メディア芸術カレントコンテンツ - マンガ・アニメ・ゲーム・メディアアートをもっと知るための情報サイト
マンガ・アニメ・ゲーム・メディアアートをもっと知るための情報サイト
Yokote Masuda Manga Museum illuminates the destination of an original archivesPart 2
The most important project of the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum is the archiving of original manga drawings. Its […]
The most important project of the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum is the archiving of original manga drawings. Its efforts are attracting attention as an operational model for manga-related facilities nationwide. What are the obstacles that the museum has overcome in the process of archiving, and what challenges have emerged? Continuing from Part 1, we interviewed OISHI Takashi, the museum’s director. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_BUN_5261.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17780" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_BUN_5261.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_BUN_5261-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_BUN_5261-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><img decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_image22.jpg" alt="" width="739" height="493" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17781" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_image22.jpg 739w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_1_image22-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px" />A display touch panel. Visitors are able to view, on a monitor, original drawings by manga artists from a large collection. They can also zoom in. The available content for viewing is changed periodically, due to the large number of works by each artist. *The use of touch panels is currently restricted to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Conservation and utilization are two wheels In the Part 1 article, we explained a dilemma surrounding the positioning of the value of the original artworks, as well as the method of organizing and storing them. Given the costs of archiving the original drawings, it is necessary at the same time to consider the utilization of the works in order to expand and continue the project. In fact, museum director OISHI Takashi emphasizes that, “Conservation and utilization are two wheels. If we focus on one or the other, we will not be successful.” It is necessary to think of the original drawing archive as a project that integrates everything from collection to utilization. However, even if we talk about how manga used, it is necessary to be cautious because manga artists and publishers hold their own rights to their works. In this respect, the museum has come up with a method of utilization based on two guiding principles: “localism” and “return to the citizens.” This is an idea that can be linked to the concept of “protecting the original works of local artists in each region,” which I will discuss later. An example of returning the value of the acquired original drawings to the citizens is the free access to exhibitions of the original drawings (*1). In addition, the museum has agreed to allow the use of the images within the scope of Yokote City’s nonprofit town development and image-enhancement activities, such as the wrapping of official vehicles and production of public posters. Not only do the activities leverage familiarity in a way that only manga can do, but they also help to foster civic pride by informing the public about what kind of works are being preserved at the museum. Copyright and original drawings Regarding the use of the original drawings for the city’s PR purposes as described above, neither the city nor the museum pays royalties to the manga artists or publishers. The arrangement is operated with permission and in line with the cost of storing and managing the drawings. The rights of the original drawings are briefly summarized as follows: First of all, manga artists are the owners of their original works as objects. However, depending on the contract between a manga artist and a publisher, the publisher who placed the order will have the publishing rights (*2), which is one of the copyrights. Furthermore, both the manga artist and the publisher are holders of the rights to the work and its characters. Therefore, even if there is no problem in transferring or trusting the original work at the discretion of the manga artist, it is difficult to utilize the work without the publisher. Since the museum’s collection is expected to be used in advance, publishers are invited to participate from the negotiation stage with manga artists. This is the first stage of the archiving process, and it requires the most energy. OISHI says, “It is very difficult for individual manga artists to manage their original works for long periods of time while paying attention to their conservation condition. In some cases, it is so difficult that the original works end up being destroyed. There is also an element of uncertainty about whether a bereaved family would be able to cope with the situation of the manga artist passing away suddenly, and there would be little negative reaction to the idea of doing a good job protecting a collection of original drawings in a facility, such as a museum. However, everyone is nervous about an institution starting to assert some kind of rights just because it possesses the originals. We carefully explain at the beginning what we will and will not do, within the framework of giving back to the public.” <img decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_2_oishi_01.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="665" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17782" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_2_oishi_01.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_2_oishi_01-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_2_oishi_01-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />OISHI Takashi, director of Yokote Masuda Manga Museum Developing manga education Another noteworthy initiative utilizing the original drawing archive is manga education, or the introduction of manga into the field of education (*3). With the “Yokote shi mirai no mangaka hakkutsu magazine seisaku project (Yokote City future manga artist discovery magazine production project),” manga manuscripts are solicited from elementary and junior high school students in the city, collected as art works, and published in a manga magazine. The first issue was published in the spring of 2020. It was placed in public facilities, hospitals, and dentists’ waiting rooms in the city for the public to see. Moreover, the original drawings that became the book were archived through working by the children themselves and stored at the museum. All of these projects are designed to provide elementary and junior high school students with an opportunity to think not only about the publication process but also about the significance of archiving the original drawings, taking advantage of the museum’s unique archiving capabilities. Nevertheless, it took a lot of effort to get the city and its board of education involved in these projects. “Even within the city council and city hall, there was a negative reaction to the idea of spending public money on manga. No matter how passionate we are about the necessity of archiving, it is difficult to get the message across. This is because for the government, it is imperative to tackle many primary projects, such as those involving welfare and education. It’s very tough to spend money on culture without doing anything in those areas. Facing this headwind, I have been saying that while welfare, education, and medical care are diet staples, the side dishes of culture also contain essential nutrients necessary for growth. But we can’t make this side dish in our own fields. We can create a well-balanced diet only by taking in nutrients from the outside with the help of many manga artists and publishers. I told them that this would lead to the healthy growth of the city of Yokote. Then, finally, some people started to say that they understand,” OISHI said. Not only for the city of Yokote, but also for government, manga culture may be too distant from traditional work duties for its value to be seen. On the other hand, manga culture is an everyday entertainment for citizens, and we can imagine that it is difficult to see the value of government intervention in it. However, what would you think if you saw a manga magazine created by children and students in the waiting room of a hospital, for example? Or what if one’s own child or grandchild’s work appeared in the magazine? It seems to me that the distance between us and manga culture will change from such small steps. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_3magazine_cover.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="699" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17783" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_3magazine_cover.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_3magazine_cover-300x210.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_3magazine_cover-768x537.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />The 2020 edition (left) cover of Yokote shi mirai no mangaka hakkutsu magazine seisaku project sakuhinshu (Collection of works from Yokote City future manga artist discovery magazine production project) has 242 pages, and the 2021 edition (right) has 448 pages. Networking beyond the archive Conservation and utilization are the archive’s two wheels. Even so, there will be a limit to the capacity this vehicle can carry. As of 2021, the museum had a collection of more than 420,000 original drawings from 182 artists in Japan and abroad. But due to the facility’s space limitations, there is a physical limit of 300,000 open shelves and 400,000 closed shelves, for a total of 700,000 artworks. Naturally, it is not possible for the museum alone to protect all the original drawings (*4) of the manga created to date. In terms of the time required for digitization, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to scan an original at 1,200 dpi. If we consider that the maximum number of scans per day is about 50, it becomes clear that the time required for preservation will diverge from the number of originals in the collection as the collection grows. In order to solve these problems, a “network building” project has begun to take shape. Several manga institutions work together to preserve their works (*5). Their three major roles expected for this project are: (1) Establishing an original image consultation service (2) Networking with cooperating facilities across the country (3) Cultivating specialized personnel The idea is that by fulfilling these requirements, museums, art galleries, and manga museums in various regions will be able to work together as part of a network to protect the original artworks in response to requests for conservation from manga artists, their bereaved families, publishers, and editors. As for establishing a contact point in (1) above, implementation was realized in July 2020, and a dedicated website has already been launched. This is the first public consultation service for the preservation of original artworks, and it is expected to consolidate and centralize information. The next step is to create a place to preserve the original drawings. For this purpose, the project is calling on cooperating facilities and building a network to link them. “As the value of original drawings is being re-evaluated, the number of facilities that collect originals may continue to increase throughout Japan. However, instead of each institution competing with each other to increase the number of original works in their respective collections, I would like to link this to a movement in which everyone works together to protect the overwhelming volume of original works that are right in front of us. The easiest way to think about this is to have a museum in the manga artist’s hometown and make the original drawings a local treasure,” OISHI said. In the same way that the core of the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum is its collection of original drawings by YAGUCHI Takao, who was born in Akita, each region will take on collecting original drawings by local manga artists, from acquisition to archiving, and then to civic pride through utilization. How can we not follow outstanding cycle as a model? “We hope the example set by the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum can be used as a yardstick for other municipalities (*6). This is not to say that they should follow this approach. I’m only offering it as an example, and even if there were a case where only the originals were stored and collected in a box without using acid-free paper, I would be willing to allow that approach as well. I want to increase the number of our friends with a mindset of never blaming or denying.” We have too little time, given the huge number of original drawings. OISHI has such a sense of crisis. To begin with, archiving original works is still in its infancy. It will take some time to build the network. And beyond that, the archiving process will take an endless amount of time. Although archiving is for works created in the past, its driving force is the power of imagination for the future. For example, the kind of past works that readers will be able to access 50 years from now depends on the results of the archiving work being done now. This not only provides an opportunity to read, but is also for the next generation of creators. On the eve of the establishment of the Masuda Manga Museum in 1995, there was an idea of a “YAGUCHI Takao Memorial Museum” that would collect only the works of YAGUCHI, being a local manga artist. However, he turned down the idea and said he wanted to create a place where he could see the real and original works of the best manga artists in Japan and abroad in order to cultivate the next generation of manga artists. “Anyone who comes into contact with the real thing will understand how amazing it is... For a manga artist, it’s as important as if he or she had poured their heart and soul into it and did it at the risk of losing their lives to draw them... I believe (that the Manga Museum will make) a great contribution as a center for the dissemination of manga culture.” (*7) From a manuscript drawn with a pen on paper, we can feel the materiality of the ink that gives a sense of fresh brushstrokes, and the handiwork of the manga artist in traces of correction fluid. They are the best living textbooks filled with the enthusiasm of creation. It is YAGUCHI’s thoughts that continue to illuminate the museum’s future. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_5_IMGP0892.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="750" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17784" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_5_IMGP0892.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_5_IMGP0892-300x225.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_5_IMGP0892-768x576.jpg 768w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_5_IMGP0892-320x240.jpg 320w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_5_IMGP0892-640x480.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />“Manga no Kura” (Manga warehouse) <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_6_BUN_5318.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17785" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_6_BUN_5318.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_6_BUN_5318-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote2_6_BUN_5318-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Archive Room (notes) *1 The permanent exhibition is free (Fees required for special exhibitions), regardless of whether you are a local resident or not. Annual passports are also available, starting at 800 yen for elementary school students. *2 Although the term “copyright” is generally used to encompass the entire licensing business, it is not explicitly stated in the Copyright Act, and publishers often establish and contract with each other individually. As for the Prints Right, Article 79 of the Copyright Act states, “a print right to either print the work as a piece of writing or as a picture or to transmit the work to the public using a copy of that work that has been recorded on a recording medium in the relevant format” and Article 80 states that, “the owner of print right...holds the right to reproduce the unaltered original work for the purpose of distribution, as a piece of writing or as a picture, by printing it or by other mechanical or chemical means.” It can be imagined as an entity that has both the right of reproduction (Article 21) and the right of public transmission (Article 23). The print right’s term is generally three to five years, or three years if not specified. *3 Yokote City’s “Manga katsuyo koso (Manga utilization concept)” also advocates for “distinctive education” using manga. https://www.city.yokote.lg.jp/shisei/1001179/1001469/1003326.html (in Japanese) *4 The “Manga genga archive manual (Manga original drawing archive manual),” mentioned in Part 1 of this article, estimates the total number of analog manuscripts at more than 50 million. The following estimates are based on a research report, “Report on the production process and utilization of the Media Arts Database (Development Version),” from the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for the Studies in Cartoons and Comics. “The total number of manga magazines (including satirical cartoons from the Meiji Era) that have been published in Japan is 5,500 (counting magazine titles) and with the total number of all issues published by each magazine at 145,000. Set the number of pages in each magazine to 400 to attempt, 145,000 books x 400 pages = 58 million.” *5 A report on the symposium “Manga first? Original drawing first? —Toward the next stage of ‘manga archives’” (https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-16346/ (in Japanese))is posted for the construction of a collaborative archive of historical materials on manga. Information will be updated in the archives of the Media Arts Current Contents. *6 The museum aims to share not only archiving methodology, but also the ways of viewing original drawings. A special exhibition, “genga no mikata (how to view original drawings),” held at the museum in 2019, introduces key points and innovations in viewing original artworks from the collection. The museum is working on a plan to package this exhibition and propose it as a traveling exhibition to cultural facilities nationwide. *7 Manga Banzai—gagyo 50 nen eno kiseki (Manga Banzai: 50 years of drawing), (Akita Sakigake Shimpo, 2020), 114, 115. (information) Yokote Masuda Manga Museum Address: 285 Masuda Aza Shinmachi, Masuda-machi, Yokote, Akita Open Hours: 10:00–18:00 Closed: Third Tuesday of the month (If it is a national holiday, then the following day.) Admission: Free for permanent exhibitions (Fees required for special exhibitions: http://manga-museum.com Manga Genga Archive Center (c/o the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum) TEL: 0182-23-6915 FAX: 0182-23-6916 email: info@manga-genga-ac.jp http://www.manga-genga-ac.jp *URL links were confirmed on June 16, 2021. ◀ Part 1
Yokote Masuda Manga Museum illuminates the destination of an original archivesPart 1
Since its opening in 1995, the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum has been actively involved in the collection of orig […]
