Early Days Interview: Screenwriter Yosuke Kuroda (Animage, November 1999)

In-Depth Interview with Director Tetsuro Araki (Animage, December 2010)

"I Want To Hear Their Story" 

In-Depth Interview with Director Tetsuro Araki 

 Source: Animage, December 2010 

(Disclaimer: This is an amateur fan translation. I'm not responsible for any typo and misinterpretation) 

Introduction

Tetsuro Araki was a standout right from his episode directorial debut in "Galaxy Angel".  His first directorial work, "Death Note", is a TV series where razor sharp wit and eccentricity made it attractive. "High School of the Dead", which its broadcast just ended recently, is an impressive work full of fan service and penetrating sensibilities. He seems to be good at edgy works, but for the past few years, he has been working on his works with less of himself in the forefront. So what is his true intention?

Interview by Yuuichiro Oguro

[Tetsuro Araki Profile] 

Director, born November 5, 1976 in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture. Blood type B. After graduating from Senshu University with a degree in Humanities, he joined Madhouse. After working as a production coordinator and design manager, he made his directorial debut with "Tomoyo's Video Diary," an exclusive bonus video for (Japanese) fans who purchased the complete video set of "Cardcaptor Sakura". He has been involved in "Galaxy Angel" since the first series, and has attracted attention for his outlandish work. He made his directorial debut with the "Fairy Musketeer OVA". His representative works include "DEATH NOTE," "KUROZUKA," and "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" (all of which he directed). On "Michiko and Hatchin" episode 7, which he participated under pen name, Saburo Mochizuki, is the one in which he was able to do what he wanted to do even though he followed the scenario. Just like "DEATH NOTE" episode 25 and the first episode of " HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD,"  He is currently freelance. 

"Cardcaptor Sakura - Tomoyo's Video Diary"

"Fairy Musketeer OVA"

(This interview is conducted on December 10, 2010 at Madhouse studio)

---Actually there was a time when I was approached to interview you for this feature during the broadcast of "Galaxy Angels". 

Araki:  Oh, so long ago.

---However, I told (Masao) Maruyama-san that "it's too early. If you put him on a pedestal now, he'll get carried away. So it's better not to do it" (Note 1)  

Araki: It's a bit of a "no-brainer," though.

(1) Masao Maruyama is a veteran producer of Madhouse who produced countless masterpieces.  

---It took about eight years, but today's interview has finally come to fruition.

Araki: As for myself, I'm very happy as well. (Takayuki) Hirao was featured and I was envious. (Note 2)  

(2) Takayuki Hirao is the director of "The Garden of the Sinners" and other works. He and Tetsuro Araki joined Madhouse at the same period and they are good friends. They often help each other's works.

---Did you originally enter the animation realm because you wanted to be a director?

Araki: Definitely, yes. When I was a university student, I was making movies on camcorder video, and I thought it was interesting to make films, and I was happy that people around me were somewhat pleased with my work. That's why when I entered the animation industry, I was very clear that I wanted to direct. I liked animation to begin with, but I felt that it was easier to be a director in animation than in live action.

---What kind of films did you make at the university?

Araki: Well, let's see. It was about an older brother and a younger sister, and how the younger sister may or may not abandon the older brother who has gone crazy from worrying too much. It was about whether or not the sister would abandon the brother who had become too troubled and crazy, and whether or not he would cut him with a utility knife.

---That was brutal (laughs). 

Araki: That was pretty much my mental state at the time. I imagined myself as the older brother, and cast the girl I liked at the time as the younger sister of the main character. It was like I was trying to get the girl to leave her brother. When I think about it now, I feel like I made something that was meant to harass me (laughs).

Everyone (laughs loudly).

Araki: The people who watched it were all very happy, though (laughs). 

---Was there a reason why you joined Madhouse? 

Araki: I was just about to graduate when I decided to work in animation. I wasn't looking for a job, so at first I was thinking of going to a vocational school. But my brother-in-law told me, "If you call them out of the blue and ask them to let you in, they'll let you in," so I called the places that were still recruiting at that time. At that point, the two companies that were still recruiting were Ashi Pro and Madhouse. I applied to both, and was rejected by Ashi Pro, but was accepted by Madhouse.

---As you became an episode director after going through as Production Assistant and Design Manager later on, did you have an image of the ideal director you were aiming for?

Araki: The first person who comes to mind is Yoshiyuki Tomino. But I didn't want to create something like him, nor did I want to become someone like him. I just thought that Tomino's way of expressing what is really important to him in the film, or shouting out what he wants to say in the film, is something that makes me feel good. That's what I want to do, that's for sure. It's not that I wanted to create a character who speaks Tomino dialogue, or that I wanted to do something like "Gundam," but that the act of putting oneself into a film is what attracted me. Also, even if I wanted to be like  Tomino-san, I think it would be difficult for me to be like him because I can't get angry at people. According to what I heard, Tomino-san often gets angry with people.

---I heard that he was a scary person, especially in the past. 

Araki: I was really weak-minded. Anyway, I couldn't get angry with people. I think to myself that if I had been able to get angry at people more, I would have been a better director. When I hear that a director I know has had a bad day with someone or got angry with someone, I think, "That is so cool......! I wish I could be like that" (laughs). 

---Your episode directorial debut was "Galaxy Angel". In "Galaxy Angel", other people were doing outlandish things, but you stood out among them, and I remember that there was a sense that you were going in an avant-garde direction. 

Araki: At that time, didn't you interview with me on the Madhouse web page? (Note 3). After the interview was over, you blurted, "don't make this a normal production." 

(3) "Turbulance in Madhouse: Side Episode" was a blog entry in Madhouse's official website. Interview was conducted around the time "Galaxy Angel" was aired. (Translator's note: Aforementioned blog entry is no longer available in Madhouse website. Luckily the blog entry is reprinted on "Anime Style 005" - May 2014 issue)   

---So, when you were working on Galaxy Angel, did you have that "me, me, me" feeling?

Araki: Yes, I did. When I look back now, I remember that I was so stubborn that I wonder why I was so stubborn. "I thought, "It's no fun for anyone but me". Now I think I just didn't see the work of the people around me. I didn't even notice the goodness of the scenario I was given. 

