Music of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise
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During the production of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, the 1987 debut work of anime studio Gainax, the only member of its main staff known to the general public[1] was its musical director, electronic music pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who had recently overseen the soundtrack to the top Japanese box office hit of 1986, Koneko Monogatari.[2] Sakamoto and his assistants from Koneko Monogatari, musicians Koji Ueno, Yuji Nomi, and Haruo Kubota, composed 47 pieces of background music for Royal Space Force in a process that involved using "keywords" given by film director Hiroyuki Yamaga, examining the film's storyboards, making arrangements based on early "prototype" compositions, as well as composing several new original pieces of music as the project developed. 15 of the arrangements would be featured on the film's original soundtrack album.
Although Sakamoto was strongly associated with the film's promotion at the time through his appearance at its formal press announcement and in a trailer for the movie,[3][4] in later years he was reluctant to discuss the project, to the extent that media outlets reported that his soundtrack for the 2018 Kōbun Shizuno film My Tyrano: Together, Forever was Sakamoto's first time composing a soundtrack for an animated work.[5][6] Toshio Okada, who had been closely involved in planning Royal Space Force, expressed the belief that Sakamoto's views originated from a conflict that arose late in production over whether Sakamoto or the film's sound director Atsumi Tashiro should have final authority to edit the musical arrangements, a conflict Okada believed became irreconcilable due to the end of production overlapping with Sakamoto's absence from Japan working on Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, a project for which Sakamoto would share the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Music
[edit]Sakamoto joins the project
[edit]In April 1986, Ryuichi Sakamoto was selected as the musical director of Royal Space Force.[7] Sakamoto was already regarded for his work in the pioneering electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra and his soundtrack for the 1983 Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence[8] which had won the United Kingdom BAFTA Award for Best Film Music; the year following the release of Royal Space Force, Sakamoto would share the Academy Award for Best Original Score with David Byrne and Cong Su for their soundtrack to The Last Emperor. In 1986 Sakamoto was prominent also in the Japanese domestic film market for his soundtrack to the top-grossing nationwide movie of that year, Koneko Monogatari.[9] Sakamoto was one of five staff members who represented the project at the official announcement of the film later that year, and was likewise one of the five names included in a trailer for the movie;[a] Ryusuke Hikawa commented that in fact the musical director was the only member of Royal Space Force's main staff known to the general public at the time of the film's production.[12] Sakamoto brought into the Royal Space Force project his prior collaborators on Koneko Monogatari, musicians Koji Ueno, Yuji Nomi, and Haruo Kubota.[13] During a 1998 interview with Kentaro Takekuma, Hiroyuki Yamaga remarked that asking Sakamoto to do the music for Royal Space Force required a special increase of 40 million yen above its previous 360 million yen budget, which, together with an additional 40 million yen deficit incurred while making the film, raised its final production costs to 440 million yen, and, when including advertising expenses, its estimated total costs in the accounting records to 800 million yen.[14]
The first commercial release of music for the project occurred three months before the Japanese debut of the film itself, in the form of a December 1986 limited edition 12" maxi single entitled The Wings of Honnêamise: Image Sketch, issued on School, Sakamoto’s label within Midi Records,[15] and containing early mixes of four key initial pieces he had composed for the film's soundtrack, referred to on Image Sketch only under the names "Prototype A", "Prototype B", "Prototype C", and "Prototype D".