渡邊監督談及斯派克、菲和《混沌武士》

戳這裡看Daily Texan原文：採訪原文

【按：今天看到一篇很有趣的採訪文章，是2006年渡邊監督在美國演講後做的，截取一部分翻譯。因為談到好幾部作品，就放在《星際牛仔》這裡好了。】

渡邊監督表示，音樂是自己許多作品背後的源泉。

他說：“他們【粉絲】稱讚我作品裡的配樂，真的讓我很開心。有的時候是先有音樂再做動畫的。”

比如，《混沌武士》的第十四話中有一首沖繩樂曲，其前半部分在動畫中完整保留。

他說：“我做《混沌武士》就是為了這個場景。”

《混沌武士》中的許多配樂是嘻哈風格，採用了例如Shing02的嘻哈音樂人。渡邊監督覺得采樣以前的音樂素材並加以變化很有意思。他說：“選取以前的音樂素材做出新的混音，很像我做動畫的過程。”

就像嘻哈音樂人用麥克風就能表達自己一樣，渡邊監督說：“我希望用鉛筆在一張白紙上自我表達。”

（中間介紹《Genius Party》和新作的段落略過——分別指的是短片《Baby Blue》和2012年的動畫《阪道上的阿波羅》）

Daily Texan（以下簡稱DT）：你為什么要做巡迴演講呢？

渡邊監督：日本國際交流基金會要求我來美國演講。他們讓我從一些美國城市中挑選，我選了一個。選擇休斯頓的原因是，這裡是牛仔的故鄉。

DT：你認為你的作品讓更多美國的中老年人群接觸動畫了嗎？

渡邊監督：我其實完全不瞭解美國動畫。你覺得呢？如果有和《星際牛仔》相似的作品，請告訴我，我很想觀賞。

DT：做《超時空要塞》的時候，是你決定與菅野洋子合作的嗎？

渡邊監督：《超時空要塞》剛起步的時候，菅野洋子並沒有名氣。她沒有作品，主要做的是商業合作。所以我當時不瞭解她。Victor Entertainment（勝利娛樂）公司的人強烈向我推薦了她。我看了她所有的廣告作品，看的時候我覺得很棒，決定請她寫配樂。

DT：她沒有參與《混沌武士》有沒有原因？

渡邊監督：我想在《混沌武士》裡用嘻哈音樂，但是她並不是嘻哈音樂人，所以我決定請別的音樂人。有人建議我讓菅野洋子做一些嘻哈音樂出來，但我覺得，這樣好像在模仿嘻哈音樂，而不會呈現真正的嘻哈。

DT：接下來還打算與菅野洋子合作嗎？

渡邊監督：我的確想與她合作，已經計劃合作下一部作品，但還沒有決定做什么。

DT：斯派克的頭髮是黑色還是綠色的？

渡邊監督：墨綠色。

DT：你在演講裡說，你創造的角色永遠餓肚子，永遠缺錢。在《星際牛仔》裡，為什么斯派克和菲這樣的角色沒錢吃飯，有錢買菸？

渡邊監督：其實在我的牛仔宇宙裡，煙特別特別便宜。而且我多說一句，你怎么知道那真的是煙？我們就此打住吧。【笑】

DT：做《星際牛仔》第十七話《Mushroom Samba》的時候，你有沒有研究人（包括狗狗艾因）吃了致幻蘑菇以後的行動和狀態？

渡邊監督：全都是我自己想象出來的。不這么說的話我會被抓的吧。但是艾因不是普通的狗，你應該知道吧，艾因是數據狗。數據狗和普通狗不一樣，會有異常的反應。不過其實我也不太瞭解數據狗。

DT：你有沒有參與《星際牛仔》和《混沌武士》相關的遊戲開發？

渡邊監督：沒有。我看到過一些。但我一般情況下忙於製作動畫，所以沒時間去做電子遊戲。如果遊戲不好玩，可不是我的錯。

DT：你在演講中提到，你覺得最像自己的角色是無幻和斯派克。可以解釋一下嗎？

渡邊監督：首先，我經常開槍打人，拿刀砍人……開玩笑啦【笑】。斯派克和無幻不會直白地表達自己的感受。比如，哪怕喜歡的女孩就站在自己面前，他們並不會直接追她——實際上他們會做相反的事情，差不多會無視她。我覺得這一點挺像我的。總結一下，差不多是比較對立，或者比較反叛。