Now, I think my first priority is to recognize the quality of the material given to me and work to make the most of it. What I want to do now is to go one step further. I would like to do work that creates the "fun" itself, rather than just fixing the "fun" on film. 

---In other words, "DEATH NOTE" and "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" were about taking the "fun" that you were given and establish it on film? 

Araki: That's right. How to transfer the "fun" in the source material or manga to film without  changing its tempo. I don't mind the work itself. When I read the original manga, I found it interesting and it moved me, so I try to make it so that I feel the same way on film. Just because I traced the manga as it was doesn't mean that I would be moved in the same way, so I had to get creative. It was an interesting mission, and I'm glad I did it. 

---For example, don't you think that the edgy sensibility of "DEATH NOTE" is your strong point? 

Araki: No, not in "DEATH NOTE" or in "HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD". For example, I don't think I did it with the mindset of "watch my work" like I did with "Galaxy Angel".

The first priority is to make the audience see the film without losing the charm of the original work, but rather by upgrading it. In the process of this mission, there was a moment when I thought, "hmm, if I keep doing the same thing, it's going to be less powerful than the original," I think there was a moment when I was in a hurry to do something about it, and my mind went into a mode where I didn't understand what was going on, and I came up with a unbelievable idea. It's not that I was trying to do that from the beginning, but I was seriously trying to capture the charm of the original story on film, and that's when I came up with unbelievable ideas.

---I see. 

Araki: For example, when I was checking the storyboard, I felt that the film was not satisfying enough even after the B-Part, probably because there was too little pleasure in the movement. So I thought, "Oh, maybe I should make the picture a little more flashy," and that's when something unexpected happened. In my own way, I tried to fill in the missing parts of the film and create a balance.

---Do you have a specific example?

Araki: In "DEATH NOTE", I think it was the action of writing the note. The most satisfying part for me was the appearance of Teru Mikami (Note 4). I originally liked the character Teru Mikami, and I thought that if he appeared in the second part, he would be the sole focus of the story. That's why I wanted to make his appearance have a big impact. I tried to make the scene more flamboyant in the storyboard by adding big action scenes, but it just so happened that (Yoshihiko) Umakoshi-san did the key animation for the scene, and it turned out to be more flamboyant than I imagined. And there was that beam of light coming out of it (laughs).

(4) On "Death Note" episode 31, mysterious light shoots off from the notebook while Teru Mikami is making pen strokes on the Death Note.

"Death Note" episode 31 - Pen stroke scene 

---(Laughs).

Araki: I remember how much I liked that scene. Until I drew the storyboard for that scene, I had never imagined that such a scene would be created.

---The scene where Light eats potato chips is another example. (Note 5)

Araki: That's right. When I'm drawing a storyboard, I want to do it again in that groove. When I am in that mode, interesting scenes are usually created. I originally thought of the potato chip scene as a parody of the scene in episode 1, where he wrote a note to a song, and my concept for the direction was to take the situation from episode 1 and do it again under surveillance with the same cut. It was like re-creating the same scene, but this time as a gag.

I drew the storyboard to the song, and when I was putting the dialogue to the song, I found that a good part of the song hit the words, "And then eat potato chips". I thought, "hey, this isn't the most powerful part of the song," but I thought that if I dressed up the action of eating, it would somehow fit with the song. and it just happened to take that shape. I thought it was interesting, and I'm glad I did it.

5. In Death Note Episode 8, Light kills people with the Death Note while pretends not noticing the surveillance. He uses potato chip bag to hide the notebook. He acts like he's studying while eating potato chips, but that scene turned out very interesting and became a hot topic.   

 

---There was an exciting scene I noticed. In episode 25 of "DEATH NOTE," for which you did the storyboard, there was a scene where Light and L get wet in the rain, and L wipes Light's body. That's not in the source material, is it? 

Araki: That's right.

---How did you come up with that kind of depiction? It felt like the artistic flavor suddenly came out. 

Araki: I think I wanted to make a film even before I entered the animation world, and I think I did it right. It's an adaptation of someone else's original work, but it's like "I thought I could do it, so I did it". 

I'm not sure if I should say this, but I was aware of the novel "An Urgent Appeal" by Osamu Dazai. After Christ wipes the feet of the apostles, he prophesies that Judas will betray him. In fact, after his feet are wiped, Judas appeals to Christ. I really liked that novel because it depicted Judas' love and hatred for Christ. From the very beginning, I thought that the relationship between Light and L could be applied to Christ and Judas, that L strongly hates Light but also strongly loves him. 

That was the story about L being defeated by Light's cunning game of cat and mouse, but I thought, "maybe we can add another level to this story?" The assumption that, "L knew everything, but was daringly buried" could be included in that story. It could be replaced by Christ's feelings in "An Urgent Appeal". I remember thinking strongly, "I'm going to make a film about that resignation.

The amount of dialogue in that episode was less than half of the usual number of episodes, and I tried to create a sense of solemnity with the silence. In one of the few lines, L says to light, "have you ever told the truth even once since you were born? In other words, they have a feeling of being sinful kindred spirits. I thought that their "Last Supper" scene would look homoerotic in its appearance, but I also thought that it would create a mythical atmosphere. It's something I wanted people to read into it, but I remember being careful to make sure that it could be interpreted in many different ways by different viewers. I tried to keep it in the zone where the relationship between Light and L could be interpreted as it was in the original story.

I remember feeling a sense of satisfaction because I thought I was able to make a film that was true to the original story but also had some kind of soul to it. Even though (Mitsuyuki) Masuhara-san  directed the episode, I sound as if I alone took credit for it, but I had the greatest response in my work. The first episode of "High School of the Dead" had the same kind of maximum response as well.

---Between "DEATH NOTE" and "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD", you worked on "KUROZUKA" and "Aoi Bungaku". You said earlier that you were "selflessly devoted to your work", but did you make "KUROZUKA" as a service to the source material? 

Araki: "Kurozuka" was a very difficult work. The original story is characterized by the main character's wandering through time, jumping from one era to another over decades and centuries, so my first priority was to make the most of that. However, it was difficult to expand the interest beyond that. I had a strong sense that I was making an extension of the way I had succeeded with DEATH NOTE in terms of drawing. When I think about it now, I don't think I should have taken that stance.

