"Hundred Days Red", adapted from Hinata Sugiura's original work, was recently released in a theatrical version. "Mobile Suit Gundam THEORIGIN" is a recent work launched by Yasuhiko and the chief director. So what kind of sparks will these two masters create when they come together? Recently, some media conducted special interviews.

■The original director's video aesthetic is to depict the "ordinary"

Yasuhiko: I've seen the director's "Kappa (**) Summer" before, but this time, "Hyakinichi Red ~MissHOKUSAI~" is the second work. From my feelings after watching "Hundred Days Red", it should be "ordinary". Actually, I had the same impression when I watched "Kappa Summer". And in a sense, this "ordinary" is very important. And as for the reasons why I think "ordinary", I will continue to talk about it next.

Hara: To be honest, if you go back in time, I've already seen it from the beginning of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. But after that, I didn't read much of Mr. Yasuhiko's works. So this time, I also watched Mobile Suit Gundam THEORIGIN for the first time in a long time. Now sitting next to Mr. Yasuhiko and saying such things, I feel ashamed to myself, and I don't like to study too much.

Yasuhiko: The reason why I watched Kappa Summer was because I was teaching at a university in Kobe. I showed this work to the students in class. However, in fact, there are very few movies for students in class. And I thought about letting the two works "Kappa Summer" and "Evil Boy", which sparked the topic back then, be broadcast in the classroom.

"Kappa Summer" has won a lot of awards, and the reason why I like it is because I often take the Seibu Line and look out the window at the Kurome River. And this is precisely the stage of the work. And "Evil Boy" was very popular with young people at the time, so I watched both of them.

Hara: "Kappa Summer" and "Evil Boy" were released in the same year.

Yasuhiko: That's probably one of the reasons. Also, after watching these two works, I felt that "Kappa Summer" was "ordinary". This is what I understand so far, "animation" in its purest form. So you can watch it with confidence.

On the other hand, after watching Bad Boy, I fell into a kind of panic. I sighed, "What the hell is this!" "And I really wanted to know how the students would react after watching these two topical works that were released in the same year, so I released them together. And when I asked which work was more interesting, the answer was evenly matched. And since everyone has such a reaction, then I am also relieved. After all, I thought everyone would find "Bad Boy" more interesting. Anyway, there was this story. That's what I mean by "ordinary". "Ordinary" is very important.

Hara: In Kappa Summer, I personally wanted to make an anime that I hadn't done before, and that had never been seen before in the industry. There are no handsome protagonists and beautiful heroines in the work.,I just want to use animation in depth to express the theme of daily life and family.。

This is the best essence of the original work, and of course, what I care about most is what will happen to the young kappa in the Edo period when they become a normal family in modern times.

Yasuhiko: It's like Doraemon.

Hara: Right. That's it. Suddenly a stranger came to the house. But I wanted to make it a little more realistic. Doraemon didn't surprise anyone when he walked down the street, but I don't want that, I want to say, "How will everyone react when the real kappa shows up?" "This is also what I try to do in the table.

Yasuhiko: The person in charge of the background production of "Evil Boy" is Shinji Kimura, someone I know very well. After all, he was involved in the production of my last anime. And "Bad Boy" is a work that does a lot in terms of setting. There are no fixed screens, all hand-drawn backgrounds are moving.

When there is a work like a trick in the director's production, I feel that a person like Mr. Hara who takes the orthodox line of the plot has an "ordinary" feeling. In a sense, it resonates with me.

■The purpose of the character creation of the protagonist Ah Rong

Yasuhiko: Is the original manga of "Hyakinichi Red ~MissHOKUSAI~" a short story?

Hara: The original work is composed in the form of one story per episode. So there's no clear ending in terms of the plot, but it just feels like there's a different story going on every time.

Yasuhiko: It's like a collection of short stories. So do you have any feelings for the work itself?

Hara: When I was about 25 years old, I came across Hinata Sugiura's work, and I felt that she was a very amazing person, and I was shocked by it. So I've always wanted to one day adapt this person's work into an anime.

Yasuhiko: When did Ms. Sugiura pass away?

Hara: It was almost 10 years ago.

Yasuhiko: Have you met with her?

Hara: Unfortunately, no.

Hiko: I've met once. At an event held in Goshokawahara, Aomori Prefecture, Tohoku. I was called out because I was drawing historical comics. Ms. Sugiura was also present at the time. At that time, I thought she was a very quiet woman. He spoke in a soft and decent tone.

When I met her, I asked a question about how people walked in the Edo period that I had asked in a quiz show, and her answer was so good that I wondered why there were such smart people. She passed away a few years later. I didn't know there was an original work, so I thought it would be a story. Speaking of which, what I care about the most is the eyebrows of the protagonist, Ah Rong. Is this also the setting in the original work?

