Illustrator. Mechanical Designer. A member of the most influential groups of anime creators in the industry. And yet, the extraordinary Izubuchi Yutaka is a quiet, unassuming man.
As I sat across from the man who had created some of the most memorable mecha of all time, from DUNBINE and CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK to PATLABOR and, most recently, GASARAKI, I was struck by how quiet and reserved—almost shy—he was. But when we began talking about art and animation, his entire face became more expressive and he seemed very eager to talk about what he loves most—art and animation.

EX: Well, let's begin with computers. Since you do a lot of mechanical designs, they must have a place in your life. Do you use a lot of computers in your work?

Izubuchi Yutaka: No, I don't use any at all! (laughs)

EX: Since you don't use computers, how does that affect your mechanical designs?

IY: It doesn't really affect it. A computer is just a tool, and it won't change my design philosophy. They are not an end to themselves—they make things easier, or harder, if you don't plan. This year, I plan to get a computer and start using it for illustrating.
You can put your (older, 2D) designs into 3D, but I'm not really interested in that.

EX: Are you interested in seeing your work in 3D at all?

IY: Yes, somewhat, but some of my designs have been made into games for 3D, like the PATLABOR game. I'm more interested in just doing new illustrations.
One big difference with 3D in illustrations, my line of work, is composition. Fundamentals are really important. First you have to learn how to compose an image to add and create perspective. 3D just comes out that way, but you don't get the same feeling because the creator didn't go through the same route to get it. If someone goes through the fundamentals of learning composition and then goes on to 3D, we will see a lot better work that some of the stuff we're seeing now.
Recently, the people working in the games and the graphic industry are really good at making computer images, but they aren't really good at how to make the art work. They don't seem to understand the underlying princicples. It can be very frustrating. And of course, the same thing is true for animation. Things like timing, they have to be learned through practice and doing.
With the new computer technology, up until now, things were never shot using full animation. Limited animation was always used. But 3D by its very nature is full, and it takes time to get used to it. Pop culture designs these days are starting to adapt it too. "Going too far" has become something of a design element.

EX: Let's switch gears here and talk about Headgear. Can you tell us how that got started?

IY: In Japan, animation creators almost never owned the rights to their creations—ownership always went to the company, the sponsor, etc. But manga creators hold their rights, so some of us got together and tried to change this. If we did a good project, then we could hold the rights as this group.
We talked to Mr. Umosawa, a producer at Bandai, and he supported us. Bandai decided to invest some money into our production. At the time, there was also a consensus among the executives that the price of individual volumes was too high. They wanted to do a series that would be released once a month with a lower price so they could sell more units.
A completely original concept would probably not sell as well, said Masami Yuuki. So first there was a comic in Shonen Sunday, which basically served as advertising. Of course, the rest of the staff was famous people. So when we started advertising the project, we started using their names to make it more exciting and appealing to fans.
Until then, the video market was primarily rental stores. But we wanted fans to buy it. The problem with dropping the price to make it more affordable was that the budget went down as well. The first series was very hard to do and maintain a consistently high quality level. We had to cut every possible corner. And we managed to stretch the boundary of how cheaply we could make a show.
When we made the first movie, it was very tough. It was planned as "a grand experiment." But it came out well, and the producers were pleased. People liked it and it got good reviews.
So then we wanted to do a television series. We talked with producers and as it was worked on, the project started to expand. Yuuki got really into it, and it became a huge project with a video series and a second movie. And the movie was a success, I think, because we didn't just make an 'animation movie.' Instead we just made a movie like any other that just happened to be animated. We really made it into something special and interesting.

EX: Since we're talking about PATLABOR, what can you tell us about PATLABOR XIII? There have been a lot of rumors.

IY: Well, the original story is still done by "Headgear." The concept of PATLABOR belongs to Headgear, and we have it structured so that each member can make their own version if they want to. Of course, though, since the rights are owned jointly, the profits from each version are split five ways, regardless of whether the creators all actually work on it or not.
For this new film, the only one who was originally involved was [manga artist] Masami Yuuki. But now, both he and I are working on it. After PATLABOR 2, both [Director] Oshii Mamoru and [scriptwriter] Ito thought it was enough, and didn't really want to do anymore.

EX: So when can we expect to see it?

IY: (laughs) I honestly don't know right now.

EX: Let's talk about another project of yours, GASARAKI. Why do the mechancial designs for this look so different from everything else you've done?

IY: The reason it's different is because I wanted to do something different. I wanted to go in a new direction. It's a very different show and I wanted a different look for it. Still, I feel like the final designs have my "flavor." I wanted these armor designs to be unique.
For example, when you work on GUNDAM, before you start the design is already almost done. The basic designs concepts are set—a designer can only do so much variation. In that case, it becomes a challenge of what you can do while working within the limitations.
With PATLABOR, I had an image of what these would look like in the real world. But making them too real would make the mecha look "wrong" and "fake." So I kept the manga and anime influence in mind while doing the designs to keep them looking right.

EX: What do you think is so different about the GASARAKI designs?

IY: First of all, they don't have faces and they look like a suit [of armor.] I wanted them to be like armor. I also specifically didn't give the mecha faces because when you give something a face, that makes it a character.

EX: Yes, that's very true. That's one of the hallmarks of GUNDAM isn't it? That the Gundams themselves are like characters.

IY: Yes. And for GASARAKI, I didn't want that. I wanted it to look like equipment, not a character. And I also wanted to touch on the Western style of armor. In this story, which is set in the near future, I wanted to see how that would evolve.
Whenever I work on a specific show, I have a different theme for each show that I want to follow. This isn't something I'm told—I just come up with it myself. Without a theme I find that the work is really hard, and the theme helps make my designs more unified.
For GASARAKI, the ideas I worked from was that this armor was lived in and used all the time. Over time it was built up into a military vehicle.
In PATLABOR, the mecha were all like construction equipment. But of course, the issue became how someone would use it? When I did the Ingram designs, I made it look like a police car, with the crest and the flashing lights. I originally thought it would be humorous, but everyone agreed that it looked really great, so I made the designs a little more serious and there you are.
DUNBINE, by contrast, had living armor. It was like an exoskeleton, and I wanted to give the feeling that the pilot was sitting inside a living being, not just a suit of armor or a machine.
The theme for LODOSS is more simple, it's a standard fantasy theme. Like the works of Tolkein, the Arthurian legends, and EXCALIBUR and THE DARK CRYSTAL. It was this style of high fantasy that I wanted to bring out in those designs. It wasn't "game fantasy," where all the female characters wear "bikini armor." I wanted a basic fantasy work with a very elegant, European feel.
I really think that me having a "theme" in mind helps me work out the designs for a project.

EX: Well, our time is about up. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us about your art. We look forward to seeing what you do next.

IY: It was my pleasure.