{"id":41146,"date":"2024-06-29T15:05:47","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T22:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=41146"},"modified":"2025-07-09T19:13:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T02:13:32","slug":"figurekinginterview3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/figurekinginterview3\/","title":{"rendered":"Figure King<\/em> design interview 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yamato<\/em> Testimonial 3<\/h3>\n

Naoyuki Katoh<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe beauty of Yamato<\/em> as depicted by Miyatake is something I cannot imitate.\u201d<\/h3>\n

While Kazutaka Miyatake was working on the settings for Yamato<\/em>, Naoyuki Katoh was also involved in many of the settings. Katoh, who continues to work on Yamato<\/em> as an illustrator for the remake series, shared his memories of that time with us.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> First, please tell us how you became involved in Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> At the time, I remember Kenichi Matsuzaki showing me the illustration of Asteroid 6<\/em> with a battleship inside a rock. I also saw the characters drawn by Kazuaki Saito, but at that stage, I was not involved in the project and just thought, \u201cMatsuzaki is working on something.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Later, Matsuzaki gave me a drawing of a battleship that would later be revealed as a Gamilas ship and asked me to paint it in camouflage. I finished it, but my first assignment on the Yamato<\/em> project was cleaning up Leiji Matsumoto’s rough sketches. After that, I was asked to clean up Matsumoto’s drawings, and I remember drawing a scene of buildings standing underground on Earth. I cleaned up a drawing of transparent tubes running through an underground space with air cars traveling inside them, and I remember painstakingly painting the windows of the buildings. Anyway, I was made to do a lot of final artwork. (laughs)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> In other words, your involvement began with cleaning up Matsumoto’s rough sketches.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> One after another, Matsumoto-san’s design sketches kept coming in. For example, when I was cleaning up the Cosmo Zero, there was only one rough sketch in pencil by Matsumoto-san at first. Since I had never drawn an airplane before, I couldn’t understand the three-dimensional structure of the Cosmo Zero depicted in the sketch, especially the shape of the wing roots and air intakes. It was really challenging to align the surfaces in my own way. Looking back at Matsumoto’s rough sketches now, there are no contradictions at all. Matsumoto’s Cosmo Zero is really cool, isn’t it? (laughs) The difference is obvious. I couldn’t capture that beauty properly.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> You also drew the three-view drawings, right?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> I did a lot of work converting Matsumoto-san’s drawings into three-view diagrams. As for the Cosmo Zero, besides cleaning up the exterior, I remember creating the cockpit interior on my own without any rough sketches. The seat and the meters arranged in the center of the control panel were done with Matsumoto-san’s sense in mind, but the control stick and other meters were created on my own without any input from him.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Was there a specific division of labor among the Studio Nue team, such as \u201cin charge of Gamilas,\u201d or did whoever was available take on the work?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> Basically, at that time, once the storyboards were completed, the production manager would check them and request the necessary mecha designs from the designers. However, in this case, we had the script and storyboards, and Matsuzaki hastily created the necessary mecha designs on the spot. Miyatake was working on Yamato<\/em>, so Matsuzaki would bring me something and say, \u201cDo this,\u201d but if I was too busy, he would end up drawing it himself.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Regarding Yamato<\/em>, Miyatake drew the front pass, and you drew the rear, right?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> Basically, all the sketches drawn by Matsumoto, including Yamato<\/em>, were from the front, so Miyatake first adjusted them to the current form of Yamato<\/em>, then finalized them as three-view diagrams. Matsumoto checked those three-view diagrams and gave instructions like \u201cmake the bow longer,\u201d and after revisions, the final draft was decided. However, Miyatake was apparently busy, so I ended up drawing the rear view of Yamato<\/em> based on those three-view diagrams.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Regarding Yamato<\/em>, one of the well-known settings you worked on is the first bridge design.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> One day, I was suddenly called to Art Land studio by Ishiguro-san, who placed two B4-sized sheets of paper drawn by Matsumoto-san side by side and fixed them with tape. These were then projected onto a large screen behind Ishiguro-san’s desk using a projector with adjustable zoom and perspective, and I traced the lines onto another large sheet of paper while adjusting them. I added a grid pattern on the floor because the layout of the large room was easier to draw accurately using perspective.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> By the way, were you reluctant to participate in the sequel, Farewell to Yamato<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> At the time, I was working hard on the cover illustration for a paperback book, so I didn’t want to do anything else. I was satisfied with drawing the covers for SF Magazine<\/em> and other works I enjoyed, and I had no interest in anime. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Your main profession is an illustrator, after all.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> I occasionally did anime work for Haruka Takachiho, such as drawing art boards for Brave Raideen,<\/em> but that was only a few pieces.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Did your connection with Director Ishiguro through Yamato<\/em> lead to your involvement in Legend of the Galactic Heroes<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> If it weren’t for Ishiguro, I wouldn’t have taken the job. The initial agreement was that I could design anything freely. So the battleship design was almost immediately approved, but the interior of the bridge was a different story. <\/p>\n

