Directors Takahito Sakazu and Jun Enokido discuss adapting Fate/strange Fake for the small screen

as destiny Series celebrates 20th anniversary, Anime News Network spoke to Enokido Shun and Ban Takahitodirector of the upcoming anime fate/strange fake. Together we discussed the history of their series, their concept for adapting the novel into animation, and the involvement of the original creators, Narita Ryogo.

Enokido loved it almost all his life destiny series. “When I was in school, I was one of those fans moon type Works attracted by cute characters Takeuchi Takashi and created world Kinoko Nasu,” he began. It wasn’t until a few years later, in the 2010s, that he and Sakazu began adapting related works into animation.

“The first one [Fate-related] The work I was involved in was an advertisement Destiny/Grand Orderwhich I collaborated with Mr. Enokido. Sakazu continued: “This prompted us to work together as action directors Destiny/Apocrypha——We have often worked together since then Destiny/Grand Orderof [other] advertise.

Like both Destiny/Grand Order and Destiny/Apocrypha, fate/strange fake is an adaptation rather than an original work – in this case, by Ryogo Narita Du La La La! ! and death knight death game reputation. Narita himself was deeply involved in the project, and he wasn’t the only one involved. “From the script to the storyboards, Mr. Narita has been supervising the process of converting it all into animation,” Enokido told me. “Morii Suzuki was the creator of the illustrations for the novel, and he also checked the illustrations—increasing the level of detail for each character,” Sakazu mentioned.

For both directors, it was crucial to maintain the spirit of Narita’s novel while creating the animated version. “When creating anime, I always insist on sticking to the basic principles of the original work,” Enokido explains. “What’s particularly fascinating about Mr. Narita’s work is the way he creates “ensemble dramas woven together with many characters.” When adapting it to animation, we had to think about how we could bring out the personality and drama of each character.

Fortunately, animation lets the visuals do some of the heavy lifting. As Ban Heng said: “As directors, we are fortunate to have a background in animation, and we are also eager to shape our own form of ‘animation expression’ that we have cultivated over the years.”

Of course, adapting a novel into an animation comes with many challenges. “Animation has a time limit because [episodic] format, so we were careful not to leave out any good parts of the original, whenever possible,” Enokido told me before explaining more about their process. “I think the rhythm of Narita’s writing style makes fate/strange fake So interesting. So when it came time to animate it, we did a lot of trial and error with the composition of the scenes and dialogue – so that we could incorporate that sense of rhythm. [into the show] Through the rhythm of the editing and the direction of the sound.

although fate/strange fake will be a regular TV animation, the directors have been able to start the story with a 55-minute TV special Destiny/Strange Fakes-Whispers of the Dawn- last year. However, they didn’t treat it as simply one extra-long episode. “since -Whispers of Dawn- is a TV special, and we consciously created something visually “cinematic.” The composition, colors and characters were all made to reflect this,” Enokido explains. “Another characteristic is [-Whispers of Dawn-] Morii’s paintings are an interesting way to present animation in a cinematic way,” Sakazume added. “We conducted repeated tests to find the right amount of information contained in the visual effects while still allowing the audience to experience the fun of animation.” Enokido feels the same way: “The original animator inspired me a lot. Morii Shizukichallenge yourself to find ways to increase your production.

One way to do this is through settings. The difference is that destiny series, fate/strange fake The story takes place in the United States, in the fictional city of Snowfield. In order to create this location so different from Japanese cities, Enokido and Sakazhao traveled to the United States. “In 2022, we went to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The climate, the smells, the colors I saw – the width of the streets and the products displayed in the supermarkets – everything was exciting. It was like a movie where I only The world I saw was unfolding before my eyes.

“As for me, this was my first time abroad, so I was shocked,” Sakazu told me. “The language and the culture are different, so I’m able to get all kinds of information that I wouldn’t have gotten in my own life situation…I feel like there’s a lot of diversity here.” [the people’s] everyday behaviors and how they communicate.

However, while Snowfield is based on a real-world American city the pair visited, that doesn’t mean it’s a one-to-one replica. “Some [of Snowfield] It felt very real, and I wanted to enhance parts of it in a cinematic way – so some parts of the animation might not necessarily be limited to [the structure of] A real city,” Enokido clarified.

for everyone fate/strange fakes Despite its efforts, it still faces one clear hurdle: potential barriers to entry. After all, the Fate series is already 20 years old. That’s a lot of legend and history. However, Sakazu isn’t too worried about this: “Watching all the other series will be difficult, but even fate/strange fakes You’re watching one of these for the first time destiny series, you can still enjoy it! On the other hand, if he has time, Enokido also has his own opinion as a die-hard fan, “Of course, I would recommend everyone to watch it again.” destiny You probably can with anime. However, just looking at various destiny Series may not be enough. I would be happy if our anime could be a gateway to everyone Moon type Works from Tsukihime exist!