Sex Appeal Strategy

Translated by: Dylan Acres
Thanks to Mitchell for scans and transcriptions.

Super sci-fi slapstick anime! Who on Earth is normal?

As you already know from the original manga, Urusei Yatsura is full of unique characters. However, not a single one of them is "normal". At best, Shinobu falls within the range of normal people. Lum is an alien, so there is nothing we can do about her, but Ataru, Mendo, Rei, and Sakuranbo, the list goes on and on. Why is it that these tough guys are always appearing on the stage, living their lives according to their desires and without regard to the world's prejudices? When their desires explode, an explosion is displayed on the TV screen. Ataru and Mendo's impulsive nature(?), Ataru's inflexible parents, and Lum-chan's reckless behavior are just a few of the things you can expect to see!

It's almost time to air! The staff behind each work will tell you how they overcame hardships and tears(?) to make the three series that are about to air!!

The character design is “lifelike”!?

In attendance were Akemi Takada, character designer for Urusei Yatsura, Kazuya Uenashi, animation director for Miss Machiko, and Shizuo Kawai, animation director for Dash Kappei. How will they approach it? Staff Talk! ^[1]

Animedia: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. First of all, all three of these works are based on original series, and I'd like you to talk about the difficulties you faced in adapting them to animation.

Takada: The drawings for Urusei are very similar to my own, so I didn't have too much trouble. Besides, I would draw guest characters every week, so I could get used to it. However, I had to draw the main character in Machiko Sensei, and I had to go to Gakken to meet with them and draw the characters in one day, which was indeed tiring (laughs). ^[2]

Animedia: I'm sorry. We're rough around the edges (laughs).

Uenashi: The problem in design is "lifelike" height. Manga is shown in frames, so it can expand and contract freely, but in animation, the frame is fixed, so the life size of the person must also be predetermined.

Kawai: In the case of Kappei, the main character is supposed to be between 2nd and 2nd 1/2 feet in height. I won't draw him any taller than that. The body is also a part of the facial expression, so his emotions are expressed with his whole body (laughs).

I want to respect the image of each original work.

Kawai: I want to keep the overall mood and the look of the original manga in mind, as well as the characters. With the help of Noboru Rokuda, the original author of Dash Kappei we were able to create an anime without changing the look of the original work. It's difficult to arrange a work without changing its mood.

Uenashi: I agree. Even if you only show one picture of a character, it will look completely different from the one in the manga. But we try not to destroy the mood with the movement of the characters. Also, the director is looking for a sense of reality in the images, so the pictures from all angles shouldn't look out of place in the work.

Takada: But Machiko Sensei is a pain when you look up from the bottom (laughs). ^[3]

Kawai: We (Tatsunoko Productions) also give top priority to realism. If we deform a work too much, it becomes something alien. On the other hand, no matter how much we distort from the original manga, I think it is good if it has the mood and realism of the original work.

Uenashi: We talked about the lifelike size earlier, but depending on the story, Machiko-sensei can grow and shrink (laughs). She moves in accordance with the movement of the camera.

Kawai: In serious works, the purpose of the drawings are very clear, right? But for comedies like Kappei, you have to make a lot of mistakes. And even if you are careful, it could end up looking rough. It's difficult, isn't it?

Uenashi: You could say that. We want to be elegant. Well, whether we are elegant or not is another matter (laughs). As artists, we always strive for the ideal, or the best.

Animedia: Now that you mentioned the idea of being classy, do you think you should also be classy in your sexuality as well. ......?

Uenashi: (To Takada) You know, since you drew both characters (in Machiko-sensei and Urusei), you should be the first to answer (laughs). I think the young female animators in my company seem to have a certain level of resistance with the project (laughs). Besides, I'd like to hear a woman's opinions (laughs) .

Takada: If anything, I was able to draw the picture calmly without any wicked intentions.

Uenashi: I see. You drew Machiko as yourself, with no malicious intentions (laughs).

Takada: Yes (laughs). No, I was pursuing her form as a picture. But I tried to draw her in a sexy and cute way. But it's the viewer who decides, so I tried to make it as close to my ideal as possible, and to make her beautiful and cute.

Kawai: I'd like to make Akane look sexy in Kappei. She isn't too mature, but has a light and cute look. For example, she doesn't say "eek" when her skirt is flipped up. I'd like to portray her in such a way that she accepts it with a smile.