Since its opening in 1995, the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum has been actively involved in the collection of original manga drawings. With an emphasis on the preservation and use of original drawings, the museum was renovated and reopened in 2019. The field of manga in general is still in the process of reconciling opinions within the industry on how to deal with historical materials of original manga works, which are in danger of being lost or scattered. The Yokote Masuda Manga Museum has been a pioneer in the field, from collecting to preservation and utilization. We interviewed OISHI Takashi, the museum’s director. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/5ad5d87f102408b721d7037018a7c322.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17770" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/5ad5d87f102408b721d7037018a7c322.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/5ad5d87f102408b721d7037018a7c322-300x169.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/5ad5d87f102408b721d7037018a7c322-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />The Masuda-machi Manga Museum was opened in 1995, in a corner of the Masuda Fureai Plaza complex. In 2019, it reopened as the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum, a stand-alone manga facility. Adjacent to the museum, the streets of Masuda, known as the “town of Uchigura,” were selected as Japan’s “Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings” in 2013. Why was it necessary to archive original drawings that were once considered worthless? There will be a day, perhaps in years from now, when curious people may know that manga used to be drawn on paper with ink. Half a century ago, it would have been hard to believe that the original drawings of manga would be framed and displayed in museums. The position of original works has changed over time. An original is a printing plate in the process of printing. In that sense, it is an intermediate product. For this reason, there was a time when it was not always guaranteed that the original work was returned to the manga artist by the publisher. Even when they were returned, it was not uncommon for them to be discarded in closets, left untouched in trunks or even as rubbish, without any intention on the part of the manga artists to keep them. It is safe to say that this has been the case for a long period of manga history. What is the value of an original drawing? The pictorial value is immediately obvious. But if we look outside the panels, we can’t overlook the value of the material that traces the production process, such as the tone instructions penciled by the manga artist to his/her assistants or editors’ notes. It was not until exhibitions of original works began to be held in museums and exhibition spaces at department stores that their cultural, as well as economic, value came to be recognized by the public (*1). In particular, the economic value of original drawings has been increasing in recent years with auctions and other sale forms, and awareness toward the value of original artworks has been changing. Major institutions working on the conservation of original drawings and their years of opening are: the Kitakyushu Manga Museum in 2012, the Kyoto International Manga Museum in 2006, the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures (Meiji University Modern Manga Library) in 2009 (*2), and the Yokote Masuda Museum of Manga in 1995. The tide of public awareness toward manga culture can be seen to have turned approximately in the late 1990s. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_2_P1160518.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="751" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17771" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_2_P1160518.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_2_P1160518-300x225.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_2_P1160518-768x577.jpg 768w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_2_P1160518-320x240.jpg 320w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_2_P1160518-640x480.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />A museum shop. The 10m high wall on the left called Manga Wall is covered with famous manga scenes. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_3_BUN_4878.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17772" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_3_BUN_4878.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_3_BUN_4878-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_3_BUN_4878-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />The permanent exhibition room, accessed via a slope leading to the second floor. The room contains original drawings by 74 artists and are regularly replaced by works of more than 100 artists from the museum collection. A strong will to archive made clear by the 2019 renewal The Yokote Masuda Museum of Manga opened in 1995, specializing in the exhibition of original drawings. Its focus was on the collection of original drawings by local manga artist YAGUCHI Takao (*3). Since 2015, the museum has added the collections of tens of thousands of original drawings by TAKAHASHI Yoshihiro, KOJIMA Goseki, NOJO Junichi, TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru, HIGASHIMURA Akiko, and KURATA Yoshimi. The number of manga artists has increased (*4), and in 2019, the museum reopened as a major project of the “Akita Prefecture shi cho son mirai zukuri kyodo program Yokote City Project (Akita Prefecture collaborative program for building the future of municipalities, Yokote City Project).” What changed before and after the renovation? Actually, the floor space was not increased during the two years of construction, and the building’s layout has remained almost unchanged. The renovation was mainly to upgrade the functions of the old layout of the building, which used to be a community center, such as turning a meeting room into an exhibition space, a cooking area into a café, and a regular library into a manga library. One major change is visible: the creation of a glass-walled storage room for original drawings. In this room, you can feel the intention and message of the original drawing archive. The museum has taken a step forward from the exhibition of original drawings to make archiving original drawings a major pillar of the museum, and has made this clear to visitors. The “Manga no Kura,” a glass-walled room for storing original drawings, has a plaque indicating which manga artists’ original drawings are currently being maintained and stored, and visitors can see the archiving process up close. OISHI Takashi, a former Yokote City employee, who currently serves as the director of the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum, explains the concept of this space. “The theme for the government was to create a sense of civic pride so that citizens would get a sense of pride from the public funds spent to house the collection. I thought that there was no better way to convey how the original works of manga artists, who have supported Japanese culture, were being stored with such care in a local museum than to have people actually see them. That’s what visualization is all about. When citizens come to the museum, they don’t understand that the original drawings are stored in a closed storage room and are ‘off-limits.’” This “show-and-tell” collection is similar to a backyard tour at a museum, where items not usually seen are open to the public. Moreover, opening periods are not limited but can be viewed any time (*5). It is also important to note that the processes that can be seen in this room are not just part of the archiving process, but the entire archiving process from ledger entry to digitization. Visitors can witness the actual process of archiving and see and feel the amount of energy and time that goes into the collection process. It can be said that this space is the museum’s greatest exhibition. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_4_P1160533.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="372" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17773" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_4_P1160533.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_4_P1160533-300x112.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_4_P1160533-768x286.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />In the “Manga no Kura,” there is an archive room for digitizing original drawings and a storage room for storing and managing original drawings. Both are visible behind glass. A process that was created where there were no roads The archiving process is roughly divided into the following steps: (1) Comparing the original with the first published book (*6) (2) Entering in the ledger (3) Scanning (4) Inserting acid-free paper material into the original (5) Inserting each story into an acid-free paper envelope (6) Placing each volume in an acid-free paper box What surprised me was that all of these methods of organization were developed on their own. In the first place, since there is no qualification for “curator specializing in manga” in Japan, museum staff members and people involved had no choice but to explore how to preserve the original drawings. While hearing from curators of nearby museums and prefectural facilities about the “rules and behavior” of handling works on paper, they accumulated knowledge about, for example, the use of acid-free paper to prevent acidification of the paper, and solidified the rules for the original drawings one by one. There was no standard resolution for digitization. The museum has set 1,200 dpi, but of course, the higher the resolution, the better, and there is no limit to how high the resolution can go when assuming permanent preservation (*7). The museum officials tentatively decided on this value while balancing the possibilities of data utilization, the time required for scanning, and data capacity. There was also a certain dilemma involved. “Scanning at higher resolutions takes more time and data space (*8). Making multiple backups of the data further increases hard-disk costs. In other words, storage accuracy is directly related to the cost issue,” OISHI says. While the purpose of this activity is to recognize and promote the cultural value of the original drawings, the drawings’ volume is too enormous to treat them on a par with works of art. It is important to maintain a balance. “If you try to treat (a drawing) like a painting or other work of art, it would require a tremendous amount of time, money, and manpower. For that reason, no one would be able to work on it. Therefore, we tried to find a way of archiving that is suitable for the original drawings without being overwhelmed. If we try to do it carefully, we end up with too many opinions and we can’t decide. So, if I may say so, it was necessary to ‘start moving.’” There are no qualifications for working in the archives at the moment. There is no need to be knowledgeable about the works handled. The only requirement is to be prepared to “handle the work with the understanding that it is an important piece of work that cannot be replaced.” What we need to work on now is how to organize and protect what we have in front of us. A sense of speed is important, as we are dealing with paper and ink that deteriorate day by day. The archiving methods established by the museum have been shared at the Media Arts Collaboration Promotion Projects. They were compiled as the “archive manual for original drawings of manga (in Japanese)” in fiscal 2019. The creation of rules involving facilities nationwide is steadily moving forward. In the second part of the article, we introduce the museum’s efforts related to utilizing the original artworks, which go beyond the archive. [Procedure for archiving original drawings] <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_6_image14.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="569" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17774" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_6_image14.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_6_image14-300x171.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_6_image14-768x437.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Scanning the original at 1,200 dpi resolution after entering the original’s status in the original ledger. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_7_image17.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="565" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17775" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_7_image17.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_7_image17-300x170.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_7_image17-768x434.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Placing an acid-free interleaving paper between the original drawings. This prevents the paper from deteriorating and the original drawings from adhering to each other. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_8_image18.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="567" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17776" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_8_image18.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_8_image18-300x170.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_8_image18-768x435.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Inserting interleaving paper into the original for one story and then placing it in an acid-free paper envelope. Affixing an administrative sticker on the envelope, showing the work’s name and ID. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_9_image12.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="572" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17777" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_9_image12.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_9_image12-300x172.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/yokote1_9_image12-768x439.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />After each story is placed in an envelope, each volume is put in a box made of acid-free paper material. A sticker for administrative purposes is affixed to the box, and the box is stored in a room where the temperature and humidity are optimal. (notes) *1 In 1990, the year following TEZUKA Osamu’s death (1989), the first major exhibition on manga was the “Showa no Manga Exhibition” (Exhibition of Manga in the Showa Era) (at the Kawasaki City Museum, etc.). In the same year, the “Osamu Tezuka Exhibition” (at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, etc.) was held with 1,500 pages of original drawings. The number of exhibitions of individual manga artists held at public art museums has increased significantly since the 2000s, with the “The World of Akira Toriyama” exhibition held at the Kawasaki City Museum in 1993, followed by the “Kyoko Okazaki Exhibition” at Gallery P-House in 1994. *2 Japan’s first manga library opened in 1978, based on the collection of NAIKI Toshio. The collection was donated to Meiji University in 2009. In March 2021, the library was relocated from Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, to the university’s Surugadai campus, where it is integrated with the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures. The largest collection of books and materials in Japan comprises 410,000 items. *3 He served as the honorary director of the museum after its opening and passed away in November 2020. His representative works include Tsurikichi Sanpei (Fisherman Sanpei) (serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine and Monthly Shonen Magazine from 1973 to 1983). *4 As of May 2021, the number of artists with large collections had further increased to include SAITO Takao, URASAWA Naoki, and YAKU Mitsuru. *5 The archive work continues to operate in shifts, except on the third Tuesday of each month. *6 Because color and black-and-white drawings are printed separately, they are returned at different times. In many cases, the manga artists are not able to keep them in order. “Sometimes we encounter items in which the first four color pages are missing. At other times, a page is left on loan at an exhibition and cannot be found. That’s why cross-checking is the first and most important step,” OISHI said. *7 The 400 dpi resolution for ordinary printed matter and 300 dpi for monochrome manga magazines are common. However, for archive activities, 400 dpi is insufficient for the purpose of producing original reproductions or panels that have been enlarged for exhibitions. Therefore, the museum decided on a resolution of 1,200 dpi for importing with a flood head scanner, referring to the resolution of photo collection books and centerfold pages. As you can see, the resolution setting for scanning depends on the item’s subsequent use and purpose. The Meiji University Manga Library uses an overhead scanner at 300 dpi, while the Kitakyushu Manga Museum uses a flood head scanner at 600 dpi. *8 At 1,200 dpi, the data capacity per original drawing is about 700 MB. (information) Yokote Masuda Manga Museum Address: 285 Masuda Aza Shinmachi, Masuda-machi, Yokote, Akita Open Hours: 10:00–18:00 Closed: Third Tuesday of the month (If it is a national holiday, then the following day.) Admission: Free for permanent exhibitions (Fees required for special exhibitions) http://manga-museum.com *URL links were confirmed on June 16, 2021. Part 2▶
ポストコロナの豊作 いま日本公開を待ちわびたい長編アニメーション［2022年］
新型コロナウイルス感染症（COVID-19）との対峙も3年目に入り、ポストコロナを迎えつつある2022年。海外のアニメーション・シーンでは、アニメーション映画祭がオンラインからこれまで通り現地で開催されるなど、コロナ禍前 […]
