== Reception & influences == 

 Hiroki Azuma "...or example Sato-san is here, and many of his works are exported overseas. His works are viewed in this country, and I am sure that many of tonight’s audience members have seen them. 
 
 But if we ask whether Dai Sato’s works are appreciated domestically in Japan, we find that they come under harsh criticism, such as Eureka Seven for example. Why are they criticized? Why did Sato write Eureka Seven willingly, despite the foreseen criticism? Such contexts are almost never mentioned abroad. 

 ...DS: One thing I can say is that my work tends to enjoy a better reputation abroad than in Japan. This might be because the images of my work have, ironically, helped define “Japanimation” for non-Japanese audiences. If this is the case, it didn’t happen consciously on my part. The particular works which have influenced us in turn, happened to come from cultures of Europe and the U.S. I don’t think anybody here has seen Eureka Seven, but I applied dance music and subcultural references to the script, two things that are essential for me. This may sound trivial, but it is quite interesting that a kind of a debate between subculture and otaku exists in Japan. I feel like I’ve been positioned at the very center of this…so I feel awkward having my works walk on their own. I don’t know if this answered the question… 

 ...If you ask me what music means for me… we are conversing by words now, right? I also use words for my profession, but they are powerless. I wish that I could speak with you directly now, but my words do not live in the same world as yours. But music is different. I run a music label, and it is for dance music. I love techno, house and also hip hop. I believe in the powers they have. This is why the theme of the next anime, Eureka Seven, is the rise and fall of techno, starting from New Wave to Manchester. I wanted to write a story of youths who live in a world that has already ended; with recognition that the term “New Wave” is no longer “new.” This is why I’ve chosen dance music, techno and house as a theme, instead of hip-hop this time. 

  
 http://www.japansociety.org/otaku_unmasked   05:10 21 January 2012 (GMT)