Masaaki Yuasa x Choi Young-eun! The golden combination takes you closer to the new work

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Recently, the world-class popular work "Adventure Treasure" will open a new chapter. To commemorate the broadcast of this new work, "FoodChain", which is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, is also broadcast for the first time in Japan. "FoodChain" has been nominated for several anime awards, and it is also a classic not to be missed by fans of Masaaki Yuasa.

Recently, some Japanese media interviewed director Yuasa and the producer of the work, Zuò Cui Yingen, who will exchange views on the charm of "Adventure Living Treasure" and the inside story of the production of Zuò.

■After reading the character design, I thought, "I want to become a producer"

Q: Congratulations on being a candidate for the Annie Award. "FoodChain" was produced by director Yuasa and Ms. Choi Yeong-eun, so what roles did both of them play in the work?

Yuasa: Thank you for the compliment. The division of labor between the two of us varies depending on the work, but in "Adventure Treasure", I was in charge of directing the plot and plot, while Ms. Choi Yeong-eun was involved as a producer, and she was in charge of setting up and managing the studio, arranging the staff, and giving instructions in English.

WE FOUNDED SCIENCESARU TO BE ABLE TO TAKE OVER THIS KIND OF WORK. However, many of the staff members are from overseas, and I don't know English, so I asked Ms. Choi Yeong-eun a lot about this.

Q: It seems that the U.S. manufacturing team thinks that if it is not in the name of the company, it is very unreliable.

Yuasa: It's okay to work in your own name, but if you don't have a mechanism for creating works, then no one will ask you for an assignment. So I created the company with Ms. Cui Yingen, and the company construction and management were handed over to Ms. Cui Yingen.

Q: Ms. Choi Young-eun is a creator herself, so where did she get her experience as a producer?

Cui Yingen: This is the first time I've done this work. In the past, I used to manage the whole situation as a director at AnkamaJapan, but if I wanted to be more serious about the overall situation, I would like to work as I do now.

Yuasa: So, when I felt that I couldn't set up a company, I asked her, "Can you do it?" Then she replied, "Yes." "So, let's get moving!" ”

Q: In episode 9 of "Space☆Dandy", I was surprised to find out that Choi Yeong-eun was in charge of the art design and guest design. And when I learned that you were now working as a producer, I was even more surprised.

Choi Yeong-eun: At that time, the schedules of "Space☆Dandy" and "Adventure Treasure" coincided, and it was very hard (laughs).

Yuasa: While being in charge of a lot of work, I also established this company.

Q: Director Yuasa has also participated in the production of "Crayon Shin-chan" before, so what do you think is worth caring about about this kind of animation aimed at children?

Yuasa: First of all, it's easy to understand, which goes without saying, but "Adventure Treasure" is a little cooler, with some surrealist parts, so it won't be as easy to understand as Japanese children's animation.

But then I wondered, should I make the picture seem simple? This question has always revolved around my creative process. "What step is OK?" I made a decision on this question while observing the reactions of everyone in the group. Compared to Japan, there is a strict definition of what children should not see, and if the theme of "food chain" is made as "you can't live without eating alien," you will inevitably be retorted, "How can you use stool?" (laughs). Also, when you are eating, insects come out all of a sudden, and you will see unpleasant things such as internal organs, so you need to change the color. That's what happened anyway.

Cui Yingen: Unlike Cartoon Network (a broadcasting medium), there is a censorship agency abroad that evaluates the works. Even if the production team thinks it's OK, they say "NG" after checking, so the creators have to try their best to explain the situation to each other.

Q: When you think back to the concept of the food chain, it seems that you have said it before. So where exactly does this theme come into the work?

Yuasa: Sometimes we see posters at butcher shops that show a cute pig. But this pig is food. As a child, I had doubts about this kind of thing and felt that it was contradictory. However, this is not particularly clear. And when I grew up, this sense of confusion still existed in my heart. Although we all had confusing questions when we were children, due to the different environments, the ideas of the people were completely different. When you grow up, this difference becomes interesting. And this time, I just want to be able to make a story like zuò.

Q: After watching FoodChain, children may be thinking, "What if I could become food?" ”

Yuasa: Although they will feel some senses, what I expect is the eventual reversal, that is, the children will think, "But so what? "It's really boring to think about this~." This feeling is very much like the flavor of "Adventure Treasure", right? After all, it's a kind of surrealist development.

Q: What is the biggest charm of "Adventure Treasure"?

Yuasa: It's very obvious in terms of personality. No matter what the character is, it's very interesting both on the outside and on the inside. And after watching our zuò, the audience will also give a positive response: "It's nice to be able to make this work" and "I hope I can become a member of the zuò group".

Although there are also characters like this in Japan, if this kind of thing appears in the anime, it may not sell the works. "hellokitty" should be considered a work that is very close to us, and "Adventure Treasure" gives people the feeling that Kitty is on an adventure. However, in Japan, fantasy works have to have a fantasy look, and anime has a tendency to pursue a realistic route.

Q: Each character is cute and full of personality, so what is your favorite character?

Yuasa: It's still Jack. It can do all kinds of transformations, and it's a great way to change things. When I read the album, I also think it's the most enjoyable. And Jack should also have a good impression in the hearts of fans.

Cui Yingen: What I like is Fen. It has a gentle heart, and never boasts of saying, "Lao Tzu is a hero!" "Really an ordinary and gentle child. I guess you can feel some realism from it, too.

Q: Finally, would you like to tell you a little bit about the readers?

Yuasa: This work will be broadcast on January 3, so if you have a chance, you can watch it. In addition, this day's program will also have an overall understanding of the plot of the previous "Adventure Treasure", even those who have never seen the work may wish to contact it.

Cui Yingen: This is something we worked hard to make Zuò, and I hope everyone can enjoy watching it. This time, we used a different production method than the previous "Adventure Treasure", making it a FLASH animation. So how is this anime different from the previous series? It would be more fun if you could see the difference while watching!

"Kuroko's Basketball" Season 3 starring voice actor testimonial

The recording of the first episode of the third season of the TV anime "Kuroko's Basketball" has ended, and the main voice actors took a group photo after the recording, and they all expressed their thoughts on the third season. Now that the group photos and impressions have been released on the official website of the anime, let's take a closer look.

Tetsuya Kuroko: Kensho Ono

INTERVIEWER Please share your thoughts on the recording. What's the atmosphere like?

Very warm! Because it was immediately followed by Season 2, it was a continuation of Guild Wars from the beginning. This time, as in Season 1 and Season 2, the atmosphere was very lively. There's a real feeling of "Ah, I'm finally back."