Archiving
Movements
Short Essays on
Anime and Visual Media Materialsedited byv.2

Ishida Minori and Kim Joon Yang

Contents

Editorial
Kim Joon Yang and Ishida Minori ………… 2

Directing at Anime/Animation Studios:Techniques and Methods

Watanabe Hideo ………… 4

Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach
Kim Joon Yang and Mitsumata Tetsu ………… 21

Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents:
An Analysis of the Afureko Script

Ishida Minori ………… 33

The Archive in Anime Production:
Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

Ida Kirkegaard ………… 41

Notes from the Watanabe Collection:Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History

Dario Lolli ………… 50

talking with airports:
poem in 4 parts

Verina Gfader ………… 64

Theatrical Performances Rediscovered:
An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s

Hatori Takafusa ………… 85

About the Archive Center for Anime Studies at Niigata University ………… 93

Editorial

We are much delighted to publish Volume Two of Archiving Movements, as a research projectfocusing on anime’s raw materials which we call “intermediate.” While focusing on the archived
materials of the animated feature, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, in Volume One—vaguely
indicated by the letters V1, in this volume we focus more on the Watanabe Collection with which theArchive Center for Anime Studies started. In this short editorial, we would like to note how each essay
serves our project.
Volume Two begins with the essay by anime director Watanabe Hideo about what he and hiscolleagues have thought about anime and animation filmmaking. Apparently, his essay does not seem tobe relevant to archiving and researching anime’s intermediate materials. However, what interest us isthat in the essay Watanabe brings to light how storyboards are central and crucial in anime industry
where he suggests production crews have sought animation filmmaking as not different from live-action
filmmaking. In this sense, his contribution to this volume hints at how scholars and researchers ofanime should approach such materials as storyboards. This does not say that anime/animation
filmmaking does not need to be discerned from live-action filmmaking. In terms of material reality as
well as media specificity, most of the rest of the contributors are deeply engaged in exploring how thoseintermediate materials in their own agentic capacity did and do still function interacting with humanagents—directors, voice actors, storyboard artists, animators and more—in anime studios and theirneighbouring sectors.
The essay co-authored by Kim Joon Yang and Mitsumata Tetsu is an ambitious collaboration
between two scholars, respectively of animation aesthetics and polymer chemistry, for researching andconserving animation cels in consideration of media and plastics culture. In her demonstrative essay,
Ishida Minori delves into different types of scripts for voice acting, focusing on the anime-industrial
convention called afureko, to clarify the ways in which voice actors’ bodies as well as performance are
required to interact with other human agents. Equally demonstrative, Ida Kirkegaard’s essay features
research of the bank system as an anime-specific production method to stress the role and significanceof storyboards, in particular those left outside the market for commercial publication. From theperspective of media ecology, and crossing avenues where texts, materials and concepts intersect, Dario
Lolli provides an expanded insight into how intermediate materials can open up entrances whereby to
go beyond cruxes which anime studies seems to face. Verina Gfader’s essay represents or presents acreative and poetic path, a diagram, leading to her speculations on and activities with anime and the2unknowns stratified in the archived materials of the Watanabe Collection. Let us note that as indicatedby the title of this volume, our project does not merely aim at anime and anime studies, but also alarger scope of visual media (as) materials and objects. In his essay on the Japanese theatre troupe
Shinkokugeki, Hatori Takafusa demonstrates how videographic media engaged in television help studiesof the performing arts where human body movement appears and soon disappears in time—which islikely to connect to Ishida’s essay of voice acting in this volume, as well as how archiving can take placein the process of pursuing academic subjects rather than fan interests.
The intention of this publication is to provide the latest findings from studies of anime and visualmedia, in particular as materials and objects, in the so-called digital, immaterial, age. For this purpose,
we have invited scholars, artists and experts from home and around the world to the Center to discussand share what has so far been and can be further found, at the same time holding seminars, talk events
and workshops in collaboration with them. We would like to take this opportunity to appreciate all
their deep engagement and contribution, in the hope that the project of Archiving Movements moves
on with those interested in them.
Kim Joon Yang and Ishida Minori
Editors● Editorial

3

Directing at Anime/Animation Studios:Techniques and Methods
Watanabe Hideo

1. Introduction

Furthermore, while storyboard artists are
involved in the production of live-action films,

This essay will examine the techniques andstoryboards are not fundamentally required for amethods employed in directing at anime/

live-action shoot. This is because many directors

animation studios. In particular, I will focus on

will split up the actors’ blocking and dialogue

directorial techniques used in laying out thedirectly in the script, marking the “cut number”

images (storyboards) for animation production.

and framing (the gist of the film being inside the

The degree of satisfaction afforded by adirector’s head). Furthermore, the objects orfinished film—whether it was interesting or

actors used as subjects are right in front of theboring, moving or dry—in fact depends largely

director, so to film them he or she need only

on the quality of its storyboards. Even the best

explain his or her ideas to the production crews c re e n p l a y w i l l n o t p ro d u c e a h i t i f i t son the spot.

storyboards are insufficient. If we were to assign a

However, this is impossible at anime/

weight to the importance of each element of theanimation studios. It is unlikely that the objects

production process, it would not be an

or characters to be depicted will be present at a

exaggeration to put the storyboards at 70%.

production meeting, as they would for a live-

While the strength of the pitch or screenplay will

action film. The director cannot directly

also have a big affect on the outcome, to create ademonstrate his or her ideas; he or she requires

really polished film one must first have a solidcharacter or background design mock-ups toplan for the contents of its storyboards. A

communicate the gist of the project to thetelevision show’s ratings or a theatre’s attendance

animation team. Accordingly, he or she must

rests on the shoulders of the director. For film,

concretise his or her ideas for the film in thethe quality of the storyboards is where thestoryboards and share them with the team. This

director shows off his or her abilities; as a key

is why storyboards are so necessary. They play anelement of directing, creating good storyboards is

extraordinarily important role. Storyboards area must.

the heart of animation production.

4

film director must be able to read,

2. What Is Animation Directing?

understand, and work with exposure sheets.

2.1 Commonalities between Directing
for Live-action Film and Animation

But that would be it. (Katsumata, 2017)

It is first necessary to understand the differences

Katsumata originally worked for Toei Studios

between live-action films and animations. It is

Kyoto, assistant directing live-action films foroften said that an animation film director isthree and a half years before joining Toei

roughly equivalent to a live-action film director,

Animation in 1964 and directing numerous(1)animations up and through its name change

Additionally, animated television series, animatedfrom Toei Doga. He is well-versed in bothfeatures, or OVA (“original video animation,”

production of live-action film and animation

direct-to-video releases) are thought of as types offilm.

with the animators being the actors.

(2)

From the standpoint of an anime director,

film.

Then what are the differences between

live-action films and animations have the same

directing for live-action film and for animation

structure. They have a title, a genre, a target

film? According to Toei Animation’s Katsumata

audience, a pitch, a theme, a point of view; they

Tomoharu (1938-):(3)

have a protagonist and other characters, they
have lines of dialogue. There is a screenplay, there

There is no difference between a live-action

is a story; visually, they are composed offilm director and an animation film director.

s e q u e n c e s , s c e n e s , a n d s h o t s o r “c u t s .”If anything, it would be that an animation

Animations are broadcast on television or shown(1) Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston state that “basically, the animator is the actor in animated films” (2002: 21),
additionally quoting Marc Davis’s idea: “Drawing is giving a performance; an artist is an actor who is not limited by his body,
only by his ability and, perhaps, experience” (p.71).
(2) Koide Masashi explains the concept of animation as follows:This is also related to its origin: animation was born when people began using cinematic techniques to create
animation. To put it differently, there are two positions—one that states that animation first came into existencewith the development of cinematic techniques, and one that points to animation-like toys and processes among
the various experiments in cinema’s prehistory and argues that animation predated the existence of films. For theformer, “animation” stands, in a sense, for “animated film,” and pre-cinema animation is understood toqualitatively differ from the animations created after the invention of cinema, which function as the direct originof contemporary animated films or videos. The latter, it could be said, understand the essence of animation in its
narrowest sense—a picture that moves—regardless of the functions or capacity of the media in question. (2012:17)(3) Katsumata began directing animations with Wolf Boy Ken (1963-65) in 1964. Since then and up to present day, he hashelmed a large number of theatrical animated features and animated television series, such as Farewell to Space Battleship
Yamato (1978).

● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

5

in theatres in the same formats as live-action(1951-)’s helming of Avalon (2001), or the Neonfilms. The only difference is whether they take

Genesis Evangelion (1995-) director Annoplace in a hand-drawn space or a real one. Of

Hideaki (1960-) taking the reins for Shincourse, since anime is ultimately of two-

Godzilla (2016). These directors were able todimensionality, this does place some restrictions

make the crossover because the methods foron visual expression, the movement of thedirecting animation and live-action film are(4)

camera, or the characters’ performances.

In fact, since animated televisions series,
animated features, and other animations borrow

fundamentally the same.

2.2 What Is Film?

from the styles of live-action films, anime

Many of Miyazaki Hayao (1941-)’s works—

directors learn much of what they do from

including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

watching live-action films. A traditional animator(1984), Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor

imagines a three-dimensional space inside theTotoro (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) anddrawing paper, moving the characters around as

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)—feature charming

though it had real depth. For the background,young men and women. The young men have a

the artist similarly imagines putting buildings,

strong sense of justice, brimming with an energy

trees, or telephone poles into a three-dimensionalthat practically bursts from the screen. The young

space and adding people or automobiles, then

women are beautiful and attractive, dazzling

draws what he or she has pictured. Animators

audiences in signature scenes that feature themthus elaborate the background as if it were a real

flying unhindered through the sky. I would argue

space, placing humans and objects against it andthat these impressions are created by themaking them move.

freewheeling camera movements that sweep us

When it comes to drawing storyboards, bothup into the unfamiliar spaces of these films. I

animation and live-action film directors imagine

would now like to take a closer look at suchthe movements of the background and characters

camera movements, and other cinematicin each and every shot, and the storyboards serve

techniques.

to make these ideas real. It should thus be clear

First, we need to understand what film is. It

that, as Katsumata argues, there are no differences

may resemble the theatre, but theatre is ain the processes of directing animation andperforming art. In contrast, films are moving

directing live-action film. This can be seen in theimages, and their most characteristic feature is

Ghost in the Shell (1995) director Oshii Mamoru

that they have a frame. The frame cuts out the(4) A camera photographing a single picture drawn on a flat surface cannot dive down into that picture. Entering the worldof a picture requires still more inbetweens and background drawings. It is not as easy as shooting a live-action film. Working
with 3D CG animation eliminates this issue.

6space of the film. By “cuts out the space,” I mean

words “1. suji, 2. nuke, 3. dosa.” These are known

that the frame allows us to create a portion ofas the three major principles for making exciting

space that is visible and a portion of space that isfilms. (5) Suji refers to the script, nuke to thenot. This is where the filmmaker can insert his

beauty of the images, and dosa to the actor’s

intentions, views and ideas: the frame makes

gestures and performance. In other words, tocommunicating intentions possible. Director

make a good film, it is imperative to create a

Yoshimura Kozaburo (1911-2000) tells thegood script and story and attractive images;

following story in his 1979 book Eizo No

charming characters, and performances andEnshutsu (Directing Films): when the director

actions that convey them. I would like to

who trained him, Shimazu Yasujiro (1897-1945),

underline that these important elements also

quit the studio, his parting words were: “Heyapply to animation.(6)you, listen up and listen good! Films are frames!”
When Yoshimura became a rookie director, he

3. Animation Production Studios

writes, the words “films are frames” were

3.1 The Process of Creating an Animation

extremely helpful.

The workflow at animation studios is generally

On live-action film sets, one often hears theroughly divided into (A) pre-production, (B)(5) One of Japan’s first professional film directors, the man who laid the foundation for Japanese cinema and who is called “thefather of Japanese cinema,” is Makino Shozo (1878-1929). His motto consisted of three major principles: “1. suji, 2. nuke, 3.
dosa” (Kuwano, 1949: 57-60).
(6) The differences in performances by human and non-human actors (animated characters, puppets, masks) are brought up
in a conversation between Kato Shuichi and Takahata Isao published in Nihon Sono Kokoro To Katachi (Kato, 2005: 322325).
—How do masks and puppets (including animations) differ from actors in terms of performances?
Performances by real humans represent a “theatre of personality,” while performances by puppets (including
animated characters) or masks are part of a “theatre of situation.” When the performance revolves aroundsomething related to human personality, human actors are more effective; a real human actor’s face is required toexpress subtle psychological shifts. Masks or puppets cannot use their faces to express personality or subtle
psychology. But what gets highlighted when one puts on a mask (or manipulates a puppet)? I believe that it isemotion. For example, in joruri puppetry, specific situations evoke extraordinarily intense emotional responses.
In the puppet play Sonezakishinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), the lovers’ exit means their inevitable demise.
Our emotional responses to intense and special situations are emphasized when we see them performed inmasks, or by replacing real humans with puppets.
—Why are puppets better for expressing emotions or situations?
This is difficult to answer, but I think it must be a matter of concentration. Say the central emotion of aperformance is that you must die in order to fulfil a violent love. If you show this with your naked face, someother idea or emotion will slip into the mix, no matter how hard you try to suppress them. A real human actor’s
personality will inevitably get involved. Puppets or masks remove this possibility from the equation, which
purifies the situation or story and concentrates everything into that one violent emotion. This is the main reason
why puppets or masks are better than real human actors in these cases.

● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

7

production and (C) post-production. The

each episode’s animation director)

production managers and production assistants

10. Inbetweening (performed by inbetweener →for an animated television series oversee thechecked by animation checker) → once okayed,process as a whole. The series director is involved

sent to be painted

from the initial planning meeting to the final cut

11. Colours determined (colour stylist) → inking

and test screening, with the directors ofand painting → special effects → colour checkindividual episodes joining in at the screenplay

12. 3D CG animation completed

and storyboard stages. The workflows of analogue

1 3 . S c re e n t e s t ( c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r )production and digital production are illustrated

photography (cinematographer, camera crew)→

below.

A. Pre-production

C. Post-production -- Documentation(script supervisor, unique to Toei)

1. Pitch completed (producer) → Producer meets

14. Video editing (editor)

with director

15. Voice recording (voice actor, audio director,

2. Screenplay written (screenwriter)sound mixer)

3. Character designs determined (chief animation

16. Dubbing mix [voice, sound effects (sounddirector)

effects editor), music (music supervisor)]

4. Background designs determined (art director,

17. Final cut (editing or camera department) →background designer)

test screening (production crew performs final

5. Storyboards (director, storyboard artist) or

check)

animatic (animated storyboard) completed

18. Completed work

B. Production

As you can see, Figure 1 (left) shows the

6. Layouts okayed (created by key animator →analogue era workflow using film cameras. In

checked by director → checked and corrected by

Figure 2 (right), the cameras and film are botheach episode’s animation director) → passed ongone, with all of the work from the finishing andto key animator and art director, as well as thepainting stages done on computers. Generally,

3D CG animation studiothe layouts, key drawings, inbetweening, and

7. Art director → background layout completed,backgrounds are still done on paper, with thebackground reference boards completed

digital processes beginning after the inbetweens(background designer)and backgrounds are scanned. 3D CG processes

8. Backgrounds (created by background artist →emerged with the switch to digital.

checked by art director)
9. Key drawings (created by key animator→

checked by director → checked and corrected by8

A. Pre-production↓
Character
DesignA. Pre-production

Pitch↓
Screenplay↓
Character
Design↓Art Design

C. Post-production↓
Developing and
Printing (rushes)→ Recording
࣭Voice࣭Music࣭Sound Effects↓
Dubbing (mixing)↓→ Rerecording(image negative)(sound negative)↓
Art Design↓
Storyboards↓
B. Production (Main Production)↓
Drawing
Layout (master drawing)↓↓↓
Design▲Key Drawings ■3D Modelling↓↓↓▲Backgrounds▲Inbetweening ■3-D motion↓     ↓  
Shading↓     ↓    ↓↓↓
■3D Rendering↓↓↓■Scanning■Scanning
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
■Digital Painting↓↓↓↓ ■Special Effects (brushing for texture) ↓↓↓↓↓■Checking↓↓↓↓Director’s■Toridashi (sometimes omitted)
Check↓■Photography (effects)↓
C. Post-production↓■Non-linear Editing → ■Recording↓
࣭Voice↓࣭Music↓࣭Sound Effects↓↓■Producing the Master ← ■Dubbing (Mixing)
㸦video editing㸧↓■Test Screening (completed work)↓
Storyboards↓
B. Production (Main Production)↓
Drawing
Layout (master drawing)↓↓
Design
Key Drawings↓↓
Backgrounds Inbetweening↓↓
Finishing↓
Inking↓↓↓Painting↓↓↓
Special Effect (brushing for texture)↓↓↓
Checking↓↓
Director’s
Toridashi (test shooting)
Check↓
Photography (effects)↓↓
Film Editing
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Final Print

Pitch↓
Screenplay↓
Test Screening (completed work)

Figure 2 Diagram of Digital Production

Figure 1 Diagram of Analogue Production

Relevant crew members are listed in parentheses beside each step.
Note:■ Conducted digitally▲ Sometimes conducted digitally□ Conducted in analogue● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

9

In particular, the moving objects (including

screenplay, to have a sense of the montage, tothe characters) in the television series, Arpeggio ofdevelop a shot list for continuity, and, based onBlue Steel: Ars Nova (2013), were produced

these ideas, to unify all of the necessary elements

almost entirely in 3D CG. Since then, hand-(actors, cinematography, sound recording, music,

drawn animation and 3D CG animation havesound effects, sets, props, costumes, makeup,

become increasingly indistinguishable. 3D CG

editing and so on) to complete the film” (1979:

animation resembling full-fledged, high-quality

4). Stor yboards would be the animation

cel animation is now being produced. There are

equivalent of the shot list referenced in thisalso a number of works that employ 3D CG as aquote. The job of the anime director is to develop

primary production method while preserving thea cinematic image in his or her head based on afeel of hand-drawn animation, such as Knights ofscript, to have a sense of the montage, to create a

Sidonia (2014) or Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter

look for the images—that is, to create the(2014-2015). 3D CG animations are expected tostoryboards—and, based on these ideas, tobecome the norm from here on out.

complete the film.

While the above represents the basic

Directing an animation can be roughly

production workflow for the anime/animation

divided into two main jobs: creating theindustry, television series are broadcast every

stor yboards and overseeing production.

week, making it impossible to create all of theOriginally the same person took care of both of

episodes with only one team. A single episode ofthese tasks, but at times they may be treated asa Toei animated television series runs 21 minutes

different roles. Someone who exclusively works

and 30 seconds, excluding the opening theme,with storyboards is called ekonte man (storyboard

ending credits and commercial breaks. Its

artist), while someone who deals only with non-production period takes more than two months.

storyboard-related tasks is called enshutsu shori

A single team would not be able to make the(production director). Production directors must

weekly broadcast deadline, so studios work in ahold meetings with the staff from each section.

five to six team rotation. This is why one series

For example, they meet with the animation

might have four or more animation directors anddirectors, key animators, colourists (colour

five or more directors responsible for the

checkers/designers), art directors,

episodes.

cinematographers and audio directors (and, at

3.2 The Job of the Director

Toei, the script supervisors). They must checkthe work done by each portion of the crew. For

So, what does directing a film entail? According

example, the layouts, the key drawings, theto Yoshimura, when it comes to live-action film,

inbetweens, the completed video following“the job of the film director is to develop a

photography. They then tackle the editing, thecinematic image in his head based on avoice recording, the dubbing and the test10

screening of the completed preview. They musttaken in one location showing actions happening

do all this and more, supervising each step of thein a specific time frame represents a single scene.

project until it is finished and taking

When the location changes, so does the scene;

responsibility for its overall quality.

when the time frame changes—even if thelocation remains the same—so does the scene.
Scene numbers are used starting from the film’s

4. Directing for Animation in Practicefirst “cut,” with the scene number growing witheach scene change (both scenes and cuts are

4.1 The Building Blocks of Filmcounted from one and up). However, I would

Films can be broken down, at their most basic,

like to note that while animations in the past

into “cuts,” or shots. A “shot” is the most basic

commonly used cut numbers that referenced andelement of a film, a moving image that begins

included the scene numbers, recently many

when the camera is turned on and ends when it

works of animation number the cuts from theis turned off, and is primarily used to describe

beginning to the end without regard for thethe content or visual aspect of the screen. In

different scenes.

