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...continued from previous page
We talked for a while longer about movies and other miscellaneous
things. Then we made our way back to Bones for our next interview,
with Mr. Watanabe Shinichiro, director of COWBOY BEBOP
and MACROSS PLUS. We interviewed him at the same
table where he was having his story meeting earlier.
We talked a little about BEBOP and
its appeal, and he seemed genuinely surprised that the show had been as popular
as it was, and was especially impressed that American fans were so interested
in it.
EX: You said that you wanted to
create a new world with BEBOP. Do you think you
succeeded?
Watanabe Shinichiro: I said that? (laughs)
EX: Yes. In the interviews on
Session 0.
WS: Well, I'm sure that I must have said that, but
I really don't remember it. It was over two years ago, after all.
EX: Are you pleased with the
overall look and feel of the project?
WS: I'm pleased that I think I made something only
I could make. I sensed that when the first episode was finished. Since so many
staff work on anime, you never know the outcome until the final product comes
out. It's different than what I first envisioned. It started out as a
lighthearted comedy, but it became rather serious. Some of the comical parts
you saw were planned at the beginning. They were "left over" from the original
plan.
EX: Well, what would you change
if you were doing it over? Anything?
WS: Yeah, a lot. There are many kinds of creators, and
I'm the kind where if I watch something I made earlier, I want to make changes. So
now I have this policy that I don't watch anything I've made after it's finished.
Most of the things I've made, I've never seen them again. I never
turn back and look. That's one of the reasons I can't remember what I said in that
interview. (laughs)
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Director Watanabe Shinichiro. |
EX: What do you think is the
most difficult part of being a director?
WS: Everything is hard. Since so many people work on
a title, it's difficult to permeate what I have in my mind to all of the staff so
they can make it a reality. It's easy to make anime the conventional way, but if
you try to do it differently, it takes a lot of work to get new ideas to flow.
For example, the staff asked me "Oh, so Spike is like Lupin."
The easiest answer is, of course, "Yes," but that's not entirely true. The moment I
say, "No it's original and new," however, they don't know what to do.
EX: Speaking of original and new,
tell us about the BEBOP movie?
WS: (laughs)
EX: You knew this was
coming...
WS: Well, we've finally finished the script and now
we're working on the storyboards. I can't say much more right now. The content of
the movie is secret. It's aimed at those who haven't seen the television series so
that they can enjoy it too. Of course, fans of the TV show
will enjoy it more, I think.
EX: I heard it was set between
episodes 23 and 24. Is there any truth
to that?
WS: Well, there may be some truth to that, yes...
Basically it's going to be a stand-alone story with those four people and the dog.
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