My Hero Academia: Two Heroes premiered at Anime Expo 2018 and Anime Diet was on-site to review the film.
Fans of My Hero Academia were thrilled to hear of a movie coming out with more adventures of their favorite heroes. The events of the movie, billed in Japan as “revealing the secret past of a major character,” took place after the Final Exam arc of the TV series. From the official synopsis:
Deku and All Might receive an invitation from a certain person to go overseas to a giant artificial moving city called I-Island. This island, a kind of ”science Hollywood” that gathers the knowledge of scientists from around the world, is holding an exhibition called I-Expo showcasing the results of Quirk and hero item research. In the midst of all this, Deku meets a Quirkless girl named Melissa and remembers his own Quirkless past. Out of the blue, the impregnable security system the island boasts is hacked by villains, and all the people on the island are taken as hostages! Now, a plan that could shake hero society has been put into motion! The man who holds the key to it all is the number one hero and Symbol of Peace, All Might.
Familiar U.A. students had a chance to shine again in this My Hero Academia animated film. With an energizing soundtrack, visually pleasing and exhilarating fight sequences along with well-acted character voices, the movie was a solid and fun ride for the returning MHA fan. Live audience participation made the movie that much sweeter, as anyone who has been at a premiere with hundreds of screaming fans can attest. However, the pacing during the first half of the movie was slow and the overall storyline was not inventive.
It was apparent that writers for Studio BONES (known for Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Soul Eater) were not trying to introduce any drastic changes in the movie, opting instead to play off the things that worked well for and made people love the series in the first place. All the classic elements of My Hero Academia stories were present: friendship, teamwork, sacrifices, moving beyond your limits, and even a somewhat unresolved redemption story.
Arguably, these conservative plot choices showcased the studio’s mastery of animation. Even in a fairly risk-free storytelling, there were surprises and delights. Production values remained high, with fight scenes remaining fluid and well paced, and decompression used to great effect. Many points of the movie moved the audience to cheer, laugh out loud and even experience the “feels”.
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes is a must watch for the die-hard MHA fan. Those new to the MHA universe may wish to watch other parts of the series first, to build a connection to the characters and appreciate the significance of certain events when watching the movie.
Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved anime. Since the days of Toonami on Cartoon Network my memories are of running home from school to watch shows like Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing. My love of anime, manga and geek culture has grown to the point where I make it a point to attend as many cons as possible.
The granddaddy of them all is Anime Expo. I’ve been to every Anime Expo since my first one back in ’06, missing only one year, ’09, due to going on some family trip. Anime Expo isn’t just the largest anime convention in California; it’s the largest in North America. It gets bigger and better every year and Anime Expo 2017 was no different.
Ticket prices for AX are way cheaper than for other huge cons like SDCC or Wonder Con. You can either choose to go for four days for $90 or you can choose one day for $55. But honestly you’re playing yourself if you choose anything less than the 4 day pass. The tickets get even cheaper if you purchase them earlier. Overall this convention is easier than most on my bank account. That is – at least until I see the vast amounts of stuff in the dealer room that I cant resist buying!
Last year’s Sing, Clap, and Stomp-Along was thoroughly enjoyable. I’ve been going to it ever since I first started going to Anime Expo back in 2015. I can say with confidence that there is almost nothing bad to be said about it: it’s open almost all day for the full 4 days of AX, there’s a wide variety of AMVs to be seen, and all the people poured their hearts into their wonderful creations to be shared with the attendees. I wonder if I could do something like that too, but it takes a lot of work and requires a lot of patience to make a three minute music video, which is something I admire. The people are rowdy and the room is always full of life when you step into it. Everyone gets into the music and appreciates the beauty of the complex edits that people have spent their time making. Each AMV uses a vast variety of pop culture to match with the show. That’s what makes it so fun to go to: everyone sings, claps, and stomps together! I recommend that it’s a must-do at Anime Expo! The only downside to this event is that there are a lot of anime spoilers.
Black Butler Cosplay Meetup
This was a great way to make friends and I got to meet Connor, also known as CDawgVA on YouTube, on my birthday! It was the best birthday ever. There, me and friends were able to meet a lot of people who were also into Black Butler and enjoyed it as much as we did. I was also able to meet up with some of my friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time there too. The overall Black Butler community is nice and welcoming, and it’s nice to be around people who appreciate the same things as you.
Welcome to the Ballroom World Premiere
Anime Expo usually offers world premieres and I felt really lucky to be able to see Welcome to the Ballroom! It truly was a once in a lifetime experience, and I’m glad to have been able to be there to see it with my friends along with the few other people to see this show. Anyone who attends AX has the opportunity to participate in something like this is well. It was an honor to see the wonderful people who spent their time behind the directing and the production of Welcome to the Ballroom. Seeing the producer of Attack on Titan there in the flesh was exhilarating, and he was happy to take part in making both shows.
Anime Diet had the privilege of interviewing the director and producer of the current anime version of My Hero Academia, Kenji Nagasaki and Wakana Okamura, at Anime Expo 2016. This was an extensive discussion of the inspirations and process behind the creation of the hit show.
Jeremy Booth conducted the interview. This interview was translated by Nami Kodama, and was edited for clarity and concision by Michael Huang. Photos and video subtitles by Lily Huang.
How did you get your start in the anime business and what is your most memorable moment as an aspiring young worker in the anime field?
Nagasaki:When I first saw the movie “Castle in the Sky (Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) ” by Studio Ghibli, I hadn’t watched an anime until then. The film inspired me very much and showed me the possibilities for artistic expression in anime, and led me to join the industry. I started by working for “MADHOUSE Inc” [even though] it didn’t make that film!
