India has immense animation potential: Japanese artist

For Hirasawa Nao, a leading global name in the field of animation and graphics, India holds immense market potential for animation.
"India has immense potential for animation and should host animation festivals every six months to boost this platform of creativity," says Nao, a producer associated with a leading animation and graphic movie industry in Japan
Nao was the centre of attraction at the 4th Anime Convention that concluded at the Film City here recently.
"Basically, I am not an animator. I am a producer, so I coordinate with the creators (directors, animators, and script writer) to make sure the product is integrated. But I mastered the art by being surrounded by so many original minds and talent," says Nao.

Acclaimed Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino's cult film "Kill Bill Vol 1" featured an animated sequence inspired by work done by Nao and his company.
"One morning Tarantino came all the way from Hollywood to Tokyo and knocked on our studio's door. Impressed by what he had seen in 'Ghost in the Shell', a manga movie series, he decided to work with us. He talked with our company's president and we worked on that series. The movie did well. It was a completely new experience and that gave us better exposure to a wider world," says Nao.
Nao, has to his credits, programs like, "The Prince of Tennis" (2006), the five-part movie series "Broken Blade" (2010) etc and who has helped to develop artwork for games like Namco Tales Studio's famous title, "Tales of Symphonia."

"India is a promising country. Several creative works are sprouting out from different parts of the country and I think in future India will be one of the leading countries in the field of animation," says Nao.