Amin Abbas Dubai

Japanese freelance animator and illustrator Yamato Kojima is known for working on different Japanese animated series such as “Gurren Lagann,” “Panty & Stocking,” “Wake Up Girls!” and “Children of the Sea.”

In an exclusive interview with Arab News Japan, Kojima shared how his inspiration for Japanese anime and manga influenced his work.

“I personally feel a lot of inspiration from the manga artists who are able to think about a story, break it up into frames, and express it in pictures. I’m also thinking about drawing a comic book myself, even if it’s just something simple,” he explained.

Kojima began his career in the animation industry when he was 23 years old and in between jobs.

“While taking jobs in different industries, miraculously, I got hired in animation. I have nothing but gratitude for that company at the time,” he added.

Speaking of his first project, Kojima told Arab News Japan that he worked on Shima Shima Tora no Shimajiro. “If it wasn’t for the company I was with at the time, I probably would have been fired for not knowing anything and being really bad at it. I’m still very grateful to the video editor for teaching me from scratch,” he added.

Kojima said his line of work didn’t come without challenges, explaining that he challenged himself with his work on “Gurren Lagann” with mechanical drawings and effects that he thought he did not know how to do.

The Japanese designer said he is currently working on a project as a character designer and animation director that will be announced within the next year.

He added some of his favorite anime were “Initial D, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kite, Jin-Roh, FLCL, Doukyusei and favorite manga is Baka Kyoudai.”