Do you have any other influencer besides Hayao Miyazaki that you would like to tell about?
Nagasaki:Another director I was inspired and influenced by is Kon Satoshi, who was at Madhouse at the time. When I first saw Perfect Blue I thought that he told the story almost like a live action film. But, at the same time, the anime actually does add extra expression than live action, so I really enjoyed working on that at Madhouse.
When you were a child, did you ever dream about a superhero? If so who?
Nagasaki: I grew up with reading “Dragonball”. So, every week when “Shonen Jump” came out, I rushed to a store to buy it. Goku was my hero. Everybody liked Goku at the time.
Okamura: Usagi-chan, the main character of Sailor Moon, was my hero. Generally speaking back then, boys liked , and girls liked Sailor Moon. We (girls including myself) used to play with popular toys like stickers.
What was the most challenging part of adapting this anime from the manga?
Nagasaki: The original story is very passionate. So, we really paid close attention to capturing the original story’s worldview, using sound and music [as well as drawing]. This is probably the most difficult part of interpreting from the manga to the anime. I worked hard on it from start to finish.
Okamura: The main focus was trying to keep the fans happy, because they have strong followings. So, that was probably the most challenging part, by using art and music (as the director just mentioned) attractive as anime. Bringing that special essence into the anime was challenging.
But also, at the same time, we wanted to reach beyond the fan base and gain more fans to make them happy. That was probably [another] challenging part.
How closely did Kohei Horikoshi, the manga creator, work with the project?
Nagasaki: Basically he left us in charge of that. He extended help where we needed some extra background/setting art and/or specific characters that we asked him to help us on.
Okamura: Horikoshi was very excited about the anime and was supportive. One of the reasons why he did was that Nagasaki was director and that it was being done by Studio Bones. So, he was very excited and often tweeted about special episodes and more about the anime; he was personally and emotionally involved.
There is a clear message of never giving up in My Hero Academia. However, is there any else that you hope fans take away from the show?
Nagasaki: The story is not only about how Deku tries to “not give up”. Through the relationship between All-Might and Deku, I hope that the fans would get the sense that though Deku did not have any powers, he became responsible while growing up. I want fans to see that Deku works hard toward his goals and be encouraged by his example.
Okamura: Nagasaki’s eyes were glued on Deku’s growth.
Was All-Might’s character based on any other real person or American superhero already in existence?
Nagasaki: Probably only the original author knows.
Okamura: Horikoshi is really a big fan of American animation. He often refers to the American animation in his drawing, so he took some of the essence of American animation to create All-Might.
If you were able to have a Quirk, what would it be?
Nagasaki: I’d like to fly.
Okamura: If I were to have a power like Toru Hagakure’s, I would like to sneak into the studio to make sure if the director is working! (laughs)
Who would you like to see All Might face off in a fight? Nagasaki: The Hulk. I would think (hope) that All Might probably wins. Okamura: I would like to see that All Might involved in something like the Marvel Civil War.
Do you have any routines in your creative process/good-luck habits? Could you share any stories, if any?
Nagasaki: In the process, when I read scripts I am always consciously thinking about music, about where would I put certain types of music in to fit the scene–and how much and how long to make the anime sharper. This is what I am always thinking about.
Okamura: Each director has own way to create a work. Nagasaki is probably the best director, among the ones I know, who consciously thinks about music. He always has his vision from the beginning.
As a producer, when I look at the story I decide which stories are well-suited when turning into the anime. As a process I always look at the attractiveness of the character. The most important thing I care about is that the anime can be better than the original manga. This is the essential process that I am always thinking about….I never want to let the audience down by giving them that negative impression: “the manga was so much better, the anime was really boring.” It’s not always the case that the same style from the original manga can work well in an anime. Anime and manga each have their own best way to depict stories.
How did you become aware of My Hero Academia when you decided that I really wanted to do this?
Okamura: When I first saw the first chapter (I didn’t even know how the story was going to turn out), I was instinctively sure that this could be a great anime. The first chapter was enough to feel that way, because that chapter told me that the story was great. Deku met All Might and then the story began to illustrate how Deku works hard to achieve his goals. That first chapter touched me, and I felt that the story had a very strong emotional power and would impress not only children but also adults. The story further introduced many characters who support Deku.
As I said earlier, the attractiveness of characters is very important for me. That was the my decision making point.
Could you tell me about the process how you became involved in the production?
Nagasaki: A producer from Studio Bones told me to work with this anime, and then when I read the original manga I said yes, because it was very interesting.
Okamura: For the producer side, while we were in discussion, we believed that we needed someone who could serve as a director and who had skills and experience to create an anime not just for otaku but also mass audiences. Then we came up with Nagasaki, who had successfully made great anime such as Gundam Build Fighters.
Are there any characters whom you most identify with?
Nagasaki: For me, it’s Deku. This is his hero’s story, but it’s not only about the hero. This can translate to any circumstance where you are working hard to achieve your goals. I always try hard to attain to my big goals, and I found a similar attitude in Deku, who is always trying to make that happen. The story is not just limited for children who dream about becoming heroes, but it’s for everyone who is working hard to make their dreams come true.
Okamura: For me, it’s the girl characters. In this story, girls are not only supporting roles but are heroines. I feel this story is more modern that way: girls aren’t just side actors but are reaching their own goals. The girls even fight against the boys. Among the five boy characters, the girl is also a heroine and is trying to save the world. I want to grow old like Recovery Girl!
What is your ultimate goal?
Nagasaki: My own goal is to make each anime I make better than last one. I want more people to enjoy anime.
I thought you were going to say “taking over the world” or something.