Japan, a “cut” also refers to a film’s most basic

Next comes sequences, made up of multiple

element, a moving image that begins when thescenes. This is related to the structure of thecamera is turned on and ends when it is turned

screenplay: a sequence is the equivalent of a so-off, and is primarily used to describe a portion ofcalled “act” in theatre. For feature films, it is a bitfilm or footage—that is, the physical attributes ofmore complex. In a film lasting two hours plus,

the actual media.

the story can be made up of seven to eight

A long shot accordingly indicates a wide view,

sequences. In other words, one might think ofsuch as mountains in the distance, while a longsequences as big blocks representing ki

cut (in English, commonly a long take) indicates(introduction), sho (development), ten (turninga portion of footage that lasts a long time. A two-

point) and ketsu (conclusion), or jo

shot is a shot that features two people, while two(introduction), ha (development) and kyu

cuts refer to two different shots. As verbs, the(climax). Let’s say there are six sequences—theword “shot” refers to shooting an image, while

flow would then go (1) introduction, (2)the word “cut” refers to cutting or discarding adevelopment, (3) development, (4) development,

portion of the film. In Japan, both films and(5) turning point, (6) conclusion.

animations use cut numbers, but there is no such

There are specific reasons for dividing a single
scene into cuts. It is generally possible to film athing as a shot number.
Next, one or more “shots” or “cuts” arecontinuous movement that happens in a single

gathered together to form a “scene.” A film scene

place (an action, a drama, a performance) using a

can be likened to a scene in a stage play. Footage

single shot, but there are cases where it is● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

11imperative to divide a scene up into multiple

scene is shot in multiple cuts—or when a single

cuts. The reasons are understood to run as

scene is edited together from a number offollows:

different angles—there are times when the actors’poses change drastically from cut to cut, objects

1. The camera can no longer follow a person’s

disappear, or performances lack coherence. The

motion or action—in other words, the subject

reason for this is that the camera is turned on

has moved suddenly or changed direction—and then temporarily turned off, and when it isthat is, an angle change is desired.

turned back on to film again the subjects’

2. The length of the action, the performance,

positions may have moved, their poses may haveexceeds the capacity of the film magazine orchanged, and this, after editing, results in thedigital memory.

subjects appearing to instantly jump around

3. A repeated pan (lateral camera movement)

between cuts. Objects disappear because theyfrom person to person has become

have been moved while the camera was turned

unattractive, or a panning movement is nooff and are now offscreen. And exactly the same

longer necessary.

thing can happen in animations.

4. A change in framing is desired, without
moving the camera.

Another example is cutting together
conversations: if the characters are looking in

5. A point-of-view shot is desired.

different directions from one cut to another, their

6. To use cross-cutting.

relative positioning will seem awkward. Or if a

7. To a d d t e m p o o r d y n a m i c s , o r o t h e r

cut shows a character walking when they were

techniques for rhythmic editing.

running in the previous one, it will feel unnatural
to have these cuts placed together in a single

And thus, films are divided into cuts.

scene.
When the characters’ positions lack coherence

4.2 About Editingor the footage feels off for whatever reason, as theabove, this is considered a failure on the director’s

Next, we turn to the joining of separate cuts, apart and the footage must be reshot. In the caseprocess shared by both live-action film andof animation, it must be entirely redrawn. The

animation film. Editing requires special care, as

director of an animation must pay sufficienteven in animation certain editing choices may

attention to the cuts within a given scene. It is

result in necessary retakes—redrawing frames

necessary to avoid the possibility of the audience(Yamagishi, 1991).

finding the finished film unnatural, or ofmisunderstanding the creator’s intentions.

Match cuts
Even at professional live-action shoots, when a12Among the different types of edits used infilm or television series, there are relational

editing techniques called “match cut” and “cutconnecting the two shots is called a “cut away.”away.” Match cuts refer to edits that feature theWhat is characteristic of a cut away is that it issame people (or subjects) in two successive shots.

able to transcend and jump between space andIn other words, the term is used when thetime. In other words, if a shot shows something

succeeding image is understood as being of adifferent from the previous one, it is possible topiece with the preceding image. There are rules

go forward or backward in time, to switch to athat must be followed to ensure that match cuts

different location, to jump into the worlds ofconnect two shots naturally and without causing

fantasy, memory or imagination. This can act toa sense of incongruence. They are the “three

instantaneously condense time within a given

unities.” The three unities are importantscene. If the time and place are clearly different,

principles for seamlessly connecting cuts together

cut aways can also show a different scene. Cutacross a continuous stretch of time. These threeaways also make it possible to cut from oneelements are:person to another using the same camera framing
and angle.

1. Unity of position

A film term related to cut aways is the “point-

2. Unity of eyelineof-view shot,” which can also be called a

3. Unity of action

subjective shot, or a subjective cut. In Figure 3,
Cut-1 shows a person looking at something (weIf these unities are not preserved, we findare put into his point of view via the closeup, or

ourselves with a “jump cut” (an edit where thefrom the movement of his head as he looks).

action appears to “jump” between different

Next, Cut-2 is edited in as a shot of what he sees.

states). Furthermore, the framing and angle ofThis is a point-of-view shot. Then in Cut-3 thethe camera must be altered to ensure a smooth

person reacts in closeup. This is a reaction shot.

match cut. That is, if a character’s face continues

Cut-1 and Cut-3 do not have to be closeups; theto be shot at the same framing and same angle,

subject can be filmed at a distance, as long as thethe succeeding cut will feature the same person

audience can tell that he is looking at something.

as the preceding one, making them difficult to

Cut-1 and Cut-3 are called “objective shots,” inedit together. If a change in angle or framing is

answer to Cut-2’s “subjective shot.”neglected, it will appear as though the camera’s
position (the position of the frame) has “jumped”

The use of point-of-view shots is aparticularly important directorial technique thatbetween cuts.

gives the audience the same experience as the
Cut aways

characters on screen, inviting them into the film’s

When an image cannot be understood as being

world. Since the audience is able to see through aof a piece with the one that preceded it, the edit

character’s eyes, it deepens their understanding of● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

13

Cut-1

Cut-2

Cut-3

Cut-4
Figure 3that character’s inner self. As shown in Figure 3,

one of their films.

in Cut-1 he looks. Cut-2 is a point-of-view shotof the fighter aircraft in pursuit. In Cut-3 hewatches with surprise, he seems to panick, ready4.3 Camera Positions

to take flight. In Cut-4, the protagonist nearly

Eyeline matches and the 180 degree rule (thecollides with the crashing fighter aircraft, dodges

imaginary line)

it, runs, and falls down. For the audience, seeing

When a scene switches back and forth between

the point-of-view shot means they receive direct

shots of two different people, an issue may arise

access to the protagonist’s feelings. A character

whereby the audience cannot tell if the characters

growing flustered, running away and fallingare facing each other or both looking off in somedown might be cause for laughter, depending onother direction. The solution for this lies in the

how it is shown. Handled properly, the audience“eyeline match.” In short, it is possible to tellcan become completely immersed in a film’s

how the characters are positioned in relation tostory. Throughout film history, directors such aseach other by having them look toward their

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), Kurosawa Akira

offscreen conversation partner and following the(1910-1998) and Steven Spielberg (1946-) havelines of sight. In directing, eyeline matches areused many point-of-view shots. I recommend

often used to clarify the characters’ relative

looking out for them the next time you watch

positions. This is particularly important when14

creating storyboards. For example, an electrician

this line remains uncrossed, the positions of theup on a telephone pole speaks to a woman below;

people will not change, with the person on the

he looks down (medium shot) and says, “Miss,

right (as seen from the camera) remaining on the

it’s dangerous to stand there.” She looks up withright and the person on the left remaining on thea smile (medium shot) and says, “Oh my, sorry

left. If the line were to be crossed and theabout that! Have a lovely day!” If the directions

characters filmed from the other side, theof the eyelines do not match when the woman ispositions of the characters would flip during

supposed to adjust her line of sight towards theediting and their relative positions would lackelectrician, the audience will likely feel that

coherence. As long as the imaginary line is not

something is not quite right about the scene. It iscrossed, there will be no confusion as to thenecessary to pay close attention to the angles ofrelative positions of the characters.

the eyelines in such cases.
There is another possible reason why the

How to cross the imaginary line

characters’ relative positions could feel off. It is

Yet when directing a film, it at times becomesthe camera positioning. For example, certain

necessary to cross the imaginary line. In thesecamera positions can make it appear as thoughcases, the following methods are available. Heavy

two people were looking in the same direction

use is discouraged, however, as they can easily(say both looking left), despite them actuallylead to confusion. On the other hand, sometimes

staring at each other. There is a rule designed tothe director intentionally crosses the imaginary

prevent this confusion: the 180 degree rule, or

line, drawing the storyboard such that the

the “imaginary line.”audience becomes confused on purpose.

As shown in Figure 4, the 180 degree rule

St o r y b o a rd s a c c o rd i n g l y s h o u l d n o t b e

refers to an imaginary line drawn between thethoughtlessly criticised for featuring sloppy cuts.

two characters framed closest to the camera (evenif many people are featured in the same shot). If(1) The camera moves over the line while filming.

Figure 5

As shown in Figure 5, if there are two people onscreen, the camera may cross over the line
between them while in motion. The audience
Figure 4

can see that the camera has moved and the two● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

15

have changed positions.

cross the imaginary line. The edit will be smoothand nothing will appear off. No confusion will

(2) The line is crossed as people change positions.

arise as to the characters’ relative positions.

As shown in Figure 6, if there are two people onscreen and one moves, passing in front of thecamera, then the camera will have crossed the
new imaginary line.

Cut-1
Figure 6(3) Put the camera on the imaginary line twice,filming two people individually.
As shown in Figure 7, if there are two people onscreen and the camera has been placed on top of
the imaginary line twice in succession, filming
each person individually from that position, thenCut-2

from the next cut the imaginary line can be

Figure 8

crossed. This is thought to be because placing thecamera on the line twice allows our spatial(5) Crossing the line with a cut-in.

relationship with the line to be reset.

Inserting cut-ins, such as point-of-view shots(Figure 9) or atmospheric shots (shots portraying
the characters’ imaginations and so on), makes it
possible to cross the imaginary line.

Figure 7(6) Crossing the line by employing extremely
different camera angles or framing.

(4) Crossing the line by cutting on action.

This method of crossing the line runs as follows.

As shown in Figure 8, introducing an edit when

As shown in Figure 10, if there are two charactersa character is in the middle of a series ofpresent, the first shot might show a closeup low

prominent actions and connecting theangle on one person’s face and the second both of

movements across the edit is called “cutting on

the characters from a wide high angle. In thisaction.” When this occurs, the camera may freely

case, crossing the imaginary line will not feel off.

16

(7) Crossing the line with donden.

opposite direction.

Donden refers to turning the camera to face thea. Crossing the line with an over-the-shoulder
shot.
In Cut-1 in Figure 11, two characters (persons A
and B) are shown, with person B shown in an
over-the-shoulder shot (meaning the camera isshooting from behind a shoulder) from his
partner A’s left shoulder. In Cut-2, the camera
Cut-1

faces the opposite direction, crossing theimaginary line and showing person A in an overthe-shoulder shot from his partner B’s leftshoulder, the reverse angle from the other side of
person B. I have seen this edit used many times
in Toei’s live-action films of the genre of jidaigeki(historical drama).

Cut-2

b. Crossing the line from panorama to panorama.
In Figure 12, Cut-1 shows a sunset on the coastand the five Goranger heroes standing on a cliff
in a single row, with the Red Ranger in thecentre. This is a long shot featuring a frontal viewof all of the characters. Cut-2 shows the five
figures from behind, the enormous sun setting

Cut-3

into the ocean with their backs in the foreground.

Figure 9

In this case, the camera position is switched from

Cut-1

Cut-2
Figure 10● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

17

Cut-1

Cut-2
Figure 11

Cut-1

Cut-2
Figure 12

Cut-1, where it shows everyone from the front,

the camera’s right, and Ultraman turns to look in

to Cut-2, where the imaginary line has beenthat direction. Cut-5 is taken from behindcrossed and they are shown from the back. The

Ultraman’s head, with King Ghidorah standing

camera has turned from a full panoramic view toin the distance. In fact, Cut-5 has crossed

face the opposite direction, but it is able to crossGodzilla and Ultraman’s imaginary line. That is,

the imaginary line without causing anything toit has crossed over the eyeline linking Godzilla

feel off.

with Ultraman, showing King Ghidorah with theback of Ultraman’s head in the foreground, but(8) Crossing over an eyeline.

in this case crossing the line does not cause us to

In Figure 13, Cut-1 features a panorama withfeel as though anything were off.

Godzilla on the left and Ultraman on the right.
They face each other in confrontation. In Cut-2,(9) Imaginary lines created by the direction ofGodzilla glares fiercely at Ultraman in a front-

movement.

facing medium shot taken from the right. In

If the subject is moving, then the imaginary line

Cut-3, Ultraman, in a front-facing medium shotconnects the initial and end points of thetaken from the left, holds his right hand up,

direction of movement. When cutting back andposing to launch his Specium Ray. In Cut-4, we

forth between individual shots of two people

then hear the roar of King Ghidorah offscreen tositting in the driver’s and passenger’s seats of a18

Positions of the Camera

Cut-1

Cut-2

Cut-3

Cut-4

Cut-5

Figure 13

car, crossing the imaginary line will not cause any

director of Toei’s animated feature films, Animal

problems if the car is in motion. However, theTreasure Island (1971) and Flying Phantom Ship

direction of movement must remain consistent if(1969). Pick a live-action film and watch it again

we think of this in terms of master shots. For

and again, at least ten times. Afterward, create

example, if two armies are fighting each other, it

storyboards for it. By watching a film over andwill be less confusing if the bad guys always move

over, you will be able to understand how it wasfrom the camera’s right, and the good guys always

directed—not only the structure of its script, thefrom the left.

performances of the actors, their choices, or thelines of dialogue, but also the layout of the

The above represents methods that I havescreen, the positions of the characters in relation

discovered and actually used. The imaginary line

to the camera, changes in these positions, camera

should not, however, be crossed at random.

movements, framing and angles, plus the

When it is crossed, the audience should be able

relationships between shots, how the music is

to understand the reason and motivation for theused, how to use sound effectively and othercrossing.

aspects of film editing. Roughly speaking, if you
watch a film about ten times you will get a senseof how it functions. You will also absorb the

5. Conclusion

director’s approach.

I have touched on some directorial techniques

I have done this with many films. As far as I

and methods in animation filmmaking. So how

am aware, this is the most effective way to learn

would one set about learning more? I was taught

filmmaking. For example, one that I havean effective way by Ikeda Hiroshi (1934-),

rewatched in the theatres is Jaws (1975) by● Directing at Anime/Animation Studios: Techniques and Methods

19

Steven Spielberg. The main character crosses theReferences

dark sea along the coast in a medium-sized boat

Kato, Shuichi (2005) Nihon Sono Kokoro To Katachi (Japan: Spirit

illuminated by a light. He then sees an empty
boat of similar size floating by itself. We know

and Form). Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten.
Katsumata, Tomoharu (2017) Interview with Watanabe Hideo. Jul
30, 2017.

that the huge shark could appear nearby at any

Koide, Masashi (2012) Animation no gainen (The concept of

moment. The main character dives into the sea

animation). In Yokota, Masao, Koide, Masashi and Ikeda,

in a wetsuit, examining the boat’s bottom. He

Hiroshi (eds) Animeshon No Jiten (Guide to Animation).

finds a crack, and suddenly a dead person’s face

Tokyo: Asakura Shoten, 15-28.
Kuwano, Toka (ed.) (1949) Nihon Eiga No Chichi “Makino Shozo

pops out of the hole. Its eyeballs are bulging. The

Den” (The Father. of Japanese Cinema “The Life of Makino

main character lets out a scream and flees.

Shozo”). Tokyo: Makino Shozo Den Hakko Jimusho, 1949.

Despite having seen this scene countless

Thomas, Frank, and Johnston, Ollie (2002) The Illusion of Life:

times and knowing the shot with the dead body

Disney Animation. Japanese Edition. Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten.

will come, I jumped in surprise. It is the strangest
thing: no matter how many times I see it, I
always jump at this shot. This time, in particular,
I was amazed by Spielberg’s skill as a director. As

Yamagishi, Tatsuji (1991) Eizo Hyogen: Hasso To Byoho (CinematicMedia: Ideas and Techniques). Tokyo: Kyoiku Shuppan
Senta.
Yoshimura, Kozaburo (1979) Eizo No Enshutsu (Directing Film).
Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.

I was watching it in a theatre, I could see theother audience members jumping in surprise
every time. This scene is an example of reallyfantastic directing. I have gotten a sense for not
only how he handles its trajectory in terms ofediting, but also his use of music, sound effects
and other audio. For anyone aspiring to direct
animations, I can say that I really recommend
watching films multiple times.

Watanabe Hideo is an anime director and a member of the Archive Center for Anime Studies, Niigata University. He isteaching directing and producing anime in universities.

20Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach
Kim Joon Yang and Mitsumata Tetsu

The Robot’s Body Is Made of Plastic

animation history, as Kristen McCormick andMichael R. Schilling note, “Without advances inIn the manga episode, “Ambassador Atomu,”

the plastics industry, animation as we know it

published in 1951 before the 1963 anime

could never have developed” (2014: 10). The(1)

the robot character Astro Boy

material and technical importance of plastics in(originally Tetsuwan Atomu) is given the

animation industry converges on the celluloid

explanation that the body of the character as asheet, simply called “cel,” on which charactersrobot is made of plastic with elasticity. Givenand other figures are rendered to move on screenthat Astro Boy is a science-fiction series both inin projection. Cels were a crucial contributor toanime and manga, the indication of plastic

the industrialisation of animation production in

implies that the material, also called polymers,that transparency among its other material traits

was envisioned serving to open up a great future

helped to develop the division of labour. The

in the post-war Japan. Such a vision with plastic

trait makes it unnecessary to depict all theis also demonstrated by Mr. McGuire talking tocharacters on one cel, and possible to depict

Benjamin (played by Dustin Hoffman) in thethem separately on two or more ones, while the1967 Hollywood film, The Graduate: “I just wantbackground can be drawn on a separate sheet of

to say one word to you. Just one word . . . Plastics

paper, for each shot. Further, the outlines of a

. . . There’s a great future in plastics.” In the 1950s,

character are copied—mechanically since theindeed, Japan plastics industry made a large

photocopier was invented—onto a cel after being

growth with the production of polyvinylchloride,

drawn on paper. McCormick and Schilling point

and in the 1960s, Japan was ranked second toout that along with transparency, colourlessness

the United States, the world’s largest producer of

was “essential for the painted background toplastics (Ibonai, 1980: 20-22).

show through clearly, free of distortion, allowing

adaptation,

Plastics were one of the key elements inthe characters to be placed in their proper(1) Our source of this episode is Tetsuwan Atomu Vol. 1 (1979) published by Kodansha.

● Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach21

positions within the scene,” continuing to referback of cels to hide brushstrokes, the plastic

to cels’ flexibility which “was important because

figurines can be made to show off as smooth,cels needed to be manipulated easily during

shiny and colourful surfaces as the two-

inking, painting, and photography, and later

dimensional counterparts. Plastics also advanced

stored with minimal risk of damage” (2014: 10).

toy industry in terms of products’ uniformity,

In this sense, plastics formed the industry andquality control, the mechanisation of production

aesthetics of cel animation which dominated theand supply capacity in the toy market, as

twentieth-century animation industry.

considered to be distinct from wood by Ida

When it comes to anime which has been
produced using the techniques of cel animation,

Hiroshi (2006: 126), the toy seller and thefounder of the magazine Model Art.

the contribution of plastics did not remain
within animation studios but went so far as tocover the media mix in Marc Steinberg’s (2012)

The Cel as a Viewing Apparatus

definition of the term. In discussion of anime in

Today, cels are no longer used as a common

relation to the media mix, Thomas Lamarrematerial in animation industry where figures areprovides a hint about the relationship between

directly rendered on the computer system, or

anime/media industry and plastics, as he writes:

even if drawn on paper, are scanned into theenvironment of digital filmmaking. Then, aBandai began as a toy company that graduallyquestion is likely to surface like this: is it

expanded into the production of video games

significant to research and investigate thoseand plastic model kits as well as tokusatsu

obsolete materials? Given the material traits andseries and anime. Although they did notaesthetic effects which we discussed above, cels

invent the toy-centered media mix in whichshould be considered as a viewing apparatus in

the anime series is launched to promote toys

hand-drawn animation as is the camera in live-(such as transforming robots), such a strategy

action film. Certainly, the optical camera was

became prevalent in the context of theemployed for the production of cel-based hand-

Gandamu or Gundam series, for which theydrawn animation, but its role was quite limited

are the primary licensee. (2018: Kindle 5953)

not least because it was set on a column, bothbeing part of a larger, usually heavy animation

Extending from this account, plastics havestand, in the convention of animation industry.

functioned as a material basis to turn the hand-

A well-known animator in US animation

drawn two-dimensional figures of characters orindustry, Shamus Culhane commented “Unlike

robots into three-dimensional figurines—and tothe camera in live-action which actually creates,

house such figures within video games. Given

the animation camera merely records what hasthat for those figures, colours are painted on thealready been created” (cited in Frank, 2016:2224).(2) Many of the cameraworks seen in live-

P h o t o g r a p h y,” F r a n k n o t e s t h a t “t h eaction film was simulated using the techniques ofphotographed object and the film itself are, at

cel animation rather than the camera itself.

base, one and the same: celluloid and celluloid”

Bringing to focus the animation stand and layers(2016: 29).

of celluloid sheets, Lamarre remarks:

This consideration of the cel as a viewing
apparatus, along with the camera, the lens andOne common instance is that of a character

film, leads to illuminating the way in which themoving across or over a background. You

viewer of cel animation perceived andmight, for instance, hold the character sheet

experienced a world. While “live-action cinema

in place while, shot by shot, sliding theoffers us one thing, a view of the world,” writes

background celluloid sheet slightly to the left

Frank, “cel animation offers us somethingor right. . . When filmed and projected, thedifferent, a world governed by a physics all its

sensation is not that of the backgroundown, a plasmatic and limitless world where

moving but of the character moving. (2009:

bodies never bruise and anvils are always falling

18-19)

from the sky” (2016: 25). Such a world viewed
in cel animation is not necessarily gone extinct

This account suggests that the viewer of cel

but is remediated within the environment ofanimation films perceive visual events throughdigital filmmaking, as is seen in cel/toon shading

the cel as much as, or much more than, theas a non-photorealistic style of 3-D computer

camera. In other words, the transparent material

rendering. In terms of an extension of humancan be said to be a viewing apparatus, or even an

vision, more importantly, emphasis should be

extension of human vision. The cel also implies

placed on what Frank (2016) refers to as alens and film. On the one hand, it makes thephysics in her above-cited account, or cartoon

viewer see visual images painted on the back ofphysics which Scott Bukatman (2014) brings toeach cel, as well as the background, like the lensfocus in relation to digital animation and video

working as a transmissive device through whichgames. I will return to this issue after in thelight passes so that visual images might appear infollowing sections we discuss our cross-front of the human eye. On the other, visual

disciplinary examination of animation cels, on

images are fixed on the surface of the cel as is onwhich figures are rendered for shooting, that are

the surface of film either in live action orretained and managed in the Archive Center foranimation. Identifying cel-based animation films

Anime Studies, Niigata University.

as photographic archives in her seminal essay,“Traces of the World: Cel Animation and(2) For Culhane’s comment, Hannah Frank cites: Where does the money go? (1955) Sponsor 10(29), Dec 8, 1955.

● Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach23

Investigating the Animation Cels of the
Watanabe Collection

particular, the conservation of animation cels

As noted above, researching animation cels in aacademia.(5)must be a common issue for industry as well as

microanalytic way (3) can help to find how

We have discussed how we can and should

animated “worlds” based on the celluloid

work on the issue in terms of research methods;

material were created. In this sense, we have been

one of us specialises in animation studies, andinvestigating the animation cels, part of thethe other in polymer chemistry. The latter

Watanabe Collection, which the former anime

discipline provides a set of methods, along withdirector Watanabe Hideo entrusted to thean enormous number of knowledge resources, toCenter. In doing so, we found there is a crucial

clarify the constitution, structure and properties

and urgent problem with them, which is thatof each of the main materials—cels, paper sheets

many of them adhere to the paper sheets forand colours—under examination, and how it

inbetweening on which figures are drawn inbehaves and changes in time, in particular,

pencil.

during a chemical reaction with other materials

According to Watanabe (2019), eachand substances. It is quite difficult to say that celsanimation cel is usually coupled with its

are a focus for polymer chemistry seeking toinbetween—a pencil drawing rendered to fill thedeveloping new, state-of-the-art materials; thegap between two extremes of a movement whichinvention of celluloid, the eponymous substancea figure is to display on screen—when circulatedof cels, traces back to the nineteenth century.

between studios in production and then, finallyThis is where a cross-disciplinary approach gains(4)

stored after all shooting. This situation does not

validity.

only hinder researchers from examining

From the perspective of animation studies,animation cels and inbetweens in a separate way

celluloid and other “old” materials/media arebut also is eventually likely to damage both oflocated and evaluated within socio-historicalthem. Therefore, we needed to undertake ancontexts which are to shed light on human

exploration of properly conserving and handling

involvements and interests. As reviewed in my

the two types of materials which already do, or

previous essay “What Do Archived Materials Tellare expected to, adhere to each other, when

Us about Anime?” (2019), one example of cross-archived for further research. Given that stacking

disciplinary attempts with the same issue is thean animation cel and its inbetween sheet forjoint research which was launched in 2009 bystorage is a usual way in the anime industry, in

the Getty Conservation Institute and Disney’s(3) This concept as an animation studies method is put forward by Suzanne Buchan (2014).
(4) See also Production I.G. (2017: 69). In addition, Watanabe (2019) recollects that normally, a sheet of paper was inserted
between the animation cel and the inbetween.
(5) For the conservation of animation cels in the anime industry, see the interview with Yamakawa Michiko (2018).

24

Animation Research Library. What we are

reusing cels from older productions whenconcerned with is the difference between theblank cel supplies ran low explains thisDisney materials and the Watanabe Collection

finding. (2014: 12)

that working in the anime industry between the
1970s and the 1990s, Watanabe obtained from

Both researchers go on to conclude, “No simple

different studios (some of which are not defunct).

relationship existed between the type of plastic

There is no warrant for the hypothesis that cels,and production date” (p.12). Certainly, thepaper and paints were respectively of the same

Watanabe Collection spans much shorter thantype which were used in all the anime studios

the Disney materials, but this does not mean thatover a few decades. It should be noted, inanime’s cels used between the 1970 and theparticular, that the cel shifted in terms of the

1990s did not undergo any transition with

type of plastic from celluloid, that is, cellulose

respect to the type of plastic. Analysing thenitrate, to cellulose acetate or cellulose diacetate,

Disney animation cels, McCormick and Schilling(6)

reveal, “More unexpectedly, there appeared to be

Even regarding the Disney animation cels,a period of transition from cellulose diacetate

McCormick and Schilling, researchers in theusage to cellulose triacetate between The Fox and

ARL-GCI collaboration, report:

the Hound (1981) and Mickey’s Christmas Carolto cellulose triacetate, possibly to polyester.

(1983)” (p.12).
The results from the GCI-ARL research were

As most of the animation cels coupled withrevealing. For instance, the premise thatinbetweens in the Collection are notcellulose acetate replaced cellulose nitrate inaccompanied by their original envelopes (called

the mid-1950s was exposed as akatto-bukuro in Japanese), nor include any textual

misconception. In the cels analyzed, it was

information on their surfaces, each of themfound that cellulose diacetate use began asshould be identified, in terms of the anime title

early as 1929, whereas cellulose nitrate waswhich it was created and used for, by means oflast used in 1942. Also significant was that

iconographical analysis within the context of

not every cel in a production was made fromanime history. The identification of the title

the same type of plastic. For example, bothmakes it possible to clarify the year when it wascellulose diacetate and cellulose nitrate cels

created, and this information of the production

were used for different scenes in Fantasia

year is influential on inferring what type of(1940), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

plastic each animation cel is of, in consideration(1937), and Bambi (1942). Perhaps theof the history of polymer industry in Japan.

animation industry practice of scrubbing and

Recollecting his career in animation(6) This transition between the types of plastic happened to the motion picture film base. For the details of the film base, see
Kodak (2008).

● Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach25

filmmaking, the director Katabuchi Sunao (2010)

recollection suggests that paints need to benotes that around the 1980s, Fuji TAC based in

identified in terms of chemical constitution,

Japan was a major supplier of cels or polymer

behaviour and properties, if possible, relying on

films in the anime industry; the company

each supplier’s documents and samples of theirestablished technologies for the mass production

products.

of cellulose triacetate, or triacetylcellulose (TAC),(7)

In the next section, we proceed to discuss

According to Katabuchi (2010), atchemical analysis of a specimen, chosen among athat time Eastman Kodak was a minor supplierbulk of animation cels unidentified andthat differentiated itself from Fuji TAC, notundocumented, which in iconographical terms,

because it employed different types of polymer

we think, was created for the animated televisionbut because its cels were thinner than those ofseries entitled Galaxy Cyclone Braiger (Ginga

Fuji TAC. As indicated by Katabuchi (2010),

Senpu Braiga), broadcast between 1981 andthis thinness made it possible to increase the1982.

in 1952.

number of layers of cels, which are to be put on
the glass platen of the animation stand, for aheightened sensation of three-dimensionality inAnalysis of Chemical Composition ofPolymer Films Used for Animation Cels

the planar world of hand-drawn animation. In

Called animation cel, the polymer film on which

this sense, too, research of animation cels leads toa variety of figures are drawn to appear to movemaking clear something unknown in our viewing

in projection is usually preserved in the way ofexperience and sensation. Exploration of theinserting the conservation paper between two

resultant effects on screen of the animation celsanimation cels, or between one animation cel

in each shot will need the title information of theand its inbetween sheet as a set. Due to long-anime work where they were used.

term preservation in a humid atmosphere, theWhen it comes to paints for cels, there werepolymer film is likely to adhere to the conservation

two major suppliers: Taiyo Shikisai and STAC,

paper and is difficult to peel one off from theand the background artist Tsujita Kunio (2007)

other. The selected specimen is under arecollects that the paints of Taiyo Shikisai showed

particularly serious condition as are the rest ofdifferent behaviours from those of STAC, one

the Watanabe Collection; the polymer film

lacking compatibility with the other. The

adheres directly to the inbetween sheet without

common view is that acrylic paint was employed

any conservation paper between both.

for cels in animation industry, and yet, his

Recently, animation cels become considered(7) For details, see the official webpage of Fujifilm about its history with the section entitled “Firumu Beisu Funenka Eno
Charenji—TAC Beisu No Kaihatsu” (Attempts to Make the Film Base Non-flammable: the Development of the TAC Base).
https://www.fujifilm.co.jp/corporate/aboutus/history/ayumi/dai2-04.html (accessed Dec 11, 2019)26

to be not only commercially but also

the evaluation of animation cels which require

academically valuable, and therefore, it iscareful handling.

important to properly deal with them and evenFigure 1 shows one animation cel, selected

peel the inbetween sheet off from the polymer

for this analysis, of which the electric andfilm in adhesion without any damage. However,morphological investigations were carried out.

a suitable method is not yet developed. This

The painted part in the animation cel adheres tocurrent situation required us to review andthe inbetween sheet, indicating that the pigments

investigate chemical and physical methodologies

have a good affinity with both polymer film andto make clear the problem and further find apaper. The painted part contains a small amountsolution.

of water even though it was dried thoroughly

The problem originates from the adhesion

after being painted. It is because that pigments

between the inbetween sheet and the pigment

strongly interact with water molecules due topainted on the polymer film. Therefore, thetheir hydrophilic property. That is, the paints

investigations of the physical properties of paper

behave as an adhesive agent between polymer

and pigments are needed to clear the issue.

film and paper.

Further, the adhesion itself at the interface

The electric resistivity measurement is useful

between paper and polymer film is also crucial

for the evaluation of polymer films since it is sen-since the interface never exfoliates by simply

sitive to chemical composition. It is well known

peeling one off from the other. Aware of thesethat materials show an intrinsic value of electriccomplicated situations, we started theresistivity depending on the number density ofinvestigation of the chemical composition of the

conductive carriers in the material. We measured

polymer films used for the animation cels andthe electric resistivity of the animation cel attheir paired paper sheets that were supposedly

room temperature using an applied voltage ofcreated in the early 1980s.

1,000 V. There are two possibilities of polymers

There are some methods to analyse themainly used for animation cels in the 1980s, ace-chemical composition of polymer films: forexample, solubility test by organic solvent, flame
reaction and thermal degradation temperature.
As these tests are destructive, however, they are
not suitable for works of art, such as animationȏǡ
ǤȐ

cels, worth preserving. We propose here apossibility of the electric measurements, e.g.
electric resistivity and dielectric constant, for achemical analysis of animation cels. Both electricmeasurements are non-destructive and useful for

Figure 1 An animation cel selected for electric measurements andmorphological observation● Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach27

tylcellulose and nitrocellulose.(8) The electric resistivity of nitrocellulose is normally below 1011
Wcm, while the resistivity of acetylcellulose is ina range of 1010 – 1014 Wcm. The electric resistivity measured with the animation cel was 9×1013
Wcm.
The dielectric constant is useful for the evaluation of polymer films since it is sensitive to thepolarisability of monomers. We measured the dielectric constant of the animation cel at room

Figure 2 The scanning electron microscopy photograph for theinbetween sheet provided for morphological observation

temperature at a frequency range of 60 Hz – 8MHz. The relative dielectric constant at 1.0

and the pigments penetrating into it. We are now

MHz was 3.6, which coincides in the range ofgroping the methodology to reduce the interac-dielectric constant for acetylcellulose (3.5 – 7.5).

tion so that animation cels might not be dam-

Both results of the electric measurements indi-

aged.

cate that the constituent polymer of the animation cel in Figure 1 is acetylcellulose.

We have briefly described a non-destructive
chemical analysis of polymers with an animation

Besides the chemical property of the anima-

cel created 1980s, and discussed a possibletion cel discussed above, the physical property

mechanism of the adhesion between inbetween

such as surface morphology is also important tosheet and animation cel. Although our study has

make clear the mechanism of the adhesion prop-

just started, we hope that our approacherty. It is well known that the adhesion force

contributes to the long-term conservation ofstrongly depends on surface roughness. Figure 2

animation cels in good condition.

shows the scanning electron microscopy photograph of the inbetween sheet coupled with theanimation cel in Figure 1. The surface morpholo-

Irony with Cel-mediated Worlds

gy of the sheet was similar to a commercial copy

Let us return to Frank’s (2016) account of

paper and it had many pores with sizes of several

plasmatic-ness and limitless-ness as a resultant

10 microns. It is generally known that pigments

effect of the cel material. In particular, the term,

penetrate into the pores and this results in a highplasmatic, is quite familiar but still remains

adhesive force. In order to peel the inbetween

enigmatic to many animation studies scholars,

sheet off from the cel, accordingly, it is importantsince seeing Merbabies (1938), Sergei Eisenstein

to break the strong interaction between the paper(1988) put it forward in his seminal essay—(8) These polymers are also respectively called cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate.

28

written around the early 1940s—on Disney. As

Eisenstein’s plasmatic-ness to Catherine Malabou’s

discussed above, the worlds constructed in andphilosophical concept of plasticity. In conducting

using cel animation can arouse in the viewers asuch a project, however, Furuhata is quick todifferent physical sensation of mass, gravity,

consider both plasmatic-ness and plasticity as

forces, velocity, acceleration, motion andequivalent, when she refers to “Eisenstein’s theory

impulse. While our intention is not to argue thatof plasticity in early Disney animation” (2010:

this kind of sensation is unique to cel animation,29). Above all, Furuhata’s concern is how human

it is quite certain that cel plastics functioned as aagents like Disney animators successfully showed

substantial basis to construct such worlds.

animated images by employing visual apparatuses

The material and central aspect of cel

and media to observe the actual movements ofanimation is what Frank (2016) tries to connect

humans and animals, and not what they were

those viewed worlds to, and yet her attempt does

not allowed by those materials for their artistic

not go so far as to cover the way in which celcreations to show.

plastics have functioned to form human vision.

In this regard, we turn back to draw on

It is also outside the scope of Eisenstein’s concept

Frank’s (2016) discussion about the mistakes, leftof plasmatic in his observation of Disney and its

in animation films, which include Newton’s rings

cel animation films. Indeed, Eisenstein (1988)

or optical interference patterns created bymarginalises the materiality and media specificity

lighting on the cel surface, dust and dirt, humanof the cel, a streak of plastics developed thus far

dandruff, etc. (p.29). Normally, these physicalin chemistry since the mid-nineteenth century,

and corporeal traces should be removed fromwhile he is much concerned with the sensation ofanimation cels while being photographed because

God-like omnipotence in terms of the concept ofthey, writes Franks, “remind[s] us of what is lost(9)in photographic reproduction” (2016: 32). One

Such an optimistic view of artistic mastery isof this loss is three-dimensional space existing

criticised by Andrew Darley, who states, “Allaround and between layers of cels and amedia are limited (and limiting): they enablebackground in front of the camera. The cel

certain things and constrain others” (2007: 64).

medium of transparency makes a world appear

A recent attempt to explore the issue ofb efore h uman si g h t as i f th ere were noplastic in the context of animation studies seems

intermediacy nor interference but immediacy

to be Yuriko Furuhata’s (2011) essay, “Rethinking

between viewer and viewed; consequently, it

Plasticity: The Politics and Production of the

becomes a retina.(10)plasmatic he supposedly derived from biology.

Animated Image”, in which she extends

Lost is not only three-dimensionality but also(9) Christophe Thouny (2019) noted that Eisenstein’s concept of plasmatic was inspired by biology.
(10) A recent and explicit example of this prosthetic conceptualisation of media is Apple’s display called retina.

● Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach29the viewer’s sense of physical or tactile access to athe outmoded plastic retina and its digital

viewed world. As characters and other figures are

remediations.

usually painted on the back of the cels, thecolours painted there do not show any texture as

Among a countless number of intermediate

the trace which the brush leaves; while in thematerials created for conventional animation

convention of cel animation, backgrounds should

production, emphatically, animation cels worked

be held back not to argue themselves so much,as profilmic objects and events which should beeven though being rendered in a painterly way

foregrounded on screen. The ways in which they

forming some texture. All the brush texture is sowere manipulated under the camera with thehidden behind the cel as to disappear from theanimation stand are quite directly involved in thefield of human sight, at the same time whenways in which we as viewers recognise andbecause of the smoothness of its surface, the cel

experience the world as well as worlds. In thismakes every figure look flat, homogeneous,respect, we need to understand the physical andimmaterial and eventually unattainable.

chemical traits of cel plastics that should be

Conventional cel animation does not allow

considered as parameters of the manipulation of

the viewer to envision anything profilmic, if it iscels. However, the current situation with these

non-diegetic, which existed on the cel and its

materials seems to be serious. As regards plastics,

back under the camera, as Frank points out,

Odile Madden and Tom Learner (11) note that

“What was visible to the naked eye, such as the“their technology is relatively immature”, goingtransparent sheet of celluloid, disappears beneathon to indicate:

the camera’s gaze” (2016: 26). To put it
accurately, it should be said that despite its

Our experience with them is much shorter,

apparent transparency and invisibility, the celand the objects being nominated for culturalfunctions as the agent that tells the viewer not toheritage status were made only recently. We

focus on anything that would reveal the material

have limited understanding of how they will

realty of and around it. In light of Frank, it isbehave, and, in contrast to antiquities, we arecertain that archiving and researching animation

tasked with stewarding the unstable andcels lead to clarifying what has been lost in

stable alike. (2014: 6)

envisioning, creating and perceiving worlds—
what human agents failed to achieve either

Plastics are still new materials to human beings,

despite or without their artistic goals and whatand so is the cel. This “new” material/medium

viewers have been prohibited from seeing—with

demands more understanding of it before all the(11) Madden is a research scientist with the Museum Conservation Institute of the Smithsonian Institution. Learner is headof Science at the Getty Conservation Institute.

30

animation cels are thrown away into incinerators
because the number of them is too large to keep
and manage in the anime industry.

