Artist and animator, Kia Asamiya.

©LAB-GARNIER/ST

One of the most creative people in anime and manga is Kia Asamiya, so it was a lot of fun getting to sit down and talk with him about his work on things like Silent Möbius.

Born Michitaka Kikuchi, his pen name of Kia Asamiya came later, which we will get to, but like many kids of his generation, he grew up on a steady diet of manga, anime, and tokusatsu shows.

“I was born in Kitakami City in Iwate Prefecture, in northern Japan. I was there until I graduated from high school, so at about the age of 18, I left and moved to Tokyo. So since then, for 45 or so years, I've been in Tokyo.

“As a child, I loved manga and anime. I was also born in March, which meant when school started in April, I was one of the youngest students, and at this age, a few months in age difference can really make an impact, and consequently, I didn't exactly excel at sports. Therefore, my focus was mainly on manga and anime.

“In terms of manga, I loved the work of Go Nagai, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Matsumoto Leiji. For anime, there are too many to mention. I also enjoyed tokusatsu, so things like Kamen Rider and Ultraman.

“In Iwate back then, there were only really two main broadcasting networks. That meant they were pretty selective in what they showed, but they tended to show all the major works.

“If I had to choose things I really loved back then, it would be Cyborg 009, Kamen Rider, Space Battleship Yamato, and Captain Harlock. Then there was also Mazinger Z and Devilman. I suppose I watched everything back then.

“During high school, the magazine Animage was launched. In that magazine, you had articles that would introduce actual animators. So I learned then that there was an actual job out of drawing pictures. I thought, wouldn't that be wonderful? That was the start.

“As I was in Iwate, there was really no way to know what to do to become an animator, so I did some research. I found that there was a kind of vocational school that would train me to become an animator in Tokyo. Naturally, when I was 18, my school teacher didn't know what an animator was. With that, I managed to convince my parents to let me go to Tokyo and attend this vocational school. There was also no entrance exam for this vocational school; all you had to do was pay the fees, and you could join.

“I then spent an extremely fun and exciting two years, as I would go to classes and everyone would be talking about the anime they watched the night before. It wasn't like that in Iwate. It was eye-opening.

“When it came to eventually finding a job, I have to admit that while I was at this vocational school, I was often truant. That meant towards the end of each year, I had to attend specific seminars to make up for my prior absence and accumulate the necessary points I needed to pass. I wasn’t very diligent in class, except for study drawing lessons.

“Towards the end of the course, there were employment opportunities advertised at the school. I found Artland amongst those and went for an interview. Artland was obviously making Macross back then, so I was interviewed by Noboru Ishiguro, and surprise, surprise, I failed. Suddenly reality hit, and if I didn't find a job in Tokyo, I would have to go back to Iwate.

“After this, I was desperate, and I realized I had to attend any and all interviews I could. I took my portfolio and was determined to find something. However, the job I interviewed for after Artland actually accepted me, so I was saved. The company was called Kusama Art, and they did work for Toei Douga.”

Starting Work As An Animator

After leaving his animation vocational school, his anime career started in earnest. Starting as an in-betweener and then moving on to key animation, as he explains.

“The company was established by Shinnosuke Kusama, who had a lot to do with Toei. Therefore, right from the beginning, I worked on movies. Such as Final Yamato in 1983 and then Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984. In the studio, the way it worked was that two people would be selected to work on Nausicaä, so I was selected. In terms of TV work, there was Urusei Yatsura and things like Inspector Gadget. There were so many projects to do. All of this was in-between animation. As this was effectively subsidiary animation work, the projects could be anything. A lot of the work was also cooperating with other studios as well.

“After around 2 years of doing this kind of work, my frustration was that there was a lot of movie work, but because it was with international studios, I didn't really get to see what I worked on Japanese television, as it wasn’t broadcast here in Japan. So there was this massive amount of work, and I couldn't see the result. Of course, I couldn’t see my own name either here in Japan. That made me increasingly frustrated. Around this time, I also got to know some quite well-known animators, and some of them said they would establish a new studio and offered me to join. So after 2 years of being a professional, I became a freelancer and joined them. The company was called Studio CAM.

