Nakazawa: Hello, I am Nakazawa Kazuto. America is a great place.

Takada: Hello, I am Takada Akemi. I don't know if it's the weather or what, but I've been only getting four hours of sleep each night. Here, you have panelists also suffering from sleep deprivation and/or hangovers, so please forgive our behavior!

Hayama: I am in "full-power-ahead" mode! My health is good!

Gotoh: This is my first time in the U.S. Hello, my name is Gotoh Keiji. I thought this [convention] was a wonderful place to come to. I feel sad to have to go. I got into the good habit of sleeping at night and being awake during the day here.

Minowa: Hello, I'm Minowa Yutaka. I'm sorry, but I woke up just 15 minutes ago. I only got two hours of sleep so I'm wearing sunglasses.

Kusanagi: Hello, I'm Kusanagi Takuhito. Last night's party was fun, and I didn't get much sleep either.

Murata: I'm Murata Range. I'm not feeling too good. It might be due to a hangover, so don't talk too loudly please.

And with those grand, inspirational words, the microphone was ceded to the awestruck audience for questions.

Q: How do you keep your drawings consistent?

Nakazawa: For me, the drawings come out different every time. I don't really do anything to control it.

Takada: I don't think I do too much about it either. But using the same lines in each drawing helps.

Hayama: I haven't thought about it too much. If the character looks the same every time, maybe it's because I'm a genius!

Gotoh: I, also, really don't try to control consistency. To me, the challenge is to draw what is not defined in the model sheets.

Minowa: I try to keep my drawings consistent, but it doesn't happen, probably because I'm not a genius.

Kusanagi: I get better each time I draw, so I've gotten better just by coming here and having to do so many drawings for my autograph session.

Murata: I think that each character has some core set of features, so as long as they are kept, the character will look consistent from one drawing to the next.

Q: Do you ever tire of drawing your characters, especially if the series is an enduring one?

Murata: Well, in BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6, There's a uniform I really hate to draw, but a lot of people like the female character wearing it, so I have to draw it a lot.

Kusanagi: If it's a recent character, then I'm OK. But if it is an old character, I may have forgotten how to draw it!

Minowa: I don't draw very many, so I have yet to tire of drawing any of them.

Gotoh: I won't say which one it was, but I had to draw a certain character over and over and over until it turned into someone else!

Hayama: Basically, I like to draw, but I don't like to work. If it's not work, then I'm OK. Otherwise, I just want to die!

Takada: For me, I have to work on some characters for a long time. But if the character springs from within me, then it is like a fresh start.

Nakazawa: Although I have to draw a character many times, I forget the work right away, so I'm OK to draw it again and again.

Q: Do you get pressure from sponsors or producers who want to nudge the designs in a particular direction?

Nakazawa: Pressure is all I get!

Takada: Sponsors and producers will give lots of instructions. About half the time, I try to accommodate them.

Hayama: I feel that Mr. Nakazawa and Ms. Takada have said everything I would have said!

Gotoh: I try to design my characters so I won't receive any instructions. But I get them anyway.

Minowa: In my case, my director is easy-going, so I'm OK.

Kusanagi: In those cases when I receive feedback, I just pretend to fix them.

Murata: Working with sponsors and producers is just part of the job, so I take it as work and try to accommodate them.