Animation. Minneapolis and London: University of
Minnesota Press.
Lamarre, Thomas (2018) The Anime Ecology: A Genealogy of
Television, Animation, and Game Media. Kindle Edition.
Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
Madden, Odile, and Learner, Tom (2014) Preserving plastics: an

References
evolving material, a maturing profession. Conservation
Buchan, Suzanne (2014) Animation, in theory. In: Beckman,
Perspectives: The GCI Newsletter, 29 (1) Spring 2014: 4-9.
Karen (ed.) Animating Film Theory. Kindle edition. Durham
McCormick, Kristen, and Schilling, Michael R. (2014) Animationand London: Duke University Press, Kindle 2517-2897.
cels: preserving a portion of cinematic history. Conservation
Bukatman, Scott (2014) Some observations pertaining to cartoon
Perspectives: The GCI Newsletter, 29 (1) Spring 2014: 10-12.
physics; or, the cartoon cat in the machine. In: Beckman,
Production I.G. (2017) Animation Akaibu No Kino To Jissen (The
Karen (ed.) Animating Film Theory. Kindle Edition. Durham
Function and Practice of the Animation Archive). Tokyo:
and London: Duke University Press, Kindle 6219-6515.
Production I.G.
Darley, Andrew (2007) Bones of contention: thoughts on the
Steinberg, Marc (2012) Anime’s Media Mix: Franchising Toys andstudy of animation. Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal,
Characters in Japan. Kindle Edition. Minneapolis and2(1): 63-76.
London: University of Minnesota Press.
Eisenstein, Sergei (1988) Eisenstein on Disney. London: Methuen.
Thouny, Christophe (2019) Conversation with Kim Joon Yang at
Frank, Hannah (2016) Traces of the world: cel animation andthe conference “Theorizing Anime: Invention of Concepts
photography. Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11(1):and Conditions of Their Possibility” at Waseda University on
23-39.
Nov 16, 2019.
Furuhata, Yuriko (2011) Rethinking plasticity: the politics and
Tsujita, Kunio (2007) Shikisai sekkei oboegaki: dai 8kai mukashi
production of the animated image. Animation: An
mukashi . . . (6) seru enogu wa amai kaori ga suteki (Notes ofInterdisciplinary Journal, 6(1): 25-38.
designing colours: episode 8: long, long time ago . . . (6) the
GCI (2015) GCI News Project Updates: News Work with Disneysweet scent of cel paints are lovely). Anime Sutairu. Available
ARL continues. The GCI Newsletter, 30(2) Fall 2015: 33.
at: http://style.fm/as/05_column/tsujita/tsujita08.shtml
Ibonai, Masaru (1980) Plasutikku Nyumon (Introduction to(accessed Dec 12, 2019)
Plastics). Tokyo: Kogyo Chosakai.
Yamakawa, Michiko (2018) “Anime akaibu” no genjo to kadai wa?
Ida, Hiroshi (2006) Nihon Puramoderu Koboshi: Kodomotachi No
Production I.G shozoku no “akaibu tanto” ni intabyu (What
Showashi (The Rise and Fall of Plastic Models in Japan: The
are the current situation and issues with the “archive ofShowa History of Children). Tokyo: Bunshun.
anime”? - interview with the “archive staff” at Production I.G)
Katabuchi, Sunao (2010)

β -undo no kishibe de: dai 28 kai:

Anime! Anime! Available at: https://animeanime.jp/

70miri, kyaderakku eiga (On the shore of beta-movement :article/2018/08/19/39556.html (accessed Nov 11, 2018)
episode 28: 70mm or “Cadillac” movie). Anime Sutairu.
Watanabe, Hideo (2019) Interview with Kim Joon Yang. Oct 13,
Available at: http://style.fm/as/05_column/katabuchi/katabu2018.
chi_028.shtml (accessed Dec 2019)
Kodak (2008) The Essential Reference Guide for Filmmakers.
Available at: https://www.kodak.com/uploadedfiles/motion/
Kodak/motion/Education/Publications/Essential_Reference_
Guide/kodak_essential_reference_guide.pdf (accessed Oct 11,2016)
Lamarre, Thomas (2009) The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of

Acknowledgements
This essay was supported by JSPS KAKENHI
Grant Number 17K02356.

● Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach

31

Kim Joon Yang is Associate Professor at Niigata University and Co-director of the Archive Center for Anime Studies,
Niigata University. His research field includes animation studies, focusing on subhuman/posthuman figures in animation
and beyond.
Dr. Mitsumata Tetsu is Associate Professor (Research Professor) at Niigata University and a member of the Archive Center
for Anime Studies, Niigata University. His research field includes materials chemistry.

32

Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents:
An Analysis of the Afureko Script
Ishida Minori

several kinds of the intermediate materials that

Introduction

were created and used for making theActors who voice characters in animated media

soundtracks for anime works.

are called voice actors (seiyu in Japanese). Similar
to actors performing in television, cinema andtheatre, voice actors play someone different from

Audio-visual Separation and Synchronization

themselves. However, acting and voice acting are

There are two different processes for creating

not considered the same performance oranime characters. One is related to the visual

profession. One of the main reasons is that thepresence of characters; animators give life to thevoice actors in anime and animated media only

characters by creating a succession of drawings,

create the acoustic presence of characters,

in terms of traditional animation, that make thewhereas television, cinema, and theatre actors

hand-drawn figures appear moving to thecompletely embody the characters they play—audience. The other is related to the characters’

both acoustically, visually and physically. Then

acoustic presence. Voice actors give voices to the

how does the performance of voice actors

characters. As these two processes are conducted

specifically differ from that of television, cinema

separately, the anime characters are formed

and theatre actors?

through a combination of aural and visual tracks

My essay attempts to answer this question by

after initially being split into these two media.

analysing two different scripts of Episode 33,

Furthermore, the visual-acoustic existence of“Kasan ga inai (Mother has disappeared)” ofanimated characters requires another process for

Haha Wo Tazunete Sanzenri (3000 Leagues incombining the two media.

Search for Mother, directed by Takahata Isao),

There are two ways of performing this process

the animated television series which was aired inof combination. The first is called prescoring,

1976. Both scripts are part of the Watanabe

which involves recording voices in advance,

Collection at the Archive Center for Animeb e f o re re n d e r i n g t h e c h a r a c t e r s’ v i s u a lStudies, Niigata University, which includes

appearances, including facial expressions and● Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents: An Analysis of the Afureko Script33

body movements. In this case, the visual aspects

automatically implies the prioritization of voice

are synchronised with voice, as the animators

acting over drawing, whereas afureko prioritizes

draw the characters while listening to thethe drawing of characters over voice acting.

recorded voices. Prescoring is mainly used byAccording to the anime scholar and critic

animation productions in the United States,

Fujitsu Ryota (2018:100–103), a director creates

especially in Disney’s feature-length animations.

the storyboard that determines the outline of the

The second way to combine vocal and visualvoice acting required for characters, which iselements in an animation involves a reversed

followed by voice actors using the script for voiceorder of the above-mentioned processes—therecording in afureko (hereafter called the afureko

characters’ voices are recorded after their facial

script). The afureko script is created from theexpressions and body movements have beenstoryboard that is drawn by the director. Fujitsu

drawn, or at least decisions are made of thethus concludes that voice acting is “a work oftimings and contents of the characters’

assembling playing and expressing charactersmovements. This method is usually used inwi th i n a fr ame work d eci d ed by oth er s”

Japanese TV anime, and is called afureko, the(2018:103). This raises a question regarding how

Japanese word which was coined to refer toa framework imposed on voice actors affects their“after-recording”.

voice acting in afureko. The afureko script for

Neither the prescoring nor the afureko“Kasan ga inai,” Episode 33 of Haha Wo Tazunete

processes involve showing the voice actors’ bodies

Sanzenri, helps identify the framework for voice

to the audience. Nonetheless, voice actors’

acting in afureko.

capacity for deciding performance on-site (i.e.
pacing, breathing) significantly varies between
the methods of prescoring and afureko. In

The Function of Commas

prescoring, voice acting leads the visual aspects as

Usually every afureko script is divided into three

the recorded character voices offer the basis forparts (Figure1).

animators to rely on. In the Disney production
processes, “ it is very important that the
animators be able to “see” the attitudes andexpressions when they close their eyes and listen
to the voice” (Thomas and Johnston, 1995: 204),
because characters’ “ personality is revealed not
so much in speeches as in mannerisms, and moreentertaining characters are created with the little
sounds rather than the actual dialogue”(Thomas
and Johnston, 1995: 204). Therefore, prescoring

34

Figure 1 The afureko script for “Kasan ga inai,” Episode 33 of Haha
Wo Tazunete Sanzenri in1976

The numbers at the top of the table in each scriptmine)

page indicate the cut numbers which appear in
the storyboard. In the middle part of the table,

マルコ：「でも、メレッリ叔父さんがthere are explanations for the movements of the……？」camera and characters, as well as the scene or

モレッティ：「そのことだがね」

background details. The lowest part includes thecharacters’ dialogues and the relevant descriptions. In

The following are the visual instructions

this essay, I focus on the comma “,” (accurately

corresponding to these lines, which are written in

written as “、” which is called toten in the Japanesethe middle part table on page 29 of the afureko

writing system), and the ellipsis “…” or “……”script:in the lines of the dialogues. By examining theroles of the comma and ellipsis in the afureko

Marco bursts out standing up promptly.

script, I will clarify the characteristics of voice

And he leans slightly to listen to Moletti

acting in afureko-led anime.

Marco comes into “!?” (which means thatIn Episode 33, the protagonist Marco—aMarco becomes confused; translation mine)

little Italian boy who finding his mother, has left
his hometown Genoa—arrives in an Argentinian

マルコ思わず立って

town with a family of touring actors. There,

応じるように軽く体を乗り出して

Marco visits the residence of Moretti, a town

マルコ !? となる。

councillor who may have information about his
mother. The dialogue between Marco and

The separation between the visual instructions inMoretti develops between Cuts 163 and 208. In

the middle part and the dialogue lines in the

Cut 169, the two characters sit facing each other,bottom part in the afureko script clearly indicatesand in Cut 172, Moretti tells Marco that his

the two references of the anime character—themother is unlikely to be present in thevisual and the auditory. Additionally, at the same

Argentinian town. In the following Cut 173,

time, the afureko script demonstrates the way

Marco is surprised by Moretti’s remark, followedthat the two different media are integrated. In

by Moretti explaining reasons for his remark to

the completed anime version as well as in the

Marco. The following are two lines of dialogue inafureko script, Marco stands up from his chair,(1)this cut on page 29 of the afureko script :and this moment corresponds precisely to that of
the “,” in the script. In this sense, the comma in

Marco: But, uncle Merelli ……?

the script functions as a cue for voice actors toMoretti: I am going to explain it. (translationsynchronize with the visual instruction.

(1) The afureko script for Episode 33 is a material of the Watanabe Collection. The collection serial number is 52.

● Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents: An Analysis of the Afureko Script35

In the production process of the anime series

script, the comma has not been inserted in the

directed by Takahata, apart from the afureko

preparatory script. This indicates that the comma

script analysed above, there is a different type of“,” was added during the stage of creating thescript written by a scriptwriter to organise thestoryboard when Marco’s action of standing up

flow of the story before creating the storyboard

from the chair was determined by the director. In(Figure 2). Hereafter I call this script preparatory

working on the storyboard, the director makes

script.

the cuts by measuring the characters’ movements
and the length and duration of the dialogues
using a stopwatch (3). In fact, the preparatory
script does not include a description of Marcositting in the chair.
The congruence between the completed
anime version and the afureko script clearlyshows that the comma precisely coincides withthe moment when Marco stands up. In otherwords, the “,” in the afureko script is not only to

Figure 2 The preparatory script for “Kasan ga inai,” Episode 33 ofHaha Wo Tazunete Sanzenri in 1976

ask voice actors to pause but also indicates thetiming of the boy character’s relevant movement.

The preparatory script only comprises the scenes,

Therefore, this implies that voice actors’

which are not yet divided into cuts. On page 19

dialogue delivery has to be synchronized with(2)of the preparatory script , in Scene 13, thehand-drawn characters’ movements at the timing

counterpart of Marco’s above-mentioned

signified with commas. Considering the

dialogue is written as follows:presence/absence of the “,” in the afureko script
and the preparatory script, as well as the

Marco: “But uncle Merelli ......?”

congruence between the commas in the afureko(translation mine)

script and the characters’ movements in the final
anime version, the “,” in the afureko script is

マ ル コ：「でもメレッリ叔父さんがrevealed to be an important hinge for……？」synchronising the boy character’s movementswith the voice acting. The “,” can neither be

Although this line is the same in the afureko

deleted or moved, nor can it be added at the(2) The preparatory script for Episode 33 is a material of the Watanabe Collection. The collection serial number is 51.
(3) Stopwatches are widely used by many anime directors to calculate the duration of the cut. In “Takahata Isao Ten: Nihon
No Animation Ni Nokoshita Mono”, a retrospective exhibition of Takahata held in 2019, his stopwatches used for the anime
productions were exhibited.

36improvisation or decision of the voice actor on-

dialogue—is not only used in the afureko scripts

site. In other words, commas are one of thefor anime but also in the scripts for radio andframeworks that are imposed on voice actors

television dramas, films, and theatre plays.

within the context of anime production.

However, the use of the ellipsis varies between

In anime productions of the 2010s, it is quite

media; for example, the ellipsis in radio dramas israre for the visual aspects of the work to be

likely to be the variously nuanced sounds of voicecompleted until the afureko. To overcome

actors’ voices, even if they are not articulated inscheduling conflicts during production, awords. In addition to these sounds, therihasaru (rehearsal) video (Morikawa, 2018: 2),

movements of actors in TV dramas, films, andin which each cut is edited according to its

theatre plays are presented visually and/or

duration in the storyboard, is provided to voice

physically. Then, how is the ellipsis performed inactors prior to the afureko. In the rihasaru video,

the afureko script for anime? A comparison of thethe names of characters with dialogue lines areafureko script with the completed scenes ofwritten in a rectangle for each cut of the

Episode 33 indicates that the ellipsis plays astoryboard. This rectangle, called “borudo” indifferent role in afureko-led anime from that inJapanese, flashes while the characters speak, andradio or TV dramas, live-action films, and theatre

allows the voice actors to prepare for theplays.

recording session by coordinating the afureko

To demonstrate this difference, I consider the

script (Fujitsu, 2018: 100; Saito, 2018). Even in

example of Cut 72 described on page 16 of thethis video being a new intermediate material

afureko script for Episode 33. In the middle part

created during digital production, the timing atof the afureko script table, the visual instruction

which the flashing begins and ends is exactly

simply indicates the name of the character

what the “,” works for in the afureko script. This

Fiorina, with her line written in the lower part:is a device used for precisely synchronising“Tosan (Dad)......”. In Cut 71, Fiorina’s father

recorded dialogues with visual instructions andPeppino asks Marco to go finding his mother on

can be considered an imposition by otherhis own. In the subsequent Cut 72 of the final

production crew members on voice actors.

anime version, Fiorina’s worried face is presented

Commas’ equivalents continue to function as a

in a bust shot. Fiorina blinks her eyes after she

framework in digital productions.

says “Tosan.” When I observe this cut on screen,
Fiorina’s mouth stops moving after saying‘Tosan,’ and then her eyes begin blinking, which

The Function of the Ellipsis

continues until the end of this cut. The ellipsis in

In this section, I analyse the function of thethe afureko script corresponds to the blinking of

ellipsis (“……”) in the afureko script. The

Fiorina’s eyes. The opening and closing of theellipsis—which indicates a pause without

character’s mouth indicate speech, which● Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents: An Analysis of the Afureko Script37

corresponds to the duration of “Tosan” which
she says. This demonstrates that the “......” in the

マルコ「………。病気で……母さんがafureko script indicates the character’s blinking

死んだかも……しれないって……もうmovements other than the mouth movements.

逢えないかも知れないって、そう、モHere, I further discuss what the “......”

レッティさんは……」

signifies in another cut. In Cut 185 on page 31
and 32 of the afureko script, which is part of the

I compare Marco’s movements in the final anime

conversation between Marco and Moretti, theversion with its description in the afureko script.

ellipsis is synchronised with Marco’s facial

With the first ellipsis, Marco opens his eyes,

movements. In this cut, Moretti’s remark thatraises his eyebrows, and slightly inclines his neck.

Marco’s mother may have died upsets the boy.

Then Marco’s mouth begins moving from the

The visual instruction is described in the middle

moment he starts to say “Because of disease.”part of the afureko script table as follows:This is followed by Marco continuing to speakwith his mouth moving, although his speech

Marco is shivering and get chilled.

pauses for a short moment, and this pause

His body moves slightly forward.

happens as indicated by each of the three(translation mine)placements of the “......” on screen. More
importantly, with this line, Marco’s eyebrows andマルコ、ブルルッとおこりの様に

eyes move repetitively, apart from the mouth

体がふるえる

movements, in the completed scene. Thisやsuggests that the “......” in the afureko script

前へ体がゆらぐ

represents the movement of facial parts otherthan the mouth(4).
In the lower part of the afureko script table,
Marco’s line is written as follows:

The comma and ellipsis in the afureko script
define the range of voice acting in detail. The
comma determines the synchronisation of the

Marco: “......... Because of disease ...... myvoice acting with the character’s movements. Thismother...... may have died?

means that the timing allowing the voice actor to...... I might not be able to meet her again,

breathe is pre-determined while creating the

Mr. Moretti, you think so ......”

storyboard. The ellipsis indicates the movements(translation mine)of facial parts other than the mouth, which may(4) Also in the storyboard of BrenPawado (Brain Powerd) created by Tomino Yoshiyuki in 1998, the ellipsis indicates the
movements of facial parts other than the mouth. Cut 27 for Episode 6 in the storyboard of BrenPawado shows thecorrespondence of “……” to the eye movements of a character (Amamoto, 2019: 328). This cut was published in the catalog
for the exhibition “Tomino Yoshiyuki no Sekai” held in 2019.

38

result in the performance of voice actors being

able to enrich and deepen their performance ini n t e r r u p t e d . T h e re f o re , i n t h e a c o u s t i c

the afureko environment. Such potential of voice

development of characters, voice acting is

acting is found in the Episode 33 of Haha Wo

required to be synchronized with the timings

Tazunete Sanzenri. For example, there is a cut in

pre-determined by the director.

which Peppino, the leader of the puppet troupe

Voice acting for afureko is completely

traveling with Marco, arrives at an inn. On pagedifferent from that for prescoring in which the

14 of the afureko script, this cut is numbered 62.

character’s voice is recorded first. In the case of

In the middle part of the afureko script table, theprescoring, the picture is synchronised with thevisual instruction for Peppino, his daughter

voice of the character, and is based on the voice

Concetta and the innkeeper Lucia is given as

actor’s own timing of delivering dialogues.

follows:

However, in afureko, voice acting is performed insynchrony with the picture. As mentioned by

Peppino receives the key and hands it to

Fujitsu, it is usual that drawing and other main

Concetta. Lucia pushes the inn book toprocesses in animation production are not

Peppino looking back, who then writes down

entirely finished before the stage of afureko, andtheir names in it. Concetta turns to the left,consequently, animators often keep drawing,

moving only her neck, FR-O (from this cut

even listening to the recorded voices of voice

on, Lucia remains in the same pose).

actors. Fujitsu (2018:102) concludes that both(translation mine)prescoring and afureko are, as a matter of fact,
adopted in the current anime production.

ペ ッ ピ ー ノ、 キ イ を う け と っ て コ ン

Nonetheless, the afureko script and rehearsal

チェッタに渡す。ルシーア、ふりかえ

video on which voice acting heavily relies can be

るペッピーノに宿帳を押しやり、ペッstill said to determine the timing of its

ピーノ宿帳を書く コンチェッタは左へ

synchronisation with visual instructions. In this

FR・O と FR・O 首だけ動かす（以后、sense, voice actors are not allowed to

ルシーアは両肘をついたまま）

autonomously determine the tempo or intervals
in the dialogues.

In the lower part of the afureko script table, thelines are written as follows:

Nuances Embedded in the Sounds

Concetta: “Let’s go, Giulietta”

Is it that the role of the voice actor in afureko is

Peppino: “Well done [yare yare], I can relax.”

only to obey the determinations in visual

Lucia: “Oh, just a moment!”

instructions? The answer, of course, is negative. I(translation mine)claim that voice actors engaging in anime are● Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents: An Analysis of the Afureko Script39

コンチェッタ「さァ、ジュリエッタ行

one millimetre or two millimetres” (Morikawa,

きましょう」

2018: 133). This remark indicates the strict

ペッピーノ「やれやれ [yare yare]、こcondition under which voice actors act in

れで手足がのばせる」

afureko. Adding Morikawa’s remarks on voice

ルシーア「あ、ちょっと！」

acting to my analysis of the afureko script helps
shed light on that voice actors in the afureko
system express the characters in their own

In this cut, Peppino’s line, “ や れ や れ (yareoriginal ways, performing in synchrony with theyare),” is not only articulated by the sound “yaretiming and duration decided by other humanyare.” On screen, I heard that the sigh is integrated

agents, even down to 1/24th of a second.

with “ やれやれ (yare yare).” As a result, this not
only conveys that Peppino has finally arrived at
References

the inn following his long journey, but also thathe experiences the hardships and sorrows of a

Amamoto, Shin’ichiro (ed) (2019) Tomino Yoshiyuki No Sekai.
Tokyo: Kinema Jumposha.

traveling artist. Taking a breath is performed to

Fujitsu, Ryota (2018) Seiyu ron: Tsushiteki, jisshoteki ichi kosatsu.

the timing of the comma after “ や れ や れ (yareIn Koyama, Masahiro, and Sugawa, Akiko (eds) Anime Ken-yare)”, which is linked to the visual direction

kyu Nyumon Oyohen: Anime Wo Kiwameru 11 No Kotsu. Tokyo: Gendai shokan, 93–117.

observed by voice actors in afureko. Nagai Ichiro
playing the character controls his breath, adds

Morikawa, Toshiyuki (2018) Seiyu: Koe No Shokunin, Tokyo:Iwanami Shoten.

various nuances to his voice, and conveys the

Saito, Tomoko (2018) Personal Interview, 23 November.

character’s innermost feelings, thereby literally

Thomas, Frank and Johnston, Ollie (1995) The Illusion of Life:

breathing life into the animated creation.

Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

The voice actor, Morikawa Toshiyuki provides

This essay was supported by JSPS KAKENHI

opinions which regarding voice acting, deserve

Grant Number 17K02356.

serious academic attention. As regards audio

I express my sincere appreciation to Ms. Saito

dramas (called Dorama CD in Japanese), which

Tomoko for telling her experience as a soundMorikawa thinks of as the origin of voice acting,producer in the Japanese anime industry.

he claims that voice acting means “to express by

Dr. Ishida Minori is Professor at Niigata University and Co-director of the Archive Center for Anime Studies, Niigata
University. Her research field includes visual and audio cultures focusing on voice and gender in anime40

The Archive in Anime Production:
Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion
Ida Kirkegaard

itself constitutes an archive of primary materials,

Introduction

albeit largely an immaterial one, and its

In anime, the term ‘bank’ is typically used toimportance to the form of Japanese anime makes

refer to an archive of cuts of animation that, once

it an issue worth studying. More to the point ofcreated, are used again and again in different

this volume, however, bringing up the issue of celcontexts. ‘Cut’ in an anime context refers to abank in a volume about archiving andcontinuous bit of animation where the ‘camera’intermediate materials leads to questions about

does not switch its point of view, analogous to a

the relationship between the cel bank andshot in live-action filmmaking. These cuts areintermediate materials in general. How candetermined and named in storyboards andintermediate materials help us understand thisgenerally handled by key animators. Although

aspect of anime production better? While the celthe production method is similar to what isbank as archive might be mostly a metaphor, in

commonly known as stock footage, the two

pre-digital anime production it was nonethelessterms in Japanese are not used as synonyms, withconnected to a physical archive of drawings, celsbank being used primarily in animation contexts

and film strips. Even more importantly,

to describe cuts made for and used within aintermediate materials reveal the traces of the cel

specific series while stock footage signifies

bank and how it was used. Most prominently,‘canned’ footage from a central archive that can

the cel bank becomes visible in storyboards ( ฻崛嵛be used in several different productions. In other崮 ), which organise how the cel bank is utilised andwords, the ‘bank’ refers to a metaphorical archive

so contain the most visible traces of this largelyof cuts that are reused within the production of aimmaterial archive.

given anime production, but at least generally
not used in any subsequent productions.
This essay attempts to give an overview of the

A Short History of the Bank Systemcel bank, the reasons it came to be, and its effect

While this essay primarily uses the terms cel bankon anime production. The cel bank in and ofand bank cuts, there are several alternative terms● The Archive in Anime Production: Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

41

for the same system, including image bank andanime, the ubiquity of bank cuts in anime can bebank footage. The term cel bank, however, is thetraced back to the Mushi Pro studio and its Astromost relevant to the topic of archiving as it hints

Boy series for television (1963-1966). Even if theat the reason why bank cuts are and have been sobasic concept of reusing cuts was not strictly

ubiquitous in anime: using them in a production

invented for the series, the pioneering mangasaves cels, the single frames painted on celluloid

artist Tezuka Osamu did coin the term, banksheets that were photographed one by one tosystem, in parallel to the star system which refers

create pre-digital 2D animation. This is useful forto the way of allowing characters to reappear in

TV productions operating under strict

his different manga works. The bank system waslimitations of budget and production time,

just one of the many techniques of limited

where re-using cels frees scarce resources to beanimation the series relied on to meet its weekly

used on other cuts. Even in today’s digitalschedule and to remain somewhat within its

production landscape, filling the entire

limited budget. Being a robot-themed TV series,

23-minute airtime of a typical anime episode

Astro Boy was also particularly suited to limitedwith newly created animation materials is very

animation and bank cuts. As Marc Steinberg

difficult to achieve for most productions, which(2012: 78) points out, the titular character’s jet-usually have to contend with very limited

propelled flying was convenient in its lack of

production time and human resources. Usingneed for any movement beyond a dynamic stillbank cuts alongside new animation materials is

image dragged across a background. Flight as athus an effective way of saving precious time andform of locomotion detached from the physicalresources that can then be focused on the new

surroundings and the minimalist futurist

material. In the 1980s, when half-hour Americanbackgrounds of Astro Boy’s world made it easier

TV cartoons for the US market were routinely

for the animators to insert the archival cuts in

outsourced by Hollywood studios to be animatedvarious episodes than if Astro Boy had, forin Japan, up to 12,000 new cel drawings alongexample, commuted on a bicycle, or swungwith inbetweens of the same number were

through his city like Spider-Man.

created for a single episode of a cartoon.

Although the highly influential robot animeM e a n w h i l e , h o w e v e r, d o m e s t i c a n i m e

Astro Boy seems to be strongly connected to the

productions were allowed 5,000 new cel

development of the bank system, this does not

drawings at best, going as low as 1,200 at certain

provide a sufficient explanation of why bank cutsstudios. This made cel-saving measures such as

have become so prominent in that particularbank cuts much more important for anime

genre as this has evolved through decades.

production than they were for the foreign

Alongside the magical girl genre, another genre

counterpart.

strongly associated with bank cuts, robot anime

As are many other significant traits of TV

42

is notorious for prominently featuring elaborately

animated bank cuts, such as robot launches andfocus more and more on the characters’ deterioratingtransformation sequences, in every episode. Thismental states. As the characters spiral down

connection between genre and the ubiquity of

into despair and confusion, so does the oncebank cuts becomes particularly noticeable in theconventional narrative and even the world of thecase of Neon Genesis Evangelion which I havestory itself. It is this combination of conventional,

investigated as part of my upcoming PhD thesis

commercial elements and very introspective,on the cel bank because of its status as a highly

personal character studies that made the series

acclaimed, innovative production that is also

such a phenomenon and, more importantly,

famous for extensively making use of bank cuts.

what makes it especially relevant for this essay as
an example of both the usual way the cel bank isused in anime production and its potential as a

Bank in Evangelion

deliberately utilised artistic tool.

The 1995 TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion

Evangelion was directed by Anno Hideaki at(henceforth Evangelion) was a landmark work in

Studio Gainax and its 26 half-hour episodes were

the world of TV anime and has been extremely

broadcast on the Japanese nation-wide television

important in that the series as a whole has

network TV Tokyo over a period of six months,

developed in 25 years since it was first broadcast.

from October 4, 1995 to March 27, 1996. In 1997,

However, Evangelion is also notable for its rushed

the series was followed by two theatrical feature

production schedule and its mix of elaborate

films, one a retelling of the series constructedanimation and frequent use of the cel bank. It isalmost entirely from pre-existing footage (a so-

in many ways highly conventional, with acalled recap film), the other a freshly animatedconcept and a plotline that references earlier

alternative version of the series’ ending. Since 2007,(1)

at thea new retelling called the Rebuild of Evangelion

same time challenging, expanding andhas been in production at Khara, Anno’s own

experimenting with the conventions of the genrescompany, the final film of which is set to release

it draws upon. The series’ plot follows a cast ofin summer 2020. The series has also spawned ateenagers piloting eye-catching giant robots to

top-selling media-mix franchise of merchandise,fight invading monsters in an initially episodic

alternate retellings and ancillary works that is still

structure where a monster is defeated each week.

highly profitable.

robot anime and tokusatsu productions,Over the course of the story, however, thisAnime production has changed a lot since

structure is gradually subverted as the characters

Evangelion came out, and this impacts theuncover a great conspiracy, and the series shifts tofrequency and specific use of bank cuts. Most

(1) This Japanese term for the hybrid form of live-action filmmaking and the extensive use of special effects is well known for
Ultraman (1966-), Kamen Rider (1971-) and the Godzilla (1954-) film series.

● The Archive in Anime Production: Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

43impor tantly, in the last 25 years animeof production necessity. Their frequency increases

production has become digital, which saves timeover the course of the series’ run until the final

in production and has made the use of bank cuts

two episodes, which famously are comprised ofless prominent, or at least easier to hide. In thelittle but bank cuts. In terms of narrative

1990s, anime was still produced by first drawing

structure, Evangelion’s conventional form lends

a picture on a piece of paper, then transferring

itself well to bank cuts, featuring as it does athat drawing with a so-called tracing machine

small number of recurring locations and( 崰 嵔 嵤 崡 嵆 崟 嵛 ) to transparent celluloid.

characters as well as adopting, on the surface

These cels were then painted by hand andlevel, the iterative monster-of-the-week structure

photographed with an analogue camera, often

typical to anime of the robot genre. One

with up to four or five layers of cels stacked innoticeable point about the use of bank cuts in

one shot. Now, every step from colouring toEvangelion is that they are unevenly placed, thatphotography is done digitally, and even if

is, some types of scenes are a lot more likely toanimators drawing on paper are still the majority,

use bank cuts than others. Combat scenes

with the advent of the so-called webgen (webcontain few bank cuts, even in the later episodes

generation) of animators, even drawing isof the series, and scenes of character interaction

increasingly done on the computer. While mostare usually composed of newly animated cuts

anime productions are still remarkably analogue(one rare exception can be seen in Episode 21,

and low-tech compared to Hollywood animation

where the repetition of a situation from Episodeor the growing number of Japanese 3D CG

15 is highlighted through the use of bank cuts).

productions (such as the works of Polygon

Instead, bank cuts are primarily seen in two

Pictures), anime has nonetheless changed enoughcategories of scenes: light, domestic and comedic

since 1995 that Evangelion cannot be taken toscenes, and the scenes taking place in control

represent all productions, especially notcentres and meeting rooms typical for the robot

contemporary anime. So why work with this casegenre.

at all? Well, aside from being in many ways a

One type of domestic scenes particularly

typical anime production of its time, Evangelion

likely to feature bank cuts are those taking placeuses bank cuts in some intriguing andin the apartment where several of the main

unconventional ways in its latter half, and bycharacters live. This location is introduced infocusing on this example, it is possible to explore

Episode Two and is the only private home seen

both the conventional form of the cel bank andin the series. The scenes in this apartment use

its potential as an artistic tool when deliberately

and reuse distinct bank cuts, often cued with theused.

same musical theme, which serve to build a sense

As a TV anime, particularly one from theof familiarity in a similar way to establishingmid-90s, Evangelion used bank cuts as a mattershots. For example, an instantly recognisable cut

44

of the character Misato drinking a can of beer,scene, the action taking place outside the control

first seen in Episode Two, is used to establish

room is comprised almost entirely of newly

many scenes, set in her kitchen, with a moodanimated cuts. This kind of resource distributionthat as with a typical sitcom, is light-hearted andfalls in line with the philosophy of anime-stylewarm at least on the surface.

limited animation, ebbing and flowing between

Even more conspicuous in their use of bankcuts than these domestic scenes, however, are thehigh and low energy rather than spreading
limited resources evenly over the running time.

scenes taking place in the control room. In these

What categories or types of scenes are

scenes, often intercut with scenes of high action,

comprised of bank cuts also determines which

commanders and technicians bark orders, react

are not, and in Evangelion’s case bank cuts arein shock and recite largely meaninglessparticularly scarce in the already mentioned

pseudoscientific data about the situation at handaction sequences as well as in the scenes of thewhile graphic user interfaces signal synch rates,

emotionally charged, dramatic interaction

alerts and critical emergencies. These scenes use abetween characters. While it might seem like asmall number of bank cuts over and over again,

foregone conclusion that a robot action series

mostly sourced from Episodes Two (where thewould focus its animation resources on action

first battle is shown in the series) and 14 (anscenes, avoiding the use of bank cuts in action

episode set entirely within this location).

scenes is by no means common within the genre.

Particularly noticeable as bank cuts are a group

In a series such as Mobile Suit Zeta Gundamof cuts showing the command technicians(1985-1986), there are a small bank of standard

turning around while talking and a set of cuts ofrobot action cuts interspersed with newly createdMisato reacting either confidently or surprised toanimation materials. Even more noticeably,

whatever is happening outside the control centre.

children’s episodic series contemporaneous with

Other bank cuts are less distinct and only standEvangelion, such as GaoGaiGar (1997-1998), padout as repeated to a viewer paying close attention.

out their action scenes with bank cuts ofThese cuts with the control room are reusedtransformations and special moves (hissatsu)

again and again with only the dialogue replaced,against conveniently abstract backgrounds.

creating a strong sense of continuity between the

Evangelion’s action scenes, meanwhile, aredifferent battles. In fact, as the production

sophisticated showcases for animators’ skills andprogresses, the amount of bank cuts used in thesea key selling point of the series itself.

scenes keeps increasing to culminate in a final

Evangelion also uses the cel bank in a very

battle scene in Episode 24, which made up ofdifferent and less genre-conventional way,about sixty cuts, contains just two new cuts

primarily in its second half. These episodes

taking place in the control room. However, evencontain long sequences where the minds of thein this late and presumably resource-strappedcharacters are probed by their enemies, presented● The Archive in Anime Production: Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

45

conversation not with other characters, but with
their own impressions of them, something that is
explicitly spelled out in the series as ‘the me inyour mind’. Here, the very conspicuous use ofbank cuts works to emphasise this effect. The
reuse of the same bits of animation makes it veryclear that one of the characters appearing in sucha sequence is not supposed to be read as
autonomous or individual but an assemblage ofimpressions of that person. The use of a new
d i a l o g u e i n t h e s e s c e n e s , h owe ve r, a l s odistinguishes this use of bank cuts from the tried
and true trick of replaying cuts serving to signify
a memory. While these cuts may seem like
Figure 1 A Storyboard for the bank cuts in Mobile Suit Zeta
Gundam from the Watanabe Collection

memories, the dialogue is new and unique to thesequences, and is not a replay of anything said

through monologues and dialogues over still

earlier. Instead, the use of the cel bank in theseimages, paired with significant use of bank cuts.

sequences represents a challenge to the series’

In the final two episodes, this technique isconstruction of a consistent reality, one that

supplemented with various other techniques suchvisualises the theme of boundaries breaking

as photographic images interspersed withdown that the series explores in its latter half. In

drawings, drawn characters devolving into

its own humble way, this use of the cel banksketches and malleable outlines, and even shots

reinforces the much more conspicuous andof production scripts. What these all have in

grandiose ways in which Evangelion depicts thecommon is that they play with the constructed

end of the world and the dissolution of humanreality of the animated footage, breaking down

existence in its last few episodes and feature film.

the conventions that the series has been following

Getting into a full analysis of this aspect of theup until then alongside with its reality itself.

production is outside the scope of this essay, but

When bank cuts are used in these sequences, thesuffice it to say that Evangelion’s use of the cel

dialogue accompanying them is changed, and asbank reflects not only its genre ties and priorities

is in the scenes with the control room discussed

as a production, but also the themes of theearlier, no serious attempt is made to hide thenarrative itself.

fact that in the sequences, these cuts are indeedbank and do not combine into a diegetic whole.
In these sequences, characters have long46

The Potentials and Problems of Published
Materials

storyboards, can be incredibly useful for research

The preceding argument has attempted towhich cuts are bank and where they are taken

illustrate the importance of bank cuts to afrom. For my analysis of Evangelion, I reliedthorough analysis of anime, whether or not it isheavily on both the 2019 Netflix streaming

focused on narrative or production. Approachingrelease and the 2015 Japanese Blu-Ray release ofa given text from this angle can reveal thethe series, but just as much on the series’

priorities of a strained production and the aspects

commercially published storyboard collections.

on the cel bank, as they often spell out exactlyof its relationship with its genre, and also

As mentioned by Kim Joon Yang (2019: 31)

highlight the unique potential the cel bank has asin the previous volume, anime storyboards are

an artistic tool in and of itself. As hinted atoccasionally published as merchandise in bookabove, however, the actual work of identifying

format. These publications are planned andbank cuts is not simple. By their nature, bankproduced for a limited number of Japanese

cuts are the production crew’s last resort and foranimations, mostly theatrical releases with great

the most part are supposed to be as unnoticeable

mainstream popularity such as the films ofas possible. This means that in the process of

directors Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao andsimply comparing scenes in a finished work and

Hosoda Mamoru. Evangelion is among the few

identifying which are archival, a massive

TV anime series whose storyboards have been

undertaking even under the best of circumstances

published commercially, almost certainly due tois often deliberately made harder by thethe series’ importance and enduring popularity.

production studios and crew. Outside the mostWhile such publications are generally invaluable

conspicuous cases—transformations, special

resources for in-depth studies of the aspects ofattacks and introductory speeches common in

production including the use of bank cuts, it isboth robot and magical-girl anime aimed at

not that they have no issue as I detail in thechildren, bank cuts are often hidden in between

following.

new or slightly altered cuts of animation, for

The Evangelion storyboards were published inexample, by putting them in front of new

six thick paperback volumes by Gainax andbackgrounds, in an attempt to make them lessFushimi Shobo under the title, Evangelion Ekonte

conspicuous. In the case of recent works, digitalShu, from 1997 to 1998, with subsequent

production has also made it easier to hidevolumes in the same format produced by Khara

repeated animation by changing backgrounds,

for the Shin Gekijoban Evangelion film series

filters or colour tones, making it even harder tos t a r t i n g f ro m 2 0 0 7 . T h e s e vo l u m e s a renotice them without a lot of effort cross-checking

reproductions of the storyboards of Evangelion’s

every episode of an anime series. For this reason,

26 TV episodes and two 1997 theatrical features,intermediate materials, specifically production

presented in black and white, printed on matte● The Archive in Anime Production: Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

47paper and shrunk to approximately half the size

quickly notices that the photocopying andof the original storyboards. The storyboards are

scaling of the materials mean that not all details

presented with minimal credits—a couple ofare always kept, and sometimes words or details

scriptwriters ( ࿄ম ) and a couple of storyboardof drawings are rendered unreadable in theartists are credited per episode—and withouttransition from soft grey pencil lines into stark

explicit commentaries, though each volume

black ink. When comparing these commerciallycontains at least one interview with a person

released storyboards with original materials, it

involved in the production.

also becomes clear that original storyboards are

On rare occasions, an alternative version ( શnot always entirely in black and white, and that崸 嵤 崠 嵏 嵛 ) of a scene is presented. For example,

colour is sometimes used to note corrections,

Volume One for the storyboard collection

alterations, or the involvement of otherpresents an alternative and longer version of cuts

production crew members. These issues are103-126, the scene where the characters Shinjiequally present in any photocopy of the originaland Misato first meet up in Episode One, as anstoryboard, however.

addition to the final storyboard. This alternative

A more fundamental issue with using thosescene may have been added simply because thevolumes for research is that they are by their very

alteration is quite conspicuous in the final

nature curated publications, and so the story they

storyboard; the printed official storyboard istell of anime production will always be an edited

prominently marked with the letter ੝ (revision),one. In the case of the Evangelion storyboards,

and jumps abruptly from cut 111 to cut 127

this becomes most noticeable when it comes toafter the new version of the scene in question.

what is often known as the director’s cut scenes,

This jump only makes sense when the alternative,

and it is at this point that the question of the cellonger version of the scene is taken into account.

bank once again is addressed. These director’s cut

Without the revised scene appearing in thescenes consist of new cuts of animation originallypublication of the storyboard, readers would

created for the compilation feature film Neonquickly notice that the storyboard was modified,Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997).

which is probably why the alternative scene was

These cuts were later edited into Episodes 21-24

included. Three other alternative scenes areof the TV series itself when it was released on

included in the published storyboards, fromlaserdisc. Each of the director’s cut versions of

Episodes 11, 13 and 17.

these episodes is distinguished from its broadcast

While these volumes are definitely useful forcounterpart with an apostrophe; thus Episodeany analysis that relies on minute aspects of

21’ is the director’s cut version of Episode 21.

animation production like the use of the cel

The cuts inserted in Episodes 21-24 werebank, they still have several obvious issues. Whensubsequently removed from Death & Rebirth

flipping through a volume of the collection, one

when that film was re-edited into the 1998 TV

48

movie Neon Genesis Evangelion: DEATH (TRUE)2

volumes do not provide us with the director’s

as well as the freshly animated 1997 feature film

scribbled corrections, blue and red lines to

End of Evangelion.

partition episodes, or the hastily scribbled

Volume Six of the storyboard collection is theversions of the storyboards for the two Episodes

only published version of the film storyboards,

way behind schedule. For all of that, we needbut rather than including the storyboards for thearchives of intermediate materials, not just thoseoriginal 1997 recap film Neon Genesis Evangelion:

polished for general consumption, but those

Death & Rebirth, it contains only the storyboards

truly focused on the goal of research into anime2

for Neon Genesis Evangelion: DEATH (TRUE) ,production.

the 1998 recut film from. This means that
unavailable are not only the storyboards for theReferences

director’s cut scenes anywhere in the market but
also those used during the production of theAnno, Hideaki (1995) Neon Genesis Evangelion. (Blu-ray disc)Tokyo: King Records.

initial version of the film, which would definitely

Cirugeda, Kevin (2017). SakuQ&A: anime industry andbe of much significance in terms of the process

production questions #1. [web log]. January 11. https://blog.
sakugabooru.com/2017/01/11/sakuqa-anime-industry-and-of production.

production-questions-1/ (accessed Jan 11, 2020).

