Sometimes while eating my lunch or dinner I would let my mind drift and imagine that the fella sitting next to me in the shop relishing his Tonkatsu set meal might just be an animator working on Denno Coil, maybe even Mitsuo Iso himself; because Madhouse is located just across the street from where we are in Ogikubo. Well, not that I could have recognized him anyway; but Kon Satoshi I could.

The director’s trademark long hair gave him away immediately as we stepped into Fune, ( 船、meaning boat ) a quaint little restaurant we frequent that serves excellent croquette meals. We speculated that the lady he was dining with is his wife, “Mistress,” my colleague quipped. The man spoke in soft tones as he sipped from his Sapporo bottle, a pensive look on his face. Then he lit up a cigarette, just like what Miyazaki Hayao did.

Perhaps he was brainstorming ideas for his next animation film -I can’t wait.

(Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)