新型コロナウイルス感染症（COVID-19）との対峙も3年目に入り、ポストコロナを迎えつつある2022年。海外のアニメーション・シーンでは、アニメーション映画祭がオンラインからこれまで通り現地で開催されるなど、コロナ禍前の様相を取り戻しつつある。そんななかで活況を示しつつあるのが長編アニメーションをめぐる状況だ。映画祭を中心に近年話題の作品から日本未公開のものを、テーマに沿って紹介する。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20767" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ANI52-1.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="680" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ANI52-1.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ANI52-1-300x204.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ANI52-1-768x522.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />『Charlotte』（2021年）ポスター 過去、筆者は本サイトにて、「日本でこれから観られるべき、海外長編アニメーションの新しい傑作たち［2019年］」（2019年12月20日公開）「コロナ禍に鈍く光を放つ、実験場としての長編アニメーション［2021年］」（2021年10月25日公開）という2本を書き、（記事公開当時の段階で）日本で未公開のままとなっていた世界の長編アニメーションを紹介してきた。今回の記事はその「続編」である。 2019年に発表した最初の記事を今読み直すと、景気の良いことが書いてある――2010年代、世界の長編アニメーションのクオリティが格段に上がりつつあるなかで、日本でも過去、例を見ないくらいにバラエティ豊かなラインナップで公開されるようになった、というのだ。しかし、そのような「幸福な」状況は、悲しいことに、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大によってすぐ途絶えてしまう。長編アニメーションは製作するほうも配給するほうも、先行投資のギャンブルに手を出すようなものであり、コロナ禍による映画館への集客低下は、そのギャンブルから勝ち目を奪ってしまう。 2つ目の記事が書かれたのは、コロナ禍以後の状況においてである。筆者は海外のアニメーション映画祭に行くことで新たな長編アニメーション作品を観たり、口コミで情報を仕入れたりするわけだが、その映画祭という場自体がオンライン化することでカジュアルな情報交換がしづらくなったり、新型コロナウイルスをめぐる状況が落ち着いてからの発表を目指し製作側が出し控えをするような状況が続いた。そんななかでも、実験的な表現が花開く場として、長編アニメーションがおもしろい場でありつづけていたことが印象に残った（日仏共同製作ではあるが、その記事で紹介した山村浩二監督の初長編『幾多の北』はアヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭のコントルシャン部門やオタワ国際アニメーション映画祭でのグランプリなど、今年華々しい成果を残している）。 2022年6月、筆者は、世界最大最古のアニメーション映画祭であるアヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭に参加することができた。3年ぶりのことだった。2020年はオンライン開催、2021年はオンラインと現地のハイブリッド開催だった同映画祭は、2022年、完全に現地開催となった。フランスではもはやマスクの着用義務もほぼなく、パーティーも規制なく開催され、（映画祭が申し訳程度に上映会場内でのマスク着用をお願いする以外は）コロナ禍以前の映画祭の姿に戻った。長編作品も20本以上が上映され、活発に意見もかわされた。 ポストコロナの時代に突入しつつある今、世界の新たな長編アニメーション・シーンでは、冬眠から目覚めたかのように、数々の名作がリリースされるようになった。興行的な観点ではまだまだコロナ禍のダメージから完全に立ち直れているわけではない日本の映画業界――とりわけ買付が必要な海外作品の配給は円安によってさらにハードルが上がってしまっているのだ――ではあるのだが、ひとつでも多くの作品が日本配給されることを願って、近年の注目すべき日本未公開作品を、2022年のアヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭で上映されたもののなかから、いくつかのテーマに沿って選び、紹介していきたい。 そこで「生きた」人たちを描く――アニメーションによるバイオグラフィー・ドラマ 近年の大人向け長編アニメーション作品の定番のひとつとして、実話をベースにしてつくられるものがある。その多くは戦争や政変を始めとする社会の激変のなか、何とか懸命に生き抜こうとした個人の小さな生に焦点を当てるものだ。近年は日本でも、『FLEE フリー』（2022年）、『ジュゼップ 戦場の画家』（2021年）、『FUNAN フナン』（2020年）などこのジャンルでの良作の公開が相次いでいる。 アニメーションによる伝記ドラマの最新の成果が『Charlotte』（Eric WARIN・Tahir RANA監督／ベルギー＝カナダ＝フランス／2021年／長編部門入選）である。本作は、26歳の若さでアウシュヴィッツ強制収容所にて命を絶たれたユダヤ系ドイツ人女性画家シャルロッテ・サロモンの人生を描くものだ。サロモンは生前100枚以上の水彩画（そこには日々の日記も記されており、グラフィック・ノベルの始祖とみなされることもある）を遺しており、「画家版のアンネ・フランク」とみなされることもある女性である。『Charlotte』は、シャルロッテ（キーラ・ナイトレイが声を演じている）の人生を報われぬ情熱の連続として語る。外科医の父親は絵を学びたいというシャルロッテの夢を反対し続ける。ようやく入ることができた美術大学も、ユダヤ系ということで追われてしまう。愛した家庭教師の男性にはフィアンセがいる。ナチスから逃れるために保護された祖父からは虐待を受ける（祖父とサロモンとのあいだの物語は衝撃的な結末をたどることになる）。疎開先での恋人とのあいだに子どもをもうけ、ようやく幸せを見つけたと思った瞬間、ナチスにより発見され、シャルロッテの命は失われる。本作のアニメーションで印象に残るのは、その「表情」の描写である。思わぬ事態に遭遇したときのサロモンの表情は、アニメーションが陥りがちな記号的な感情表現からはほど遠い。一方で、実写の俳優ではとてもできないような、作為では及ばない表情をするのだ。サロモンのこの驚愕の表情こそ、情熱とその断絶の繰り返しとして語られる本作のドラマ性を劇的に高めている。 『Charlotte』予告編 アニメーションによる伝記ドラマというジャンルがヨーロッパ製アニメーションに多い印象があるなか、『Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On』（Jun-Pyo Hong監督／韓国／2021年／コントルシャン部門審査員特別賞受賞）は異質な作品である。韓国の著名な労働運動家チョン・テイルの人生を描く本作は、戦後の韓国の発展とそれが犠牲にしてきた人々の姿を描き出す。本作が最も印象的なのは、その映像表現が、きわめて新海誠的なものであるということだ。現実の韓国の都市を丁寧に描く背景や美しい光の表現は、まるで新海誠が手掛けた建築会社のCMのようなきらびやかさを感じさせ、低賃金で苦しみながら働く労働者たちの日常を、かけがえのない輝かしさで浮かび上がらせていく。コミックス・ウェーブ・フィルムも制作に参加した中国版『秒速5センチメートル』（2007年）とでもいえる『詩季織々』（2018年／変わりゆく上海とそこで生きる人々の姿を描く）と並ぶ、急激に変化する現代社会のなかで生きる人々への讃歌としての作品だということもできるだろう。 現実のチョン・テイルは焼身自殺によってその生涯を閉じるという事実が、本作をなによりも衝撃的なものとする。彼の自殺は労働環境の不公平を告発するためのものであるわけだが、本作もやはり、最終的にその焼身自殺の行為自体を描き出す。あまりに貧しすぎて人の家の軒下で暮らしていた幼い頃のテイルの生活や彼が最終的にその生命を捧げることになる仲間たちの労働環境もまた、輝くものとして描かれる。もし「『秒速5センチメートル』メソッド」があるとして、それが苦しみや悲しみを抱える若者たちとそれを包み込む都市の姿を刹那かつ貴重なものとして描くものだと定義するのだとすれば、『Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On』はその方法論が持つ可能性を徹底的に広げたものであると言うこともできるだろう。新海誠的なキャラクターの真っすぐさも、労働問題に身を捧げる真っすぐな心の描写にマッチするのだ。 『Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On』予告編 2022年のアヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭では、ほかにも同ジャンルの作品が目立った。長編部門で審査員賞を受賞した『No Dogs or Italians Allowed』（アラン・ウゲット〔Alain UGHETTO〕監督／フランス＝イタリア＝スイス／2022年）は、とぼけた造形の人形アニメーションを用いながら、第二次世界大戦前、ヨーロッパにおいてイタリア系移民労働者がいかに過酷な扱いを受けていたのかを、監督自身の祖父の人生を語ることを通じて描き出す。ラトビア出身のシグネ・バウマネは、自分の親族たちのうつ病傾向を描く『Rocks in My Pocket』（2014年）に次ぐ2本目の長編『My Love Affair with Marriage』（ラトビア＝アメリカ＝ルクセンブルク／2022年／長編部門審査員特別賞受賞）で、社会主義圏における「女性はかくあるべし」という規範がいかに自分自身の生（と性）を捻じ曲げたかを、自分の半生を振り返りつつ語る。現代美術の領域でも評価を受ける中国のアニメーション作家レイ・レイの初の長編アニメーション『Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish』（アメリカ＝オランダ／2022年／コントルシャン部門入選）は、自分の父親へのインタビュー音声をベースに、クレイ・アニメーションと当時の印刷物のコラージュを用い、文化大革命の時代を生き延びた自分の父親の幼年期の記憶を再構築する、アニメーション・ドキュメンタリーの分野の最新の成果となっている。 『No Dogs or Italians Allowed』予告編 『My Love Affair with Marriage』予告編 『Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish』予告編 瞳を奪う、視聴覚体験としての長編アニメーション 2022年のアヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭では、個性的なアート・スタイルを持った「作家」として定評のある監督による待望の新作もお披露目されていた。『Unicorn Wars』（スペイン＝フランス／2022年／長編部門入選）は、スペイン出身のアルベルト・バスケス監督による2本目の長編だ。バスケスはもともとグラフィック・ノベル作家として著名で、自らの生まれ育った街のダークな現実を、かわいいデザインのキャラクターを用いながらシュールでグロテスクに描いていく作風で定評があった。2010年代の初頭からアニメーション制作に乗り出したバスケスの短編作品や初長編『サイコノータス 忘れられた子供たち』（2018年）は、筆者もイベントや映画祭など限定的なかたちではあるが、長年にわたって紹介してきている。『Unicorn Wars』の舞台となるのは、ユニコーンたちを倒そうと目論むテディベアたちの軍隊である。徴兵された兄弟を中心とする数々のテディベアたちが特別作戦へと送られ、狂気のなかで破滅していく様子を、本作はきわめてカラフルかつグロテスクに描いていく。前述のように、キャラクターデザインは途方もなくかわいい（キャラクター自身もそのかわいさに自覚的である）。しかし、彼らを襲う数々の危機は想像を絶するほどに容赦ない。キュートさとグロテスクさのこの圧倒的な落差が、ブラックななかでもとりわけ濃いユーモアと、身の毛もよだつような恐怖心を生み出していく。現在進行系でロシアによるウクライナ侵攻が進むなか、本作はもしかすると、ある種のドキュメンタリー性を宿してしまっているのかもしれない。 『Unicorn Wars』予告編 2013年発表の長編『父を探して』により日本でもファンの多いブラジルの作家アレ・アブレウの最新長編『Perlimps』（ブラジル／2022年／アヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭の特別上映枠にてワールド・プレミア）は、過去作でも定評のあった独特のカラフルな世界観と社会的なメッセージの融合を、さらに一歩進めて深化させたような作品だ。魔法の森のなかで、太陽の国と月の国のスパイである子どもの動物たちが出会う。2つの国は敵国同士だが、巨人族に対抗するためのスーパーパワー「パーリンプス」を発見するために2人は協力しあい、森のなかを進んでいく。ほぼ全編が森のなかで進行する本作を鑑賞する体験は、光と色と音の熱帯林のなかを進んでいくようなゴージャスなものである。前作に続き音楽も印象的で、目も心も体も持っていかれる鑑賞体験を約束する作品だ。ネタバレになるので詳細を言うことはできないが、『父を探して』同様の驚きの展開が後半には待ち受けており、それを通じて、厳しい現実のなかでどのようにして希望を抱きうるのか、勇敢な気持ちを持ち続けることができるのかを語ってくれる前向きな作品でもある。 『Perlimps』予告編 もともと力量に定評のある作家が、自らのユニークな世界観を薄めることなく長編として展開しきったこれら2本の長編は、「目に嬉しい」豪華な視聴覚体験を保証してくれる。両作ともに日本公開が決まっているとも噂されているので、映画館の豪華な環境で、暗闇に浸りながら画と音を浴びる経験ができることを楽しみに待ちたいところだ。 映画表現としての成熟――記号的ではなく、厚みのある身体を描く これまでの2項では、アニメーションによる伝記もの（およびアニメーション・ドキュメンタリー）、さらにはユニークな作家性の長編というフォーマットでの発揮という近年の長編アニメーションの特徴の最新の成果について語ってきた。最後に紹介したいのは、「未知なる」方向に足を踏み出す作品群である。アニメーションを専門とはしない作家が長編アニメーションに取り組むことにより発見された、新たなる美的な原理とでも言うべきものを、以下の2作は掘り下げているように思える。 『Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman』（フランス＝ルクセンブルク＝カナダ＝オランダ／2022年／アヌシー国際アニメーション映画祭長編部門審査員特別賞受賞）は、村上春樹原作ものとしては初のアニメーション作品として話題になっている。フランス気鋭のスタジオMiyu Productionが初めて本格的に手掛ける長編である本作は、CGアニメーションのパイオニアのひとりピーター・フォルデスの息子、ピエール・フォルデスの長編アニメーションデビュー作でもある。 本作の脚本は、監督であるフォルデス自身が村上春樹の初期の短編から、タイトルにも使われている「めくらやなぎと眠る女」や「かえるくん、東京を救う」など数本を混ぜ合わせて執筆したもので、架空の日本を舞台にして展開される群像劇を語る。物語の中心となるのは東日本大震災後に失踪した妻と「ワタナベ・ノボル」という名の猫を探す男と、その同僚の男――巨大なカエルに帰宅を待ち伏せされ、一緒に東京を救おうと誘われる――の2人だが、その彼らを含め登場人物たちは誰もが凡庸で、きわめて普通で、特筆すべき特徴がない（妻が男を捨てるのも「空っぽ」であるからだ）。しかし、この長編の長い旅路を彼らとともに過ごしていくと、その「何でもなさ」にリアルな肉体が感じられるようになってくる。作画にロトスコープが使われていることもその理由のひとつであるだろう。 近年、ロトスコープが日本でも新しい展開を見せつつある。2019年のオタワ国際アニメーション映画祭の長編部門でグランプリを獲得し日本でもスマッシュヒットとなった岩井澤健治監督の『音楽』や、現在Miyu Productionとシンエイ動画が国際共同製作で進めていると報じられている『化け猫あんずちゃん』（山下敦弘・久野遥子共同監督／いましろたかし原作）は、アニメーターの想像力を超えた人間の無意識的な動きをすくい上げることで言語化できない豊かさを入れ込もうとする方法論としてロトスコープを導入しているが、『Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman』における肉体も、そのような「豊かさ」に溢れている。その「豊かさ」は、言うなければ中年の贅肉のような「豊かさ」――アニメーションがこれまで決して中心的に描いてこなかったもの――であるという意味では、前々回の記事で紹介した『新しい街 ヴィル・ヌーヴ』（2020年）とも通じ合うところがある。『Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman』が語るのは、一般的に価値を持たないと思われる存在（空っぽな中年男性）が自らの存在を緩やかに肯定できるようになるまでの物語であるわけだが、贅肉的な存在を「豊かさ」として受け入れる本作においても、ロトスコープはこれまでにない新しさを発揮しつつある。 『Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman』予告編 本作と並んで、長編アニメーションが人間を描くやり方を新たなレベルに持ち上げつつある作品として特筆すべきなのが、『No.7 Cherry Lane』（香港／2020年／過去、東京国際映画祭を含む各国の映画祭で上映されたバージョンを監督自らがブラッシュアップしたディレクターズカット版）だ。香港映画界の巨匠ヨン・ファンが自らの過去に捧げて書いた小説を原作とする本作は、「鈴木清順がアニメーションを手掛けたら」とでも形容できるような、美的に大胆で、エロスに溢れた作品となっている。『Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman』が中年男性の「贅肉」を描くとすれば、『No.7 Cherry Lane』は中年女性の美を描き出す。本作は、『夜行バス Night Bus』（2011年）など台湾で活躍する気鋭のホラー・アニメーション作家ジョー・シェーなどがアニメーション監督を手掛けている。メインで使われているのはCGだが、リアリティを高めていくのではなく、予算の制約を逆手に取ったかのような美的水準を高めていく演出によって、目を惹く表現を連発する。とりわけ印象的なのは、カメラワークやキャラクターの身体がスローなペースで動くということで、その緩やかさとテンポの良さは、官能性を高めるかのように細部までコントロールされている。主人公の中年女性と恋に落ちる若い男は整った肉体をしているが、彼らの動きもまたCGでモデリングされたゆえの表層性を逆手に取ることで、輝かしいほどの美的な表現へと高められている。 本作は、世代の異なる男女同士の三角関係を描くことで、1960年代、中国本土での文化大革命の余波で香港でも旧世代が新世代に駆逐されようとする時代をも描いていく。夢幻性の高まっていく後半、ドローイング・アニメーションや絵コンテも交えていく本作は、アニメーションというメディア（とりわけ低予算ゆえの制約）に意識的であることが、王道のアニメーション作品が決して描いてこなかった表現を発掘しているという意味においてきわめて興味深い。2010年代から続くアニメーション長編の表現の文法の進化と発展が、本作によってまた新たな次元に推し進められたということさえも言えるだろう。『Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman』同様、大人向けのアニメーションがひとつの成熟を見せつつある状況が生まれているのだ。 『No.7 Cherry Lane』予告編（2019年公開版） ※URLは2022年11月30日にリンクを確認済み
Case study: ‘Game scenario archive’ project
Archiving Japanese electronic games is underway. Currently, the target is early types of video games alone, an […]
Archiving Japanese electronic games is underway. Currently, the target is early types of video games alone, and there is no prospect for archiving more recent online games and mobile games, which have been widespread since the late 1990s. The Japan Game ScenarioWriters Association (JAGSA), a general incorporated association, has started a project to archive scenarios for smartphone games for public use. This article will focus on the project and its significance. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17637" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_1_Layered_key_Comp_04.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="805" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_1_Layered_key_Comp_04.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_1_Layered_key_Comp_04-300x242.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_1_Layered_key_Comp_04-768x618.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />LayereD Stories 0 key visual © BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. Online games: An unexplored repository hard to archive Efforts to archive video games released in various formats have been continuing not only overseas but also in Japan to use them as a resource for academic research and cultural activities. For example, pioneering examples in Japan include the Game Archive Project (in Japanese) by Ritsumeikan University that started in 1998, and collection and preservation of video games by the Game Preservation Society, a nonprofit organization established in 2011. Those projects mainly target works distributed on packaged media such as ROM cassettes and magnetic/optical media for home video game consoles and PCs after the 1980s. Such works are also possessed by private collectors and public institutions such as the National Diet Library. Thus, the methodology for archiving those types of works has already been established, even though it has many issues to be addressed. On the other hand, it is still difficult to have a realistic prospect for archiving online games and mobile games, whose markets were formed after the Internet emerged in the latter half of the 1990s. In these types of games, for early titles for PC, sales packages of client software exist as physical media, but the main body of each game program is stored in the game host’s server. That is, if the game service is terminated and its program is deleted from the server, the environment for playing the game is lost forever. In fact, when conducting research on the history of video games, it is much more difficult to find out, for example, what kind of app games and network games for feature phones were released in the early 2000s, than to find out what kind of standalone titles were released in older years. Considering those characteristics of online games provided under the games as a service (GaaS) continuing revenue model, it is doubtful whether they are compatible with the archival concept for packaged media that includes “preserving” and “collecting” game titles, in the first place. In order to archive them, the only way would be to give some kind of incentive to cause game business operators to directly provide their developed assets for the sake of the public, unlike building up collections of products, such as home video games and arcade games, that were provided to the users. Methodology and background of achieving ‘game scenarios’ As a move to tackle the structural difficulty of the methodology for preserving online games, in September 2019, the general incorporated association Japan Game ScenarioWriters Association (JAGSA) announced launching the “Game Scenario Archive” project (in Japanese). This project was initiated by the scenario writers’ industry organization with the aim of preserving game scenarios for future generations in a form enabling them to be viewed even after their playable environments are lost because their services are terminated or for other reasons. Game scenarios have become an important creative element, especially for online RPGs for smartphones in recent years. As the project’s first archived work, the entire scenario text of LayereD Stories 0 is now available on the Internet in pdf format. LayereD Stories 0 is a smartphone game distributed by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. from December 2017 to January 2019. The game was produced as part of the “Minna de game wo tsukuro” (Let’s make a game together) project. For the project, character designers, voice actors, theme song vocalists and other artists were recruited through auditions based on its cross-media development plan involving its anime and manga versions. The objective contributed to more appropriately preparing the framework and rules regarding the participation of outside creators from the production stage. Scenario writers involved in the work, driven by the idea that it’s a shame to lose the opportunity to have their work better known, asked the operator of this game business, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., to archive the scenario text for public use. The request was realized, in the unusual form for an online game. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17638" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_2_Yuto_bg01_r01.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="574" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_2_Yuto_bg01_r01.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_2_Yuto_bg01_r01-300x172.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cus_2_Yuto_bg01_r01-768x441.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Characters from LayereD Stories 0 © BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. Lying behind the request of this type of scenario archiving project is the popularity of Japanese mobile games, especially for smartphones and the type that develops as a grand saga, such as Chain Chronicle (2013–) and Fate/Grand Order (2015–). The popularity resulted in producing a growing amount of game scenarios for long-running games provided under the GaaS model. In response to the consequent growing demand for game scenarios, scenario writers, usually freelancers or small businesses, established JAGSA as an incorporated association to support their work by dealing with such matters as social insurance coverage. Ever since, the association has carried out various activities in the public’s interest within a nonprofit framework, such as handling copyright and tax-related paperwork, and giving lectures to young members to share the scenario production know-how. Under the circumstances, there was a growing sense of danger that, with the exception of a handful of successful titles, online titles, which do not have a package to remain, could easily be lost for their publishers’ reasons, which means works by scenario writers may become inaccessible and sink into oblivion. They put their heart and soul into creating those works, usually despite insufficient backing by employment. In some cases, finished and delivered scenarios are not used and never given a chance of release, either. Thus, the archiving project has been conceived and proposed, particularly for scenarios of online games, also for the purpose of protecting the careers and achievements of scenario writers. It should be noted that as stated in the project’s gist on its website, game scenarios are not meant to function on their own, but are created on the premise that they are appreciated in game playable environments, which also involve visuals, audio, interfaces on devices, and mechanics of playing the games. In this respect, making game scenarios alone accessible to the public is similar to the documentation of game development materials, such as the Namco Development Document Archive Project, rather than the ongoing library-type archiving of finished products, which are standalone games. Unlike scripts for movies or TV dramas that are meant to be performed, game scenarios, similar to novels, are characterized in that their written texts themselves usually can also be presented to the user as finished products, even though they are often read aloud by voice actors as supplementary performance. Archiving game scenarios has other values, too. For example, it takes a great deal of time to read a game’s whole story in its playable environment, especially for online games under the GaaS model. If it is made possible by an official project to extract and easily view only the scenario of a certain game, it will provide a useful material for critics and researchers to analyze its story. In addition, its value as a pure end-user content can also be expected. In this sense, game scenarios have two contrasting, almost equally remarkable characteristics: they are merely an element of video game development materials, while having an independent value almost of a finished product. Current issues and future prospects Ironically, having the value can be an obstacle to archive game scenarios for public use. In other words, game scenarios themselves have potential as profitable content, having a different type of business chance from selling games. In fact, in some of the games that used to be available and are not provided now, fan items themed on their scenarios were produced after providing the games were terminated, resulting in a profitable business. A successful example is Aniplex Inc.’s Band Yarouze! of which service ended in March 2019. Considering the potential, in order to make the archiving of game scenarios a universal practice, it will be necessary to include an option of stopping free publication of game scenarios at the request of their intellectual property right holders want to stop it, for the purpose of facilitating their use of the scenarios for commercial benefits. Here, let’s look at this matter from the opposite side. Suppose archiving scenarios of terminated games becomes an established practice in the industry with the initiative of scenario creators, as the number of game titles increases, there are more possibilities that these games may be popular again through their fanfiction works by viewers of archived game scenarios, leading to, for example, their commercial publication. It can be incentives hard to overlook for game developers and publishers to cause them make at least a minimum amount of investment in the archiving. JAGSA representative SHIGEMA Kei, who originated the idea of the Game Scenario Archive project and a game scenario writer himself, says that game scenarios should be experienced through playing games, so it would be ideal to pave the way for ultimately making a playable archive. Of course, preserving, in a playable state, archived epic online game titles that require long time to play their entirety will be a much more difficult project regarding cost and methodology. Take a game with full voice acting, for example. A contract is usually concluded with each voice actor for using their performance only in the game. Releasing an archived version is categorized as secondary use in terms of contract management, and as a consequence, cost for negotiation with each voice actor would be incurred. It would be difficult to realize such a project without substantial support by public money or game companies’ out-of-pocket payments. As a first major step to help realize such a playable archive project, it is expected to cultivate and spread, through educating game business operators, the culture of preparing at least game scenarios in a format suited for archiving when providing their games is terminated. Game scenarios need little cost for archiving and can be released basically by simply formatting their text data. Game scenario writers require game developing staff to store the fixed version of a scenario text in a released game’s program with always extracting and reflecting relevant data on ordinary spreadsheet, etc., so that the fixed version can be appropriately retrieved later. They simply wish that the staff would not forget to do this “small step” to properly manage their business assets before the game production team dissolves. As described above, the Game Scenario Archive project is a step toward such a highly cost-effective archiving in the age of online games, quietly raising an important issue to improve the current situation. It is hoped that the initiative, which is based on the unique characteristics of Japanese mobile games, will be earnestly accepted by many game business operators and people concerned, and will spread as widely as possible. *URL links were confirmed on April 5, 2021.