[b] Sakamoto commented in the liner notes for Image Sketch that when he first heard the movie was going to be called "Royal Space Force", he thought that based on the title it was going to be "a film by a far-right organization (my mistake!)" He stated that what struck him immediately about the film's storyboards was "the precision of its detail"[c] which convinced him that "these people probably liked the same things I did," and that one of the main reasons he accepted the job was that he saw a resemblance between the meticulous care he put into his music and the efforts the filmmakers were taking with Royal Space Force. Sakamoto concluded by expressing his belief that such "finely crafted" contemporary Japanese animation and music would henceforth be increasingly exported to overseas markets in the future.[20] Yamaga's own remarks in the liner notes declared that "while it was true that this [film] was not made entirely from original materials," it possessed as its "underlying image, a collection of 'deep sensibilities'" that arose from the distinct personal characteristics of each creator who worked upon it, "a shout from each individual’s unique sense of self that bleeds through even if covered over. In the same way, Mr. Sakamoto dismissed using the styles of fill-in-the-blank,[d] and created an ultimate sound based on his own personal sensibility. I hope you will enjoy that profound deep sensibility of his own."[23]
Composition process
[edit]In an interview conducted shortly before the movie's release with Ueno, Kubota, and Keiko Shinozaki, the A&R coordinator for Midi, Shinozaki described the working process behind the composition of the film music. Ueno, Kubota, and Nomi took as their starting points a set of "keywords" that Yamaga had given them as director, together with the four prototype compositions Sakamoto (whom they referred to as kyōju, "Professor") had made.[24] Kubota detailed the creation of the "chart table" that determined the placement of the various soundtrack elements; made by the music director and sound director [that is, by Sakamoto and Atsumi Tashiro], the chart noted each scene that would require music, which, as Kubota remarked, naturally determined, based on scene length, the length of the needed music. The chart also included notes on the basic kind of music to be used in the scene, and in particular, which of the four prototypes to use as a basis for their arrangements.[25] Ueno, Kubota, and Nomi then decided which scenes in the film they would each arrange, and went to work on their arrangements separately, neither working on them in the studio together, or with Sakamoto. After arranging a piece, they would reassemble as a group and listen to each other's work, and then go their separate ways once again to continue the process.[26]
Of the 47 musical arrangements made for the film based on the chart,[27] of which 15 were later selected to be featured on The Wings of Honnêamise~Royal Space Force Original Soundtrack album released in March 1987,[28] most were developed as different variations on one of Sakamoto’s original four prototypes; for example, "Prototype A" would become the basis of the Original Soundtrack's "Main Theme"; whereas "Prototype B" would become "Riquinni's Theme." A few pieces were created based on arrangements combining two of the prototypes, as with "Rishō", used during the ascent of Shiro in the rocket.[e] 13 of the 47 pieces, however, were not based on any of the four basic prototypes, but were instead new original compositions created later in the soundtrack process by Ueno, Kubota, Nomi, or Sakamoto himself. Several of these 13 pieces were featured on the Original Soundtrack, including Sakamoto's "Ministry of Defense," used for the General's nighttime meeting with his superiors, Kubota and Ueno's "War," used for the battle to capture the launch site, Nomi's "The Final Stage," played after the General decides to proceed with the countdown, and Ueno's "Dr. Gnomm's Funeral". Two of the 47 pieces combined variations on the prototypes with new material, most prominently "Out To Space," used for Shiro's monologue from orbit and the subsequent visionary sequence, which employed successive variations on "B" and "A", followed by an additional original composition by Sakamoto.[30] The background music pieces not included on the Original Soundtrack would eventually be collected as a bonus feature on the 1990 Royal Space Force~The Wings of Honnêamise Memorial Box LaserDisc edition, where the pieces were accompanied by images from the film's concept art;[31] this bonus feature would also be included as an extra on the 2000 Manga Entertainment DVD.[32]
Reflections on Sakamoto's involvement
