Author: Voice Recorder/Anitama Cover Source: Masaaki Iogene
Viewers who have been chasing the Pokémon anime series should notice every few words that the list of end credits is impressively written "Original Painting: Yamanone Iogen". With his extremely fast painting speed and stable painting quality, Masaaki Iogen has been acting as a painting supervisor and original painting since the early stage of pokémon animation, and more often participated as a "one-person original painting". In addition, you can see some interesting funny memes in Iogen's return, and although it is not common in pokémon animations, Iogen also draws mechanical parts. This time, Anitama conducted an exclusive interview with Masaaki Iogen, an indispensable original artist in the Pokémon animated series, and asked about his past experiences and present.
Masaaki Iogene's study
——It is a great honor for Mr. Masaaki Iogene to take the time to be interviewed by Anitama. I follow pokémon anime every week, and my first exposure to the anime series was when Chinese mainland was first introduced. The Pokémon anime was first launched in 1997, almost a year after the release of the ancestor's game Pokémon Red and Green. First of all, Iwane-sensei, did you already play Pokémon at that time?
Iogen hadn't played the game yet. I started playing Pearl & Diamond, and then I went back to playing the past few.
- Do you remember what you first participated in?
Iogen's participation as the original painting is in episode 3, and I was responsible for a series of shots such as catching the green caterpillar.
——Have you been in the industry for more than 10 years at that time?
Iogen is more than 10 years old, it should be 20 years.
- Have you loved animation since you were a child? Which works were originally affected?
Iogen's original influence was probably Demon God Z. (In addition to "Demon God Z", I also watched a lot, but at that time, it was still small, and I watched what was broadcast on TV) The real influence on me should be "Space Battleship Yamato". That being said, the TV series that didn't initially watch Space Battleship Yamato was made up when the "Yamato craze" came.
——Then what was the reason why you began to dream of the profession of original painter? Where did you learn about this profession?
Iogen saw the introduction to the daicon3 opening animation on Animage, and I thought that I would do my own animation in the future. In high school, I began to draw gourds like this, and I started to animate with 8mm film, and from that time on, I thought it was very interesting to make my paintings move, and I wanted to become an original artist.
- Have you ever drawn a comic?
Iogen also thought about becoming a manga artist before he became an original artist, so when he was a student, he drew a little, but he didn't draw much. Some of them were left straight aside before they were finished, and some of the drawings (including comics and illustrations) were thrown away by me, and I don't know how many there are.
--After graduating from the Animation Department of osaka designers college, you went directly to Tokyo and entered Studio COCKPIT(※).
Iogen went to Tokyo at that time because of a private family affair, entered Studio Cockpit for 4 months and then returned to Osaka, went to the printing company for 8 months, resigned, and returned to Studio Cockpit, and sure enough, he still wanted to draw animation, so he did not hesitate.
※ Studio Cockpit: A small-scale studio set up by Yuji Asada and Masaaki Iogen, who are labeled as katakana in Japanese, and retained the name of "Cockpit" (こくクこト, which Masaaki Izune used to belong to, after disbanding in 2016, based on the performers Yuji Asada and Masaaki Iwane, who also participated in the Pokémon anime series, and retained the name of "Cockpit" ("こくぴっと" in Japanese as a hiragana) according to their wishes, and only undertook the painting of Pokémon.
Why did you choose Studio Cockpit?
When Iogen watched "Space Battleship Yamato Ending", he noticed the production list at the end of the film, and the first person in the drawing cooperation was Studio Cockpit. At that time, "Yamato" was over, but I thought that there would be a new work soon, "If I joined this company, I would have a chance to paint "Yamato", so I chose them.
Incidentally, in second place is Monsieur Onion, which would probably go there if it was brushed off by Studio Cockpit.
In fact, when I went to Studio Cockpit, I went to Toei Animation and Studio Pierrot, and to make a long story, (the result was brushed down) I finally went to Studio Cockpit.
- What was the first job I received?
Iogen's first job, strictly speaking, was when he worked at Anime R at a vocational school to draw the middle sheet between "Mecha Garian" and "Lensman", and officially entered the industry at Studio Cockpit's middle sheet for "Silver Teeth – Meteor Silver-".
- When did you start painting the original paintings?
Exactly 2 years passed after Iogen entered Studio Cockpit, in the spring. (Probably 22 years old) Because I had been painting the middle sheet for too long, I was asked to draw the original painting, and at the time of "Fluttering Little Spirit Fairy" (どろろんぱっ!) and "Gatapisi" (ガタピシ) were all-inclusive, and there was still a period of time before the full-time original painting.
- In the animation industry, is there anyone you call Master?
