{"id":27971,"date":"2020-02-07T20:46:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T04:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=27971"},"modified":"2020-02-14T22:57:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T06:57:51","slug":"446a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/446a\/","title":{"rendered":"Masahiko Okura interview, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2002icon\"<\/p>\n

Artist Masahiko Okura is among those whose creative passion was ignited by Yamato<\/em>, which he brought to the saga itself from Final Yamato<\/em> all the way through 2199<\/em>. In this interview from Ship’s Log<\/em> issues 6, he shares personal memories going all the way back to his first viewing.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In November 2019, we had the pleasure of presenting our first in-person interview with anime artist and lifelong Yamato<\/em> fan Masahiko Okura (which you can read here<\/a>). A few years earlier, a previous interview was published in issue 6 of the Yamato<\/em> fan club magazine Ship’s Log<\/em> (February, 2014). It was another instance of Mr. Okura generously sharing his deep Yamato<\/em> passion from the bottom of his heart, and it demanded a place in the Cosmo DNA spotlight.<\/p>\n

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Entertainment<\/em> and Refinement:<\/em> the exquisite balance of both is the appeal of Yamato<\/em><\/h3>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Right off the top, how do you feel about participating in Yamato 2199<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> All I can say is, \u201cIt\u2019s fascinating!\u201d I directly participated in Episode 25, just one before the finale. The atmosphere at the studio was like a last blast before graduation. At the time I was staying overnight and working at Xebec [studio]. I ate snacks and chatted with the others who were staying there. When I came on the scene, the schedule was tight, but really interesting.<\/p>\n

Anyway, everyone on the staff is like, \u201cThis is Yamato<\/em> to me.\u201d No matter where I go, if it\u2019s editing or the sound department, all the talk goes to \u201cMy Yamato<\/em>.\u201d (Laughs) Then someone says, \u201cNo, Yamato<\/em> isn\u2019t like that.\u201d And I don\u2019t have time for it. (Laughs) Each person\u2019s personal view of Yamato<\/em> is quite clear. I think that\u2019s why the finished product is so dense. I think it must be really hard on Yutaka Izubuchi to pull it all together. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> \u201cMy Yamato<\/em>.\u201d (Laughs) You\u2019re a famous Yamato<\/em> enthusiast. You sometimes go to fan events as a general customer, and you\u2019re one of those who can sing all four verses<\/a> of the Yamato<\/em> theme song without looking at the lyrics at all. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> No, there\u2019s nothing special about my \u201cYamato<\/em> love.\u201d I don\u2019t think that way any more after going to the studio. Everyone there is a serious Yamato<\/em> fan. (Laughs) Izubuchi, Enomoto, Niishi, Imanishi, Yoshida\u2026all the way through the animation crew to the photography department. I was keenly aware of being an amateur.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> In addition to storyboarding and directing Episode 25, you were also in charge of the storyboard for Episode 18. You just did the storyboard for that one, right? What\u2019s the specific difference between drawing a storyboard and being in charge of the production?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> A storyboard is like a blueprint for a film. On the other hand, when it comes to directing, the simple way to put it is that you\u2019re like a foreman with a helmet and megaphone. \u201cThat should be different. The welding there isn\u2019t strong enough.\u201d You actually go to the site every day, and my job is to make a film by giving detailed instructions to craftsmen. A storyboard can be received differently depending on how it\u2019s interpreted. I decide on the subtle nuances of a character\u2019s performance. \u201cThis is right. This is left. This is right, but a little more to the left side.\u201d You make a lot of subtle decisions about what they do. It\u2019s like in a manga, where you define the concept of time. <\/p>\n

The atmosphere of a film changes greatly depending on these decisions. For example, when you meet with the animators and look at a storyboard, it might say \u201cYuki Mori turns around.\u201d But I might tell an animator, \u201cYuki is more emotional here, so I want her to turn around with a sharp look!\u201d If the acting is the same, but she turns around faster, the movement of her hair would change, wouldn\u2019t it? A film is made up of detailed instructions like that.<\/p>\n

