‘We have an awful lot in common’: Leading Japanese animation talent honing craft with Kilkenny stay

Formerly a fringe interest outside of Japan, anime has exploded into the mainstream of the western world over the last few decades with huge exports of movies and tv series entrenching themselves into the worldwide cultural fabric.

This growth is currently being capitalised on by the Global Anime Challenge (GAC), a Japanese Government funded project which provides training opportunities abroad for leading young animation professionals.

The GAC has brought together several top Japanese directors and producers with the multi-Oscar award nominated Cartoon Saloon animation studio in Kilkenny for a months-long cultural and learning exchange to the benefit of all participants.

The entire project spans multiple years and is the first of its kind attempted.

“In the first year we train participants to get ready for their opportunities overseas,” says project Cultural Coordinator, Hiromi Hasegawa, from the studio headquarters in Kilkenny.

“This is our second year and we have a total of 11 participants going abroad for training opportunities in studios like Cartoon Saloon and some in France. The training period spans from one up to three months and after their placements, they’ll go back to Japan and make pilot films,” she adds.

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Though the GAC was launched with the aim of nurturing Japanese talent, the host organisations stand to gain just as much from their guests according to Cartoon Saloon Co-founder and Creative Director, Nora Twomey.

“We have an awful lot in common because we both love animation,” Nora outlines. “They’re young, but their careers are already well-established so we have as much to learn from them as they do from us.”

“It’s fantastic to share a love for 2D animation and especially the success of Japanese animation across the world,” she continues.

The Japanese contingent in Kilkenny includes the likes of Keiichiro Saito and Takafumi Nakame, Director and Producer respectively of the internationally acclaimed series, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and Ayumi Moriyama, a director and animator on several Pokémon films and series.

Cartoon Saloon and Screen Ireland have recently engaged with Japanese film and animation industry officials to explore closer cooperation between the countries, including a potential co-production treaty.

Given the global success of the Kilkenny-based studio and the rise in popularity of anime, increased ties between the countries could lead to exciting opportunities for collaboration well past the conclusion of the GAC.

“I think there's a lot of creative opportunities between Japan and Ireland in the animation space,” Nora outlines. “Ireland is very good, as is Japan, with leading in terms of creating connections.”

“I very much look forward to working closer together in the future,” she adds.

The internet age has made foreign media more readily available than ever, hugely increasing the ease of access to anime and fuelling the growth of its popularity in Ireland and elsewhere, something which Cartoon Saloon is keen to focus on to increase its already wide reach.

“Animation fans are becoming a lot more sophisticated and there’s a whole generation that chose what they wanted to see themselves on the different streaming services,” Nora describes.

“They’re very educated about where the animation comes from, who created it and who the directors are. All these factors are something that play into their enjoyment of what they’re watching.”

“We’re always looking at ways of becoming more successful, reaching bigger audiences and strengthening our relationship with our fans; so working closer with Japanese partners is absolutely something we would look towards,” she says.

Arriving in Kilkenny from Japan could have been an intimidating prospect for the GAC participants, but Hiromi and her compatriots have settled into life at Cartoon Saloon with ease, forging new relationships with the diverse staff at the studio.

“It’s just been wonderful, the people here are so nice, so kind,” Hiromi affirms. “I see so many people from around Europe are coming to Kilkenny and working at Cartoon Saloon so we’re not just making friends in Ireland but across Europe too.”

The short pilot films that will be the culmination of the GAC have the chance to be made into full-length feature films or series and the influence of Kilkenny and Cartoon Saloon are sure to be felt in the projects according to Hiromi.

“These are proof of concept trailers with anime which we will bring to the Annecy International Film Festival for them to make presentations and hopefully their projects will materialize into movies,” she describes.

“It might not be so obvious, but all the feedback and the impact that we’re getting here will eventually end up integrated into their future works. I am most definite about that.”

The animation industry is among the most threatened by the rise of AI but Nora is confident that fans will continue to seek out the organic aspects in media and that stronger ties between countries can protect creative jobs.

“As storytellers, either in Japan or in Ireland, all of us look to the human factor in whatever stories we choose to listen to or watch, so I think that’s something that’s going to remain.”

“It’s very difficult to know what the future is and there are definitely challenges; but partnerships will strengthen creative people no matter what their first language is and what part of the world they live in,” she concludes.

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