“The founding members of the studio were Tamura Hideki, a legendary animator, and Wada Takuya. They were both veteran animators.

“The first work I did with them was through Ashi Productions via Wada, but once I started, I realized it was again another job where my work was mixed in with other companies. However, I did get to work on the original Transformers animated series, Generation One. That meant the production was combined with foreign investment, as a result, even though it was mixed work, which I had wanted to avoid, it paid really well. Especially becoming a freelancer, I needed the money, and it really helped.

“Transformers was fun. I liked to draw robots, and he drew so many, like Optimus Prime and Grimlock. However, that came to an end, and I asked what was next to Ashi Productions, and back then, they were doing Dancouga and Machine Robo, so all the kinds of things I was interested in. However, what I actually ended up coming along to me was another big American production, and that was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which I turned down. I was beginning to feel that it might be okay to stop doing international co-productions.

“Thankfully, I got a chance to work on something I liked, which was Zeta Gundam, Creamy Mami, and back then, there were a lot of OVAs. So I worked on lots of those, too.

“Around this time, I got connected with Sunrise. However, to see how I worked, I was put on Heavy Metal L-Gaim. It was towards the end of the series, and it was merely to show them what I could do. After that, I went on to work as a key animator on Zeta Gundam.

“Toshiki Hirano also asked me to work on Fight! Iczer One, I mostly worked on Act 3’s genga. I wasn’t involved with Kamille and Fa's cameo appearance, though. Sometimes animators tend to have fun with things like that, as they work across various anime.”

Zeorymer, Detonator Orgun And Sonic Soldier Borgman

It was here that he began work more as a character designer and also an animation director. And while some anime were released first, his actual initial work was Zeorymer, as he helpfully clarified.

“In terms of character design work, when it came to the broadcast order, it was Sonic Soldier Borgman that came first. However, in terms of the production order, I worked on Hades Project Zeorymer first.

“When it came to the changes over the Zeorymer manga for the anime, that was down to Hirano. The title and the broad setting remained the same, but the story contents could be pretty original. That was the idea. As I did the character design, I felt a little uneasy about completely removing the actual original story, so I did try and retain the essence of it somewhat in my character design.

“When I started the character designs on Zeorymer, the mecha designs had already been done by Moriki Yasuhiro and Hirano. They'd already discussed the direction for that.

“With the animation direction, what I wanted to achieve was that during those days, the typical mecha action type was ubiquitous. A good example of this was Dangaioh, with animation by Masami Obari. However, with Zeorymer, it wasn't necessarily to do with huge action, but more that if the mecha are this huge and menacing already, that makes them a clear threat and could instill fear. So, giving the mecha this sense of massive heft and size comes from kaiju and things like Mazinger Z, as those are both things I love, and that's also how they work.

“At the time, the animation direction process involved visiting real locations that would serve as backgrounds, creating layouts based on that location scouting, and then determining the camera angles. Those two points were key to producing the mecha action sequences in Zeorymer. At the moment, I actually teach the younger staff at Bandai Namco Film Works (formerly Sunrise). In my classes, I am emphatic about the importance of layout, especially in expressing the hugeness of things like mecha in the frame.

“With Detonator Orgun, I wasn't involved with the main body of the production, just the character designs. Although I might have done the occasional CD cover or other similar kinds of illustration work.

“Back to Sonic Soldier Borgman, again, I was entrusted with the character designs, but not the actual production of it. I worked on the opening animation and the transformation sequence. However, as this was a TV series, there were so many additional illustration requests. That said, when the Borgman OVAs came along, I wanted to be more involved and do the direction. So things like making the storyboards and animation direction.”

Moving Onto Making Manga

It’s here we got to his manga work, and some very interesting revelations on what international works inspired things like Silent Möbius and Steam Detectives.

