Q: Did you know when you were young that you would be character designers?

KAWAMOTO: According to my parents, I would draw on any blank sheet of paper. But at age 20, I thought about it seriously.

KAMIMURA: I was the same as Kawamoto when I was young, but I started to thinking about it seriously in junior high.

TADANO: I think I started at 4 or 5 and I drew on the house walls. But in Jr. High, I thought of it as a career.

MATSUSHITA: I also started to think about it seriously in Jr. High. I really wanted to be a manga artist, but I also wanted a job that paid, so I became in animator instead.

TAKAMI: For me, it was at age 18 when I thought of it as a career. People kept telling me what a genius I was!

Q: What artists are you influenced by?

KAMIMURA: I really liked the drawings of an old friend of mine.

TADANO: I was influenced by Matsushita.

MATSUSHITA: When I saw the artwork of the young prodigy sitting next to me, my wife, I'd have to say that I was very much influenced by her.

TAKAMI: I'd have to say that I was influenced by Kawamoto.

Q: (to Mr. Matsushita and Ms. Tadano) Has it been a problem being married and working together?

MATSUSHITA: Since we understand each other, it makes the working relationship better, I feel.

TADANO: Since we do the same kind of work, I think we understand each other better which helps a lot.

Another view of the panel.

Q: Are there stages or steps to designing a character?

KAWAMOTO: Overall, it starts with the producer or director who wants a particular designer to do the job.

KAMIMURA: The next step is for the designer to come up with many ideas to submit.

TADANO: In the next step, the staff will go over those many ideas and critique the drawings.

MATSUSHITA: And then you draw the final model sheets for the approved designs.

TAKAMI: And then you get the sponsor's approval. If the sponsor doesn't like the designs, you start all over again!

Q: How much say does the manga artist have when you adapt his/her designs?

TADANO: It really depends on the artist. Some are picky and some don't care.

[Nods came from everyone else.]

Q: At this convention, has anything surprised you?

KAWAMOTO: The enthusiasm you have is very stimulating for me.

KAMIMURA: The temperature in this hotel is just like winter in Japan! How can you wear shorts?

TADANO: I'm surprised that this kind of convention is held in a Hilton Hotel. The masquerade was also very fun.

MATSUSHITA: Watching the masquerade was like watching a WWF show.

TAKAMI: Yes, I agree with Matsushita.

	left: Husband and wife team Matsushita Hiromi and Kazuko Tadano. right: Kamimura Sachiko and Kawamoto Toshihiro.

Q: What aspect of the character do you start with?

KAWAMOTO: I like to start with the hair.

KAMIMURA: I'd say the overall body proportions.

TADANO: Eyes.

MATSUSHITA: I start with the outline of the body.

TAKAMI: Me too, the hair.

Q: What education level does it take? Does education matter?

KAWAMOTO: After high school, I just worked as an ordinary salaryman, but then I started to work in animation by enrolling in a school. I attended for 2 years. There were 80 students my 1st year in school. By the 2nd year, there were 40. And after I had been animating for one year, there was only me left.

KAMIMURA: You should go to school, I think ... It is still the best way.

TADANO: I went to a vocational school and then a studio came and chose me.

MATSUSHITA: I didn't go to art school, but I answered an ad to work in animation. Out of 200 applicants, they chose only three. So it isn't your education so much as your experience. Since there is no "career path" to becoming a character designer, you can't count on being one.

TAKAMI: I wasn't good in school anyway, so I don't think education has much to do with it. You get paid very little at first, but then, a director will see your style and ask you to do designs. Not all of us may continue on as character designers, but we will all go on as animators.

In closing, the guests had this to say:

KAWAMOTO: At this audience there may be many people who want to be animators, but if one of you makes it, I will be happy.

KAMIMURA: The air conditioner is blowing right onto us! It's quite cold.

TADANO: I feel like an ice cube.

MATSUSHITA: Be wholesome otakus.

TAKAMI: At the end of three days, it's been a blast!