Uenashi: That is the same policy for Miss Machiko as well. The theme of Miss Machiko is not about turning up skirts and looking at underwear. Men are interested in women, and I think this is a normal thing. So, I want to depict that kind of sex appeal in a lighthearted manner.

Animedia: It seems that men will always have such feelings (laughs).

Uenashi: I'd like to see 'em. But I don't want to see an old lady's (laughs).

Even the fashion should be fresh and shocking!

Animedia: I think that the fashion of the characters is one of the pleasures for the viewer, but do you give much thought to it?

Uenashi: In this respect, Miss Machiko is very difficult. One of the female animators told me that girls change their clothes every day. I'm going to make them change their clothes as often as possible.

Takada: That's a lot of work, isn't it?

Uenashi: I'll have to think of a dress-up cell (laughs).

Takada: Actually, Lum-chan only ever wears a bikini. From about the second season onwards, I'm planning to have her wear other fashions as well.

Kawai: Kappei is not too difficult in terms of fashion, but as I mentioned earlier, we are trying to create a sense of reality by showing the seasons.

Takada: But even if you pay attention to the season in the original broadcast, it's still causes a mess in the reruns (laughs).

Uenashi: That's impossible (laughs).

Takada: That's why, even if we are thinking of winter clothes, we try to avoid using winter clothes that are too heavy, and instead think of three-seasonal fashions. But Lum-chan wears that bikini even in winter. When Ataru says, "How come you're not cold?" she replies, "You've been raised differently."

Uenashi: But it's also very difficult for a man to take out his underwear. One day, when I drew a scene in which Machiko's underwear was hanging out to dry, one of the girl animators complained that it was drawn too big (laughs). Then I said, "Well, let me see yours."

Kawai: Kappei thinks that it's important to be cute no matter how you dress up. Well, sometimes he dresses up like The Little Match Girl or like Nadia Comăneci, the gymnast. But no matter what Kappei wears, it always looks loose-fitting (laughs). I would like to draw poses that make the most of his dowdy, loose-fitting costumes.

Is a skirt-flipping scene more fun than a regular scene?

Animedia: You worked on Miss Machiko and Urusei. Did you feel the difference between the sex focus of male writers and that of female writers?

Takada: I don't think so.

Animedia: Men and women think the same (laughs).

Takada: No, I don't think so....... However, when it comes to `Urusei, men often say, "The fact that all the men in the series are idiots means they're making fun of men," but as someone who is the same sex as the original author, I don't think so. I don't think she's making fun of men, but rather depicting them with love. Ataru is a hopeless idiot, but I think he's loved by the author. I don't want her to be seen as being hostile to men.

Animedia: Now that you mention that Ataru is an idiot, isn't Kappei also an idiot?

Kawai: I think he's just trying his best. He never tries to make people laugh. This is the opinion of all the staff members, too, but the way he tries so hard with his small body makes him look ridiculous. Also, just because he uses various secret techniques doesn't make him Superman. He has developed athletic skills, but he's still working hard.

Uenashi: As Chaplin and others have said, a comedy is someone else's tragedy. ^[4] It's not a comedy if you are trying to make people laugh. The most real comedy is when people laugh at you even though you don't want them to laugh at you. Animators are in a difficult situation because they're trying to make people laugh.

Kawai: I want Kappei to do for us what we can't.

Uenashi: That's the fun of being an animator, isn't it?

Kawai: Yes. Well, I guess you could say it's both "fun and suffering," so to speak (laughs). But I'm really excited about the work.

Animedia: In our opinion, peeking into locker rooms or flipping up skirts would be more fun to draw than walking or studying scenes (laughs).

Uenashi: It'd be a fulfillment of my daily dreams (laughs).

Kawai: First of all, it depends on what kind of film it is!

Uenashi: I happen to have two Miss Machiko episodes on...

Takada: Oh, they haven't shown it to me yet.

Uenashi: However, when you turn it into an anime, you start to see some unexpected aspects. To be honest, it's too classy (laughs). Even in the scenes where you can see her underwear, it's very tame. I guess this is because many of the animators are women, so they tried to hold back (laughs). If you stop and look at each image, you'll be shocked, but the film is still running, so you only see glimpses of her. So, next time, I'll be a little more...well, you know. (laughs).

Kawai: You talked about skirt flipping, which was a big craze back in the day. Even if we did that now, it wouldn't be new. Even if you only show what's under the skirt you'll only be repeating the same old thing. I'll show skirt flipping of course, but I have to come up with something different too.

