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On March 5. 2005 at Anime Overdose in San Francisco, I, ParadigmDREAD, have met in person Takeshi Mori; The creator and director of Vandread! XD

For those of you who don't know about Takeshi Mori very well, aside from Vandread, he has also lent his directing talents to such animes as Gunsmith Cats, Stratos 4, and Ruin Explorers. And he has done scriptwriting and storyboards for Nadia: Secret of Blue Water and Ruin Explorers.

While in one on one conversation outside the walls of the con and during his panel at Anime Overdose, your fearless guild leader went out of his way to ask several questions revolving around his work which we all love. Ranging from his favorite character to the future of Vandread itself. Read the following transcribed interview to learn what I learned from the creator himself! whee

(Impotant note: The following transcripted conversation was between myself and Mr. Mori before and during his focus panel at AOD. Nothing has been alter in any form or fashion in exception to the fact that a translator was speaking on his behalf. Not to mention, the number of questions asked was due to a lack of time on both parties involved. sweatdrop )

(text in here) = Paradigm's Random Thought

ParadigmDREAD: Mr. Mori. First of all, it's an honor to meet you for the first time.

Takeshi Mori: No no, it's an honor to be speaking with one of my fans. Love your t-shirt by the way. (I was wearing the promotional Vandread Dita Tee from the promo release Pioneer did for the 2nd Stage DVDs here in the States)

PD: Thank you for the compliment sir. Ok, first question: What was the main theme behind "Vandread"?

TK: Vandread's main theme was a focus on the growth of one human being from the environment from which he originally came from to an understanding of a world outside from what he knew.

PD: Next question: How long did it take for you and your crew at GONZO animation to pull together one episode of the anime?

TK: Roughly 4 months inbetween scriptwriting, storyboarding and voice recording each and every episode while GONZO's computer masters brought the amazing environments/mechs to life. It was alot of work but the end result is what you see now.

PD: Aside from the animes, what other forms of media could Vandread fans look out for to further their fandom?

TK: *Laughs* Well, aside from the manga storyline which I participated in (Check out "Vandread the Manga" in guild forum), I have also written and released "novels" which were the original transcripts to my anime storyboards. 3 volumes per stage. (Making 6 books yo!) Those who read it will find small changes from what the final product was. But nothing really serious has been altered aside from minor character relations and sequences of events. Plus, I also wrote a special "extra" stage which follows the end of 2nd stage. This storyline, however, was never produced into the anime due to time constraits on releasing 2nd stage in Japan. There is no english tranlated version for them here in the States. So, if you happen to be visiting Japan, stop by a bookstore and look out for them. wink

PD: Awesome! Mr. Mori. Though you may not know this, but there is a huge fan following in America for Vandread. And this next question is on every American Vandread fans mind: "Have you considered or are planning on producing a Vandread: 3rd stage?"

TM: First of all, I NEVER knew that there was a huge following for Vandread here in the States. eek But onto your next part of the question. Well...*Thinks for a minute* The thought of a 3rd stage hasn't crossed my mind before. But however, I personally feel that the story of Hibiki ended the way it should have: Him enlightened and with the girl! YET, that hasn't stopped me from considering a "reversion" of the Vandread universe. So, look out for that in the late future...(My guess people: He gonna pull a Tenchi Muyo via Tenchi Universe on the Vandread storyline! XD)

PD: What work(s) are you currently working on now?

TM: I'm currently working on season 2 of Stratos 4 right now in Japan. The next 13 episodes are about to be wrapped up. By the way, you should take note that most of the voice cast for Vandread (Japanese of course) have been casted into this series as well. So check it out this series whenever you can.

PD: And my last question for you sir is one that could be a heartbreaker: Who's your favorite character in the series and why?

TM: That's easy. It would have to be Meia. (HA HA HA! YES! I KNEW IT! XD) And the reason for that is Meia's childhood story is based upon my own hard times growing up. My parents weren't never really around for me, usually offering me a "sympathy" gift for their absence on Christmas or my birthday. Often is was somthing small from their business trips.(Maybe that eye accessory that Meia had?! ) But, I never lost my parents due to scandal and separation unlike Meia. She would have to be my "what if?" scenario of my life that could have happened should I have strayed in the wrong direction. So, she, in a sense, is my own daughter.

And, last but not least: Photo Documentation. xd



Me with Takeshi Mori. 3nodding

ACK! gonk I want to meet Mr. Mori! gonk biggrin You're lucky dude