The Aims of the Sapporo International Art Festival (SIAF) during the COVID-19 pandemic— From the cancellation of SIAF2020 to holding a special edition
The Sapporo International Art Festival 2020 (SIAF2020), which was being prepared to begin in December 2020, wa […]
The Sapporo International Art Festival 2020 (SIAF2020), which was being prepared to begin in December 2020, was cancelled due to the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). However, it launched a special edition website on December 19, 2020, the original opening date. The project was developed across a variety of media, including YouTube, exhibition display and a book. What did SIAF2020 aim to achieve in the face of the coronavirus? AMANO Taro, Curatorial Director of Contemporary Art/Director in Chief of the Sapporo International Art Festival 2020, looks back. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/571665d1edb00bf74678277bc7d33fd5.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17734" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/571665d1edb00bf74678277bc7d33fd5.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/571665d1edb00bf74678277bc7d33fd5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/571665d1edb00bf74678277bc7d33fd5-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Moerenuma Park, one of SIAF2020’s planned venues The past two editions were held in summer, but SIAF2020 was to be held in winter in snowy Sapporo. Photo: TAKUMA Noriko A concept that crosses the boundaries of art The Sapporo International Art Festival (SIAF), which began in 2014, is a triennial art festival held every three years, with the third edition slated for 2020 following the 2017 edition. In order to present SIAF’s unique character, the starting season was carefully planned and initially held in summer when the beauty of nature would be evident. However, for the third edition, the event period was shifted to winter, when the location in Sapporo in Hokkaido would take advantage of its distinctive snowy landscape. In addition to showing off the features of the host city, Sapporo, the art festival has focused on media art as a main pillar of its content and has taken into account current trends. As part of the “sapporo ideas city” initiative, it has set a policy of being a creative city, as many other municipalities in Japan have done. The city has aimed to become a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). In November 2013, Sapporo was named as a member in the field of media arts. It was the second city in the world and the first in Asia with the designation. For an art festival, it is essential to include media art and the field of so-called “fine arts.” For the third edition of the art festival, it was important to create a concept that transcended the boundaries between media art and fine art. Twenty years into the 21st century, we have moved from the analog era to a full-fledged digital society, including the development of social infrastructure, and IoT and AI are generally having a far-reaching impact on our daily lives. The same is true for media art. The concept of interactive works shows a shift from the days when we relied on devices as technology to an operational system that controls them. As media art began to change in the digital age, an analog realm of fine art also faced a number of challenges. The key concept that has supported fine art, or modern and contemporary art, has been a clear delineation of originality and copying. For example, in Japan, plaster casts of bronze sculptures have been designated as national treasures and important cultural properties. In other words, a plaster mold is the original, and the bronze statue created from it is a copy. In fact, the plaster cast of OGIWARA Morie’s bronze sculpture, Woman (1910), is designated as an important cultural property. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_2_image001.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="551" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17735" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_2_image001.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_2_image001-300x165.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_2_image001-768x423.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Left: Woman by OGIWARA Morie Right: Plaster cast of Woman by OGIWARA Morie (Important cultural property) <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_4_image003.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="750" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17736" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_4_image003.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_4_image003-300x225.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_4_image003-768x576.jpg 768w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_4_image003-320x240.jpg 320w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_4_image003-640x480.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Back of the plaster cast pedestal Even in photography, a reproduction technology that emerged in the 19th century, the relationship between original and reproduction can be seen in the film and the prints produced from it. On the other hand, with the advent of digital technology, what corresponds to film in analog photography and video works has now become data. The data in a form of information in binary (the binary system) = artwork. Here, uniformity of a form of content also dissolved the independence of a field (such as photography and video), which was another important concept of modernism. Due to differences in types of equipment (e.g., cameras) and versions of operating systems and applications used to run the equipment at the time, these digital works also posed new challenges for preservation and management. One form of evidence is that people are facing the problem that images once captured digitally are now difficult to play back due to differences in the versions of the devices and operating systems that play them back. As already mentioned, reproduction of original data in the digital age is not reproduction but content identical to the original, thus nullifying the former analog hierarchy of original and reproduction. These challenges and responses to the digital age on various levels are now an important part of the theme of SIAF2020. Informing media art as something familiar With this theme in mind, Agnieszka KUBICKA-DZIEDUSZYCKA, Curatorial Director of Media Art, SIAF2020, a Polish curator (at the WRO Center for Media Art Foundation), proposed to present Senster (a portmanteau of “sensitive” and “monster”) as one of the works to be exhibited. This work is a kinetic sculpture created by Edward IHNATOWICZ, a sculptor of Polish origin working in London. Introduced in 1970, it is considered a masterpiece in the history of new media art. Commissioned by Philips, one of the leading electrical equipment manufacturers at the time, Senster was exhibited at its science and technology exhibition hall, Evoluon, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from 1970 to 1974. Although a pioneering example of media art that foreshadowed today’s digital society, it was believed lost and forgotten for many years after it was exhibited. In 2014, satellite images revealed its body in Colijnsplaat, Zeeland, in the southwestern Netherlands. Then, a project to reactivate Senster was born, led by Anna OLSZEWSKA, a research fellow at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland, leading to this exhibition. It is a five-meter-long steel work whose movements are controlled by a computer by utilizing the most advanced robotics, artificial life, and artificial intelligence technologies of the time. According to Anna OLSZEWSKA, who directed the project, IHNATOWICZ ingeniously incorporated the concepts of feedback loops and control engineering into an original form of a time-based work of art—a cybernetic sculpture. In an attempt to introduce the background of this period from multiple perspectives, SIAF2020 invited OLSZEWSKA and MA Jung-Yeon, who is known for her research on media art, as advisers, and planned a related exhibition that would take into account the perspectives of media art in Japan at the time. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_5_B1-1_1_02_senster.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17737" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_5_B1-1_1_02_senster.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_5_B1-1_1_02_senster-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_5_B1-1_1_02_senster-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Senster in the production studio of AGH University of Science and Technology, 2019 Photo by Adam Żądło / Courtesy of AGH UST Another interesting work and project from the perspective of the new conservation/preservation of digital artworks is MIKAMI Seiko’s Desire of Codes (2010), which was to be exhibited at SIAF2020. Unlike previous analog restorations of fine art works, such as paintings and sculptures, the difficulty of handling devices that are part of the work, and often the work itself, were highlighted. In general, the issue of preservation and management of digital works is complicated by the issue of copyright for the work’s creator, such as how to reproduce parts of the work as they were at the time of its creation, and also how to reproduce the operating system as software, and copyright of the company producing the equipment. In any case, as people live in the current digital society, media art has become more familiar to them. SIAF2020 was conscious of how familiar the art is to those of us who live in society, rather than simply focusing on it as a field of art. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_6_B2-5_1__MG_9047.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="647" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17738" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_6_B2-5_1__MG_9047.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_6_B2-5_1__MG_9047-300x194.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SIAF_6_B2-5_1__MG_9047-768x497.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Desire of Codes, 2010, the artwork planned to be shown in SIAF2020 Photo by Ryuichi Maruo (YCAM) / Courtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] Challenges and achievements under the COVID-19 pandemic: Toward 2023 By 2018, the planning team for SIAF2020 was in place and had sufficient time to prepare. On February 7, about a year before the festival began, a press conference was held to announce a summary of the event. The first batch of participating artists and works were announced. However, before that, I personally asked the secretariat if it would be possible to go ahead with the festival, based on the experiences I encountered around that time. Although the impact of COVID-19 in Japan had not yet become serious in early February, a traveling photo exhibition, held from the end of November 2019 at an art museum in Chengdu, China, was temporarily closed due to the lockdown of the city. The exhibition was planned by Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino and scheduled to be held there until February 23, 2020. (It was eventually cancelled halfway through the exhibition period.) On February 3, the news media reported that passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had arrived at port in Yokohama, were confirmed to be infected. The situation was not optimistic. A press conference was held. At this point, it was announced that the event would start in December of the same year, as planned. The effects of the novel coronavirus infection later became more serious in Japan. A state of emergency was declared in April 2020, forcing many museums across the country to close for about three months. Preparations for SIAF2020 were progressing while all of this was going on. From around June, some people involved began to wonder if it would be difficult to hold the festival as scheduled. It was concluded that the event should be cancelled, and to compile a document concerning SIAF2020 covering event details, participating artists, plans and ideas of their artworks, and to publish it on the website. The cancellation was officially announced on July 22, 2020. Since we already had a policy of communicating the entire story through various media, including websites, our workload was almost as voluminous as the preparations for the actual art festival. We used the voices of participating artists (mainly through interviews) as the main source of information, with directors and curators playing a supporting role. This was a unique opportunity to conduct a series of lengthy interviews with creators of artworks, as it is not always easy to find real voices of artists at these art festivals and museum exhibitions, even if the artworks themselves are present. In addition to web streaming distribution, a showcase titled “SIAF2020 Document” was held at the Sapporo Cultural Arts Community Center (SCARTS) from February 5 (Fri.) to February 14 (Sun.), 2021. Works that were to be exhibited featured photos and other materials, while the showcase also had messages to Sapporo from the participating artists, scenes of the preparation of the artists who had visited Sapporo in Hokkaido to create their works, still images of the Mukawa Dinasaur, whose full-body reconstructed skeleton replica was to be exhibited, and Senster. Visitors were able to experience art mediation programs and a special website at the venue. Moreover, we set up SIAF TV official YouTube program distribution studio in the venue. During the showcase, a wide range of programs was distributed live from the studio every day. At the same time as the distribution, editing was done on the SIAF2020 Index, a document that fully features the voices of the participating artists as manuscripts, and was published at the end of March 2021, which was also a major achievement. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/d879a7c55a391bfcea3bb5391d7b51db.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="749" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17739" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/d879a7c55a391bfcea3bb5391d7b51db.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/d879a7c55a391bfcea3bb5391d7b51db-300x225.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/d879a7c55a391bfcea3bb5391d7b51db-768x575.jpg 768w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/d879a7c55a391bfcea3bb5391d7b51db-320x240.jpg 320w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/d879a7c55a391bfcea3bb5391d7b51db-640x480.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Installation view at the “SIAF2020 Document” Showcase venue Photo: FUJIKURA Tsubasa <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/9446f24dcc6ca15f10891c49bd21b66d.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="625" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17740" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/9446f24dcc6ca15f10891c49bd21b66d.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/9446f24dcc6ca15f10891c49bd21b66d-300x188.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/9446f24dcc6ca15f10891c49bd21b66d-768x480.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />SIAF2020 Matrix was presented online as part of SIAF2020. Objects reflecting each work, which were supposed to be placed in the city of Sapporo, react interactively to users’ manipulation. According to Agnieszka KUBICKA-DZIEDUSZYCKA, SIAF2020’s Curatorial Director of Media Art, “The matrix is a prototype of an exhibition that invites visitors to read, view, and listen to various records while feeling the absence of artworks in their scheduled locations.” Co-planned and produced: Qosmo https://siaf2020matrix.jp/ SIAF2020 was indeed cancelled, but by making full use of various content and its distribution, it left its substance in an unprecedented and alternative way. At the same time, in the midst of the unimaginable circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the timing of preparations, the decision to cancel the art festival, and the timing of distribution coincided with a period when the vulnerability of Japan’s digital infrastructure was unexpectedly exposed. This in itself became an issue to be deeply examined in relation to the premise for holding the festival. The fourth SIAF to be held after conquering the pandemic, which is sure to subside, will reflect on this unprecedented human experience and guide us in a new direction. I would be happy if SIAF2020 could play even a small role in bridging the gap. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/c85b8b11fa23ed8006e772d6c6821323.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="711" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17741" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/c85b8b11fa23ed8006e772d6c6821323.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/c85b8b11fa23ed8006e772d6c6821323-300x213.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/c85b8b11fa23ed8006e772d6c6821323-768x546.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Pages from the SIAF2020 Index documents. Artists’ concepts of works were introduced with sketches and images of the works. (information) Sapporo International Art Festival2020 (SIAF2020) Dates: Saturday, December 19, 2020–Sunday, February 14, 2021 Main Venues: Sapporo Art Park, Sapporo Community Plaza, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Migishi Kotaro Museum of Art, Hokkaido (mima), Sapporo Odori 500-m Underground Walkway Gallery, Shiryokan (Former Sapporo Court of Appeals), Moerenuma Park, Hongo Shin Memorial Museum of Sculpture, Sapporo. *SIAF announced the cancellation of SIAF2020 on July 22, 2020. http://siaf.jp/siaf2020/en/index.html *URL links were confirmed on May 25, 2021.
日本のゲーム文化を加速する「国産インディーゲーム」の潮流第2回 国内インディー開発者コミュニティ
2000年代後半から勃興した、ゲーム文化の新たな潮流「インディーゲーム」。日本では80年代から豊かな個人制作ゲーム文化として「同人ゲーム」「フリーゲーム」といった基盤があり、この十数年は個人や小規模チームでのゲーム開発に […]