Okamura: (laughs) But, our anime is watched by many people around the world. This is another way to say “taking over the world”, and he is probably trying to take over the world by the anime coming the U.S.
Is there anything you are looking forward to seeing besides the convention center in Los Angeles?
Nagasaki: The atmosphere is pretty good, and I really like it. I think I don’t have enough time to sightsee this time but want to visit here again on a private trip. If I have time, I want to go Santa Monica, which is a different side of LA.
Mangagamer, a localization company bringing top selling Japanese visual novels to the English-speaking market, held a panel at Anime Expo 2016 with their guest nbkz Sakai (伸和酒井).
The CEO of the Japanese visual novel company minori, nbkz Sakai has produced many famous pretty and shiny games, such as ef ~a fairy tale of the two~ and eden*, some of which have received anime adaptations. Ever since 2010, minori has worked with Mangagamer to bring the original visual novels to the Western market.
Anime Diet was able to capture almost all of the panel in the video, and a transcript (which has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity) is available below the video for those who prefer to read it instead.
Mangagamer Staff: Hello everyone, thank you for coming to the nbkz Q&A panel today. I’m Kai, great to see everybody, we have with us nbkz Sakai. So if you didn’t know, nbkz is the president and artistic developer for Minori, a Japanese visual novel developer, who did ef ~a fairy tale of the two~, eden*, Supipara, and hopefully many more to come! I have a few questions for nbkz. In just a moment, we’re going to show you a cute little video!
MG: So that was ef ~a fairy tale of the two~. nbkz, could you give us some insight into your experience working on ef?
nbkz Sakai: ef was made in 2006, so about ten years ago, but that was the release date. We started working on ef about three years before, in 2003. So watching it again right now… it feels kind of old. So reflecting back on that brings back memories, of working together with the director, Mikage, though he isn’t with Minori anymore. I remember all the fun days we had arguing with each other.
How many of you here have already played the game ef? A lot!
ef has five characters: Miyako, Kei, Chihiro, Mizuki, and Yuuko.
It was originally planned to start off with the first three characters, and then have Yuuko towards the end, but it actually starts with Yuuko at the beginning and Mizuki at the end.
In the end, what you played has Mizuki incorporated with Yuuko. We decided that this was the best way to showcase the story to the reader. Minori is a game company that involves a lot of staff in the decision making process, and everyone gets together to agree upon how best to showcase the story.
ef was sold into two chapters: the first tale and the latter tale. I believe ef is still the #1 Japanese game in volume of text and images used. And if anyone tells us to make a game like that again, we’ll probably say, “Nah!” We’re not that young anymore!
MG: What does “ef” actually mean?
nbkz: We really didn’t give it much thought. We just decided it might be an abbreviation for anything! We just pulled out the dictionary and the letter “E” could stand for anything, like “everything” or “eternal” or whatever. The original title for this game was actually “Angel’s Sunday”; we decided to use that as the fandisc title. We already decided upon what phrase to use towards the end of Angel’s Sunday. In the latter tale, the ending theme is called “Ever Forever”. This was actually the first thing we decided upon when we created the game. So, since we’ve decided on the song name, let’s make it “ef” for the rest of the game. For the animation, the opening theme was called “Euphoric Field,” so that also stands for “ef”. We made it seem like everything was tied to the abbreviation “ef”. There’s a lot of wordplay going on in the anime version of ef. For example, if you line up all the titles of the anime episodes, they become lyrics. There’s a lot of hidden easter eggs.
MG: Do you have any memorable or noteworthy experiences from when you worked on ef?
nbkz: It was really tough and very busy while we were creating this game. We worked on this game for a very long time, and we couldn’t see the goal or the end of this game. I still have nightmares about making this game. A hellish nightmare I’ll never finish this game on time.
MG: We’re going to our next title, eden*.
nbkz: It’s been a while since I’ve seen that too.
MG: What made your team make a kinetic, all-ages visual novel about an inevitable apocalypse? What sparked this idea?
nbkz: Jump back to when we were creating ef. Once we finished, we all got together, and concluded that ef was a really long game; let’s make our next game a bit shorter. We decided to do a more experimental type of game, which isn’t set in the stereotypical high-school setting. We wanted to do something very different. While ef was the best-selling Minori game in Japan, eden* was the best-selling Minori game in the foreign market. Eden* has become Minori’s most famous title for foreign fans, and through this title, we were able to learn a lot of things about the foreign market.
We’d like to create a new title similar to this! How many people here have played the game eden*? Thank you very much. It’s being sold on Steam for a very generous price. Please try it out!
MG: Similar to ef, did you have any memorable experiences with eden* as well?
nbkz: We worked on eden* very hard as well, and we put a very heavy emphasis on the visuals. For example, a typical visual novel has static backgrounds. If we are the characters and the audience is the player, from your perspective, the background would be this wall behind me. But if it was eden*, we have backgrounds created for all four sides as well. We call this the Pokemon depth of field… like Spielberg. So it’s a camera angle thing, where you can have two characters on screen with two different cameras, so you can see a characters from different camera angles.
This is a really good technique to use to switch around the perspective of the player. And a camera has bokeh, ie. to blur out backgrounds when you are very close. It’s a technique used in a lot of movies where two characters on screen can be individually focused on for emphasis, leaving the other blurred out, so you know who to pay attention to. If you switch around the camera angle, you might be able to see sunshine shining through from the other side.
Because we decided to go to such extreme lengths, the amount of work wasn’t much less than ef. The story itself is only about 1/4 the size of ef, but since we focused so much on visual quality experiments, it took about the same amount of work as ef. The staff was very angry at me.