DT：你說的是斯派克和菲之間的關係嗎？

渡邊監督：當然。會有人問我：“斯派克是怎么看待菲的？”我覺得他其實相當喜歡她。但他不是一個直白的人，所以他會確保自己不表現出來。

DT：《星際牛仔》第五話《Ballad of Fallen Angels》好像預示了最終話的內容。兩者之間有關係嗎？

渡邊監督：《星際牛仔》中所有比夏斯出場的集數都和結局有直接關係。我在做第一話之前就已經想好了結局。儘管我想好了結局，我的工作人員表示強烈反對。他們很不開心，因為這樣就沒法做續集了。所以我跟他們說我會再考慮考慮，但是最後還是採取了我一開始的方案。

DT：斯派克去世，你收到負面評價了嗎？

渡邊監督：我從來沒有正式表示過斯派克死了。現在，我能告訴你的是我不確定他的生死。我覺得，相對於把斯派克寫死而受到詬病，大家應該更討厭我做一部續集吧。

DT：下面這個問題你肯定聽到很多遍了，很抱歉我要再問一次。

渡邊監督：那過吧【笑】。開玩笑的。

DT：我們還會看到更多牛仔動畫嗎？

渡邊監督：總有一天吧……可能，總有一天。

DT：製作電影和製作動畫劇集有什么不同嗎？

渡邊監督：動畫的一個特點是你只有20分鐘，所以你不可以講一個很長的故事。我覺得電影講了一個比較長的故事。比如電影裡有一段20分鐘的機器人動畫，如果我要在動畫劇集裡做的話，會佔用一整集的時間。

DT：經常聽動畫製作者說自己等了很長時間才等來獨立做監督的機會。你是如何這么快就做到的？

渡邊監督：動畫產業不太依靠年齡或者教育經歷，更取決於一個人的技術和運氣。就我個人而言，我監督的第一部動畫《星際牛仔》非常火爆，因為它成功了，我才有機會做電影監督。你有多少技術其實不太重要，如果你沒有成名作，或者一部大熱的作品，你就很難獲得這種機會。考慮到這一點，我覺得自己很幸運。

原文如下

Watanabe explained that music is often the driving force behind many of his works.

"I'm so happy when they [fans] praise my works for the music," he said. "There are times when music comes before the animation."

For example, Episode 14 of "Samurai Champloo" features a piece of Okinawan music that plays uninterrupted for the first half.

"I made 'Samurai Champloo' the series in order to make this scene," he said.

A great deal of Champloo's soundtrack is hip-hop from artists such as Shing02. The art of sampling old music and changing it intrigued Watanabe. "The technique of using old music and remixing it into something new is very similar to what I was doing with the animation," he said.

Much like hip-hop rappers can represent themselves with a single microphone, Watanabe said, "I would like to represent myself with a single pencil on a blank piece of paper."

Watanabe concluded his lecture by announcing three new projects to begin showing next year, though he was reluctant to give away any details. The first is a short film with a "boy-meets-girl" story called "Genius Party." He also verified that he is working on a live-action film and an anime series that will be "very mysterious and different from the past [works]."

It was with all of this in mind that I made the journey through the off-limits corridors of the museum to meet Watanabe himself. I found him sitting in a conference room regularly used by the museum's public relations department, with an interpreter beside him and a stack of memorabilia to be signed in front of him. There were posters, DVDs, CDs and a pair of neon yellow hot pants made by a fan to look like the clothing worn by the character Faye Valentine in "Cowboy Bebop." A museum aide joked with Watanabe to hurry with the autograph, because the fan may be waiting in the lobby wearing a trench coat. What she was wearing while her pants waited for a signature is anybody's guess.

Hot pants aside, Watanabe looked relaxed and eager to answer questions about his past, his future and whether Spike's hair is, in fact, green.

Daily Texan: What made you decide to go on a lecture tour?

Shinichiro Watanabe: I was requested by the Japan Foundation to come to America and speak. They provided a series of location choices within the States, and from there, I made a selection. The reason I chose Houston is because it's the hometown for cowboys.

DT: Do you think your work is making animation more accessible to older age groups in America?

W: Actually, I don't know much about American animation at all. So what do you think? If there's anything that's similar to "Cowboy Bebop," please let me know. I'd like to see it.

DT: Was it your decision to work with Yoko Kanno as a composer for "Macross Plus?"

