Eisaku Kawanami

Eisaku Kawanami (Kawanami Eisaku 河浪栄作) is a Japanese animator, television and film director, and storyboarder, who works for Kyoto Animation in their Osaka-based ANIMATION DO office.

Excerpts from an interview between Eisaku Kawanami and Takuya Yamamua:


 * I remember joining Animation Do right when Kyoto Animation began producing titles of their own. Even though there weren’t anywhere as many staff members as there are nowadays, there was still the perception that Kyoto Animation was a top anime studio. Around the time, though, they said they wanted to begin gathering members to create original works. ... I simply lacked that kind of confidence in myself. But that’s when they offered an opportunity to take a look at the studio, and that experience feeling the real work environment gave me the resolve I needed to give it a spin. Nothing to lose, I told myself!


 * As an in-betweener, one time I got entrusted with a very peculiar running shot. The key animation was so unique that I gave it my all filling in the gaps of the movement, but then the in-between checker scolded me saying those were no longer in-betweens—it was as if I’d added my own key animation. Holding back can be hard.


 * Some directors are flexible enough to pivot from the scripts they receive, while others basically dictate what’s going into the script. In the latter cases, proper communication with your scriptwriters is key. ... Every director is different, and in the case of someone like me who’s prone to worrying, I have to firmly establish the course of action beforehand. I’ll give thorough explanations to the surrounding staff to reduce the points of ambiguity as much as possible, because I really want to keep the retakes to a minimum.


 * I’ve been involved with Free! since the planning stages of what was then the Swimming Commercial, so I actually feel more comfortable with it than with other titles. ... When we first started production on Free!, we had done a lot of titles focused on female characters. Regardless of their gender, the staff could draw feminine gestures to perfection. So while it didn’t restrict us, during the early stages of Free! there definitely were old habits to iron out.


 * The production process isn’t something an individual can see to completion, and I don’t think my value and what’s needed of me as a creator has actually changed. That said, when leading a project you do have the final say when it comes to everything and everyone, so I can feel the immense weight of that responsibility. It’s not as if you have infinite time to come to a conclusion, so you need to be able to do it at a reasonable pace, without rushing either.