Kazuchika Kise’s interview / Kazuchika Kise’s Pride as the Creator of The Fourth “Ghost in the Shell”: His Focus as an Animator and Director

A fully artificial cyborg body, not a humanoid robot. Kazuchika Kise is the artist who brought that “living” quality to the mysterious being known as Motoko Kusanagi with his high-quality animation. In his role as animation director for both Ghost in the Shell and its sequel, Innocence, Kise played a vital role in the pursuit of realism emphasized by director Mamoru Oshii. He made the bold move to revisit Motoko’s youth when directing Ghost in the Shell: Arise, finding new ways to showcase the series’ charms.
For all that he is one of the creators most familiar with Motoko as a character, he casually tells us that “I prefer drawing old guys.” And even with the manual dexterity that rivals a magician, he gives off an air of inability to lie in our interview. And so, we took the opportunity to dig into a thorough look at everything from the struggles of animators and directors to his outlook on modern animation.

 

Kazuchika Kise’s Pride as the Creator of The Fourth “Ghost in the Shell” #01 #02 #03

 

Photo: Great The Kabukicho