A circle of friends connected by gootouchi! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On September 26, animator Sushio-san appeared, introduced by illustrator Kae Tanaka. We asked him how he became an animator, what works have influenced him, how he gets out of a slump, and what we ask about the appeal of supporting Idoru.
INDEX
I first encountered “AKIRA” in the 5th grade
Celeina (MC): Today we welcome animator Sushio-san. Nice to meet you.
Sushio: I am Sushio, the “Gentle Uncle,” and it is nice to meet you.
Celeina：Thank you for listening to yesterday’s broadcast. First of all, let me introduce Sushio-san’s profile. Sushio-san is an animator belonging to the animation studio “Studio Trigger”. He has participated in “Kill la Kill,” “Gurren Lagann,” “Promare” and many others. In addition to animation, he is also in charge of illustrations for artists such as Gen Hoshino and BUMP OF CHICKEN.
Takano (MC): You are a very active animator. Have you known Kae Tanaka, who introduced you to us, for quite a long time?
Sushio: It’s been 5 or 6 years now, I like WACK idols, and there is an event called “release event” held in front of a store, and we both came to the event as guests of the mini live, and that’ s how we met.
Takano: It is amazing that we met each other there. First of all, I would like you to tell us how you first became interested in painting.
Sushio: I don’t really remember how I got interested in drawing, but I have been drawing pictures since I was a child.
Takano: I guess it just came naturally to you. Did you watch cartoons and comics as a child?
Sushio: I watched anime, but I didn’t really dabble in manga.
Takano: I heard that one of your influences was Katsuhiro Otomo’s “AKIRA”.
Sushio: I met him when I was in the 5th grade, but before that I only knew about pictures from “Weekly Shōnen Jump” so when “AKIRA” suddenly showed me pictures with an adult sense of style, I was like, “Wow!”
Takano: My father also loved “AKIRA” and when I was in elementary school, he showed me “AKIRA” and I thought it was really scary. Didn’t you feel that way?
Sushio: No, I didn’t. The scene where Tetsuo’s character expands really made me cringe.
Takano: Wait a minute, I was so scared of that scene that I turned off the TV.
Sushio: It was the first time I had seen metamorphosis in a scene like that, so I thought it was really cool. From that point on, my mind was always on “Akira” until I was about 30 years old.
Takano: But I still feel the DNA of Mr. Otomo in your works.
Sushio: Yes, when I draw something, I always open the drawers of my brain that were influenced by Mr. Otomo.
Takano: The battle scenes and explosion scenes in Susio’s animations are very cool. It is deformed, but at the same time powerful and well-balanced.
INDEX
Getting out of a slump by believing “I can draw”
Celeina：Did you always want to make painting your career from your childhood?
Sushio: No, I didn’t.
Celeina： You just like to draw,right?
Sushio: I I finally decided that drawing was the only career for me, and I entered the animation industry at the edge of a cliff.
Takano: But, you have been so successful.
Sushio: No, it was hard work.
Celeina: You went to a technical school for animators, didn’t you? What was the reason for that?
Sushio：When I was hanging around at home after failing the university entrance exam, my sister sent me a pamphlet of vocational schools and I looked through it. Then it told me that Japanimation was about to start, and there was a picture of “AKIRA” on the brochure. That was the Animation Department, and that is how I ended up becoming an animator.
Celeina：I see, so your sister was the key.
Sushio: Yes, she was. I am grateful for that.
Takano: I would like to ask you about the work of an animator. I feel that drawing pictures and moving them are two different tasks. You do all of that, don’t you?
Sushio: But I entered the industry without really understanding it. I liked illustrations, but I was quite nervous when I found out that I had to move them.
Takano: What do you pay attention to when you move them?
Sushio: I don’t just draw the movements I want to draw. I am conscious of the character’s “unconscious” movements.
Celeina：Does it feel like the character is possessing Sushio and moving the pictures?
Sushio: Yes, that’s right. So I let them act, so it’s like being with an actor.
Takano: Interesting.
Celeina: I had never seen it that way.
Takano: It changes the way you look at anime. Maybe one of the ways to enjoy it is to pay attention to how each character moves.
Celeina：Sushio-san, you mentioned earlier that you are currently doing a great job and that you have gone through a lot of things, but do you have any tips for getting through when you are in a slump or feeling depressed?
Sushio：I get through it by believing that “I can paint.”
Celeina：I see. Believe in yourself.
Sushio: Yes, that’s right. Belief is quite important. When you believe you can do it, your brain works in that way. Then your brain softens and more and more ideas come to you. If you think you can’t draw something like this, your brain atrophies, and it won’t come up with ideas. Therefore, it is important to have a baseless confidence.
Takano: This is very important.
Celeina: You just gave me a power word.
