The TV anime series "Arsnova-", which aired in October 2013, revolves around the "mental model" formed by the battleship itself, depicting one breathless fleet naval battle after another, as well as one touching scene after another. Not only that, the whole animation work is made in a full CG imitation hand-drawn way, and the smart characters and detailed fleet modeling in the work not only surprised animation fans, but also attracted the attention of the whole animation industry!

In 2015, "The Sound of Blue Steel" will return to people's eyes in the form of the first and second chapters of the theatrical version. The first part of the theatrical version - "The Theatrical Version of Blue Steel-ARSNOVA-DC" has been officially released a few days ago, the work consists of the total episode of the TV animation series and the 40-minute completely new content, I believe that countless "Canggang" fans must be looking forward to what kind of finale the animated version will usher in!

Recently, the Japanese media "Anime! Anime！ "ArkPerformance", the original creator of "Blue Steel", interviewed his original manga, the critically acclaimed TV series, and the theatrical version of his new work. Tencent Animation Channel will send you a full translation of this interview, so let's look forward to "Canggang" bringing us supreme emotion again!

Note: The creative team "ArkPerformance" is mainly composed of Kaiichi Ishikawa and Kenji Mitsuyoshi. Kenji Mitsuyoshi calls himself "No. 1" and is mainly responsible for painting, while Kenji Mitsuyoshi calls himself "No. 2" and is mainly responsible for story creation. In addition, from time to time, other writers join on a temporary basis to share the heavy workload.

1. The birth opportunity of "The Seryin of Blue Steel".

INTERVIEWER The successful animation of "The Sound of Blue Steel" is a veritable popular manga, can you please tell us how our work was born? I remember that in the epilogue of the first volume of the manga monograph, the two of them once said, "I thought of several projects, and it was this "Canggang" that was finally serialized.

Number two: To be honest, we didn't really think about creating an original work at first. At that time, we were mostly drawing adaptations of original works, and they were well received by readers, so we didn't plan to create original works that were much riskier. However, Mr. Noguchi, the editor, told us, "Why don't you just draw something original?" He also invited us out to dinner and discuss work several times. We tried to conceive an original piece and submit it to the magazine YOUNGKINGOURs.

INTERVIEWER Was that how you got the motivation to conceive your work?

No. 2: Yes, we've been working mainly on science fiction and machine comics, so we thought about working on that basis. The other thing is that we decided from the beginning that we definitely had girls on the stage. In the 80s, the combination of machine qì works and girl characters was very popular, but in the era when we conceived "Canggang", it was rare to see such a match, so I planned to conceive a "machine qì + girl" work based on this. If you use the sky as the stage, there was already "Strike Witch" at that time; Tanks and tanks are easier to draw, but I was worried that there were similar works in other places, and I was a warship enthusiast myself, so I finally said, "Although it is difficult to draw a battleship, there will definitely be no one else to draw this."

INTERVIEWER When did you talk about that?

One: Probably 2009. In 2008, the year before the series began, we had a monthly meeting with the editors, but it was mostly small talk, so we didn't really make much progress. In this way, the project of "Canggang" was conceived quickly. Suddenly, we sent it to the editorial office, and the chief editor approved the project without saying a word.

2. The goal is to create a new work with the theme of "Battleship + Girl".

INTERVIEWER In terms of the original work, how long was the initial idea?

No. 1: At the beginning, we started the creation with the premise that the story would end in a single three-volume manga, because we didn't want the story to end in the middle of the story, so we decided on the ending before we started the work. Later, the editorial team agreed that we should aim for three volumes. If you look at the content of the original work, it's probably the place where the "Battle against Kong" ended. On the other hand, we also considered the situation that we need to continue creating if the popularity is very high, so we also thought about the plot later.

No. 2: Although the goal was to have three volumes, in fact, after three volumes, even the fourth volume was created, and then there was good news about animation. So in fact, it was only in the fifth volume that we finally made up our minds to write this work to the end.

One: Actually, the content of the three-volume manga book is just a movie. I created this story with the mentality of "creating a movie".

INTERVIEWER Do you mean that the goal of the work was to adapt it into an image from the beginning?

No. 1: I should say that I wanted to create a work that would not shame me even if it was adapted for video.

