Cute girls,Exchanged one of their wishes for the ability to become a magical girl.,And fight the witch...... This is the late-night original animation "Madoka Magical Girl ☆ Magic". And just looking at the style of painting, I am afraid that few viewers could imagine that the plot would unfold so impactfully at that time. And this has also deeply attracted the attention of countless people. And this impact has swept the anime circle not only in Japan, but also around the world, causing a global craze. On the other hand, the "Monogatari" series is the original novel by Nishio Restoration that incorporates his own ingenious language skills, and the anime has been perfectly restored without destroying the worldview of the original work, which has won widespread praise for the series. Both of these works are associated with the same name called Akiyuki Shinbo. There was an exclusive interview with him by the Japanese media, let's see what the director of the new house wants to say!

Rather than being well received overseas, I want to be aware of "Japan" first

Q: Madoka Magica, directed by Mr. Shinbo, was not only well received in Japan, but also overseas. So did you imagine such a big response when you made zuò?

New home: This is completely impossible. At the time, I was just thinking, "I want the work to be recognized by the audience," but that's it. I didn't imagine how the work would unfold overseas, but I thought it should be based on reality and down-to-earth. Animation fans are very picky, so how to make them willing to pay for animation products, this is the most important question. Honestly, that's all I can think of. Therefore, I felt a sense of disobedience to the same trend of "Japanese animation is really popular overseas". How many of the people who say these things understand the reality of today's animation industry?

It has to be said that only when the work is well received and the product sales are promoted, can we say that "our work has value". What we are doing, to put it bluntly, is the entertainment industry, and if it is more extreme, it is "not an absolute just-needed business in this world". We use this job as a tool to eat, and if the sales of the work are poor, then society will not show us mercy. In that sense, I would like to see the work sell well in Japan. Fans in Japan don't just watch the anime, but also want to buy the product, and that's what makes it worthwhile.

Q: If you want to export overseas, you must first strengthen your domestic foundation. That's what you mean, right?

Xinfang: Even so, there are always two completely opposite feelings entangled in my mind (laughs). If it sells well, then looking at the noisy customers, I want to say, "This is not right"; But if I can't sell it, I'll think, "Do we have any point in existing?" "I've always been caught between these two moods.

Q: Director Shinbo has been in charge of many works before, and "Madoka Magical Magic" is not only unique to fans of anime, but also some viewers who don't usually watch anime, so it is of epoch-making significance. And that happened in the third episode, and that's where the story really begins. I think there is no doubt that Mr. Shinbo must have felt that kind of reaction at that time......

New House: yes. However, when the work was broadcast, even if it caused a topic, there was still a situation where it could not be sold. There are many such works. If you want to know what the final result is, then you don't know until the end. At that time, there weren't many original anime, so we were nervous when we were thinking about the plot of the third episode, thinking "What the hell will the audience think of this episode?" ”

Q: Was there anything you didn't expect?

Shinbo: I didn't think that Asami's character could gain such popularity. Although she is also an important debutant, she does not appear in many scenes. Although the main characters of "Madoka Magi☆ Magic" are like this, especially the two characters of Asami and QB, I strongly feel that this is cultivated by the audience. After all, no matter how interesting the work is, if the characters are not charismatic, then they will not be able to attract the audience. And in this regard, the people of Atsuhiro Iwagami have contributed a lot. We produced the SHAFT lineup of the animation, Ms. Mei Aoki, who was in charge of the original plan of the character, and Mr. Gen Xubuchi, who wrote the script. The idea that these three combinations can come together is also Mr. Iwakaami's idea.

Q: In other words, you work together seamlessly.

New House: No, on the contrary, I don't think it's very seamless. When I first got the script, I thought it would be a more realistic style. From the beginning, I never thought of using Miss Cangshu's cute pictures. And as far as "Madoka Magi☆ Magic" is concerned, it can be regarded as the right time. It was precisely at that time that there were no other magical girl works out. In fact, the script was made more than a year before the production of zuò, but in the end the production of zuò was postponed, and it was only during that period that it was broadcast. If you say that the script is made immediately after the production of zuò, then it may be buried by other works. I think this element of luck also played a positive role in the success of the work.

Getting a lot of people to watch = creating a "best-selling" work

Q: Mr. Shinfang also made the "Monogatari" series. You've been involved in this work for nearly 5 years since the first work, "The Tale of Transformation", so what kind of work does this work seem to you?