While these are just two examples ofomissions from the published storyboards, theyhint at the deeper truth: we cannot know what
has been left out from a publication such as
Evangelion Ekonte Shu. The volumes only let us

Clements, Jonathan (2013) Anime: A History. London: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Gainax (1997) Shin Seiki Evangelion Ekonte Shu 1. Tokyo: Fujimi
Shobo.
Gainax (1998) Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekijoban Ekonte Shu. Tokyo:
Fujimi Shobo.

know what the publishers want the general

Association of Japanese Animation (ed.) (2019) Animeshon Yogo

public to know (or cannot properly hide),

Jiten (Animation Terminology Dictionary). Tokyo: Rittosha.

presenting one set of storyboards as definite andKim, Joon Yang (2019) What do archived materials tell us about

making almost only minimal mention ofanime? In: Ishida, Minori and Kim, Joon Yang (eds.)

previous versions, corrections, scrapped ideas orArchiving Movements: Short Essays on Materials of Anime andVisual Media. Niigata: The Archive Center for Anime Studies

last-minute changes. No matter how much wein Niigata University, 31-51.

examine the published storyboards, we cannot

Steinberg, Marc (2012) Anime’s Media Mix: Franchising Toys andknow how many iterations the meeting scene in

Characters in Japan. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Episode One went through, nor when the hastily

Press.

scribbled storyboards presented for the famously

Watanabe, Hideo (2019) Interview with the author. June 29,
2019.

rushed Episodes 25 and 26 were made. The

Ida Kirkegaard is a PhD research student in Japanese Language and Culture at Stockholm University. Her research field
includes anime and Japanese visual media.

● The Archive in Anime Production: Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

49

Notes from the Watanabe Collection:Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History
Dario Lolli

In Matsumoto Leiji’s anime series Ginga Tetsudo

into an intergalactic setting activates a

999 (Galaxy Express 999, 1978), steam

defamiliarizing short-circuit akin to a reflective

locomotives feature as the main transport

sense of nostalgia, ‘a rebellion against the modern

technology for interstellar travels. Through one

idea of time, the time of history and progress’of these trains, the Galaxy Express 999, the main

(Boym, 2001: xv).(1) The uncanny image of acharacter Hoshino Tetsuro leaves behind thesteam train cutting across galaxies and solar

misery of an impoverished Earth in search of thesystems undermines a linear narrative of

remote Andromeda Galaxy, where he dreams ofhistorical development, troubling deterministic

turning his ephemeral human body into an

expectations of scientific progress as animmortal mechanical cyborg. Every time that heineluctable succession of new technologies

and his travel companion Maetel depart for a

supplanting old ones.

new planet, the Galaxy Express accelerates on

This radical departure from techno-scientificsteel railways before taking off into space,positivism is further reinforced by the series’

blowing smoky trails in the sky from the chimney

narrative, whereby Tetsuro’s dream of ano f a ‘c o m p u t e r i s e d’ s t e a m e n g i n e . T h i senhanced and eternal prosthetic body blurs into

embedding of an obsolete transport technology

a dystopian nightmare as the train approaches its(1) When interviewed, Matsumoto recalled the genesis of this series as roughly based on the memories of his first journey toTokyo, when he left Kitakyushu in pursue of a career as an illustrator after the end of WWII: “Every time I saw the train withthe plate saying ‘For Tokyo,’ I'd vow to myself that I'd ride that train someday. Ultimately, I pawned my amplifier, speakers,
and all of my records, and with the 700 yen I got and a handful of writing tools, I actually left for Tokyo. At the time, it took
a full day and night to get from Kokura to Tokyo. That memory became the prototype for The Galaxy Express 999. I shudder
when I think, “what if I hadn't taken that journey?”’ (Asianbeat, 2008). Following Svetlana Boym’s (2001) famous analysis, I
called Matsumoto’s use of nostalgia ‘reflexive,’ as opposed to ‘restorative,’ in the sense that it does not affirms a truth througha transhistorical myth of origin, but rather “dwells on the ambivalences of human longing and belonging” (Boym, 2001:
xviii) without any pretence of a possible homecoming. In many respects, Ginga Tetsudo 999 is longing in deferral. The desired
technological perfection will be never attained, and, even if we know that Tetsuro will eventually return to planet Earth, thematernal figure of Maetel parts from him, preventing the possibility of an Oedipal closure prefigured throughout the series.

50

final destination on planet Prometheum. As

materials of the Archive Centre for Anime

Tetsuro finds out, mechanisation cannot fix all

Studies in Niigata (ACASiN).

the existential and ethical questions of our sociotechnical condition. (2) The techno-utopian
seduction of a Universalist notion of progress—

Archivesin the form of ever better, efficient and immortal

The question posed by Ginga Tetsudo 999 and its

technologies—is rejected as an untrusty Chimeraintermediary materials might at first appear amaking us blind to forms of socio-technicalredundant one. After all, the global diffusion ofassembling that swerve from pre-given paths ofdigital technologies accessible on the move allows

development. In so doing, Ginga Tetsudo 999

to access all sort of information in a faster andinvites us to consider technological history not ascheaper way than what any physical archive cana linear succession of fixed events leading towards

do. Digital technologies have brought to lightperfection, but as ever changing and open-ended

inventive ways of organising, sharing and editing

assemblages that—like steam-powered trains andinformation from below and without the

Tetsuro’s human body—resist their alleged

centralised control and legitimated authority ofobsolescence by opening themselves up to

professional archivists. Media scholars have often

different lines of progress.

defined this process in terms of the ‘participatory

An understanding of historical development

cultures’ of media convergence (Jenkins, 2008),

not impaired by pre-given teleologies of humanor the formal and informal collaborative

progress lies at the heart of Ginga Tetsudo 999

processes of establishing and maintaining large

and the imaginative and sometimes quirky

databases of online information. From theinventions of Japanese anime series. Yet, byperspective of distribution and consumption, for

opening up the possibility of conceiving history

instance, digitisation has made easier thedifferently, Ginga Tetsudo 999 also implicitly

circulation of previously unknown Japanesebrings attention to its very existence as aanime series around the world, a process that has

technical object. What is hand-drawn animation

certainly benefitted transcultural communicationin the digital era? And what does it mean to write

and what Ian Condry has named a ‘globalisation

its history today? This is what this series keeps

from below’ (Condr y, 2013: 215). With

asking from the celluloid sheets, storyboards andprocesses of media convergence, the archive is no

preparatory drawings stored in the Watanabe

longer confined within the walls of bureaucracy

Collection, the repository of anime’s intermediaryand legitimate knowledge; all the world has(2) As it turns out, planet Prometheum is far from the technological heaven dreamt by Tetsuro, and mechanised bodies are
not enough to spare humans from being constantly bullied by the ruling class/ethnic group of the machine people. Bynaming the planet after the mythical Titan who championed culture and science, the series gives a further dark twist to
progressivist histories of human civilisation.

● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History51

exploded into an archive, with its popular culture

Wikipedia appearing as “the only history andand everyday life now catalogued and stored likehistorical research determined by the parametersthe ‘high’ culture of old.

of a Google search engine” (Guins, 2014: 84).

However, the widespread diffusion of Internet

This is one of the issues explored by Raiford

resources and their increasing use for academic

Guins (2014) in his book on video games

research do not come without new compelling

afterlives, whereby, through a confrontation withquestions. Today, a search for ‘ ਒ ఖ ள ੊ 999

the materiality of these socio-technical objects,(Ginga Tetsudo 999)’ generates about 10,100,000

he challenges the simplistic view that open-ended

results in Google (Figure 1), an outstanding

repositories of online data might be enough tocollection of data accessible anytime anywhere.

make physical archives redundant.

Ye t , i n a c u l t u r e c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y a n

Film scholar and archivist Ian Christie (2016)

unprecedented information overload, theonce observed that even if it is true that all that isproblem of access also becomes a problem ofstored on the Internet also exists in the world, itsorting. As Scott Lash observes, “[a] society ofdoes not automatically follows that all that exists

ubiquitous media means a society in whichin the world can be also found online. Thispower is increasingly in the algorithm” (2007:

apparently simple observation does not solely71). With an Internet archive modulated bymean that there might be some unknown

technologies designed and patented by privateartefacts hidden away from the digital sight,

corporations, the problem faced by historians ofstored somewhere in the dark cabinet of a remote

popular culture might well be the banality ofcollection. On another level, it also hints at the

Figure 1 Google Search for ‘ ਒ఖள੊ 999’, or, the Internet archive as sorted by a proprietary algorithm.

52

fact that what can be found online might notcommunities of Japanese comic enthusiasts.

necessarily be as transparent as we assume it is.

Digitally edited and distributed online, aAs limitless as it may be, the digital archive of thescanlation is not simply the transposition of aInternet is invariably the preserve of “content”—

printed manga online; it becomes a new digitalwhat in Japanese is known as the product of theobject in its own right. How does it exactly differ“contents industries” (kontentsu gyokai) of film,

from a printed manga? How can we understandmanga, music and animation. The word

it as an aggregate of digital data endowed with its“content,” however, is crucial here as it highlights

own specific affordances? These are some of thea separation of particular mediated expressions

questions that a team of North Americanfrom the physical and technological “carriers”

researchers has tried to address by analysing one

designated to their storage (Christensen andmillion digital scanlations by means of

Kuutti, 2012). Translated into a digital binary

algorithms and data visualisation software

code, audiovisual materials stored online lose

(Douglass et al., 2011). By working on one

their technological function of mediators,

million pages at the same time, theirconveying all their aesthetic expressions to“Understanding Scanlation” project shows how

viewers without actually “carrying” them

digital media can be visualised and studied inmaterially. This is quite different from what oncevery different ways than what pertains to printed

used to be called a film, a word that referredmanga, revealing patterns of technical andsimultaneously to the “content” and the celluloid

aesthetic differences otherwise imperceptible toreel on which this was physically exposed. In

the human eye (Figure 2). In the context of thisorder to circulate as electromagnetic impulses,

project, conventional categories such as styles or

the one and zeros of their code require external

genres become less relevant as mathematicaltechnologies in the form of software, hardware,models applied to large data sets are able toprotocols, undersea cables, datacentres and more

highlight completely new patterns of form and(Parks and Starosielski, 2015). With digitisation,

colour variation.

it looks as if content has been subsumed into theThis example points at the different utility(3)and function of digital archives from theirLet’s take, for example, the case of manga

analogue counterparts. Digital media arescanlations, digital versions of Japanese manga

qualitatively transforming the way we access and‘informally’ (Lobato and Thomas, 2015)

process information, permitting novel forms oftranslated and distributed online by collaborating

visualising and connecting data beyond the limits

fold of the infrastructure.

(3) In relation to broadcasting, Thomas Lamarre (2018) talks about subsumption as an overarching, yet never totalising,historical tendency of socio-technical assembling. In his latest book, Steinberg (2019) provides a detailed investigation of therelation between “contents” and platforms. Both authors situate their discussions in broader debates on transmediality.

● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History

53

Figure 2 The pattern of greyscale variation of one million manga scanlations as visualised by data visualisation software (Douglass et al., 2011).

of human capabilities. Yet, the constantanalogue archives have to confront issues ofproliferation of past documents through digitalmateriality, conservation and decay.

archives does not automatically mean a better

Moreover, even if digital data can be easily

hold on our past. As Stefan Tanaka remarks,

copied and disseminated around the world in“[r]egardless of one’s position, the past is not just

fractions of seconds, it is notorious how market

becoming larger, it remains varied and ispriorities are able to make technological devices,changing” (2013: 36). Precisely for this open-

software and hardware, obsolete and redundant

ended diversity, digital archives cannot be taken

at planned cyclical terms (Tischleder andas more efficient historical tools in a univocal

Wasserman, 2015). These technologies, similarly

sense, as if they could supplant old archives by

to the digital files they are able to process, also

simply rendering analogue sources into digitalneed to be collected and persevered frombits. If digital archives promise to facilitate

extinction (Guins, 2014). As both digital andresearch by reducing problems such as access,a n a l o g u e m e d i a f a c e d i f f e re n t f o r m s o fvisualisation and deterioration, they do not

obsolescence and material decay, they have to beprovide a one-off and ultimate solution to theequally preserved and studied in their singularproblem of cultural memory and preservation.

materiality and perishability.

Based as they are on software and dynamic
protocols, for example, digital archives confront
issues related to algorithms, infrastructures andtechnical modes of inscription as much as

54

Anime Materials
The case of anime, or Japanese commercial

animation, is particularly instructive in thisintermediary materials, these metadata cannot

discussion. Anime is often regarded as one of thefreely circulate after production and are usuallymost dynamic and vibrant forms of culturaldisposed as industrial waste. Of course, this has

production of post-war Japan, and one of thenot prevented these objects from circulating inrarest non-Western media to have achieved ainformal, semi-official ways. As enthusiasts oftruly global audience (Thussu, 2006: 11). Yet, atJapanese animation know, artefacts such as cela time in which Japanese animation has truly

layers and inbetweens have been leaking

become a transnational phenomenon, we areunofficially in specialised markets, arguably

increasingly realising how little of this form ofallowing badly paid animators to round up theiranimation we actually know and have access to.

meagre salaries with a bit of extra cash. Yet, it is

At least three explanations can be put forward

surprising to hear that in several decades ofto account for the lack of resources related toprofessional TV animation no agreement has

anime materials and design practices. First, theever been reached for providing non-profit

fast production cycles and disposable nature oforganisations such as archives and researchcommercial animation has hardly made thesecentres with access to these historical materials.(5)objects worth collecting for “high” cultural

Similar to video game preservation, the practicalinstitutions, at least until the recent launch ofconsequence is that “historians and archivists‘Cool Japan’ industrial policies aimed at fostering

may find themselves competing with an active(4)exports and tourism through popular culture.

collector community quicker on the draw at

Burdened with limits of space and costs, even

eBay than cash-strapped cultural institutions”

anime studios could not afford to store and(Guins, 2014: 83).

maintain consistent records of their intermediary

Finally, and almost paradoxically, digitisationmaterials, with the result that even today there isalso represents a partial problem. If on theno consensus amongst them on how to preserve

distribution side digitisation has certainly

from decay the chemical substances that wereenhanced transnational and transmedial flows,

once employed in the production process (Ueno,

on the production side it has increasingly

2014; Kim and Mitsumata in this issue).

subsumed, and made invisible, several operations

A second issue is represented by copyrightwhose visibility was once ensured by the analogue

law. Because of the difficulties of attributing

tools that were employed in the process, such as

authorship to collective works, such as anime

pencils, acetate sheets and chemical colours.

(4) Although the benefits and results of Cool Japan policies for the local creative industries remain debatable (Oyama and
Lolli, 2016), they might have indirectly contributed to a legitimation of popular culture as something worth studying andexhibiting. Of course, as I will explain in the following paragraph, anime intermediary materials have long been informallycollected and studied by communities of anime enthusiasts.
(5) This is what Yamakawa Michiko, leading archivist at Production I.G., told me in a personal conversation in Feb, 2017.

● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History55

Today, traces of the creative processes of revision

terms of literary texts, genres and meta-

and supervision that once left material evidence

discourses—for example, as “the different ways

mostly disappear as soon as the final version of ain which anime has been conceptualized anddigital file is complete and digitally archived

categorized by different groups of people in(Noguchi, 2017). Ethnographic research remains

different places and times” (Denison, 2015: 12,

a valuable corrective instrument for this new lackemphasis mine). Of course, this is not to say thatof metadata, but it does not come without its

discourses as statements, epistemologies, power/

own limits. In addition to the difficulty of relying

knowledge formations are not relevant.(7) Indeed,on the availability of often hard-to-reach andit is clear how the very anime literature is notve r y b u s y p ro f ess i o n a l s , i n t e r v i e w s a n d

detached from the discourse it purportedly

participant observation can nothing against theanalyses. Yet, by prioritising “linguistic

limited time span of human lives: sadly, there isconstructions as its analytical object and ano way of speaking again about animation

linguistic vocabulary as its primary theoreticaltechniques with almost an entire generation of

resource” (Gilbert, 2004), this mode of analysis

Japanese animators, including Takahata Isao,

cannot really explain how these discourses

Kon Satoshi, Araki Shingo and others.

appeared in the first place. Anchoring discourses

This general lack of repositories of anime

to the technical and material aspects of theintermediary materials has clearly impacted on

medium, on the contrary, allows to open up a

the way anime history has been thought anddiscussion on the emergent—i.e. affect (Jenkins,

written so far, especially outside Japan, where2014; Lamarre, 2009)—and recompose whatanime materials are even further removed.

otherwise appears as a fracture between thoughtIndeed, and in spite of the emergence of animeand matter, discourse and reality, society andhistory as a rather fortunate genre (Hagihara

technology.(8) As McKenzie Wark has recently

2013; Clements 2013; Hori 2017; Sano 2019),

mused, for quite some time “it seemed like aseldom anime specialists have directly addressed

critical gesture to insist that reality is sociallythe putative object of their research—i.e. anime

constructed. Now it seems timely to insist thatas a material object and a socio-technicalthe social is reality constructed” (2019: 123).

(6)

practice.

This also applies to the study of animation.

One of the symptoms of this situation is thewidespread tendency of speaking about anime in(6) As Thomas Lamarre observed, “The bulk of anime commentary ignores that its “object” consists of moving images, as if
animations were just another text” (2009: ix).
(7) For a brilliant, non-reductive account of Japanese manga discourse see Jaqueline Berndt (2008).
(8) A fracture that would have certainly horrified Michael Foucault, often erroneously credited as a champion of discourse
analysis (Gilbert, 2004; Sawyer, 2002).