2000年代後半から勃興した、ゲーム文化の新たな潮流「インディーゲーム」。日本では80年代から豊かな個人制作ゲーム文化として「同人ゲーム」「フリーゲーム」といった基盤があり、この十数年は個人や小規模チームでのゲーム開発にまつわる環境は激変した。日本国内のインディーシーンは、年々その規模を拡大しつつも、国内外からのプレゼンス確保に苦戦している。作品群は日本ならではの表現力を持ちながらも、風土的な制限により活躍の芽が出にくい状況のままだ。本連載は、そんな日本国内のインディーシーンを紹介し、現在の苦境と、それを打破するに必要な要素について解説する。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-1.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="750" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20450" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-1.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-1-320x240.jpg 320w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-1-640x480.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 2017年3月に行われた開発者交流会Tokyo Indiesのイベントの模様。公式サイトより 開発者コミュニティとその意義 インディーゲーム開発者は、基本的にとても「孤独」である。個人または小規模チームが何年もかけてゲームを開発していくなか、ずっと自分の作品に向き合い続ける必要がある。少人数ゆえ、数十名からなる一般的なゲーム開発の企業と異なり「気さくに話せる同僚」というものがいない。作品制作に集中する環境としては最適かもしれないが、困ったことを相談できる相手がいないと、壁にぶつかったときなどはそれを一人で抱えることになり、心理的な負担が高まりやすい。 作品の進捗具合をSNSで公開したとしても、ゲーム開発の序盤ではあまり知名度はないため、応援してくれる人は多くないかもしれない。ゲームファンは時に開発者に対して心ない言葉を投げかけることもある。ゲームのリリースが近づく頃にはパブリッシャー、プラットフォーマー、メディアといった外部との繋がりが生まれるものの、そこに利害関係がある以上、腹を割って対等に話すことは難しい。なおかつ、Nintendo Switchなどの家庭用ゲーム機向けの技術情報は厳重な機密保持の下にあり、むやみに開発機材の映像を見せたり、誰かに技術的な内容を話したりすることはプラットフォーマーの規約に違反する行為になってしまう。 こうした状況において昨今筆者が重要に感じているのが、「安心して開発者が情報交換できる」インディーゲーム開発者コミュニティの存在だ。ゲームを開発している技術者同士が集い、日々直面している困難について悩みを相談し、プラットフォーマーの機密保持契約を結んでいる開発者同士で安全に情報を交換できる場所が大切だ。他の創作分野において、例えば絵画や映像の作家は、同じ作家同士が集うコミュニティや支援施設などを利用することがあるだろう。これと同様の仕組みがインディーゲーム開発者のなかでも形成されつつある。 なお、コミュニティという言葉で今後は紹介していくが、筆者はなにも開発者に「社交的な人物になれ」と言いたいわけではない。無理に人間と仲良くしようということではなく、対等な技術者同士として、「職場の同僚」のような温度感で交流ができることが望ましい。 インディーゲーム開発者のコミュニティで交換される情報は、主に技術情報である。何よりもまずゲームがつくれなくては始まらないため、プログラミングやゲーム開発ツールの使い方の情報が活発に交換されている。また、マーケティングに関する情報も多い。例えばインディーゲーム開発者が対象のコンテストの情報や、アワードの申し込み、ゲームのリリースタイミングにやるべきことなど、多岐にわたる。 そして、危険な事業者と距離をとるための情報も必要だ。近年は日本でも「インディーゲーム」分野の注目度が上がったことから、さまざまな企業やインフルエンサーなどが開発者のことを金づると見なして接近するようになった。海外においては、ゲームの販売契約を結びながらも支払いを踏み倒したり、高額な手数料や権利の譲渡などを迫ったり、不利な契約条件を強いるなどの被害も起きている。こうした情報を共有し、ほかの開発者が同じ罠に陥らないようにすることも目的のひとつである。 開発者コミュニティに望ましい要件は「参加者に利害関係がないこと」「開発者なら誰でも参加できること」「コミュニティを運営管理している人物がいること」が挙げられる。 まず、コミュニティの参加者は、純粋に開発に取り組む同志としてコミュニケーションをとれる間柄であることが肝要だ。ひとたびビジネスの場になればライバルであるし、雇い雇われの主従関係や金銭関係が発生した場合、心理的な安全性が確保できなくなってしまう。 そして、コミュニティは一定のルールを守れば開発者は誰でも自由に参加できるものが望ましい。かつ、オープンでありながらも、コミュニティのマネジメント体制が構築されたコミュニティのあり方が大切だ。コミュニティそれぞれにルールが存在する。「インディーゲームに興味がある人はだれでも参加可能」といった比較的間口が広い場所もあるが、基本的にはゲームを開発している人たちのためのコミュニティだ。以降でさまざまコミュニティを紹介していくが、基本的に「自分で作品をつくっている人」のためであることは念頭においていただきたい。 国内のさまざまなコミュニティ形態 日本における開発者コミュニティの変遷を見ていこう。まず、歴史の長い日本の個人・小規模ゲーム開発の文化として、コミックマーケットは外せない。会期中の開発者同士の交流に加えて、大小さまざまな規模で参加ゲーム開発者による打ち上げが行われていたそうだ。筆者は直接こうした場に参加したことは少ないが、そこでは技術的な情報共有などが盛んに行われ、開発者同士を繋ぐコミュニティとして機能しているようだ。 また、かつては「全日本学生ゲーム開発者連合（全ゲ連）」という勉強会シリーズが存在した。これはゲーム開発を実際に行っている学生が集う勉強会で、100名を超す参加者がいることもあった。有志で運営されていたゲーム関連の勉強会では最も人数が大きかったのではないかと思われる。残念ながら2016年に終了したが、個人・小規模の開発者がゲーム開発に関する情報を手に入れる機会であったことは間違いない。 ここ数年においては、「インディーゲーム」のスタイルが輸入されてきた影響もあり、付随したさまざまなコミュニティが生まれている。まず、「Tokyo Indies」が2014年7月にスタートした。Tokyo Indiesは毎月開催されていた、開発者交流会だ。初回はバーで、2回目以降はアートスペースで、しばらくしてカフェのフロアを借り切っての開催とその規模を増し、ピーク時には100名程度が参加していた。 Tokyo Indiesの特徴は、国際色豊かな参加者と、毎回ゲームの紹介を行うプレゼンテーションの時間があることだ。会場内のプロジェクターを使い、毎回5チーム程度が自分の作品の紹介を行った。筆者も何度か作品発表の場をいたただいた。 開催地は東京・渋谷だったが、全国からさまざまなインディーゲーム開発者が集い、開発に関する情報や、技術的な話などが活発に交換された。この形式を基に、大阪では同様の取り組みである「Ichi Pixel」がスタートするなど、コミュニティムーブメントの先駆けになった。筆者は、この勢いで全国にコミュニティができたらと当時は考えていた。しかし、場所が手狭になってきた矢先、新型コロナウイルスの流行によって世界は一変した。オフラインで集まるイベントが事実上開催できなくなったため、Tokyo Indiesは2022年10月の復活まで一時休止となり、Ichi Pixelは年内での活動終了を予告している。 近年の新たなインディーゲーム開発者コミュニティの形態に、集英社が手掛ける「集英社ゲームクリエイターズCAMP」のウェブサイトがある。これはDiscordやSlackなどのチャットツールベースではなく専用に制作されており、自分のプロフィールページで作品やスキルをアピールできることが特徴である。また、ほかの開発者をフォローする機能があり、フォーラムによって開発者同士の交流も可能となっている。以下は、筆者のページだ。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-2.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="850" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20451" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-2.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-2-300x255.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-2-768x653.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 「集英社ゲームクリエイターズCAMP」のプロフィールページ ゲーム開発者のほか、ゲームプロジェクトに参加したいと考えているイラストレーターや作曲家なども登録できる。ゲーム開発者が自作のクオリティアップのためのパートナーを見つけられる場所にしていくことを目指しているそうだ。 海外のインディーコミュニティのハブとなるasobu いくつかスタートしたコミュニティのうち、常駐の物理的な場所が用意されたコミュニティも始まった。「asobu」は2019年に複数の業界関係者によって立ち上げられた、日本のインディーゲーム開発者のためのコミュニティである。コワーキングスペースとして利用できる拠点を渋谷に構え、開発者同士の交流会やテストプレイを目的としたゲーム試遊イベントなどが行われている。筆者はコアメンバーとして設立当初から運営をサポートしている。asobuのスポンサーはPlayStation®（ソニー・インタラクティブエンタテインメント）、ID@Xbox（マイクロソフト）、集英社ゲームズ、Kowloon Nights、前回の記事で紹介したiGi indie Game incubatorも加わっている。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-3.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="570" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20452" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-3.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-3-300x171.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-3-768x438.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 「asobu」ロゴ asobuの特徴は、海外のインディー開発者との交流促進を目指していることである。海外では、それぞれの地域で開発者コミュニティが存在している。例えばアメリカ・ブルックリンのGUMBOや、韓国のSeoul Indiesなどがある。asobuはこれらのコミュニティをモデルとして設計されており、海外コミュニティのメンバーを動画番組に招待するなどで、開発者同士の繋がりづくりを目指している。開発者の悩みの多くは言語を超えて共通していることが多い。技術的な壁、ゲームデザインの迷い、プロジェクト進行の難しさなど、言葉は違えど悩みと知見の共有は大きな意味がある。もしかすると、あなたが目指すゲームの理想や境遇に近い開発者は地球の裏側にいるかもしれない。全世界で開発者交流が進むことで、同じゲームジャンルの開発者を見つけ、お互い切磋琢磨できる可能性もある。 海外コミュニティとの交流にはほかの利点もある。インディーゲーム開発者は自らの作品をさまざまな言語に翻訳し、ウェブを通じて世界中に販売している。各地域のゲームファンに見つけてもらうためには地域ごとの適切なマーケティング活動が望ましいが、通常規模のゲーム開発会社と異なり、インディーゲーム開発者にはマーケティングの予算が少ないことが多い。そこで各地域のメディアにコンタクトを取ったり、インディーゲームのためのイベントに出展したりするのだが、その「良し悪し」の判断がつかないことがある。 そのようなケースにおいて信頼できる情報元が、「当該地域の地元のインディーゲーム開発者」である。一見素晴らしそうに見えたコンテストが、実際は自分の作風にそぐわないものであったり、自らの作品のアピールに繋がりにくいものであったりするかもしれない。ウェブ上の情報だけではわからない、評判の悪い事業者についても情報を得られる可能性がある。こうしたコミュニティ同士の繋がりによって、信頼の輪が広がり、別の地域でのゲームのリリースや宣伝活動において良い選択肢を取れるだろう。 もちろん、日本の開発者から提供できる情報もある。海外の開発者もまた、日本から生まれた数々のゲームタイトルに影響された作品も多い（本サイトの連載「海を渡った日本のゲームの子孫たち」に詳しい）。そうした開発者は日本の市場に自分たちのゲームを伝えたいと考えるものの、どのように紹介するべきかわからないことがある。そこはまさに日本の開発者が助けられる部分だ。 しかしながら、asobuもまたコロナ禍による影響を大きく受けた。渋谷のコワーキングスペースは、設立当初の構想ではasobuに所属するメンバーがゲーム開発を行うオフィスとして利用し、それぞれのゲームを開発しながら意見を交換する場として機能するはずであった。また、海外から渡航してきたインディーゲーム開発者の滞在拠点として使ってもらい、国内開発者とのリレーションをつくるハブになることを目指していた。 現在では、そうした交流の機能はオンラインでの実施に切り替わっている。asobuは公式Discordを開設して開発者の交流を行っているほか、さまざまな動画配信番組を実施している。 具体的には、asobuに所属するインディーゲーム開発者の生高橋氏（Nintendo Switchでも開発された『ElecHead』〔2021年〕を開発）が司会となって、多様なインディーゲーム開発者とトークを行うポッドキャスト的な「Indie Brains」、ゲームの開発技術やリリースに関するノウハウを講師を呼んで実践するセミナー形式の「asobu talks」、年に一度の大型ゲーム紹介番組である「asobu INDIE SHOWCASE」、そして前述のTokyo Indiesの企画と合体した「インディーコレクションJAPAN」がある。 「インディーコレクションJAPAN」は、月に1回のペースで配信されるインディーゲーム紹介番組である。配信プラットフォームのTwitchで配信されており、毎回5〜6タイトルのゲーム紹介を開発者自ら行ってもらう。プレゼンには英語通訳がつき、2022年8月現在までに23回目を配信している。多くの会では海外のコミュニティからも開発者を招き、英語でプレゼンしたものを日本語通訳を介して紹介するものもある。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-4.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20453" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-4.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GAM47-4-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 「インディーコレクションJAPAN」ロゴ asobuは、開発者同士のコミュニケーションの促進だけではなく、運営チームが開発者のサポートを行うことも特徴だ。日本の開発者が海外のコンテストやオンラインイベントに申し込む際の要項記入のアドバイスを行ったり、海外メディアにコンタクトする際のノウハウなどを発信したりしている。 その活動の成果が顕著に現れたのは、『ElecHead』の発売におけるサポートである。asobuのサポートによって、積極的に海外のゲーム開発者へ『ElecHead』の魅力を伝えることができ、多くの著名開発者からSNSでのお墨付きを得た形でローンチを迎えることができたそうだ。 ほかにも、asobuの名義でBitSummitなどの大型ゲーム展示イベントにブースを構えることもある。小規模な開発者であっても、コミュニティに所属することでゲームをアピールできる機会を手に入れることができるわけだ。立ち上げ直後のコロナ禍で苦戦を強いられたasobuだが、グローバルな活動を目指すインディーゲーム開発者のハブとなるべく活動を続けている。 海外においては、こうしたインディーゲーム開発者コミュニティは関連企業のスポンサードだけではなく、地域の商工会や地元行政などからサポートを受けていることが多い。それはゲームがIT産業の一部であり、産業振興の一環として輸出産業を強化したい行政の目的と合致するからである。前回の記事でも触れたが、日本においてはインディーゲーム開発者に対する動きがあまり見られていない。日本の大きなコンテンツ産業である「ゲーム」の振興について、業界団体や行政にもぜひ興味を持ってもらいたいと考えている。 開発技術ごとのコミュニティ インディーゲーム開発者は、技術的な知見を日々取り入れていくことが強く求められる。ゲームを開発するための開発環境やソフトウェアを「ゲームエンジン」と呼ぶが、その代表的なものとしては「Unity」「Unreal Engine」「GameMaker」「RPG Maker」「ティラノビルダー」などがある。そして、これらのゲームエンジン利用者ごとにもコミュニティがある。 例えば、Unityを利用しているゲーム開発者向けには「Unityゲーム開発者ギルド」というコミュニティが存在する。Unityゲーム開発者ギルドは有志によって設立されたコミュニティで、Slackを用いた比較的緩やかな交流の場として利用されている。 Unreal Engine向けには、提供元のEpic Gamesが公式のコミュニティサイトである「Epic Developer Community」を開始している。Unreal Engineで使用する設定ファイルを投稿できるなど、技術的な情報が共有しやすい設計となっていることが特徴だ。 前述したasobu所属の生高橋氏は、『ElecHead』が使用しているゲームエンジン「GameMaker」に関するコミュニティスペースをDiscordで立ち上げている。近年国内でのユーザーが少しずつ増えており、最新のバージョンに関する情報を日本語で発信している。 また、ゲームエンジンは独自に技術カンファレンスを開き、そのタイミングでコミュニティが生まれることもある。Unityが主催する「Unite」や「SYNC 2022」、ならびにEpic Gamesが主催する「UNREAL FEST」については、次回記事にて詳しく紹介する。 小さなコミュニティで仲間をつくり、安全な情報共有を これまでさまざまなインディーゲーム開発者向けコミュニティを紹介してきたが、筆者はゲーム開発者のすべてにオフィシャルなコミュニティへ属してほしいと考えているわけではない。 コミュニティに加わるメリットは大きいが、開発しているゲームの趣向や、技術的に求めていることなどが期待と異なる場合においては、無理にとどまる必要はない。コミュニティは生き物であり、途中で運営体制や構成メンバーが変わることで居心地が悪くなることもあるだろう。そうなったら去ればよい。当たり前だが、コミュニティのルールに違反する人物はその場を追われるだろう。コミュニティに所属するということは、自らがその利を得るだけではなく「助け合い」の場である。開発者が持つプログラミング技術、マーケティングに関する経験などを積極的に提供していくことが大切だ。 ただ、人数が多いコミュニティは、誰に見られているかわからない不安もある。オープンなコミュニティであるがゆえ、悪意のある人物がどうしても紛れ込んでしまうリスクはある。そこで筆者がおすすめしたいのは、「10数人の名もなき小規模コミュニティ」をつくっておくことである。 その小さなコミュニティは、大層な名前や意義が必要なものではない。例えばゲーム展示イベントの出展で隣になった開発者や、懇親会で仲良くなった開発者など、素性のわかる者同士で、ごく小さなコミュニティをSlackやDiscordなどのツールで情報交換場所をつくるだけのものだ。こうした場所で、開発と関係があることないことをチャットでやり取りするとよいだろう。自分の目の届く範囲、信頼できる仲間のなかで愚痴や悩みを共有したり、逆に相談に乗ったりできる小さな集まりとして活用していけると理想的だ。実際に解決に繋がらなくてもよく、重要なのは「孤立していない」ということを認識できる場を持つことだと考えている。 インディーゲーム開発者は立場が弱いゆえ、横の繋がりが重要だ。コミュニティには幅広い開発者の裾野をカバーし、活動を支える機能がある。日本のゲーム産業が盛り上がっていくためには、単一の企業やプロジェクトに投資するだけでは不十分で、大小さまざまなインディーゲーム開発者コミュニティの支援こそが重要だと考えている。 ※URLは2022年10月12日にリンクを確認済み ◀︎第1回
多摩美術大学における三上晴子アーカイヴの取り組み
アーティストとして、大がかりなインスタレーション作品や知覚と関連付けたインタラクティヴ作品を発表し、教員として、メディアアートの制作教育に携わった三上晴子。2015年に逝去した同氏の活動にまつわる資料が、多摩美術大学アー […]
アーティストとして、大がかりなインスタレーション作品や知覚と関連付けたインタラクティヴ作品を発表し、教員として、メディアアートの制作教育に携わった三上晴子。2015年に逝去した同氏の活動にまつわる資料が、多摩美術大学アートアーカイヴセンターに集約され、アーカイヴ化が進められつつある。本稿では、プロジェクトに関わる久保田晃弘、石山星亜良がその取り組みを紹介する。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20424" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-1.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="764" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-1.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-1-300x229.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-1-768x587.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 《Eye-Tracking Informatics》の体験者が生成した仮想構造体の特徴を、機械学習によって分類した結果を表す潜在空間。似たもの同士を近くに配置することで、全体の分布が明らかになる。2本の赤線の交点が原点（中央値）で、その近くにあるものが典型例、そこからはずれたところにあるものが、特殊例になる 三上晴子アーカイヴのはじまり 2018年に設立された、多摩美術大学アートアーカイヴセンター（以下AAC）の収蔵資料のひとつに、「三上晴子アーカイヴ」がある。三上晴子は、1980年代からアーティストとして活動を行う一方、2000年からは多摩美術大学情報デザイン学科の教員に着任し、その後、亡くなる2015年1月2日まで、メディアアートを中心とする制作教育に携わった。本アーカイヴは、そうした三上の活動に関連する資料を、2003年の設立以来、三上の大規模なインタラクティブ・メディア・インスタレーション作品を共同制作してきた山口情報芸術センター[YCAM]（以下YCAM）やご遺族の協力を得て、AACに集約したものである（註1）。 AACに収蔵されている資料は、三上の作品制作や展覧会に関するものから、大学の教育や実務に関するもの、日常生活に関わるものまで、多岐にわたるため、いまだそれらがアーカイヴとして十分に整理されているとは言えないが、進行中のいくつかのプロジェクトを通じて、資料の調査と内容の把握を少しずつ進めている。例えば、2020年度から21年度にかけては、映像を中心とする記録媒体の現状調査として、収蔵品の数量や外観からわかる情報をまとめた簡易リストを作成し、さらに一部の記録媒体については、多摩美術大学メディアセンターの協力を得て視聴し、映像の中身についても記述した（註2）。このほかには、三上が1980年代からアーティストとして行った活動（展示やイベント、トーク、審査員など）、多摩美術大学着任後に教員として行った活動（講義、ゼミ、学内のイベント、役職など）に関する情報を収集し、それらを一覧できる年表の作成を行った。また、活動に関する情報（ウェブサイト、書籍、批評など）も調査し、調査に利用したウェブサイト、データベース、アーカイヴの一覧を作成した。 教育者としての三上晴子 久保田は、馬定延と渡邉朋也の編著により、2019年3月に出版された、三上晴子についてのアンソロジー『SEIKO MIKAMI 三上晴子 記録と記憶』（NTT出版）に寄稿した「多摩美術大学におけるメディア・アート教育の実践」というテキストで、三上の15年にわたる教育者としての思想と実践を、その過程を振り返りながら概説した。そのなかでも紹介した、三上が全学の学生向けに開講していたオープン科目「メディア・アート原論」に関する資料を整理、再編し、美術教育の場で継続的に利用できるような講義資料としてアップデートすることを試みている（註3）。三上の「メディア・アート原論」という講義の特徴は、90年代に日本とヨーロッパを中心に生まれた（ニュー）メディアアートを、その誕生以降の動向だけでなく、それに先立つ芸術運動や関連する分野も含め、今日に至る歴史的経緯や社会動向を、最新の話題も取り上げながら、多面的かつ領域横断的に紹介しようとしたことにある。アーカイヴには、三上が講義で使用したスライドなどの資料がそのまま残されていた。そこで、久保田と、多摩美術大学情報デザイン学科に在籍中、この授業を受講した経験を持つ石山が、資料を当時のまま保存するだけでなく、今日の美術教育、とくにCOVID-19によって必要不可欠となった、オンラインでの学びにも活用できるように、講義スライドの内容を整理・分析し、時間や場所の制約を超えて利用可能な講義資料として再編することとした（図1）。講義全体の構成やそこで取り上げられている項目、三上のオリジナルと判断できるテキストを講義の骨格として保持しながら、毎年内容のアップデートが行われ、講義が行われたその時々の「いま」が埋め込まれているという資料の特徴を受け継ぎ、最終開講となった2014年度以降の関連動向、国内外のアーカイヴが公開する資料、作家や作品を知るために役立つ情報を随時収集・反映し、継続的に機能させることを目指している。プロトタイプについては、久保田が実際に多摩美術大学の授業で使用し、閲覧者が意見を投稿できる仕組みを設けて、そこで得たフィードバックをもとに講義資料の改善を行った。また2014年度以降の情報収集にあたっては、フォームを設けることで閲覧者からも情報を募り、寄せられた情報を共有することも試みた。講義資料については、今後も継続して検討とアップデートを行っていく予定である。なお、三上はこの講義のなかで、自身の作品についても紹介している。つまり、この作業は同時に、三上の作品制作の背景を探る作業にもつながっている。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-2.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1000" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20442" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-2.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-2-768x768.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />図1 講義スライドのオンライン授業用の講義資料への再編例 インタラクティヴ・アート研究 三上が制作・探究した、インタラクティヴなメディア・インスタレーション作品の特徴のひとつは、それらが、作品を鑑賞する体験者抜きには成立しないことにある。そんなインタラクティヴ・アートの本質を問うために、三上が2011年に制作し、2018年にYCAMが再制作した《Eye-Tracking Informatics》（以下《ETI》）を事例として、インタラクションのアーカイヴに関する研究を進めている。《ETI》は、「視ることを視る」をテーマにしたインタラクティヴ・アート作品である。体験者の視線をデバイスによって検出し、その視線の動きから、アルゴリズミックに3次元の仮想構造体が生成される。動的に構造化された視線を、体験者が再び視ることで「視ることを視る」というフィードバックループが生まれ、さらに2人が同時に体験することで、視線による体験者同士のコミュニケーションが可能になる（図2）。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20426" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-3.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-3.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-3-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 図2 三上晴子「Eye-Tracking Informatics Version 1.1」 ─ YCAMとの共同研究成果展 撮影：竹久直樹 再制作された《ETI》は、2019年1月9日から11日にかけて、AACに併設されているアートテークギャラリー105で開催された「三上晴子「Eye-Tracking Informatics Version 1.1」 ─ YCAMとの共同研究成果展」で、再展示の実証実験が行われた（註4）。その後、同年5月18日から翌年2月28日まで、東京・初台のNTTインターコミュニケーション・センター[ICC]で開催された「オープン・スペース2019 別の見方で」展において、長期展示が行われた。そこで、視線の動きと構造の相互作用という《ETI》におけるインタラクションそのものを探究するために、2020年1月12日から会期終了まで、作品のヴィジュアル・プログラミングを担当した平川紀道の協力と体験者の了解を得て、体験時の視線の位置と生成された仮想構造体の時間変化を記録した。各回5分間の体験ごとに、約1万5,000点のサンプルが取得でき、そこには、各表示フレームのタイムスタンプとスクリーン上での視線の動き、生成された仮想構造体の骨組みの3次元座標が記録されている。 まず初めに、記録された総計770例のデータそれぞれの可視化と定量的な分析を行った（註5）。視線の動きやそこから生成された構造体の形状だけでなく、速度や加速度を求めて比較検討することで、《ETI》のインタラクションには、いくつかのモードがあることがわかってきた。代表的なものとして、視線があまり動かず、滑らかな構造が生まれる「グライディングモード」と、視線が小まめに動き、くるくると縮れた構造をとる「ターンモード」の2つがあり、さらにこのモードは、仮想空間のなかを視線が散策する「探索モード」と、生成された構造を追いかけたり逃げたりする「追跡（逃避）モード」に分けられる（図3）。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20427" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-4.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="932" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-4.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-4-300x280.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-4-768x716.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 図3 《ETI》におけるインタラクションのモード この個別データの分析を踏まえ、2021年度には堂園翔矢の協力を得て、《ETI》の全視線データの機械学習を用いた解析による、取得したインタラクションデータの全体像の把握に取り組んだ。視線の動きと仮想構造体の形態を、Variational Auto Encoder（以下VAE）という、データの特徴を獲得するための教師なし学習を用いて、データ全体を分類し、その典型例や特殊例を抽出した（図4）。こうした分析を通じて、《ETI》におけるインタラクションの全体像が少しずつ見えてきた。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20428" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-5.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="511" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-5.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-5-300x153.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-5-768x392.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />図4 VAEによって抽出された仮想構造体の典型例 並行して、平川紀道の協力で進めているのが、〈Proto-ETI〉という《ETI》のインタラクション分析を検証するための実験環境の構築である。〈Proto-ETI〉は、視線検出デバイスやマウス入力、およびその記録データから、《ETI》の仮想構造体の骨格のみを生成する、いわば《ETI》の構造シミュレーターである。さらに、《ETI》のインタラクションのパラメーターを、UIによってリアルタイムに設定・変更したり、体験者相互のコミュニケーションの有無や、画面上にグリッドを描画するかどうかを選択したりすることで、インタラクションのパラメトリックな実験が可能になる（図5）。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20429" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-6.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="757" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-6.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-6-300x227.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-6-768x581.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />図5 〈Proto-ETI〉の初期バージョン 加えて、この〈Proto-ETI〉によって、インタラクションによって生成された仮想構造体を何度も繰り返し見る、すなわち鑑賞するという新たな体験を、半ば予期せずつくりだすことができた（図6）。従来の《ETI》の展示の際には、体験者を次々と入れ替える必要があるため、つくられた仮想構造体を、体験終了後にゆっくりと観察することはできなかった。〈Proto-ETI〉によって可能になった、この「インタラクションを鑑賞する」ことについても、今後検討していきたい。さらに、前述のVAEは、学習データから構造体だけでなく、視線の動きそのものを生成することも可能であり、そうした生成された視線データによる仮想体験の結果としての構造体を、再分析したり鑑賞したりすることも可能になる。今後も、機械学習と〈Proto-ETI〉を組み合わせながら、《ETI》を典型例としたインタラクティヴ・アート作品の理解や解釈、その鑑賞が持つ意味を、検討していく予定である（註6）。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20430" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-7.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-7.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-7-300x169.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MA43-7-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 図6 《ETI》のインタラクション記録の鑑賞 三上晴子アーカイヴの今後 前述のように、三上晴子アーカイヴのアーカイヴとしての整備状況はまだ道半ばであるが、収蔵している資料の閲覧希望者に、個別対応できる体制を整えつつある。同時に、関連する研究成果については、毎年12月初旬に開催しているアートアーカイヴシンポジウムや、AACが発行しているアートアーカイヴィングの研究誌「軌跡」、「多摩美術大学研究紀要」などで、随時発表している。将来的には、ウェブでの資料の一般公開なども、検討していきたいと考えている。 なお、「メディア・アート原論」と《ETI》のインタラクション分析の成果をベースに、メディアアートを「伝える」「知る」「学ぶ」そして「つくる」ことを支えるプラットフォーム「Platform for Media Art Production (PMA)」の設計と試験的な実装を開始した。こちらについては、現在、メディア芸術連携基盤等整備推進事業の「メディアアート作品の調査とメディア芸術データベースのデータ整備他」において、堀口淳史らと共に検討を進めている。 （脚注） *1 さらに、生前関係の深かったP3 art and environmentから、三上の80年代の主要作品のひとつである《Iron Plant》が寄贈されている。 *2 石山星亜良・曽根章・久保田晃弘「映像アーカイヴ構築のための基礎調査 三上晴子アーカイヴにおける現状の把握から今後の計画まで」「軌跡」no. 3、2021年。 *3 石山星亜良・久保田晃弘「［共同研究報告］アートアーカイヴを活用したオンライン講義の試み―三上晴子の「メディア・アート原論」を事例として」「多摩美術大学研究紀要」35号、2021年、163-170ページ。 石山星亜良「三上晴子アーカイヴから立ち上がる講義資料」「軌跡」no. 3、2021年。 *4 平川紀道・渡邉朋也・馬定延・久保田晃弘「［研究論文］メディアアートのための生成するアーカイブ試論（後編）」「多摩美術大学研究紀要」33号、2019年、71-79ページ。 *5 久保田晃弘「メディアアートにおけるインタラクションの分析方法―三上晴子《Eye Tracking Informatics》を事例として」「軌跡」no. 3、2021年。 *6 久保田晃弘・平川紀道・堂園翔矢「現状報告：三上晴子アーカイヴ」「軌跡」no. 4、2022年。 ※本研究の一部はJSPS科研費 JP21K00117の助成を受けたものです ※URLは2022年8月9日にリンクを確認済み
新たなフラットランドを目指して『Sonny Boy』の2次元性について
夏目真悟が監督・脚本・原作を手がけ、江口寿史がキャラクター原案を、マッドハウスが制作を担当したオリジナルテレビアニメーション『Sonny Boy』。「SF青春群像劇」として2021年夏に放送された本作は、第25回文化庁メ […]