[edit]Toshio Okada made only two brief mentions of Sakamoto’s musical role on Royal Space Force in his memoir;[f] in his 1995 interview with Animerica, Okada had remarked that he was not personally a fan of Sakamoto’s music: "I didn't really like Sakamoto's style back then, or even now. But I know his talent, his ability to construct a strong score, and write an entire orchestration. That’s why I chose him," asserting that "at that time, he was the only choice for an original movie soundtrack. Composers for ordinary anime music can make a pop song, something in the enka style— you know, just songs, like an opening theme. But they can't do orchestration, or a sad melody like ["Riquinni's Theme"]." When asked if he had considered approaching Jo Hisaishi, associated with scoring the films of Hayao Miyazaki, Okada replied, "Jo Hisaishi always writes one or two melodies, and the rest of the soundtrack is constructed around them. You can see that in Nausicaä and Laputa. But his kind of style wouldn't have worked for [Royal Space Force]. As I said— for better or worse, the film has a very differentiated structure, and we needed a score to match that. So I told Sakamoto, "Don't make the soundtrack all by yourself. You should direct it, but get a staff with real musical talent, young and old, and incorporate their work."[34][g]
Whereas Sakamoto's own 2009 autobiography made extensive reference to his other 1987 film project The Last Emperor, it does not discuss Royal Space Force.[36] Sakamoto’s film score for the Kōbun Shizuno film My Tyrano: Together, Forever was reported by media outlets in 2018 as his first time composing a soundtrack for an animated work; noting his recent Grammy and Golden Globe nominations for The Revenant, The Hollywood Reporter quoted Sakamoto as saying that "he had avoided animated film projects for a long time because he was more used to composing for serious live-action dramas"[37] while The Japan Times related, "Ryuichi Sakamoto has spent a career steeped in high drama [but] the Japanese star revealed he had now realized a childhood dream by working for the first time in animation. 'I grew up watching Astro Boy,' said Sakamoto, referring to the cartoon crime fighter. 'So I have a great respect for this world.'"[38] Earlier that year, in an interview with film critic Nobuhiro Hosoki during Sakamoto’s visit to the Tribeca Film Festival for the screening of the documentary on his career Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, the composer remarked that he had been in charge of the music for an anime film "35 [sic] years ago, but I didn't like it very much (so I can't say the title)."[39][h]
Commenting on Sakamoto’s remarks in 2018, Okada recalled that the composer had been sincerely excited about creating the music for Royal Space Force early on in the project, and had studied its storyboards closely for inspiration;[43][i] the liner notes for the 1987 Original Soundtrack album noted a music planning meeting where the enthusiasm was so great that the participants ended up staying for 12 hours.[45] Okada felt that Sakamoto may have viewed the storyboards, with their breakdown of scene lengths into seconds, as a guide that would permit him to achieve a perfect sync between his music and the images; however, Okada noted, the actual length of a finished cut of animation may vary slightly from the storyboard, and ultimately the sound director has the prerogative to edit or adjust the music accordingly to fit.[46] Okada believed that such issues could have been resolved if he had the opportunity to speak directly with Sakamoto and make adjustments, but after a point communication with Sakamoto had become indirect, relayed through his then-management, Yoroshita Music.[47] The composer himself had been away from Japan during the final months of Royal Space Force's production, which overlapped with the shooting schedule of The Last Emperor that had begun in China in early August 1986 and which was still continuing as of February 1987 in Rome;[48] Sakamoto had been working in both locations as an actor in the film, portraying the role of Masahiko Amakasu.[49][j] Okada asserted that although Sakamoto and Yamaga themselves never came into conflict, the situation led to frustration among the film’s staff, and in particular between Yoroshita and sound director Atsumi Tashiro; Tashiro eventually asked Okada to make the call as to whether he or Sakamoto would have final say on placing the music.[k] Okada chose Tashiro, remarking that he accepted responsibility for the decision although he believed that it was what soured Sakamoto on Royal Space Force, to the extent of not discussing it as part of his professional history as a film composer.[52]
Notes