Hara: It's not so obvious in the original. This is something I commissioned a designer to make it bold. In the original work, Ah Rong has the most stories of this girl, but her father Hokusai and other characters also have their own scenes, and the stories of these people together are the original work of "Hundred Days Red".

In the original work, Ah Rong was not set to be very pretty, and I wanted to make her look better. However, it is not just pretty, but also needs to adjust the overall balance slightly, so the eyebrows are thickened.

Yasuhiko: It looks like it's getting thicker all of a sudden. Seeing such a setting, people don't know whether to say that this is a good woman? Or is it not a beauty? So I'm very concerned about it too. Is Ah Rong a well-informed person?

Hara: I'm not that well-informed. She appeared in the movie "Hokusai Manga". But she's not the main character in that.

Yasuhiko: Do you know what Ah Rong's true face looks like?

Hara: Katsushika Hokusai's paintings include works about Sakae. Her face looks like home plate, and Hokusai calls her "chin". Looking at this picture, I think she has very narrow eyes. In addition to paintings, Hokusai also left some letters, on which he drew her in the same way as "picture text" today. I feel like it conveys the message that "a woman with such a face has passed, please advise me".

As a www.biquge.info of the Biqu Pavilion of Hokusai Studies, there is a book called "The Biography of Katsushika Hokusai". It was written in the Meiji era, and it is a work by a person who has seen Hokusai describing Hokusai as he knows it. In terms of content, there are many mentions of Hokusai's life.

■ "THEORIGIN" from the "ordinary" local production zuò

Yasuhiko: When it comes to other animation directors, they tend to either extend their worldview infinitely or make breakthroughs in terms of technology. And you don't seem to be taking that route.

Hara: As far as I'm concerned, I have a different motivation from them in terms of "wanting to create this kind of worldview" and "wanting to create such a movie." Sure enough, including live-action works, I hope to be able to make a movie with a full plot.

Yasuhiko: That's the case with "Kappa Summer", and it seems to be the case with "Hyakinichi Red ~MissHOKUSAI~".

Hara: I'm not interested in works that only focus on images. I don't have a good feeling about the pretending to be a mysterious. After reading Ms. Sugiura's work, I realized that this aspect is indeed very pure. There are some scenes in the manga that have no background at all, and it also avoids some of the things that people in charge of video performances or directing tend to use too much force, which really makes me feel fresh.

Yasuhiko: Maybe it has something to do with it, but after watching the theatrical version, I was left with the impression that I would be able to do it a little more. For example, the part that describes the entanglement between father and daughter should be a little more powerful.

Hara: But the beauty of Sugiura's work is that he doesn't push too it. In Edo dialect, it means "pure" and "rough". In that sense, I don't feel like I'm doing anything extravagant. If you use too much force, then the theatrical version will definitely become impure.

Q: What did you think of Mobile Suit Gundam THEORIGIN after watching Mobile Suit Gundam?

Hara: It's nostalgic. It's been a long time since I've touched the world of Gundam. I was only about 20 years old when I watched it. It sparked a lot of memories for me.

Yasuhiko: From the post-processing, do you feel "ordinary"?

Hara: In the play, both the political and blood issues are portrayed very well, right? After reading it, I tried to ask Mr. Yasuhiko something about the real history of the work as a sample.

Yasuhiko: There's no specific historical element in this regard. It's just that from the way of thinking about history, the work tells everyone: what history is all about.

Hara: In terms of atmosphere, it has a bit of a 19th-century or before and after World War I.

Yasuhiko: That's the easiest thing to understand.

Hara: I feel that in my works, the issue of the blood of famous artists is still valued by people.

Yasuhiko: This is a time of revolution and war. If we understand it as World War II, then there are many complex elements. This was even more true during the Cold War era.

Hara: After all, even the way of war has changed.

Yasuhiko: As far as I can see, Yuki Tomino laid the shackles of "prohibiting nuclear war" in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and he wanted to seal these shackles in the form of the war that broke out before Guò.

Hara: I see.

Yasuhiko: So, as I said, we're definitely going to take that era into account. Mobile Suit Gundam THEORIGIN is my first time in a long time, and it's a great honor to see that the work itself is fun and fun.

However, in the face of my own reaction, I still want to say, "I am just making zuò works in an 'ordinary' way." So to mention the word "ordinary" at the beginning is not modest. It's really "ordinary" ground made zuò. This is "ordinary", right?

LUCKILY, THEORIGIN IS ALSO A THEATRICAL VERSION, BUT IT WAS LAUNCHED IN THE FORM OF AN OVA. Actually, my idea sounds capricious, but thanks to the unsparing support of the staff, I am grateful to them. Speaking of which, what does Mr. Hara value most in his work?

