The news of the TV animation of the classic manga "Tide and Tiger", which was serialized in "Weekly Shonen SUNDAY", immediately aroused heated discussions among netizens, and one of the members involved in the animation project of "Tide and Tiger" was the record company "Tokuma Japan Communications", which has retired from the animation industry for many years.

"Tokuma Japan Communications" was a long-established record label that used to be the royal partner of Studio Ghibli's productions, but it has since faded out of the animation industry. Now that Studio Ghibli is in its last years, Tokuma is making a comeback, which is undoubtedly a big news in the industry.

At present, there are two animation works related to this company that have been released, one is "Inspiration! The TV animation version is scheduled to be broadcast from April, and the other is "Tide and Tiger", which has just been announced as a TV animation.

In the following interview, you will see the introduction of the two works and their thoughts on the future development of Shinagawa, an executive officer in charge of the company's "AProject" (Animation Business Preparation Office), and Shinoji Sekizawa of the one-episode publicity headquarters.

Shinagawa Jikimun: Executive officer of Tokuma Japan Communications Co., Ltd. Director of the Publicity Headquarters and Director of the 1st Department of the Propaganda Headquarters. Artists in charge: SonarPocket, BUCK-TICK, Muscle Girl Belt, Ruodanna, Sincere Brothers.

Shinji Sekizawa: Director of AProject of the first production department of the zuò production headquarters of Tokuma Japan Communications Co., Ltd. Participated works: "Blue Dragon", "Governess", "Infinite Dweller", "Reversal Oversight", "Sengoku Otome", etc.

――Tokuma Japan Communications has released soundtracks for "Legend of the Galaxy" and Studio Ghibli in the past, but how did you think about entering the animation industry again?

Sekizawa: Well, since October 2001, when our head office changed from Tokuma Shoten to Daiichi Kosho, I haven't been involved in animation production for a long time.

Shinagawa: This is my fifth year at the company. When I first joined the company five years ago, I needed to start a new business, so I thought of finding inspiration in the DNA of "Tokuma Japan", and I came up with anime. Because I've worked for several record labels, I feel that doing things that don't go against the company's DNA doesn't end well.

――What is DNA?

Shinagawa: It's like school spirit, for example. Take high school as an example, although every 3 years there will be a new group of people, but the school spirit will be preserved. In fact, there is something similar in the company. It was Tokuma Japan that created Japan's first rock record label, as well as the punk brand. A recent example is "Perfume". I was at another company when they debuted, but I still admire this thorough approach. The only one who can achieve this extreme edge style is Tokuma Japan. The same is true for this work, which is possible thanks to the company's DNA.

Sekizawa: It wouldn't have been so smooth for another company.

――Mr. Shinagawa, have you ever worked on animation before?

Shinagawa: This is the first time. That's why I recruited Guan Ze, who had worked in Poli Jiayin for about 1 year, to come in.

――Now that the company has set up an animation business preparation room "AProject", how long will it take to prepare?

Shinagawa: I've been preparing for it since two and a half years ago. The first step is to find a good work, and the question is whether the copyright owner is willing to hand over the rights to the production to a company that is just starting out. In this process, our most fortunate positive attitude was recognized by everyone, and we got "Tide and Tiger" at the beginning. Next, it entered the substantive work stage, so Guan Ze, who had actual achievements, was recruited to come in, and the work was carried out step by step.

――The news of the large-scale project "Tide and Tiger" has been announced, can you tell us more about it?

Shinagawa: A lot of things have already been decided, but the only thing that can be released now is this summer, so please keep an eye out for additional details in the future. Also released a little earlier than "Tide and Tiger" is "Inspiration", which has been airing since April.

――So, what is the appeal of "Inspiration"?

Sekizawa: I guess it's the content of the work. is very deep, it will definitely make people cry once in two episodes, and the audience's mood will fluctuate violently. Considering that this work should be a turning point, I chose it. "It's funny and at the same time it's connected to people and spirits", and the work depicts these aspects in such a delicate way that the audience will want to buy and collect them after seeing these places.

――Last winter, there was a booth at Comiket, what was the response from visitors?

Sekizawa: We participated in the exhibition in order to promote the return of Tokuma Japan to the animation industry with "Inspiration". The anime, which only aired in April, was announced at the end of December of the previous year, and there are many fans of the original work, so I want to thank everyone. This work should slowly be liked by the audience, and in this sense, after the official broadcast, it will be the moment of the showdown.

――What age group is it targeting?

Sekizawa: The original work of Fangbunsha, broadcast on TBS, can be associated with works such as "Do You Want Some Rabbits Today" and "Light Girl", which are almost these audiences. The core market group is male audiences. However, because the story of the work is strong and the characters are cute, it should be able to attract some female audiences. From this point of view, the idea is "H-free, and we hope to sell it more widely".

――You're responsible for selling DVDs and CDs, right?

Sekizawa: Yes. The situation of "Inspiration" is different, the theme song is from another company, and basically we are responsible for the theme song, character songs and other musical things, as well as video discs.

Shinagawa: There are also musical events such as character song concerts.

――Even now, collaboration on anime theme songs is very attractive in attracting new users.

Shinagawa: Yes. The status quo is that "collaboration in animation is one of the truly effective collaborations." "Collaboration that used to be a winning weapon in the music industry is now difficult to work again." In such an environment, it is generally believed that the effect of cooperation with animation is very significant. More than 10% of the top 200 anime-related character songs and soundtracks on the Oricon chart. If you add the theme song, this number is even more staggering.

――What are your plans for future theme song collaborations?

Shinagawa: Most of the singer albums we have released are women-oriented works, and we want to move closer to this in the future, so we also choose works that are easy to attract female users when making zuò anime.

――Will you sign new artists in the future?

Shinagawa: Yes, when signing a new artist, we also consider the affinity with anime.

――Will "AProject" establish a series and develop in the direction of the brand?

Shinagawa: There already is, and the series is called "S3". Anime-related merchandise from 2015 onwards will be included in the series. S has multiple meanings, representing multiple words that start with S, "success", "succession", and "stimulus".

Sekizawa: At the same time, people who know about the Tokuma brand will naturally know about it and hope to get their support as well. It's the 50th anniversary.

――In recent works, there has been a partnership between people in the industry to share the danger, will you do the same?

Sekizawa: Yes. IN FACT, THE THEME SONG OF "INSPIRATION" WAS HANDED OVER TO KINGRECORDS, AND THE REST WAS PRODUCED BY OUR COMPANY ITSELF. The operation method should be decided according to the actual situation of the work. In most cases, the formation of the [production committee] is premised on the extra (money) of the DVD producer, and everyone is looking for new ways. It will definitely be more diverse in the future.

-- As for the direction of future development, you mentioned earlier that you will focus on the women's market. So must there be an original work? Do you do original animation?

Sekizawa: There are no special restrictions. If we can cultivate singers who are popular with male audiences, everyone will be happy, and I may consider becoming a voice actor idol derived from "Inspiration" in the future. We will consider non-publications, such as games, and originals.

――Do you have any unique practices that no other company has done?

Shinagawa: Other companies have already done this, but we are considering "making the singer who sings the theme song more organically integrated with the anime," such as having the singer participate in the work as a voice actor or appear as a character.

Sekizawa: This approach is very useful among female audiences. In reality, "no matter how old the voice actor is, as long as the character is likable, he will be loved by fans (laughs)." Therefore, if it were an artist, the enthusiasm of the fans would definitely be even higher. In the future, we will slowly try this out and develop new and unique practices. In addition, there are concerts and other activities, and we will promote the revitalization of each field in a variety of ways.