Xinfang: Well, there's no doubt about it: the power of the original is too strong. To this day, I've been emotional. For example, even though I was a little worried during the storyboard, once I started recording and added the voice, which means that Mr. Nishio's character lines were pronounced, I said, "Ah, that's just enough." "Because of this, even ordinary conversations can be interesting. And in the initial stage, important foreshadowing was also laid in the dialogue. I once asked him, "Mr. Nishio, did you really think of this from the beginning?" "I think it's a blessing to be able to participate in the production of the Tale series.

Q: After listening to what you just said, it seems that the "Monogatari" series is due to the great contribution of the original author, Mr. Nishio, and "Madoka Imagami" is played a big role in "Madoka Imagami☆ Magic". But that's not all, animation is a media project with a lot of collective work, so what do you think is interesting about it?

Xinfang: Well, I think it was the people involved in the animation production who brought their ideas together that gave birth to the work. I never think about what the final image should look like. As long as it's more interesting and convincing than what I'm considering, then that's okay. Even if there is a difference between the storyboard and the actual picture, as long as it is interesting, it is OK. When it comes to "Madoka Magical Girl ☆ Magic", that's the part that the troupe dog curry is in charge of. And the battle screen of the Witch's Night also belongs to this genre. And the key to the latter is that Xiao Meiyan's weapons were originally stolen, and she could only use stolen weapons, but there would be a question "Where did these weapons come from?" (laughs) Such details are mixed up in the plot. Although there are a lot of slots, as long as you are handsome, OK. If I had to do it myself, I wouldn't have thought of such a detailed place.

Q: I see. So let's return to the Monogatari series, the original work itself has a large number of enthusiastic fans.

New House: yes. Therefore, in the initial period of the "Monogatari" series, the audience's opinions were also mixed. But in terms of results, it's actually a good thing to have different opinions. If people aren't interested in the work, that's the worst thing. Whether you "like" or "hate", as long as you can give feedback on your work, it's enough. Although fans of the original work complained that "this is wrong", they still continue to follow it, so it comes down to their interest in the work. That said, it's not something we can do if we want to. In addition, when I was working on the "Monogatari" series, I felt that novels and manga are different in that there are no pictures, so few people complain that "the style of painting is different". I think maybe that's the breakthrough. As long as the novel can meet the needs of readers with simple words, then we only need to cut the plot appropriately. And that's what I found interesting in the Monogatari series.

Q: Listening to you so far, I feel that the director of the new house cares a lot about the audience's survival.

New House: I care a lot about this. In this sense, the most difficult thing right now is that the unique animation fan groups that are willing to buy anime products have become a distance from junior high and high school students who are enthusiastic about watching anime. Of course, middle school students may also become fans of animation in the future, but they don't do much to help the sales of the product now. Another thing is that even though I care about teenage audiences, I can't relate to them anymore for my age. What exactly are they talking about? What kind of life do you live? I can't imagine it. That's why I think it's better to make a zuò work for anime fans in their 30s than for a teenage audience, right?

Q: No, I don't think there's anything like that (laughs).

Xinfang: For example, when I depict a strict story, if the work is aimed at adults in their 30s, then some of the distressing parts only need to be wrapped in glutinous rice paper or something (to put it mildly). Because in fact, this kind of painful experience is everywhere in reality, so there is no need to be so specific in the animation. But on the other hand, if elementary school students are allowed to watch it, then the painful part should be able to make them feel the pain. If you are beaten, it hurts, and if you are stabbed, it bleeds. I don't think there should be anything to hide in this regard, and we should show it well. If the head is cut off, it will naturally bleed. You should be able to understand that, right?

Q: In other words, these places should show a sense of reality to the younger audience.

New house: In "Magical Girl Madoka ☆ Magic", there is a description of a character's head being eaten by the ground, but in terms of the effect, it uses a more fantastical way. This is due to the fact that the audience of "Madoka Magi☆ Magic" is people in their 30s. In my case, the table xiàn, which is also very restrained, is used. Even in terms of sound, we were going to add a "crunch" bite at first, but we abandoned this halfway through and used the least impactful sound. So there's the kind of table that you see.

Q: Finally, director Shinbo is now working energetically on his works, so is there anything you would like to try in the future?

New house: To be honest, it's a work that sells like zuò. I also want to make works that I like, but it's always fun to make works that sell well. However, the fact that the work can sell well is also the reward for the hard work of the production staff. If the products we make are sold well and many people see them, then it will naturally make us feel happy. It's also a very powerful reward. When I was younger, I used to think, "If you don't think it's interesting, then there's no point in making zuò", but now I want to make a work that can be watched and entertained by a variety of audiences. There are a lot of animation directors who have a very strong writer's nature, which is not a bad thing, but I'm not a very writer-like genre after all. There are also types of images, but there are no restrictions on stories. So, no matter what kind of stories they are, I want to make them interesting and sell.