[edit]- ^ The other representatives at the announcement were Yamaga, Okada, and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto from Gainax, and Makoto Yamashina from Bandai;[10] the other four names featured in the trailer were Yamaga, Sadamoto, Hideaki Anno, and Hiromasa Ogura.[11]
- ^ "Prototype D" was the Royal Space Force anthem; the version on Image Sketch featured Sakamoto’s own vocals. Gainax had given Sakamoto a sardonic checklist of items to guide the composition of the Royal Space Force's pompous anthem, requesting for example that it sing of the galaxy even though the force had never even left the planet, that its lyrics evoke manly phrases befitting the 1950s and 60s generation, and that "on a sunny day, you can feel the tranquility of ten people singing it in the middle of a graveyard."[16] The anthem's lyrics would in fact be written by Kenzo Saeki, a bandmate of Haruo Kubota in the group Pearl Brothers,[17] later to create the musical score for the 2006 anime version of Welcome to the N.H.K..[18]
- ^ In seeming contrast to Sakamoto's remarks, Ueno commented that although they had the chance to see the film's storyboards before beginning work on the music, they could only vaguely imagine based on the images what the actual scenes would look like.[19]
- ^ Yamaga had begun his comments in the liner notes by saying that today works were being made in "the easy way", by following a maru-maru kaze no…; maru-maru in this case having the sense of "fill-in-the-blank" and kaze no having the sense of a style or following a trend, and so meaning works made in whatever style was popular. Kaze can also have the meaning of "wind," and Kaze no tani no Naushika (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) was being used by the distributors of Royal Space Force as their promotional model based on Nausicaä's popularity, despite the dissimilarities between the two works.[21][22]
- ^ Rishō can be translated as "rising," but the kanji used for the track’s title, 「離床」have the specific meaning of rising from one’s sickbed.[29]
- ^ The first reference to Sakamoto is a comment that the budget for Royal Space Force had already "ballooned" as Gainax extensively expanded their ideas for the look and content of the full-length movie beyond the pilot film, until Bandai’s financial commitment to the project had passed the "point of no return, and Ryuichi Sakamoto was chosen as the music director." The second reference is in regard to the idea of re-using Sakamoto’s music to save money in making a proposed early sequel concept Okada refers to as Honneamise 2.[33]
- ^ The composer had noted however in 1986 that he had already begun the practice of working with a staff while making his previous soundtrack for Koneko Monogatari, remarking of Ueno, Nomi, and Kubota: "I enjoy working with them, and it's very much a smooth process. I’m proud to say that we are the most efficient group of composers in Japan today."[35]
- ^ Sakamoto did include pieces from the Royal Space Force soundtrack on two subsequent 1993 Midi compilation releases: the "Main Theme" on Gruppo Musicale II, an album that included his groundbreaking electronica track[40] "Riot In Lagos," and "Riquinni's Theme" on Opera, an album that also featured the themes to Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor. Midi re-issued the Royal Space Force soundtrack itself in 1993 as well.[41] Sakamoto also made what Hosoki described as a surprising revelation that, two or three years prior to the interview, Isao Takahata had hired him to compose the music for an anime project, but, laughed Sakamoto, "my music was too serious and he ended up firing me."[42]
- ^ Sakamoto had remarked that in composing for My Tyrano he had also been obliged to work from an incomplete film: "When I was making the music, the film featured only [black and white] animated silhouettes and there was no dialogue. I had to resort to my own imagination to compose."[44]
- ^ Although he would receive the Academy Award for his soundtrack work on the film, Sakamoto commented in 2017 that he had in fact not planned originally on writing any music for The Last Emperor; the request to do so came several months after shooting had concluded, via a sudden phone call from the producer. Sakamoto remarked that he was given only one week to compose his contributions.[50]
- ^ The chart table containing the exact scene placements and composition details for the film’s musical tracks was featured on the back cover of Image Sketch, released on December 20, 1986, indicating these decisions had been made by that point.[51]
References
[edit]- Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. (2007). Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (Blu-ray/DVD). Torrance. ASIN B001EX9YSQ.
