imagine-nation S2011E05 - Main Feature: School Magazines / Creator's interview: Gaku Kinoshita (Japanese Animation Director&Illustrator)

Main Feature: "School Magazines"
Manga are always popular with primary school children and there are plenty of high-quality options, perhaps because Japanese children start out on manga reading so young. Readers often stay with their favorite works even after they grow up! This week's Imagine-nation considers the recipe for success in these multi-layered kids' manga that never fail to please! Many of the best-known series are carried in the "school magazines" of the SHOGAKUKAN publishing house, which go back to 1922. There is one for each grade of primary school starting from the Shogaku 1-Nensei for first years. Their serials include DoRaEMON and HAMTARO, both now popular on TV, too, and one of the most popular manga today, Happy Kappy, the TV version of which began in Japan this April and could well be set follow the royal road of DoRaEMON itself. "Our reporter Gow visits the editors of the Shogaku 1-Nensei to discover the secrets of their success, special techniques of children's manga and also how it all began, besides dropping in at a production studio as well. This is the program for learning about the manga we loved as kids.

Creator's interview: Gaku Kinoshita (Japanese Animation Director&Illustrator)
Japanese animation director and illustrator Gaku Kinoshita left Japan for London to study animation in 1997 and released his self-produced short animation "For Your Blossom" in 2004. This sentimental film about a robot that wonders about the meaning of existence has now been screened in more than 30 countries around the world. Kinoshita moved back to Japan in 2008, still as a freelance filmmaker. We ask him about his inspiration for his works with their characteristic, warm hand-written lines and delightful world view.