Category Renimation

Kazutaka Miyatake Interview from Megahouse Variable Action Hi-Spec Orguss

Originally Written by Renato on September 29, 2015

Hot on the heels of the recent translation of the Kazutaka Miyatake interview from the SDF-1 book, comes yet another Miyatake heart-to-heart, this time the big man is talking about his work on Super Dimension Century Orguss, or as I like to call it, “Kei Katsuragi’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did, giving an insight into the state of mind he must have been in during that entire 1982-84 period.

This interview is from a booklet that was included with the first edition of the Megahouse Variable Action Hi-Spec Orguss toy from earlier in the year. I chose to tackle it at this time since it would be perfect to brush up on our Orguss trivia as this year’s Macross World Convention will have a dedicated ORGUSS panel for all your Space-Time Oscillation needs!
The translation starts after the jump. Enjoy!

Miyatake interview from “SDF-1 Macross: Thorough Dissection”

Originally written by Renato on September 19, 2015

As we board the hype train leading up to Kazutaka Miyatake’s exhibition of original artworks, let us look at a recent interview with him conducted earlier this year for the “SDF-1 Macross: Thorough Dissection” book — you know, the one which also doubles as an enormous 1/2400 scale papercraft model of the Fortress Exceeding Space and Time itself (the cover of the book stoically assures us that it is genuine “Deculture Scale”, no less).
The translation starts right after the jump! (I tried to be as accurate as possible, and that is why the four in-text notes are oddly numbered: there are two #3’s, and there is no #1. )

Remembering Noboru Ishiguro, 1938-2012

The following article is the first part in a short series on Noboru Ishiguro, one of the legendary anime pioneers who sadly departed on March 20th, 2012, leaving behind a legacy of not just a half-century’s worth of highly-influential animated works, but also of a man whose kindness and strict work ethic was inspirational to many generations to come.

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Noboru Ishiguro, like most pioneers, respected artists and activists, had a rather unstable, somewhat chaotic youth.  Born in 1938, he spent his childhood in wartime, during which one of his earliest memories appears to have left a lasting impression on his philosophy for the rest of his life: hiding in shelters during the fire bombing raids by the allied forces was part of the norm for the young Ishiguro, and as he emerged to the surface of Tokyo once the quiet calm eerily returned, he turned his gaze to the streets he had not long prior been running down, and saw they had turned to rubble, leaving a lone lamppost bent at an angle.  For him, the lamppost signified the fragile transience in all things.  Everything changes, and nothing ever stays the same.  This realization would remain latent in his mind and influence his carrier until the very end.

Countdown to DYRL BD — 1984 Interview with Shoji Kawamori from Animage booklet: “Minmay: Ai Miemashita ka”

As we await anxiously the release of Macross Do You Remember Love on Blu-Ray — and with all the, er, controversy that surrounds this —  let us take the time to recall some words from co-director Shoji Kawamori, which he shared with the editorial of Animage just a few months after the original release of the film in Japan.  To fans, the findings may seem a touch interesting…

Note: The title of the feature is “Macross Seminar”.   There is one more installment in a later booklet that I may eventually translate also.  This should not be confused with the “Super Dimension Seminar” currently airing on Tokyo MX television, there is no relation whatsoever.