Studio Colorido, the animation company that is currently attracting attention from young creators, has released its latest original theatrical anime "Typhoon Norda" for three weeks last Friday (June 5).

Now, we would like to present an interview with Yojiro Arai, who made his directorial debut as a director in "Noorda" by Studio Ghibli, who has experience in animating Zuò with popular works such as Studio Ghibli's "Arietti Borrower", "Poppy Blooming Hillside", and "The Wind Rises". Let's hear what he has to say about this work.

■The opportunity is "Symphonic Psalm" and "pixiv"

INTERVIEWER What made you want to get involved in animation?

Yojiro Arai (Arai): When I was in my second or third year of high school, I watched "Symphonic Psalm Eureka Seven" (2005), and the whole picture was like a finished painting, a very colorful and beautiful anime. At that time, I learned that Kenichi Yoshida was the person who was responsible for the character design in this work, and I searched his information and found that "it turned out to be such a human system", which gave me the idea of entering the animation world for the first time. During my research with Yoshida, I learned that he was born in Studio Ghibli, and I had a firm belief that I would not think anything other than Ghibli. After graduating from high school, I decided to go to an animation college. Now that I think about it, it's really a very simple idea...... (laughs)

INTERVIEWER Do you usually watch anime?

Arai: I sometimes watch famous anime such as "AKIRA" (1988), which was recommended by a friend, but I didn't actively watch anime before. Thinking about it this way, I was still quite influenced by the Symphonic Psalms. At that time, I was in a period of confusion about what to do in the future, and the symphonic psalms also had a lot of youthful features, which probably resonated with me.

INTERVIEWER How did you make the jump from Studio Ghibli Card to StudioColorido?

Arai: In the theatrical version of the anime released during the Ghibli era, I have been working as an animation producer for a long time, starting with "Arietti the Borrowed Villain" and "The Wind Rises". At a time when I was quite depressed, Ishida (Yuyasu) (the supervisor of "Miko's Confession" and "Sunny Rain") told me that StudioColorido was working on a new anime and invited me to participate. I was so grateful that I decided to quit Ghibli.

INTERVIEWER How did you meet Superintendent Yuyasu Ishida?

Arai: The illustration submission site "pixiv" became popular when I was studying at a vocational school, and Ishida-kun and I both published our works on it. And we both have blogs, so it becomes a relationship between netizens.

I entered the "West Ghibli" (a limited-time studio set up in the Toyota Motor Corporation in Aichi Prefecture. It opened in 2009, but it is now closed) When I was studying, Ishida had already published "Miko's Confession" (2009), which was really amazing. I was also the one who wanted to prove myself by something, and I thought it was fun to animate.

After that, when I asked Ishida about how to make zuò in the later stage and how to make it digitally, we talked about the topic of "when we can make it together". I invited him to participate in the "Online Original Zuò Maker Symposium", and we met for the first time in Shinjuku at that time, and we felt more compatible after meeting. After that, I was invited to work at Colorido Studio.

■ "Typhoon Nolda" is a story that transcends the relationship between men and women

INTERVIEWER How did you decide to be the director of "Typhoon's Norda"?

Arai: After the end of "Rain in the Sunshine" (2013), I was thinking about what I was going to do next, because he said that he wanted to try to make an anime on his own, so he asked me to do it. I wanted to make zuò with a lot of subjects, but I've always wanted to use typhoons since the Ghibli era, so I drew a picture and uploaded it to Pixiv. As a result, the producer was brought in for that painting, and the theme of the production of zuò typhoon was also decided.

INTERVIEWER What was the motivation for using typhoons as a theme for animation?

Arai: When I was a child, I thought it would be an incredible feeling when a typhoon came. I think it would be interesting to express the strange feelings of excitement and anticipation in the form of animation.

INTERVIEWER Do you have a scene you'd like to highlight in particular?

Arai: A scene of a conversation between Shuichi Higashi and Kenta Saijo. There are already a lot of animations that depict the relationship between men and women, so I don't think I need to spend more time on this. What I would like to see most is a scene where the relationship between the two collides. The same is true of the quarrel at the beginning, and although there is a scene at the end where Higashi and Saijo confide in each other, I still want to see the collision scene between such boys.

INTERVIEWER The voice actors of this work are all actors. What is the reason for not inviting a dedicated voice actor to star?

Arai: At first, I wanted to have a lifelike performance, so I discussed it with the producer, and they said, "Then let's invite an actor to play it." "Because I got such a building, I invited Shuhei Nomura, Kaneko Daichi, and Kiyohara Goya to voice the main characters. In my own mind, at first, I thought that Higashi should be more delicate, but after the recording, this feeling changed. It became the east of Mr. Nomura. Actually, that's pretty good.

■The goal is to create an environment where people who want to create have the opportunity to create!

INTERVIEWER What kind of work would you like to take on in the future?

Arai: Even though this is a short story of about 20 minutes long, I feel like I've added too many thoughts to it. Ishida-kun's remark that "because it's a short story, there's only a limit to what you can do" has been ringing in my head, but anime isn't something that can be made by one person. In the process of making zuò with other people, a lot of things that I wanted to express naturally appeared. Although the deletions have been made, the results may still be too much.

I wanted to make something perfect, so I wanted to complete the "incomplete burning" part of "Typhoon no Norda". Everyone worked very the picture side of the work, so it was very well done. For the direction of this anime, I think the script is very important. In the next work, I will strengthen this part and try to make a work that can be enjoyed by more people.

INTERVIEWER What are your impressions of being a supervisor for the first time?

Arai: This time, "Typhoon Nolda" follows the company's usual digital zuò style, but there are not many staff members who can do digital zuò, and the schedule is very tight, which is a very challenging work for Colorido Studio. As a result, it is still with the help of external forces, and it seems that the digital system has not penetrated deeply in the animation industry, so there are not many foreign aid to look for, and I feel very difficult. Although the work started almost unprepared, the staff was recruited one after another. Fortunately, everyone made this work smooth lì output.

INTERVIEWER What kind of studio do you think StudioColorido is?

Arai: I've also struggled at Ghibli, so I thought it would be nice if I could give young people more opportunities. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to create opportunities for the younger generation, just like asking me to be a supervisor? Let those who want to create get creative opportunities. Of course, it is necessary to hire people based on their talents. I think it's good if the people at the top of the company don't solidify and create a circular organization, and the company can embrace diversity.

INTERVIEWER Finally, what is the existence of animation for the superintendent?

Arai: I think animation is one of the devices that conveys something you want to express. But in addition to animation, a picture or an article can also have the same effect, and the advantage of animation is that it is a work created by everyone. This is especially the idea that I came up with as a director, and I added a lot of things that I didn't think of before. At this time, the benefits of making zuò with many people are revealed. By bringing together each person's unique ideas and adding them to the animation, you can make it look new. This work is the crystallization of everyone's wisdom. Through "Typhoon Nolda", I had the feeling that "animation is an interesting thing for everyone to make zuò together".

- Thank you very much.

■Works related

"Typhoon Nolda"

June 5, 2015 (Friday) will start the nationwide special screening for 3 weeks

Supervision: Yojiro Arai

Character design, art supervision: Yuyasu Ishida

CG supervision: Norihiko Miyoshi

Art Director: Mika Nishimura

Color design: のぼりはるこ (绯和)

Director of Photography: Mitsuhiro Sato

Editor: Hiroshi Okuda

Music: Masashi Hamakumaki

Sound supervision: Tetsu Motoyama

Planning and production: Fuji TV, TWINENGINE

Animation: StudioColorido

Rationing: Toho Imaging Division