This was quite a distinguished panel with no less than five Guests of Honor appearing before an audience of more than 50 attendees. First on the panel was Toshihiro Kawamoto, character designer for COWBOY BEBOP. Next was Kamimura Sachiko, character designer for the CITY HUNTER anime. Then came Tadano Kazuko, probably best known for her character designs on the SAILOR MOON TV anime. Next, we have Matsushita Hiromi, character designer of such shows as GUYVER and the original VAMPIRE HUNTER D. Rounding out the panel was Takami Akio, character designer for STEAM DETECTIVES. With such a collection of talent all in one room, the panel promised to be a good one. (Note: It is important to know that Mr. Matsushita and Ms. Tadano are husband and wife.)

From left to right: AX Translator Karahashi Taka, Guests of Honor Takami Akio, Matsushita Hiromi, Tadano Kazuko, AX Translator Greg Lee, Guests of Honor Kamimura Sachiko and Kawamoto Toshihiro.

There appeared to be many artist-types sitting among the audience, perhaps aspiring character designers themselves. I turned to my neighbor, who asked not to be identified and who would only allow me to refer to her as "Muu" from Austin, TX, and I asked her why she was attending this panel. She replied, "I want to do this as a career in the future." When asked if she couldn't be a character designer did she have an alternate career choice? She responded, "If not, I'd go into computer programming." That was a very smart answer, in my opinion.
As with many panels, this was presented in a Q&A format.

Q: Do you prefer adapting manga designs for anime? Or do you prefer original design?

KAWAMOTO: I've done both cases and it is difficult to decide which I like better since both have their unique challenges.

KAMIMURA: For me, it is the same as Kawamoto said, but I think it is more interesting to work on something original.

TADANO: Working on something pre-existing is easier in some ways, but it is still hard. I prefer to work on completely original designs.

MATSUSHITA: As for me, it depends on the project. You have to be able to preserve the style of the manga artist, but when you are doing adaptations, you can also learn a lot from them.

TAKAMI: I haven't done any original designs yet, so I cannot say which I like better.

Q: What do you use for inspiration?

KAWAMOTO: For me when I create original designs, I listen to the producer and the director for clues, and then I come up with the designs. If they don't like my drawings, I re-work them. For COWBOY BEBOP, it took me about a week to come up with the designs.

KAMIMURA: I basically agree with Kawamoto's description of the process.

TADANO: In the case of SAILOR MOON, I went back to the original manga. It took me about one and half months to finalize all the main character designs.

MATSUSHITA: As for original designs, the director usually knows what he wants so the rough designs take about one week. But then the clean-ups take about a month.

Q: Was there ever a time when you did not have inspiration?

KAWAMOTO: For me, yes, there are times that I'll hit a slump and I can't draw like I want. Sometimes the slump in creativity lasts an hour, sometimes a week. When I am feeling uninspired, I'll play with my cats.

KAMIMURA: I am one of those lucky people who doesn't have slumps!

TADANO: Before I was a professional, I used to have creative slumps. Once, I had a slump that lasted for a year and I didn't draw anything. Now, as a pro, I don't have these creative slumps so often. When I do, I just go to karaoke and sing.

MATSUSHITA: Whenever I run out of inspiration, I just change gears and work on a different project. And when I run out of inspiration on that project, I go and work on yet another project. And so on and so on.

TAKAMI: I feel a sense of inability to draw when faced with the tremendous talent of everyone else here on this panel! So now, I am thinking of "space: the final frontier!"

Q: Was there ever a time when you felt like giving up?

KAWAMOTO: No, I've never felt like I wanted to give up.

KAMIMURA: Because I have no other abilities, I must say that I feel the same as Kawamoto.

TADANO: When I first started, I felt like quitting, but then I discovered this is the only thing I know how to do.

MATSUSHITA: I could quit tomorrow if I wanted! But I would keep on drawing even if I did quit.

TAKAMI: I love to draw. There are very few jobs where you get paid to draw so I haven't gotten to the point where I feel like quitting.

Q: Before this convention, did any of you know each other?

KAWAMOTO: I had worked with Takami before when we were at the same studio.

KAMIMURA: I met Takami once at a bar.