By the way, it\u2019s really easy when you\u2019re working with good animators. A skilled animator will expand on the storyboard and bring more to it. But in this day and age, you usually hear, \u201cDo it in three days.\u201d (Laughs) If someone is still inexperienced and they\u2019re in a hurry, they may not understand the atmosphere of the work. It\u2019s also my job to give detailed instructions to them.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I think you\u2019re someone who was attracted to Yamato<\/em> 40 years ago. What was it that attracted you most?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Hmm, don\u2019t you feel helpless when you\u2019re a child? Even though you have parental protection, kids can\u2019t really do anything. They can\u2019t even make money. At least, I felt helpless. I grew up in Akita, and Akita in winter is amazing. It\u2019s already dark outside at 4pm. In that dark sky, the wind sounds like \u201cgohhh\u201d or \u201cbohhh,\u201d an eerie sound that I can\u2019t imitate. You can\u2019t imagine it in Tokyo, but I walked home alone from elementary school in the midst of that terrible sound. That made me feel helpless as a child. When I saw an anime that started just like that, I felt the same \u201chelplessness.\u201d That\u2019s how I encountered Yamato<\/em>. Now we have the convenient term \u201ceighth-grader syndrome.\u201d<\/a> but can you project that lost feeling onto kids back then?<\/p>\n

After that\u2026well, isn\u2019t it frustrating when you lose? Any fight you get into is everything. It becomes a feeling of, \u201cDAMN IT!\u201d But when I was a kid, my generation was taught, \u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to feel that way. Don\u2019t get upset when you lose. Don\u2019t have that \u2018DAMN IT\u2019 feeling.\u201d I had to keep my head down. Well, it\u2019s a story about war. I think Yamato<\/em> was the first anime to describe that feeling of, \u201cDAMN IT!\u201d Isn\u2019t that what you react to the most?<\/p>\n

