The panel of distinguished Directors got underway with about 40 attendees filling up the front row seats snapping pictures. Sitting on the panel was Ikuhara Kunihiko (Director of SAILOR MOON and REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA), Akane Kazuki (Director of ESCAFLOWNE), Maeda Mahiro (Director of BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6) and Kawasaki Hirotsugu (Director of SPRIGGAN).

Q: How far in advance do you plan before production begins?

Kawasaki: It took three years for SPRIGGAN to be completed.

Maeda: For BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6, there were some problems at the start. It was two years in planning before production began.

Akane: For ESCAFLOWNE, since it was a TV series, it took three years of negotiating and planning between all the parties involved.

Ikuhara: For REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA TV, it was two years before the first episode aired. For the movie, it was two years in the planning before it was screened in theatres.

Q: How did you become a director?

Kawasaki: There's no real secret, really. I just have an intense interest in what I do.

Maeda: I always wanted to tell the whole story, so I kept expressing my desire to direct to my producers and my peers. I suppose I was finally given the chance.

Akane: At one point, I was a production manager. In my spare time, I did my own storyboards and showed them to the producers and told them I can do the job of director.

Ikuhara: First, find a producer who has a lot of money. Wait until he falls asleep. Then, whisper in his ear that you are an amazing director. Within three months, you will be a director.

Q: What is the most frustrating part of being a director?

Kawasaki: I get to discover the best of my abilities and skill. This is both fun and frustrating.

Maeda: The core fun and frustration of directing is talking and dealing with other people and trying to get everyone working together to improve upon the original work.

Akane: My personal thought on directing: When I watch other movies and I see passages in which I feel I could do better, that is fun.

Ikuhara: The fun part of directing is that I can get autographs from really famous manga artists. And I can con some of the really good animators to draw some hentai pictures of me surrounded by beautiful girls!

Q: What techniques do you use to control the emotions of the viewer?

Kawasaki: It is important just to keep the attention of the viewer, so I pace the story fast on purpose.

Maeda: A good chunk of it is how the pieces fit together. On thing I do is to see if it is appealing to myself. If I feel I'm interested in what's happening on screen, then that must be a good sign that I'm doing something right.

Akane: I am aware of the so-called "grammar" of directing. Certainly, the theory for directing is out there, but just using those techniques won't make it a fun movie to watch. At a fundamental level, directing for animation is the same as directing for live-action.

Ikuhara: I think it is just as true for directing as it is for anything else—if you do something for a long time, you will start using techniques without even thinking about it. What I look for when I decide to film a scene is to consider my personality (or my staff's personality). Even if it's technically not the best way to direct the scene, sometimes I will still allow it because it is a better reflection of the people involved who are creating it.

Q: Did you know each other before coming to Anime Expo? And do you regard each other as competition or as role models?

Kawasaki: Yes, there are some here that I've known personally, and some only by name.

Maeda: I know Mr. Kawasaki from LAPUTA, and I met Mr. Akane while working on ESCAFLOWNE. And I met Mr. Ikuhara at a party once.

Akane: As said before, I know Mr. Maeda from our time on ESCAFLOWNE, but the others I've known only by name.

Ikuhara: "I married one."

Akane: To answer the question of whether we are rivals or role models to each other, if any of the other directors make a better movie than me, then I consider him to be my rival!

Q: When does the director give his input during the pre-production stage?

Kawasaki: I think it varies from case to case, but for SPRIGGAN, I was on board from the very beginning, so I had a lot of influence on its development.

Maeda: For BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6, I was involved from the beginning, so I also had a great deal of influence on the development of the series. Everything required my approval. So in the "big picture," the producer's job is to sell the product. My job is to make the product fun to watch.

Akane: I think the style changes from director to director. In Japan, the director takes his cues from the producer or the sponsors of the show; listening to what they say and want to accomplish. Then I would give my advice on how I would achieve their goals and create the best product.

Ikuhara: I think it depends from case to case. When I worked on SAILOR MOON for quite some time, I encountered unfortunate conflict with the sponsors and producers. For me, it was a very stressful environment. So the next time, I asked for more creative license. As a result, I decided to gather the money for my next project by myself. I figured that this would ensure that I would have more creative input. Looking back, however, I didn't realize how risky that decision was. As it turned out, I was even more stressed out than before. For the next time, I don't know which way I would do it, but I do understand the benefits of either way. Since each case is different, each case should be approached differently as to the amount of creative license one receives.

Q: Since Anime Expo is nearly over, do you have any comments about the fans here in the U.S.?

Kawasaki: There was a lot of information that I heard for the first time about which distributors were releasing my films in the U.S. It's good to know that American fans have already seen my work.

Maeda: It was great that people gave me such positive feedback. The fans here seem to know a lot about my work...even more than myself!

Akane: It was obvious to me that everyone here had seen ESCAFLOWNE. American fans like to give their reactions right as they watch anime. This feedback was useful and I was taking notes of the reactions I observed as the movie was playing.

Ikuhara: I'm very happy to see lots of cute girls attending the convention. I'm very happy to see lots of cute cosplayers which I usually don't get to see much of in Japan.

With this last, humorous answer, the panel ran out of time and ended with a few laughs mixed in with applause.