The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Tatsunoko anime studio fetes 60th anniversary
Tatsunoko Production Co., known for such TV anime as “Time-Bokan,” “Gatchaman” and “Speed Racer,” celebrated its 60th anniversary in October.
“All our works re ect the principles of our [late] founder, Tatsuo Yoshida. He wanted to create dreams for children all over the world — a pure wish to make kids happy,” said Hiroshi Sasagawa, the director of many Tatsunoko works.
e company, which was founded by Yoshida and his two younger brothers as a manga production studio in 1962, began producing animated works in 1964.
Sasagawa, 86, worked in a directorial capacity from the company’s early days, serving as general director on many of the rm’s most notable works. Originally, he was a professional mangaka, having worked as an assistant to manga legend Osamu Tezuka. He helped Tezuka make storyboards for the TV anime version of “Tetsuwan Atom” (“Astro Boy”), which was his rst encounter with the world of animation.
“How fun it would be if my pictures started moving, with sounds and voices,” Sasagawa recalled thinking. “I intuitively felt that the age of anime would arrive.”
Sasagawa shared his thoughts with Yoshida, who was then working in the same trade. When Tatsunoko became involved in producing animated works, Sasagawa joined the company.
Tatsunoko’s rst TV anime “Uchu Ace” (“Space Ace”) was broadcast from 1965 to 1966 and featured a boy from outer space who becomes a superhero. “Mach Go Go Go” (“Speed Racer”), a landmark anime about racing drivers aired from 1967 to 1968 and became popular overseas, too. e studio broadened its creative range by producing such exotic comedies as “Hakushon Daimao” (“e Genie Family”) from 1969 to 1970 and “Konchu Monogatari Minashigo Hacchi” (“e Adventures of Hutch, the Honeybee”) from 1970 to 1971, which depicted the harshness of nature and the importance of family love.
4-5 MONTHS PER EPISODE
“At rst, I was a complete beginner in animation,” Sasagawa said. “Moreover, unlike Disney drawings, which weren’t di cult to draw and trace because of their exaggerated and simpli ed forms, Mr. Yoshida’s drawings were realistic and sharp, with many lines. ey weren’t suited to animation at all, because for animation, you have to draw the same things time and time again. So it was a lot of hard work and far more di cult than [the work being done at] other [animation] studios. But Mr. Yoshida was stubborn and passionate. His determination never wavered.”
In the case of “Speed Racer,” nearly 4,000 drawings were required to produce a single 30-minute episode, each of which took four to ve months to create. But the company’s time and effort paid o . e anime’s protagonist and the cars looked outstanding and proved a big hit with children. is success led to “Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman” (“Gatchaman”), a superhero anime that aired from 1972 to 1974, which mixed dramatic stories and top-notch ght scenes. “Time-Bokan” began in 1975. Combining science ction and comedy — both of which Sasagawa excelled at — it became one of Tatsunoko’s signature works. e series has since been remade multiple times. According to Sasagawa, at that time, the company was gripped by strong fears that the work would not be nished in time due to having to draw so many detailed pictures.
“I always liked comedies and time-travel stories, so I wanted to produce a comedy anime, which have shorter production times, while keeping the Yoshida art style,” Sasagawa explained. “e result was spot-on.”
Each work in the series follows the same pattern: a duo comprising male and female goodies is pitted against a villainous trio comprising a beautiful lady boss, a brainy trickster and a brawny strongman. is scenario has its roots in the series “Yatterman,” which aired from 1977 to 1979. Each week, the characters would travel to a di erent part of the world and comedy antics would ensue. e time-travel element was used in “Zendaman” (“Zenderman”), which ran from 1979 to 1980, and “Otasukeman” (“Rescueman”) from 1980 to 1981. e anime’s xed setup was highly in uential on subsequent TV anime shows.
“Children love seeing an adult baddie stumbling around or getting blown away in an explosion,” Sasagawa said. “e trio is always caught o -guard at a crucial time and thwarted on the brink of victory. is plot theme contains an important message: ‘You should never give up. You’ll de nitely be rewarded if you work hard.’ e three baddies never learn and keep going week a er week.
ey’re very tenacious.”
NO RECYCLING OF IDEAS
e production team has never changed the basic concept to the point that the series falls into a “successful rut,” but team members always rack their brains to come up with new ideas for plots and machine battles in each episode.
“I wanted to make children laugh by all means, but we never recycled ideas,” Sasagawa said. “I constantly told sta ers that we’d be failing if viewers could correctly guess how a story would turn out.”
ese days, Sasagawa serves as a company adviser, allowing him to keep an eye on younger sta .
“Looking back, it’s been a tremendous 60 years,” he said. “Tatsunoko has an unshakable foundation. Advances in computers have given us more freedom of expression. Looking ahead, I hope our sta will create new works that entertain children and adults alike.” (Nov. 18)