How a small team creates huge success: A look back at animated film director Kiyotaka Oshiyama

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Kiyotaka Oshiyama and Durian Studio It may not be familiar to casual anime fans, but the team’s latest performance is worth keeping an eye on. The small studio team’s previous work has mainly focused on the design of series like this Deca-dens and FLCL: Shoe shinealthough they have recently expanded to assist Hayao Miyazakiof Oscar-winning films boy and heron. Ashan and his flip clap Animation alumni look forward to their own success reviewan animated adaptation from the fan-favorite creator Tatsuki Fujimotosingle volume comic. The film, which is less than an hour long, was a huge success at the Japanese box office, grossing over 1 billion yen (approximately US$6 million).

The film tells the story of two girls, Kyomoto and Fujino, and their mutual pursuit of art after bonding over their shared love of comics. What started as a hobby turned into a possible career path, but only with dedication and hard work. In our interview with Oshiyama, he shares how the protagonists’ devotion to their craft reflects his own, as well as his most satisfying scenes.

Can you tell us how you decided to set up after working in the anime industry for so long? Durian Studio? What are the goals and aspirations of your studio?

Kiyotaka Oshiyama: I directed this original TV series flip clapI developed a friendship with that creative team as a director, but when the project was completed, the team disbanded. So, when the time came, we were like, “Hey, let’s do something else.” It was hard to put the same team back together. and all experience and expertise gained [through that production] is reset. This seems wrong to me.

And then for me, when I really immersed myself in a particular title, as a director who is completely immersed in making something, or at least that’s what I learned about myself after going through the experience, I realized If I didn’t have my own studio, if I didn’t become the owner, it wouldn’t work.

So I felt that if I was going to devote my own time to my work, it would be best to build my own team, my own studio. That’s basically why I made this decision.

As we steadily transition into an era where animation can be done digitally, rather than the old days where one big team was doing the animation, I think we will eventually find ourselves in an era where animation can be done digitally. Create animations as a team. This is my prediction. So from that point on, we want to be able to manufacture products in the new environment. I feel like that’s all the more reason to have your own team. This is also an important factor.

What was the original plan to adapt Mr. Fujimoto’s manga like? review Coming? Are you already a fan of this story?

Oshiyama: The catalyst was when I was designing demons for Mr. Fujimoto’s manga, chainsaw man. Of course, I also read the comics.

So, when review I read it immediately after it was announced. I didn’t think about turning it into animation. But Ibecks contacted me about making it an anime, and honestly, when I read it, I thought an animated adaptation would be a huge undertaking. This is my impression. But as I thought about it more and more, and working with our small team, our production style, and the content of the original itself, I was like, “Wait; wait;” Actually, This might be a good match, isn’t it? So even though I thought it would be difficult to animate, I decided to do it.

Speaking of forming the team, Fujimoto-sensei commented on social media that he was impressed with your abilities and that you provided most of the key animations yourself. Are there any scenes that you are particularly satisfied with?

Oshiyama: Because it’s always a race against time, there were a lot of parts that I wasn’t happy with how it turned out, but the audience responded well to the parts that I thought were good and I thought would be the best. The jumping part. I animated it, so the scene is etched in my memory.

Is there any pressure to deliver so much key artistry yourself while managing directing duties?

Oshiyama: When you’re doing the work of creating something, no matter what it is, you’re going to experience varying levels of stress. I think in life you are going to be affected by stress in some way and this is no different. But it’s much less stressful than having a large group of people and having to consider everyone’s opinion. For me, it’s easier to work this way.

I’ve had experiences where I would be working with a large team for a long time on something, where what you were trying to convey wasn’t going to be understood. So while working in smaller teams with trusted partners, I tried to move things in a direction that would reduce stress, and that’s where I am now.

As a director, what do you think is the main theme of this film? review Movie? What do you want to convey to your audience?

Oshiyama: I really didn’t want to send any clear message through this movie. As I approached it, though, I settled on a few things, one of which was to show the act of trying to create something and the struggle of being a creator.

You’ll hear a lot of people in Japan these days saying that it’s not cool to work hard for something.

But people in the animation industry making stuff, and I’m sure the same is true for people in the comics industry, this idea of ​​not trying hard or trying hard is so disconnected from anything. I guess you could say that, in a way, it’s meant to be a nod to creators like us, but it can apply to anything where you put in the work to do something. So, I hope that by showing the characters putting their heart and soul into creating something, people will realize that hard work still has meaning.

You can really see that with both characters. One of the protagonists spends all his time trying to get better at drawing, while the other isolates himself in a room. Is that where the idea came from?

Oshiyama: Yes. In terms of the character of the protagonist Fujino, she doesn’t like others to see her working hard, like when she brags that she drew a comic in five minutes. But in reality, she spent a lot of time in her room painting it hard. So, she’s the kind of character who puts in the necessary work behind the scenes. Later, through hard work, she was able to debut as a professional cartoonist, which is closely related to social success.

The original manga doesn’t really show Fujino hard at work, so this is unique to the anime. So we wanted to incorporate the theme of hard work and effort into the original.

Which parts of the film do you feel accurately reflect the emotional dilemma of being a creator?

Oshiyama: This is a scene where the protagonist squats on the table and time passes while working hard. I saw Fujino maintaining the same posture, working hard to draw, the scenery outside the window was constantly changing, and he was surrounded by sketchbooks and reference pictures. Through these visuals, I wanted to portray the vast amount of work she was dedicated to.

As the story progresses, do you find yourself sympathizing more with Fujino or Kyomoto?

Oshiyama: Me personally? Both of them, really. I think both Fujino and Kyomoto reflect on me. I have some of Fujino’s qualities, like wanting to show off, feeling controlled by my own ego, or wanting to be a true creator and improve myself, these pure emotions about the creative process.

review The film was released in Japan on June 28.

translation provider Count of Gottwagen.