- Bowker, Gordon (February 1, 1987). "Best Pictures: 'The Last Emperor'—Bertolucci Brings Back Imperial China". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- Carroll, Luke (August 21, 2011). "Welcome to the NHK - Complete Series DVD Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Clements, Jonathan (2013). Anime: A History. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5.
- Hikawa, Ryusuke (2007a). "'Extraordinary' Rising Spirit That Keeps Shining after Over 20 Years". Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (liner notes) (Blu-ray/DVD). Torrance: Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. ASIN B001EX9YSQ.
- Horn, Carl Gustav (May 1996d) [interview conducted in 1995 at Otakon]. "The Conscience of the Otaking: The Studio Gainax Saga in Four Parts, Part 4". Animerica. Vol. 4, no. 5. San Francisco: Viz Communications, Inc.
- Hosoki, Nobuhiro (May 5, 2018). "Sakamoto Ryūichi, Takahata Isao kantoku kara ofā & kaiko sa rete ita! 'Boku no ongaku ga shiriasu sugite…' [Director Isao Takahata Made Ryuichi Sakamoto an Offer, and Then Fired Him! "My Music Was Too Serious…"]". Tokyo: Cinema Today Co., Ltd. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- Lee, Hyo-Won (October 8, 2018). "Busan: Ryuichi Sakamoto on Tackling Animation for the First Time". hollywoodreporter.com. P-MRC Holdings, LLC.
- Manga Entertainment (2000). Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (DVD). Chicago. ASIN B00000JKVI.
- Matsushita, Kazumi, ed. (1987). Ōritsu Uchūgun Seisaku Kirokushū [Royal Space Force Production Archives]. Tokyo: Movic. ISBN 978-4943966074.
- Midi Inc. (1986). Oneamisu no Tsubasa Image Sketch [Image Sketch of Aile De Honnêamise] (liner notes) (12" maxi single). Tokyo: School/Midi Inc. ASIN B001EX9YSQ. MIL-1501.
- Midi Creative Co., Ltd. (December 3, 2013). "Midi Record Club—Artist Index: Sakamoto Ryūichi". Midi Record Club. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- Mizuno, Hiroyasu, ed. (October 6, 2018). "Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto fulfills childhood dream by working on Kobun Shizuno's animation film". japantimes.co.jp. The Japan Times, Ltd. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
- Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan [in Japanese], ed. (May 7, 2005a). "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin (Haikyū shūnyū 10 oku-en ijō bangumi) 1986-nen (1 tsuki~12 tsuki) [Top-Grossing Past Works By Distribution Income (Programs with distribution earnings of 1 billion yen or more) (January-December) 1986]". Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- Okada, Toshio (2010). Yuigon [Testament]. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō. ISBN 978-4-480-86405-5.
- Okada, Toshio (May 15, 2018). "Sakamoto Ryūichi-shi ni totte wa kokurekishi? 'Ōritsu Uchūgun Oneamisu no Tsubasa' gakkyoku seisaku hiwa o Okada Toshio ga kataru [Something Mr. Ryuichi Sakamoto Would Just Rather Forget? Toshio Okada Tells the Secret Story of Making the Music of "Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise"]". Nico Nico News Original. Tokyo: DWANGO Co., Ltd. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- Sakamoto, Ryuichi (1986). Oneamisu no Tsubasa Image Sketch [Image Sketch of Aile De Honnêamise] (liner notes) (12" maxi single). Tokyo: School/Midi Inc. ASIN B001EX9YSQ. MIL-1501.
- Sakamoto, Ryuichi (2009). Ongaku wa jiyū ni suru [Music Makes You Free]. Tokyo: Shinchōsha. ISBN 9784104106028.
- Studio Hard [in Japanese], ed. (1987). Oneamisu no Tsubasa: Ōritsu Uchūgun Completed File. Tokyo: Bandai. ISBN 4-89189-377-X.
- Takahashi, Ryūichi (1987). Ōritsu Uchūgun Original Sound Track [Aile De Honnêamise~Royal Space Force Original Sound Track] (liner notes) (LP). Tokyo: School/Midi Inc. MIL-1025.
