Eisaku Kito Interview

"Baroque World Guidance"
Eisaku Kitō Interview


Profile
Modeling artist. In charge of designing and modeling the grotesques in "Baroque". Winner of the Japan Graphic Exhibition Association Grand Prize. In charge of modeling for the films "Zeiram" and "Zeiram 2". Currently serializing "Travel Planet" in "S.M.H." Magazine.


Q: About when did you start modeling?
A: About 8 years ago. At first, I'd go over to Mr. Hiroshi Yokoyama's place to get help with my work as a modeling instructor and he taught me all sorts of things. Working under a master of the craft was a great motivation to follow this path. However, I have always liked drawing and making things, so I had already been considering following this path. My recent work is mainly modeling, but I used to work in graphics before.

Q: What kind of work did you do on "Zeiram"?
A: My work on "Zeiram" was mainly attending location shooting, modeling props, and repairing costumes (laughs). Otherwise, it was mostly just odd jobs. My main job was creating the sci-fi style guns used in the film. I say gun, but the main one used by the characters is made up of multiple pieces, which I made by modifying other model guns. But visually they were inspired by the work of Mr. Keita Amemiya.

Q: About what time did you begin serializing "Travel Planet" in "S.M.H."?
A: It was about 3 years ago. Maybe 2. It's a quarterly publication, so if you count the preparation stage, it will have been running for nearly 2 and a half to 3 years with roughly 10 installments.

Q: In your profile, I believe it said that you went to the Japan Graphics Exhibit?
A: Simply put, it was a gateway for individuals seeking to enter the world of visual design.  Nowadays its focus has shifted a bit, but it was something like that. In the beginning, Katsuhiko Hibino and others won the Grand Prize. When I won it in 1990, my theme was 'ears', which I expressed as a semi-three dimensional piece* rather than a picture. Personally, I like ears due to their interesting shape, and I often use them as a subject.
[*TN - he's referring specifically to artwork created on paper, but arranged three dimensionally]

Q: What opportunity led to you work at Sting?
A: My first game-related work was in Square's "Treasure Hunter G", in which I first worked with Sting. So I was given an outline for the plot of "Baroque". There are a few other game-related projects, but I can't talk too much about them since they're still in the planning stage.

Q: I'd love to hear about those... (laughs). But I guess if you can't give us any details...
A: That's right (laughs). If you wait a little longer, some kind of announcement will be made. Please look forward to it when that happens.

Q: While working on "Baroque", were you ever confused by the aesthetic?
A: Definitely... I think there were difficulties right from the start. I'd never made anything like a monster before. The aesthetic of the models came from talking about a variety of things while drinking with my fellow creators. I've also been influenced by things in magazines, it's just a matter of what I like and what has a similar atmosphere.

Q: You've also mentioned you like films.
A: As for films, I like science-fiction movies. I feel like I tend to be anti-Hollywood, more specifically, I enjoy slightly strange science-fiction like "Wondrous Planet Kinza・Za".*
[*TN - Russian film originally entitled "Kin-dza-dza!"]

Q: Is that so. Are there any videos that have influenced your modeling?
A: There are a few. There are some from all the movies I've seen up until now, but the most direct influence is from the opening ceremony of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France which was designed by a man named Philip Dexsay. The influence of that person is the strongest. He's theatrical and was mainly in charge of costume design which created a mood like a circus or a karakuri puppet.

Q: When did you establish your style?
A: Eeh, have I established a style? (laughs) I wasn't aware of that (laughs). Maybe it's just a fluke, but it's been this way for the last few years. However, I didn't start all that long ago. Since I was a high school student, I worked for about 12 years with Hobby Japan. I can't even remember what I made 3 years ago so who knows, maybe this has always been the way that I see the world.

Q: Do you play video games?
A: I'm the kind of person who will play them for awhile, but I don't play them every day. I enjoy RPGs. My favorite game is the "Mother" series. I also really like "Tactics Ogre". When I listen to the "Tactics Ogre" soundtrack while I work, I always feel like a crisis is imminent! I think the composer, Mr. Iwata, has amazing talent.

Q: Do you play BGM while you work?
A: Yeah. Well, I don't know, but there a lot of soundtracks. Maintaining a mood while you work is important. I only use the radio a little since it's nice when a good song is playing, but if a song you hate starts then your intensity drops (laughs).

Q: How much work did you do on "Baroque"?
A: That's right, I made the Nerve Tower and grotesques, the protagonist, the Seer Angel and the Koriel, plus a Labor Angel* that doesn't appear in the game. I think the total score was 11 or 12 models, including the Nerve Tower but I don't remember the exact point total (laughs). The first thing I did was to make the Nerve Tower which I was asked to design from an early stage, and I was also involved in planning the story and setting, so I was connected to this game from the very beginning. That was about 2 years ago, and a little while after that I began modelling figures.
[*TN - His 'Labor Angel' model was repurposed as the Cherub in the PS2/Wii remake]

Q: How long did it take to build the Nerve Tower?
A: I made the Nerve Tower in about 2 weeks. I really wanted to make it more detailed. The surface was coated with a paint that looks like iron instead of real iron. There was also a rust-like paint I used on the surface. As for the grotesques and angels, it took about 2 days to sculpt each one. I managed somehow or other to do it in about a week. "Baroque" isn't limited to just the Nerve Tower and there weren't many clear design instructions on how to make the models, only details such as walking or jumping, so I was allowed a lot of creative freedom. So it was quite fast work.

Q: How did you decide on what each motif should look like?
A: I think in words initially. It's like making corrections while sketching. For example, Jerryrom is a childish guy. Innocent but a little cruel. Well, I usually just draw rough sketches at the bar, but this time I consulted with Mr. Yonemitsu about the aesthetic of the grotesques, so it was a little different from normal.

Q: You seem to have made lots of concept sketches.
A: That's true. I didn't know how much of them would recreated in the game. In terms of that material, once I got the setting, I just starting fleshing things out. After all, that's just the way Mr. Yonemitsu likes to cook.

Q: Did you come up with the grotesques' unusual attacks?
A: No, it wasn't me. But they would explain a few details when handing over the designs. 'At first PyonPyon moves his finger down, make it like that.' When handing it over he'd say something like 'PyonPyon doesn't jump quickly, it moves a little like a balloon. But  aside from those particular details, please feel free to do what you like.'

Q: What is your favorite grotesque in "Baroque" currently?
A: Oh right. Maybe Jerryrom is my favorite? I also particularly like guns, so the first Angel Gun I designed was like a P90 which is a strange sci-fi shaped gun, that was the kind of direction I wanted to take it in. Well anyway, I'm rambling (laughs), but the current 3D model hanging from the hero's back is the perfect version of the Angel Gun.