No. 2: I would like to create a manga that can't be expressed in animation.

INTERVIEWER After the serialization began, the work attracted a lot of readers' attention, what do you think is the main reason for this?

No. 2: I have thought of a lot of plans, and I want to provide readers with an unprecedented picture of "battleship + girl". The idea of a girl standing on a battleship came to my mind, but I quickly abandoned it. That's because, I think if I was a little bit wrong, it would make the whole work a funny manga. But then I thought about it and couldn't think of a good plan, and when I suddenly looked back, I told No. 1 about the plan that I had abandoned.

One: At that time, Number Two said to me, "Let's try to draw it."

No. 2: After seeing No. 1's paintings, I think it's very good. Moreover, in particular, girls and battleships can have their own descriptions, which is very attractive. So far, no one has ever tried to connect the two in this way, so I thought that was what I was after.

INTERVIEWER Just now, the two of you said that they didn't expect the work to be adapted into a video one day, so when did the animation project actually start?

No. 2: We first received an anime project in the spring of 2011, some time before the release of the third manga monograph. At that time, it was the people of "flyingDOG" who came into contact with us.

INTERVIEWER When you received the idea to animate your work, how did you feel at the time?

Number 2: Of course, it's very happy that people admit that we have created a good work. As a result, we received animation proposals from several companies, and we chose the one that best captured the charm of the ship and developed it into the project that you see today. We were very interested in the full CG production of the animation company SANZIGEN, which is one of the reasons why we chose it.

3. Shouldering the future of 3DCG

——We know that SANZIGEN is an animation company that specializes in making all CG products, what do you think after watching the animated version of "Canggang" made of CG?

One: I'm mainly interested in the music and sound. Because these are things that can't be expressed in the original work, when I watched it, I silently thought in my heart: "The sound effect must not be as good as the animation." Also, didn't we just say that we wanted to create a work that can't be expressed in animation? The construction of the ships drawn with this in mind is very high, and the animation is well restored to this, and there are also action scenes where the battleship is deformed and merged, so I believe that Mr. Hiroshi Adachi of Sanzigen must have had a headache when making zuò (laughs). We are very grateful to him for producing such a high level of ship modeling!

- No matter which battleship it is, the visual impact is very strong.

One: I also think that mechanical classes really have to move to give people a strong visual impact. What I remember the most is the tenth episode of the TV series, the scene between Iona and Kaohsiung is really touching, the script and video are very well done, I can't help but sigh: "There is such a possibility in Canggang!" ”

INTERVIEWER I'd like to ask No. 2, I know that you've been involved in the production of the anime "Sogang" since the planning stage, so I guess you have a deep connection with the anime version of the production of zuò.

Number two: That's true when it came to TV series. I wanted to see for myself what the animation production was like, and I was personally interested in the new technology of full 3DCG. Although I have promised to let the other party take full responsibility for the system, I, as the original author, still want to see what they are doing. Director Seiji Kishi said that he wanted to "open a big hole in the animation industry", so I was eager to see what he wanted to break and how.

INTERVIEWER What did you get from the field?

No. 2: I've always attended the planning meeting for the anime "Sogang", but I don't have the pride to think that I can grasp the essence of the animation industry just by attending the conference. It's hard for me to say what exactly was broken, without asking Director Seiji Kishi (laughs). However, some time ago, I was lucky enough to meet director Seiji Mizushima, and it happened to be when he was working on "Paradise Chase". He smiled and said to me, "Thanks to your work, the production of "Paradise Chase" has become much more difficult." I think this is probably a "big hole" in the mouth of director Seiji Kishi.

No. 1: The animation of "Canggang" actually shoulders a lot of things. For example, if an all-CG TV anime series suffers a setback here, it may be equivalent to closing the door to the future. When we see the look of the people who make the system seriously and do not allow failure, we also want to do our part to assist them to complete the system as much as possible.

- The animation of "Canggang" has taken a completely different route from the original manga from the middle of the way.

No.1: We've been involved in a lot of media expansion projects so far, and every time we accept a commission, we say, "We won't destroy the worldview of the work, and if we can give us the freedom to do so, we'll accept the commission." We thought that we would be able to make better works in this way, so when we first met director Seiji Kishi and Mr. Seito Kamie (script coordinator), we told them, "Please give free rein to your imagination."

