Amin Abbas Dubai

Japanese director and writer Kaichi Sato, known for his work on CannibAlien, Dynamic Venvs and ANNA kidnapper, has most recently worked on a Rick and Morty animated short, Samurai and Shogun, released in March on Adult Swim.

Speaking to Arab News Japan, Sato said he had started working on Samurai and Shogun around November 2018, after he has directed previous shorts for Adult Swim, including Yaki-Gote (2016) & Rick and Morty season 3 promotion GEAR HEAD (2017).

“I wasn't very familiar with Rick and Morty at that time, so I started watching it for my production and I became totally addicted to the show when my work was completed,” he said.

https://youtu.be/BSF5yoD-vC4

Sato added that he was interested in working with them again and had received an offer to work on Rick and Morty season four’s short.

“I got an offer to work for new S4 short as a director. It was a completely different plan at the beginning, but when I was reviewing the basic settings of Rick and Morty, I found the format is very similar to Japanese old manga story Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami). So immediately, I drew the rough pictures, and sent them to Adult Swim, and they accepted my offer,” he said.

“The truth is that my father, who died three years ago was a big fan of the Lone Wolf and Cub as I watched the movie versions with him when I was a kid. Also, I'm a big fan of David Bowie and I was very impressed by the Bowie-like quotations of the original moonmen scene. I did lot of work for the BGM production with my heart. I can say that this animated short became a personal project for me,” he added.

Sato said his friends in the US and people he knew from the film industry were very surprised with the short.

“I read some comments on internet that many people had a different speculation and imagination. They were totally out of my scope but some of them touched the core and had very interesting observations,” he said. “I got a lot of influence from US and European productions, so I am really happy to see that my idea, which comes from Japanese culture, is being accepted in other countries.”

Sato told Arab News Japan his favorite influences from Western movies and pop cultures included influences from the 70s.

“My favorite western movies are A Clockwork Orange, The Exorcist, Fight Club, Jacob’s Laddar and The Dark Knight. My favorite western TV series are Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Incredible Hulk, The Powerpuff Girls, Battlestar Galactica 2004,” he added.

Some western graphic novels Sato enjoyed also included Alan Moore’s Watchmen and The Killing Joke.

Sato explained that he often visited the US to discuss the Rick and Morty short animated project and even lived in Boston for a while. He had also visited European countries like France, England and Spain.

“Unfortunately, I have never been to the Middle East. I am interested in visiting Egypt and was planning to visit it this year. But I had to cancel the plan due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“I’m pleased to know that Rick and Morty has a fan base in the Middle East. I hope it will grow as the show has amazing characters,” he added.

Speaking about his previous projects, Sato said: “My first 3D-animation in 2009 (CannibAlien) was very memorable for me. It is my original animation and I was overwhelmed by the understanding and creativity of Japanese animation studio. They have tried to output the images in clear way that I created it in my brain and mind.”

“Even before I founded the studio, I started production and went to hospital three times in because I was working on for scripts and storyboards so hard and it was too much work for me,” he added.

Sato said he was working on a live action short, which will be finished soon.

“The story is a comedy about a ghost that appears in a Japanese hotel. I’m going to submit my new film to some international film festivals,” he said.