If there is one work in July 2014 that stands out the most, it is the anime sequel of the same name, Sword Art Online II: Ghost Bullet, based on the popular light novel Sword Art Online, which is naturally one of the best candidates. Recently, some Japanese media interviewed the main production lineup of this work, so let's see what kind of truth these people who have the inside story will reveal!

If there is one work in July 2014 that stands out the most, the anime of the same name, based on the popular light novel Sword Art Online, is naturally one of the best candidates. In the second season of the story, a year has passed since the events of "SAO", and another game, "GGO", has a constant number of players dying. In order to investigate the truth, the protagonist Kirito accepts a commission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to go on an adventure in the world of this game. Unlike the previous world of "SAO", this time Kirito's weapons will also be changed from swords to guns, and the stage will be shifted from a fantasy world to a near-future world. In the second season, Kirito not only has to face fierce battles, but also has to show his reasoning ability to investigate events, so the plot becomes even more exciting.

For the audience, we just need to enjoy the animation; But what kind of challenges will the animation team face in the second season? Recently, some Japanese media interviewed the main production lineup of this work, so let's see what kind of truth these people who have the inside story will reveal!

■Action Director: Ryuta Yanagi & Tetsuya Takeuchi

The different action scenes of the two are intertwined with each other

Q: The action directors for this sequel anime are Mr. Ryuta Yanagi (hereinafter referred to as "Yanagi") and Mr. Tetsuya Takeuchi (hereinafter referred to as "Takeuchi"). Among them, Mr. Yanagi is the veteran of the first season, and Mr. Takeuchi is the first time to participate in the war.

Liu: A strong partner has joined our Sword Art Online production team.

Takeuchi: I originally came here to draw the original art, but by the time I came back to my senses, I had become an action director. I re-watched the first season, and I think the action scenes of this work are very good. This action design contains both the wildness of fighting and the sharpness of swords. I am better at "smooth and smooth movements" than I am at this kind of painting. Even if it's not as good as the action table in the first season, at least I want to work towards the same level as the first season (laughs).

Liu: You're exaggerating. Isn't the second episode of Tetsuya as the action director a very dazzling action scene for everyone? There are a lot of paintings, and I think Tetsuya is having fun while painting.

Takeuchi: Wait, you call me "Tetsuya-go" or something...... I didn't do anything special. It's just a matter of completing the mapping work step by step as it progresses.

Yanagi: Even if you look at Mr. Takeuchi's original drawing, you can immediately think of the finished picture.

Q: For the two of you, what kind of environment is the production scene of Sword Art Online?

Liu: There are a lot of high-level production staff, so I feel a lot of excitement. I've learned a lot from them, and I hope I don't lose to everyone. On the other hand, since you are surrounded by so many masters, there is no way to relax. This makes my stomach ache (laughs). Shingo Adachi, who is in charge of the character, has been working with me for a long time, and since I am not very good at drawing cute things, he also shared a lot of experience with me. Mr. Adachi's drawings are particularly cute, and now they are on a higher level. Every time I felt that I was more or less close to him, his body "evolved" again......

Takeuchi: Mr. Adachi is a well-deserved star.

Liu: It's really a star. It is our star of hope.

Q: How does Mr. Takeuchi feel?

Takeuchi: The members of the Sword Art Online production team are all good guys, and Mr. Adachi often goes to the production site of the production zuò that I was in charge of, so I have been familiar with each other for a long time, so I was able to integrate into the current team very smoothly. I've also benefited a lot from the large number of elites in A-1Pictures.

Q: From the first season to the second season, has the atmosphere of the production scene changed?

Liu: Because the setting of the work has changed drastically, I feel like we are making a completely different work. I think Adachi-sama's painting style is different from the one in the first season.

Takeuchi: When I joined in with Mr. Yu Yamashita (chief painting director), the style of the work was different.

Liu: So I think it's very fresh.

Takeuchi: After all, the action scenes have also changed from the original white-knuckle battles to gunfights.

Yanagi: In addition, the average age of the people who make zuò has become older. In the first season, there were a lot of young people in the scene, but this time because of the general age, it seems to be much calmer.

Q: What are your impressions of the stage and plot of the second season?