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The first thing you see in Yamato<\/em> is the Earth losing, so isn\u2019t it a story that starts by saying, \u201cDAMN IT, DAMN IT\u201d right away? I\u2019d never seen that in a movie or in anime. I\u2019d only had about a dozen years of life experience, but I\u2019d never encountered anything like that in a children\u2019s work. It remains intense. When you think about it again, it\u2019s normal to be upset if you lose a war, right? But I couldn\u2019t say that as a kid, or my parents and teachers would yell at me. In some cases, there would be social punishments. In an environment like that, wasn\u2019t it a work that took on the true feelings of people right from the start, including joy and sorrow?<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> How old were you at the time?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I was in fifth grade. Kids are most impressionable from third grade to when they graduate from junior high. You\u2019re influenced by a lot of things during that time, aren\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I was in first grade when the first series was broadcast, and I could feel something from it, but I was in no position to analyze it at six years old. Of course, I didn\u2019t know the words \u201cromance\u201d or \u201ctragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I didn\u2019t either. (Laughs) But when you watch it, it\u2019s full of those emotions. \u201cIt\u2019s such a pinch! They\u2019re so cornered!\u201d and that sort of thing. Was it hard for a first grader to follow?<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> You can receive something from the story, and you can delve into it. But even if you see the same work just one year later, you can feel completely different about it, can\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I\u2019ve always thought Farewell to Yamato<\/em> was the greatest masterpiece of all time, but when I talk with people one generation older, a lot of them say, \u201cThat\u2019s not true!\u201d Those who were a little older than me were moved by Part 1, and when they watched Farewell<\/em> it conversely felt cold. They\u2019d say, \u201cIn Part 1, Captain Okita said, \u2018I still have my life,\u2019<\/em> so he wouldn\u2019t say that [in the Farewell<\/em> finale]!” and I\u2019d say, I know, that\u2019s Kodai\u2019s hallucination\u2026 (Laughs) I think there are many ways to absorb the shock of Yamato<\/em> depending on your circumstances at the time and the character of the person. A difference of just two or three years at that time is very big. The impression you receive from the work can change a lot.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> [The Farewell<\/em> finale] is like getting chased and cornered and you turn to a phantom when there\u2019s no one left to rely on. (Laughs) I cried a lot in the theater as a fourth grader.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> This is a dumb story, but I didn\u2019t cry and it had nothing to do with the movie. I stood in line all night to see it on opening day. In the morning I got an animation cel [given away by the theater], went into the theater, and fell asleep as soon as I sat down. (Laughs) When I woke up and opened my eyes, I saw Teresa up on the screen. The story had already gotten up to Teresa on Telezart and I didn\u2019t understand it at all. (Laughs) When I came to my senses, there was a naked woman on the screen. \u201cOh no, I passed out.\u201d But the story was fascinating, and I was really impressed.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> The way we received a story and how to experience a subculture changed a lot in just a few years. When Farewell<\/em> came out, I hadn\u2019t stayed up all night yet, and I wasn\u2019t old enough to stay up all night at a theater. That\u2019s why it\u2019s interesting to talk to Yamato<\/em> fans from different generations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I stood in line at several theaters for Farewell<\/em>. Now that I think about it, I wonder what clothes I wore. (Laughs) Of course, there was the delight of getting an animation cel, but movie theaters in those days had a unique atmosphere. I think I was very conscious that if I went there I could share time and space with other people who liked Yamato<\/em> the same way.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> For me it was the declaration of a “new anime century\u201d at the end of seventh grade [1980]. (Laughs) When we were elementary age, didn\u2019t it feel like the neighborhood, the school, and the local train station were the whole world? When you become a junior high student, you jump out of that world, and I think it\u2019s the age when you come into contact with another world and look for familiar things there. By the way, what cel did you get for standing in light all night?<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> It was of a tiny Command Tank just a few centimeters wide with a cloud of dust running behind it. That\u2019s all it was. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> After that did you get a cel for standing in line overnight for Be Forever<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> No, I graduated from Yamato<\/em> with Yamato 2<\/em>. I watched Be Forever<\/em>, of course, but I wasn\u2019t able to enjoy it as much as before. I mean\u2026I have to be honest about Yamato<\/em> to a fault, and I guess I have to say that it had a \u201cShowa scent.\u201d It certainly was Showa. (Laughs) I guess it was a feeling I didn\u2019t accept any more. I was an adult then, and it was around that time that more sophisticated anime was coming out, like the “white monster” [Gundam]<\/em> and others.<\/p>\n[Translator\u2019s note: the \u201cShowa era\u201d was the stretch of decades that encompassed the 70s and 80s. Okura uses the term here as a synonym for \u201coutdated.\u201d]
<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is it weird that I still cry when I hear Akira Fuse\u2019s song [from the end of Be Forever<\/em>]? I was simply happy that Yamato<\/em> was continuing in the days after Farewell<\/em>, but was it because I was still a kid?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> It\u2019s the same as the gap between me and the older generation. A difference of three to five years is big, isn\u2019t it? But it\u2019s fine now. As I grew up, I thought \u201cChiyoko Shimakura\u2019s song [from The New Voyage]<\/em> is the best!\u201d and then \u201cMr. Hirata is the best!\u201d and so on. I thought it was true from the bottom of my heart. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What is this gap that I feel for each work? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just a generational difference.<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> My theory is for an entertainment work to be a hit, there needs to be an appropriate balance in the two factors of \u201centertainment\u201d and \u201crefinement.\u201d In the old days, \u201centertainment\u201d was whatever a movie star was doing, like a distinctive work with Hibari Misora<\/a> playing a strange princess. When you say \u201cRefinement,\u201d on the other hand, it embodies the aesthetics of style, like Tokyo Story<\/em> directed by Yasujiro Ozu<\/a>, things like that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When you were a kid, you may not have understood the meaning of Mr. Ozu\u2019s movies at all. There was no police car chase or flashy action. But when you grow up\u2026that\u2019s where it\u2019s at. (Laughs) Do you know the work called the Company President<\/em> series? It\u2019s a comedy movie series by Director Shue Matsubayashi<\/a> starring Hisaya Morishige<\/a>. It\u2019s a series that went on for a long time [1956-70]. They were productions which had a set cast and roles, and every time, you\u2019d have the same sort of slapstick, with the adults of old doing their utmost to to run through gags that were like pre-established harmonies. It feels like the apex of the performing arts, which carried through to the skits performed by groups like The Drifters and Crazy Cats.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Company President<\/em> series doesn\u2019t make a lot of people laugh out loud today, but when you consider the context of the times, it\u2019s something that I totally love. So, I don\u2019t know if that gives you the adequate context, but maybe Yamato<\/em> Part 1 was filmed a bit like Director Ozu\u2019s Company President<\/em> series. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s what they were aiming for, but I think the balance of \u201centertainment\u201d and \u201crefinement\u201d was really exquisite in Yamato<\/em> Part 1. As the series continued, it might be that the ratio changed. Like Tokyo Story<\/em> by Director Matsubayashi\u2026but maybe nobody will understand that expression. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> No, no, it\u2019s a good metaphor. It\u2019s a wonderful thing to hear from someone who knows Yamato<\/em> well! I respect that. A more direct definition of \u201centertainment\u201d and \u201crefinement\u201d would be the difference between commercialism and craftsmanship. In any industry, the story is often recorded in business and sales, but it was particularly strong in the Showa era.<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Back then, Yoshinobu Nishizaki had prepared a \u201cformula,\u201d and I wonder if Farewell<\/em> was the pinnacle where I obediently enjoyed that part. A strong enemy appears and a great Earth fleet comes out but it\u2019s no good, and in the end it\u2019s Yamato<\/em>\u2019s love for all of space\u2026that\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about. The \u201centertainment\u201d element was strong, but I think the balance of \u201centertainment\u201d and \u201crefinement\u201d was taken to the limit with Farewell<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Oh, jumping off topic, there\u2019s this great karuta [flashcard] set that came out at the time. I managed to get a set via net auction. (Laughs) The \u201cRO\u201d card has a picture of Kodai and Yuki, arm in arm, and the haiku says \u201cEven though romance bears fruit…\u201d (Laughs) That was good!<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Really makes you think about the transcience of life. (Laughs)<\/p>\n


