Sonoda Ken-ichi
Transcribed by Helen McCarthy
Sonoda Ken-ichi was so much in demand at the AnimeExpo that I couldn't
get an interview with him. However, the question and answer session at the
end of his talk proved very interesting.
- Q: What inspired you to create Riding Bean?
- A: I'd always been very interested in American movies, especially the
action classics, and I wanted to make something along the same lines. When
the chance to do such a project came along I did my very best and worked hard
to try and participate in that kind of story.
- Q: Will there be a RIDING BEAN 2?
- A: Artmic and Youmex, who sponsored the project, aren't on the best of
terms now. As long as that feeling continues, RIDING BEAN 2 is unlikely to
appear in the near future!
- Q: What IS Bean Bandit?
- A: He's one very well-built brother!
- Q: Are any of your comics being translated into English at present?
- A: Currently, no. However with GUNSMITH CATS, my current project, there
are some moves towards possibly animating it, and if it was animated there is
a strong possibility that it would be translated into English.
- Q: You've used Chicago in your previous work - will the city be involved
in future projects?
- A: GUNSMITH CATS is based in Chicago and it will go on being based there
for the longest time - it is about Chicago and the people in the city. For
the future, since I don't know whether or not I'll be doing any number of
animation projects it's hard to say - but I would like to present Chicago in
the animated format.
- Q: One of the new projects you're working on is a manga of the game
BATTLETECH. Do you have any problems creating ideas in an already set world?
- A: Let me explain what the thing in DRAGON magazine is really all about.
I only do the character illustrations for the article. All the mechanical
designs and such are done by Kawamori-san, who designed the mecha for MACROSS
and such. I don't actively contribute to the writing of the story, and as a
result I haven't really been frustrated in a creative sense about trying to
break new ground in that medium.
- Q: You've worked in both animation and comics - which do you like
better. Which offers you more freedom?
- A: Certain freedoms and constraints are involved with both. Since I do
everything in the comics, it's a lot more direct - I can get all of my ideas
across and there is a lot more freedom. However, in animation you can get ten
times as much impact in motions and passions about the work involved to the
audience. I'd love to try to get back to animation and put together an
animated film.
- When I first start trying to do a comic book, I start with imaging,
visualising what I want to create in an animated film in my head. From there,
I take it down into comics. I try to write what I have in my head into comics
- it's a lot harder to do that, unfortunately.
- The idea, of course, is to try to get it out of my head straight into
animation, but since constraints are involved with trying to animate your
products - other people, budgets, schedules and such - that doesn't happen.
It's frustrating. Often I think how wonderful it would be if I could just
take a reel of film out of my head!
- The biggest constraints on my doing animated projects is lack of
money and time. This lack of time and money is also one of the biggest
reasons why Japanese animation is going through a recession now, but I really
don't want to abandon hope and still want to stay in it in the hope that
things will work out in our favour again.