Forum - View topicWhen Old Work Reaches New Audiences: An Interview with Bubblegum Crisis' Kenichi Sonoda
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ChirashiD
 Posts: 186 Location: WA |
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I think this interview is an amazing treat for fans of his and provided a great opportunity for younger fans to get a glimpse of the anime world of bygone days when legendary artists such as Sonoda-sensei were at the forefront of the industry.
I admit the interview itself was a bit awkward and seemed too brief, but this is exactly characteristic of a man who I've heard had a history of being a bit of recluse when it came to promotional or public relations events like interviews and convention appearances. So I hope the interviewer had full appreciation for one of Japan's most celebrated character designers who inspired legions of fans and other artists over the decades. I think from the interview, which may or may not have met its goal as mentioned in the article header, Sonoda's words really conveyed the idea that the creative process in the analog world and digital world really are almost alien to each other in a way. I just got this impression when he talked about cel animation like it's something only artists before the digital age could truly appreciate or reminisce about. |
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Stampeed Valkyrie
 Posts: 856 Location: PA |
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Sonada's artwork changed pretty drastically over time, and Its a matter of opinion if better or worse. If you compare the art style from BGC or Gall Force, to his later works in Gunsmith Cats or Exaxxion. I think its great that he is back into BGC and I hope this artbook is a success.
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Triltaison
 Posts: 791 |
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As for old work reaching new audiences... funnily enough, I just recently gifted AnimEigo's Bubblegum Crisis BD release to my niece as part of her high school graduation present. According to the thank you note she sent me, she watched it with her older brother (he's currently in college now) and they both really enjoyed it.
I take my job seriously as a weird anime aunt. Just doing my part to spread the classics to the new generations. 
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4782 |
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I genuinely believe that the OVA-boom period between the mid-80s and mid-90s is the peak of anime character design work. If you say "anime character," that's the look my brain immediately snaps to. And it's not nostalgia, because I came into the scene way later...they just look that good! Characters had rounder faces and actual noses (perish the thought!), there was fantastic use of shading, and the cels gave everything a warmth and pop that I've still never seen digital animation entirely duplicate. Bubblegum Crisis, Gunbuster, Dirty Pair, Kimagure Orange Road...love it.
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5922 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Really wanted to know what he is doing now and the near future, but with him being just a year older than me, I kind of understand him just relaxing and resting on his laurels. Can't blame him.
Hoping all this attention, gets us a full run of Cannon God Exxaxion and maybe an English release of Bullet the Wizard. Gall Force, The Eternal Story is my most favorite of his works, followed by Gunsmith Cats, and Bubble Gum Crisis. |
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FinalVentCard
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 635 |
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I am entirely serious when I say that Sonoda-san's opinions on cars are an indispensable part of this interview, and I am glad that this topic was broached.
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mdo7
 Posts: 6371 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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I think I can answer that, it's the same reason there's been a wave of 80's and 90's (all the way to early 2000's) nostalgia and you can thank shows like Stranger Things, and social media sharing retro stuff from yesteryear, and that's not only limited to fashion/clothes and merchandise from decades to make a comeback. This decade nostalgia fad has also expanded to video game (hence the rise of retro video game gaining popularity), and other medium too. That has also expanded to anime/m anga too so yes the retro nostalgia wave may have made it there too. So that wouldn't surprised me if there are Gen-Z retro anime fan (they do exist). So that could explain it. |
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ChirashiD
Posts: 186 Location: WA |
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BTW I just noticed that picture of the amabie and thinking back on Nene from BGC and Minnie May from GSC... Who says Sonoda hasn't always been the master of "moe" and adorable anime characters? Last edited by ChirashiD on Thu Aug 22, 2024 12:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1767 |
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This depends on the project. If the anime is an original series, it still takes a lot of time for a character designer to create characters based on the project's description. If it's an already established property, they may need to confer with the mangaka or novelist and submit several revisions until they get the look down. Settei still exist. They existed back in the cel days and they still exist now. The only difference is colored settei is often done with a computer whereas it was once colored by hand (or, as is more common, not at all). There are a lof of well known character designers now, such as Sushio. But just as with the cel era, very few people tend to research this stuff and a simple "They worked on ___" is enough to get most people to line up for them at conventions as long as the show is popular and/or has a dedicated fanbase. |
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nyaa
Posts: 148 |
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GSC in one of my all-time favorite ova series, I was happy as hell when they did a kickstarter for it a few years ago, makes me wonder if the Gall Force series will ever be released on bluray? At least I've got my hoary old dvds of it to rewatch. I've read the GSC manga and it's quite good-gotta love Rally and Minnie May!
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