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At SIGGRAPH Asia, we had the pleasure to meet Marza Animation Planet. Japan-based CGI animation studio is known for its work on the animated film Space Pirate Captain Harlock (2013), Lupin III: The First (2013), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), its sequel, and also… The third installment, coming soon to a theater near you!
Mayumi Tachikawa, SVP – Production at Marza Animation Planet, gave us some details about the studio’s ongoing projects, how the studio is organized, her vision of the Japanese animation industry, as well as her take on SIGGRAPH Asia.
3DVF: Can you tell us about the project you’re currently working on at Marza? We know you’re working on the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog feature film!
Mayumi Tachikawa (SVP – Production – Marza Planet): I can’t tell you too much about it, but as announced, it will come out around Christmas time in 2024. Since Marza is a CG production house, we don’t do many VFX shots, we are not used to doing a lot of hybrid shots. We only have a small part of the CG sequences, but we don’t have the details yet: there were delays because of the strikes in the USA, so everything just finally started to roll out.
3DVF: How many projects are there in the studio’s pipeline at the moment?
Including the very small ones, 15, maybe a few more. Maza Animation Planet is quite big for a Japanese studio, but rather small in the global standard. We have 150+ crew, and about half of them are engaged in the virtual idol entertainment production. They have 3 or 4 different projects running all the time. The rest of the crew is working either on game cinematics, or on projects such as a domestic feature film we’re working on right now -again, I can’t say too much about it, sorry!-, and also small projects. We only do 3D animation, but we do have producers with the background in traditional 2D animation, and nowadays we have a lot of requests from potential customers who want an anime-ish look. So we are working on trials with traditional 2D animation companies to integrate their work with 3D.
3DVF: What are your thoughts on the current state of the animation industry in Japan?
I’m happy for the industry, because nowadays Japanese projects are also being watched a lot outside of Japan. But at the same time, Japanese studios are maybe producing too many titles at the same time, so most of the 2D animation studios are fully booked, especially the good ones. The industry can’t really keep going this way, and there aren’t many new studios coming up to fill the gap.
3DVF: Can you tell us about your background?
Actually, I started in a totally different industry, I was working for a Science Park in Kyoto. From that time, I was involved in the early days of CG production, and licensing for games as well. I joined Marza Animation Planet back in 2011, when the studio began working on their very first animated feature film,Captain Harlock. I actually joined as a translator there, because at first we were going to hire a producer, line producer, art director and so on from abroad for this project.
But then, the same year, we had that big earthquake and tsunami in Japan. So many people from abroad stopped coming to Japan, and I ended up taking care of the crew production, the negociations with the client, and so on. After that, I stayed at the studio as a line producer and then, producer.
3DVF: SIGGRAPH Asia isn’t as well known as SIGGRAPH (which usually takes place in the USA), but the event is growing. What is your vision of SIGGRAPH Asia?
2023 was actually my first time attending SIGGRAPH Asia, and I liked it a lot, because it’s not that huge. So people are closer, you get to meet people you know in person more easily, and also the entire atmosphere is more relaxed, so I really liked it!
3DVF: At SIGGRAPH Asia 2023, you were part of the jury of Real-time Live!, which is a must-see event at SIGGRAPH where there are demos showcased live in front of the audience. Can you tell us about the voting process? How do you decide which project is featured, and which is the winner?
When it comes to choosing which projects to feature, basically, each jury member was assigned a couple of projects that we had to review. We then gathered online to talk about that. So the process itself was actually quite simple. The real challenge came from the fact that Real-Time Live! gathers projets from very different genres, from commercial projects to heritage projects, cultural ones, music performances, and so on. This makes it really hard to select what to feature. Then, right after the demos took place on stage during SIGGRAPH, the jury voted for the Jury’s Choice Award, and that was an easy decision. All of us voted for the same project!
Below: Real-Time Live!
3DVF: Can you tell us why did you especially enjoy the winning project, Big Sand by Sally Coleman? For our readers, the project (you can watch it at 43’20” in the video above) featured a virtual band. Sally Coleman was in a University nearby, and she used performance capture to animate an avatar remotely and interact with the audience.
For somebody like me coming from the entertainment industry, not with a technical or academic background, the fact that it was so entertaining, and also the interactivity and the involvement of the audience are really the key. I think everybody enjoyed it, and even if Sally Coleman wasn’t in the room, it really felt like she was here with us!
3DVF: What do you think about the fact that SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 will take place in Tokyo, so not far from Marza?
Actually, I didn’t know that yet, so I’m surprised and very excited! We will definitely plan something for SIGGRAPH Asia 2024, since it will take place in our home country! See you in Tokyo, everyone!
3DVF: Thanks for answering our questions! And to our readers, don’t forget to go watch Sonic 3 at the end of 2024. SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 will take place 3 – 6 December 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Marza Animation Planet – official website