When we saw the eden* opening, the girl, Sion, ran across the water. When you are drawing an anime, it’s very difficult to draw characters with their feet on the ground. If you watch anime, you will notice that they try to cut scenes where characters’ feet touch the ground. I was reminded by watching this opening animation that we took on this challenge! And yeah, I understand why all the animators say that it’s very difficult to do.
MG: Would nbkz want to share any further insight into eden* before moving on?
nbkz: So we’ll next move onto showing Supipara. Mangagamer will be selling this game on July 29th. Can you pull up the panel?
nbkz: Supipara is still an unfinished work in Japan. We only released chapters 1 and 2. The entire game is five chapters long. We decided to release the first chapter for the US and European market. I believe, based on sales of eden*, we’ll definitely release Supipara chapter 2. As for chapter 3, 4, 5… we’ll probably not sell in Japan, due to low sales. However, with the foreign market, depending on sales, we may release chapters 3-5, specifically for your market. Please purchase chapters 1 and 2 and we may be able to release the remaining chapters. I believe this game will be sold on Steam, so please purchase this. It’s got the most recent techniques and our specialties in creating our games, what you would call the Minori technique, all squished into Supipara!
Just reviewing the Supipara opening, I was very impressed with the way we able to animate the sequence with Alice, the little witch, flying across the sky. We did the animation where Alice flies from her house to her destination in just one cut. We created a 3D model of that and an environment so we could animate her flying in different directions. Supipara is set in Kamakura, a city in Japan,
and we simulated how the city would look like from multiple perspectives in the 3D scale model.
Unfortunately, the Japanese PC game market has been stagnant, so it didn’t sell very well and we’re deeply in the red on Supipara. It was very very bad, the company was almost about to go bankrupt back then. After reflecting on the video, I’m very satisfied how it turned out. It was really great that we were able to do this game. We’re probably not going to release chapters 3-5 in Japan, but story, and everything has already been completed. It’s just a matter of how much revenue we can get from the foreign market, and if it’s good enough, we can do the rest of the chapters.
I guess this is it for my take on Supipara… do you have any questions?
MG: How difficult would it be to assemble the original Supipara team for future chapter development?
nbkz: Actually, it won’t be that difficult. Very few people left minori after Supipara. All the tech guys and people who did key animation sequences are still here. It won’t be that difficult. Most of the storyline and the artwork is already done for chapters 3-5, we just need a little tweaking, adding more illustrations, and polishing up. It will still take a little more time to complete Supipara. We still have to eat and we need revenue to make Supipara. If eden* didn’t sell that well, we probably wouldn’t have been able to release Supipara.
Japan demands games that have a long storyline, but Minori games have compact storylines. This has more to do with minori’s style, because we want to focus on the scenes and visuals instead of the story and the text. In a very typical visual novel, you usually have two characters standing there with very few movements of their hands or faces. It kind of looks like a puppet show, like something you show to little kids. Minori tries to stay away from that as much as possible.
If you really think about it, you feel odd playing a typical visual novel because you really do not see any situation in real life where two characters just stand in front of you with very few facial expressions or hand gestures. It feels kind of weird. Minori tries to stay away from these “unnatural” techniques commonly used in visual novels. With Supipara, we tried to use techniques like characters with lip synced mouths and blinking eyes. Because of that, the staff had to draw a lot of animation sequences and drawings. The staff got angry at me again.
Even though the staff gets angry: “why do I have to do all this?”, I tell them that, “No one else is doing it, it’s fun and interesting, let’s do it!” The staff accepts that. In the end, they do what I ask, and they are happy, and I am very satisfied at how much effort the staff has put in. It’s kind of like Minori is a “black company” like Wal-Mart where people are paid very low but expectations are high. In Japanese, we call these “black corporations” because they are very dark… and black…
All jokes aside, all of our staff, including myself, want to showcase the best game we can ever produce, to all the fans and consumers who purchase our products. We have a secret where we want to surprise everyone every time we bring out a new game. We’d like to continue that tradition as we go along.
Supipara will be going on sale July 29th, so please purchase it.
And that’s about it for Supipara.
MG: We’d like to open up the floor for a very short Q&A session!
Interpreter: One rule: if you want to ask nbkz a question, tell him your name, and your favorite game.
Questioner: Minori game?
nbkz: Any game!
Questioner: Kevin, favorite game is Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.
In every minori game, the sound track is done by Tenmon. What is it like to work with him, and what do you think of his work in general?
nbkz: Since I know his personality (we’re close friends), it’s very easy to work with him. Compared to Makoto Shinkai, it’s much easier… Even though I might ask him to do several retakes if I’m not satisfied, he probably deep down hates me, but he pretty much gets along with me and does his job really well. My belief is, despite how that might sound, he gives it his 100% best, and that’s the biggest motivation for him to keep on making better and better music.
The strongest advice I’d probably give him is, don’t ever take shortcuts or cutbacks to anything, I want him to give us the best that he could, otherwise, everyone else will start to slack off and cut corners. We don’t really want to do that.
Questioner: Raymond, favorite game is The Fruit of Grisaia.
You seem to have a lot of tech in the backgrounds and the scenes, like in eden*. Do you see anything in VR?
nbkz: We have a lot of ideas in mind, but virtual reality isn’t one that we think is possible at this point. We are mainly focused on adapting and portraying techniques similar to those used in anime and Hollywood movies in our games.
Questioner: Winston, favorite game is ef.