"Kurozuka"

---I thought that "Kurozuka" was an attempt to do the story right. And what I couldn't figure out was "Under the Full Cherry Blossom Forest" in "Aoi Bungaku". (Note 6)

　

Araki: You didn't understand it that much? I felt that I had done everything right. There are some points in that work that I regret, but I still think that the way I set the initial policy was right. In short, cherry blossoms are women, and even that person you are familiar with has a terrible side. It's not that the woman in that story is special. I wanted to use a pop expression to show that a man can be inadvertently entangled by a woman like that and get lost. That was my strategy, but it didn't work for the people who watched it. I don't think it really got through. It's like, "I think it's funny, but what the hell?

(6) "Under the Cherry Blossom Forest" is a part of "Aoi Bungaku" omnibus. It's based on Ango Sakaguchi's novel. As Araki stated in the interview, it's a unique work which he challenged himself to try different style. 

---(Laughs). 

Araki: What was about it that was so puzzling to you, Oguro-san?  

---"Under the Full Cherry Blossoms Forest" is a work of fiction, isn't it? It suddenly becomes a musical, people become dolls as soon as they are cut down, and blood is expressed by red cloth falling down like on a stage. The gags are inserted at certain points by replacing the characters with fake ones. 

Araki: That's right. 

"Aoi Bungaku: Epsiode 5 / Under the Full Cherry Blossom Forest (Part 1)"

---For example, I think it would have fit better if it had a punchline like when the main character dies, the camera pulls back to reveal that it was a movie set at the end of the film.

Araki: I see, that's what you mean.

---I was not satisfied with the final result because it did not integrate the various experimental techniques that you had tried.

Araki: In other words, there is a reason or a conclusion to the fictional nature of the work that was presented... 

---I think it would have been good if it had. 

Araki: I search the Internet for people's impressions of the show after it has aired. In this case, I would search for "Under the full Cherry Bloom Forest" and "anime" and read the first two or three lines that came up and only the ones that I thought would help me keep my mind occupied, because going through 2-Chan would wreck my heart (laughs). And the criticism in "Under the Full Cherry Blossoms Forest" was mostly anger at the gag itself. As for what you just said, I take it very seriously because I think that such things only functioned to liven up the surface. However, I did it with the firm intention that there is no rule that literature has to be profound. For example, I like Osamu Dazai, but I feel that his works are more light-hearted than heavy. I was aware that literature is supposed to make people laugh, so I thought it would be good if I could make people laugh while doing it.

---I'd like to ask you a trivial question: Is the "Previously on..." narration for the second part of "Under the Full Cherry Blossom Forest" a parody of "Dragon Ball Z"?

Araki: Yes, it is. And you want know how did it come to be, right? 

"Aoi Bungaku: Epsiode 6 / Under the Full Cherry Blossom Forest (Part 2)"

---In the first part, the traveler who is attacked by the main character almost becomes a Super Saiyan, so maybe it was a gag related to that? 

Araki: That's probably part of it, but as I recall, there's not much content in the second part. When I drew the storyboard, I couldn't reach the full length. So we had to extend it by adding a "previously on..." synopsis (laughs). I think that's how I came to the conclusion that the narration of the previous episode should be from "Dragon Ball"...... I'm pretty sure I had that actor in mind while storyboarding.

---And that actor is Joji Yanami.

Araki: That's right. Yanami-san. I wonder if everyone noticed that that was from "Dragon Ball". Now I'm suddenly worried.

---Probably not many people have noticed. You haven't done a "Dragon Ball" joke since "Galaxy Angel" (laughs).

Araki: Oh, yes, yes, I did that, didn't I?

---I'm probably the only person in Japan who saw "Under the Full Cherry Blossom Forest" and thought, "Oh, Araki-san, it's been a while since you've pulled a Super Saiyan joke."

Araki: Hahahahaha. I'm sure you're right (laughs). 

---So, your latest work, "HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD", you didn't make it thinking, "this is MY Creation!" either.

Araki: That's right. Most of the works I have made since I became a "director" have been based on selflessness. But I don't think I need to say that. I think people usually do selfless work.

---As long as you are doing it as a job, the basic principle is selfless devotion.

Araki: That's what I meant. I don't know if it's okay for a director to be interviewed on behalf of the staff. I don't really feel like I'm taking the main role in the creative process of the film. No, that doesn't mean I'm not cool with it. I'm happy to take on the responsibility of directing, but I don't feel the need to say, "Look at me, look at me". I'm doing it with the intention of spreading the goodness of the original to the world. However, in the midst of all this, especially in the first episode, the flavor of the original story and the point I wanted to make overlapped nicely, so I think it was a happy job.

---In this case, what do you mean by "what I wanted to do"?

Araki: It's about the last minute personal conflicts. The drama presented in the first episode is that the main character, Takashi, has always felt inferior to Hisashi and Hisashi is the boyfriend of Rei, the girl he liked. And Takashi kills the Hisashi with his own hands when Hisashi turns into a zombie in front of him. While Takashi has friendship with Hisashi, he thinks he is no match for him and hates him. In the first half of the story, I depicted this conflict and wondered how Takashi would feel about the way he holds the bat when he had to beat him to death. There is an emotional movement in Takashi that is not straightforward.

In the end, Rei blames Takashi for killing Hisashi. I also felt that Rei's rawness made me to say, "Okay, I've got it!" I thought it was a worthwhile subject to depict. She's the type of person who knows she's a pretty girl and uses that to get people to do her bidding. I thought she was the type of person who wouldn't appear in an anime unless it was a source material like this. However, I thought that there was a tendency for girls to be like that, so I was happy to have the chance to depict her. 

I feel that there are still many types of people and emotions that have not been portrayed in anime. On the contrary, I feel like I want to get away from the "emotions that are often depicted" and "characters that are often depicted". I often think to myself, "The world I've seen is not that small". The world should be more complex and richer. Whenever I get a chance to get even a little closer to that, I'm happy to go. The first episode of "High School of the Dead" was such a place for me. The same thing happened with episode 25 of "DEATH NOTE", and I felt that I could take this story to the next level. I'd like to keep doing that in the future.

---How is the response to "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" throughout the series?

Araki: I think there should be more good times than not. 