56

imaginative ways. This is different from looking

The Watanabe Collection

at anime’s past as a succession of events organised

Watanabe Hideo started his professional career inin a series of inevitable trends: the birth of

the anime industry in the mid-1970s,

Tezuka Osamu, the creation of TV anime, thecontributing to several films and TV series inr i s e o f St u d i o G h i b l i , t h e c o n q u e s t o f

different roles, such as storyboard artist, key

transnational markets, etc. For Foucault, “[t]heanimator and director. He collaborated withsearch for descent is not the erecting ofsome of the most prominent studios of his

foundations: on the contrary, it disturbs whattime—including Tatsunoko, Kitty Films, Knackwas previously thought immobile; it fragments

Productions and Toei Doga—before teachingwhat was thought unified; it shows theanimation at the Shonan Institute of Technology.

heterogeneity of what was imagined consistent

As a young anime practitioner, Watanabe started

with itself ” (1977: 147). This project is akin toto collect several production materials for hiswhat Thomas Lamarre (2018)—also drawing on

personal record and study, something that heFoucault—has called genealogy, a history inc o n t i n u ed t o d o t h ro ug h o ut h i s ca re e r.

which lineages of animation appear as theConcerned about the lack of facilities for anime’s

contingent configurations of simultaneously

conservation, he felt that what was going lost

techno-aesthetic and techno-social assemblages.

with the conventional process of disposal and

The Watanabe Collection, with its record ofincineration was not simply a set of redundantintermediary materials, is a productive site fromdesigns, but the material testimony of an entire

where to unearth and further investigate thesestudio culture at a specific historical time. As he

past configurations, or media ecologies (Fuller,

retired, the idea of making his collection available2005). So, for example, we can start from thefor study and research became for him a crucial

putative last moment in anime’s development—

concern. In 2017, Watanabe entrusted his

globalisation understood as an effect ofCollection to Niigata University, making for thedigitisation—to tell a different (hi)story

first time accessible a rare collection of

altogether.

screenplays, model sheets, storyboards, key

Although it is beyond the limits of this shortdrawings, inbetweens and more. These items

piece to provide a comprehensive survey of therepresent powerful historical evidences on which

entire collection, I will focus on one specificto ground novel interpretations of anime’s pastexample, the storyboards (ekonte) of two TV

and the work of its professional community ofseries collectively created at Toei Doga in thepractice.

mid-1980s: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

Similar to the steam train in Ginga Tetsudo(1983-1986) and Rambo: The Force of Freedom

999, the Watanabe Collection is a site where to(1986). As their titles suggest, these series wereexperiment with histor y in creative andactually North American productions outsourced● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History57

to a Japanese animation studio. In his personalvehicles and settings from written scripts. The

CV, Watanabe refers to them as American co-

resulting visual storyboards ensured that creative

productions (Amerika gassaku), although neither

authority was properly channelled from North

Toei nor the involvement of Watanabe as director

America to Japan by means of patented designs.

seem to be credited in their final commercial

Indeed, once stamped with a seal of approval,(9)

Of course, it is possible to turn awaythese storyboards became legally binding

from these series contending that they are notdocuments which the animators had to comply

anime at all, particularly because they represent

with—“All shows from Marvel will have ‘G’North American characters, cultures and values.

mouths,” prescribes one of the instruction notes

This, however, will immediately silence these(Figure 3).

versions.

objects, not allowing ourselves to listen to the

During the production process, however, an

story they have to tell. Listening, in this case, isexcessive creativity was also simultaneously

mostly a methodological issue. To paraphrase

affirmed by means of the local techniques,

Foucault’s critique of “universals” (2008: 3), thematerials and know-how employed by Toei

intermediary materials of these series allow us toanimators to design characters, figures andstart not from culture as an a priori “grid ofm o v e m e n t . A s Wa t a n a b e r e c a l l e d i n a

intelligibility for certain concrete practices,” butconversation with ACASiN’s Co-Director Kim

from concrete practices of animation to see what

Joon Yang, the American commissioners did notkind of culture emerges from that grid. This isunderstand for what reasons the faces of the same

when cultural history starts to connect to techno-

characters had not been uniformly coloured,aesthetic and techno-social history. Indeed, thesesomething that for the Japanese animatorss t o r y b o a rd s a re m u c h m o re t h a n v i s u a lworking on them was simply a design techniquerepresentations of genres or cultures. They are

for representing shadows. As this anecdotecomplex objects working simultaneously at an

illustrates, ambiguities in transnational co-aesthetic, technical, authorial and legal level.

productions abound. Yet, the magic of anime’s

They do not just represent culture, theyintermediary materials is that they do not hideprocessually make it.

them away, but make of them historical evidence

From a creative perspective, for example,—as we can see, for example, from the signs ofthese storyboards show how aesthetic styles haveerasure or approval marking up some of theemerged over time through several practicaldesigns in the Collection. As such, these materials

negotiations. Japanese artists had to attend to

become powerful testimony of how creativity

North American directions to design characters,

and cross-cultural communication was taking(9) The series Rambo, for example, is credited to American directors John Kimball and Charles A. Nichols, while thedocument of Watanabe’s CV available in the Collection credits Watanabe as the only director.

58

Figure 3 “All shows from Marvel will have ‘G’ mouths” on the design sheet for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero from the Watanabe Collection

place through material processes of intersemiotic

it is also a proof of how transnational investments

translation. What did the Japanese animators see

have long played an important role in the growthin the “G” mouth prescribed by their storyboardsof Japanese studios and their further organisation(Figure 3)? A shape, a style? Given that thein a highly specialised regional cluster (Kim,Japanese text translates it as “G.I” mouths (G.I

2014; Mouri, 2011). In so far as entire teams ofno kuchi), was this a mistake or a possible

animators have been trained and financed

clarification? These are all interesting leads thatthrough these material processes, we can betterone could further follow by digging deeper into

consider the emergence of anime as we know it

this Collection.

today from a techno-aesthetic and techno-social

As we have seen, therefore, these intermediary

perspective.

materials tell a story of media globalisation, but

By opening up a window on this perspective,

slightly different from how we usually imagine it

the Watanabe Collection returns us the uncannythrough the lenses of digital technologies. On theimage of Son-Goku (Dragon Ball) emerging as

one hand, this story is a reminder of thethe “illegitimate son” of John Rambo, at least for

subaltern status of Japanese animation in the US

what concerns the production history of Toei

market in the mid-1980s. On the other, however,Doga(10). Through these archival records, we can● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History59

understand how both Rambo and Son-Goku arebroad and transnational field of enquiry, thetroubled by their common lineage. For omitting

establishment of the Watanabe Collection

the credits of its Japanese co-producers, Rambo

ensures that future research projects will makeis haunted by the shadow of anime—real,use of its rich aggregate of information andpainted shadows!—and the animetic movement

memories embedded in intermediary materials.

that Watanabe and his crew imparted it with.

Items such as hand-drawn animation cels are

Instead of a simplistic narrative of media

complex bearers of historical memory, at the“Americanisation,” we surprisingly find thatsame time narrative content, aesthetic“what has been overcoded is in fact an effect ofexpressions, technological instruments and, inwhat has been imposed” (Kraniauskas, 2001:

the words of Karl Marx, “congealed labour time”

103). At the same time, we are equally distant(1990) of the animators and artists that hadfrom celebratory views of Cool Japan’s nationalist

worked on them. As such, they need to beunconscious (Valaskivi, 2013). Indeed, Toei’s

carefully collected, studied and preserved.

standing as a symbol of Cool Japan is equally

Since its opening, the Archive Center for

haunted by the traces of Rambo and G.I. Joe, as

Anime Studies in Niigata has actively worked

its own existence rests partially on the financial

towards this objective. While the projectand creative processes that such co-productions

undertaken by Kim Joon Yang and Ishida Minori

had historically put into place, and that we wereis still at an early stage, the results achieved so far

a b l e t o u n e a r t h t h r o u g h t h e Wa t a n a b e

have been promising. Since its establishment,Collection.

this research centre has tried to address, and open
a conversation upon, two of the major issues thatConclusion

have historically prevented the creation of animearchives: copyright regulations and knowledge

Through the collection of animation cels,about the preservation of chemical materials.

inbetweens, storyboards and other technicalAnime studios have their own stakes in themetadata, anime archives such as the Watanabe

preservation of anime’s heritage and the visibility

Collection offer a rather unique vantage point forof their libraries of content, so they have been

understanding the creative processes of anime

willing to listen to what the Center had to offer.

production in ways that cannot be exclusively

The collaboration with Studio Gainax for two

supplied by digital repositories, ethnography or

exhibitions on anime intermediary materials in

textual analysis. As anime studies is emerging as aSingapore (2017) and Stockholm (2019) is(10) Dragon Ball is the long and fortunate anime adaptation of a homonymous manga by Toriyama Akira. The anime series
was produced by Toei from 1986 to 1989, pretty much at the same time of Rambo and G.I. Joe. Although there are no formal
connection between Dragon Ball ’s hero Son-Goku and Rambo at the narrative level, I am talking metaphorically of“illegitimate birth” because their common production lineage was whitewashed by the North American productions.

60

specially encouraging for what it can bring toresearch aimed at challenging myths of origin,future discussions of copyright regulations andretracing socio-technical connections andthe establishment of research/professional

illuminating neglected counter-histories. It issynergies. These synergies are also crucial for

thanks to the for ward-looking vision off i n a l l y t a c k l i n g t h e un re s o l ve d i s s ue o f

Watanabe Hideo if this long-awaited project ispreservation. As I have shown, digitisation is a

slowly starting to take shape.

tentative but not complete solution to thisproblem. In this respect, the collaboration ofReferences

AC A Si N w i t h m a cro m o l e cul a r s ci e n t i s t

Asianbeat (2008) Leiji Matsumoto - dreams do come true.

Mitsumata Tetsu, also at Niigata University,

Asianbeat Fukuoka, Japan. http://asianbeat.com/en/icon/

opens up unprecedented possibilities for practicalarchive_20080608_143257.html (accessed Feb 23, 2020).

action in this direction (see Kim and Mitsumata

Berndt, Jaqueline (2008) Considering manga discourse: location,
ambiguity, historicity. In: Macwilliams, Mark Wheeler (ed.)

in this issue).

Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga

For what concerns my personal contribution,
I used the notes of my recent visit to the
Watanabe Collection to focus on anime’s
intermediary materials as testimonies of a pastthat media archaeologists can unearth as “layers

and Anime, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 295-310
Boym, Svetlana (2001) The Future of Nostalgia. New York: Basic
Books.
Christensen, Thomas C., and Kuutti, Mikko (2012) A Digital
Ag e n d a f o r Fi l m Arc h i v e s . AC E ( A s s o c i a t i o n D e s
Cinémathèques Européenes). http://www.ace-film.eu/wp-

operatively embedded in technologies” (Ernst,
2013: 57; also Parikka, 2012)). As the cels ofcontent/uploads/2012/03/A-Digital-Agenda-for-FilmArchives-2012.pdf (accessed Jan 16, 2017).

Ginga Tetsudo 999 stored in the Collection

Christie, Ian (2016) Who Needs Film Archives? Towards a User-

remind us, technological development is neverCentred Approach. Public Lecture. Presented at the Birkbeck,

univocally determined by teleologies of human

University of London.
Clements, Jonathan (2013) Anime: A History. London: British

progress. Yet, as Lamarre has shown with

Film Institute.

painstaking details (Lamarre, 2009, 2018), anime

Condry, Ian (2013) The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity andis not just a technology, but simultaneously aJapan’s Media Success Story. Durham: Duke University Presssocio-aesthetic and a techno-social machine. By

Books.

looking at some items stored in the Collection as

Denison, Rayna (2015) Anime: A Critical Introduction. London
and New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

material evidences of anime’s past, I showed how

Douglass, Jeremy, Huber, William, and Manovich, Lev (2011)

they provide an alternative entry point toUnderstanding scanlation: how to read one million fan-understand anime in relation to ever-changing

translated manga pages. Image and Narrative 12(1). http://

media ecologies. By allowing scholars to confront

www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/

anime’s configurations at aesthetic, technical andview/133/104 (accessed Jan 16, 2016).
Ernst, Wolfgang (2013) Digital Memory and the Archive. Parikka,social levels, the Watanabe Collection represents

Jussi (ed.) Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

a precious resource for future genealogical● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History

61

Foucault, Michel (2008) The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the
Collège de France, 1978-1979. Davidson, Arnold I. (ed.)
Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Foucault, Michel (1977) Nietzsche, genealogy, history. In:

Lobato, Ramon, and Julian Thomas (2015) The Informal Media
Economy. Cambridge, UK and Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Marx, Karl (1990) Capital: Critique of Political Economy Volume 1.
New edition. London and New York: Penguin Classics.

Bouchard, Donald F. (ed.) Language, Counter-Memory,Mori, Yoshitaka (2011) The pitfall facing the Cool Japan project:

Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews by Michel Foucault.

the transnational development of the anime industry under

Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 139–164.

the condition of post-Fordism. International Journal ofCornell University Press, 139–64.
Fuller, Matthew (2005) Media Ecologies: Materialist Energies in Art
and Technoculture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Gilbert, Jeremy (2004) Signifying nothing: ‘culture,’ ‘discourse’and the sociality of affect. Culture Machine 6.
http://svr91.edns1.com/~culturem/index.php/cm/article/
view/8/7 (accessed Feb 18, 2020).
Guins, Raiford (2014) Game After: A Cultural Study of Video Game
Afterlife. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Hagihara, Yukari (2013) Masaoka Kenzo To Sono Jidai: “Nihon
Animeishon No Chichi” No Senzen To Sengo (Kenzo Masaoka
and His Era: Pre-war and Post-war Activities of the “Father ofJapan’s Animation”). Tokyo: Seikyusha.
Hori, Hikari (2017) Promiscuous Media: Film and Visual Culture in
Imperial Japan, 1926-1945. Ithaca and London: Cornell
University Press.

Japanese Sociology 20(1): 30–42.
Noguchi, Koichi (2017) Akaibu ni tsuite (Concerning archives).
Presented at the seminar Anime chukan sozai no akaibingu tosono katsuyo (the Archiving of Anime’s Intermediate
Materials and their Application). Niigata University. Feb 4.
Oyama, Shinji, and Lolli, Dario (2016) When the media do notquite converge: the case of Fuji TV vs. Livedoor. In:
Galbraith, Patrick W. and Karlin, Jason G. (eds) Convergenceand Divergence in Japanese Media Culture. Kinema Club, 99122.
Parikka, Jussi (2012) What Is Media Archaeology. Cambridge, UK
and Malden, MA: Polity.
Parks, Lisa, and Starosielski, Nicole (eds) (2015) Signal Traffic:
Critical Studies of Media Infrastructures. Urbana: University of
Illinois Press.
Sano, Akiko (2019) Momotaro Umi No Shinpei ron: kokusaku

Jenkins, Henry (2008) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New

animeishon no eizo jikken (Momotaro, Divine Soldiers of theMedia Collide. Revised edition. New York: NYU Press.

Sea: filmic experiment in propaganda animation). The

Jenkins, Eric (2014) Special Affects: Cinema, Animation and theTranslation of Consumer Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press.
Kim, Joon Yang (2014) South Korea and the sub-empire of anime:kinesthetics of subcontracted animation production.
Mechademia 9: 90–103.
Kraniauskas, John (2001) Translation and the work ofJapanese Journal of Animation Studies 20 (1): 17-29.
Sawyer, Keith (2002) A discourse on discourse: an archeologicalhistory of an intellectual concept. Cultural Studies 16(3):433–456.
Steinberg, Marc (2019) The Platform Economy: How Japan
Transformed the Consumer Internet. Minneapolis: Universityof Minnesota Press.

transculturation. Sakai, Naoki and Hanawa, Yukiko (eds)

Tanaka, Stefan (2013) Pasts in a digital age. In: Nawrotzki, Kristen

Traces: A Multilingual Journal of Cultural Theory andand Dougherty, Jack (eds) Writing History in the Digital Age.

Translation 1: 95–108.

Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 35–47. https://

Lamarre, Thomas (2009) Anime Machine: A Media Theory of

quod.lib.umich.edu/d/dh/12230987.0001.001/1:4/--writing-Animation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

history-in-the-digital-age?g=dculture;rgn=div1;view=fulltext;

Lamarre, Thomas (2018) The Anime Ecology: A Genealogy of
Television, Animation, and Game Media. Minneapolis andLondon: University of Minnesota Press.
Lash, Scott (2007) Power after hegemony: cultural studies inmutation? Theory, Culture & Society 24(3): 55–78.

62

xc=1 (accessed Feb 17, 2020).
Thussu, Daya Kishan (ed.) (2007) Media on the Move: Global Flow
and Contra-Flow. London and New York: Routledge.
Tischleder, Babette B. and Wasserman, Sarah (eds) (2015) Culturesof Obsolescence: History, Materiality, and the Digital Age. New

York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ueno, Junko (2014) Mirai no nihon animeishon akaibusu womezashite (Towards a future archive of Japanese animation).
In: Akaibu Rikkoku Sengen (Archive Japan Manifesto), Tokyo:
Pot Publishing, 179–195.
Valaskivi, Katja (2013) A brand new future? Cool Japan and thesocial imaginary of the branded nation. Japan Forum 25(4):
485–504.
Wark, McKenzie (2019) Capital Is Dead: Is This Something Worse?
London and New York: Verso.

Dr. Dario Lolli is Japan Foundation Research Fellow at Keio University and a member of the Archive Centre for Anime
Studies, Niigata University. He researches at the intersection of media and communication, social theory and Japanesecultural studies.

● Notes from the Watanabe Collection: Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History

63

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Dr. Verina Gfader is currently affiliated with the City University of Hong Kong. As an artist, she orchestrates her practiceas organized fields of research aided by drawing and animation, printed matter, text performance and fabulations, andfictional institutions.

84

Theatrical Performances Rediscovered:
An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s
Hatori Takafusa

the 70-year history of Shinkokugeki, which

1. Introduction

literally means “The New National Theatre.” The

The process of archiving historical materials

company was founded on April 18, 1917, under

depends in large part on chance. In February

the leadership of actor Sawada Shojiro. At first,

2018, I stumbled across three videocassettes

he could not achieve a box-office success inwhich contained two theatrical performances

Tokyo and moved to the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe

aired by NHK, Japan’s national broadcast service.

area. There, Shinkokugeki became popular

These videocassettes were then digitized undermainly due to the success of Tsukigata Hanpeita

the direction of NHK’s Bangumi Hakkutsu

and Kunisada Chuji, two sword fight plays

Purojekuto (Programme Excavation Project).

composed by ex-journalist Yukitomo Rifu in

Recorded on a VHS videocassette, one of the1919. The outstanding reality of these plays’

performances is Gekijo Chukei: Kiwametsuki

sword action attracted large audiences in the

Kunisada Chuji (Televised Theatres: The

wake of World War I. However, in the course of

Renowned Kunisada Chuji), which was broadcast

establishing popularity back in Tokyo andon January 10, 1976. Recorded on two U-matic

throughout Japan, Sawada expanded

videocassettes, the other is Kinyo Shotaiseki:

Shinkokugeki’s repertoire, staging both Kabuki

Kiwametsuki Tsukigata Hanpeita (Invitation Seatsplays (such as Kanadehon Chushingura andon Friday: The Renowned Tsukigata Hanpeita),

Kanjincho) and Western plays (such as Georg

which was broadcast on April 16, 1976. Kunisada

Kaiser’s The Burghers of Calais and William

Chuji and Tsukigata Hanpeita are two of the

Shakespeare’s Coriolanus). Shirano Benjuro, anmost successful plays created by Shinkokugeki, aadaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac

theatre company which formed a considerable

set in Japan around the Meiji Restoration, alsopart of the popular culture of twentieth-century

became renowned as one of his theatricalJapan. What follows is an introductory study onachievements. In addition, he had an aptitude forthe rediscoveries.

religious plays and succeeded in dramatising the

To begin with, it is necessary to summarise

lives of Nichiren, a Buddhist priest in thirteenth-● Theatrical Performances Rediscovered: An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s

85

century Japan, and Jesus Christ.

series Taikoki in 1965, had already left

On March 4, 1929, Sawada suddenly passed

Shinkokugeki seven years before Kiwametsuki

away at the age of 36. Shinkokugeki, on the

Kunisada Chuji was enacted in 1975. Oyama wasverge of disbandment, chose two of his budding

symbolic of the last hope for the company’s

disciples, Shimada Shogo and Tatsumi Ryutaro,

future; enthusiastic fans expected him to become

as leaders and, under the Fifteen-Year War, re-the successor of Shimada and Tatsumi. He faced

established popularity by staging Sawada’s

the challenge of starring in Kunisada Chuji andrepertoire and creating new original plays.

Tsukigata Hanpeita under such a severe andIn d e e d , Sh i m a d a a n d Ta t s u m i b r o u g h tcomplicated situation.

Shinkokugeki a second heyday from the 1930s to
the 1950s, collaborating with spirited dramatists
such as Hasegawa Shin, Hojo Hideji, and

2. The Process of Collecting and Digitising
Videocassettes

Ikenami Shotaro, among others. However, when

Before detailing what are recorded on the three

Ogata Ken left in 1968 and Oyama Katsumi left

videocassettes, it will be useful to briefly sharein 1980, the company lost its next generation of

the process by which they are archived. I

leaders and was denied a third heyday. In thecollected the videocassettes in February 2018,

e n d , S h i m a d a a n d Ta t s u m i d i s b a n d e dwhen I visited Wakajishi’s office in Tokyo.

Shinkokugeki and restored the company name to

Wakajishi, which literally means “The Young

the Sawada family after putting on 70-year

Lions,” was the theatre company founded byanniversary performances in Nagoya and Tokyo

several ex-Shinkokugeki members in 1987 justin August 1987.

after the company’s disbandment. With the

The rediscovered videocassettes contain two

approval of the Sawada family, Wakajishi revived

theatrical performances held about 10 years

many of the plays in Shinkokugeki’s repertoire

before Shinkokugeki was disbanded. Both ofon a regular basis. The leader was Kasahara Akira,them feature Oyama Katsumi in his forties.

an actor who joined Shinkokugeki in 1969 and,

Although they were broadcast in 1976, thefollowing a similar career path to Oyama

recording of Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji was

Katsumi and Ogata Ken, studied acting as antaken at the National Theatre of Japan, Tokyo, in

apprentice of Tatsumi Ryutaro. I became

August 1975, and that of Kiwametsuki Tsukigata

acquainted with Kasahara when, as a research

Hanpeita at Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre, Tokyo, in

associate of Waseda University, I was in charge ofMarch 1976. In those days, Shimada Shogo andboth the special exhibition entitled Shinkokugeki

Tatsumi Ryutaro, both born in 1905, wereto Kengeki no Sekai (The World of Shinkokugeki

getting too old to star in the sword fight plays.

and Sword Fight Drama) at Tsubouchi Memorial

Ogata Ken, in the wake of his huge success in

Theatre Museum from October 2014 to February

playing the title role of NHK’s grand-scale drama2015 and Wakajishi’s special performances of86

Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji and Tate Tamura

contacted NHK’s Bangumi Hakkutsu Purojekuto(Sword Fight: Tamura) at Okuma Auditorium on

and sent the rediscoveries as soon as possible. The

November 19, 2014. Sawada Shojiro was anext month, I received both the “original”

graduate of Waseda University and a disciple ofvideocassettes and the digitised audiovisual

Tsubouchi Shoyo, whom the museum iscontents, which had been identified by Bangumi

dedicated to—thus, the exhibition and the

Ha k k u t s u Pu r o j e k u t o a s Ge k i j o C h u k e i :performances were held on massive scales.