I don't know about Ikune's other companies, but when I entered Studio Cockpit, I had to be guided by a painting supervisor, so there was no specific master. However, at that time, because I was supervising the painting and performing on TV, I could almost see the names of Kaneda (Ikun) and Yunaga (Kazuhide), so I should have been influenced by them to some extent, and it can be said that everyone except me is my teacher.
——What was the opportunity to receive the original drawing work for the Pokémon anime?
Iogen remembered correctly, it was after the final painting of "Cosmic Hairball" (モジャ公) was over, and the entire production team began to prepare for the next work, which was Pokémon.
——After that, I was responsible for the original painting of one person, right?
Iogen is right, the original painting of one person was originally in the 58th episode of the original Pokémon "Decisive Battle!" Red Lotus Dojo" At that time, Tatsumi Tamagawa (now renamed Tatsumi Ito), the painting supervisor of the studio Cockpit's drawing team in Pokémon, went to be the painting supervisor of Pikachu's Summer Vacation (a short film released at the same time as the 1998 "Theatrical Pokémon Super Dream Counterattack"), because after the film's work was over, there had to be someone to take the TV class, (at that time, Studio Cockpit was in charge of Pokémon). The original painting was only Tamagawa and me) so I was left alone.
--So since then, I have painted the original painting of one person, and the reason for sticking to it for so many years is?
When I started to enter the industry, I saw that someone could draw the original painting of a person, and I thought" "The cow's not ok, I also want to try", at that time, there were not many people who could draw, and I thought not to miss this opportunity, which has continued until now.
——Is the number of original paintings of one person basically limited? How does it compare to the usual number of words?
Iogen can't say how much, but it doesn't make any difference compared to the number of other words. The same will be true for works other than Pokémon, "it must be within this number anyway", but this restriction will probably be reduced in the future.
- By the way, the unit price is the same.
The roots are exactly the same as the other words.
——I visually measured, probably every 6 times there is a person you are responsible for the original painting back, how long does it take to complete a word?
Iogen has to draw other words here, and sometimes interspersed with theatrical version of unconventional painting work, so I don't know how long it takes to complete a sentence, and the time to complete each time is about the same, and the beginning and end may be about 6 weeks.
--------------------------------- How did you overcome such a situation? Especially the case of the important back.
Iogen I will try my best to catch up with the schedule, because I have to help with other words, and I will adjust it within the range of possible completions.
——Which is the best and the hardest Pokémon on Iogen-sensei's hand?
In terms of the number of appearances Iogen has made, Pikachu and Goku Owaki have drawn more, so it has become easier to draw. If you want to talk about pokémon that are difficult to draw, it is simply because there are more lines.
- What about the character aspect?
Iogen, including the factor of painting habits, should be Xiao Zhi's best at it, although the number of paintings may be similar, but I always feel that the two members of the Rocket Team are not very good at painting.
- Is there a style of painting that you particularly like?
Iogen is specific to "which one" is not, the more favorite words should be "Show Trick Magician" and "Magician Orpheus" (is it too old?). ）
Although you are focused on the work of the Pokémon animation, you have also taken on some other original painting work in recent years, such as "Space Battleship Yamato 2199" and the sequel "2202", and you really like "Yamato". What was the opportunity for these two works to participate?
When Iogen was working on the original painting of the 10th episode of "2199", it happened that BONES also had the original painting work of other works to find me, and I just said to the gossip, "I'm sorry, I'm too busy to help you... But if it was Yamato, I could have done a little bit. Unexpectedly, the other party replied, "In fact, now we also have the work of receiving "Yamato". So he resolutely replied, "Please make sure I draw!" As a result, I refused the job I had originally invited to take on the original painting of the Yamato. Because Mr. Masanaga (Jisuke), who used to belong to Studio Cockpit, drew the original painting of episode 20, I also drew this time.
"2202" was introduced by an acquaintance to help.
——Not only is the original painting work of this part, but the opening and ending of "Pokémon" are sometimes the original paintings of one person you are responsible for. Do these works overlap with the original painting work in this article?
The roots are completely overlapped. Therefore, the work on the Pokémon side is often done at the same time by several original paintings.
At the end of the previous series, the new series will be followed soon, and not only the character design but also the pokémon design will change. How do you see these changes in painting style?
Iogen actually has no resistance to these changes in painting style, but it is really not easy to get used to painting. The period of the biggest change was "XY", "Sun & Moon", "THE ORIGIN", the style of the three works changed very much, and at that time the work was still overlapping, I could only think of getting as close as possible to my own painting style, from the heart, this is really not easy, but I still want to paint like it.
- Is there a case of being retaken?