- Takeda, Mikio, ed. (November 1990). "Oneamisu no Tsubasa de wa nai Ōritsu Uchūgun—Watanabe Shigeru purodeyūsā no kodawari LD [Royal Space Force, not The Wings of Honneamise—Producer Shigeru Watanabe's Committed-to-perfection LD]". Animage. Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten. p. 39.
- Takekuma, Kentaro (March 1998). "Gainax Fūunroku Yamaga Hiroyuki Intabyū [Gainax: The Turbulent Times—Hiroyuki Yamaga Interview]". Quick Japan. Vol. 18. Tokyo: Ohta Publishing.
- Vine, Richard (July 9, 2011). "Ryuichi Sakamoto records Riot In Lagos". The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
- Weston, Hillary (June 1, 2017). "Sonic Memories: A Conversation with Ryuichi Sakamoto". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- Yamaga, Hiroyuki (1986). Oneamisu no Tsubasa Image Sketch [Image Sketch of Aile De Honnêamise] (liner notes) (12" maxi single). Tokyo: School/Midi Inc. ASIN B001EX9YSQ. MIL-1501.
Citations
[edit]- ^ Hikawa 2007a, p. 1
- ^ Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan 2005a
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 31
- ^ Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. 2007, Title 4, Japanese Trailer, 00:40
- ^ Lee 2018
- ^ Mizuno 2018
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 31
- ^ Studio Hard 1987, p. 54
- ^ Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan 2005a
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 31
- ^ Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. 2007, Title 4, Japanese Trailer, 00:40
- ^ Hikawa 2007a, p. 1
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 208
- ^ 「だから最初は三億六〇〇〇万円と言っていたんですが、音楽を坂本龍一に頼んだら、特別予算四〇〇〇万円必要になっちゃったんですよ。それで四億円になった。 それで作っていくうちに赤字を出しちゃいまして、それが四〇〇〇万円。結局、現場での総制作費は四億四〇〇〇万円かな。当初の見積もりより八〇〇〇万も越えたわけだから、オーバーし過ぎかも知れません。それで宣伝費やらなんやらで、八億というふうになってますけど。まあ、それで間違いないでしょう。帳簿上の流れでは。」Takekuma 1998, p. 176
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 31
- ^ 「。。。(4)『太陽が燃えてる•••』『星が呼んでる•••』等、50~60年代風の男くさい、元気のより語を使いモンタージュ効果で威勢のよさを出す。(5)一度も宇宙に出た事がなくとも銀河(この単語もいい)の歌は唄える。(バカらしいほどのスケール感)。。。(7)よく晴れた日に墓地のど真中で10人並んで歌うとのどかな感じが出る。」Matsushita 1987, p. 31
