Newtype Exclusive Interview: “Suicide Squad ISEKAI” Director Eri Ohta × Producer Sho Ohtani

A group of super villains are on the rampage in another world!

The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X, is a special task force of supervillains who are forced to carry out top-secret government missions in exchange for lighter sentences. Nano bombs implanted in the necks of team members mean death for anyone who disobeys Commander Amanda Waller’s orders. They fight fire with fire. While they may be villains with no regard for life or any sense of morality, there are threats in this world that only they can deal with.

Known as the dark force behind Justice League, Suicide Squad quickly gained worldwide recognition with the live-action film released in 2016. Now Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad are inseparable. The animated adaptation is no exception, with Harley at the center of all the action. How will Gotham’s Bad Queen cope when she finds herself thrust into another world?

director Eri Ohta × Producer Ohtani Sho (Smart Studio)

Portraying Harley Quinn as an independent woman

——How did Daejeon end up participating in this project?

Ohtani: A lot of it was because I knew her skills and her personality, but I also felt like the project would go more smoothly if we had someone who knew her. DC Comics. When I heard that Ohta was a DC fan, I was looking for someone who fit that criteria (laughs).

Ota: Actually, I don’t know much about it. I’ve seen The Flash I heard it was very interesting and ended up getting hooked on the TV series. And then when I started putting stuff like merch from Comic-Con on my desk, people seemed to like me The Flash Being a DC fan, then word got out (laughs).

——Has this plan really been brewing for a long time?

Ohtani: Yes. We started working on suicide squad When the first movie first came out.

Ota: They announced that director James Gunn is producing his next film (suicide squad) and I’ve heard about the characters that will be in it. There is a Harley Quinn movie (raptor) during this period as well. I remember talking about how Joker and Harley broke up in the movie. We were like, “What are we going to do?!” (laughs).

Ohtani: In the end we decided to portray Harley as a woman who is with the Joker but clearly stands on her own two feet.

Nagata: To study, I watched a lot of cartoons featuring Harley, but even in those cartoons, she had an altercation with the Joker, so I thought it would be okay to change it up. We decided to take it a step further and add some color by having her be an independent girl, in a relationship or ending up in a relationship, and having a boyfriend.

——What did you pay most attention to when creating the character of Harley?

Ota: I want her legs to look beautiful. After seeing so many Harleys, I decided not to go for the sexy look this time. So I asked the character designer Akira Amano Giving her a more androgynous look…except still having some femininity and long, cute legs.

–Naoto Hosoda In addition to Amano, he is also credited as a character designer.

Ohta: We could only ask Amano for designs for up to ten characters, so we really wanted to find someone who could match his designs. We gave Knight Commander Cecil a very unique look.

Ohtani: The Joker is really popular, and all the animators want to draw him, but Cecil doesn’t like it that much (laughs).

Ohta: I like him, but he does have a funny face and is an original character to the series. King Shark’s overall workwear outfit was also Hosoda’s idea.

——The design of the clown’s side-swept bangs covering his left eye is a bit novel, right?

Osada: At first I wasn’t sure which past Joker I wanted to cast. But since his relationship with Harley had taken the next step, we decided to find a new look for the Joker to go with it. I asked for a clown who wasn’t the usual giggly joke type, but one who looked like he was trying his best to act like a normal person, but was actually full of craziness. That’s why I also didn’t want to cast someone who had already played him. Although when Xiao Yasuo (Played the Joker in the Japanese dubbing of two movies) suicide squad and The Lego Batman Movie) I was really shaken when I was auditioning for this role.

Ohtani: But in the end, I’m glad we got Xiao An to play the peacemaker. I think the craziness of Peacemaker really suits Ann’s voice.

——So, what are your criteria for selecting members of the Suicide Squad?

Ohta: I thought if we just used the same members as in the movie, viewers who weren’t too interested would think it was just a remake, so at first I thought, “Let’s change everyone except Harry!” But that’s also Too reckless (laughs). Some people also like other characters like the Peacemaker, so I think just changing the cast of the movie a little bit would strike the best balance. I actually suggested Captain Boomerang, but everyone said “he’s just a boomerang thrower” and rejected me (laughs).

——Finally, how do you feel about all of this now?

Ohta: Things are really changing all the time! We did have concerns at the script stage about the art budget and having to take some steps, which episodes to take breaks and so on (laughs).

Otani: Despite our request to reduce costs, I was surprised to find that work was noticeably more dynamic than before (laughs).

Ohta: I do feel a little anxious about the way I direct. I’ve directed a lot of individual episodes in the past, but I’m the type of person who wants to stay true to the director’s intent to keep the overall balance, which is something I think is appreciated. But since I was the main director this time around, I think maybe I ended up doing too much of what I wanted to do, which upset the overall balance. For example, the scene where the clown comes out of the car in the first episode was not actually mentioned in the script, but I turned it into a car chase (laughs). But when it was done, I found myself wondering, in amazement, that maybe that’s how it really works. Or at least, the flow keeps the audience on their toes!

This interview was originally published on new typeJuly 2024 issue.

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