Subanimation: Verina Gfader in Conversation with Takehito Deguchi and Koji Yamamura

Abstract

This article is a conversation with Takehito Deguchi and Koji Yamamura, two distinct voices in animation practice and theory. Situated in Tokyo, Japan, the discussion follows a concept of expansion through decentralization, both in terms of the subject of animation and the place from where one speaks. Decentralization is considered in relation to how our understanding of the contemporary artwork, including animation, is formed, de- and re-formed through transforming and widening socio-political grounds. Addressing the complexity and hybridity for grasping the evolving layers in the field of anime, the dialogues with Deguchi and Yamamura gather questions and responses particularly about the status of experimental work, social change, the institutional and non-histories, seen as manifestations of incomplete historical understanding. Links are drawn between experimentation and time rupture, drawings and their shifting status in society, institutions and traditional statements, and social sentiments and animation’s intrinsic qualities. The text concludes with a summary of the conversations, including valuable statements that have been made, which open out the research subject for further debates.