K i w a m e t s u k i Ku n i s a d a C h u j i a n d K i n yo

Three years later, in September 2017,

Shotaiseki: Kiwametsuki Tsukigata Hanpeita. Since

Wakajishi reached a turning point: the realization

the public history of VHS started in Septemberof the memorial tour Shinkokugeki Hyakunen

1976 (Asahi Shimbun, 1976: 10), eight months(Shinkokugeki’s One Hundred Years) in Tokyo,

after the air date of Gekijo Chukei: Kiwametsuki

Nagoya and Osaka with the support of Kabuki

Kunisada Chuji, it is undeniable that thestar Ichikawa Ennosuke IV. In the wake of therediscovered VHS is not the medium used on the

tour’s conclusion, Kasahara, according to his pre-air date.

arranged plan, disbanded Wakajishi and began
using the company name as a kind of personaltrademark to signify his Shinkokugeki origin.

3. Reading Gekijo Chukei: Kiwametsuki
Kunisada Chuji

The disbanding and shrinking of Wakajishi

As far as I can see, the VHS of Gekijo Chukei:

involved a step which was critical for theKiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji contains the oldest

rediscovery: Wakajishi’s office was moved.

audiovisual recording of Shinkokugeki’s KunisadaThis is where an element of chance entered

Chuji, and the U-matics of Kinyo Shotaiseki:

into the archival process. After determining what

Kiwametsuki Tsukigata Hanpeita contains the only

should be discarded and moved to the new office,existing audiovisual recording of Shinkokugeki’s

Kasahara offered me as an endowment a box of

Tsukigata Hanpeita. Needless to say, the assertion

historical materials which he figured would notthat “[i]f we can make the most of the newest

be necessary for his future theatre projects. To

devices such as video, we can never represent thearrange the endowment, I visited Wakajishi’s newtheatrical performances of the past” (Tanaka,

office in February 2018—at this time, I stumbled

2013: 21) is definitely critical in theatre studies.

across the three videocassettes. The two U-matic

At the same time, however, given the present

videocassettes were labelled “Shinkokugeki

situation—in which the living memory ofTsukigata Hanpeita NO. 1” and “Shinkokugeki

Shinkokugeki is vanishing forever due to the

Tsukigata Hanpeita NO. 2” (originally in

aging of ex-company members and enthusiastic

Japanese); the VHS videocassette was labelledfans who directly experienced the company’s“Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji and others,

heyday, the academic significance of these

Oyama Katsumi” (originally in Japanese). I

audiovisual recordings, through which we can● Theatrical Performances Rediscovered: An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s

87

glimpse Shinkokugeki’s performances and theexpresses the homosocial mentality ofreactions of their audiences, is inestimable. As an

Shinkokugeki’s repertoire, is omitted. As a result,introduction to Shinkokugeki studies, let me

the tempo of the tense dialogue among Chujishare what I found in the recordings.

and the male characters dissuading him fromFirst, I will focus on Gekijo Chukei:

committing suicide differs critically between the

Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji. Today, two versions

1975 version and the 1980s versions. The

of Shinkokugeki’s Kunisada Chuji, both featuringomission indicates that generally regarded as

Tatsumi Ryutaro in his seventies, are available:

metrically stylised to perfection, Act I underwent

one is a DVD released by NHK Enterprises,

a detailed revision even in the final phase ofwhich contains the recording of the performance

Shinkokugeki’s 70-year history.

enacted at Yomiuri Hall, Tokyo, in August 1980;

Differences between the 1975 version and thethe other is a VHS released by Apollon Music

1980s versions become more discernible in “ActIndustry, which contains the recording of theII, Scene II: Shinshu Gondo Yamagataya

performance enacted at Asakusa Public Hall,

Misesaki (The Storefront of Yamagataya inTokyo, in May 1984. The 1980 version was

Gondo Post Station in Shinano Province).” Thestaged without presenting the company namescene portrays the confrontation between

Shinkokugeki; however, most of the main cast

Kunisada Chuji as a fugitive from justice andwere the company members and, as described in

Yamagataya Tozo, a villainous underworld bossthe subheading of a newspaper review, thewho works as a detective of the Gondo Post

performance was filled with “the genuine flavour

Station. While Tatsumi performed Chuji, in theof Shinkokugeki’” (Takashi, 1980: 13). Anyway,

1980 version, Ogata Ken was invited as a guest

the VHS of Gekijo Chukei: Kiwametsuki Kunisadastar to play Tozo; in the 1984 version, Sanada

Chuji enables those interested in Shinkokugeki

Kenichiro played the role of the same villain.

to watch the company’s Kunisada Chuji as it was

Sanada was also an ex-company member and,in the mid-1970s.

like Oyama, Ogata and Kasahara, studied acting

A comparative study of these three versions

as an apprentice of Tatsumi. As a result, thereveals several findings. First, let us focus on theconfrontation between Chuji and Tozo isdifference in the scripts. In the 1975 version, in

undermined, and sometimes overwritten, by thethe middle of “Act I: Akagi Tenjinyama Fudo nobackstage relationship between Tatsumi as theMori (The Forest of Fudo in Mt. Tenjin of

aged master and the two “graduate” apprentices

Akagi),” Kunisada Chuji, the leader of a coup

who both support him and make efforts to enliven

against the corrupt regional government,

the Act II, Scene II.

attempts suicide, declaring: “[i]t is time to die, itThis tendency is more palpable in the 1980

is time to become a man’s man!” In the 1980s

version than in the 1984 version. As pointed out

versions, however, this line, which surely

in a newspaper review (Takashi, 1980: 13),88

Ogata’s Tozo appears to be a clown rather than a

Before closing this section, I will point out avillain; his performance is a caricature, as if he issignificant difference in the set designs in Act II,

displaying his awareness of Tatsumi’s aging. By

Scene II. In the 1975 version, adjacent to thehis performance, Shinkokugeki unintentionallystorefront of Yamagataya, in which most of thereveals its own situation, in which it was on anarrative unfolds, we can see a corridor. Gunji’sdead-end path toward disbandment. In contrast

Tozo appears in the corridor and, before enteringto the 1980s versions, the relationship between

the storefront, eavesdrops on an argument in the

Chuji played by Oyama and Tozo played bystorefront between his subordinate, Denkichi

Gunji Ryo is quite confrontational in the 1975

and Chuji for a while. In the 1980s versions,version, despite no critical differences in the

however, the corridor is excluded from the whole

script. Gunji, a stager who joined Shinkokugeki

set design—thus, Tozo suddenly enters theabout a decade before Oyama did in 1946,

audiences’ field of vision at the same time when

foregrounds Tozo’s villainous character. Throughhe enters the storefront of Yamagataya. As witha comparative approach, we can glimpse how

the line involving “time to become a man’s man”

backstage politics played out in onstagein Act I, the presence of the corridor minutely,

performances.

b u t c r i t i c a l l y, c h a n g e s t h e f l o w o f t h e

At the same time, Act II, Scene II in Gekijo

performance.

Chukei: Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji reminds usof the necessity of disentangling the complicatedrelationship between onstage performance and its

4. Reading Kinyo Shotaiseki: Kiwametsuki
Tsukigata Hanpeita

audiovisual recording. The point here is that theA s m e n t i o n e d a b ov e , K i n y o Sh o t a i s e k i :act of recording itself may affect the performance.

Kiwametsuki Tsukigata Hanpeita contains what is

In the middle of Act II, Scene II, Chuji, who

presumed to be the only audiovisual recording of

disguises himself as a rural farmer, asks Tozo, “Do

Shinkokugeki’s Tsukigata Hanpeita. By collating

you have poor hearing?” However, according tothis recording with Godai Michiko’s script, it is

Godai Michiko’s script, which was bound for the

possible to see that several significant parts of theenactment of the play at Misonoza Theatre, Nagoya,play were excluded from the broadcast—in July 1975, one month before the recording ofpresumably due to the 85-minute time slot of

Gekijo Chukei: Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji, theKinyo Shotaiseki (Shinkokugeki, 1976). As aoriginal line is, “Are you deaf?” (Shinkokugeki,

result, it might be difficult to follow narrative

1975: 59) The paraphrasing of “deaf (tsunbo)” todevelopments, especially in the final act, for“have poor hearing (mimi ga tokatta)” indicates

television viewers who were unfamiliar withthe possibility of a negotiation between

Shinkokugeki’s repertoire. Nonetheless, thisShinkokugeki and NHK to omit the derogatory

recording enables us to glimpse Shinkokugeki’s

term “deaf (tsunbo)” from the broadcast.

Tsukigata Hanpeita, one of the seminal Meiji● Theatrical Performances Rediscovered: An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s

89Restoration dramas which were mass-producedby calling out their stage trade names called yago

throughout the twentieth century. At the same

such as “Naritaya” for Ichikawa Danjuro andtime, given the present situation in which“Otowaya” for Onoe Kikugoro at the spectacular

practice of Shinkokugeki’s realistic sword action

points of the play. Similarly, Shinkokugeki’s

is almost completely extinct, it is important forenthusiastic fans called out the stage familyscholars to analyse in detail, “Act II, Scene III:

names of their favourite actors. Throughout Act

Sanjo Gawara (The River Beach under the Sanjo

III, Scene II, we can hear several female-voice

Bridge),” and “Act III, Scene II: Matsugasaki

calls for Oyama; in one of these, Ibuki Sotaro,

Daijoin (Daijoin Temple in Matsugasaki).” In

who plays the role of Tsukigata’s comrade

these scenes, Oyama Katsumi, Ibuki Sotaro, andOkazaki Kozo, is mistaken for Oyama. The calls,

Fujimori Tatsuo, among others, display theirthen, lead us to reconsider the widely spread

renowned sword action skills.

impression of Shinkokugeki’s fandom that maleAs I pointed out in a previous essay of minefans enjoyed the imagined homosocial

in Japanese (Hatori, 2017: 77-78), one of therelationship with the onstage male characters.

keys of Shinkokugeki’s sword action is the pincer

Indeed, in the introductory part of “Act III,

attack composition, in which enemies are locatedScene I: Sanbongi Tsukigata Rotaku (Tsukigata’s

both to the left and right of the hero. Indeed,

Hideout in Sanbongi),” when the television

this staging enables the audience to see the hero’s

camera follows Tsukigata and Utagiku, anface through the fourth wall. Along with theapprentice geisha in Kyoto, walking slowly down

sword action in “Act II, Scene III: Hango no

the passage called hanamichi toward the main

Matsunamiki (The Road with Pine Trees instage, we can glimpse many female visitors seatedHango)” in Kunisada Chuji, Act II, Scene III inon the first floor.

Tsukigata Hanpeita exemplifies the efficacy of thepincer attack composition, in which Tsukigata
Hanpeita, a patriot on a mission to overthrow

5. Conclusion

the Tokugawa Shogunate, shouts his lines while

The process of archiving historical materials

assassins to his left and right aim their swords at

involves many elements of chance, and thehim.

process of historicising them requires a huge

In the final Act III, Scene II, Tsukigata isamount of research. As an introduction toambushed by assassins again and then dies with

Shinkokugeki studies, this essay is an attempt

his boots on. This scene also gives us a catalogue

to share what I found in the rediscoveredof Shinkokugeki’s sword action skills. At theaudiovisual recordings of Shinkokugeki’ssame time, the audience’ reactions deserve ourKunisada Chuji and Tsukigata Hanpeita. Before

careful attention. In the world of Kabuki,

closing this short essay, I reflect on the possibility

enthusiastic fans applaud their favourite actorsof a future rediscovery. According to NHK’s

90Archives’ database Bangumihyo Histori (History

extend our knowledge of Shinkokugeki’sof Programme Schedule), 18 months after the

Daibosatsu Toge to the mid-1970s.

broadcast of Kinyo Shotaiseki: Kiwametsuki
Tsukigata Hanpeita, NHK aired Kinyo Shotaiseki:
Daibosatsu Toge (Invitation Seats on Friday: The

Audiovisual Materials Cited

Daibosatsu Pass) on October 21, 1977. (1)Gekijo Chukei: Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji

Daibosatsu Toge was also one of the most

(1976) NHK General. 10 January.

successful plays in Shinkokugeki’s repertoire. The

Gekijo eno Shotai: Daibosatsu Toge (1994) NHKr o l e o f t h e p r i n c i p a l c h a r a c t e r, Ts u k u eGeneral. 15 September.

Ryunosuke, was first played by Sawada Shojiro

Kinyo Shotaiseki: Kiwametsuki Tsukigata Hanpeita

and then by Tatsumi Ryutaro and Oyama(1976) NHK General. 16 April.

Katsumi. It was Oyama’s version that was

Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji (2008) [DVD]televised in 1977. As far as I can see, no

NHK Enterprises.

audiovisual recording of Shinkokugeki’s

Kiwametsuki Kunisada Chuji (n.d.) [VHS]Daibosatsu Toge before its disbandment isApollon Music Industry.

available. In the wake of the company’s

Nichiyo Shiata: Daibosatsu Toge (1994) NHK

disbandment in 1987 and Tatsumi’s death inGeneral. 19 June.

1989, the play was enacted at Shinbashi Enbujo
Theatre in March 1994, featuring a reunion of
ex-Shinkokugeki members such as Shimada

Acknowledgements

Shogo, Ogata Ken, Ibuki Sotaro and Kasahara

The present work was supported by JSPS

A k i r a , a m o n g o t h e r s . Ac c o rd i n g t o t h e

KAKENHI Grant Number 17K13366. The

audiovisual recordings, which NHK aired on

author expresses his sincere appreciation to Mr.

June 19, 1994 under the heading of Nichiyo

Kawakami Masahiro of NHK’s Bangumi

Shiata: Daibosatsu Toge (Sunday Theatres: The

Hakkutsu Purojekuto, Professor Kodama Ryuichi

Daibosatsu Pass) and on September 15, 1994

of Waseda University, Mr. Kasahara Akira, Ms.

under the heading of Gekijo eno Shotai:

Godai Michiko and many other ex-Shinkokugeki

Daibosatsu Toge (Invitation to the Theatre: The

members for providing their kind cooperation.

Daibosatsu Pass), however, the performance inmemory of Tatsumi foregrounds self-referential
indulgence in the past glory of Shinkokugeki. If
the audiovisual recording of the 1977 version
becomes available for the academic use, it will

(1) https://www.nhk.or.jp/archives/document/ (accessed 20 March 2020)● Theatrical Performances Rediscovered: An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s

91References
Asahi Shimbun (1976) Kateiyo kara VTR ransen: Bikuta mohatsubai e (Home-use color VTRs in a confused competition:
Victor to release its own). 10 Sep, morning edition: 10.
Hatori Takafusa (2017) Shinkokugeki no engeki eizo gaku:
Kunisada Chuji no genzo wo saguru (A cinema/theatre
interdisciplinary study of Shinkokugeki: imaging the “origin”
of Kunisada Chuji) Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyu 141: 77-78.
Takashi (1980) Review of Shimada Shogo Tatsumi Ryutaro Meisaku
Tokubetsu Koen (Review of Special Performance of the
Masterpieces of Shimada Shogo and Tatsumi Ryutaro). Yomiuri
Shimbun, 22 Aug, evening edition: 13.
Tanaka, Tokuichi (2013) Tsutsui Tokujiro: Sirarezaru Kengeki
Yakusha no Kiroku (Tsutsui Tokujiro: A Record of an
Unknown Sword Fight Actor). Tokyo: Sairyusha.
Shinkokugeki (1975) Godai Michiko’s Script of Kiwametsuki
Kunisada Chuji.
Shinkokugeki (1976) Godai Michiko’s Script of Kiwametsuki
Tsukigata Hanpeita.

Dr. Hatori Takafusa is Project Assistant Professor at Niigata University. His research field includes Japanese popular
culture.

92

About the Archive Center for Anime Studies
at Niigata University

Anime has been a central part of the Japanese
popular culture for many decades, and yet now,as the digitalization of the anime-making processadvances, the “intermediate materials” oftraditional animation production such as modelȏǡ
ǤȐ

sheets and cels are facing obsolescence. Some ofthem are published and distributed as books, but
an enormous bulk of intermediate materials
remain inaccessible for scholars.
The Center takes a media ecological approachto anime as a platform organizing images into
multi-layered fluid structures. The intermediatematerials are expected to provide a valuable basis
for demonstrative research of the processes andaesthetic dynamics of anime production.
Archiving—acquiring, cataloguing, andpreserving—these materials, the Center aims toserve as an international research hub making
them available to scholars both in Japan andabroad. Furthermore, it also seeks to use thecollected materials for nurturing future specialists
equipped with media literacy by incorporatingthem into the academic programs of Niigata
University. A further aim is to channel theachievements in education and research backi n t o t h e p u b l i c s p h e re t h r o u g h a c l o s e93cooperation with animation productions andvisual media industry at large, as well as withlocal communities and municipalities.
About the Watanabe Collection of the Center
The Archive Center for Anime Studies was
originally established to manage and organize the
Watanabe collection—the intermediate materialsof anime works entrusted to Niigata University
by anime director Watanabe Hideo teaching
animation production in the Shonan Institute ofTechnology. Mr. Watanabe was involved as a key
production crewmember in the production of

A Storyboard for Episode 138 of
Fist of the North Star II

many animations, including Space Emperor God
Sigma (1980), Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit
SSX (1982), Dream Soldier Wing-Man (1984),
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1984; a JapanUS joint project), They Were Eleven (1986), Fistof the North Star II (1987), Mobile Suit Zeta
Gundam (1985), Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986),
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1991), Neon Genesis
Evangelion (1995), etc.
M r. Wa t a n a b e m a d e a c o l l e c t i o n o f

A Storyboard for Episode 47 of
Sci-Fi Journey to the West Starzinger

intermediate materials as a part of his research on
the role and function of the director. Many ofthem are from the works which he himself wasanimation production—character design sheets,

involved in from the 1970s to the 1990s, thestoryboards, key animation drawings,

period that witnessed the second and third peakbackgrounds, screenplays, scripts for voice

points in anime history. In this sense, therecording sessions, and production crewmembers’

Watanabe collection is an invaluable source forhand-written notes. Moreover, it includes a

research of anime in terms of industry andconsiderable amount of materials outsourced

aesthetics. It covers various stages and aspects offrom Japan to other countries and vice versa.

94

A Production Crewmember’s Hand-written Instruction Note for a Japan-US joint project95

Archiving Movements: Short Essays on Anime and Visual Media Materials V.2
Copyright © 2020 The Archive Center for Anime Studies, Niigata University
Advanced Education and Research Bldg. Niigata University
8050 Ikarashi 2-no-cho, Nishi-ku 950-2181 JAPANE-mail acasin@human.niigata-u.ac.jp

All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-4-9910746-1-5
Archiving Movements: Short Essays on Anime and Visual Media Materials V.2
edited by

Ishida Minori and Kim Joon Yang

1. Anime—Japan—Visual Media. 2. Animation—Japan—Archiving. I. Ishida, Minori
and Kim, Joon Yang, II. Archiving Movements: Short Essays on Anime and Visual Media Materials V.2
Design and Printing

Takayoshi Co., Ltd.
Acknowledgement

Toei Animation Co, Ltd.
Niigata Regional Image Archive at Niigata University
Asian Link Research Center at Niigata University

First Printing March 2020

Printed in Japan
Not for Sale

Editorial

Kim Joon Yang and Ishida Minori
Directing at Anime/Animation Studios:Techniques and Methods

Watanabe Hideo
Plastics, Cels and Anime in a Cross-disciplinary Approach

Kim Joon Yang and Mitsumata Tetsu
Voice Actors Synchronised with Other Human Agents:
An Analysis of the Afureko Script

Ishida Minori
The Archive in Anime Production:
Thoughts on the Use of the Cel Bank in Neon Genesis Evangelion

Ida Kirkegaard
Notes from the Watanabe Collection:Media Archives and the Futures of Anime’s History

Dario Lolli
talking with airports:
poem in 4 parts

Verina Gfader
Theatrical Performances Rediscovered:
An Archival Approach to Shinkokugeki in the Mid-1970s

Hatori Takafusa
About the Archive Center for Anime Studies, Niigata University