---It was highly entertaining, wasn't it? Whether it's the lewdness or the action, it's all about pleasing the audience. It's also good that the filmmakers don't try to look too good. It's not cool to use boobs to make a scene, or to add sound effects to the movement of boobs, no matter how you look at it. No, in a roundabout way, I could say it's cool to overdo it.

Araki: I see. Thank you very much. 

---That's why it was so interesting. Somehow when I watch "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD", I feel like eating meat, don't you?

Araki: Yeah, it's a very carnivorous film. I had a lot of fun doing it, but it was very physically demanding. I broke down a lot. However, the main staff was very good. (Yosuke) Kuroda wrote the script, (Masayoshi) Tanaka designed the characters, and Kusanagi (Studio) did the art. and then (Shuhei) Yabuta for CG. The work by the people in the position of "so-and-so director" was all very good. I think it's a rare thing that the excitement in all department is high. It was wonderful. By the end of the series, I was in tears, wondering why I was able to work with such good people. Rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment from my work, I felt a strong sense of gratitude, like, "Thank you for letting me meet such good people. So, rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment from my own work, when I heard that one of the staff members who participated in this project got a promotion and was hired for a good position in the next project, I felt really glad that I did it. 

---I knew Tanaka was a skilled guy, but I didn't know he was capable of such a heavy-handed style. I heard that Tanaka decided to participate in "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" because of your heartfelt appeal.

Araki: I thought that the key to the success of this work would be whether or not I could get     Tanaka's art. When the work actually started and Tanaka's revisions were coming in thick and fast, I was almost in tears. The person who said, "please do this for me," was really participating in the project. It's like, "I was deeply moved by the fact that so many of my favorite pictures were on it." (Note 7) 

(7) "I was deeply moved by the fact that so many of my favorite pictures were on it." actually refers to several key frames corrected by Masayoshi Tanaka along with others. 

---I'm sorry to ask this after hearing such a great story first, but the expression in episode 9, "(I'm) Wet!" had a tremendous impact on me (Note 8). Where did they come up with that kind of expression? The dialogue is in the original story, isn't it?

Araki: I had told the storyboard artist that "just express the word 'Wet' in letters", but it was during the storyboard check that I settled on the current expression. I remember feeling electrified as I was going through the storyboard check. At the end of the episode, Saeko said, "you'll take responsibility, right? and Takashi responds, "I hope so!". I think that's the point of that episode. I wondered how I could get to that point, so I adjusted the tone curve in my own way, but I couldn't get to the point where they promised to get married unless the production was really upbeat. I thought it would have to be pretty outrageous to be smooth. 

(8) "High School of the Dead" episode 9 "The Sword and the DEAD" is an episode that focuses on Saeko Busujima. In this episode, she confesses to Takashi, the main character, that she has a habit of taking pleasure in beating up her opponents. Afterwards, with Takashi's encouragement, she frees herself from her feelings and confronts the zombies. As he defeats the zombies, he feels pleasure and utters the word "Wet" that is talked about in the interview. which was talked about in the interview. The words "Wet" also appear on the screen. which was talked about in the interview.

"Highschool of the Dead" Episode 9 - "Wet" scene 

---It's a serious story until it reaches its climax, isn't it?

Araki: In the shrine before the climax, I made the part where she confesses her past very heavy and I thought, "it would be more pleasant if I jumped from here on". Sometimes I give myself an order to do whatever I want to do. I think I gave it to myself that time. I remember thinking to myself, "since I'm depicting unhappy feelings in the confession part, from here on out, let's make these guys happier and happier". I hope we can end the episode with a feeling of "Congratulations! The recording of that episode was very interesting. I remember going over and over the "Wet!" scene again and again until I got it right. 

---(Laughs). 

Araki: What was interesting was when Takashi said, "I hope so!".  Saying "you'll take responsibility for me, right? seems strange for a woman who grabs his hand. The part that feels like "what?", but he replies with a very refreshing, "I hope so!" line. So even the "Will you take responsibility for me?" line,  I've come to think that it's okay to say that way.

---Thanks to the actors' exceptional play, it all came together nicely, didn't it?

Araki: That's what I meant. During the recording, moment when the "I hope so!" take came out, everyone in the studio burst into laughter. We called it a "home run" in the studio, and it was kind of refreshing, even though I couldn't relate to it at all (laughs). It was also a lot of fun. It was a great scene.

---What kind of things do you want to make in the future? 

Araki: I've been asked to do some original work, so I'd like to see how much I can do with it. I can say that I've been leaning on the source materials while claiming to be a selfless person, so now that I'm not leaning on it anymore, I want to see how much storytelling I can do, and how much of what I think is "interesting" will work in the world. I've been thinking that I'd like to try it out as soon as possible.

And then there are gags. I've been asked, "Why don't you try this? I've always just gone along with whatever genre they told me to do. Recently, I haven't been asked to do many gags, so if things continue like this, I might not be asked to do any more. The next job I'm going to do is going to be a weighty one, but after that I'd like to do gags properly. I want to make sure that if I do gags properly, they will still be funny. 

---Do you have a theme that you've been working on? 

Araki: I've been thinking about how to make it a viable project for anime.

I like the novels of Kou Machida, the plays of Suzuki Matsuo, and the manga of Hideki Arai, but there are many things that I enjoy as entertainment that don't go well with anime.

Many of the things that the people I just mentioned are doing are things that delve into emotions that have not been expressed in entertainment before. For example, for Suzuki Matsuo, it's "the momentary triviality that blends into a serious situation"; for Hideki Arai, it's "violent characters and the not-at-all hard-boiled world that surrounds them"; for Kou Machida, it's "anger at those who don't wait their turn at the cash register" (laughs). What I really want to include is a sense of familiarity. What I really want to include. I think there are emotions that we feel all the time in our daily lives, but have never depicted in films. That's what I want to do in my work.

Even if the settings, characters, and gimmicks are filled in with the usual suspects, I believe that I can portray emotions that have not been portrayed before in my work. I believe that I can provide something that doesn't give the reader a sense of déjà vu. That's what I think. I think the reason why  Tomino-san is so great is because he is able to express in his films what he really feels in his daily life, and I think that's why I want to do something like him. I think that's why I want to do what Tomino does. I think it's about putting the world I've seen and the things I've felt into film. I hope I can do that properly. 