“In terms of manga, I started out with Vagrants in 1986, but this already had a pre-existing original story. Again, it was a cause for frustration, because I had ideas for my own work. My own story. So I put together a proposal for Silent Möbius, and it was approved.

“With Silent Möbius, I felt like I could finally express myself. I also had this thought that I would like to make this my representative work. Fortunately, it caught people's attention. So it was adapted into an anime movie. It was a hard period, but certainly rewarding.

“One of the notable influences on Silent Möbius was the American TV series CHiPs. Also, during the 80s, there was Blade Runner, which was quite eye-opening for me. That was set at the time in the then-future of 2019, so I wondered what Tokyo might look like along that same timeline and type of world. I also wanted to mix in lots of different things, such as sci-fi, creatures, mecha, and using magical powers.

“With Silent Möbius, the concept was multi-national and varied powers between the characters. All those ladies with different powers, of different nationalities, of different cultural backgrounds. One was a witch, with another being a Shinto priestess, and then you have other things like secret religions further down the line. By doing that, you allowed the viewer to imagine the different types of abilities they may have.

“With the Graviton Gun, a part of that was inspired by Tibetan prayer wheels. With the bullet spinning faster and faster like some kind of magical incantation. So it was a combination again of the religious element, coupled with technology.

“It's also fun to see lots of cyclotrons, like the LHC in Europe and the Super-Kamiokande in Japan, appear everywhere. It's also something that appears in the MCU, so it's a good and fun source for sci-fi-related ideas.

“When it came to Steam Detectives, around that time, Ranpo Edogawa was a very renowned crime author whose work was celebrating its centenary. That was already the backdrop, and I wanted to do a Sherlock Holmes-type story. However, instead of solving some kind of riddle, I wanted to make it more of an action theater. Like the manga of Tetsujin 28-go in some ways. Simultaneously, I wanted to bring the sense of older Japanese manga to the then-contemporary audience, like the work of Shotaro Ishinomori. I also loved the work of the American comic book writer Mike Mignola, so I took that influence but put it in a Victorian-type period.

“I also went and spent a week in the UK for research. So there are elements of the UK in there, but also things like a Taisho version of Asakusa, in order to create Steam City. In the UK, I went to Salisbury to visit Stonehenge, and it was good fun. I rented a car and dropped into a restaurant at the side of the road. The countryside was beautiful. So I reflected that in my work. I also took influences from French architecture after I also visited France.

“In general, I try to be open-minded and absorb things from outside of Japan. It may sound strange, but I don't really read manga these days. So I watch things like films, musicals, and concerts, and I travel a lot. As I teach now, I'm telling young people to look not just at anime, simply because inspiration is always elsewhere. I feel that the younger generation is less and less interested in what is happening outside Japan.

“So for me, it's important to keep my creative antennas everywhere. You don't know where inspiration may come from.”

The Importance Of Keeping An Open Mind

Like many major Japanese creators, he has a similar tendency to look internationally for inspiration and to consider things outside of manga and anime.

“I once attended a convention in the US, and there came along a child and his father. The father posed a question to me: my child is so interested in anime and manga, how can he become successful in that profession? Looking at them both, I could see the father was somewhat bewildered, and the son was really excited to be there. So I said to the child that they need to study hard and not spend so much time drawing pictures or reading manga. Although I think that's what they expected me to say, because it's actually really important to do other things than just watch anime and read manga, you need to broaden your horizons at that age.

“That said, as a teacher myself, while it’s easy to say “broaden your horizons”, surrounding us now is a situation where you can now surf anything on the internet. You don’t really need to go anywhere. You can just get information very easily and accumulate that information as so-called knowledge. Then you have things like ChatGPT to do the thinking instead of you. Then you have this emphasis on AI and all of that. Is there anything you can do about all that as a young person? There are so many questions and problems. That means I am still questioning myself as I teach, and am still studying somewhat. Sadly, there's no easy answer.

