The Eccentric Family represents a marvel, not just in regards to the P.A. Works library,
but also in regards to creative adaptation.
At AnimeExpo 2016, P.A. Works President Kenji Horikawa, stated that one of the big reasons
the studio only produces original series and adaptations of novels,
is that they want that freedom to be able to express a product themselves.
The ability to be able to develop a world from scratch and no manga editors slapping
their wrists whenever they come up with something visually extravagant.
And that's what The Eccentric Family is, extravagant, magical, yet is formed out of
the very real city of Kyoto.
It's not a comfortable show at times, but there's love in it.
That's an odd sentence and an even odder sentiment, but the clash of inhuman concepts
is yet another remarkable part of this show and with the second season being released
next season, I'm glad to have an excuse to talk about not just the show, but the
people who helped us fall in love with it.
I've spoken about P.A. Works in the past and even interviewed thestudio's president, but it bears repeating
that the studio is on a quest.
A quest to be able to recruit and train animators so as to be able to produce anime without
having to rely on other companies to chip in and instead using their own contacts and
their own staff to be able to make something that they all can really stand behind and
say "We did this!"
And what could be more "We did this!" than a show not only directed by one of the
founders of the studio, but that founder also leads the studio's animation department.
Masayuki Yoshihara.
There are directors that have a very clear defined vision of a show and will get everyone
to fall in line and pursue that particular vision.
Hayao Miyazaki was famous for this and in reaction, it's now very difficult to find
animators that worked under Miyazaki who actually liked him.
But one of the big reasons that P.A.
Works wants to recruit and train animators and do things in-house is to create a collaborative atmosphere.
"In the future, I want animators who can proactively work on projects like a team and
staff who can discuss the best course of action among themselves.
But these days I've realized that when people work together—especially in a mentor/student
kind of relationship—they feel extremely stressed.
Nevertheless, I understand that the reason why animators feel so mentally fatigued is
because they don't feel that they're actually contributing to the project.
As much as a person can individually temper their skills through work, I believe it is
essential for many staffers to engage with the creators of anime through dialogue.
I want to foster that kind of environment.
I want to create a team that can convey those kinds of ideas.
It's impossible if we shy away from dialogue, after all."
Determining a studio image is vague and generally inconclusive, but the words of its president
tell us a lot more about the aspirations behind every product.
Yoshihara is the other founder of P.A.
Works and after being on loan at Production IG, he returned in 2010, to train the young
animators at the studio and strive for this sort of atmosphere.
The first production they worked on together was Mai's Magic and the Family Day, a 30
minute TV special funded by the local government to show the importance of family bonds, distributed
to schools and kindergartens within the area.
But that wasn't it for our returning hero, because as a part of training young animators,
he participated in the government funded, Young Animator Training Project with a short
called "All-Purpose Vegetable Ninninman" and two years later, he took the animation
director of that show, Kousuke Kawazura and made him the character designer of his first
TV series directorial debut, The Eccentric Family.
But let's cycle back once again, because to understand The Eccentric Family's production,
you've kind of got to understand where P.A.
Works came from.
Both founders are heavily connected to Production IG and during the 10 years where they were
setting up the studio and doing contract work for other teams, they were working with a
lot of people, many of whom ended up working with them on future projects.
The future background director of The Eccentric Family and True Tears, Yusuke Takeda is one
of them.
But the character I wanted to explore more thoroughly is one of the people who worked
alongside both Kenji Horikawa and Masayuki Yoshihara on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone
Complex, Toshiyuki Inoue, the Perfect Animator.
There's some animators that kind of reach a legendary status within the industry.
A point where seeing them attached to a project is a genuine surprise and the only jobs they
end up taking are incredibly high profile.
Or, they're invited by a good friend.
Anime is an industry of connections and Masayuki Yoshihara is very good friends with Toshiyuki
Inoue, meaning that even though, Inoue almost exclusively works on films, he'll also take
the time to work with his friend on P.A.
Works TV shows, a platform he's objectively too good for.
"Toshiyuki Inoue attracted attention in the industry when he debuted with Gu Gu Ganmo.
Since then, he has participated in many renowned projects, including Akira, Memories, Ghost
in the Shell, Jinrou, Blood the Last Vampire and Millennium Actress.
Because of his thoroughness and the level of quality in his animation, he's referred
to as "the perfect animator."
"Instead of becoming a character designer or animation director, Inoue apparently prefers
to work as a solo key animator, investigating the "movement" part of anime.
Currently, he is focusing on recreating human movements faithfully and creating realistic
drawings.
He is also working on advancing his deep, abiding love and knowledge of anime, as well
as guiding others towards improvement."
That was a quote from AnimeStyle Magazine Editor in Chief Yuichiro Oguro, the journalist
who personally inspires me the most. It was Mamoru Oshii that called him the perfect animator
and very shortly after his key animation debut, he had gathered attention, particularly from
those that wanted to represent realistic timing and weight on screen.
Satoshi Kon, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, here was this incredible animator that just
a few years after his key animation debut, was being scouted out by industry legends
who wanted to capitalise on his ability to portray realistic weight and timing.
And thanks to his friendship with Yoshihara, all of the skills and hard work that contributed
to Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Kiki's Delivery Service is making a home at P.A.
Works, primarily on The Eccentric Family.
But one of the other interesting things about Inoue isn't just his marriage of surreality
and reality, but the speed in which he creates it.
In an interview with P.A.
Works President Kenji Horikawa in 2005, he said this:
"The current trend seems to be to not worry that much about the volume and only focus
on quality.
That really worries me.
It's not a fair match if you can't achieve the same level of quality with the same amount."
Toshiyuki Inoue is fast.
He started out in a generation where people were constantly saying "Draw faster, draw
faster", yet everyone around him was producing really simple cuts, whilst he was making stuff
like this.
And as Horikawa notes, an animator doesn't go from quality to quantity, but rather, a
good animator sets goals and knows how much time to spend on each cut and practise knocking
that time down.
Yoshihara once told an anecdote of how he kept a stopwatch at his desk to constantly
improve the speed of his drawing and would often peek into the booths next to him to
see if he could match their pace.
Mamoru Oshii may have been referring to the quality of Inoue's work when he referred
to him as the perfect animator, but his strive for quantity as well and the refusal to accept
the balance is what has turned him into the person he is today, someone who can work on
the greatest theatrical films, but still be able to create great work for the shows that
his friends are making.
And so if there's one message to take from this second P.A.
Works Studio Spotlight, it's that there's nothing more important than friendship.
I've legitimately always wanted to say that in a video.
Thanks for watching The Canipa Effect and I would like to thank frog_kun and Bloosakuga
for their translation help for this video.
Also, I'm now closing votes on the Patreon poll for the next video.
The results are 27 votes for a second Studio Trigger Studio Spotlight and 13 votes for
a video on Pokemon: Sun and Moon.
The next video will be on Studio Trigger and the Pokemon video will be made later down
the line.
But before I go, I'd like to give a special thank you to these people for supporting the
channel.
In particular, I'd like to thank the adaptable Albireo, the knowledgeable KayAnimations,
the ideal Isaac Woo, the hardy Hadiz, the proactive Petra Clothier, the meritable Mankoto
LePlant, the selfless Sam Liddiard, the mythological Martin Grazina and the adamantine Abel Toy.
Check out The Canipa Effect Patreon for all details.
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