Liu: It's a masculine world. There are very wild characters everywhere, and there is no trace of elegance and gorgeousness at all. Although this may have something to do with the fact that the stage is a world where guns are used, even the soy sauce characters are Mohican brothers, which inevitably gives people a sense of "the end of the century" (laughs). In the previous "ALO" world, the characters who appeared were all girls, and the second season suddenly underwent earth-shaking changes, which also brought us a strong impact. I feel that in this world, if someone is looking at you, then they will worry about whether they will follow you. It also creates a sense of unease.

Takeuchi: After all, the colors in the previous work were very bright. In the second season, there are occasional images from the first season, and the latter is particularly dazzling in comparison. This time the stage is very desolate. I rarely get involved in works where people use firearms. Occasionally, I've been involved in animations such as "Black Street Duo", so this time I took over gunfight works again, and it also made me feel like I hadn't seen it for a long time. This time, it was Mr. Yu Aoki who was the director of the firearms, so I was relieved at first. But when I drew the gun myself, I was complained about by many fans who were in the know.

Liu: It was a big help for us to have Mr. Aoki as the director of the firearms painting this time. We also put the burden on Mr. Aoki. Personally, I like to look at the shapes of various guns, but it's painful to draw them myself (laughs).

Takeuchi: Mr. Aoki brought the model gun to the studio to paint. This makes us sigh: what a great person.

Liu: yes, yes. A few days ago, while we were discussing the work, Mr. Aoki suddenly left the table. At the time, I thought he was going to the bathroom, but who knew he was actually going to pick up a bullet casing for a reference (laughs). Everyone sighed: he even has this kind of thing!

Q: In the first season, the action director was also in charge of storyboarding for the action scenes, but what about this time?

Takeuchi: It's still very difficult to make the shootout so gorgeous. If you're not careful, it will become a simple painting like "shooting with a gun". Shootouts are also very demanding for performances. From a pictorial point of view, we had to let the audience see the characters running and moving with guns.

Liu: In the first season, everyone was armed with swords, so we were able to draw an array of people fighting. But this time, it's basically only Kirito's gorgeous moves.

Takeuchi: Heck, it's not easy to make the atmosphere lively. My storyboard has changed a lot from the first season, so I'm always worried about "It's okay to draw like this, right?" ”

Liu: There's no such thing. Mr. Takeuchi's storyboard is very interesting. The picture is full of sense and vivid.

Takeuchi: I'm just careful not to let my paintings ruin my worldview.

Liu: I think it's a good storyboard like that. Mr. Takeuchi was also in charge of the original paintings, and he fully integrated the storyboards with the original paintings. That's fantastic.

Takeuchi: In the second half of this series, isn't Mr. Yanagi's expression also quite powerful? I think the whole second half of the whole part feels like "Liu · ON· STAGE: "Oh (laughs).

Q: Mr. Liu's painting effect has always been well received by everyone, so what kind of picture effect did you create for us this time?

Liu: The moment a bullet is fired from the muzzle, it creates flames. Mr. Aoki drew the picture, and I drew the reload and the smoke of gunpowder. However, Mr. Takeuchi was in charge of almost all the correction processes, so I didn't seem to do anything.

Takeuchi: No, no, no, Mr. Yanagi's revised picture will immediately become very handsome.

Q: Both of you are responsible for the painting of some episodes, so which one do you like the most? Please also tell us.

Yanagi: I'm very interested in all the episodes, but if I have to say, it's the second episode. In this episode, Mr. Takeuchi also shines on the painting stage.

Takeuchi: It's all thanks to the relationship between the original artist, animator, art director, colorist, background designer, photographer, and other luxury people.

Liu: Then there's the theme song. The action storyboard of that long shot was vividly interpreted by Mr. Takeuchi.

Takeuchi: Actually, I wasn't in charge of the theme song screen too much, so I was very happy. If you talk about highlights, then all the episodes in which Mr. Yoo served as an action director are highlights. And the most interesting thing in the theme song is the horse.

Q: Horse?

Liu: Oops, yes, I actually said it was a horse (laughs). To draw a horse, it is actually quite difficult. I don't understand why the "dead gun" still rides a horse in a near-future world (laughs).

Q: Which of the two characters would you like to draw the most?

