By J. M. Alcala, Staff Writer, Inside AX- Anime Expo
As we had spent this past weekend attending San Jose’s very own FanimeCon, we had the chance to sit down and spend some time with Fanime’s very own Guest of Honor, Seiji Mizushima. Having several projects under his belt from Gundam 00 and Neon Genesis Evangelion to his most well-known project to date, the Fullmetal Alchemist and the Conquerer of Shamballa, get to know what goes on in the mind of this famed director.
* What’s the latest project (that you can actually talk about) at the current moment?
SM: I’m working on something new, and actually I plans on making a more detailed announcement, because I’m attending Anime Expo so expect more details around then.
* Spanning your entire career, what would you say is your favorite project that you’ve ever worked on and why?
SM: [Long Pause] All of them were pretty fun to work on, but after finishing Fullmetal Alchemist, I was fulfilled because it had a satisfying ending and was quite successful.
* Is it more fun to work on an original project or a franchise project?
SM: I like working on both original and existing material, but when asked to work on an project with existing material, I get asked to not use the known source material and instead go off in my own direction. In that regard, they’re pretty much the same to me.
* If there was a dream project you could work on, regardless if they were living or dead, what would it be?
SM: I’m a big fan of a lot of stuff, so it’s hard to pick one. There’s a lot of people I’d want to meet but not necessarily work with. People like George Lucas, Sam Raimi and Aaron Sorkin, I’d love to meet because I think they’ve made some really cool stuff. I did get to me Tim Burton when he was in Japan though. I was very excited.
* What would you say are your influences and who influences you when you work?
SM: In terms of Japanese directors, I’d say that Shinya Tsukamoto who directed Tetsuo and Masayuki Suo, who directed Shall We Dance. In regards to anime directors, it’d be Hideki Anno.
* Is there any manga that you’re reading right now and do you have a favorite?
SM: Currently I’m reading a manga called Shingeki no kyojin in Japan, but I think it’ll be picked up in America soon.
* As far as the state of animation is concerned, do you see the traditional 2D anime going away in favor of 3D, computer generated anime?
SM: Even now, I think that most animation in Japan will be taking a hybrid approach with both 2D and CG being used. With respect to the Evangelion movies, there’s a technique that’s used to mask the 3D with a ‘hand-drawn’ look to match the look of of each other. So, I think that as these 3D techniques get better and better, we’ll be seeing more hybrid animation styles.
* Are there any video games that you would like to work on?
SM: I’m not really involved with making any games nor would I really work on them, but if there was a game for a series that I was working on and it had animated cutscenes, then yes I would work probably work on them.
* Would you say that you have a signature directorial style?
SM: I’d say that my style is mostly where I like to work closely with the staff to make a shared vision than enforcing my own vision. This way, everyone has a chance to say what they want to see.
* Are OVAs more fun to direct or are movies more fun?
SM: It’s more or less the same, I guess. To me, OVAs and television episodes feel very similar because they’re made in the same manner while movies, since we know that there’s a two-hour block to work with, there’s a lot more time and effort usually put into it. This is because we know that once we’re done with it, there will be no more episodes afterwards.
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Tags: interview, Seiji Mizushima
