This Week in Anime

The Unexpected Journey of Kenji Kamiyama

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Lucas, it's pretty safe to say that the past month has been a doozy for anyone working the con circuit. This includes members of the press, marketing folks, and the creatives themselves! But within this summer shuffle, there's one piece of news that caught the eyes of anime aficionados everywhere: there's a brand new Gundam series on the horizon, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex helmer Kenji Kamiyama is directing it.

There's been a lot of chatter about this cloaked Gundam, its bio-mechanical claw arm, and how its name is pronounced "Alex" in the weeks since the series' reveal at San Diego Comic-Con. However, the increased focus on Kamiyama's Ghost in the Shell pedigree in the marketing and reporting around XARX-ZERO sparked a realization in my brain: Stand Alone Complex is a nearly 25-year-old series. Naturally, Kamiyama's done quite a bit since then, so it would behoove us to take a look at the director's larger career—from his start as a background artist in the late 80s to his last decade as a go-to director for projects associated with some of the largest global brands.

Flicking through Kamiyama's first decade or so of credits, you can tell he's someone who really came into his own as a creative while moving from project to project. It doesn't hurt either that those projects included international and domestic hits like Ducktales, Akira, City Hunter, and Kiki's Delivery Service. But keep in mind that this was the late 80s and he was still just getting started—background art was his department at the time. I'd wager that forward momentum from these high-profile projects likely allowed Kamiyama to shift his focus into art direction in the 90s. He worked primarily on OVA titles like Burn Up! and the infamous Genocyber, but also assistant art directed on the cult classic, Roujin Z. By the time Medabots rolled around in 1999, he'd already joined up with Production I.G and was making big moves while on the verge of his directorial debut. As an aside, it's always heartening to see that a creative has put in the time and worked their way up the ranks to find some success. I wish this was a more common story these days, but developing one's skills and career is often a slow and laborious process. Knowing some folks can be good, but having the skills to back up any recommendation is key.

Mini Pato! is a fascinating little series of shorts that were made to coincide with the release of the third Patlabor film in 2002. Imagine the folks of SV2, but they've all been turned into paper puppets and animated as such through a technique called SuperLiveMation. These shorts mainly serve to catch new viewers up to speed with the world of the larger series and give long-time fans a little more fun with their favorite goofballs.

Absolutely, the Section 9 crew is so well-defined; they can be thrown into just about any situation, and you'll get some sort of resonance out of it. SV2 is very much in the same boat, although I'd wager Mini Pato was a fun "on the side" gig while Kamiyama was already deep into production on SAC. However, both works display that he's always keen to play around with new animation technology, which is something of a through-line for his career.

And not to retread that previous Ghost in the Shell chat, but there's a reason this series is a modern classic. Kamiyama and his crew took the familiar framework of a police procedural, then used it to shine a light on ways technology has intersected with society—for better or worse. It's an effective strategy he's employed time and time again to help his occasionally high-concept science fiction stories gel with wider audiences. In fact, there are shades of this in the little we know about XARX-ZERO already, but that's getting a little ahead of myself.

On that earlier point regarding "new animation technology", Re:Cyborg is the big blowout for Kamiyama's 2010s love affair with mostly CG projects. Elements of the film seem a touch jerky here and there, but I have a hunch SANZIGEN might've still been working out a few kinks here and there. After all, this was the studio's first film in the driver's seat, and they've only refined their craft since then.

I can't really say the same for Kamiyama's go-to studio these days, Sola Digital Arts. I'm normally not a picky person when it comes to my animation. If the story and direction carry a work, the animation doesn't need to be anything fancy or special. However, it often feels to me as if SOLA is working with technical and artistic issues that haven't been fully resolved since the first season of Netflix's ULTRAMAN in 2019.

Be it inconsistent frame rates between characters, weightless movements, or haphazard gestures, there's a fair bit about the series that feels like it needed more time in the oven. And if you've read these same criticisms from me before, I felt the same way about SAC_2045 when Sylvia and I talked about it a while back. To SOLA's credit, the animation on display in Blade Runner: Black Lotus seemed like it'd learned a couple of lessons from their past outings. However, I'm not sure if the association with the legendary film brand affected that project. Regardless, I haven't really seen anyone talk about any of these CG series outside of lambasting them or highlighting a handful of rock-solid SAC_2045 episodes.

Unfortunately, there's a reason this gif gets passed around.

Given that Black Lotus aired on Adult Swim, I have a feeling that more people have seen it than we'd expect. I'd imagine those folks just aren't part of the wider online conversation, similar to the situation around other Adult Swim series like Lazarus and Ninja Kamui.

My feelings on this one are a touch...exasperated. However, that has more to do with the brand attached over the work itself. I saw the original round of Star Wars Visions shorts a little while after they came out, but outside of the Promare-ish stylings of The Twins, it all slid off my brain. Star Wars just isn't my cup of tea, and I'd be lying if I didn't feel a little sensory rejection with how much of it is coming out every mouse-shaped orifice. Honestly, the regular retreat to known brands is what's left me disinterested or skeptical around much of Kamiyama's output these days. Yes, going back to the Star Wars, Ghost in the Shell, Lord of the Rings, Blade Runner, or Gundam well means more career security for Kamiyama and his team, which is especially important right now. Hell, Kamiyama's in his sixties now, so I wouldn't blame him if he just wants to make sure he and his team are financially secure above all else. However, the "big brand" strategy doesn't always result in the most riveting work to me.

And while I didn't care for War of the Rohirrim, it had a few glimmers of the creative fire that made Kamiyama a household name throughout the aughts. He could deliver on a rock-solid fantasy for folks who aren't into a fantasy with Moribito, ensnare audiences with a good political thriller in Eden of the East, or entertain the late-night channel surfer with a random episode of Stand Alone Complex. But again, it's been a long time since he directed those series, and the industry has changed a fair bit in those years. I'd love to see him helm a hand-animated, back-to-basics sort of film with the folks at I.G, but that might not be a good fit for the market as it stands.

Truth be told, my initial reaction to XARC-ZERO was a bit on the tepid side. A busted-up Gundam with a cloak and beast arms is low-hanging fruit for hardcore and casual robot aficionados. Not to mention that SOLA's previous outings haven't filled me with much confidence on the CG front. From what we've learned about the story, I'm hopeful we might get a savvy sci-fi story reflecting on generative AI as a threat to humanity, but I'm not sure the visual wrappings around it will undercut it. Essentially, I hope that XARC-ZERO doesn't fall into the same category as Kamiyama's recent works, where criticism of the visuals dominates the conversation. And I'll admit that's been a big chunk of the conversation we've had today.

At least we can always say this: she's just incredible at math.