A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On October 18, Masatsugu Nagasoe, a filmmaker, introduced Mr. Hibiki Yoshizaki of Studio Khara to the audience. In this interview, we asked him not only about music and animation, the starting point of his current activities, but also about the episode in which he met his mentor, Koji Morimoto, and how he came to be involved in the “Rebuild of Evangelion” series.
INDEX
The Cultural Pilgrimage of an “Otaku Boy with an Overly Polished Sense of Style”
Celeina (MC): Today we have Mr. Hibiki Yoshizaki from Studio Khara, who was introduced to us by filmmaker Masatsugu Nagazoe. Please give him my best regards.
Yoshizaki: Hello.
Celeina: First of all, let me give you a profile of Mr. Yoshizaki. He is a director and video director at Khara, Inc. He has participated in the production of “Macross F,” “The Dragon’s Dentist,” “Evangelion: Q,” and “Shin Evangelion the Movie,” among others. His major directing credits include Eve’s “Rioter,” a song from the Netflix music film “Adam by Eve: A Live in Animation,” and TeddyLoid’s “ME!ME!ME! feat.daoko”
General Director: Hideaki Anno
General Director: Hideaki Anno
General Director:Hibiki Yoshizaki
Takano (MC): Yesterday, Mr. Nagasoe referred to Mr. Yoshizaki as “an otaku boy with an overly refined sense of style”.
Yoshizaki: I don’t know if I can call myself a nerd, but I think I am probably a nerd.
Takano: I’m looking at Mr. Yoshizaki’s notes on his influences right now, and they are intereasting. Is Koji Morimoto your mentor?
Yoshizaki: Yes, he is. Morimoto-san said he doesn’t take disciples, but I said, “Please make me your disciple! Master!” and he became my apprentice. Mr.Morimoto is a founding member of STUDIO4℃ and now runs a brand called phy.
Takano: He directed Ken Ishii’s “EXTRA.
Yoshizaki: Yes, he directed the music video in 1995.
Takano: Then there is Shop33 in Kichijoji in the 1990s.
Yoshizaki: The name of the store evokes memories for old men. I think everyone who liked techno has definitely passed through Shop33. It is the birthplace of techno culture.
Celeina: What kind of things do you actually sell?
Yoshizaki: Originally, they were a record and CD rental store, and then we became a store selling various apparel from overseas. While they had lots of event flyers, cassette tapes, mix tapes, and demo tapes, our products were mainly T-shirts and other clothing.
Takano: Other influences for Mr. Yoshizaki include Third-Ear (now U/M/A/A), the label that introduced electronic music to Japan, and Designers Republic in graphic design and VJing. And I don’t have to mention Hideaki Anno. MTV’s Amp, Neon Genesis Evangelion, MEMORIES, Ghost in the Shell, video games and culture magazines like Sega Genesis and PlayStation, DTM, and even Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry are influences.
I think there are quite a few people in their 40s who hear the titles in this lineup and want to talk about them. I now understand what Mr. Nagazoe meant when he said he was “an otaku boy with an overly refined sense of style.”
INDEX
Apprenticeship with Koji Morimoto was a direct request
Celeina: How did you get into the world of otaku?
Yoshizaki: I really liked dance music, and in 1995, a friend invited me to join “Natural High! ’95,” Japan’s first outdoor rave party, at the invitation of a friend. I was really shocked when I saw the music video for “Extra” playing on Ken Ishii’s stage. It was completely different from the anime I had seen before, so my concept of anime changed drastically.
Takano: Is there any episode or story that led you to become an apprentice of Mr. Morimoto?
Yoshizaki: I was looking up Morimoto san in magazines and found a Thai restaurant in Hachioji that he frequented. Mr. Morimoto was not there, but the manager told me he would introduce me next time. I had been drawing illustrations that imitated Mr. Morimoto, so I kept saying, “Let me be your apprentice!”.
Celeina：Your energy is amazing. Where does your energy come from?
Yoshizaki: I don’t know, but at the time I felt like that was all I was looking at.
Celeina：So you were pursuing what you loved.
Yoshizaki: That’s right. You could say that I just didn’t want to do anything I didn’t like. When I narrowed it down, it was the only thing I could do, and I found it! That’s how I feel.
Takano: It all started when I saw the music video for “Extra. From there, I got into the world of techno, music, culture, and animation, and the way I got into it was very deep. Do you have any tips for getting into it?
Yoshizaki: I don’t know. I think it’s just the feeling of really liking it.
Takano: You still do when it comes to culture, don’t you?
Yoshizaki: I’ve become an old man, but I can’t get out of it.
Takano: You mentioned Anno-san’s name earlier, but I was deeply moved by the fact that you started working on “Neon Genesis Evangelion” because you liked it.
Yoshizaki: I am deeply moved. The first person I met at the Thai restaurant was not Mr. Morimoto, but Hiroyuki Yamaga, then president of Gainax, the company that produced “Neon Genesis Evangelion” at the time. I happened to be sitting with Mr. Yamaga, and when I showed him my drawings, he told me that they were interesting and that I should come work for him.
For me, Mr. Yamaga was the person who introduced me to the world of animation. At first, I thought it was just a company that made “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” but after more than a decade, I was picked up by Anno-san and involved in the production of the “Rebuild of Evangelion” series, which I feel is a real match.
Takano: It is a story of not only liking but also having your talent and abilities properly recognized. I’d love to hear more, but I’d like to send you a song here. Mr. Yoshizaki, I asked you to choose a song that you would like everyone to listen to at this time.
Yoshizaki: It’s “Extra (Video Edit)” by Ken Ishii, the music video by Master Morimoto that I mentioned earlier.
