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The Space Dandy Interview: Part I - Thomas Romain




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reanimator





PostPosted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:09 pm Reply with quote
Awesome interview, Mike.

I would like to see more western artists try their talent and skills with Japanese productions.
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BooktapC



Joined: 13 Apr 2011
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:26 pm Reply with quote
Oban Star Racers was one series took note. It has really nice design and the animation is very unique.

It was interesting to hear that it is much easier to get Shinichiro Watanabe's approval on mecha designs. I'd expect he'd be more demanding for details. Such a surprise.

Michael Toole great interview
Smile

Last edited by BooktapC on Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:01 pm Reply with quote
Great interview! I didn't realize he previously worked on AKB0048 and Bodacious Space Pirates.

One thing I noticed is the collaboration from French artists, not just Oban, but recently like with Ankama (Wakfu), who also have a Japanese studio and does some collaborations. I think the history and tendency may be due to the shared aesthetics, perhaps from France also being a very large market (biggest manga market outside of Japan, if I recall)

Quote:
But even if you are not super-skilled, Japanese studios will be glad to have your help on their numerous anime shows. Many anime studios are still desperately looking for staff.

Reminds me of stories asking for help from spare animators on Twitter for Wake Up Girls and Attack on Titan. Not requiring super-skilled animators is good. Maybe I have a chance with my stick figures Razz
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navycherub



Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 233
PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:58 am Reply with quote
Love this interview. Interviews with animators and designers don't come up often enough (though I understand why), but they are always the most interesting ones.
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Great Rumbler



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 335
Location: Oklahoma
PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:09 am Reply with quote
configspace wrote:
One thing I noticed is the collaboration from French artists, not just Oban, but recently like with Ankama (Wakfu), who also have a Japanese studio and does some collaborations. I think the history and tendency may be due to the shared aesthetics, perhaps from France also being a very large market (biggest manga market outside of Japan, if I recall)


French/Japanese co-productions actually go back as far as the 80's, with shows like Mysterious Cities of Gold and Ulysses 31.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:19 am Reply with quote
I've been a fan of Romain's work for some time now. For me, it began with watching Ikoku Meiro no Croisée (free with ads) with its detailed Parisian backgrounds. Most anime tends to follow the "superflat" design ethos where there is little use of perspective. The exteriors in Croisée and to some degree in AKB0048, Romain's Akibastar in particular, have a much more "European" feel with strong perspective lines to distinguish foregrounds and backgrounds. Here's an example.

He has a number of forum postings on the French site Catsuka with production drawings and other goodies from his work at Satelight.
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Mr. sickVisionz



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 2175
PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:22 pm Reply with quote
Nice interview.
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:01 pm Reply with quote
Like the interview Thomas Romain is an impressive guy.

The pay of Japanese animators always bothered me. I get the economics of it. With anime being super-niche and Korea's lower cost-of-living allowing them to be cheaper.

But even the average grunt key-animator is incredibly skilled. There's a part of me that hates the unfairness that people that hardworking and talented get paid a pittance.

Also makes me wonder why all the animation studios are located in Tokyo.
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 4009
PostPosted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:48 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for the great interview, I really like his work so it's great to see some thoughts from him.
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Nonaka Machine Gun B



Joined: 03 Feb 2009
Posts: 825
PostPosted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:21 am Reply with quote
I think this was best interview I've read on this site.
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ChibiGoku



Joined: 29 May 2004
Posts: 688
PostPosted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 4:22 pm Reply with quote
Great Rumbler wrote:
configspace wrote:
One thing I noticed is the collaboration from French artists, not just Oban, but recently like with Ankama (Wakfu), who also have a Japanese studio and does some collaborations. I think the history and tendency may be due to the shared aesthetics, perhaps from France also being a very large market (biggest manga market outside of Japan, if I recall)


French/Japanese co-productions actually go back as far as the 80's, with shows like Mysterious Cities of Gold and Ulysses 31.


I think one of the earliest French co-productions out there was "Zoom and the White Dolphin", or known in Japan as "Iruka to Shonen", which was from 1971, though the Japanese launch of the series wasn't until 1975 (not all unusual for co-productions to air later) when Japan aired it. For the Japanese version, the series aired as full half-hours, for 13 episodes, where the french version was 7 minute episodes for 52 episodes.

I believe Japan also got an exclusive Opening and Ending animation, which was different from the French based versions, which just had mostly episode footage.

There's not a whole lot of information available on the show's production, other than several places indicate it's a co-production (and the staff listing seems to support this as well).
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EyeOfPain



Joined: 14 May 2013
Posts: 312
PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 2:55 pm Reply with quote
Doodleboy wrote:
Also makes me wonder why all the animation studios are located in Tokyo.
All the national television networks are in Tokyo, so maybe it's a shorter car ride when you're delivering the latest episode just a few hours before broadcast.

I think a few studios started popping up in the Kyoto area since KyoAni started making a name for themselves in the early 2000s.
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