"Samurai Punk" by Kou Machida

"108: Revenge and Adventure of Gorō Kaiba" (2019), 

a movie directed, written, and starred by Suzuki Matsuo 

"From Miyamoto to You" by Hideki Arai

Mou Hitotsu no Barusu: Untold behind the scene story of Laputa

Another Barusu 

On November 12, 2016, San Francisco Kinokuniya Bookstore held talk & authograph event for Hirokatsu Kihara: a Japanese horror author, talk radio personality, and former Studio Ghibli production coordinator. 

I heard about his visit to San Francisco through email from Kinokuiya and purchased his nonfiction book, "Another Barusu" / 「もう一つのバルス」, one week prior to his visit and started to read his book. For people who don't know what his book is about, "Another Barusu" is about Kihara's experience in Studio Ghibli when he was involved in production of "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service", and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" as production management and Miyazaki's confidant. For people who don't know what "Barusu/Balse/バルス" is, it's the last incantation spoken by Laputa's main characters Pazu and Sheeta at the climatic scene of the movie. And it's also a record breaking tweeted pop culture word in Japan.

At little past 4:00 PM, Hirokatsu Kihara is showed up with outgoing presence (in Pixar hoodie) and spoke with easy-to-understand Japanese with a translator helping him. Most notably, he brought never-seen-before sketches, cels, background paintings, promotional arts, concept arts, animation drawings. Since audience are not allowed to photograph artworks due to possible lawsuit, I'll leave the rest to your imagination as he described each artworks he brought.

First, Kihara brought out sketches of key visuals/promotional posters used in Totoro, Kiki, and Laputa

A. On Kiki's Delivery Service

Miyazaki is very detail-oriented to the single line. Even a single line in the animation drawing doesn't meet his satisfaction, he makes correction.

On Kiki's Delivery Service promotional art sketches: Fans know that Japanese poster of Kiki's Delivery Service pretty much looks like this:

However, Miyazaki drew the initial sketch which Kiki is sitting on toilet. It was not a joke as I witnessed the initial sketch when Kihara displayed it. Black cat Jiji is more cartoony on initial sketch, but Miyazaki decided to make it more realistic on final version. Also Miyazaki made her ribbon much bigger for final version as Kihara showed before-and-after sketches. Anyway initial sketch of promotional picture got ire from both Kihara and female animators, so Miyazaki revised to what we see it today.

Kihara brought cels and BG of the above cut and showed that clouds are in 2 layers of cel, foreground grass is another cel. Although it's not noticeable, BG artists even painted 

tiny waves for the lake.

On this cut, one cel for river and another cels for tree, and another cel for shrubbery. 

Each layer of breads are painted in cel. 

And of course they drew the jar on the right corner as "Storo" instead of "Straw" berry. 

Kihara also brought key animation, cels and BG paint of above cut. According to Kihara, male animators couldn't quite get how female skirt should move which Miyazaki wanted, so it was the female animators who drew Kiki twirling her skirt. 

Kihara repeatedly said that Miyazaki is meticulous, but the process takes too much time. 

Kihara showed several background and concept paintings used in Kiki. On contrary to popular assumption, he explained that BG artists used ordinary art suppliesy that they could get from any stationary/art store in Japan while displaying BG for Cut 203B. BG paint brand used was called "Turner".

On Cut 203B, which was painted by art director Hiroshi Ono, Kihara emphasized the level of details considered by art director. He pointed out that even small reflections on windows are painted without being overlooked. 

Surpirsingly, Kiki wasn't a major success due to fact that the main production concluded 10 days before the premier and they couldn't print enough films on time to make nationwide premiers.

Kiki used 525,000 sheets total which include Miyazaki's key animation corrections, animation director corrections, key animations, inbetween cleanups, and cels. It was finished 10 days before film print date.

B. On Laputa:Castle in the Sky 

Kihara brought out cels and background used in Laputa as he tells what happened:

One of the cels is from this scene which castle floats in the sky (sorry, picture quality is from the web). According to Kihara, weeks are spent by doing cut and paste with knife and tape the layers of castle parts and Ink & Paint department painted tiny subtle details around the contour of the castle. Of course, the cut only lasted 3 seconds despite weeks of hard work. He commented that it's lot easier to do it with digital tools on such method. 

On cel version of this cut, blurry flapping of wings are actually done with quick paint brush strokes. 

Kihara also added that Laputa BG Art is based from England countryside.

Of course, Kihara showed cel and BG of this famous climatic scene that got over 100K tweets per minute in Japan. Really, that black flash is really painted in black paint.

Most cool thing about Laputa was that Kihara has original Miyazaki's E-Konte/Storyboard scene never used in the movie. It was unused scene of Laputa prologue which govenrment officials are having dinner in an airship. One of the change was that they're having roasted turkey/chicken instead of roast beef which was showed in the movie. Also Miyazaki literally cut out storyboard scene if he's not satisfied.

C. On My Neighbor Totoro:

Kihara showed several sketches, cels, and BG paintings from Totoro. One of the fun fact is that Cat Bus's aexpression is based from Kihara.  

Of course, he brought cel and BG paint of this famous scene:

And he brought concept sketch of this Totoro promotional art

On the concept sketch version, Totro never smiles. However, just like a Kiki promo art, the obvious change was made.

To everyone's surprise, Kihara showed the audience trashed character model sketches of Totoro. It is one of those rejects that never got stamp of approval from Ghibli and he's been holding it for 27 years. 

Lastly, he showed unused concept sketches of Nausicaa disposed by Miyazaki.

Kihara stressed that it's easier to just watch anime than making one. When he was in Studio Ghibli, he worked very, very, very hard. He also stressed that when creating something, artist has to put heart and soul into it. 

After the talk event, people lined up for his autograph and photo shoot. At final autograph, a female fan, who did some serious research, gave Kihara LP record set of Hobbit the animation which was coproduced with Topcraft studio. When Kihara started out in anime industry, his first studio was Topcraft studio which did a lot of coproduction with Rankin/Bass Studio. Kihara was very delighted by the gift.