Hara: Let's storyboard it. Storyboards can decide what kind of work they can make, so I do my best. The biggest difference between storyboards and scripts is that the director will add "seconds" according to his own ideas. In this way, the work also has a sense of rhythm. I'll give all the instructions about the music in the storyboard. Once I'm able to draw a storyboard that I'm happy with, I just have to hand it over to the animators who already know how to do it, and start working on it.

Yasuhiko: Have you seen my storyboard?

Hara: I used to appreciate it. It's very vibrant.

Yasuhiko: It's very delicate.

Hara: It's your work. Drawing skills are not in the same dimension as mine.

Yasuhiko: The storyboard was directly used in the layout.

Hara: And the animators used this as a basis to make the layout.

Yasuhiko: Also, I also looked at the original painting. I thought Mr. Hara was very gentle, which is why I said that I would leave it to the animators, and I asked why I didn't tell the animators what I thought when I was so good?" "Mr. Hara just made some requests during the inspection, and then handed it over to the animator to complete. But the fact that you have great painters and great performers is really hard to gauge.

■We also have ideas about the fact that some images cannot rely on the latest technology

Yasuhiko: I had a question after watching "Hyakinichi Red ~MissHOKUSAI~". The whole plot is relatively flat, just when people think that the relationship between Hokusai's father and daughter will become more entangled, the plot ends here. So I don't really know what the purpose of this is. However, with Mr. Guòhara's remarks just now, I have a feeling of enlightenment.

Another thing, I'm very concerned about the background. The backdrop in Bad Boy is fantastic, and the technology for making the background come alive is great. I even thought to my horror: technology can do this now. Sure enough, it's the CG era. To put it simply,For the use of CG table xiàn Edo image,I have a sense of disobedience.。

Hara: There are some places where the background looks like CG, but it's mostly hand-drawn.

Yasuhiko: It's so beautiful, I thought it must be CG.

Hara: It's basically a hand-drawn worldview. The only place that stretches from the side of the bridge to the panoramic view of Edo is CG.

Yasuhiko: So the moving background is also hand-drawn?

Hara: The moving background is hand-drawn. In terms of supporting characters, 3D has been added, but like the shot of Ah Rong running and walking from home to outside, the camera rotation is completely hand-drawn.

Yasuhiko: What about the original description of the street?

Hara: We subjectively made the hand-drawn background move. Mr. Ohno, who was in charge of the background this time, is quite a professional person, so he has fully incorporated the elements of the analogue and digital era that are a little bit like a trick into the work.

Q: Finally, please tell us about the highlights of your work.

Hara: To be able to adapt Hinata Sugiura's masterpiece "Hyakinichi Red" into a theatrical version has been my dream for many years. And I feel that I have faithfully reflected the essence of the work in the theatrical version, so I hope that more people will watch this work. Mr. Yasuhiko is currently working on the second episode of Mobile Suit Gundam THEORIGIN, and I hope you will look forward to it. Thank you.

Yasuhiko: As I mentioned earlier, "THEORIGIN" is made in a normal way. The result was well received by everyone, and I feel very happy. I know that what I make is OK, so I will continue to do it in general.

Of course, I would like to add special techniques and cutting-edge techniques to animation, but this requires the strength of the staff. I'm basically "ordinary", which should be in line with the original director's idea. This work is to bring the very "inorganic" Gundam back into a dimension full of depth. I would also like to let Mr. Hara take a closer look, and I would be honored if you could give me your impression.

Hara: I see. I want to witness Yasuhiko's ordinariness. Sure enough, "ordinary" is very important.

Yasuhiko: After watching anime, I often come across situations where I don't understand, "I can't understand". After looking at the work on the site, I realized that there were parts that were not "ordinary", and I really wanted to "just do it as ordinary". The same goes for the interpretation of storyboards. I think if people think it's "ordinary", then they will be able to understand the work. Therefore, although it may be rude to say that Mr. Hara's work is "ordinary" at the beginning of the interview, I think that the so-called "ordinary" also contains an easy-to-understand meaning.

Hara: I also think that "ordinary" is a very important word. After all, the work is not from HIGH.

Yasuhiko: I think a lot of my works lately have been looking forward to being "hard to understand" and "very powerful". This is sometimes a good idea, but if you don't do that, you won't be able to make progress. But I think I've been going too far in that direction lately.

Hara: Both Mobile Suit Gundam THEORIGIN and Hyakinichi ~MissHOKUSAI~ are "ordinary" works, so I hope you will watch them.

Yasuhiko: That's it.