松濤美術館で開催中の「描く人、安彦良和」展に行って来ました。 自分の青春そのものの一つ「機動戦士ガンダム」。 羨望と挫折を味わって、アニメ、漫画の道を絶ったあの頃を思い出し、ほろ苦いと言うには辛すぎる、天才アニメーターにして絵師のとんでもなく上手い原画の数々を至近距離で鑑賞させて頂きました。 アムロレイのコックピットでのイラストを観て、涙が目から吹き出てよく見えませんでした。 ガンダムだけでなく日本のアニメ史を完全に塗り替えた「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」の絵コンテが、安彦さんの初絵コンテとは全く知りませんでしたし「さらば宇宙戦艦ヤマト」のポスターや感動のラストの動画がコレまた安彦さんと言う事で、当時のアニメ史の作画パートを一身に背負ってたたれていたんだなぁと、今まであまりその事を口に出してこなかった生き方にも尊敬の想いが溢れ出ました。 美術館の学芸員の方に誘われるままに壁の寄せ書きにマジックで描いていた時、心の底から恥ずかしく、アニメへの挫折の想いが脳内を駆け巡りました。 しかし、私もそれなりに絵を生業として生きて来た身として、命続く限り、あの頃の鮮烈な絵が動く感動を忘れないで日々絵を描く仕事に精進しようと背筋を伸ばした展覧会鑑賞でした。 ちなみに、寄せ書きに書いたコメントは 「安彦良和先生 尊敬しております。展覧会大盛況おめでとう御座います」 と、書かせて頂きました。 I went to see the exhibition YASUHIKO Yoshikazu: Divine Animator and Draftsman currently on view at the Shoto Museum of Art. Yasuhiko’s Mobile Suit Gundam was one of the defining elements of my own youth. Viewing up close an incredible array of original drawings by this genius animator and illustrator, whose skill is simply incredible, brought back the envy and defeat I felt back then—feelings so painful that calling them “bittersweet” would be putting it too mildly—that caused me to give up on pursuing the path of anime and manga. When I saw the illustration of Amuro Ray in the cockpit, tears burst from my eyes and I could barely make it out. I also had no idea that the storyboards for Space Battleship Yamato, a work that completely rewrote the history of Japanese animation, not just Gundam, were Yasuhiko’s first-ever storyboards. And learning that the poster and the deeply moving final sequence of Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato were also his work made me realize how he had shouldered the entire drawing segment of that era’s anime history. I couldn’t help but feel overflowing respect for his way of life in which he rarely mentioned such achievements. When a museum curator invited me to add a message to the wall and I drew this illustration with a marker pen, I felt a deep sense of embarrassment, and memories of my own failure at pursuing anime came rushing back into my mind. In my own way, however, I have made a living through drawing and painting, and the exhibition made me straighten myself up; it reminded me to work diligently every day, as long as I am alive, never forgetting the excitement I felt long ago when those vivid drawings came to life. By the way, the message I wrote on the wall was: “Dear Yasuhiko Yoshikazu sensei, I have such great respect for you. Congratulations on the tremendous success of your exhibition.”