Prior to ef, you worked on Wind ~a breath of heart~ and Haru no Ashioto. Was there anything from those two games that led to the creation of ef?
nbkz: Before that, there was also a game called Bittersweet Fools. Our first game was Bittersweet Fools, our second game was Wind ~a breath of heart~, and our third game was Haru no Ashioto. Every time we finish one game, we celebrate that we’ve made the best game ever. Like everyone else, we take a day off, sleep, etc. And then we reflect back on the game that we’d just produced, and we start regretting. Why do we do this? Every time we finish a game and take a short breather, we come back regretting saying, “Man, I really want to scrap everything and start from scratch!” That’s not possible, because once it’s being sold, it can’t really be recalled.
Since we can’t recall those games back, we can only use that motivation to be more successful with future titles.
I guess you could say that if we are satisfied with our own product, that probably means it’s game over for minori. Please continue supporting us until… we reach our “game over”!
Question Guy: Constantine, favorite game is Tsukihime.
In ef, there was a pretty big change in style from Wind ~a breath of heart~ and Haru no Ashioto, where there was just this huge increase in highly-detailed, very gorgeous CG artwork. What was the process in deciding on taking such a huge undertaking in making ef?
nbkz: Our focus on CG artwork predates Haru no Ashioto and actually begins with Wind ~a breath of heart~. Haru no Ashioto was actually produced with very limited staff members. Haru no Ashioto was actually a testing ground for future graphic artists and sheet designers who worked on ef.
The game Haru no Ashioto is 100% complete, from my perspective. For all of the storyline, storyboard, plot, effects, and cinematography of Haru no Ashioto, I made all the decisions by myself. But at that time, the new graphic artists and chief designers didn’t quite understand what I wanted to do at that time. It’s kind of difficult to explain that on a piece of paper, or even through the words from my mouth, so they actually had to create a game to understand what I wanted to do. So the game Haru no Ashioto was made.
To put it in another way, Haru no Ashioto became a stepping stone to ef, which is what I really wanted to do. And that’s how the beautiful CG of ef came along.
MG: We wanted to move onto something very special to nbkz Sakai, if he’d like to introduce it…
This is his new game, Trinoline!
nbkz: One more thing, this is our new game Trinoline. For all the special people who are here, this is first time anyone has seen artwork for Trinoline; not even Japan has seen it. The reason why I wanted to show this at Anime Expo is because we want to sell this worldwide as well. I’d like to consider Trinoline to be a compilation of everything we’ve done so far…
Eden* sold very well worldwide, and we think we might want to do something very similar to eden* [with Trinoline]. I completely understand that the Japanese market has different tastes. Therefore we decided that we should make a title that incorporates both aspects of what sells in Japan and sells worldwide. That’s why we decided to give the Trinoline project a green light. We anticipate our release date for Trinoline will be early 2017 for the Japanese market.
Usually the translation of visual novels happens after the Japanese release, but that leads to differences in release dates because translation takes time. In contrast to that, we want to close this gap, so we are working closely with translators to translate as we make the game. So we can release the worldwide and Japanese versions with a very short gap between the two. That responsibility falls on Mangagamer, so I really hope they do a good job translating Trinoline. So if it doesn’t come out soon enough, complain to their staff and give them more pressure… and Mangagamer will become more like a “black company” like minori!
I’d like to release this game in Japan as quickly as possible, and hopefully you will get it quickly as well. This illustration will be shown in Japan sometime around July 20th, so you are the first to see this. I guess everyone will be wondering what nbkz was talking about at Anime Expo, as some people here are already sharing this picture on social media, so [Japanese fans will] know what I did!
It’s been about ten years since Minori started looking towards the foreign market. We started off by creating a blockade wall. It took a huge leap of faith to walk over that wall to see the outside. I believe when we first put the IP block on our website for foreign fans, I mentioned that we would like to tear down this wall in the future. Although it took about ten years, we finally started to tear down that wall, thanks to Mangagamer, and we’d like to work together and provide more of our games to the foreign market.
I truly believe in spite of the Japanese gaming market shrinking, the US and European market seem to be growing. It’s still smaller than Japan right now, but it’s growing at a nice pace, so we look forward to that. Market growth is based on fans who want to share what they love to other potential fans, and that’s how the market keeps growing, so: thank you, fans. Hopefully you’ll keep on supporting us to see more and better titles for the foreign market.
Interpreter: That just about concludes our panel, thank you very much for coming and visiting!
Ayano Mashiro is a young singer who has come onto the anisong scene in just the past year. She is best known for doing the first OP to Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, “ideal white,” as well as the OP to Gunslinger Stratos, “Vanilla Sky.”
We interviewed her at Anime Expo 2015. Jeremy Booth conducted the interview except as noted.
How was your trip here to the US?
I took a flight out of Sapporo to Narita [Airport, in Tokyo] to LA, so that was quite a long flight–probably the longest I’ve ever taken. The last flight I took overseas was to Singapore, and it was only an hour’s [time zone] difference…but from Tokyo to LA I believe it’s a 16 hour difference, so I was really scared about the jet lag. But here I am!
What made you decide to become a singer?What was the moment where you decided, “I really want to sing”?
I’ve loved to sing since I was little, but I was taking piano lessons when I was a kid. At my piano recital, I was a weird one–I had my piano teacher play the piano while I sang. This made me kind of think “this is fun!” being on stage, singing lyrics to an audience. It was a mind opening moment.
It’s a good feeling being on stage, isn’t it?
Actually I do get nervous on stage, but I’m more hyped than moved being on stage these days.
Talk to us about your hometown, Sapporo. Is there anything that you really miss and look forward to get back to when you travel, like food or something?
Where I’m from, the seafood is very famous, and I like sashimi…so I miss fish in that way. The second thing is ramen, and I’ve only been to two overseas cities, but I Googled to see if there were any ramen places nearby….I was surprised at the portion sizes and how large they were. I had fish and chips last night and it was humongous.
