Aya Matsui was the first woman writer to work on the Pokemon anime. She first joined the writing team in 2002 at the beginning of Advanced Generation, and stayed on until Pokemon Journeys. Her tenure included a run as series composer for Pokemon Sun and Moon. This profile from Animage 1993 talks about Matsui's start as an anime screenwriter, including her work on Dragon Ball and Ghost Sweeper Mikami.
Matsui Aya
(Screenwriter)
Profile
Born on May 12, 1964. Joined Brother Noppo in 1989. After making her debut with "Dragon Ball Z," she participated in "Magical☆Taruruto," "Parasol Henbee," and "Goldfish Warning!" as a scriptwriter. She has worked on "Super Bikkuriman" as a series constructor for the first time and continues to work in this capacity. Her husband is also a scriptwriter, Mitsui Hideki.
Matsui Aya is an up-and-coming young screenwriter. She is also a talented woman who also writes lyrics and novels. She is currently working as a series constructor for "Ghost Sweeper Mikami," but what is her goal as a screenwriter?
"I want to write stories that children will enjoy."
Inspired by "E.T.," she aspired to become a screenwriter
"I am in my current job entirely because of my encounter with my mentor (Koyama Takao, screenwriter)."
So says Matsui, a member of "Brother Noppo," a group of scriptwriters led by Koyama. She studied under Koyama and worked her way up to become an animation scriptwriter. As a student, she was an aspiring screenwriter who attended scenario courses, but she had no particular awareness for animation.
"I first became interested in screenwriting when I was in high school. I really liked Mukouda Kuniko's dramas and had a vague yearning to be a screenwriter, but right around that time the movie "E.T." was released. I was so moved by the movie, and when I learned that the scriptwriter of "E.T." was actually a woman, I thought to myself, 'If only I could write a drama like that...' At that time, I felt some type of encouragement through the activities of female screenwriters."
Inspired by "E.T.," Matsui set her sights on becoming a screenwriter, and her fantasy orientation would have a major impact on her subsequent career path. Even in the scenario courses she took during her college years, Matsui says that she never really got used to the tendencies of those around her who preferred realistic suspense dramas.
"In the end, I ended up finding a job without any particular chance of budding, but I was still a bit reluctant to give up and wished I could study a little more. It was then that I came across an ad in a magazine for a position at "Anime Scenario House," where my mentor teaches, and for the first time I became interested in the anime genre. I thought that if it was animation, I could write something fantastical and entertaining for children like "E.T.'"
Driven by this intuition, Matsui quit her job and applied for a position at "Anime Scenario House." Matsui laughs, "It was a reckless decision I made because I am a woman," but this ability to take action would later determine her career path at key points in her life.
"At the interview after "Scenario House," my mentor told me, "The rest is up to you," but two months passed in the blink of an eye.... I thought that if I didn't take action soon, I would be forgotten, so I used Valentine's Day as an excuse (laughs) and visited him with an original scenario with chocolate on it. At that time, Brother Noppo was in the middle of planning various projects, so he said, "We want to hear a woman's opinion, so if you have free time, come visit us. That's how I started frequenting Noppo."
Is Sekiguchi Hiroshi the formidable foe of "Ghost Sweeper Mikami"?
Eventually, her plot was adopted for "What's Michael?" and she wrote one of the scripts.
"It was the first broadcast of the first year of Heisei (1989), and it was about the first shrine visit of the New Year, and I was very happy. This broadcast was the first opportunity for me to officially join Noppo, initially as an apprentice."
Later, Matsui made a full-fledged debut as a screenwriter with "Dragon Ball Z." Since then, she has steadily built up a solid track record.
"I was lucky. In my case, too, the first show for "Dragon Ball Z" was jointly credited with my mentor, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to have his backing. Besides, there were probably few female writers..."
However, it is Matsui's passion and energy that have ensured that she has made the most of these opportunities, and the appeal of the work that is backed by her inherent fantasy orientation. She cited "Magical☆Taruruto" as a memorable work in which she was able to fully demonstrate this orientation.
"Until then, I had been assigned work by Noppo, but with "Taruruto," I was given a job by the designation "Ms. Matsui" for the first time. It was a great thrill. I enjoyed telling many cute stories for small children, and I even wrote lyrics (laughs), so I had a lot of experiences."
Among other things, she said, it was a great experience for her to be in contact with people from other parts of the business, such as unit direction, animation, and music.
"At that time, however, I still thought that if I wrote a script that I was basically satisfied with, then I had fulfilled my responsibility. That changed drastically when I was given the opportunity to work on the series composition for "Super Bikkuriman" for the first time. In the job of series composition, you have to decide on the structure while considering various issues, from the situation of sponsors to viewer ratings. Through this show, I feel that I was able to develop, albeit slightly, an eye for the work as a whole, or rather, a broader perspective. I am currently working on "Ghost Sweeper Mikami" as well, and I am concerned about the ratings for "Mikami." I think the formidable foe is Sekiguchi Hiroshi (laughs)."
"Ghost Sweeper Mikami" is going strong, and this fall and winter Matsui will try her hand at a novel version of "Mikami." With each new work, Matsui is steadily broadening her horizons and moving forward. When we asked her about her aspirations for the future, she replied, "I am still an incomplete screenwriter," which is very typical of her.
"Right now, I am just putting all my energy into each show, and I don't have time yet to think about the future. However, as long as I am writing animation, I would like to write stories that children can enjoy."
I felt inspired.
Morishita Kouzou (Toei Douga PD)
At first, Matsui wrote proposals, minute scenarios, etc. for me in relation to Koyama. She was one of the best among the people I had asked to do the same thing. That's how I got her to join "Dragon Ball Z." I wanted a softer female point of view on the show because it was aimed at boys, but there was also something about her that inspired me.
Now I think that inspiration was right. I feel that she has a wide range of possibilities as a scriptwriter. I would like to see her try her hand at original works in the future, and I think she can eventually transcend the boundaries of animation and become a screenwriter who can also write live-action scripts.