夏目真悟が監督・脚本・原作を手がけ、江口寿史がキャラクター原案を、マッドハウスが制作を担当したオリジナルテレビアニメーション『Sonny Boy』。「SF青春群像劇」として2021年夏に放送された本作は、第25回文化庁メディア芸術祭アニメーション部門で優秀賞を受賞した。その理由のひとつに、他のアニメとは一線を画す独特な絵づくりがある。本稿ではそんなビジュアルがどのような効果をもたらしているか、何を表現しているかを探っていく。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20405" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-0.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-0.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-0-300x169.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-0-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> 『Sonny Boy』キービジュアル この平面から出ていくのだ。一、二、三！ それ！（註1） 1884年にイギリスで初版が出版されたエドウィン・アボット・アボットによる古典的なSF小説『フラットランド たくさんの次元の物語』（以下『フラットランド』）は、長さと幅しか存在しない2次元「フラットランド」に住まう語り手を主人公にした作品だ。こうした数学的なアプローチをとりつつも、物語内では1次元の「ラインランド」、3次元の「スペースランド」との交流が描かれている。フラットランドの住人である主人公は、3次元的な立体についてのイメージが難しく、それを見かねたスペースランドからの来訪者が、3次元の世界へと連れ出すときに発したのが冒頭の言葉である。 テレビアニメーション『Sonny Boy』（2021年）もまた、『フラットランド』と同じように複数の次元＝世界を移動していく。実は『Sonny Boy』には、『フラットランド』から影響を受けて制作されたエピソード（第5話「跳ぶ教室」）が存在するのだが、そういった影響関係も踏まえつつ、なぜ筆者が『フラットランド』と『Sonny Boy』を関連させて考えてみたいのかというと、それは両者がともに2次元性について原理的に問いかけるような部分を持っているからである（註2）。『フラットランド』が2次元しか存在しない世界を中心にしていることはすでに述べたが、そもそもが2次元のアニメーションである『Sonny Boy』もまた、それについて自覚的な側面を持っている。このコラムではそんな『Sonny Boy』について分析を加えながら、そのテーマ性について考えてみたい。 アニメーションでアニメーションを語る 『Sonny Boy』の脚本・監督は夏目真悟が務めた。夏目は『ワンパンマン』（2015年、1期）などを監督した当時はアクションにこだわった演出を行っていたが、『ACCA13区監察課』（2017年）、『ブギーポップは笑わない』（2019年）といった近年の監督作ではそれにとどまらない幅広い作劇を行っており、『Sonny Boy』もまたそうした方向性の延長線上に位置づけられる作品である。 同作は中学3年生の男女36名が、学校ごと異世界に漂流してしまうことから物語が始まる。異世界での生活や、もとの世界に戻ろうとする試みなどが描かれながら、キャラクターたちの心の揺れ動きが表現されている。こうしたSF的な設定を持つ一方で、多様なディテールや、必要以上の説明を行わない脚本などもあいまって、作品は全体として独特な雰囲気を醸し出している。確かに内向的な主人公・長良が主体的な決断を下せるようになるまでの成長物語という展開上の軸はあるのだが、それ以上に周囲の人物たちの存在感もあり、群像劇的な印象がある。そこにさらに超能力、ループ、恋愛、寓話、社会風刺といった要素が絡み合うので、単純にジャンルを確定することが難しいタイプの作品だと言えるだろう。 だがそれ以上にまずビジュアルの特徴として際立つのは、背景やキャラクターにのシンプルな絵づくりだ。マンガ家・イラストレーターの江口寿史のキャラクター原案は髪の毛の色なども含めてシンプルなものになっているし、背景にも筆跡が残っている。絵具チューブから出した原色を使っているかのような色彩感覚は、作品のイメージを印象づけている。 しかしこれらの一見してわかるようなアニメーションならではの要素だけではなく、『Sonny Boy』にはアニメーションというメディアに対する自己言及性が見え隠れしている。そうした示唆に富むのが、第6話「長いさよなら」だ。『Sonny Boy』は一話ごとに異なる世界に漂流する構成を多くとるが、この話数では映画館を模した世界「フィルムメーカー」を発見する。ここには過去だけではなく、自分たちが漂流してしまった後の光景もフィルムとして記録されていた。そしてフィルムの合成がほかの世界にも影響を及ぼすことを発見した登場人物たちは、自分たちがいなくなった後のフィルムに、自分たちを合成することでもとの世界へ帰還できるのではないかと考え、それを実行するのだが、結局計画は失敗に終わり、世界そのものに介入することの不可能性が明らかになってしまう。 まずこの話数で特徴的なのは、アニメーション内で劇中内の映像を操作するという自己言及性だ。計画をキャラクター同士で話し合う中盤のシーンでも、主要登場人物である瑞穂は、フランソワ・トリュフォーがアルフレッド・ヒッチコックに行ったインタビューをまとめた書籍『映画術』を読んでおり、映画、あるいは映像メディアに対する自覚的な意識があることは明らかだ。アニメーションやモーション・グラフィックスの研究者である田中大裕はこの第6話に関して、KezzardrixによるプログラミングされたCGが用いられていることを踏まえながら、昨今のアニメーションはコンピュータのシミュレーション能力に依存しているため、原理的な介入が難しいことをこの失敗は示唆しているのではいかと指摘している（註3）。ソフトウェアの発達はアニメーション制作者たち自身によるプログラミング能力を不要にさせ、より直観的な操作で画面を構築することを可能にさせた。システムへの依存を前提としていると、システムそれ自体を変化させることは困難なのである。第6話の帰還の失敗は、こうした現代の制作環境をアイロニカルに表現したものだと田中は指摘する。この解釈をより補強するために私がここで触れたいのは、『Sonny Boy』における黒の役割だ。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20406" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-1.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-1.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-1-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />第6話「長いさよなら」より 同作のキービジュアルには背景に黒が使用されているが、これは劇中でも頻出するイメージだ。物語上、この背景は異次元空間を表現し、次なる世界が登場するまでのつなぎとして使用されていることが多い。しかしこのべっとりとした黒には、ある含意が読み取れるのではないだろうか。監督の夏目が語るところによると、この作品における黒はパソコン上でRGBの色彩のパラメーターをすべて0にしたものであるという。ゆえにこの黒は、現代のアニメーション制作においてもっとも純粋な、未加工な状態の色であるということを示しているのである。学校が漂流してしまったところから始まる第1話「夏の果ての島」において、学校の外はすべてこの黒で表現されている。そのような意味においても、『Sonny Boy』における黒は物語の起点であると同時に、何よりもアニメーションの制作のプロセスについて反省させる解釈のトリガーなのである。同作の黒は、かつてのセルアニメーションのとは違い、着彩された絵を撮影する工程を経ていないダイレクトなものであるため、その色味は「セルの美しさ」とはまた異なる「面」の可能性を提示しているのだ。 このように『Sonny Boy』は絵であることを隠さないデザインのみならず、アニメーションというメディアに言及を加えることによって、その2次元性を強調してきた。ゆえに同作における平面性への意識は、結果的に強固な「フラットランド」を構築することになっている。だが主人公である長良は、瑞穂とともにその多元的な世界から脱出することを最後に選択する。このことについての考察を最後に試みてみよう。 2次元から出てきてしまいそうなフラットランドの住人 最終話となる第12話「二年間の休暇」において、中盤に見せる長良の決意の表情は、その写実的な陰影によって物語のクライマックスにふさわしいシリアスさを湛えている。このシーンが印象的なものとなっていたのは、キャラクター原案の江口寿史のデザインによるところも大きいだろう。江口の描くイラストレーションは、写実性とマンガ的な記号性の中間に位置するような絵柄が特徴的だ。例えば彼の描く人物には、鼻の穴が描かれていることが多い。これは大友克洋や上條淳士の影響を受け『「エイジ」』などで江口が試みた絵柄上の実験だったが、こうしたチャレンジは結果的に江口の絵柄に写実的な人物の造形と記号的な美しさ、かっこよさを両立させることとなり、描き手としての個性につながっている。足元からの光に照らされた長良の表情は浮き彫り的な陰影を見せ、あたかもアニメーションという2次元のフラットランドから飛び出してきそうな実在感を感じさせる。 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20407" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-2.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-2.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ANI51-2-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />第12話「二年間の休暇」より だがそんな印象的なシーンがあったにもかかわらず、最終話の後半では、現実の世界に戻った長良が淡々と生活をする様子が描かれている。このような固有性と匿名性の往還も、江口による写実性と記号性が共存するキャラクター原案があってこその演出だと指摘できるのかもしれないが、その姿はそれまでの主人公然とした、英雄的な身振りを考えると、梯子を外されたような印象を受ける。だがこうした展開も、筆者にはアニメーション＝映像におけるひとつの倫理観を示しているように感じられた。なぜならひとつの映像作品において、登場するキャラクターたちはいくら世界を移動しようとも、その映像の外部へと出ることはできず、その世界とのつながりを断ち切ることができないからだ。その境遇は虚構内の存在たる長良（と瑞穂）が運命づけられたものなのかもしれないが、だからこそ彼らの決断はフィクションのなかに刻印され、私たち鑑賞者の心を打つのである。 デジタル化以降の日本の商業的なアニメーションは、テクスチャーを貼りこむことによって装飾性を増したり、グラデーションやカメラで撮影されたかのような効果を加えることによって実写映像のようなリアリティが表現されるようになったが、そのようなシーンの潮流があるにもかかわらず、それが「絵」であることをまったく隠そうとしない『Sonny Boy』の還元的なアプローチは、アニメーションの新たな「フラットランド」を指し示すコンパスとなってくれるだろう。 （脚注） *1 エドウィン・アボット・アボット『フラットランド たくさんの次元の物語』竹内薫訳、講談社、2017年、111ページ *2 「最終回直前！ Sonny Boyを解き明かす、夏目真悟監督各話コメンタリー①」、Febri、2021年9月23日、https://febri.jp/topics/sonnyboy1/ *3 「読む会(出張版2)・アニメ『Sonny Boy』」、YouTube、2021年10月16日（ライブ配信）、youtube.com/watch?v=QPBkObIcHNw （参考資料） 江口寿史『KING OF POP 江口寿史 全イラストレーション集』玄光社、2015年 田中大裕「アニメーションの歴史からみたVTuber――アニメーションとみなすことの意義」『エクリヲ vol.12』送り絵、2020年、51-63ページ 「アニメ表現の最先端 1 『Sonny Boy』」『アニメスタイル 016』スタイル、2022年、130-139ページ 「TVアニメ『Sonny Boy -サニーボーイ-』公式サイト」、2021年、https://anime.shochiku.co.jp/sonny-boy/ ※URLは2022年8月22日にリンクを確認済み
Pursuing new sounds: Creators of music as media artsNo. 4: KOSAKI Satoru, composer (Part 2)
Composer KOSAKI Satoru has led the world of animation songs and animation incidental music in the 2000s and 20 […]
Composer KOSAKI Satoru has led the world of animation songs and animation incidental music in the 2000s and 2010s. The first part of this interview features his experiences with music in his childhood and school days, and his work as a composer for a game maker. This second part focuses on his activities after he became freelance, including his music for great hit animation series such as Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) and Laki☆Suta (Lucky Star), and his thoughts on and ideas for his music creation and the future of the industry. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-1_Q5A3473.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17933" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-1_Q5A3473.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-1_Q5A3473-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-1_Q5A3473-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his debut as a composer, KOSAKI SATORU 20th Anniversary Selected Works DAWN was released. Photos: HATAKENAKA Aya (all photos in this article) Creation of popular theme songs and their backgroaund stories Following the TV animation Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) (2006), Laki☆Suta (Lucky Star) (2007) also became a big hit. KOSAKI: Laki☆Suta (Lucky Star) was the next work of Kyoto Animation Co., Ltd., and the staff was almost the same as for Haruhi, so I was asked to join again. Unlike in the previous work, I was assigned to make the theme song, too, and I became more responsible. To my surprise, the requirements for the theme song were relatively vague. I was told to “make a song that has not been heard before,” “incorporate rap,” and “set the tempo at 150 bpm to meet the number of frames depicting dance scenes.” I remember they showed me a Glico Pocky’s advertisement with actress ARAGAKI Yui as reference material. The bottleneck was the request for “a song that has not been heard before.” We made a lot of discussions when making a demo. In the beginning, I made it in British rock style like The Who or Blur, or in rock crossover (called “mixture rock” in Japan) style like YKZ. In the end, I got a little desperate and sent them a demo with many phrases with cut-up and loops evoking the feeling of much edited with dubs. Then, they told me, “Interesting!” Combining HATA Aki’s moe rap lyrics with the music caused metamorphosis like a sudden chemical reaction to create an explosively powerful song. The metamorphosis was so drastic that I feel there have been very few works that could follow this song so far, by my own creation or in other animation. I also feel all people involved in this work became playful and even a little mischievous all together to gain momentum of creating something interesting..., including myself, HATA Aki, voice actors singing it, and the drawing staff of Kyoto Animation. That environment was the source of creating the extraordinary, unique song, Motteke! Sailor Fuku (Take it! sailor suit-style school uniform for girls). Around the time was the dawn of online video sharing sites. The release of the song coincided with the explosively growing popularity of posting Odottemita (We/I danced) videos. As with Hare Hare Yukai (Haruhi dance) of Haruhi, it was YAMAMOTO Yutaka’s idea to combine a dance with a theme song, I think. He is a very talented trend-setter, with prompting secondary creations like this. In 2009, your life’s work, the animation series Monogatari, started. KOSAKI: In the first work, Bakemonogatari (Ghostory) (2009), I was in charge of everything except the ending theme, which was done by supercell. The story is structured with blocks, each focusing on each of the five heroines. I was asked to create a different opening theme for each heroine to sing. Thinking calmly, I felt it a little outrageous as it means to frequently change theme songs during the course of one season (13 episodes) (laughs). In fact, the schedule was quite tight, both for creating the music and the opening animation, but we managed to overcome. I think the animation production studio Shaft in charge had a hard time to make the high-quality animation. One of the opening themes, Ren-ai Circulation, was sung by voice actress HANAZAWA Kana. It was used again later in the NHK E-TV child-rearing program Sukusuku Kosodate, and more recently ranked first on the weekly ranking on the short-form video site TikTok. I’m pleased this song is loved by so many people for such a long period of time. When making its music, I thought it must be very interesting if HANAZAWA, with her cute voice, sings a non-aggressive, artistic and cultural, Japanese-language rap song, as artist Kaseki Cider did in the 1990s’ Shibuya-kei music. In this respect, I created this work as if reviving a good, old song. Later, it was accepted as a new song by a generation who did not know the animation when it was broadcast. I feel the phenomenon is very interesting. I’ve experienced such a thing for the first time in my career over more than 20 years. About the incidental music to accompany the animation, the music selector did an excellent job such that the music sounds as if I composed each piece to meet each scene of the finished animation. But in reality, for the first season of the animation, I composed and stored all pieces in advance [to be selected appropriately for various scenes by a music selector]. The latter method is common in TV animation. From the sequel second season, I also used the former method. There is no series other than the Monogatari series that I have been involved in so deeply for such a long period of time. How has the Shibuya-kei pop music in the early 1990s, which you just talked about, influenced your music creation and style? KOSAKI: It’s very important for me. I’m a little younger than the generation who listened to the music just in real time, and I listened to it later when I was in university. I was astonished by its musicians’ outstanding sense of sound. I was also able to experience various types of Western pop music that they used as their source material, so I was greatly influenced by them. Even now, when I listen to their music, I feel that its quality is really high. It was very enjoyable to find out what types of pop music they listened to and where and how they used elements of the music in their music. It was just like the creators and the listeners playing a fun game together. I also think this is a very smart music education method. It was quite natural that creators of a slightly younger generation, such as myself and KITAGAWA Katsutoshi, were greatly influenced and incorporate its essence into our works. But at the same time, I am always worried that using styles of senior musicians in my works may be perceived as a professional composer’s typical attention-getting, unabashed approach. For me, it is very natural that my favorite music that I listened to a lot when I was an adolescent is deeply embedded in me and comes out from time to time (laughs). Is there any difference between the composition process for theme songs, insert songs and character songs, and the composition process for incidental music, that is, BGM? KOSAKI: Unlike theme songs, incidental music should be positioned as a part of animation, similar to its background art, I think. Having a different touch, for example, whether its background art is realistic like a photo or attractively deformed, makes a great difference in the animation’s overall atmosphere. I believe that incidental music plays a role in determining the colors of the work in a way. I have the mindset of working on the music part of the overall animation production, rather than concentrating on creating incidental music. On the other hand, a theme song is the face of each work. It is required to be powerful, melodious, assertive, and easy to remember. Incidental music should not be too assertive, and in some works, I need to make it less melodious and carefully limit the number of melodies to use. I think it’s cool if I can attract the audience to the texture of my incidental music by carefully selecting its musical instruments and tones. These days, theme songs are often decided by auditions or competitions led by record companies. Thankfully, more often than before, I’ve been asked to in charge of both theme songs and incidental music for the same work. It means the composer needs to bear really heavy responsibility. For example, if the theme song and the incidental music share the same melody, when one of them is not as good as expected, there is no way to replace it. I understand well that the production side wants to use different composers for the theme song and the incidental music as a risk management measure. Nevertheless, my ideal is to contribute to each work by producing the best results in both of them. I’m very happy if they are aware of my ideal and entrust me with their works. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-2_Q5A3457.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17934" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-2_Q5A3457.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-2_Q5A3457-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-2_Q5A3457-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />KOSAKI said: “A theme song is the face of each work. I think it is the reason why every theme song is required to be powerful, melodious, assertive, and easy to remember.” The 2017 animation film Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka? (Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?) also attracted a lot of attention. KOSAKI: The film is based on the live-action TV drama by director IWAI Shunji, Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka? (Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?) (1993). I liked the drama very much. I watched it in real time during a depressing summer vacation when I was a ronin student (preparing for university entrance exams after failing them). I have fond memories of the drama. When I was asked to write the music for the animation film version, I wanted to create something that could be as good as film music, by taking a cinematic, Japanese film-like approach, rather than animation music. I like slightly “moist” music of many Japanese films, so I wanted to pay homage to those films as well. I used many piano sounds throughout the work. I also used a lot of string and wind instruments. Shortly before I became in charge of this animation, I took a break from work due to health problems. During that time, I studied music theory from the basics, such as harmony and counterpoint, under a teacher at a music college. I’d always had an inferiority complex about not having a formal musical education. After studying, I felt much more positive about myself. I think I was able to put the results of my study into the music of the animation film Kizumonogatari (Wound story) (2016–2017) and Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka? (Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?). At the same time, once that I became able to take a classical music-like approach a little, I more clearly acknowledged the high level of skills of orchestrators (orchestral music arrangers), who are specialists in the field. I’d dedicated my time to studying the music for songs and melodies over the past 20 years, while they’d dedicated almost the same amount of time to studying and doing orchestration. I’m no match for them in the field. So I did not hesitate to ask orchestrators to work on some of the pieces. In a word, I became able to ask for their cooperation candidly. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-3_Q5A3484.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17935" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-3_Q5A3484.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-3_Q5A3484-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-3_Q5A3484-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />Various CDs of theme songs and soundtracks KOSAKI created for video games and animation works Composing music while keeping an objective point of view Are there any music creators you look up to or who are a source of inspiration for you? KOSAKI: TANAKA Kohei, who created music for Top wo Nerae! (Gunbuster! aka Aim for the Top!) (1988), SAGISU Shiro (*1) of Fushigi no Umi no Nadia (Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water) (1990), and KANNO Yoko (*2) of Macross Plus (1994). I have been greatly inspired by these works and these creators. When I was a child or a student, I was enthralled by the music by various creators, with the three at the top of them. It’s amazing that those creators are still active now, and even remain on the front lines. I want to be like them, but they are actually a high wall I can never climb over (laughs). When I wrote the music for a theme song for the animation Sekirei (2008), I made it sound like paying homage to TANAKA Kohei’s compositional style. Right after that, he gave me a phone call, even though we hadn’t been acquainted with each other. I went to see him with anxiety, being certain I would be scolded by him. To my surprise, he liked it and said, “Your music is very good!” (laughs). I made my debut as a composer later than composers of my age, such as YAMASHITA Kosuke (*3) and IZUTSU Akio (*4). Their careers are longer than mine and advanced by one rank or even two. Incidental music composers with similar careers to mine are, for example, SAWANO Hiroyuki (*5), YOKOYAMA Masaru (*6), KANNO Yugo (*7), SUEHIRO Kenichiro (*8), and HAYASHI Yuki (*9). Incidental music composers of the generation are many and diverse. Composers of the music for songs include OISHI Masayoshi (*10) and TABUCHI Tomoya (*11). We are all good friends with each other and drink together. I am a fan of them and stimulated by them. Also, they are my rivals. When I hear their good music, I feel I’m defeated. How do you feel about the younger generation of music creators? KOSAKI: The vocaloid generation is already at the forefront of the music industry, such as YONEZU Kenshi as a leading artist among them, and the bands liked by the so-called “yakosei” listeners (night-loving listeners, deriving from the fact that those bands are associated with the word night). About animation song-oriented musicians, ryo of supercell (*12) and kz of livetune (*13) are already veterans. When including Official Hige Dandism and FUJII Kaze, I’ve never seen such a rich lineup of Japanese pop music artists since the Shibuya-kei music in the early 1990s. I think that the era of strategic Japanese pop music led by big-name producers has taken a break, and a wide array of characteristic individual artists has started to emerge instead. With the spread of the Internet, the opportunities to present and see creative works have increased dramatically. In a good sense, the barrier between professionals and amateurs has become much lower. I have roots in a dojin music/DTM. I feel that the vocaloid generation uses a different creation method from mine. Typical is using vocaloid. They view vocals as a kind of music instrument. Their melody lines are complex, and their approach to chords and tones is really free. When we make music, even with the uchikomi method, we are always asking ourselves, “Is it possible for human to actually sing/perform this melody?” We are bound with that way of thinking. In contrast, they are free from the limiter and many other things that may block their activities. The situation in the world of incidental music is a little different. It’s not easy for young composers to get work right away. Having a reliable relationship is essential to entrust a composer with the work of making dozens of music pieces with no anxiety. I think the long-time collaboration between, for example, ANNO Hideaki and SAGISU Shiro, or OSHII Mamoru and KAWAI Kenji (*14), cannot be realized without an established teamwork system and a strong relationship of trust. What is important for you, that is, you work policy, when you compose music? KOSAKI: I always want to keep an objective perspective of how the listener will feel about my music. Composer’s work tends to be very self-centered, and when it happens, it will not be successful as business. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I add my own color to my work and I also want to do what I want to do, but it is still important to see things from the client’s point of view. It is not interesting if I just follow the order and make and deliver what the client expects me to do, so I make efforts to go a little off their assumption..., especially when I make the music for songs. About the music for songs, I usually use the “tune-first” method, in which I create a melody first and then have a lyricist add lyrics to it appropriately. As long as I remember, I have written only a few songs using the “lyrics-first” method. But I’m actually better at the lyrics-first method (laughs). It’s easier for me to create a melody after appreciating the sounds of the lyrics and the world view of the story depicted in the lyrics. Unfortunately, in the current animation industry, tunes are made first for most songs. I heard that TANAKA Kohei writes much of his music with the “lyrics-first” method. I have no idea why he can do so (laughs). Thoughts on the future of music for animation and video games Do you have any suggestions for the future of the animation and video game industries as a watcher of the industries for the last 20 years? KOSAKI: Several very talented young composers have emerged in the field of the music for songs. I think that more and more will emerge from the digital native generation. This has something to do with what I said earlier, but when I look at the array of characteristic Japanese pop music artists, the world of animation songs is not allowed to sit back and remain unchanged, I think. I also feel that music media will continue shifting from CDs to distribution and subscription. In fact, distributed music has already become much easier to listen to. What’s more, it is possible for listeners to access subscribed music sites with their smartphones and create their own playlists to enjoy music more. If you hear a music piece on the street and feel it interesting, you can use a music recognition app to catch and listen to it right away... It is absolutely right for listeners to be exposed to unknown music in that way. As a music creator, I want to continue the culture of packaging objects such as CDs. I also feel the biggest problem with music distribution and subscription is that credits are not listed properly. We should know who made the music and who is playing, and it can lead you to have an interest in more music. Actually, I often buy CDs just to know that. Neglecting that matter and distributing only sound sources are not a welcome trend for the future of music. It’s really strange that we can get less information than we did in the analog record era, even though we live in the society where so many advanced information devices are present. Let us hear some advice for the next generation of animation and game music creators who will follow in your footsteps. KOSAKI: The most important thing is to listen to music. Regardless of whether or not you are a creator or aim to be a creator, you should aim to be a top-notch listener first. If you don’t have a good sense of listening, you won’t be able to have drawers in your mind to store various music and knowledge, and you won’t be able to judge the quality of your own work. As I just said, we live in an age where we can listen to any kind of music in the world with just a single smartphone, so I suggest you listen to as much music as you can and develop a solid ear. I have one more thing. Although the advent of DTM and vocaloid has lowered the hurdles to creating music, the traditional academic field, including music theory, still means a lot. It is a discipline that systematically clarifies the human senses and their functions in relation to sound and music, and I think music creators should have the knowledge. Many creators naturally acquire the knowledge, but I strongly believe that you can acquire it faster by studying it. If you have any doubts about your music creation, I recommend you study it first. It doesn’t take so long. I say so based on my own experience. My point is, the hurdles to making music have been lowered, but the music world is as wide and deep as it used to be. In order to find and secure your place in the music world, you should listen to music and study properly. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-4_Q5A3432.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17936" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-4_Q5A3432.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-4_Q5A3432-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2-4_Q5A3432-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />“I suggest that young creators aim to become top-notch listeners of music, first of all,” KOSAKI said. Thank you very much for your time today. Lastly, tell us about your plan for music creation in the future. KOSAKI: It’s been almost 20 years since I worked on video game music. The situation of video games and their music has changed a lot. But I feel the change interesting. Recently, I worked on a Chinese app game. If I have a chance, I want to work on video game music once again. As another goal, I want to work on the music for live-action movies. Its world is deep and involves different approaches from animation music. I also want to create the music for an NHK serial morning drama and further an NHK taiga serial historical drama. This is the path that many senior and rival composers have taken, and I want to do it myself. I’m aware I must bear great responsibility. I also must overcome gastric perforation [to be caused by the resulting mental stress] (laughs). (notes) *1 SAGISU Shiro is a composer, arranger, and producer, born in 1957. SAGISU has been active in a wide range of musical fields since the 1970s, including fusion, pop, idol star songs, animation songs, and incidental music. His representative works include songs for such singers as KOIZUMI Kyoko, KAWAI Naoko, NAKAMORI Akina, and Misia; and music for the animation Fushigi no Umi no Nadia (Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water) (1990 –1991), and the animation series Evangelion Shin-Gekijoban (Rebuild of Evangelion). *2 KANNO Yoko is a composer, arranger, and producer, born in 1963. KANNO made her debut as a professional composer in 1985 with music for the PC game Sangokushi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms). Around the same time, she also played keyboard as a member of the rock band Tetsu 100%. Her representative works include the animation Cowboy Bebop (1998), the animation Kokaku Kidotai: Stand Alone Complex (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) (2002 –2003), and the animation Macross F (Macross Frontier) (2008). *3 YAMASHITA Kosuke is a composer and arranger, born in 1974. YAMASHITA studied under HANEDA Kentaro at Tokyo College of Music. He has created music for a variety of video works, including live-action films, video games, animation, and tokusatsu (special effects) works. His representative works include the movie Tenkosei: Sayonara, Anata (Switching: Goodbye Me) (2007), the video game series Nobunaga no Yabo (Nobunaga’s Ambition), the tokusatsu work Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger the Movie: Soratobu Yureisen (Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger the Movie: The Flying Ghost Ship) (2011), and the animation series Chihayafuru. *4 IZUTSU Akio is a composer and musician, born in 1977. While working as a solo overdubbing unit Fab Cushion, IZUTSU has also composed music for advertisements and incidental music. His representative works include the drama Kaibutsu-kun (2010), the drama Tokusatsu Gagaga (2019), and the animation series Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle (Phi Brain: Puzzle of God). *5 SAWANO Hiroyuki is a composer, arranger, and lyricist, born in 1980. SAWANO mainly composes incidental music for dramas, animation, and movies, and also creates music for artists. His representative works include the drama series Iryu: Team Medical Dragon, the film and animation series Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), the animation Kill la Kill (2013–2014), and the movie Mobile Suit Gundam: Senko no Hathaway (Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash) (2021). *6 YOKOYAMA Masaru is a composer and arranger, born in 1982. YOKOYAMA began to be active as a professional composer while still a student at Kunitachi College of Music. His representative works include the movie series Chihayafuru, the movie AI Hokai (AI Amok) (2020), the animation series Arakawa Under the Bridge, the animation series Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) (2015–2017), and the drama Warotenka (Laugh It Up!) (2017). *7 KANNO Yugo is a composer and producer, born in 1977. KANNO has created music for movies, advertisements, and artists since he was a student at Tokyo College of Music. His representative works include the drama series Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de (The After-Dinner Mysteries) (2011), the taiga serial historical drama Gunshi Kanbei (Strategist Kanbei (2014), the serial morning drama Hanbun, Aoi. (Half blue) (2018), and the animation Gundam: G no Reconguista (Gundam Reconguista in G) (2014–2015), and the animation JoJo no Kimyo na Boken: Diamond wa Kudakenai (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable) (2016). *8 SUEHIRO Kenichiro is a composer and arranger, born in 1980. SUEHIRO has been active in bands since he was in his teens. He studied compositional techniques and orchestration under IWASHIRO Taro and OSAWA Akinori. His representative works include the drama series Yamikin Ushijima-kun (Ushijima the Loan Shark), the drama Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu (The Full-Time Wife Escapist) (2016), the animation series Golden Kamuy and the animation series En En no Shobotai (Fire Force). He often collaborates with MAYUKO and KAMISAKA Kyosuke. *9 HAYASHI Yuki is a composer and arranger, born in 1980. HAYASHI is a former athlete for Men’s Rhythmic Gymnastics. He started his composer’s career by creating accompanying music for rhythmic gymnastics. His representative works include the drama series Doctors: Saikyo no Meii (Doctors: The Ultimate Surgeon), the serial morning drama Asa ga Kita (Asa has come) (2015), the movie Boku dake ga Inai Machi (Erased) (2016), the animation Kirakira☆Precure a la Mode (Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode) (2017) and the animation Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia) (2016–2017). *10 OISHI Masayoshi is a singer-songwriter and composer, born in 1980. OISHI made his major label debut with the band Sound Schedule in 2001. After it disbanded, he has been active under the names OISHI Masayoshi as a solo artist, and OISHIMASAYOSHI as an artist for animation and video games. His representative works include the opening theme song Yokoso Japari Park e (Welcome to Japari Park) (lyrics, composition, and arrangement) for the animation Kemono Friends (2017), and the opening theme song Union (lyrics, composition, and singing) for the animation SSSS.Gridman (2018). *11 TABUCHI Tomoya is a lyricist, composer, and bassist, born in 1985. TABUCHI made his major label debut in 2008 with the band Unison Square Garden and has also created music for many animation and voice actors. TABUCHI has worked on many opening theme songs of animation as the band’s activities, including Orion wo Nazoru (Tracing Orion) (lyrics and composition) for Tiger & Bunny (2011), Sakura no Ato (all quartets lead to the?) (lyrics and composition) for Yozakura Quartet: Hananouta (Yozakura Quartet) (2013), and fake town baby (lyrics and composition) for Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront) (2015). *12 The group of creators, supercell, is led by ryo who has been releasing music on video sharing sites since around 2007. The group’s representative works include the ending theme song Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari (The story you don’t know) for the animation Bakemonogatari (Ghostory) (2009), the ending theme song Utakata Hanabi (Fleeting firework) for the animation Naruto: Shippuden (2010), and the opening theme song Giniro Hikosen (Silver airship) for the movie Nerawareta Gakuen (The Aimed School) (2012) (all lyrics, composition, and arrangement by ryo). *13 The music unit, livetune, is led by kz who has been releasing music using the vocaloid Hatsune Miku on video sharing sites since around 2007. In 2008, the unit made its major label debut with Re:package from Victor Entertainment. The unit’s representative works include the opening theme song irony for Ore no Imoto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (aka Oreimo; My younger sister cannot be so pretty) (2010), the opening theme songs FLAT and Sen no Tsubasa (One thousand wings) for the animation Hamatora (2014), and the opening theme song All Over for the animation Maho Shojo Taisen (Magica Wars) (2014) (all lyrics, composition, and arrangement by kz). *14 KAWAI Kenji is a composer and arranger. After playing in the fusion band Muse, KAWAI made his debut as an incidental music composer based at his home recording studio. His representative works include Mobile Police Patlabor the Movie (1989), Ghost in The Shell: Kokaku Kidotai (Ghost in The Shell) (1995), the video game Nobunaga no Yabo Online (Nobunaga’s Ambition Online) (2003), and Kamen Rider Build (2017). KOSAKI Satoru Composer, arranger, and producer, born in Osaka Prefecture. After graduating from the School of Information Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, he worked for Namco Limited (currently Bandai Namco Studios Inc.), before joining MONACA Inc. in the fall of 2005. http://www.monaca.jp/member/ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="666" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17928" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />In March 2020, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his debut as a composer, KOSAKI SATORU 20th Anniversary Selected Works DAWN was released. The photo shows the limited edition (¥7,000 plus tax), which consists of a total of five discs of songs and incidental music. The standard edition (¥3,900 plus tax) consists of three discs of songs. https://kosakisatoru-20th-anniversary.com/ *URL links were confirmed on June 16, 2021. ◀ No. 2 No. 4▶
Pursuing new sounds: Creators of music as media artsNo. 3: KOSAKI Satoru, composer (Part 1)
This is a series of interviews with artists who have pioneered the expression of sounds in the world of media […]
This is a series of interviews with artists who have pioneered the expression of sounds in the world of media arts, including the fields of animation, tokusatsu (special effects), and video games. This time, we interviewed KOSAKI Satoru, who marked the 20th anniversary of his debut in 2020. KOSAKI started his career as a sound creator for a game maker, and later became a composer. Since then, he has created music for blockbuster animation one after another, becoming one of the leading composers of animation songs and incidental music in the 2000s and 2010s. He spoke in detail in an informative manner about various topics, such as secret episodes about creating great hit animation songs and his composition techniques using sounds by music programming (called desktop music or DTM in Japan), a characteristic method used by his generation. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-1_Q5A3369.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17925" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-1_Q5A3369.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-1_Q5A3369-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-1_Q5A3369-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />KOSAKI Satoru Photos: HATAKENAKA Aya (all photos in this article) Encounters with music, animation and video games Please tell us about your first encounter with music when you were a child. KOSAKI: First of all, I started attending an infant course at Yamaha Music School when I was three. I took lessons in rhythm expression, music pitch training and playing the piano and electric organ. I don’t remember much, but I hear that I myself said I wanted to go there. I was only three, so I don’t know why I wanted to go to a music school. It’s probably because I was influenced by TV animation and puppet plays. I especially liked NHK’s Purin Monogatari (Story of Princess Purin Purin) (1979–1982). My parents were not music professionals, but they played the classical guitar. Records of the famous classical guitarist Narciso YEPES, for example, were played on a daily basis at home. My parents played music themselves, too. They also seemed to like baroque music. Of course, Japanese pop songs were also played. My mother liked The Checkers and Anzen Chitai. She often sang their songs while doing housework. So I was already able to play the piano when I was a child, but I didn’t have an idea of becoming a musician. I stopped taking lessons once when I was in the fifth grade. First of all, I hated practicing. Each time I went to class, I was always scolded (laughs). What kind of animation or video games did watch or play as a child? KOSAKI: About animation, I was very impressed by NHK’s early evening programs such as Spoon Obasan (Mrs. Pepper Pot) (1983–1984). I also liked Dr. Slump Arale-chan (1981–1986), Meitantei Holmes (Sherlock Hound) (1984–1985), and other programs that many children would usually watch. About video games, my father had an NEC PC-9801 (released in 1982), so I started playing simple PC games such as pinball when I was still very young. I also played golf games and flight simulation games on my own, even though I didn’t understand them well. I further played role-playing games somehow, such as Xanadu (1985), even though the menu screen was in English and I didn’t understand any of it. At friends’ homes, I naturally played Pyuta (Tomy Tutor) by Tomy Company, Ltd. (currently known as Takara Tomy in Japan) and Family Computer by Nintendo Co., Ltd. I think the first Family Computer software my parents bought for me was probably Dragon Quest II: Akuryo no Kamigami (Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line) (1987). Did you do any musical activities in junior high and senior high schools? KOSAKI: I stopped taking piano lessons, but my interest in music did not fade. I joined the brass band club in junior high school and senior high school and played the trumpet. I don’t really remember why I chose to play the trumpet... It is maybe because it was flashy and I liked it, or maybe an older club member told me to do so. When I joined the club, I even didn’t know well what kind of instruments are used in a brass band. Two years later, I finally realized that the trumpet’s C is different from the piano’s C (laughs). By that time, I had started to listen to the types of music I like, but my choices were diverse. First, I was attracted to fusion music such as Casiopea (currently Casiopea 3rd) and The Square (currently T-Square). As I played musical instruments, I liked bands that played technically sophisticated, instrumental music. I also listened to Japanese pop music such as TM Network and Kome Kome Club, which were popular at the time. Also, I loved MINAMINO Yoko since I was in elementary school, admiring her powerful but melancholic songs. I especially liked their music