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Vivienne Chow

A passion for animation is what keeps Japanese veterans  Kazunori Noguchi, Kazuhiro Furuhashi and Atsuko Nakajima going.

'I just love it,' says Nakajima, the renowned character designer whose works from the past 20 years include Ranma ? and Lamu, the Invader Girl.

Furuhashi, an animation director for 20 years, says: 'I decided to work in this industry when I was only 14.  I read a lot of comics and watch a lot of anime. They are part of my life.'

Anime  (Japanese animations) brought the trio  together. Their last collaboration, You're Under Arrest, was an enormous success in their home country. It was aired on TVB and was  well received by local audiences.  And the animators are  back with Getbackers, a new series running on  Now Broadband TV's animation channel Animax.

Getbackers is about two teenagers, Ban Mido and Giji Amano, who have supernatural powers. They form a business to help their clients recover things that have been lost or stolen.

The series is an adaptation of a popular comic of the same name.

When working on an adaptation, Nakajima says  she has to read  the comic over and over again.

'Because my job is to design the characters, I must read  the originals and  capture the essence of the characters. I  also add my own elements,  but most of the time I need to simplify the looks [of the characters] to make the filming process easier,' she explains.

For producer Noguchi, trends are not the most important element when making animations. 'We would do research occasionally on what's popular among youngsters, but in fact, we are not very concerned,' he says. 'What we do is not related to fashion or trends. We care about the subject of the stories.'

Furuhashi says that his personal experiences influence his work.

'I read a lot and watch  many films,' he says. 'My experiences, such as this trip to Hong Kong, might be featured in my future productions.

'It's [Getbackers] more focused on the relationship between the two lead characters, who are  partners.  A lot of Japanese comics are about friendship and victory, and this one is no exception.'

Despite the success of anime,  the trio are anxious about the future. They say  anime  faces a crisis that cannot be solved by just one person or one company.

'As animation doesn't make much money, less and less people are interested in investing,' says Noguchi. 'They want to play safe and produce standardised series.'

A change in time slots has also contributed to the problem.

'In the past  animations were usually shown at dinner time. But now  they've been moved to  early evening or midnight so the number of viewers has dropped,' he explains.  'Animation appeals to either a very young audience or buffs. It's hard to attract a new audience.'

Nevertheless, the trio still have faith in the industry. 'I definitely think that Japanese animation is still the best,' says Furuhashi. 'We have unique stories and characters that cannot be found anywhere else.'

To win  an original drawing by  Nakajima,  tell us why you like animation. Send your answer, together with your name, age and contact details, to yp@scmp.com.



Crazy about anime