Who do you think has influenced you most in your music?
Growing up, I listened to a lot of anime songs, and my sempais like Eir Aoi, Maon Kurosaki…I listened to a lot of their music. But I like to listen to a lot of genres to expand my musical palette.
Talk a little bit about any other hobbies or talents that people may not know about or expect.
I’m a big fan of spicy food, and I like to challenge myself on how far I can push the limits of spiciness!
Yes! When you listen to the lyrics of the show’s song, it fits into Onoda’s character…it’s like he’s working towards his dream, sacrificing anything for what he wants to achieve. That’s what I like about him.
Since you are here in LA, are there any famous actors or celebs you’d like to run into if you had the chance?
I’m a fan of Avril Lavigne so if I met her on the street that would be awesome. I also like Selena Gomez.
If you weren’t a musician, what else could you see yourself doing?
I actually don’t know…I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Tell us a little bit about working with and spending time with LiSA. Any funny stories about her?
I asked LiSA, “do you get stage fright?” She said, “Yes I do,” and that was memorable…so every time I see her on stage, she gives her all, and it makes me feel like I can do it too.
[Michael] Tell us also about your times with Maon Kurosaki too…
Are you a big fan of hers too? (Laughs) She’s actually a very friendly person and really cool, but she’s more girly when off stage So that gap is interesting.
So far, what do you think your greatest achievement is, and what do you want to achieve in the future?
I don’t know if this is an achievement, but when I’ve gotten to play a lot of concerts since I started. And I’d like to play bigger and bigger venues in the future.
We had the privilege of interviewing Japan’s biggest idol group currently, Momoiro Clover Z! What kind of pets do they have? Which one of them has an “infinite sneezing technique”? And what anime crushes do they have? Find out in this exclusive video interview!
Tomoyo Kurosawa is a young voice actress who has already landed several prominent anime voice roles. She’s been acting in commercials, dramas, and stage plays since the age of 3, she also plays the voice of Sylphy in Amagi Brilliant Park, Itsuki in Yuki Yuna is a Hero, Miria in Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, and the lead role of Kumiko in Kyoto Animation’s Sound! Euphonium.
This interview was conducted by Raymond Hu and Michael Huang, and is edited for clarity.
I like it! My coordinator/interpreter took me here and I ate muffins and cupcakes, and I enjoy it.
I’m glad the food tastes good. But personally I think Japanese food tastes better.
I like them both!
What are the differences between voice acting and other types of acting?
When I was acting in person, it was more natural. But when I started voice acting, I had to train myself physically and pay attention to breathing and use of space.
Who is your favorite seiyuu, and why?
Miki Shinichiro, famous for Kojiro in Pokemon. He’s very passionate and I learned so much about voice acting from him.
How often do you watch anime and play games?
I don’t have much chance to watch anime, other than my own shows, but Katanagatari made a strong impression on me.
(SPOILERS FOR YUKI YUNA) When you were in Yuuki Yuna is a Hero, you voiced a character, Itsuki, who later lost her voice. How do you voice a character like that?
Up to episode 5, I did have lines, but after that my character couldn’t talk. In episode 9 there was a flashback scene, but there were three weeks total with no lines. Still, the character I played affected the other characters and encouraged them. I treated the role as I would with any other usually.
Kumiko and Reina from Sound! Euphonium (HT: Gar Gar Stegosaurus)
What do you think about the Japanese cultural phenomenon that encourages very intimate relationships between girls from middle school to junior college?*
Sound Euphonium features good friendships between girls, but it’s not about romantic relationships. But it shows girls’ complicated emotions and frustrations that they can’t really express in middle school. It’s characteristic of puberty. It looks like romance, but it’s not really about that. It just symbolizes adolescent life.
Did you ever have any similar experiences like that in Euphonium?
I understand the feeling of being best friends, sympathizing and crying with them.
[Michael] How about with music? Did you ever play music and play in high school band?
I played the guitar in high school.
[Michael] Do you still play?
I practice euphonium now for the anime event!
[Michael] Did you ever have to go through an audition that is as hard as the ones shown in Sound: Euphonium?
For voice acting auditions, they listened to a recording to decide, but I’ve been to theater auditions where I had to be in a studio for four days and a workshop for one month.
What’s your earlier memory of acting? We know you started at three years old…what were you doing at the time?
I played a granddaughter of Tsugawa Masahiko on an NHK drama when I was three. I saw sugar candy and I started eating it!
*Note: In reference to some of the relationships depicted in Sound!: Euphonium; see this article on Gar Gar Stegosaurus for further analysis (SPOILER ALERT)
Yumiri Hanamori is a fresh young face on the voice acting scene. A 17-year old high school student, she has recently had breakout roles as Chiaya in The Rolling Girls and Uri-tan in Etotama. She will also be starring in an upcoming film in 2016, Garakowa -Restore the World-(ガラスの花と壊す世界).
Raymond Hu conducted the interview, which has been edited for clarity.
We saw on your Twitter bio that you call yourself a “yakitori based girl (焼き鳥系女子です).” Can you explain what you mean by that?
I really love yakitori, but it’s not really something that girls typically eat. It’s something you usually eat with beer or sake. Because I really love making people say “that’s weird,” I have this thing…I call myself that because I think people should love yakitori, no matter their age or gender.
What inspired you to begin seiyuu work?
When I was in middle school, I had a friend who told me that my voice sounded like an anime heroine’s. Back then I also really liked anime, and it was something I thought I’d like to do. They had a seiyuu audition and I applied for that, and that’s how I started.
Which anime character did your voice resemble?
I was in the tennis club, and the voice I was letting out when I played was like a fighting heroine’s. OOH!
