Ruri and Me: An Interview with Gotoh Keiji

—by Charles McCarter

You couldn't look around without seeing Ruri anywhere. Of course, that was partly because she was on the back of one of this year's Anime Expo T-shirts. But it serves as a fitting testament to the popularity of the little girl who said "Baka!" and won over the hearts of thousands of fans.
The work of Gotoh Keiji should seem familiar to you, because most of it has been released in the United States by now (and almost all of it by anime juggernaut A.D. Vision.) THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES, BAKURETSU HUNTER, and NADESICO are three of the series he's worked on, and three examples of why he has garnered such a fan following. But if ever there was one character who seems to have taken the anime community by storm lately, it's Ruri.
The man behind Ruri, character designer Gotoh Keiji, was one of the many Guests of Honor at this year's Anime Expo. EX sat down to talk with Mr. Gotoh about his work, NADESICO, and of course, American anime fans.

EX: How'd you get started in the anime industry?

Gotoh Keiji: Well, I saw an advertisement in an animation magazine saying that animators were needed. That's really how I got started.

EX: It was that simple?

GK: Well, I really didn't have any connections within the industry, so I had to start from an ad.

EX: So were you a fan of anime before it became your job?

GK: Yes, since I was in junior high, I was a big fan of animation.

EX: What programs did you especially like?

GK: Let's see… MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM, and lots of Sunrise titles. I always watched those.

EX: What do you remember about your first job?

GK: I had never gone to art school. So, for my first job, although it was a lot of really hard work, I enjoyed it very much. It was all new to me and very exciting.

EX: So when did you decide that you wanted to become a character designer?

GK: Becoming a character designer was one of the goals that I set for myself—it was my big dream. When I first started working in animation, I never imagined that I would ever actually become a character designer, so I'm quite surprised by all of this. [laughs]

EX: Has your art style changed at all over the years? If so, how?

GK: Yes, I see it as changing bit by bit. I don't make conscious decisions about changing how I draw, it just sort of happens. Nothing is consciously decided; it's just like I'm naturally moving towards my ideal style and changing a little at a time to eventually reach that goal.