\nMr. Okura\u2019s favorite karuta, as mentioned here; a set of hiragana
\nflash cards with corresponding haiku.
\nKodai and Yuki occupy the card for “RO.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> The appeal of Farewell<\/em> is a sense of romance and a sense of tragedy. It keeps building and building, and the biggest point of the story is to overturn it at the end.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What was the work that made you want to become an animator?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Naturally, the stereotypical answer is\u2026Yamato<\/em>. (Laughs) It was the first time I watched the end credits after a show\u2026in other words, I was conscious of the staff. Who had made such a great work? Before that, an end title was just a background for listening to songs. \u201cMitsuru Kashiwabara\u2026Studio Nue\u2026who are they?\u201d It was like, \u201cWhat do these people do, and how can they make such a great story?\u201d After that I managed to get an anime job, and I was glad that I got to work on Final Yamato<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> That\u2019s a fan\u2019s dream, isn\u2019t it? Were you really happy?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Not just happy, it was ecstasy!! \u201cI don\u2019t need a guarantee!\u201d I said!
\nI leaped at the chance. [Translator’s note: a guarantee is a deposit paid to secure an artist or performer.]
<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Do you remember which shots you drew in Final Yamato<\/em> for your debut?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I didn\u2019t do very many, but I liked mecha and I talked to mecha-centric people. At the beginning of the story, Yamato<\/em> descends for a rescue on Planet Dengil, and the whole area is shaken by a big wave\u2026there was a big \u201cKaboom\u201d that took about a month to draw. After that, the schedule got worse. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

(Pause to look through the Final Yamato<\/em> Roman Album; in the middle of the Pluto battle, Lugal\u2019s troops attack as injured people are being taken aboard lifeboats.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I also worked on this part. There was no time back then, so it was divided up and drawn by everyone in the studio. Kind of like, \u201cI\u2019ll draw the machine gun, you draw the explosion.\u201d Later I worked on the final scene.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Eh? You also worked on? [the ending song sequence] Love Supreme?<\/em> Well, that\u2019s an unexpected story.<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I remember it! I watched the first screening on opening day and it was talked about in newspapers, and after that the visuals for that scene came up endlessly for some reason. (Laughs) \u201cWhat sort of thing is this?\u201d (Laughs) We ended up reluctantly doing the same sort of thing in 2199<\/em> Episode 25. I am really sorry for all the trouble it caused.<\/p>\n

