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scriptwriter), and Yamaguchi introduced us to Maeda. In that same way, I was also
introduced to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto112, who was from the same university as Maeda.
Sadamoto and Maeda were still students when they were hired onto the Macross
production team. Later, they would both return to help us with the DAICON 4
opening animation. I think it would be safe to say that the core of GAINAX was
formed by this point. We d all come together through our mutual involvement in
the oh-so-literary sci-fi clubs in the area, but it felt more like being in a sports club.
Everyone had so much energy!
Now that the General Products store was open for business, we used our customer
base as a pool to scout new talent. If someone showed interest in what we were
doing, or even if they just seemed to have a lot of time on their hands, they were
immediately propositioned and added to the staff. General Products functioned
both as a hangout for DAICON 3 veterans and as a place to find potential recruits.
The first three films we planned were Aikoku Sentai Dainippon, Kaettekita Ul-
traman_ and Kaiketsu Notenki. We also intended to do a few live-action films,
including a version of Thunderbirds, but in the end it was reduced to these three.
We got to work on producing them. . . all at the same time!
Most of the plotlines were hammered out over drinks at the local pub. With talent
like Okada, Sawamura, Anno and Akai at the core of these admittedly rather silly
back-and-forthings, the films turned out to be a snap to produce. It was actually a
workable system.
We rented some office space in Umeda for the DAICON 4 executive committee to
use. Film production was underway in Ueda s Juso apartment, General Products
also appears in various special effects titles, like Heisei Gamera and Ultraman Powered, in which
he did the character designs for the monsters.
111
Hiroshi Yamaguchi (1963-) A scriptwriter who has worked on projects such as Gao Gai Gar,
Shinseiki Evangelion and Ao no Rokugo ( Blue Submarine No. 6 ). Takami Akai, Mahiro Maeda
and he are all from the same hometown and remain very good friends. After coming to Tokyo as
an animator and later gaining experience as an editor for Studio Hard, he distinguished himself as
a screenwriter. As far as characters, he can easily handle anything from the geeky goofiness of a
hardcore otaku to the calm, steely composure of a hardboiled detective. Before moving to Tokyo,
he helped out with the production of Aikoku Sentai Dainippon. Incidentally, he s also the one who
got Shinji Higuchi involved with DAICON FILM.
112
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (1962-) Manga artist and character designer. He actually made his debut
as a manga artist while he was still a university student. Also during his career at Tokyo Zokei
University, he and his underclassman Mahiro Maeda managed to participate in the production of
Macross. And later, Sadamoto had a hot Osaka summer when he, Yamaga and Anno were brought
onto the DAICON 4 staff. After graduation, he went to work for Telecom Animation Film, and
helped to manufacture products mainly intended for foreign markets. However, having directed
Honneamise, Sadamoto played an important role in the founding of GAINAX. Incidentally, he is
also in love with European automobiles.
58
was open for business, and everything was moving right along. My first period of
lethargy was finally over.
Kaiketsu Notenki
This113 was a parody of hero shows, with yours truly playing the main role. It was
originally intended as a satire of Toei s old tokusatsu ( special effects ) TV series
Kaiketsu Zubat114 with Hiroshi Miyauchi115 as the indomitable Zubat.
Now, I had personally never seen Kaiketsu Zubat - I d never even heard of it. But
Okada was a huge Zubat fan, and it was his idea to do the parody. As for me playing
the lead, that was Sawamura and Akai s idea. The reason, I m ashamed to say, has
to do with the main character s name. Notenki means carefree in Japanese, and
apparently my face is so jolly-looking they just had to use it in their parody. Heh.
Unlike the other two films, which were shot on 8mm116, Notenki was done on video-
tape117 partly because it would acquaint the staff with shooting and film production
on a simple, easy-to-use format.
113
The traveling hero (played by yours truly, Yasuhiro Takeda himself) that was the inspiration for
the title of this book. It was made for video in 1982, and it has become my signature performance.
Once I visited a client, and the receptionist said, Hey, it s Notenki! That anecdote has become a
favorite joke among some of my friends. The plot of the film revolves around a private eye named
Ken Hayakawa whose best friend Goro Asuka was killed by the evil organization of Backer. Ken
vows to avenge his friend by transforming himself into Kaiketsu Notenki. It was a direct rip-off of
Kaiketsu Zubat (see next note). Kaiketsu Notenki was produced as a fun project between the two
tiring productions of Dainippon and Ultraman. The movie was a no-brainer - we made it to relax.
We were young.
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