- Interview Location: Anime Expo 2026
- Interview Format: In Person, One-on-One
Director Hirotuki Seshita and scriptwriter Hiroshi Seko were kind enough to sit down with us at Anime Expo.
Anime Herald: The [Thunder 3] anime is very faithful to the manga, particularly in the opening sequence. Are you at all concerned about the initial impression the anime will make on viewers who don’t understand the context?
Hiroyuki Seshita: I wanted an honest surprise as a reaction. The awkwardness is intentional; Having two styles of artwork existing in one anime.
Hiroshi Seko: As the director said, we wanted a big surprise reveal. This anime has an extreme style, but it is rooted in a mainstream story of rescuing your little sister. The artwork itself is an extreme curveball, however the storyline is very straightforward.
Hiroyuki Seshita: A slow curve.
Anime Herald: Episode two ends on a cliffhanger. How did the team feel about choosing that point in the story as the cutoff?
Hiroyuki Seshita: I, myself, am a very big fan of cliffhangers. For this series, I made sure each episode I created had a cliffhanger at the end.
Hiroshi Seko: Likewise, I love cliffhangers as well. I see that inspiration coming from the fact that I love international dramas.
Anime Herald: What are your respective origin stories? How did you choose to enter the industry?
Hiroyuki Seshita: In six months, it will be my sixtieth birthday. I can say that my inspirations for my origin story were (George) Lucas and (Steven) Spielberg.
Hiroshi Seko: It sounds similar. I took a big inspiration from The Goonies, myself. That was my first step into the industry.
Anime Herald: What was behind the decision to accentuate the height differences between the cartoon dog and the “real world” dog?
Hiroyuki Seshita: When the decision was made that I would be working on the anime, I studied the original comics. As I read them, me and my staff became really big fans of Futaba and her dog. They made a strong impression on us. Because of that deep love for the two, we wanted to differentiate the two worlds. That’s the reason why.
Anime Herald: What would you like our readers to know aboutThunder 3?
Hiroyuki Seshita: That’s a very difficult question.
My message here is more emotional rather than logical. I wanted to recognize and send out a message about the strength of the Japanese original comic style. How cute and lovable this form of artwork can be. That can be done with a juxtaposition of two different art styles.
Anime Herald: I’m going to go off on a slight tangent here. Are you familiar with the originalPopeyecomics?
Hiroyuki Seshita: Yes. I love them.
Anime Herald: There is something called “DEATH BATTLE!” where they pit strong comic characters against each other. In “DEATH BATTLE!”, it was revealed that Popeye was the strongest comic character ever created.
Anime Herald: It sounds strange because you can think of so many other characters that have more powers. Popeye is just a brawler. But Popeye has done two things that are amazing. The first is when God decided to reboot reality,Popeye was still there.
The second, which is even more amazing, is that it is canon thatPopeye knocked out his own animator.
I bring this up because, inThunder 3,we have characters from a comic world and characters from the real world. As you know with how the cliffhanger from episode two ends, the characters from the comic world are too powerful to be damaged by the real world.
Hiroyuki Seshita: I agree.
Anime Herald: I view the Thunder 3 as three little Popeyes.
Hiroshi Seko: I agree. They are very strong in the real world. However, the twist here is, as opposed to Popeye, who is a strong man and is portrayed as a strong man, these three kids are kids. Maybe even below average for a kid.
Anime Herald: There is going to be a scene in the third episode when the aliens shoot the little girl, and she ends up covered in dust, and they think they’ve killed her. Then she’s just fine.
Hiroyuki Seshita: I am happy you picked up on that part. Thank you. Futaba winning against violence with cuteness is something I and the team put our focus on. Cute power over force and violence is something that feels good in my heart, and hopefully for the viewers as well.
Anime Herald: Do you have any questions for us?
Hiroshi Seko: We don’t know how Thunder 3 will be received by American audiences. Do you have any idea?
Anime Herald: I use this example a lot. William Goldman wroteThe Princess Bride. He has a great quote about Hollywood: “Nobody knows anything.” That applies to anime as well. Nobody knows when something will be a hit or a complete failure. I hopeThunder 3is a hit because I like the manga. Sometimes a show is expected to be a hit and it flops. Sometimes a show becomesYuri!!! on Ice.
Hiroshi Seko: Thank you.
Hiroyuki Seshita: The reason why we ask this is, with the contextof Thunder3 having the aesthetic of (Osamu) Tezuka or (Fujio) Akatsuka, Japanese people would understand the context. They would get to enjoy watching the manga world and the real world. American or international fans might not have that cultural understanding of Tezuka or Akatsuka. That’s why we are very interested in how it could be received.
Anime Herald: Are you familiar withWho Framed Roger Rabbit? That blended animation and the real world. This is a little different, as it has animation and an animated real world. We’ll see what viewers think. Also, something interesting aboutThunder 3is that the animated world is more like the real world than the real world withinThunder 3, because of the aliens.
Hiroyuki Seshita: I agree.
Anime Herald: Thank you.
Hiroyuki Seshita & Hiroshi Seko: Thank you.
