I’ve attempted to translate an interview Toshiyuki Inoue gave to the NHK about his long standing inspiration Yoshiji Kigami, who died in the Kyoto Animation fire.
For those playing at home: Inoue has drawn some of your favorite scenes in your favorite anime movies, and Kigami is a big part of the reason why Kyoto Animation can do what they do.
Together, they are two of the best animators to ever live.
Among the named victims of the Kyoto Animation arson was one Yoshiji Kigami (61). He was a long-serving veteran of the Japanese animation industry, taking part in numerous productions, drawing key animation for the Doraemon movies, Grave of the Fireflies, and Akira, among many more. He aided Kyoto Animation’s productions when needed, and additionally put great effort into the training of young talent.
In response, Toshiyuki Inoue (58) has given an interview to the NHK, and we have recorded his comments in text. He himself is among Japan’s best animators, and worked alongside Kigami in the 80s.
Q: How did you meet Kigami?
The TV anime Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1985) was directed by someone at the studio where I was attached at the time (though I was not part of its staff). That’s how I was exposed to Kigami’s animation, and told about his excellent work. His animation was bold and lively and free, yet precise. I was absolutely flabbergasted by how delicate and tidy each and every frame was in spite of how quickly he’d worked. We worked together on Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2: The Heroes who Soar Upon the Heavens (1986), The Foxes of Chironup (1987), and Akira (1988). We were only ever in the same room during production meetings, so we never got a chance to talk, but so impressed was I by the quality of his work that from then on, I took him on as my lifetime one-sided rival, or I should rather say, I made him the goal to which I’d aspire.
Q: What kind of animator was Kigami?
Before I entered the industry, I aspired to many different animators, but once I entered the industry, he became my first concrete goal. He struck me as a true professional with his skill and speed, and I couldn’t match him in either respect. Even today 20 years later, I find that in some ways I still don’t measure up to him. As a matter of fact, I have three of his cuts from The Foxes of Chironup that I show to the younger folk every time I work someplace new. They may be 30 years old, but I think they serve as a fine goal from the standpoint of a modern animator too.
Q: Do you have any particular memories of his talent or personality?
We couldn’t speak during the meetings, so I felt that I should reach out somehow. I made a go of it at a preview screening (a screening for staff before a movie opens), but I didn’t see him there after all. When I asked the director about it, he said Kigami doesn’t go to previews, which was a real shock. These events are an opportunity to see where your own work fails and succeeds (before it opens), and going into an opening without having seen it first is bad for my heart. Kigami showed his confidence by not going – by saying “nah, I don’t even need to check.” That’s how it seemed to me.
Q: How would you characterize the influence Kigami had on Kyoto Animation and the world of anime at large?
From the outset, the professionalism (in the sense I aspire to) with which the staff did their job, borne by their own technical prowess, was unmistakable. Kigami was the one who taught them those things which I hold most important – that marriage of skill and swiftness – and I think it’s clear that these things have taken root in KyoAni. That’s what comes across more than anything else in KyoAni’s work. They could’ve never made what they made otherwise. The trend nowadays inclines towards looking for skill in animators; how quick they are doesn’t enter into the equation. The “prompt proficiency” I learned from Kigami was once the mark of a professional, but I feel that world is disappearing. This is another one of the reasons why I’d like to pass down Kigami’s work to the next generation.
Q: Finally, what was your reaction to the incident?
I can’t quite find the words to express how I felt. 35 people were robbed of their life, and many others injured for absolutely selfish reasons. Even if I were to go on and gather my words, they could not suffice to express the senselessness, nor the anger, nor the sadness.
