FROG NATION

PEOPLEText: Akira Natsume

In 1992, he succeeded in the event ‘Tokyo Gamer’s Night Groove’ that made games had an impression as Otaku and club culture unite. Then he established the indies techno label ‘Frogman Records‘ with several partners, and established ‘Frog Nation‘ in 1997. Recently he also contributes the animation ‘Cowboy Bebop‘ and the game ‘Ace Combat3 Electro Sphere’. His name is Dai Satoh.

We follow the tracks of Dai Satoh who is active crossing various genres as TV, music, game, techno, digital culture and animation one by one.

I knew the fact that Dai Satoh of Frog Nation contributes the production of an animation in addition to the work as a writer and organizer of the label about two years ago. It was just before that Evangelion was a great hit in Japan. I remember that I was excited reading the article regarding that.

He is a man who succeeded in the event ‘Tokyo Gamer’s Night Groove (TGNG)’ that made game and club culture unite for the first time in Japan. It cannot be true that we’re not concerned for knowing the fact that he was declared in a magazine to produce a really cool animation for himself.

The animation ‘Cowboy Bebop‘ was a more-than-expended and it certainly tell me the rythm that the present animations lost. I reconfirmed the greatness of him watching the animation and had an interest in him. It’s hard to form something one by one as one likes whatever the environment is prepared. But the thing neccessary for the coming ages is to keep balance of work and life not being influenced by the environment especially for users of internet. So I thought we may be able to get something from the tracks of him who is doing as he likes by himself beyond the genre.


Cowboy Bebop. © 1999 SUNRISE.
The TV series produced by the staff dealed with ‘Macros plus’ and ‘Escaphrone in the sky’. The director is Shinichiro Watanabe who directs a TV animation first. It remember us various pleasant works as Rupin the third, Crasher Joe, Cobra, Halrock, etc. It’s concluded in each story and you can spend 30 minutes being intoxicated with the nice tempo of sound and story. It’s too great, so I had no question about it to Dai Satoh. It’s on the air on satellite broadcast. The videos of vol.1 and vol.2 are on sale now.

“I was no good at drawing pictures, but I wanted to be a cartoonist. It was when Otomo was appeared, and I was excited in Akira. I had a friend who is good at drawing but felt troublesome of thinking about plot, so I cooperated with him. Then my parents bought me a word processor when I was in the sixth grade in the elementary school. I was very impressed that the things I was thinking were transformed to a paper like a novel. I thought of writing a novel but I was unskillful.”

In the same way that designer meets Apple Computer, he met a word processor at the early stage and had dreamed his future. Then he went on Toho special school working as an assistant director of part-time-job in a TV station. There’s a turning point at that time. His talent was recognized by a songwriter Yasushi Akimoto who came to the school as a special lecturer by chance, and came to join the Yasushi Akimoto’s office Sold Out and made his debut as a songwriter soon.

“I’d grown up my career and wrote the lyrics for various artists. So I’ve got huge royalties and I realized the job as a songwriter is profitable. I was insensitive to the actual value of money because I got more than one thousand yen a year when I was 19 or 20 years old.”

He succeeded as a songwriter but he retired the office Sold Out because there’s the difference in terms. He had lived it up every night with some musicians who are connected as a songwriter and flied around overseas in those days. It was just the time when there’s Manchester boom in UK, so he went to see for himself with his friend. In his return distance, he touched club culture first.

“I went to the club ‘Brain’ that was organized by Mark Wigan in London first. I’d imaged club as disco and I hated it by the time. But it was really pleasant to dance with all who were dancing innocently. When I said I came from Japan, everyone said the country of Nintendo or asked whether I had played Mario. They let me teach that Japan was cool. I’d had felt ashamed to being Japanese. But everyone said, ‘Your country produces great things’. Then I wished I could organize a club like that having an identity as Japanese. I had some relationship with musicians and DJs, so I thought I might do as I want if only I arranged for a club.”

Mark Wigan is a painter who was active based on clubs in the late 90’s. He’d come to Japan several times. His work is behind the bar counter at the club ‘Budda’ in Nagoya. Paint are revived in various approach today. Because our lives will not become to interesting with only photos and fashion illustration.

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