In the last part of this interview, Yamamoto told us, “Jobs where you can experience conflicts on the contrary act as stimuli; they are walls that are worth challenging.” While asking him about the essence of story making focusing on his work The Old Wizard (released in 2011), the conversation diverted to talking about “one’s own way of living.”
TOM: In The Old Wizard, which you directed and wrote the script for, there is a scene where the old man, who was only supposed to exist in the imaginary world, hands a real letter of resignation to the protagonist. It was very surprising. Was that what you aimed for or is it pure coincidence?
Yamamoto: At first, I didn’t think about it too deeply, I just thought it would be interesting, so in the storyboard he casually hands the resignation. But then, after revising it over and over again, I started to think that this scene might cause the viewers to retort and that putting the resignation note into the desk drawer might be safer; I was thinking about changing it.
Ryoichi Mori, the creator of Peeping Life [1] was the producer, and I started participating in the production of this work after accepting his request. I listened to Mori’s advice that it was better before, and had the old man hand it over (laughs).
Various people often make a topic of that development. There is also a lot of negative feedback. Still, I thought that it’s nice to have a choice to leave society and that it’s nice to have someone (the old man) to push your back and give you courage.
TOM: Not only The Old Wizard, but all your videos uploaded to YouTube are receiving favorable comments from people all around the world. Even though your works also have an English translation, they are complete even without the textual information. Do you build up the visual information consciously?
Yamamoto: Ultimately, I think it’s okay not to have words. It often happens that empathy is weakened because of the words. When making both Memory (2009) and Anemone (2011), I wanted to show them to overseas people, so I wanted to create something with a theme that pierces through the heart just with the multiplication of the storyboard and the music.
When looking at the reactions on YouTube, I actually felt that I could move people’s hearts even without words.
TOM: We felt that your style resembled Chaplin’s [2], especially in the technique of provoking laughter or surprise by suddenly causing an unexpected development in the pre-established harmony. For example, the old wizard, even though he is part of an imaginary world, can have an influence on the real world. Even if the story setting crumbles, the viewers are lenient because it’s interesting. It was a clever trick.
Yamamoto: Chaplin’s silent films are very interesting, aren’t they. I like City Lights, for example. I am so happy just by being told that. The Old Wizard was financed by the non-profit organization Project for Uniting the Children and the Elderly. But, I thought that if I made it in an ordinary way, it might turn into an anime shown in ethics class, so it crossed my mind that I should inject the essence of “poison” into the work. I had the feeling that even if I made something that does neither harm nor good...
The wizard’s resignation note, this item is poison, and, at the same time, it is also something to smile at. There are people who feel it is poison and hate this turn. However, I think the fact that there are haters is proof of the work’s intensity.
TOM: Enough “poison” to create haters.
Yamamoto: Exactly. What I don’t like is indifference. Hating is still better than being indifferent. It’s the same as with magnets, if the production goes well, there is a tendency that as one force gets stronger, the opposing force also gets stronger. If there are people who say they don’t like it, people who like it will probably come forward as well, because poison and medicine are two sides of the same thing.
In The Old Wizard, I placed the spotlight on people who lost their way in the capitalist society - being tossed around by their surroundings - people who cannot live out their talents, and people who killed off what they liked. People who have Kamen Rider’s belt should gradually foster their talents and their feelings of fondness. It doesn’t matter if they continue with another job to make ends meet.
The protagonist of this work simply quit his company (laughs). It is not about denying the present conditions, but today might be the last day of your life. Plus, I think it’s a lot more constructive to change your viewpoint and think about how you could make the present situation more fun and exciting. Some of you might say, “I don’t have such a belt,” but it is possible that what you think of as your weakness might prove to be a talent if the viewpoint or the situation was different. In this world, where values have been diversified by the internet, instead of focusing on the risks and being afraid, you should investigate your own way of living.
Notes:
[1]: A CG anime made by CG animation creator Ryoichi Mori.
[2]: An actor and director known for many famous movies such as The Dictator and The Gold Rush. He died in 1977.
©Junichi Yamamoto
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.