- ^ 「窪田晴男は、坂本龍一の『未来派野郎』にギタリストとして参加していた人で、『オネアミスの翼/イメージ•スケッチ』の「プロトタイプ」を作詞した佐伯健三とともにパール兄 弟のメンバーです。」Takahashi 1987
- ^ Carroll 2011
- ^ 「その時は絵も観せられているんですか?」「絵コンテですね。」「それでは、絵からはあまり想像できなかった…。」「いや、漠然とだけどありますよ。」Matsushita 1987, p. 208
- ^ 「この話が持ち上り、最初に『王立宇宙軍』というタイトルをきかされた時、これは右翼関係の映画だ(失礼!) と思ってしまった。さっそくコンテを見せてもらい、まず、そのディーテールの緻密さに驚かされ、たぶんこの人たちは自分と同じようなものが好きなんだろうなという確信を持ちました。アニメーションの緻密な作業と、ふだん僕たちがやっている音楽の作業とがとても似ていた──これがこの仕事を引き受けた大きな理由のひとつでした。。。そして、海外市場ということを考えた時、今回のアニメーションや音楽のような緻密な仕事が、今後どんどん輸出されるのではないかと考えています。」Sakamoto 1986
- ^ Clements 2013, p. 173
- ^ 「今日、巷では〇〇風の……〇〇の様な……といった安易なものの作り方が、美しいひらきなおりとして横行しております。(中略) 」Yamaga 1986
- ^ 「たしかに、本作品もすベての材料がオリジナルとは言えません。しかし、その根底に流れているイメージは、一人一人のクリエイターが持つところ。。。いわば『深層の感性』の集合体であります。それはもう、覆い隠してもにじみでてくる個人固有の自我の叫びとも言えましょう。音楽も同様、〇〇風といった考え方をすべて排除し、坂本さん個人の感性に根差した究極の音造りをしていただきました。その奥深い深層の感性をお楽しみください。」Yamaga 1986
- ^ 「で、3人は教授の作ったABCDの4つのテーマとどのシーンで使うかということと山賀(博之)監督から渡されたキーワードを持って。。。」Matsushita 1987, p. 208
- ^ 「まず本編のどこに音楽がいるのかを音楽監督と音響監督の人が決めるんです。それと音楽自体をどういう系統の音楽にしよう、という根本的なコンセプトが決まって、線引きがあって、それでおのずと秒数が出てくるんです。今回はありがたいことにチャート表ができていまして。普通は自分で作らなきゃいけないのでそれが大変なんですけど (笑)。あれができると作業の半分はできたようなものですね。その下に4つのテーマのうちのどれをモチーフに使うかちゃんと書いてあって、それをどういうふうにしなければならないかの指示があったんでそれを基にして作っていったんですよね。」Matsushita 1987, p. 208
- ^ 「 。。。それぞれ旅に出たと(笑)。スタジオに一緒に入ったこともないし教授と一緒に入ったわけでもないですしね。」「各々で作って集合してちょっと聴き合ったりして、また散らばる。」Matsushita 1987, p. 208
- ^ Midi Inc. 1986
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 32
- ^ Takahashi 1987, liner notes
- ^ Takahashi 1987, liner notes
- ^ 「5 面(標準ディスク)の残りの部分と、6面(長時間ディスク)の全面はBGM集になっており、画面はBGMの場面にあったイメージボードを多数収録するというかたちになっている。」Takeda 1990, p. 39
- ^ Manga Entertainment 2000, Main Menu (Special Features: Art & Music)
- ^ 「バンダイからパイロット版の予算をもらってからも、ひたすらアイディアを膨らませていく作業を続けていました。キャラクタ―のアイディアや設定が出る。イメ―ジボ―ドもどんどんできる。町の設定、服の設定、様々な設定やアイディアを出し合う設定期間と称する期間がどんどんのびて、 予算は膨らんでいきます。バンダイは、もう引き返せないところまで出資していて、 音楽監督は坂本龍一(一九五二~)と決まりました。」「最初の劇場版はゼロから作ったから四億かかったけど、今 度は前の設定がまだ全部残ってる。坂本龍一先生の音楽も全 部残ってる。」Okada 2010, pp. 70, 96
- ^ Horn 1996d, pp. 24–25
