One of the most humble, down-to-earth guests at Anime Expo came in the form of the talented artist behind SABER MARIONETTE J and the videogame series TOSHINDEN. Kotobuki Tsukasa stepped into the panel and provided a wonderful look into peer admiration, hard work and all things GUNDAM.

Q: In adapting manga to anime, what are some of the tricks of the trade to make it "animatable"?

Kotobuki Tsukasa: When the original is a manga comic, all the artwork is done so it looks good as a square panel. So if it is animated straight as is, it won't look as good. And that's because in the manga not much attention is paid to how it looks if it was animated. I think the two big things for adapting are: (1) not to the lose the feeling of the original; and (2) keeping in mind how good it should look in animation.

Q: Who's your favorite character? And does it reflect who you are?

KT: I think this goes to all of my work: I think it's never a main character. I like the main characters, but I like those that support the main characters more. And that's because the main characters are created according to what the sponsors specify, down to the last detail. So, even if I have an idea of my own, it gets changed because of the sponsors. So, I'd rather go for the supporting characters, since there are not many restrictions and I can really get into it. I think of how I can make them help the main character. So, I don't have a favorite...

Q: How did you get started in manga and animation?

KT: Ever since I was little I wanted to do something with drawings. So in my case I didn't really choose manga and anime. As long as it involved drawing, I didn't mind.

Q: How many years of schooling did you take for drawing?

KT: I didn't really go to any school for drawing. I just took a few extra art classes.

Q: In adapting versus creating, what are the difficulties?

KT: When I'm adapting work, if it's already popular in another medium, that fan base may be a barrier. They usually complain that it doesn't have the same look and feel of the original. So I think the difficulty when adapting works is to think about the fans: how do you do it to get them to accept the changes you make?

Original work is most difficult when you're not prepared. I think as a creator, if I could put 100% into a piece and it doesn't sell well, I can let it go easier. For an original piece of work, I think the most difficult part is when I can't put 100% into it—outside factors, resources, staff, etc., that cause it not to sell well. That can be a difficult situation. Recently, I got some outside influences that caused me to become distraught, so I took a break from anime to renew my spirit.

Q: In the '95 Newtype you had a comic called "G." Are there any plans to continue it?

KT: For the comic in Newtype, there was a short series called MECHANICAL MAN (AIKIDO OTOKO), but it was only three chapters. So that's where G came from. So the company knew about it and asked if I wanted to do something similar, so that's where G really came from. I changed the main character in G, but he's really from MECHANICAL MAN. I'd still like to continue it. And looking at my current skill, I don't think I can do any serialized comic: I tried twice, but failed, so I'd like to build up my skill first and then publish it.

Q: I heard there's a competition between the videogame and manga industries for talent such as yourself. Is this true? Do you enjoy videogames or manga more? And where do you go from here?

KT: If I come across anything I haven't tried before, I'd like to do it. If it sounds interesting I take the job. People see me as an animator, so I'd like to try something different.

Q: What was the reason for the dramatic change in the character designs going from SABER MARIONETTE J to J TO X?

KT: To be exact, the SABER MARIONETTE J novel was the original source for the TV series. But the TV series for J became so popular that a sequel was called for. Because the novel was ongoing, there wasn't enough material for the new series. During the production of the J anime series, there were lots of ideas brought up by the staff. Many of the ideas sounded great. So after hearing all the ideas, Akahori [the original creator] said, "If you guys can come up with so many new ideas, why don't you try it on your own, for the new series." And that's how J TO X came to be.

In terms of changing the character designs, I was only involved with the original, so when the new series came up, he said, "Make it more lively," and it was easier to do it from scratch on their own, so that's how the art change came about.

Q: What kind of feelings did you have seeing your characters changed into 3D for TOSHINDEN? Are you doing any more sequels?

KT: Hmm... the way I came to work on the PlayStation? Well, I started before the PlayStation was released. People were first talking about what it was like working on the SNES. They then said working on the PSX was different; it used "polygons." I didn't know what that was at the time. They said it was like VIRTUA FIGHTER, but it was very slow and rough. At that time I felt that they couldn't see the beautiful, detailed look like with 2D.

Q: What's your favorite GUNDAM series?

KT: The first series. GUNDAM is my life! In elementary school, at 10 years old, I dreamt of working on GUNDAM. But now, 20 years later, I can say I could make a living drawing GUNDAM. But even after I tell everyone I like GUNDAM, no one has hired me for it! If I get a chance, I'd drop everything to work on GUNDAM!

Q: Regarding the RAGNAROK Shonen Ace manga: the lines change dramatically, everything is different now. Is it Kadokawa? Or...?

KT: I wonder if I can talk about it here? Umm... I think that this series is a manifestation of many adults talking about various situations. But I'm not trying to draw it boring! It's challenging. I just want that GUNDAM job. (laughs)

Q: Including TURN-A GUNDAM?

KT: No comment. (laughs)

Q: Where did the idea for merging with the mechas come from (in CYBER TEAM IN AKIHABARA)?

KT: Otsuki in EVA. And if you've seen the work (AKIHABARA) it's a really fun, dumb piece of work. They took the best parts of other series and had a party! And for the people who came up with the idea, they were optimists and they had fun. But the production company took it very seriously, so there was a huge mismatch, so even if you try and laugh during the final product, you can't!

Q: Is there a chance for more CYBER TEAM anime?

KT: No plans at the moment. But the original storyline hasn't concluded, so there might be. In the meantime, if you buy LOVE HINA, that'd be more money for us! (smiles as the audience applauds loudly)

Q: In designing characters, then coming to a con and seeing cosplayers, how do you feel about that? Do you have a favorite cosplay act of your characters you've seen?

KT: It was refreshing to see live humans do it. But you have to think about the degrading moral issue: I got responses from many female cosplayers who complained about my designs. They asked me to make new female characters with more clothing next time. But then I got feedback from guys, and they complained, and asked me to make the new female characters with less clothing! So I was sandwiched! (laughs)

When I work on new character designs, the new criteria I use is to see if they'd be immediately recognizable when cosplayed.