At the time, the author of an SF series I was illustrating, an Australian SF writer, visited Japan. Since he was a sailor and wrote SF novels set on spaceships, we all visited the Memorial Ship Mikasa<\/em> in Yokosuka. Drawing inspiration from that experience, I proposed for Galactic Heroes<\/em> that \u201cthe narrow space surrounded by the protective walls of the Mikasa<\/em> is the bridge of a spaceship. Moreover, it is a small escape pod.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, the request was to make the bridge spacious enough for the characters to act out their scenes, so it ended up resembling the bridge of Yamato<\/em> with a large room. It became a work featuring many veteran voice actors, earning it the nickname Legend of Galactic Voice Actors<\/em>, and I think Ishiguro-san did an amazing job of bringing that story together.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I think the illustrations you draw play an important role in the Yamato<\/em> remake series.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> The Yamato<\/em> I draw in the remake series is entirely based on what Junichiro Tamamori created. The plastic models are made based on the designs he prepared, and I draw Yamato<\/em> based on those models. However, if I just draw it as is, there’s a slight discrepancy with the image of Yamato<\/em> in my head, so I make some adjustments.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is the image of Yamato<\/em> that you have in mind the same as Miyatake’s image of Yamato<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> I believe that \u201cYamato<\/em> cannot be drawn without Miyatake.\u201d Miyatake would do the rough sketches and pen work (refining the outlines), and I would finish it with paint. That was our usual process, so when I was asked to draw Yamato<\/em>, I always declined. <\/p>\n

However, when Art Land contacted me about creating a new Yamato<\/em> and requested illustrations, I thought, \u201cI have no choice but to decline,\u201d but I still went to the studio in Kokubunji. There, Yutaka Izubuchi showed me a sketch drawn by Mr. Tamamori with great pride, and my mindset changed. \u201cIf this exists, I can’t draw Yamato<\/em> the way Miyatake would, but maybe I can draw Yamato<\/em> with Mr. Tamamori’s detailed designs,\u201d so I decided to take the job.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What do you think is the appeal of Miyatake’s Yamato<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> It’s a difficult question. He prioritizes beauty over accuracy. For example, the beautiful women that Matsumoto draws are not like real people, but they have a beauty that is unique to Matsumoto. Similarly, the beauty of Miyatake’s Yamato<\/em> comes from his sense of style, which I cannot imitate. Those drawings are basically cubism, right?<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I see. It’s more about emphasizing the visible points than the three-dimensionality.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> Exactly, it’s made up. Even with my recent approach, I first sketch the image in my head roughly, and once the composition is decided, I overlay the 3D model of Yamato<\/em> sent from the studio. The data already differs from Miyatake’s Yamato<\/em> and Tamamori’s Yamato<\/em>, so I try to convey the initial image of Yamato<\/em> that I’ve nurtured in my mind over decades. <\/p>\n

Specifically, I slightly adjust the focal length and direction of the lens at the bow, center, and stern, then smoothly blend the seams together. This is possible because it’s an illustration. I often render 3D models using a fisheye lens setting. However, fisheye lenses are too accurate to be used for illustrations, so I exaggerate the image by combining them in an unnatural way. That’s why the Yamato<\/em> I draw can never be reproduced in three dimensions. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> That’s the unique appeal of illustrations, which is different from photographs.<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> Regarding Yamato<\/em>‘s design, I think Miyatake’s sense of balance is exquisite. The curves, or the way the hull narrows in the middle, are evident in Miyatake’s artwork. The cross-section of the hull was directly instructed by Miyatake as \u201clike an airplane,\u201d but there’s a sense that I can’t replicate, and I can’t fathom what Miyatake thinks about the Yamato<\/em> I’m currently drawing in my own style. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> When you draw Yamato<\/em> using Tamamori’s settings, are you conscious of Miyatake’s style?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> At first, I couldn’t understand Miyatake’s sense, so I just copied the plastic model exactly as it was. But then I could only draw Yamato<\/em> from angles that Miyatake wouldn’t draw. Whenever I tried to incorporate Miyatake’s sense, there were inevitable discrepancies, so I ended up drawing Yamato<\/em> from angles that Miyatake never did. (laughs)<\/p>\n

I also want to draw Yamato<\/em> from a different angle than Kiya Asamiya does, and Makoto Kobayashi’s Yamato<\/em> also comes into play. (laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Finally, looking back on the past 50 years, what are your thoughts?<\/p>\n

Katoh:<\/em><\/span> Back then, we were the youngest members of the Yamato<\/em> staff, but now we’re the oldest. We aimed to be illustrators, but our first job with our peers was creating the designs for anime, so I think that’s why the ideas I pour into my drawings have always been my selling point. That hasn’t changed. I want to keep drawing the SF art I love freely.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Special Project: Cosmo Zero 50th Anniversary<\/h3>\n

Fifty years ago, the Cosmo Zero was based on Matsumoto’s rough sketches, which were then cleaned up and three-view diagrams were created by Mr. Katoh. The background artwork used as the base is from that time.<\/p>\n

“With my skills, techniques, and sense at the time, I was unable to properly finish Mr. Matsumoto’s sketch of Cosmo Zero. I have now reworked Matsumoto’s sketch using my current (72-year-old) skills and techniques, and compared it to my earlier (less mature) artwork.”<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PROFILE<\/p>\n

Born in 1952 in Shizuoka Prefecture. Affiliated with Studio Nue. Joined the Studio Nue founding members after participating in the doujinshi group SF Central Art as an illustrator. As a member of Studio Nue, he contributed to mecha design for Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>. He primarily creates realistic illustrations of SF and fantasy works, and has worked across various fields including novel covers, illustrations, and model package designs.<\/p>\n

Since the 1990s, he has actively incorporated CG, creating many works that blend digital and analog techniques. Notable works include covers of SF Magazine,<\/em> and cover illustrations for the novels Starship Troopers<\/em> and Yamato 2199.<\/em> He also handled both the illustrations for the novel and the mecha design for the anime adaptation of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes<\/em> series. He participated in illustrations for the Yamato<\/em> remake series that started in 2012. He continues to be involved with Yamato<\/em>, illustration video packaging and pamphlets.<\/p>\n

See his credit list at Anime News Network here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Return to previous article<\/a><\/p>\n

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