W: At the time "Macross Plus" started, Yoko Kanno didn't have a name. She hadn't made a sound track. She was mostly working in the commercial industry. So I really didn't know anything about her. Somebody from Victor Entertainment recommended her strongly. I reviewed all of the commercials that her work was used in. While I reviewed these, I was impressed with what I heard and decided by all means yes, I would like to use her.

DT: Is there a particular reason why she wasn't used in "Samurai Champloo?"

W: I wanted to use hip-hop music in "Champloo" and since Yoko Kanno is not a hip-hop musician, I decided to use other people. There were some people that suggested we ask Yoko Kanno to create some hip-hop music, but I felt that that would be more of an imitation of hip-hop music than the real thing.

DT: Any chance of teaming up with Yoko Kanno again on your new projects?

W: I do want to work with Yoko Kanno, and I do have plans to work with her again on a future project, I just haven't decided exactly which project yet.

DT: Is Spike's hair black or green?

W: Dark green.

DT: In your lecture you said that you create characters who are constantly hungry and short on cash. In the case of "Cowboy Bebop," how are characters such as Spike and Faye able to afford smokes when they can't buy food?

W: Actually, in my cowboy universe, tobacco is incredibly cheap. And if I go on and say a little more, how do you know it's really tobacco? We'll leave it at that. [Laughs].

DT: For the "Mushroom Samba" episode of "Bebop," did you research how people, not to mention Ein the dog, would act under the influence of narcotic mushrooms?

W: It's completely my imagination. If I don't say that, I might be arrested. But Ein isn't just an ordinary dog. You may know this, but Ein is considered a data dog. As a data dog, he's different from a regular dog and has an unusual reaction or response. But actually, I don't know that much about data dogs myself.

DT: Are you involved with the video game versions of "Bebop" or "Champloo?"

W: Actually, no. I've seen a little bit of them. But I was often so busy creating the animation side of it that I didn't have any time to dedicate over to the video game side of it. So if the games aren't all that interesting, it's not my fault.

DT: You said in your lecture that the characters you relate most to are Mugen and Spike. Care to explain?

W: First, I'm often shooting people and slashing them up with a sword ... It's a joke. [Laughs] Spike and Mugen aren't very straightforward in expressing themselves. For example, even if there's a girl they like standing right in front of them, they don't pursue her directly - in fact, they do the opposite, they ignore her almost. I think that part is kind of like me. If I was to sum it up, it's kind of like being a little contradictory or rebellious.

DT: Are you talking about Spike's relationship with Faye?

W: Of course. Sometimes I'm asked the question, 'What does Spike think of Faye?' I think that actually he likes her quite a bit. But he's not a very straightforward person so he makes sure he doesn't show it.

DT: Episode five of "Bebop," "Ballad of Fallen Angels," seems to be foreshadowing the events of the final episode. Is there a connection?

W: Actually all of the episodes that contain Vicious that come out in "Cowboy Bebop" are directly related to the ending. Even before I made the first episode, I already had the ending in mind. Even though I had the ending in mind by myself, I was opposed by my staff. They were upset because they were saying that we wouldn't be able to make a continuation. So I told them I'd think about it a little more, but ultimately I decided to go with my original idea.

DT: Have you received any negative feedback for Spike's death?

W: I've never officially said that he's died. At this point, I can tell you that I'm not sure if he's alive or dead. I think probably rather than being yelled at for killing Spike, I think ... people are more upset that I might make a continuation.

DT: I'm sure you've heard the next question a thousand times, and I apologize for asking again.

W: Then I pass. [Laughs]. I'm joking.

DT: When are we going to get to see more "Bebop"?

W: Someday ... maybe, someday.

DT: How was working on a movie different from the series?

W: One thing is that with a TV series, you only have 20 minutes, so you can't convey a long story. I feel like I was able to convey a longer story in the movie. For example, in the movie there is a 20-minute mecha scene. If I were to do that in the TV series, it would take up an entire TV episode.

DT: It's common to hear animators remark about how long it takes them to be offered a solo directing opportunity. How were you able to do this so quickly?

W: The animation industry is one that doesn't really rely on age or educational background. Rather, it depends more on a person's skill and on luck. So for myself, the first TV series I directed, "Cowboy Bebop," was a hit, and as a result of its success, I was offered the opportunity to direct a film. It doesn't really matter have much skill you have, if you don't have a hit work, a popular piece, you won't get any offers to make a film. In that respect, I consider myself lucky.