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Musashi Kanbe (1948-) Sci-fi author whose witty and versatile style has allowed him to cover
a broad range of genres in his works. A resident of Osaka, he served as honorary chairman to the
executive committee for DAICON 3. In 1986, he won the Nihon SF Taisho Award for his title
Warai Uchu no Tabi Genin.
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he graciously accepted for the 40th Japan Sci-Fi Convention, which was hosted at
the Makuhari Messe.
Actually, after DAICON 3 was over, someone brought up the idea of us doing another
convention. We jokingly responded,  Yeah, sure. How about in, say, another 20
years? Well, the 40th Convention wasn t in Osaka, as DAICON 3 had been, but
imagine my surprise when I later found out we would indeed be hosting the event
again in 2001!
Meeting Anno, Yamaga and Akai
Having secured the position to host the Japan Sci-Fi Convention, we began prepa-
rations for the event - and were faced with the decision of the opening film.
For the Sci-Fi Show we d screened borrowed footage, but for DAICON 3 we wanted
(if at all possible) to make our own original film. At that point, Okada spoke up.
 I met this guy named Nagayama59 at for news photos he took in the after-
math of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995, but he died tragically in a
car accident later that year. the Ultra Q60 screening, and he says he knows
someone who can make anime.
Nagayama turned out to be a man of many talents. He would later go on to the
work for General Products writing technical manuals for our do-it-yourself garage
kits, and he even played a major supporting role in Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushu
( Orochi: The Eight-Headed Dragon ), a live-action DAICON film. Tragically, he
died in a car accident the year of the Kobe Earthquake (1995), but if he were alive
today I m sure we d still be great pals.
Nagayama introduced me and Sawamura (I m pretty sure he came along, too) to
Anno61 and Yamaga62 at a place called Solaris63, a sci-fi themed cafe in Kyoto. They
had both just enrolled in the Osaka University of Arts64.
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Tatsuto Nagayama (1960 1995) Helped form the anime production group "SHADO" during
his high school years. I met him while he was attending school in Kansai. He and Hideaki Anno
are from the same town, and it was Nagayama who introduced me to Anno and his friends. An
aspiring cameraman and writer, "Mr. N" (as he was affectionately known) helped General Products
by writing the instruction manuals for many of its products. We all thought he bore a strong
resemblance to a seal. He played the role of the suspicious archaeologist in Yamata no Orochi no
Gyakushu, and later received publicity
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A live-action tokusatsu, or "special effects" TV show produced by Tsuburaya. It preceded even
Ultraman. The show was in black and white, and since it was rarely rerun some volunteers
organized public screenings. It wasn t common to have a VCR at home in those days, so the
screenings drew many viewers.
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Hideaki Anno (1960-) Movie director and member of GAINAX s board of directors. He was still
enrolled at the Osaka University of Arts when he participated in the production of the DAICON 3
opening animation. One of his specialties is animating complex action scenes with mecha and lots
of explosions. One of the most talked-about sequences he has done is the famous  God Soldiers
scene in director Hayao Miyazaki s Kaze no Tani no Nausica ( Nausicaa of the Valley of the
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I had very little interest in anime back then, so I wasn t expecting anything spec-
tacular. When I was introduced to Anno, I said something like,  They say you can
make anime. What kind of stuff can you do? At this, he whipped out a pad of
Wind ). He played a role in the founding of GAINAX, and made his professional directorial debut
with the OVA Top of Nerae! ( Gunbuster ). After his tremendous success with the TV series
Shinseiki Evangelion ( Neon Genesis Evangelion ), he went on to pursue his interest in live action,
producing Love & Pop, Shikijitsu and several other films.
Anno is a big fan of special effects films and several mainstream anime titles, especially the clas-
sics Uchu Senkan Yamato ( Star Blazers / Space Battleship Yamato ), Ultraman, Kamen Rider
( Masked Rider ), and Gundam. He usually lumbers around slowly, in almost the same manner as
the God Soldiers he animated years ago. In fact, the only time he seems to show any real energy is
when he s doing an Ultraman or Kamen Rider impression. Anno eats neither meat nor fish, and is
thus often assumed to be a vegetarian. This is actually a misconception - in fact, he dislikes green
onions, peppers, and many other vegetables. Basically, he eats an extremely unbalanced diet.
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Hiroyuki Yamaga (1962-) Movie director and GAINAX s current president. Originally from Ni-
igata Prefecture. Directed Oritsu Uchugun ( Wings of Honneamise ), GAINAX s first commercial
film. While he was still a student at the Osaka University of Arts, he helped create the DAICON 3
opening movie, along with Hideaki Anno and Takami Akai. Yamaga has been with GAINAX since [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]