Uenashi: It is the same with Miss Machiko. It's not about flipping up skirts. It's a way for the children to get to know Machiko-sensei. Machiko-sensei happens to be a character who has just become a teacher and is insecure at times, but she's able to solve everything with her natural cheerfulness. The children would touch her and want to get to know her more because of her cheerful reactions. If we had such a teacher, I think we'd be able to treat women more comfortably now (laughs).

Takada: Well, you have a very big dream (laughs).

Animedia: What do you think about the differences between the manga and the anime?

Kawai: That'll always exist to some extent. But as I said before, the mood is important.

Uenashi: It's kind of like how you prepare the ingredients.

I think the sex appeal is definitely felt by the audience.

Animedia: Honestly, what is the sex appeal of anime? (We're obsessed with sex appeal.)

Takada: Again (laughs). It seems like a leading question (laughs). In the case of Urusei," I'd like you to enjoy the fun of being mentally adventurous, rather than the sexiness of the anime.

Uenashi: Well, out of these three works, I think you have to be more conscious when drawing ``Machiko Sensei'' in terms of sex appeal. It's kind of scary though (lol). Of course, it's a way of depicting the theme, but you have to think about it a lot.

Kawai: In Kappei, there are many girls in the story, and each of them has their own cute, sex appeal. In addition, the "sexiness" of the anime is what the viewer thinks is "sexy" and should be considered as such. We don't try to draw them in a sexy way.

Uenashi: Yeah. That's a good answer.

The fun never ends!

Animedia: By the way, what are the highlights of each work and which episodes would you recommend?

Uenashi: "Machiko-sensei" will be incorporating new fads and trends, such as skateboards in episode 2, and we have an plan to go after Machiko's skirt using a Frisbee. Oh, and Kenta and his friends are going to be very active in the "Parisian" style in episode 7, so please look forward to it.

Takada: In manga, there is often a technique of skipping scenes in the middle of a action. ^[5] In Urusei, I tried to do the same thing. Also, some of the original manga stories contain more than the original story because there are not enough scenes in the original manga.

Kawai: Please look forward to the dedication of Kappei-kun. Also, I'm thinking of various secret tricks to include, so please look forward to it!

Animedia: thank you very much.

Short Q&A With Rumiko Takahashi:

The original author of Urusei Yatsura," Rumiko Takahashi, had this to say about the anime adaptation.

Animedia: How do you feel about the animation?

Takahashi: I'm excited to see the posters and the pictures in the magazine.

Animedia: Do you have any hopes for an anime adaptation?

Takahashi: Since it is made by humans, it is inevitable that there will be some changes. However, I believe that my work is a manga with a tempo, so I would like the tempo to be valued in anime as well.

Animedia: By the way, why is Ataru an idiot?

Takahashi: I like sexy women, but when I draw men, for some reason, they are all morons (laughs). (Laughs) I tried to create a personality that would be easy to relate to, and that's how I came up with his character.

Animedia: How do you feel about the characters in the anime?

Takahashi: Lum is getting cuter and cuter.

Animedia: Any last words?

Takahashi: Well, I still don't really have a sense of it yet. I'll watch it as a viewer when it airs.

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Footnotes

• [1] Miss Machiko (Maicching Machiko-sensei/まいっちんぐマチコ先生) is an anime based on a manga by Takeshi Ebihara. Dash Kappei (ダッシュ勝平) had an anime from 1981 to 1982, with a manga by Noboru Rokuda (六田登) running alongside Urusei Yatsura in Shonen Sunday (週刊少年サンデー).
• [2] Gakken (学研) produced Miss Machiko (Maicching Machiko-sensei/まいっちんぐマチコ先生) and publishes Animedia magazine as well. Takada's drawing would appear on the cover of the next issue of Animedia.
• [3] Miss Machiko follows the exploits of a particularly rowdy group of students who are constantly trying to pull perverted pranks on their teacher, Miss Machiko. Because of all the panty shots in the series, Takada is mentioning hte view from the bottom, or upskirt shots.
• [4] Uenashi is likely confusing two different quotes. Charlie Chaplin said, "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot," while W.C. Fields said "Comedy is merely tragedy happening to someone else."
• [5] The concept of skipping from the beginning of an action to the end and not showing the middle is something that director Mamoru Oshii discussed in an interview from roughly the same time in Animage 1981 volume 11.

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