- ^ 「映画音楽の仕事に関して、僕は前作からチーム制をとっています。上野耕路、窪田晴男、野見祐二というのがそのメンバー。彼らとの共同作業は楽しく、作業もとてもスムーズです。今、日本で考えられる最も効率の良いコンポーザー集団だと僕は自負しています。」Sakamoto 1986
- ^ Sakamoto 2009, pp. 147–148, 164–167, 171–175, 180–190
- ^ Lee 2018
- ^ Mizuno 2018
- ^ 「『アニメ映画の音楽に携わったことについては、「今から35年前に担当したことがあるんですが、あまり気に入っていないんです(そのため題名も言えないらしい)。』」Hosoki 2018
- ^ Vine 2011
- ^ Midi Creative Co., Ltd. 2013
- ^ 「『あと実は、2、3年前に高畑勲さんと会って、音楽の担当を任されていたんですが……僕の音楽がシリアス過ぎて、結局解雇されてしまったんです(笑)』と意外な事実を明かした。」Hosoki 2018
- ^ 「実は『オネアミスの翼王立宇宙軍』の音楽打ち合わせの時、坂本さんはすごいノリノリだったからなんですね。「こういうふうにしたい、ああいうふうにしたい」って、坂本さんも一生懸命に言ってたんですよ。打ち入りパーティの時もそうでしたし、打ち合わせもすごく和気あいあいと進んだんです。。。でも、坂本さんは明らかにコンテをすごく読み込んでいたし、「ここのシーンにはこんな音楽で~」って話してたから、僕は“擦り寄って来た”わけでは決してないと感じていました。」Okada 2018, p. 1
- ^ Lee 2018
- ^ 「彼らのこの作品に賭ける意気込みは相当なもので、それは例えば、音楽の打ち合わせにでかけた人たちが12時間もいることになってしまったとか、様々なエピソードを生んでいます。」Takahashi 1987, liner notes
- ^ 「どんな問題かと言うと、坂本さんは絵コンテを見て「よし、俺も参加するぞ!」と思ったあまり、絵コンテ通りの音楽をつけるって言ったんです。アニメの絵コンテというのは、まるでCMのように「この映像に何秒、この映像に何秒何コマ」というふうに、設計図がめちゃくちゃ細かいんですよ。。。おそらく、「これを使えば映像と音との完全なるシンクロが実現できるんじゃないか?」という、坂本さんの思い込みも入ったんだと思うんですよ。。。ところが、現実にアニメを作り出すと、アニメというのは出来上がってくるカットによって、アニメーターがカットに付ける演技も違ってくるんですね。なので、「コンテ通りに○秒」というふうに作られるわけではなくて、そこから微妙に尺が伸びたり縮んだりすることになるんです。そういう時、通常はどうするのかというと、音楽を担当する音響監督が切って詰めることになるわけです。例えば、「この音楽はこのタイミングで」と言われても、「もうちょっと前から流した方がいい」とか、「後から出した方がいい」というふうに、音響監督が調整するんです。」Okada 2018, p. 1
- ^ 「もちろん、そういう時に、坂本龍一さんと僕らが直に話して調整していれば、そこはなんとかなったと思うんですけども、坂本さん側も坂本さん側で、「ちゃんとこうやってくれよ!」という指示を、坂本さん自身が当時所属されていたヨロシタミュージックを通して話される。」Okada 2018, p. 2
- ^ Bowker 1987
- ^ Weston 2017
- ^ Weston 2017
- ^ Matsushita 1987, p. 31
- ^ 「そんなふうに、何やら、それぞれのスタッフの間で、坂本龍一さんと監督の山賀博之以外のところでのトラブルが、ザーッと出てくる。その結果、グループ・タックの田代敦巳さんという音響監督と、ヨロシタミュージックの社長が激しくぶつかることになってしまったんですね。。。これに対して、音響監督の田代敦巳さんからは「どの音楽をどの位置で入れるかの決定権は、坂本龍一にあるんですか? 田代敦巳にあるんですか? 岡田さんはプロデューサーでしょ? あなたが決めてください!」と言われて(笑)。。。だから、「音響監督の田代さんの意見で、ここは統一します」ということを、プロデューサーの僕が決めて、ヨロシタさんにも連絡したんですね。けれども、坂本さんは、この件があったからだと思うんですけど、以後の取材でも『王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼』に関しては、なんか黒歴史っぽくなってしまって、触れないようにというか、わりとなかったことみたいにされてるんですよね。これに関しての最終的な責任というのは、「田代さんでいきます」と僕が決めたことにあると思うんですけども。」Okada 2018, p. 2