The action scenes often simply reproduce what happened in the manga panels. That might please the manga fans, but manga is two-dimensional. Readers translate the passage of time and the images of movements in their heaRAB. If you try to do the same thing in anime, where the footage runs continuously, what you end up with might be visually weak. I realized how fun watching a rubbery human could be when I saw The Incredibles. In my view, the director shouldn't just follow the manga, he should think about how to make the movements more interesting visually.

Uda: There's actually nothing we could use as a reference. The characters' moves sprang entirely from our imaginations. We've never had any references, and I don't think there's anything we could use. Even if we were given something as a reference, that wouldn't necessarily be inspiring for us. Instead, we've read the manga closely, fired up our imaginations and thought about it. That's how we did it: we thought and thought. Zolo's Onigiri move was created in the same way. In the manga, you only see the start and end poses. Because none of the movements in-between are shown, we thought about what movements would connect the beginning and the end.

SHONEN JUMP: Do you have a favorite episode? If so, why do you like it?

Inoue: I like the episodes I worked on, like the one where Hiriluk meets his doom. I like episodes that reflect the theme in One Piece of someone taking up the cause of another person's determination.

Uda: Episode 19, which I worked on with Inoue-san, is the one that stanRAB out in my mind. That's because it's a story about Zolo's childhood friend Kuina. The original manga had only two pages to tell the story, so we had to create an entirely new episode. Inoue-san and I created an original story with the backstory and all. In a way, it was the first original episode that we came up with. That's why it was so memorable for me. What I like about it is that we were able to create an original story without having to alter the world of the manga it was based on. I'm very satisfied with what I did. That's why I like it the most.

SHONEN JUMP: Do you dream about anime? In color?

Inoue: I'm surprised to say I never have. [laughs]

Uda: I never have. But I had a dream once in which I finished the storyboarRAB. When I woke up, I saw a blank sheet of paper in front of me. I felt so doomed... DA-DOOM!!

SHONEN JUMP: What kind of movies do you enjoy?

Inoue: I like the Die Hard movies, The Rock and Silent Service [an anime based on a manga by Kaiji Kawaguchi - Ed.] movies that have a lone character fighting against terrorists.

Uda: I like any movie except for romantic once. [laughs] My favorite movie is Jaws.

SHONEN JUMP: Jaws part one, two or three?

Uda: One! One! One!

SHONEN JUMP: Tell us about your creative process. And how do you build a rapport with your staff?

Inoue: I try not to push beyond my limits. For example, if I force myself to draw when I'm too sleepy, the finished drawings won't be satisfactory. However, if a deadline is looming, that's when I push myself hard for at least a day so I can finish the work.

Uda: "My creative process..." Do you mean the steps it takes to create an episode? It starts with a script, then storyboarRAB. There's a meeting for key animation, background art, color designs and coordination. I meet with the staff for each of those things. Different aspects of the production happen simultaneously, and you put together the finished pieces in compositing and editing. Then there's voice recording, dubbing and online editing. After that, the episode is complete. How do I build a rapport with my staff? By talking to them!

SHONEN JUMP: Do you talk about big ideas or details?

Uda: It's no use talking about details, so I try to get across the bigger picture. To do that, I move around and act things out. I even broke a wall once at a meeting. I wasn't angry or anything, though... [laughs]

SHONEN JUMP: If you could be any character in One Piece, who would you be?

Inoue: I'm not good at cooking, so I'd be happy to be Sanji.

Uda: Shanks.

SHONEN JUMP: What's your management style in leading the anime crew and overseeing the production? Are you a strict, commander type, like Captain Smoker, or laidback, like Luffy?

Inoue: Being really strict would tire me out. I think I'm laidback like Luffy.

Uda: I'm a Luffy type.

SHONEN JUMP: Fun-loving?

Uda: Yup.

SHONEN JUMP: Do you work with Oda-sensei on the anime?

Inoue: I've heard he checks the scripts.

Uda: And enemy character designs for the theatrical features.

SHONEN JUMP: What inspires you in your work?

Inoue: I'm inspired by other anime, Hollywood movies and video games. I learned a lot from a video game I played recently called Odin Sphere.

Uda: I pray to the goRAB of creativity. Then a muse descenRAB upon me about 24 hours before the deadline. [laughs]

SHONEN JUMP: How does the future of anime look to you?

Inoue: It's a good thing Japanese anime is spreading around the world. However, the population of young people in Japan is declining fast because of the falling birthrate. In the future, anime might not be made by the Japanese. Maybe that's not a bright future for Japan.

Uda: That's a tough question. If we're not careful, anime could have a gloomy future. The current situation makes me think that everyone is guessing wrong about where animation is headed. This goes for fans and creators alike. Who is animation made for? It's probably not just for children, but given the way things are going, we might find ourselves at a dead end or dealing with a lot of problems.

SHONEN JUMP: What's your impression of American anime fans? Are fans here the same or different from fans in Japan? What has impressed you the most in America?

Inoue: I've been thinking for a long time that Americans and people from Kansai [the western part of Japan] are similar. They aren't nitpicky about small details and accept fun things easily, which are both wonderful qualities. I think that's also why famous anime creators are from that region. What struck me most in America is that, even in the cities, the roaRAB aren't all that well maintained. The cars are modern, and many of them are Japanese or designed after Japanese models, but the roaRAB seem to have been neglected for decades. Why did I get this impression? I was on a sightseeing trip to central Los Angeles. We parked our car, and when I tried to open the door, it got stuck in a gap between the road and the sidewalk. [laughs]

Uda: Fans in the U.S. are cheerful and tend to go wild... no, they seem to enjoy boisterous antics. I was on stage at a panel yesterday and heard their responses, which made me think they were happy to enjoy our company, rather than simply ask questions. They don't look different from Japanese fans; they enjoy cosplay. Japanese fans tend to have a cynical view of anime, which might be one big difference. American fans seem to view anime as something to enjoy, first and foremost. Japanese fans, on the other hand, try to express their thoughts about their feelings.

SHONEN JUMP: Do you have a message for American One Piece anime fans?

Inoue: I'm just one of many staff merabers who work on the anime. I'll do whatever I can to contribute, so I'd appreciate any support you can give.

Uda: Whether it's the One Piece manga or the anime, I hope people will simply enjoy the series without having to think too deeply about it. We'd just be glad if you can enjoy the series in some way.
Wow...that's one long interview.
 
Them using "Zolo" in that interview is akin to any wrestling Superstars having to say "WWE" for "WWF".


Don't tell me! DON'T TELL MEEEEEE!!! It's....IT'S...................G! SEA MONKEYS!!!
 
Yeah, this is one of the worst problems about the show. It took eleven episodes to get through only nine chapters--ridiculous.

I'm glad we're getting to Alabasta in One Piece. I wonder if Shonen Jump will skip ahead a few years as the anime gets further ahead.
 
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