Texture of Kabaneri

Texture of Kabaneri: Redefining the coloring techniques as demonstrated in "Kabaneri of Iron Fortress"

Coloring in Anime has come long way since Ink & Paint Department a.k.a. Finishing (仕上げ/Shiage) painted each cellophane sheet (cel for short) with a special paint and then those cels are photographed with a special camera stand. With adoption of digital coloring and compositing techniques, color scheme used in anime has gotten more brighter and gained richer texture. To many fans, one of the most notable example of such technique is rosy cheeks and florid skin of female anime characters which have been shown in past ten years. This time, "Kabaneri of Iron Fortress" pushed the envelope to next level which moving images look more like paintings.

Again, I found another fascinating interview from the same Animage magazine which features the coloring technique and a new job title.

Animage June 2016 issue

Feature: Drawing of the Soul

Painting of the Soul

Chief Make-Up Animator: Sachiko Matsumoto (松本幸子)

Introduction
It's no doubt that heavily detailed visual is one the factors that keeps the "Kabaneri of Iron Fortress" exciting. Among those, it's the thickly textured cuts comprised of critical scenes, such as character close-up, that draw eyes to the show. They are the cuts made by artists with unique job title of "Make-Up Animator" of the show. These artists made an epoch as if these characters are painted like an illustration all while moving. They play important role in symbolizing the show's visual quality and bringing life to its drama.



---What kind of work does "Makeup Animator" do?

Matsumoto: Job title of "Makeup Animator" came up only recently. Director (Tetsuro) Araki and Design Setting Overseer (Junpei) Kasaoka came up with that title. From the start, it was about finding new expressions from digital 2D animation while utilizing it in production. We've set goal of expressing texture and feel of Haruhiko Mikimoto's illustration on actual screen .


---Therefore, isn't the work close to "compositing"?

Matsumoto: That's right. Except, in case of animation compositing, it has been augmented into a still image; however this time, we've been putting into a moving character images which is different from how things are done: how will it look when texture is added to moving characters.
We conducted multiple tests as we made it. Processing method changes depending on character; beautiful and cute for girls; keep the harsh line quality intact while adding texture to metallic parts, leather belt, glasses and etc for Ikoma. For example, in ink & paint stage, an "eye" is painted in separate solid colors, but we added highlights and depth to iris and pupil. Even eyebrows only had little touch up at first, but now we made it look fuzzy with blurring and added the process into the workflow. Then there is the hair. To express glossy and translucent feel of hair depicted in Mikimoto's illustration, we touched up the hair strands one by one with Brush tool. Also there is the goal of maintaining nuance of the line quality drawn by Chief Animation Director (Yasuyuki) Ebara, so we adjusted the line thickness and opacity while extracting pencil line strokes from inbetween drawings. So the work is about adding such process one (cel) frame at a time which also flows with character's movement. It's difficult because it's not just simply cleaning up the image, it's about not clashing with flow of the movement.


---In other words, you don't process it automatically like CG, but "paint" it one frame at a time.

Something like that (laughs). So at any rate, we can work with from few cuts to dozens of cuts for each episode. For example, we handled a total of 11 cuts for episode #1. As for staffs including myself, a person for inbetween, person who handles compositing and textures, and others, a total of 5 people have been working on the process.


---What are the fun aspect and difficult aspect while you're working?

I think it would be great if we can express that character is "alive" in that world. Again, there is that Director Araki's "wanting to make girls look cute" request so we pay special attention to them. Due to fact that cuts which we're handling are acting as face of the story, there is a heavy burden of doing the absolute best; but still it's really rewarding. They're really luxurious cuts, so we would be happy if everyone could enjoy with "oh wow" feeling.

Last scene in the episode #1: An impressive cut where Mumei removes her ribbon.
Top one is before the processing, Bottom one is after the processing which shows a hint of sexiness added to hair and skin texture. Also a feeling of richness in her expression as well.  In case of this cut, the same processing was done on 30 frames one frame at a time.




Likewise, Ayame from Episode #1. Lower right is before the processing. Upper left is after the processing. Rosy cheek is derived from blurred flat red color. When comparing before and after processing on eyebrows, they actually look like women's makeup. Limited only to female characters, slight red hue is added on eyelids to express florid complexion

Creative Process behind "Bungo Stray Dogs" ED

Portrait of Stray Dogs

  Creative Process behind "Bungo Stray Dogs" Ending Sequence

Source: Animage magazine June 2016/Vol. 456 

Among anime fans in the West, Yasuomi Umetsu (梅津 泰臣) is well known for his animations, "Kite" and "Mezzo". Other than his prolific directorial works, he has been very active with opening and ending animations for various TV anime titles for past several years.

As a hardcore anime fan who regularly dig through Animage magazine (月刊アニメージュ) for interviews and features, I really want to share this kind of behind the scene interview and commentary which Japanese fans have been enjoyed for decades. I hope my amateur translation bring some insight on how Japanese animators bring their work to life.

(Disclaimer: This is just a fan translation of existing magazine feature. I'm not responsible for views expressed in the feature.)  

(Update: I've made corrections on names and titles. Also I have made changes on wording)

Portrait of Stray Dogs: (Relationship) Triangle of Atsushi, Dazai, and Akutagawa 

 Storyboard, Direction, Animation Direction: Yasuomi Umetsu 
Ending song "Namae wo Yobuyo"

 Introduction

Yasuomi Umetsu, the animator, director, and screenwriter well known with oversea fans, has been famous for directing numerous (TV anime) opening and endings sequences. This time, he has handled storyboard, direction, and animation direction for ending sequence for "Bungo Stray Dogs". 

"I wanted to express what Dazai and Akutagawa are meant to Atsushi at deeper level.", said Umetsu. Thus he made the sequence featuring the relationship among Atsushi, Dazai, and Akutagawa as basis.

With triangular relationship looping around Akutagawa to Dazai; Atsushi to Dazai; Dazai to Akutagawa, he made the sequence by visualizing their relationship portrayed in the first cour of the show. From details of their perspective to hand gestures, there is intricate drama weaved in them. We want to present how scenes in this beautiful "Bungo Stray Dogs" ending sequence leaves deep impression on us by Umetsu's abundant imagination. 

       

Interview #1: Yasuomi Umetsu

(Direction, Storyboard, Animation Direction)

--What kind of impression did you get after reading the manga?

