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