arranged by HAGITA Mitsuo. That was probably the first time I became aware of the job of arranging music. I often listened to Hikaru Genji, which boys do not listen to very much, as I noticed they had great arrangements with a lot of synthesizer sounds. I think I was more attracted to the systematic, well-constructed sounds rather than songs by singer-songwriters playing accompanying music by themselves. I was also interested in music for video games. As I said earlier, there was a PC-9801 at home, and I was interested in the way of creating music by programming. My father subscribed to a monthly computer magazine Mycom BASIC Magazine. As each issue featured a game music program, I would input the program to let it play. I even put my ears on the casing of a speaker at a game center to hear more clearly (laughs). But actually, I rarely thought of myself becoming a creator up until I finished high school. Starts composing music in a dojin composition circle So, when did you start thinking about creating music? KOSAKI: I was good at math and not good at classical Japanese and Chinese literature. What’s more, I was very interested in cognitive science related to human vision and hearing, so I entered Kyoto University to study at the Faculty of Engineering’s School of Information Science. I joined a brass band at the university as I wanted to continue playing music. When looking around to find how other circles are like, I got interested in a circle called Yoshida Ongaku Seisakujo (Yoshida Music Works), which was a kind of light music club for original music only. It was similar to what we would call a dojin composition circle today. I went to their welcome concert for new students, which featured a wide variety of music there, including a band playing my favorite fusion, a techno unit like P-Model, and a performance incorporating theatrical elements. I experienced so many types of music that I had never heard before all at once. I was very surprised that they were created by people who were about my age. So I cancelled joining the brass band and joined that club instead, even though I had never made music on my own. At that time, at most of the light music clubs, new members started with cover bands with members playing together and placing greatest importance on the Western pop music. On the other hand, the circle was limited to self-composed music, and its members were science-oriented people who liked making things fanatically. In a word, the circle suited me very much. When I entered university, I was given a Roland JV-1000 synthesizer (released in 1993) combining a sound source with a sequencer (a programming device that automatically plays music). For the first time, I had an environment for making music by “uchikomi” (programming for automatic performance). I added a four-channel multi-track recorder (MTR) for cassette tapes before joining the activities of the composition circle. It was around at the dawn of consumer products that are capable of creating what is now called DTM (or desktop music) at reasonable quality. But as I mentioned earlier, the circle did a wide variety of music genres. So I formed a band and did all genres of music, such as songs for idol stars, heavy metal, noise music, jazz, funk, and so on systematically, not specializing in uchikomi-type synthesized music. When we decided to do jazz next, for example, we would listen to a lot of jazz CDs to learn from them and then put their essence into our work. We intended to have people enjoy our ideas and arrangements as producer-musicians as a band, rather than showing off our singing or playing skills. I listened to every genre of music and arranged music following its style. I think I trained a lot through those activities during this period. But I did not delve deeply into a single interest. Because of this, I had a hard time in later years (laughs). I’ve heard that you made music for an independent film when in university. KOSAKI: YAMAMOTO Yutaka, who is currently active as a film and animation director, is an old friend of mine. We were classmates at high school and went to the same university. When the animation circle he belonged to made an independent film, I was asked to make music for it. It’s Onnen Sentai Ressentiment (Grudge squadron Ressentiment) (1997, planned, directed, and edited by YAMAMOTO Yutaka). For some reason, they even made me play the role of an evil leader. I’m really embarrassed about it now (laughs). The film has a complicated nature. It is a parody of Aikoku Sentai Dai Nippon (Patriot squadron Great Japan) (1982, director: AKAI Takami, mechanical design: ANNO Hideaki, and production: DAICON FILM), which is an amateur tokusatsu film and itself a parody of the Super Sentai tokusatsu series by Toei Company, Ltd. I think that was my first incidental music for a video work. Around that time, to make music, I each time listened to existing music pieces first and imitated their styles. I decided on a music genre and then incorporated its characteristic expressions, such as tones and chords. As I had no formal music education, my ability to imitate was not so high. I rarely use music paper. I just write part scores to convey to the band members how and what to play before playing live. In fact, I’ve never composed music on music paper. When I was in university, I worked part-time to get more and more equipment, such as Roland’s XP-50 synthesizer (released in 1995), AKAI’s S3000XL sampler (released in 1996), and Roland’s VS-880 digital MTR (released in 1996). In particular, having the S3000XL expanded the genres available for my music. When I joined the composition circle, it already had senior and alumni members who had joined it in the last decade or so. Circle members published a demo tape of their works once a month, and alumni members also participated in it, so I was able to interact with those members. I was inspired by some works of former members having full-time work, which were beyond the level of university students. We also published a newsletter that included our own reviews on the works in the demo tape. I learned a lot from reviews on my works. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-2_Q5A3441.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17926" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-2_Q5A3441.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-2_Q5A3441-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-2_Q5A3441-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />KOSAKI says that he started composing music in a university circle. Giving full attention to music as work After graduating from university, you had a job at a game maker. KOSAKI: I vaguely wanted to have a job related to music. In my job-hunting activities, I took employment exams at record companies and musical instrument manufacturers such as Yamaha Corporation and Roland Corporation. At job interviews, I gave a presentation on my idea for an automatic mastering function using artificial intelligence. At the time, they just laughed and said, “We don’t need such a thing.” In recent years, it has been becoming a hot new technology in the music industry. After 20 years, I say, in my mind, “I told you at that time!” (laughs). I eventually received a job offer from the game maker Namco Limited. I had submitted to the company a demo tape of my compositions from my university days. I had always liked the music of sound creator SANO Nobuyoshi (*1), who was in charge of the Ridge Racer series and the Tekken series of Namco, so I decided to work for Namco, hoping to work with him. At Namco at that time, music composition was not separated from sound effects (SE) production, so I did everything related to sound in video games, including voice recording by voice actors and overall post production audio work (called multi-audio or MA in Japan). I was first assigned to creating the BGM for a puzzle game Aqua Rush (2000) as an on-the-job training. It was completely different from the music creation method that I knew. I had my hands full learning about development environments and how to incorporate music into video games. It was the period of transition from the conventional system of generating sounds by programming to the new system of streaming playback of recorded audio. The video game music industry was experiencing a great change. Since Aqua Rush still played sounds by the programming method, I composed its music by making a huge table of numbers using Excel spreadsheet. I had done similar work on the PC-9801 when I was in junior and senior high school, so the task itself was not so difficult for me. The biggest difference in composing music at a university club and at a job is that music composed as a job needs to meet orders. I need to make sounds and music to meet specifications and requirements and deliver each work by the deadline. If it doesn’t meet the idea of the client, they will ask you to modify or simply reject it. How much you are confident in your proposal, it may be easily overturned by any perception gap between you and the client. I take it for granted now, but I experienced it for the first time at the time. I was also surprised by overwhelmingly high-quality works by my senior colleagues. For example, when making a techno-style song, the work by a senior colleague who knew better about techno was much cooler than mine. With my experience at university, I was confident of cleverly handling a variety of genres, but I realized again that I lacked sufficiently deep understanding for each genre and it was an obstacle for me. As I said earlier, the problem was caused by that I had not delved deeply into a single interest, that is, I had been involved in various genres of music widely but shallowly. From that point on, I started listening to all genres of music and studied them from scratch all over again. I’m ashamed to say this, but I listened to The Beatles very seriously for the first time at that time. I had thought that their music is a part of the artistic culture and is not on the same ground as my music. But as I listened to it more, I realized more that many things have their roots in the group’s music. I finally became aware of the historical connection of music around that time. What are particularly memorable works with Namco for you? KOSAKI: The most memorable work is the puzzle game Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan (Word puzzle) (2001) as it is the first video game, I was responsible for everything. Although it is a puzzle game, I incorporated a lot of songs and Shibuya-kei (Shibuya-style) sounds into the work. When I listen to it again now, I feel I did what I wanted to do as I just wanted to do. As I just told you, I made the work during my intensive study period, I feel a naked part in my core was exposed in the work. I also meant that work to pay tribute to the good, old Namco sounds by reproducing the sounds of early Namco titles I had loved as a child, such as Pac-Man (1980), Mappy (1983), and Druaga no To (The Tower of Druaga) (1984), by tracing back to their waveforms by programmable sound generators (PSG, or electronic circuits for creating video game sounds) used around their time. Another memorable project was the music for the Tekken fighting game series. I first participated in the series from the Tekken Tag Tournament (1999), then worked on Tekken 4 (2001), Tekken 5 (2004), and up to Tekken Dark Resurrection (2006). I was involved in the series for a long period of time. The series much used relatively hard techno, breakbeats, and rock crossover (called “mixture rock” in Japan). They were not my fortes, to be honest. But I learned from SANO Nobuyoshi and other experienced colleagues how to create music in such genres while maintaining their qualities. I’m not the type of composer who creates melodies as if suddenly falling down from the heaven into their mind. I start with conceiving a comprehensive framework, such as an overall sound image, genre, and scenes to express and matching sounds. I am also very particular about melodies, so even if I feel a certain melody is not special and boring at first, I improve it through trials and errors spending time. First, I create a melody by humming while playing the piano, record it as data in the sequencer, and then tweak it note by note, while asking to myself, “Should I raise or lower here?” until eliminating any odd parts and modifying mediocre parts. I spend much time doing the process. So I think I could not have become a professional composer without DTM, the tool that can create music while simulating various possibilities. I’m envious of people who are able to suddenly come up with melodies and compose music on music paper. I think I’m an opposite type of composer to TANAKA Kohei (*2), who was featured in this series in the previous time (laughs). <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-3_Q5A3409.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17927" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-3_Q5A3409.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-3_Q5A3409-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-3_Q5A3409-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />KOSAKI said: “I’m not the type of composer who creates melodies as if suddenly falling down from the heaven in their mind.” First animation involved as a freelance became a big hit You left Namco in 2005 and became freelance. Why did you make the decision? KOSAKI: I more and more wanted to do something challenging outside my workplace and seeking other possibilities for myself. To tell the truth, while still working for Namco, I had entered competitions for works for Japanese pop music artists, and failed in all of them (laughs). Eventually, YAMAMOTO Yutaka, who was with Kyoto Animation Co., Ltd. at the time, asked me to make the music for the original video animation (OVA) work MUNTO Toki no Kabe wo Koete (Munto: Beyond the Walls of Time) (2005). Around the time, OKABE Keiichi (*3), who was my boss at Namco, established the music production company MONACA Inc., and asked me to work with him. So I left Namco and joined MONACA to start working freelance. Right afterward, you worked on the great hit TV animation Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) (2006). KOSAKI: Right. I was very surprised that I had such a big hit as soon as I became freelance. Even though I’d had worked with YAMAMOTO and Kyoto Animation before, I was still a new face with little experience. I’m still grateful they chose me. I think this work was a great leap for Kyoto Animation, too. I was very pleased to be able to join the work. At the time, I just simply worked hard to do what I was able to do. I was basically in charge of the incidental music. As there would be several insert songs, I naturally worked on them. One of them, God knows..., became a big hit unexpectedly, ranking fifth on the Oricon weekly singles chart. I appreciate Kyoto Animation people’s careful drawing of the band’s performance scene. It was also amazing that the record company in charge decided and prepared to release its CD as soon as the episode with the song was broadcast on TV. As I said, this kind of band sound was totally an unfamiliar genre for me. I needed to study very hard to write God knows.... What is more, it was the first experience for me to ask musicians to come to the studio to record in a band format. I even didn’t know much about how to write the parts for the recording. Honestly, I was very nervous (laughs). About God knows..., many people may feel its guitar performance is impressive. I can’t play the guitar, and guitar sound is the most difficult to express by uchikomi programming as it doesn’t have a good affinity with DTM. I often have no idea about how the finished work will be like until I hear the guitarist play it in the studio. For God knows..., I employed the guitarist, NISHIKAWA Susumu, and said to him: “It’s for an alien high school girl named NAGATO to play, so make it a cool, very technically demanding phrase.” He understood my brief explanation and quickly created and played the intro phrase on the spot. It was amazing. We had only three musicians, NISHIKAWA with the bassist TANEDA Takeshi and the drummer ODAWARA Yutaka. Their performances stood out to each other and there was no surplus sound. An ideal balance required for good band sounds was achieved instantly. I was speechless in the corner of the studio, while watching their prompt work and enormous power (laughs). It is important for players of the wind and string instruments to play exactly as written on the sheet music. On the other hand, we expect the rhythm section, such as electric guitar, electric bass and drums, to exert their unique musical characteristics as much as possible. They know how to do it. I’d never experienced drastically enhancing the perfection level of a work of mine in the studio with the help of musicians that much. So the recording was really exciting for me. This work changed my life in every sense. (notes) *1 SANO Nobuyoshi is a game music composer and former sound creator for Namco. He is current president of DETUNE Ltd. He is also active under the names SANO Denji and sanodg. *2 TANAKA Kohei is a composer who has created music for many animation and video games. His representative works include music for the video game Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) (1996), the animation ONE PIECE (1999 –), and the opening theme song JoJo: Sono Chi no Sadame (JoJo: His Blood Destiny) for the animation JoJo no Kimyo na Boken (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) (2012). For details, please refer to Pursuing new sounds: Creators of music as media arts No. 1: TANAKA Kohei, composer (Part 1). https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-18563/ *3 OKABE Keiichi is a composer, producer, and former sound creator at Namco. He established MONACA Inc. in 2004. His representative works include the video game series Tekken, the video game series Taiko no Tatsujin, the animation series Working!! and the animation series Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru (Yuki Yuna is a Hero), and the video game series NieR. KOSAKI Satoru Composer, arranger, and producer, born in Osaka Prefecture. After graduating from the School of Information Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, he worked for Namco Limited (currently Bandai Namco Studios Inc.), before joining MONACA Inc. in the fall of 2005. http://www.monaca.jp/member/ <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="666" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17928" srcset="https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469.jpg 1000w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469-300x200.jpg 300w, https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/mediag_wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-42-5_Q5A3469-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />In March 2020, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his debut as a composer, KOSAKI SATORU 20th Anniversary Selected Works DAWN was released. The photo shows the limited edition (¥7,000 plus tax), which consists of a total of five discs of songs and incidental music. The standard edition (¥3,900 plus tax) consists of three discs of songs. https://kosakisatoru-20th-anniversary.com/ *URL links were confirmed on June 16, 2021. ◀ No. 2 No. 4▶