You are still a high school student, so how do you balance between school and work?
At first, I was really just focusing on work and I didn’t concentrate much on schoolwork. But now I think balance things a bit better, and I will take the time on the train to review English vocabulary words or other things. I do a little at a time when I have a chance.
Studying is very important.
English is hard!
How do you prepare for your roles in anime, and who do you ask for guidance from?
When I’m prepping for a role, I find someone who is similar to that character and try to imitate the aura that person gives off. At first, I didn’t really have anybody to ask about these things, but now I have more friends who do the same work I do, and so I can ask them “how do you think I should do this character”?
Sailor Venus! I watched Sailor Moon when I was younger. You know how Usagi, the main character, is kind of clumsy and awkward? But Venus had long hair, and seemed like what a girl should be like–she has it together. I liked that about her when I was younger, and I still like her now.
Which seiyuu do you admire, and who would you like to work with in the future?
Junko Takeuchi, because I watched anime like Naruto and Inazuma Eleven ever since I was little, and I’ve always admired her since then.
Chiaya Misono from “Rolling Girls,” who was played by Yumiri Hanamori.
Talk about your experience working on The Rolling Girls. Any interesting things happen? (SPOILERS AHEAD)
At first, when I auditioned for this part, I didn’t know that the character was an alien. So I played her as a regular girl, not too young, but not too old. It was hard to find that balance and get into the character at first, but as the series went on I was able to get to know her a little better and put a little more of myself into it and play around a little bit–like the little noises that she makes.
[Michael] Have you become a fan of the Blue Hearts* since?
I’m a huge fan now!
What type of anime do you like, and why?
Action and battle anime. I like kids’ anime but also late-night anime like Psycho-Pass.
Do you prefer the fisrt or second season of Psycho-Pass?
Season 1!
What fashion brands do you like?
I like Liz Lisa and recently a brand called axesWe, which has girly frills, but not too much.
What do you think of non-Japanese fans in general?
We act in Japanese, so that overseas fans are able to enjoy our acting without fully understanding the language makes me really happy to go beyond borders in order to reach them.
*Note: most of the insert songs and OP/EDs in The Rolling Girls are covers of songs by the classic Japanese punk rock band, the Blue Hearts.
Aimer, an up-and-coming J-pop singer with Defstar Records, is currently best known for her song for Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works OP “Brave Shine” as well as insert song “Last Stardust.” She has also done EDs for Bleach and No. 6, as well as Gundam Unicorn, and also recorded an album of covers called Your Favorite Things, which include songs by Lady Gaga, Coldplay, and other well-known artists.
We conducted this interview at Anime Expo 2015. The interviewer was Raymond Hu. The transcript is edited for clarity and grammar.
Which artists inspired your work?
I was inspired by Avril Lavinge and a lot of Japanese bands. As for songwriters, I’d say Bjork….for Japanese bands, Spitz.
[Michael] Did you ever watch Honey and Clover?Spitz did a lot of songs for that show.
I do remember the ED theme for Honey and Clover being theirs, yes.*
You did a cover album called Your Favorite Things and covered “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga. What do you think of her as a musician and performer?
Music-wise, she’s very rebellious and does very new things and that’s why I look up to Lady Gaga. Well, actually I’ve never met her in person so I don’t know what she’s like, but musically she really inspires me.
Could you talk a little bit about the making of Your Favorite Things?
Around the time of my debut, I worked with a production team called agehasprings. They were trying to figure out what kind of musical influences and genres they wanted me to aim towards. That’s how they got me started making this cover album.
I read on your home page that you lived abroad sometime [in the UK]. What did you learn from coping with a different culture?
It was definitely difficult to blend in with a different culture and it was a lot of stress for me. But I like the sound of English words so I felt very lucky to be in a different country.
You had to take a break from singing when you were 15. Can you describe your emotions at the time and how you overcame this trial, and what gave you your strength?
Obviously, I was very shocked that I couldn’t sing and I was saddened by it. But by losing my voice, it actually made me appreciate music more than I used to. That is how I overcame and conquered losing my voice.
Did any person or specific inspiration give you that strength?
I went to a lot of hospitals and a lot of doctors, and I finally came across a very well-known doctor. When we were able to figure out what was wrong, it helped me move on.
So identifying the exact cause helped?
Yes.
After that, your voice evolved to what some call a “dry and sweet” tone. Can you elaborate on that?
It made me very happy and glad to hear people say that about my voice, because I’m not trying to act, to sing [with] that voice…it’s how I sing now. I really appreciate it because it’s my natural voice.
One of your songs is called “Re: I Am” and I understand a deconstruction of your performing name (Aimer). Can you explain what it means to you personally?
So this song was written by Hiroyuki Sawano. If you switch around my name it’s “Re: I Am” (an anagram). Before that song, I was singing very quiet, mellow songs, but this is very different…it was like discovering a new me. It was a very emotional encounter.
What adjustments did you have to make when you went from an indie artist to a major label one?
Moving to a major label meant I got to meet more fans, and I want to see and hear more from them. I appreciate all the support.
Could you talk about your experience working on the Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works song, “Last Stardust”?
“Last Stardust” was going to be the OP, but instead “Brave Shine” was chosen. However [the song] is like a farewell to a very weak me, taking that to the past, and becoming a stronger me.
*Note: Aimer is referring to the ED for the live action film version of Honey and Clover, “Mahou no Kotoba,” not the anime EDs, which were done by Suneohair and others.
Itaru Hinoue is lead character designer and one of the founding members of Key Visual Arts, one of the most influential visual novel studios in Japan. Her moe character style has helped define entire genres of visual novels and anime, from titles starting with Kanon and continuing into Air and Clannad. Inoue also contributed to the scenario of Key’s latest visual novel, Rewrite, and has also done other artwork as collected in her art book White Clover.
