Akadot: Please tell us a little about Madhouse's involvement in the Warner Bros. Animatrix project. How is that progressing?

SK: It's almost finished. After the trailer was previewed on the Animatrix website, we received so many phone calls worldwide. For the past two or three weeks we have had so many journalists coming to our studio for interviews.

Akadot: Your studio produced two films on the Animatrix DVD, right?

SK: Yes, both Takeshi Koike and Yoshiaki Kawajiri produced a film for Animatrix.

Akadot: I heard one is a samurai story.

SK: Yes, Kawajiri produced and directed that story.

Akadot: What is the other story about?

SK: It's an action sports story about running [track]. Koike hopes to try shadow and lighting and lots of different animation for speed. He used slow motion.

Akadot: So he is trying new ways to express speed in animation?

SK: Yes, we are very excited.

Akadot: Animatrix is just for domestic release. How did you like working with Warner Bros.?

SK: Very difficult. [laughs] We were able to produce it in our own way, but the creators wanted high quality, so we had to get a lot of money. It went over budget. That's a headache. [laughs] Also, it took more time and the project was not on schedule. But, I wanted to try even though it was very difficult to secure the time and the money.

Akadot: Have you seen domestic versions of Japanese animation? What do you think? Have you seen dubbed versions of Japanese animation?

SK: Yes, often I watched the domestic version [of anime]. I think the domestic versions of Japanese animation are pretty good. The voice actors in America are totally different from Japan. We have so many voice actors and actresses with particular voicing abilities. When producing animation in Japan, we usually think which actor would be best suited for each character. But, the English version is different. The voices are different. If the voice sounds the same as the Japanese version, then it is okay. But if the voicing sounds different, it is unfamiliar to me.

Domestic anime production companies have a different concept of voicing than Japanese. For example, the voice of a pretty lady in Japan may sound different from a pretty lady in America. Totally different from the Japanese. In Japan, a high voice is preferred in animation. We have very few actors with deep voices. We would like to use deep voiced actors and actresses, but it is very hard to find.

Akadot: So it is very strange for you when a character with a high voice in the Japanese version has a low voice in the American version?

SK: Yes. [Laughs]

Akadot: Do you watch any American animated films?

SK: Yes, I watch South Park. [laughs] I also watched A Bug's Life, Shrek, and Atlantis. I watch them because they often use Japanese animation technology. It's very interesting how they use it. Also, they sometimes do production with the same studios in Hong Kong and Korea that we use. So I hear from the production studios about what the American studios are doing next. But we can't look at the storyboard or layout. [laughs] So I think I should go see the movie instead [when it is finished].

Akadot: What do you think about American animation films?

SK: It's good and I feel it is getting better and better. Now, I think they know everything about Japanese animation. But, they can do more things because they have a larger budget. If we had a larger budget, we could do more.

Akadot: What do you think is the biggest difference between Japanese and American animation?

SK: Well, first of all, the budget. We must always figure out how to save on cost. But, quality is important so we have to figure how much we want to spend on each original picture. American animation productions can spend more money and don't care about budget so much.

Want to read more?! Then check out Part II of Akadot's interview with Madhouse Studio's CEO Shinichi Kobayashi.