Umetsu: At first glance by the title alone, I wondered if this was like "I Vitelloni" (1953 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini) with novelists as main subject. When I read it, it has exceptionally strong impression of battle genre, but I felt triangular relationship among Atsushi, Dazai, and Akutagawa.

---So there are only three characters appear in the ending sequence.

Umetsu: When I make opening and ending, I always consult with director, producer, and video makers first, but this time I received an order from Director Takuya Igarashi to feature these three characters. With those characters on hand, I thought I could bring out other characters as I was handling the storyboard, but I realized it's better to focus on those three main characters as I was processing the visual concept. 


---Did you and Director Igarashi had more specific discussion?

Umetsu: More like listening to his thought on the works than specific order. It is necessary to find commonality between his thought and my thought, but this time we had the same impression. I brought my draft with expectation of "perhaps mine is like this" to Igarashi and he felt that "this direction is fine" and so there was no hesitation. Except physical work took so much time and I barely made to the last minute (bitter smile)   

---What kind of impression did you had for (ending) theme song, "I'll call out a name/Namae wo Yobuyo"?

Umetsu: It's really a great song! My quite often make decision by tune of the song. If melody, tempo, rhythm, and etc don't coordinate, then overall doesn't synchronize well with visuals. On contrary, if a song is good, it blends well with the worldview and it widens overall imagery. Because I especially liked this song, the work went smoothly. When I read the Luck Life's lyric, I had impression that their goal and my direction weren't so different.     

--Luck Life (Artists for the ending theme song) said they expanded their imagery from Atsushi's line of "you can't go on living without telling someone that 'it's good to be alive'".

Umetsu: Absolutely! That's the heart of the matter. It seems like Atsushi and others are living off from such feeling.

---Do you jump onto storyboard right after expanding your ideas?

Umetsu: No, I draw concept sketches at least once before drawing storyboard. It's like drawing dozens of sketches and pick from there. This time I drew around 40 sketches, I think? I think there are some people who jump right into storyboarding, but for me it's no good for not having concept images side-by-side. On the top of that, I'm the type who thinks about (small) things like "how should I set up cut #1..."  

   

---From the start you're making it while not thinking about continuity, but just putting them all together.

Umetsu: That's right. I build it with list of images first and once I lay them out, the whole thing would tell the story in a mysterious way!  

---Which cut was the first thing that came into your mind?

 

Umetsu: Image of Atsushi sinking in water came into my mind first. Actually, I was inspired by a scene from a movie. It's like I kept it alive in my heart for 15 years so that I could use it someday. 

---This time, you were able to pull it off after the long-wait.

Umetsu: As I love films, yet I can't remember which film it was! (laughs). In addition, cover illustrations for both Opening CD and Ending CD are featuring Atsushi and Dazai sinking into water and that was total coincidence. I was really surprised by them.   

Opening Song CD

Ending Song CD

---It seems like you went to Yokohama for inspiration

Umetsu: I felt something was lacking as I was drawing the storyboard. So I hurriedly went to Yokohama for reference. My concept idea has gotten broader as I took photos of the actual locale. When I thought about 'how to move things to where", there is still a limit to just sitting behind the desk and working on the storyboard. I reaffirmed importance of overall atmosphere through the actual visit (to the locale). As for first scene where each character is holding a book and I thought, "I want to position them here" after seeing the actual Yokohama's scenery.


---What is the most rewarding part to you for making the opening and ending sequence?

Umetsu: It's not about copying from original manga material to video form as it is; it's about adding atmosphere and weight into it. Since opening sequence is the face of the show so I can't venture off too far, but because I think the ending sequence has slightly loose grip (on creative aspect), I threw in some curve balls from time to time (laughs). With this ending sequence, it was really fun putting together (animation) staff's design and my concept. Now that my thoughts on this title is condensed into a video form, I hope that people would enjoy this ending and the show repeatedly.

Scene-by-scene Commentary

(Translator's note: I have modified the original magazine feature to fit blog format) 

1. Works of Literary Figures

Animage June 2016 / Vol.456

Atsushi holding (his own) book. Text of the actual novel is pasted on pages: "Sangetsuki" by Atsushi Nakajima; "No Longer Human" by Osamu Dazai; "Rashomon" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. "I had other idea by attaching staff credit on the pages, but I used this way to make connection with the story" (Umetsu). In addition, cover illustration of the (Animage) magazine features the same book.

2. Flying pages

Pages are flying off to the sky one by one. "This book is Atsushi's heart and body". The pages are a part of (his) life. As those pages fly, they mingle with Dazai's and Akutagawa's and affecting one another" (Umetsu). Although Atsushi appears mainly passive by people around him in the beginning, in reality he affects people around him like flying pages. 

3. Atsushi and Dazai lying down

Background is modeled from a dock in Yokohama. Dazai is lying next Atsushi, but their hands still don't touch."Atsushi's pinky finger is moving just a little because it's the most heart pounding moment whether it is going touch or not" (Umetsu). It's definitely a delicate balance between their relationship.

4. Contrasting shots of moon-lit night

Atsushi lost in thought by window and Akutagawa walking on a night street. Each goes on with one's fate with full moon set as background. "On color selection discussion with Igarashi, I've set Atsushi's theme color as bluish-white, Dazai's as white, and Akutagawa's as red for motif. To bring out those three colors, I've set aside usual background and cel color scheme. And those three colors came out forward much more" (Umetsu).

5. Objects and Mental Imagery

  

 

Sudden flash of four images in subliminal way. These elephant and penguin objects are all actually in Yokohama. According to Umetsu, he "brought out the city's atmosphere first then depicted characters' mental scenery". Objects and Atsushi and Dazai are flashed in alternate sequence. On two cuts where Atsushi's shirt is off and blood is spilling from Dazai's mouth, Umetsu added as "a prediction of cruel future which is likely to happen".

6. Atsushi's shadow turns into tiger's shape

 

Shadow on the wall slowly becomes the tiger's shape. Reason for drawing it as shadow? "Because epitome of transformation scene has to be shown in the episode, so there is no reason draw it in the ending. Even though opening and ending are not about depicting specific story elements, it's important to express the symbolic matters of the show" (Umetsu). Such is his persistence.

