by Takayoshi Akai (63), president of the anime and game production company Yonago Gainax (Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture)
“Negiman,” a special effects work depicting the commotion surrounding a green giant that suddenly appeared in the town of Yonago, and “Gainata Mugger,” an online animation depicting the exploits of a boy who transforms into a hero — these are the video content works that he has been creating as a director since he moved his base of operations from Tokyo to his hometown of Yonago about 15 years ago.
It all started when a local volunteer approached him with a request to “liven up the town of Yonago.” At the time, he had already been active in Tokyo for about 30 years as an anime producer, game creator, and illustrator. It was also a time when he felt the limitations of a situation in which many things and experiences were concentrated only in Tokyo. He said he “felt romantic” about restarting in his hometown.
In 2011, shortly after he began working in Yonago, he initiated an event called “Yonago Film Incident.” It is still ongoing and centers around screenings of films, talk shows featuring filmmakers, and the “3-Minute Film Banquet” short film competition, which receives dozens of submissions each time. “I want to turn the city of Yonago into a place of interaction through pop culture,” he says.
He is also a member of the legendary film production group DAICON FILM, which is highly regarded among fans of science fiction, anime, and special effects.
The group was formed in the 1980s by students from Osaka, who released a series of charismatic, independent productions, including “The Return of Ultraman” and “The Eight-Headed Serpent Strikes Back.” They later became the basis for Gainax, the production company behind the socially beloved anime ” Neon Genesis Evangelion .”
The work that first brought it to the public’s attention was an anime shown at the opening of the 20th Japanese Science Fiction Convention (nicknamed DAICON3), held in Osaka in 1981. It was a short story about a girl wearing a school bag who uses beam swords and missiles to defeat attacking mecha and monsters.
At the time, he was a student in the Department of Film and Media Planning at Osaka University of Arts. He collaborated with his classmate and boarding housemate, Hideaki Anno, who would later go on to direct Evangelion, and was responsible for illustrations, sprinkling parodies of various science fiction works throughout the film to delight fans. The film was well-received, and its reputation quickly spread among both professionals and amateurs.