Fourth, the enthusiasm that wants to give the animation an ending

INTERVIEWER The TV series has been aired, how do you feel about it after watching it?

Number 2: Breathe a sigh of relief (laughs)! As the original manga and the anime of "Sogang" created by Seiji Kishi and Makoto Uee Susu, I, as the storyteller of the original work, have always wanted to be able to connect the two works in a way that is both the same and different in the most natural way possible. Looking back after the anime aired, I'm glad I managed to do it myself!

- There are 40 minutes of new plot in the theatrical version of the new work, what are you expecting from this?

No. 2: Regarding the theatrical version of the new work, I only provided the design drawings of the ship, and basically left it to the other party to create freely. So I'm not really sure what's new (laughs). I hope to look forward to this theatrical version with all the fans.

INTERVIEWER Won't you try to predict what director Seiji Kishi will do?

No. 1: Because we all like to enjoy new works with the audience, we don't have to guess anything.

No. 2: "Making a CG TV animation opens a big hole in the animation industry", I think this challenge can be said to have reached a certain level, so this time we plan to concentrate on the original work, and we don't plan to interfere with the production of the theatrical version. In fact, after the TV broadcast, we didn't expect the next project to start so soon. The theatrical version of the project was realized thanks to the enthusiasm of the entire system, led by director Seiji Kishi, who "wanted to give the animation "Canggang" an ending. When we learned about the project, we just said, "Well, let's give the anime a happy ending."

——For the two of you, what kind of work is the original "Canggang"?

One: I feel like we've done a work that doesn't exist anywhere else. Battleships and maidens, there are very few comics in this category, probably only our "Blue Steel Seryin".

No. 2: This is our first original work, and we never thought it would be serialized to this day. It's like walking in a completely unknown world, and you may feel a little uneasy, but you will be happy when you find a solution. I think that when this story comes to an end, it will definitely be a work that we will never forget.

INTERVIEWER Finally, a word or two would you like to say to all of you who are looking forward to the theatrical release.

No. 1: The whole system is full of enthusiasm for "wanting to give the story a happy ending", and I also ask the audience to pay attention to what kind of ending each character will usher in. We at ArkPerformance are also looking forward to the theatrical release with all of you!

Number 2: 3DCG is a world that is constantly changing. The theatrical version of the new work will definitely bring us a completely different impression from the TV series. Not only is the picture more beautiful, but the sound has also evolved from stereo to surround sound, which is very powerful, so please enjoy it!

Brief introduction of the work "The Sound of Blue Steel":

This work was originally called "蒼き鋼のアルペジオ" in Japanese, also known as "The Arpeggio of Blue Steel" in Chinese, created by ArkPerformance, and serialized in "YOUNGKINGOURs" (published by Shonen Pictorial) since September 2009. To date, a total of 10 volumes of manga have been published. On May 29, 2013, it was announced that the animation would be launched, and it would be broadcast in the fall of the same year and won several awards at the "Animation Awards 2014". In July 2014, it was announced that the first and second parts of the theatrical version would be released in 2015. The first part of the theatrical version, "ARSNOVA-DC", has been officially released nationwide on January 31, 2015, and the second part of the theater version, "ARSNOVA-Cadenza", has been announced to be released nationwide on October 3, 2015.

About the original author: ArkPerformance:

ArkPerformance, is the pen name shared by two manga artists, Koichi Ishikawa and Kenji Mitsuyoshi. Ishikawa is the narrator and Mitsuyoshi is the painter, with Mitsuyoshi calling himself No. 1 and Ishikawa calling himself No. 2, but the number of people who share a pseudonym varies due to the occasional participation of co-workers other than the two of them. He has adapted a number of human and sci-fi manga works, and is currently serialized with his original work "The Sound of Blue Steel" and the adaptation "Mobile Suit Gundam MSV-R Johnny Lytin's Return".

This concludes this interview with ArkPerformance, the original author of "The Sound of Blue Steel", thank you for reading. In the future, Tencent Animation Channel will continue to provide you with more and more exciting information, so stay tuned!