Liu: I've been saying "I'd love to draw Silica" since the first season. But I've always emphasized this, but I wasn't allowed to draw it (laughs).

Takeuchi: Hey~

Yanagi: I'm also in charge of the design of the monster character, but when I was drawing the design of Bina (winged dragon), I used to draw a small Sirika on the screen. I haven't had a chance to draw this character properly (laughs). If I have the chance, I'd like to draw it.

Takeuchi: I want to draw Shino. Although in the action scenes, she showed everyone a strong side, but she also has weaknesses in ordinary times. I'm thinking: I wonder she also has attributes similar to contrasting cuteness, right? I'm working hard to draw for this.

Liu: I also have a strong interest in "dead guns". The plot in the first episode is very interesting. Although it is not a mecha combat, it gives people the feeling of a mecha!

Q: What do you think of Kirito? Although this time Kirito appeared as Kiriko......

Liu: That guy, I don't think I'm a girl. Kirito-kun is Kirito-kun.

Takeuchi: It's not easy to draw this character. No matter how you draw it, it's a boy who comes out of the table. Then I went to Mr. Adachi for advice, and he told me, "It seems that the abec teacher who was the illustrator of the original work had encountered the same situation, and the method was to draw a girl's body first, and then remove the protrusion on the chest." ”

Yanagi: Kirito chose such a character with long hair to play with, and it seems that he likes this type of game.

Q: Is there anything else you can expect from your future work?

Takeuchi: The second half of the book will be amazing. Even the horseback riding character is about to appear.

Liu: For the second half of the battle, I was only uneasy.

Takeuchi: In the second half of the part, it will be fun to pay attention to the horses drawn by Mr. Yanagi (laughs).

Yanagi: Please look forward to Mr. Takeuchi's fresh action scenes.

■Music: Interview with Yuki Kajiura

Story and music, linking the first season to the second season

Q: The long-awaited second season of Sword Art Online has already started. And when Ms. Kajiura heard the news of the second season of zuò, what kind of feelings did she have in her heart?

Kajiura: Even after the first season of the anime aired, I knew that the story of the original work was still going on, so I thought, "It would be nice if we could continue to have a second season." But at the same time, I thought, "If I don't participate in the second season, I guess I'll be lonely (laughs)." And when the producer came to me to discuss, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Q: How was the BGM in the first season made?

Kajiura: Actually, when I was making the music for the first season of zuò, I was very worried at first. Speaking of the art style of Sword Art Online, it's a kind of shining animation screen, and it's very charming. And the style has a very cute feeling, so I hesitated: how do you make the music match the picture? As far as my work is concerned, before I can make the music for this story, I first need to make the music for the zuò PV. And the music in the PV needs to incorporate some of the themes in this article, so I tried to add brass effects to the symphony. But when it comes to the actual finish, the piece feels a little too heavy. When I combined the music with the picture, I wondered, "Does this music really fit the picture?" So I was confused, and I wondered, "What should I do, is it really good to keep the current rhythm of composing?" Later, I discussed music with the production group, and I raised this question at the time: "I was a little too ostentatious and made the music so heavy. "As far as I'm concerned, if the group thinks that "the music doesn't fit the work", then I'm going to build a piece of music that is lighter and more tempo-like. However, it turned out that I was overly worried. Director Tomohiko Ito, Mimi Iwanami and the music director all replied, "No problem. The picture matches the music very well, and there is nothing incongruous. "It seems that I am unfounded. So I was relieved and continued to write other songs in the style of the PV songs. Being able to negotiate with director Ito and director Iwanami at an early stage was also something that meant a lot to me.

Q: After repeated failed attempts, when did you start to feel that the first season's images matched the music?

