Mirai Mizue, the child prodigy of independent Japanese animation

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Written by Lisa Maya Quaianni

The following is an e-mail interview that took place in November 2011, after Mizue's participation to the Mostra Internazionale D'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia.

Credit goes to Tamaki Okamoto of CaRTe bLaNChe for support and translation.

An enfant prodige of Japanese independent animation, Mirai Mizue (Tokyo, 1981) is the author of abstract shorts, within which the true protagonist is the interplay between image and music. His works have been shown in many international film festivals – from Annecy to Ottawa, from Zagreb to Hiroshima through Venice – and have often gained accolades. Founder of CALF along with critic Nobuaki Doi and animators Kei Oyama and Atsushi Wada, Mizue, who is also an illustrator, studied animation at famous Tama University. Thanks to his artistic sensibility, he gains notoriety through an abstract animation that finds its basis in the continuous metamorphosis of lines and forms. A fastidious worker (all frames are hand drawn before being scanned), his style has been called 'cell animation', a word play on 'cell' and 'celluloid'; his works are populated by fantasy creatures, unicellular organisms, Paleozoic beings who dance on screen, giving birth to an intense narrative tension. Frequent are organic shapes such as in Fantastic Cell (2003), Lost Utopia (2007), Devour Dinner (2008), Jam (2009), Playground (2010), Wonder (2014), but also geometric motifs as seen in Metropolis (2009) and Modern No.2 (2011).

Jam (2009)

Playgroung (2010)

When did you become interested in animation?

My first contact with animation was during a Jan Svankmajer retrospective in Tokyo, in 2001. I was then fascinated by The Hedgehog in the Mist by Yuri Norstein, Begone Dull Care by Norman McLaren and Atama Yama by Koji Yamamura; short films that I had seen at university and that introduced me to the world of animation proper.

What's your opinion on animation teaching methods in your country, and Tama Art University in particular?

People in Japan hold a preconceived notion of animation. All they know is Ghibli's, or moe anime (term that defines an aesthetics based on attraction toward manga and anime characters, N.d.R.). At Tama Art University, instead, I had the chance to expand my horizons and watch many animated films from around the world.

Let's talk about your own special style. Were you the one who called it 'cell animation'?

I believe that this world is made up by layers of individual existences. In this sense, I can say that the correct definition for my world is 'cell animation'.

There has been, however, an evolution in your style, as we can see from Fantastic Cell to Modern No.2.

I think not much has really changed, aside from decorative motifs, as I moved from organic elements to geometric elements. Movement, music and graphics, as well as the hand drawn character, are still the same.

Fantastic Cell (2003)

What inspired you to make Modern No.2?

I wanted to make an animation featuring isometric figures; I was thinking of Maurits Cornelius Escher's illusionist creations in particular.

Modern no.2 (2011)

How can you explain the relationship between your animation and music?

Music is the skeleton and animation is the muscle.

Who are, in your opinion, today's best independent animators?

There are so many creators that inspire me, but to me the best one is Norman McLaren. His abstract, expressive style, his character,his sense of humor and his relationship to music are at the origin of my creations. Others are Ishu Patel, Ryan Larkin, Georges Schwizgebel, Ivan Maximov, Run Wrake, Jan Svankmajer, Priit Parn, Yoji Kuri, Nobuhiro Aihara etc.

What about inspiring artists?

I have been influenced by the passionate worl of Joan Mirò, Taro Okamoto and Eiji Tsuburaya.

Can you tell us more about you work method?

The particularity of my work method is that I hand draw cels. I create the visual aspect by juxtaposing elements, like a collage.

Do you consider yourself more of an animator or an illustrator?

I think of myself as an abstract painter who uses time as a canvas.

The CALF project is an important project that I think could become an international model of collaboration. What are your future plans in this direction, and what role to you play within the label?

CALF is promoting independent japanese animation in the world. One way is to release DVD samplers of our artists. Our next project is the release of new works straight through CALF. We have began with my own and Kei Oyama's, thanks to governmental and private sponsorship.

How would you define 'animation'?

Animation cannot be a film without music. To me, animation is a daily fact of life, more than eating and sleeping.

What is your aim in what you do?

I like to surprise people who watch my films.