(Pause to look through Yoshinori Kanada\u2019s art<\/a> in the Final Yamato<\/em> Roman Album.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> When I saw this, it set me on fire! A copy [of the book] went around the studio, and we all copied it\u2026so nostalgic!<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Some time later, how did you come to participate in Yamato Resurrection<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I suddenly got a phone call. \u201cThis is Nishizaki\u2026I want to meet with you.\u201d (Laughs) I said, \u201call right\u201d and he and [his son] Shoji Nishizaki came all the way to where I lived. The project was moving forward and they wanted me on board as the Mecha Director, but I had to decline at that time. I really wanted to participate, but later on I was able to bend a little and agreed to it. \u201cI can help you a little\u2026\u201d However, since production had already begun there wasn\u2019t room for me to be the Mecha Director of the main story, so I said, \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, then let me play with the 3DCG model of Yamato<\/em>.\u201d If I could be involved with the basic 3DCG model, it would be the same as being involved as the Mecha Director.<\/p>\n


\n3DCG model for <\/em>Yamato Resurrection by Masahiko Okura and Station T.T.B. The bow and stern are smaller and the volume has increased in the center of the hull, but to the contrary it can be said that it\u2019s a closer to the silhouette of the old Battleship Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Then the so-called Resurrection<\/em> version 3DCG model is the \u201cOkura version.\u201d How did that model come about?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Everyone calls it the \u201cOkura version.\u201d It was made in collaboration with Station T.T.B. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, they produced a lot of high-quality Yamato<\/em> and Star Trek<\/em> CG models for the web. They became sort of famous among Yamato<\/em> lovers, and I was very impressed by their work. After that, I was introduced to the person in charge of 3DCG at the production site. \u201cHello, my name is Mori.\u201d When we first started talking about Yamato<\/em>, he seemed strangely familiar. So when I asked him, it turned out he was the one in charge of Station T.T.B. I knew his work, so \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, then we\u2019re safe.\u201d When we started the real work and I gave my notes and requests, he took them into consideration very well.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What kind of discussions did you specifically have?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> At that point, a printout of the 3DCG model had already been completed for verification. I drew my proposed changes onto a rough view. \u201cPlease do it this way.\u201d And the model was modified. Then it was output again with the corrections and we repeated. After that, we finished it by direct discussion. I remember endlessly playing around with the surface structure of the Wave-Motion Gun. (Laughs) <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mr. Mori did his best\u2026but it was tough. I\u2019d say, \u201cIt\u2019s almost done! But let\u2019s play with the proportions from this angle\u2026\u201d (Laughs) In order to reduce the bow and stern the central part of the hull was widened and we further increased the length of the hull\u2026and then, \u201cLet\u2019s make the bridge smaller.\u201d I was told \u201cThe scale is different,\u201d but I\u2019m not the type who cares about specs, so\u2026 \u201cLet\u2019s extend the overall length then!\u201d It\u2019s a ship that Sanada redesigned anyway, so it could be about 333 meters. And Nishizaki said it looked like a \u201cturnip.\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\n

In fact, when we first tried to make Resurrection<\/em> in 1992<\/a>, I suggested to Mr. Nishizaki, \u201cLet\u2019s extend the overall length\u201d and got the OK. So when we presented the 3D model that was made with these strange proportions, I got the OK in one try. Finally, he said to put the anchor mark on it and change the color of the third bridge, and I made the bridge windows orange. He was really obsessed with that area.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> The Resurrection<\/em> version of Yamato<\/em> does have some unusual proportions, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n


\nMr. Okura drew this in his pocket notebook during the interview.
\nIt shows the difference between telephoto and wide angle,
\nillustrating the \u201csize logic\u201d theory that he specifically explained.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> That Yamato<\/em> does make a strong impression at the front and rear when it passes by. It\u2019s really memorable, isn\u2019t it? But when you see it from the side, the front and rear are bigger.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> There was a plastic model like that, too. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Right, but this style wasn\u2019t as carefree as that. Conversely, when you balance it with a side view that looks cool, you end up with the proportions of a small front and rear. When you do it this way, you end up asking \u201cMaybe we shouldn\u2019t do the pass,\u201d but like it or not, when the camera moves in, the bow and stern get bigger. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