Kajiura: No matter how hard I try to compose music for any work, I always feel uneasy until I watch the first episode. In the first episode of the first season of Sword Art Online, the scene of Kirito running towards another village at the end of the game is something I still can't forget. The accompaniment to that episode is the song "Swordland" (Kirito's exclusive song). This song is also one of the main themes of "Sword Art Online". And when I saw this episode, I was relieved and thought, "Great. That should work. "I still remember the feeling I felt at that time. In the plot, Kirito is running in the sunset, which makes the picture very impactful, so I think the rhythm and heaviness of the music can also match the tone of the work. And because of that plot, I also began to like Kirito-kun (laughs). And Kirito-kun (episode 2), who teams up with Asuna-chan to fight, is also very stylish. In addition, when the plot of the first time I used the second knife stream (episode 9) was broadcast, I couldn't help but shout excitedly, "Kirito-kun~!! ”

■Music: Interview with Yuki Kajiura

Story and music, linking the first season to the second season

Q: In order to make the second season of zuò, you must have read the original work (volumes 5 and 6) related to the plot of the second season. So what did you think when you read this episode?

Kajiura: "Ghost Bullet" is another very heavy story. However, although the plot is very heavy, I couldn't stop turning the book when I was reading the original work. Because I care too much about the follow-up plot development. And the anime is the same.,Of course, there's a heavy plot.,But I think there's also a rollercoaster-like plot to unfold.。

Q: What kind of style did you use when you made the BGM for the second season of zuò this time?

Kajiura: At the beginning, the director of Iwanami Music told me, "Do it in the style of heavy metal!" After all, the theme song of "GGO" this time is a heavy metal song. According to the setting, from the moment you enter that world, you start playing this style of tune. However, if the effect of heavy metal is too much, it will produce a sense of the times that is too obvious. Then I thought that if I could make a heavy metal music with a slight digital style, would it feel more like a game? So I tried playing in the studio with the members of the band and made a BGM at the same time.

Q: Oh! This time, I recorded BGM with the assistance of the band.

Kajiura: Anyway, we ended up producing a sound that was "heavy metal music-style". If it's heavy metal with a pitch shift, or a piece that's too stiff, then it won't work. So I think it would be more efficient to make zuò with your band mates under such a premise. We recorded about 7~8 tunes in the studio.

Q: What was the recording process like?

Kajiura: When it comes to heavy metal music, we need to create a more natural and cold effect than rock music. And since we hadn't thought much about making a "heavy metal music style" before, we thought it was quite interesting. In addition, the ideas that his companions improvised in the studio were also added to the music.

Q: Are there any songs that have been carried over from the first season?

Kajiura: Since director Ken Yì said, "It's better not to change the main theme of Kirito", the melody of the first season was retained. However, the tempo is slightly faster, and the background music used by the band is added. This is more or less close to the tone of the second season.

Q: So, you've rearranged the songs from the first season?

Kajiura: The music of the first season creates an atmosphere in the middle of the forest, and this genre certainly has a sense of rhythm, but this time (the second season) is full of battle scenes and gunfight scenes, so the rhythm is even more demanding. Therefore, many of the songs that make zuò are reminiscent of the above plot and produce thrilling feelings. And the pace will also be faster. At the end of the day, heavy metal music is easy to blend into the video if it's used as BGM. The sound of the guitar creates a sense of heaviness, as if you see a wall of music rising in front of you. If it can make up a feeling, then I think it's great.

Q: What kind of music did you bring to us when you created the "main theme of the poem"?

Kajiura: I was asked to make a "cold style tune". Although Shino is not an emotionless character, it belongs to the type that does not expose her feelings. And the only emotion that is revealed on the outside is just "coldness". So it was made into a slightly vague and cold style tune. This is also reflected in the relevant tunes during the battle, some of which sound very rhythmic, but cover the rhythm with a cold tune. This kind of song is not a style that can be tear-jerking as soon as it is broadcast, and if you use an analogy, it is as if you are repeating a sentence in a flat tone. This is very different from the "Kirito Main Theme" in the first season in terms of temperature difference.

Q: Which episode of this anime is the one you are most looking forward to?

Kajiura: Naturally, this is still a battle plot. In the first season, there are a lot of handsome and exhilarating battle scenes, but in the second season, there should also be a lot of sweaty battle plots. There are ambushes...... There are also final boss battles, and even life-and-death battles where either you die or I live. So how exactly will these battles come out? I'm sure I'll break out in a cold sweat after reading it. I feel that overall, there will be a lot of battles in this anime. The staff at the site will definitely have a hard time making it, but I'm looking forward to seeing the final image.

Q: What do you think are the characteristics of the BGM of the Sword Art Online series?