Iogen's original painting in Pokémon has hardly been reworked. But sometimes, I find that after editing, there are still some "parts" that miss the picture, expression, and position of the station.
--Will you also focus on the work of original painting and painting supervision in the future? Because you've also painted mirrors and performed in the past, do you want to move on to these aspects later?
Iogen, I just want to try everything, especially when I was young, I was interested in any position, and I tried to challenge it. It turned out that I really didn't have the talent to perform in this area, and the point was that it wasn't as interesting as I thought. I still prefer to make the painting move, and I probably won't actively do other work in the future.
In recent years, OLM has begun to make various attempts in digital painting. Although the celluloid painting that used to be the mainstream is no longer there, and the process of coloring is completely digitized, the vast majority of the painting is still retained on paper and then scanned, such a "paper painting" element. Have you ever tried Paperless Painting? What do you think about the pros and cons of digitalization?
Iogen I'm still only interested in digital painting, and if I work, I used Toon Boom to paint "Do You Archaeology?" 》（ピカイア!! The opening credits for the second season of this anime.
Although digital painting in the original painting has also begun to increase, but to do the work of supervision and inspection, the middle sheet has to return to the paper, and some aspects have improved efficiency, but there are still old methods in some places, and if it can be fully digitized, the future work will become easier.
But for the "painting" point, I still prefer to use paper and pencil, only this point hopes to be preserved, and I myself am constantly struggling with this problem.
You're also working on Toon Boom, Blender, After Effects, what do you think?
Iogen was also very interested in 3DCG, and I was wondering if I could use all this software in animation production, but when RETAS STUDIO was first launched around 10 years ago, the price was too expensive, and now I can finally afford it, so I buy it to try various things. But RETAS STUDIO, with the exception of PaintMan (coloring module), was almost useless at work, so it bought After Effects and borrowed Toon Boom from OLM to teach itself. 3DCG I actually want MAYA more, but it's too expensive, so I have to use Blender.
How many parts of Pokémon currently airing use digital painting?
Although Iogen only knows the number of words I am responsible for, I can't answer the specific amount, but I heard that it is more than in the past.
- So, are there more people who want to be original painters than before?
Iogen now I belong to the "Cockpit" can only draw people seem to be me, but I don't want to pull people in, other companies I don't know very well, but I always think there will not be much, right? After all, the treatment is there.
——In your opinion, what are the necessary qualifications and abilities that need to be a original painter?
If Iogen can continue to paint all day and don't feel pressured, I think this is a very important qualification.
- Do you still have time to watch animation after working so much? What other animations are you watching besides Pokémon? Is there a favorite type?
Iogene now opens Amazon Prime Video or Netflix while working. Particularly favorite type... Nothing.
——What do you think "one-person original painting" needs special attention to?
Iogen painting probably doesn't need to pay attention to it, but if one person draws the original painting, you must not be lazy in the middle, otherwise you will cause other parts to stop because you are alone, in short, you have to continue to draw every day, which I think is more important.
——So, what are the points that need special attention in the supervision of painting?
In the case of Iogen's original painting, the focus is not on whose painting to repair, but to try to make this portrait set up, which is probably the only point of attention.
On the side of Pokémon, although I have been a painting supervisor to repair the original painting several times, I will still let the painting style become my habitual painting style because the time is too fast, so I can't say that I am a good painting supervisor.
- Can you tell us anything about the Pokémon anime that particularly impressed you?
Iogen is also a long story, if you want to say that you are particularly impressed, you are when you draw the special episode of the 4 episodes of "The Strongest MEGA Evolution". Others, including the too tired factor, include Pokémon Secret Base (a 2003 short film released at the same time as pokémon in the theater Pokémon Seven Nights of Wishing Star Kira Prayer).
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO CHALLENGE IN THE FUTURE?
Iogen is now looking back, surrounded by a production crew younger than me, and surrounded by them, if I can continue to paint Pokémon, then I am satisfied.
——There are also many students in China who are interested in doing animation, can you give them some opinions and suggestions?
Iogen I have also seen a lot of Chinese animation on the Internet, although amateur but well drawn, those smooth animations I see I am stunned, which can give what advice and suggestions ah, I myself saw those are also surprised.
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Iogen actually don't know exactly how many people in China started watching anime from Pokémon, but as long as you can happily immerse yourself in the 30-minute animation world, I think it's enough.
Not to mention this, even knowing that there are so many people in China who know about painters like me is enough to shock me. Please pay more attention to Japanese animation (especially Pokémon) in the future.
Finally, thank you very much for taking the time to be interviewed by Anitama.
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Original: m.anitama.cn/article/ae699abf0a6ea76f?utm_source=toutiao