Quote:"Here's my comment on the article, adding that in addition to his anime credits, he was also just a very
generous and unassuming man, and an all-round hoopy frood generally.
In addition to the inevitable discussion of the
man's many estimable contributions to anime, I would also like to add
the personal note in remembrance of just what a wonderful, genteel,
unassuming and generous man he was. He always seemed very happy to meet
fans and never seemed too busy or too important to take a moment to
chat with the regular folks.

A perfect example was my encounter with him at the studio he founded,
Artland, in Tokyo in December 2010 (which I wrote about in this article for starblazers.com). I accompanied Tim Eldred on his "Yamato Tour" to see the premiere of the live action Space Battleship Yamato
movie in Japan, and in planning the trip I contacted as many friends as
I could who lived in Japan to try and meet up. Hiromi Hasegawa, former
Anime Expo staffer, suggested I contact Mr. Ishiguro and ask to visit
his studio. This is an idea which never would have occurred to me on my
own. I got in touch with his American translator (and now AX con
chair) Takayuki Karahashi to inquire about this, and the response came
back basically, "Sure! Feel free to visit after the movie premiere!"
No "we're too busy/too important to meet with fans at the workplace", as
one might expect from some more pretentious folks. Ardith Carlton and I
had a wonderful visit, tour of the production offices, and an extended
chat about all sorts of things from Yamato to the future of the anime
industry.

A few years earlier, in 2007, I accidentally caused a chain of events
that got him invited as a Guest of Honor at Anime Weekend Atlanta. I
had been discussing the idea of an animation studio panel with con chair
emeritus Dave Merrill and had suggested talking about Artland. To
support this idea I had contacted Taka to inquire whether he might be
able to ask Mr. Ishiguro if they had any informational or promotional
material about the studio they would be willing to give me for the
panel. Taka relayed the response that Ishiguro didn't think they had
much which would be of use to me, but inquired whether the con would be
interested in having him as a guest? Just right out of the blue! Not
being on staff, I relayed this question to Dave (while in something of
an astonished frenzy), who forwarded it to the con department heads
saying "We should move on this with all deliberate speed and power!" In
short order Ishiguro's visit was arranged. And not only did he bring
himself and his wealth of anecdotes and history, but two large books of
animation cels from the Artland archives to simply give away to anyone at his panels who might want them! (And he was also kind enough to bring a gorgeous cel of the flagship Brunhild from Legend of the Galactic Heroes,
with the painted background as it takes off from planet Odin, as an
unexpected personal gift to me!) How many con guests would do something
like that these days??"

ClassicDrogn Wrote:Is it just me, or has there been a real spate of media industry deaths lately? It seems like there's a notice here every week or so for one...

- CD