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A word with the Japanese anime director of the Golden Kamuy series

In an exclusive interview with Arab News Japan, Nanba shared his admiration for Japanese anime and manga. (Supplied)
In an exclusive interview with Arab News Japan, Nanba shared his admiration for Japanese anime and manga. (Supplied)
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14 Nov 2020 01:11:11 GMT9
14 Nov 2020 01:11:11 GMT9

Amin Abbas 

Hitoshi Nanba, also known as Namimi Sanjo, is the talented Japanese animation director of Golden Kamuy, Heroman, Dash! Yonkuro and is the storyboard writer for Soreike! Anpanman.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News Japan, Nanba shared his admiration for Japanese anime and manga, he said: “Japanese anime and manga uses drawings with simple lines, like in ukiyo-e woodblock prints and combines them with filmography techniques, resulting in the development of a culture that is unique to Japan. If you watch Osamu Tezuka’s first TV anime (Astro Boy), then I think you will understand what I am saying”.

(Supplied)

He continued by sharing how “there are many anime and manga that do a good job of controlling the emotions of the viewers and readers, and they cover a wide range of genres”.

Nanba shared how anime was an integral part of his youth, and how “that experience formed the basis for me as who I am now.”

Self-portrait. (Supplied)

Among Nanba’s favorites are the early Toei videos, Hayao Miyazaki’s works (before establishing Ghibli Studio) and Osamu Dezaki’s works.

He admitted that “watching those projects certainly made a huge impact on me.”

Speaking of the establishment of his career in the animation industry, Nanba said:” When I was still in my teens, I joined the Telecom Animation Film Company. The reason I joined the company is that I came across a recruitment ad for new animators in the newspaper, and I saw that they were looking for people to submit drawings. I took that challenge as a test of my abilities and submitted an illustration. I passed the art screening and proceeded to the written exam and interview, and in the end I was hired.”

Following this, Nanba worked on his first anime, Lupin the Third: The Mystery of Mamo.

“I had just joined the company, and I was learning as I went along, and I didn’t do a lot. The next year my name appeared in the staff credits for Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro,” he said.

Nanba’s first project directing was an anime adaptation of a manga based on mini four-wheel drive cars from the Tamiya Corporation, called Dash! Yonkuro.

He shared that “because I was inexperienced, Tatsunoko Production legend Hiroshi Sasagawa was involved as the general director, and I was given the opportunity to be the director.”

The opportunity came with creative control, in that the General Director Hiroshi Sasagawa, gave Nanba the opportunity to create the film as he wished despite his lack of experience.

This drove Nanba to put in all his effort directing, he shared how “I cut down on my sleep time, and I worked frantically.”

“Now I can look back and say that there was no need for me to go so far as to take everything upon myself. But, no one person can create an anime by himself. My own methodology was not yet established. That is what that project taught me,” he added.

Although Nanba has never visited the Middle East region, he expressed interest in doing so one day.

Regarding his upcoming projects, Nanba said: “I’m the director for the third season of Golden Kamuy that started airing on TV in Japan on October 5th”

Additionally, he is also working on a project based on an idol smartphone game called I★CHU.

Nanba mentioned how “I think that Japan has lagged behind when it comes to globalization. Not just in Japan, but I would love to see people with a wide range of viewpoints move down the path to becoming animators across the world”.

He continued by highlighting how there are many countries that produce admirable work, and an artist looking to venture to Japan to practice their art should learn about the culture.

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