For myself, the impression I wanted to give was, \u201cYamato<\/em> is a very long ship.\u201d I looked at the \u201cwraparound Yamato<\/em>\u201d scenes created by Tiger Pro back in the day [on Series 1] and thought, \u201cLike that\u2026\u201d I had played around with 3DCG on other works and thought, \u201cWhat makes it look big is going more telephoto than wide angle!\u201d So my approach came from the desire to capture that telephoto look. After that, when Taito\u2019s prize model came out, I took a photo of it from a distance with telephoto, and the silhouette had a huge feeling, so I wasn\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Mr. Nishizaki seemed to have a lot of feelings about Yamato<\/em>\u2019s style of drama, which you\u2019ve referred to as \u201cThe Nishizaki formula.\u201d How do you feel about it?<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> I thought about Yamato<\/em> in various ways for this interview, and I think the characteristic of Mr. Nishizaki\u2019s style of drama is \u201cfatherhood.\u201d It\u2019s consistent from Part 1 all the way to Resurrection<\/em>. You could say \u201cNishizaki\u2019s Yamato<\/em>\u201d has a \u201cfatherly aura.\u201d It comes out so deeply\u2026so deeply that regular people can\u2019t follow it. (Laughs) We have to talk about how far it can penetrate in modern times. It\u2019s so deep that viewers of Yamato Resurrection<\/em> in particular can feel it hitting them over the head. There may be a variety of tastes depending on the person, but I think that\u2019s one of the appeals of Yamato<\/em>. You can say Yamato Resurrection<\/em> wasn\u2019t successful, but there\u2019s no doubt that its aesthetics were unique to Mr. Nishizaki. You can debate over whether or not it\u2019s a good movie, but if you look at it as Yamato<\/em>, it got a perfect score. That\u2019s what I think.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Everyone who talks about Mr. Nishizaki says the same thing, don\u2019t they? You could say that the \u201cNishizaki formula\u201d isn\u2019t dramaturgy, but it\u2019s about how to carry a story and give it presence. He liked you a lot, too, didn\u2019t he? You’ve said, \u201cHe fought with a lot of people, but I was never yelled at even when he was scolding me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> Yeah, he really liked me. The timing of his departure was bad, and I\u2019m sorry I wasn\u2019t able to return the favor with satisfaction. I used to go to him and say, \u201cLet\u2019s do a remake of the old days!\u201d and I\u2019d show him a plot and some pictures I drew. All I can do now is say, \u201cI miss you!\u201d It was a great ride, Mr. Nishizaki.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I\u2019ll never forget the wrap party.<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> There were flowers offered to him from the staff in the morning, and others sent by outsiders starting in the afternoon. And then, at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, while walking along the street, if he saw someone he recognized walking alone, he\u2019d call out \u201cWe\u2019re going for drinks now. Want to join us?\u201d At the time, he said \u201cI feel like, once I go home, it\u2019ll all be over.\u201d Those sorts of feelings may come out in that film. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I was surprised to hear the story behind an illustration you drew for this magazine, titled Arrivederci<\/em>: \u201cA picture of those who died, becoming birds and traveling with Yamato<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okura:<\/em><\/span> The voice actor Goro Naya [Captain Okita] passed away right before I drew that. So many voice actors and staff members who were involved with the old Yamato<\/em> have passed away over the last few years. Mr. Tanahashi [director], Mr. Ishiguro [director], Mr. Miyagawa [composer], and of course Mr. Nishizaki. \u201cEveryone is passing away,\u201d I thought. So at the time I wanted to make an image with the feeling of \u201cgoodbye, but not Farewell<\/em>!\u201d without actually saying it.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Those \u201cbirds\u201d are filled with that feeling. But I think what you\u2019re doing now is returning a favor to Mr. Nishizaki. By all means, please revive the plans that were frozen.<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Neil Nadelman for translation support.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Below: experimental 3D model created by Mr. Okura<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Below: illustrations for Yamato Fact File<\/em> magazine by Mr. Okura<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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