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Tomino: Story key in Japan's movies

Movement is more important in U.S., anime artist says

By Dusti Rhodes
The Daily Cougar

According to Yoshiyuki Tomino, the principal difference between Japanese and American films is the movement -- or lack thereof.

"(The Japanese) are not looking for movement, we are looking for the story," Tomino, the creator of the popular anime series Gundam, said at the University Hilton on Saturday.

"I think the problem is, people in the industry tend to believe their audience is coming to see movement," Tomino said.

He said that belief leads filmmakers to concentrate less on a story line than on impressing the audience.

"You wind up with something like the third episode in the Matrix series," Tomino said.

Tomino used examples of Japanese art and writing to demonstrate the concepts behind his animes and their links to Japanese culture, pointing to ancient drawings that tell stories without any movement. That's the reason the Japanese are able to see stories in films that don't have flashy visuals, he said.

"The Japanese already had a different approach to visual images ... they had been trained to look at images as text," Tomino said.

The Japanese style of reading and writing also helps the Japanese eye read movement differently, Tomino said. Japanese is read from the top right to the bottom left -- the opposite of English -- and that has taught Japanese filmmakers not to take the way the eye moves for granted, he said.

As for Gundam, Tomino attributed much of the popular series' success to the fact that he was limited in its creation. He said Gundam was the product of restrictions, and that was a large part of the reason it was so successful.

Although Tomino said he did watch other animes while he was working on Gundam, he wasn't directly influenced by them. He said he felt it was important that he does not become a product of his influences.

"I think for a work to be appreciated, it can't be a copy," Tomino said.

And, to answer questions from fans curious about how to succeed in filmmaking and anime, Tomino told them to concentrate on their unique talents.

"If you have a unique ability, then you will be successful," he said.

Tomino's visit to UH was sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan at Houston with support from The Japan Foundation, KamiKazeCon and UH's Anime No Kai.
 

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