7. Pages that stopped moving

Pages of the book on ground are flipped by blowing wind, but they stopped when wind stopped. And then, text in pages disappear and become meaningless. "Those are Atsushi's heart, body, and a part of his life" (Umetsu). What sort of meaning is hidden in the disappearing text?   

8. Atsushi/Dazai and Akutagawa

Atsushi and Dazai, while Akutagawa who is farther apart from them (top picture). Atsushi and Dazai are facing front while Akutagawa is facing other direction (bottom picture).  These three characters' relationship is expressed frankly by these two shots. As for reason why above cuts are in red and white, "I wanted show comparison between Dazai and Akutagawa. By putting Atsushi with Dazai, it brought out strong feeling of Atsushi and Dazai as a pair." Umetsu explains.

9. Dazai petting Atsushi's head

Dazai's reaches out and gently pets Atsushi who is lost in thought. And Atsushi smiles faintly. "Tweaking that smile was very difficult" as Umetsu points out. As the time flows peacefully, what will become of Atsushi and Dazai? Even flying pages don't have answer for that.      

10. Dazai doesn't reach out to Akutagawa

Akutagawa looks down with sadness in front of red brick warehouse. His shadow turns into white and Dazai's hand reaches out, but his hand fades away. 

"Probably to Akutagawa, Dazai's existence is like nothing like anything else. I definitely think only Dazai can save Akutagawa" (Umetsu). However, when is that salvation? Thus Dazai's hand fades out like an illusion.

11. Sinking Atsushi 

Atsushi drops into a sea. Also Yokohama scenery is shown in the background. "Atsushi has both naivety and a part of irrationality mixed together. Instead of changing, he still doesn't know how to deal with himself " Umetsu said. That is why his facial expression wants to say something while sinking. "It's his unique face expression mixed with various thoughts" Umetsu added.

 

12. Dazai's hand in water

Again Dazai's hand touches Atsushi's head. Reason for doing it second time: "It's like Atsushi will stumble and fall many times in his life. However, Dazai will reach out again and again" Umetsu explains. It's Dazai's expression of 'even if you fail and being forsaken, you keep true to yourself'. Then Atsushi's surrounding turns into Dazai's theme color of white.

13. Akutagawa shedding red tear

Akutagawa sinks and his bloody tear floats out from water and flies off as a firework. It represents his sadness and rage and Umetsu himself loves that cut. Also the sea is analyzed as "a sea formed by many shed tears". Even though Dazai's hand reaches to sinking Atsushi, he doesn't reach out to sinking Atakugawa.

14. At a special place by himself

 

Above cuts are also modeled from Yokohama. Akutagawa is kneeling under the shade and Atsushi stands momentarily at a place under morning sun. Pages of another book scatters around Akutagawa's coat.    

 

15. Closed Book

The book is in Atsushi's hand again, but the book is closed. Flying pages are nowhere to go. This cut is drawn as "an image which no one knows where those pages will lead in the future" (Umetsu).

16. Stylization of the last part with pop art 

Sudden appearance of two fascinating cuts: "I didn't want to end with cut and dry feeling; so I wanted something to save the thought of 'let's watch it next week too'". On half-weretiger cut: "As a character, Atsushi can goof off too, right? It's too complicated for Dazai and Akutagawa though (laughs)" as Umetsu comments on the cut which Atsushi shows "roar" expression with heart-shaped windpipe. On final cut's graphic style image, Umetsu concluded,"I wanted to close the ending in style with (Atsushi's) just-right-before-turning-into-tiger image."

          
 

Interview #2: Luck Life (Ending theme song)

Profile: Luck Life is a rock band based from Osaka. The band is composed of LOVE-Ooishi (Drums), PON (Vocal & Guitar), Taku (Bass), and Ikoma (Guitar). Their previous song, "Unchanging Sky / 変わらない空", is the main theme song for TV anime, "Junjo Romantica 3". They made their major debut with "I'll call out a name / 名前を呼ぶよ".

---I've heard that Luck Life started when you guys are in high school

PON: As soon as I entered high school, Ooishi said, "Hey you wanna check out light music club?" I wasn't totally interested at first, but as I watched seniors in light music club and I thought, "maybe I could get super popular" (laughs). That's how I met colleagues and started the band with such naive mindset.

---You had a different band name at first, but changed to Luck Life in 2008.

PON: We went for popular rock genre to play the original music that I've written. We used that opportunity to change the name and set the goal to make debut with mainstream.


---"I'll call out a name" is like that, I felt your music is about expressing solid lyric with easy-to-listen vocalization.

PON: As for making music, it's all about wanting everyone listening to our song. We take great care with lyric with "don't lie" as our motto, so I think we're making song for everyone with what I myself really feel.


---What is your impression of "Bungo Stray Dogs"?

PON: Everyone being cool and handsome is the first thing that came up in my mind. As guys, their powers are still weak though, right? (laughs) It's close to what I read as a kid so composing the song was fun.


---We know that "I'll call out a name" is your own songwriting, but can you tell us how did you made it?

PON: Animation production asked the song to be a ballad. At first I couldn't imagine ballad just from reading a lively battle action comic. However, there is that Atsushi's "you can't go on living without telling someone that 'it's good to be alive'" line and I totally understood. So the band started to try out some tunes and there would be some feedback from listeners; so as I continually thought about it and then lyric came out from my gut with a bang.  


---I felt a connection from your song with Atsushi Nakajima's novel, "Sangetsuki". The story is about a poet who turned into tiger and asking his friend to save his name and poem before he loses his humanity.

PON: Oh, really? What a coincidence! I was so busy at that time of writing; and now that I recall, I certainly had a meeting with Director Igarashi when lyric was half-finished. I was, like, happy when he said, "leave as it is. This is fine". So I wrote the remaining lyric straight ahead while riding a bullet train to Osaka.

---Also (ending) sequence fits very well with song's perspective of the world

PON: Most memorable part was Dazai is petting Atsushi's head. They're, like,  really cool. I really love Dazai and Atsushi's master-and-pupil relationship. It makes me happy to think about everyone listening to "I'll call out a name" while immersed themselves in setting sun. If you like us through our single, please check us out at our live concert.