Q: A lot of older anime shows are experiencing revivals and remakes. If you had the opportunity to do a PROJECT A-KO remake, would you?

MY: On a personal level, I would like to see how I could rework it again.

Q: What specific changes you would include?

MY: Something that I would not change is the school setting. I think that the "ordinary girl with exceptional strength at the center of attention" is integral to the story. Later segments of the series strayed away from that, and in my opinion, didn't fit the "world view" of A-KO.

Q: You mean like GREY SIDE and BLUE SIDE?

MY: Yes. I don't think those characters needed to be A-KO characters. They could have used other characters (rather than A-ko, etc.) to tell the same story.

Q: What about that Harlock cameo in the first PROJECT A-KO?

MY: I myself incorporated that into the movie when I was doing continuity story sheets. This was my first original project, so I threw in all the stuff that I love.
The animators were also encouraged to add their own touches. Things like the coke can, the missiles. In the old days, the director reigned supreme, which sometimes resulted in a lot of resentment. We broke the mold when the staff had the chance to take charge of the project and they went wild. This was doing a generational change in creators. It was something of a milestone.

Q: Can you put to rest a rumor for me? It's made pretty clear in the first A-KO that her father is Superman. Who is her mother? Is it who I think it is?

MY: (laughs) Yes, Wonder Woman is her mother.

Q: What about the music for PROJECT A-KO? This was one of the first, if not the first, anime to use western (Hollywood) music. Where did that come from?

MY: I don't know. The producers did that. They were probably in LA for something and arranged it then. I expected flat, cheap typical music—I was pleasantly surprised. Usually soundtracks are done first. But in this case, they were done in parallel. It was a very interesting—and strange—experience.

Q: I'd like to ask about the MAISON IKKOKU movie character designs. That was kind of a drastic change? Why was that done?

MY: The reason why is easy: the director specifically requested character designs that were different both from the anime and the television series. Another reason for the drastic difference is that perhaps I had just finished working on WINGS OF HONNEAMISE prior to this, so it may have had a residual bleed over into the MAISON movie.
In retrospect, I think it was rather generous of Takahashi-san to accept such radical character designs.

Q: How do you feel about the use of computers in the anime industry?

MY: In general, anime is moving into a digital age, but just like stop motion (clay) animation, cel animation will remain viable. After all, there are still people employing those older techniques in new and varied ways.
Even if anime movies digital, it will become difficult to distinguish what has actually changed in the end product. For example, Toei has been instrumental in using digital animation on the SAILOR MOON series, but you can't tell when you look at it.

Q: How do you feel about the 3D computer animation look?

MY: It's hard to say. I don't think people accept full 3D very often as it appears in shows like TRANSFORMERS BEAST WARS. Right now, the demands of the market simply don't allow it. People still want "traditional" style animation.