Kajiura: Whether it's the first season or the second season, the music of Sword Art Online has to put the "excitement of fantasy style" at the forefront. When the audience looks at the plot "Oooh! When shouting out, the BGM should also reflect "Oh! "The effect of screaming comes. I wanted to be able to make a song like this: when it was time to engage the audience in the story, it would be as if inviting everyone to "Hey, come along" as the music plays. In particular, the events in the story of "Sword Art Online" are very large-scale, and the ups and downs of feelings are also very obvious. Therefore, in "Sword Art Online", when you need to broadcast music, you must express it well, and when you don't need music, you must deliberately suppress the sound. Such yin and yang frustrations must be clearly manifested. I try to make "music that is true to feelings" as much as possible.

Q: It seems that "Sword Art Online" is also very popular abroad, and this second season has achieved the feat of same-day delivery in all countries of the world. How did Ms. Kajiura feel about the overwhelming response to her work?

Kajiura: I play with social media tools like Twitter, and I occasionally come across overseas Sword Art Online fans coming to talk to me. Some of those fans use Spanish, and some of them use Chinese characters to communicate with me...... I think it's a Chinese speaker, but I think it's amazing that there are so many foreigners who come to talk to me about my work. In the second season, there will be same-day delivery abroad...... It's amazing.

Q: From Ms. Kajiura's point of view, what is the appeal of Sword Art Online?

Kajiura: Actually, if there is a game called Sword Art Online, then I will definitely be addicted to it. When it comes to the games I've played, I'm sure they're non-3D versions of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and so on, which can be counted on both hands. But I didn't play much of it, but I was very addicted to these games when I was a student, so I remember it (laughs). Later, I realized that if I played a game, I would never be able to start working, so now I decided not to touch a game again. So, I don't play any online games right now. My dream now is to "give up my job and play an online game until I die (laughs)." "So if I came out of my job with a game like Sword Art Online, I would be ecstatic. If you can fully experience the game world, then it will be a great experience. If it's really confirmed, then I think I'll definitely apply for the closed beta!

Q: In terms of the plot setting of the work, VRMMORPG "Sword Art Online" will be released in 2022. For those of us fans, I still hope that Ms. Kajiura will still be active in the industry at that time.

Kajiura: Hahaha. If you find a player named "FictionJunction", be assured that it will be my name (laughs). I'd like to be a healer-type character and hand out recovery items to players who pass by me. However, I hope that the "Sword Art Online" I will play by then must allow players to go offline normally!

■Interview with director Yu Aoki of firearms painting

Combine the dedication of an artist with a firearm

Q: Mr. Yu Aoki is in charge of the work of firearms painting director in this work, so could you tell us about your appointment in this position?

Aoki: In the past, I used to make a work with a lot of guns as an original artist. At that time, I also fully demonstrated my love for firearms. I think it's more fun to draw a gun than a person, and when I paint, I think "I want to draw this gun this way to look more handsome!" ", while carrying out the work. The firearms director of that work seemed to sense my enthusiasm, so he said, "If it's you, Mr. Aoki, then I'll leave everything to chance." "So I can draw the firearms in all kinds of scenarios as I like. And because of the well-received relationship at that time, I also had the opportunity to become the director of firearms painting in the second season of "Sword Art Online". However, when the zuò team contacted me, I was still excited. It's really exciting to be able to get high marks in your favorite field, and also to be able to draw firearms according to your own ideas under a big headline like Sword Art Online. Combined with my previous experience, this time the work should be easy. Still, when I took the job, I made it the difference between victory and defeat.

Q: When did Mr. Aoki first become fond of firearms?

Aoki: I've loved it since I was very young. Because I'm always fiddling with the ** relationship, even to the point where even my parents are worried about me. Although I was born in Okinawa Prefecture, I still take the New Year's money and pocket money I saved in a year, go to Tokyo, and simply buy a cheap **. As a result, I was stopped as a suspicious person at the airport back to Okinawa (laughs). From elementary school to college, I basically lived this life. And after I went to Tokyo, I participated in survival games every month.

Q: What kind of work is the so-called firearms painting director responsible for?