This interview was conducted by Lily Huang and Michael Huang. It has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
[Michael] When you started designing characters for Key, did you imagine that it would inspire an entire approach to doing this “moe” style?
I didn’t expect it at all!
[Michael] What were you trying to capture in designing characters that way, especially girl characters?
My characters have to be cute–that’s what I was going for.
After you did Kanon and Air, which were very popular games, was there a lot of pressure to meet fans’ expectations between Kanon, Air, and Clannad?
I did feel pressure to make it a better creation, to draw it better, to make better illustrations for each project I had.
I ask because Kanon and Air were only one year apart, but there was a 4 year gap between Air and Clannad.
Overall we wanted to do better because Air sold so well. We ended up taking four years because we wanted to go above and beyond.
Between Clannad and Little Busters, you worked on BL games. Do you think boys can be moe?
(Laughs) You must be really into it! I like making very handsome people…because I had been drawing girls, I wanted to draw some guys. With my style of moe, I can draw them…I like the smaller boys so I can apply it the way I like.
When I came across your BL work in White Clover I was surprised. It’s so different from what you’ve done before.
After Clannad I was trying to figure out what to do next, and I wanted to draw boys. I gathered some girls and did some [focus] testing to see what kind of drawings worked, and ended up making it at the company. That’s how it started off.
[Michael] What does moe mean to you, personally?
It means kawaii (cute).
[Michael] What do you hope the audience feels when they see one of your characters?
That’s a hard question! I want them to think–“my wife.” I want them to love them that much. I want them cute enough to say “they ARE my wife.”
Shizuru from Rewrite.
What are your favorite character types to create–tsundere, megane, eyepatch, cool, etc.?
With Shizuru [Nakatsu, from Rewrite], I stuffed in everything I like into that chracter. That could be your base line of what I like to draw.
Are you aware that there are a lot of fans overseas of Key, and we were able to raise $500,000 for an English translation of Clannad?
I didn’t know it was overseas as much, but at Comiket, I did see some overseas users that visited.
Will Key focus on the overseas market in the future?
[producer] We’ll try!
How did you develop your special style of creating characters, with the large eyes and high noses?
I’ve been drawing since I was little, and I’ve always liked large eyes–it’s a staple. Whenever I draw they just end up being big.
Ryukishi07 of 07th Expansion is a pioneer in the visual novel scene. Best known as the original creator of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni, he has been plumbing the depths of suspense, horror, and mystery for many years. Recently, in a change of genre, he wrote Lucia’s route in Key Visual Arts’ most recent visual novel, Rewrite (whose head writer was Aura and Humanity Has Declined’s Romeo Tanaka).
This interview was conducted by Lily Huang, and comes courtesy of MangaGamer. It has been edited for clarity and concision.
Why do your stories revolve around the tension between natural or supernatural explanations for phenomenon? (For instance, the curse of Oyashiro-sama in Higurashi, the Red or Blue Truth in Umineko, and Lucia’s route in Rewrite.)
I like to leave it up to the audience to figure it out on their own.
Do what audiences come up with ever contradict what you imagined?
Yes, there are times when I present something, but readers take it a different way. It happens a lot. In the case of Higurashi, it took four years to make, and the readers had a lot of opinions and feedback, and I would take that and incorporate it into the next work. It’s like catching and passing a ball back and forth, an ongoing process.
You worked on Rewrite’s Lucia route, which was a collaboration with many other people. Was it harder to write it without any feedback from fans?
In the case of Higurashi and Umineko, it was my own work so I could do whatever I wanted. In Rewrite, it was Key Visual Arts’ work so I had to respect that, and it made me really nervous to write in a very different style and thought process.
When you did the Lucia route, did you have to write more “business” type than “passion” type than you usually do? How did it make your work with Key more or less difficult?
For me, when I could write anything I wanted, it was harder to come up with things. With Rewrite, there’s already a world and setting set up for me, as well as a character. It’s actually easier to write and expand that world. It was fun.
Did you write the route knowing the ending ahead of time, or not?
Rewrite itself is by Romeo Tanaka, and I couldn’t change that–there was already an initial setting for Lucia. But the direction of the story was up to me, as long as it was possible in that world. The ending was mine.
Overall what was your experience like as a collaborator? What did you like and what would you change?
Before Rewrite, I only wrote mystery, murders, suspense…it was the first time I wrote a love story. I found a lot of new things about my writing style. It was a good experience.
We know you as a creator who works very closely with fans–Umineko and Higurashi had changes after fan feedback. How has your interaction with fans changed since then?
When I wrote Higurashi and Umineko, I was still young and energetic, so I could go all the way. Now I’m getting kind of old and want to settle down, and find a new way of writing to fit my current stamina.
What is it like working with fan translation groups like Witch Hunt vs official companies like MangaGamer?
I’m always surprised because my games are so long, and there’s so much text, it’s surprising someone can translate all that work. They must have so much passion over the story.
What is like working with MangaGamer?
I’m very happy that we released new artwork for Higurashi and putting things on Steam. I’m happy to see new fans try things out that way.
What are your thoughts of the future of the doujin and visual novel market in Japan vs America? Do you see fan involvement being more important in the future?
Today’s visual novels are released by commercial companies; they are such high quality, they’re almost like [professional] anime. But people like fans that are making their own sound novels for the first time, they’re unable to get to that level at the start. I’m a little worried about them. But it’s OK that there can be two separate worlds of visual novels–very high quality commercial novels as well as old-fashioned pictures and music sound novels.