“These days, everything has become easy. Previously, you had to really search and look for things. Whereas now, if you want to find something, it's just a click away. That makes it easier to get answers. However, finding information quickly and then making it a part of you are two separate things. With my generation, we needed to do things ourselves and walk places to find things out. That was pretty normal, but now it's not. So without any effort, everything can be obtained. With AI finding you answers, regardless of whether they are correct or not, an approximate answer can be found easily. So I feel those answers don't make much of an impression.

“First and foremost, there are artists whose art style changes over their career. I think I am probably one of them. Then there are artists whose art style is fixed and unchanged. That's also good as well. That means if there are a hundred artists, you will likely have a hundred different styles. Having said that, for me, there are so many influences that it's hard to say which one did what. Even now, there are so many artists that he respects, and one of the benefits is that due to the internet, you can see so many different artists' work in real time, as they are uploaded. So many artists have influenced me.

“When I came to Tokyo, approximately 42 years ago, I already liked American comics. I lived around Kichijoji then, and there was a Parco and an underground where there used to be a foreign book specialist shop, and I was able to buy American comics there. Also, my vocational school was in Jimbocho, and that area is known for its book stores. So I could also fairly easily get hold of American comics there as well. That meant I would read those alongside Japanese manga. So that influence from a young age would be the foundation of my style as an artist.

“Obviously, I didn't understand the language in American comics, but I could appreciate the artwork. I would look at the art from people like Simon Bisley, Travis Charest, Frank Frazetta, Mike Mignola, Jim Lee, and Todd McFarlane. I loved Simon Bisley's work in Judge Dredd, Todd McFarlane's art for Spider-Man, and Todd McFarlane's Batman art. There are too many, really.”

Working On American Comics And The Future

Asamiya is renowned for his pioneering work within American comics, being one of vary few mangaka to have actually worked for places like Marvel. The creative processes are also very different, but that’s something he actively enjoys.

“Working on American comics is also really different compared to Japan. In America, a comic is built up in separate parts. It's team-based. You have the scenario writer, the penciller, and the inker; all of that is done separately. When I worked on X-Men, I did the artwork, and that was very interesting, but the scenario writer was specifying which picture would go where. He was dictating my workflow. That was a surprise. However, I like to try new things and do things no one else has done before. So I was the first Japanese person to be involved in this way. That was exciting and good fun.

“The baseline in Japan is that the artist tends to do everything on their own. Come up with the story, draw the pictures, deciding which frame goes where. It's very different.

“To explain my pen name. In animation, I have been using my real name, Kikuchi Michitaka, since I started. However, when I started making manga, I wanted to make it clear that this work was separate and all my own, so I came up with the completely separate name of Kia Asamiya.

“As for Dragon Quest, I loved the first three games. Back in those days, the games were so popular, and all the mangaka were playing the games, and I became friends with them over the games. We used to talk on the phone and ask about each other's progress. With the new HD-2D Remakes, I saw other people playing them. The visuals are quite amazing, but I remember it as pixel art. I preferred that, because it inspired you to think what it might actually look like. So to be shown "this is it" removed a bit of that excitement. Also, the new ones have orchestral music, which is a bit strange. With the old pixel art, it was so limited in what it showed you, and that helped to fill your imagination. I also got to work on Dragon Quest a bit in the past.

“Separately, about two years ago, I had some trouble with my eyes, so I had to put drawing any new manga on hold. However, from this year I am planning to start work again. Last year, I announced at Tokyo Comic Con that I would work on Silent Möbius x Avengers, so I have started working on that this year. I am doing this the Japanese way, so it's all done by me, and will likely take about two years. Thankfully, my eyes are alright now.

“As for my illustration work, I have been busy and will continue to be busy. Things like the teaser visual for Yamato 3199, and model kit box covers for Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These and Blade Runner 2049.

“Other than that, I have two other projects that have been on hold, so I will also start working again on those. For now, I am putting my storyboard work for anime on hold, but some of that work I did previously may be released soon.”

If you are interested in the other interviews I’ve done with creators like this, then you can browse through links to those here.

Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently writing regular columns in Japanese about mecha games and mecha anime for both Game*Spark and Automaton.