Aoki: I think if an ordinary person draws a firearm, then he should just treat the gun as a prop. But if you're a fan of firearms, you'll think, "This gun is very stylish at this angle," and "If you light it here and make the curves look clear, it will definitely look handsome." "That's why I'm obsessed with this feeling, and that's why I paint. For example, people with a sweet tooth tend to draw cakes that are very delicious. It's very similar to what we do.

Q: The array of guns that appeared in the work this time will definitely make the audience crazy?

Aoki: That's right. If people who are not familiar with firearms tend to like to get a batch of weapons that look large, but this work deliberately chooses some guns that are different from that type. Of course, when we were making zuò, we couldn't find any information, so we also suffered a lot. This time, I brought 7~8 model guns to the studio as a reference material for painting. In addition, I have taken a variety of shells from home to use as a reference.

Q: How did you get such valuable information on firearms?

Aoki: On Japanese websites, almost all of them are about **. And if you want to get the relevant number of real guns, then you have to go to the English website. Also, the one I visit most often is the animation website. Those sites will feature valuable firearms in the form of animations. Depending on the actual situation, I sometimes even refer to the timing of the operation of the firearm when I paint.

Q: So do you go for a storyboard?

Aoki: As someone who knows a lot about real guns, I sometimes have to give my opinion. For example, "this gun cannot be shot in this way", "this action should be added when shooting with this gun", and so on. Of course, in this case, sometimes the storyboard will take the initiative to ask me for advice.

Q: Hey~ So you're going to adjust the storyboard, right?

Aoki: Yes. At the end of the day, firearms have a fixed reload limit. For example, a rifle can hold about 30 rounds. If you shoot continuously with this gun, you will have to "take a break" after 30 rounds and replace it with a new magazine. However, director Tomohiko Ito and Shingo Adachi sometimes asked, "Anyway, I want to create an atmosphere where the bullets are raining." It is hoped that continuous shooting will be carried out in about 10 seconds. At that time, I would say, "Then, the firearm you choose needs to be able to hold about 100 rounds of ammunition." This kind of equipment is also available. ”

Q: In addition to the work described above, you should also check the drawing of firearms.

Aoki: Firearms are meant to come into contact with human skin, so the surface has curved surfaces that adapt to the human body. However, it is very difficult to represent such a surface through guò shadows and lines, from the perspective of painting. I was able to draw firearms so handsomely, thanks to the coloring and photography staff. You can't finish a handsome pistol with the power of painting alone.

Q: Which gun did Mr. Aoki most want to draw in this work?

Aoki: It's the "black star" that has become the most important keyword in the work. This gun is the weapon used by the "dead gun", and it is also inextricably linked to Shino's past. Since it is a pistol, it increases the chances of many close-ups. So when drawing this gun, the amount of information required also increases. After all, the ratio between the pistol and the hand is not easy to control. If you only make the pistol look bigger, then it will look out of place.

Q: What do you think of Hecate II?

Aoki: Since the Hecate II is a very large gun, the main thing is to use a zoomed-out lens. We value the overall silhouette more than the details. I don't think it's so much about depicting Hecate II as it is about the stark contrast between it and Shino.

Q: What shots have left a lasting impression on you?

Aoki: I wanted to be careful with every shot in order not to make mistakes, and I worked especially the firearms in the fourth episode. That shot is also the scene where Kirito shoots with a firearm for the first time. When we portray him, we have to pay attention to his sense of confusion because he is not good at using this weapon. And in the second episode, I went all out to portray the Gatling gun. If you can't show the power of the firearm, then it will make the audience feel that the enemy is weak. I once weakly asked the director, "Can I do this in 3D?" (laughs), and the director's answer was, "Use it to solve problems with drawing." So I made up my mind to make the guns reflect a sense of scarcity. And through the portrayal of the gun, the strength of the characters is reflected.

Q: This is a contest between painting and 3D. It's a lot of fun!

Aoki: If it was a few years ago, I thought that "only gun fanatics can see the way" anyway, so there would be no need to pursue harsh effects. However, in recent years, many people have started playing first-person shooters even in Japan, so the number of people interested in firearms has increased. Then I can't relax and think, "No one can understand it anyway, just figure it out", but let those people feel that the guns in the work are very powerful when they watch "Sword Art Online". In order to achieve this level, I also wake myself up all the time and paint.