Recently wrapped up a fantastic third season. We discuss the excellent 5th with Aniplex producer Tatsuya Ishikawa episodes and his feelings about the show in general. ANN: Episode 5 ED Caused Online made a big splash. Why do you think Vercreek is a good director for the role, and what discussions did you have with him about creating the role?
Tatsuya Ishikawa: The first to reach out and bring Vercreek’s people On board is Mr. Kikuchi, the producer of A-1 Pictures. Mr. Kikuchi is interested because Mr.Vercreek is an outstanding illustrator who has worked in major exhibitions such as Japan. He asked me “This guy has no directing experience, but I’d like to connect. What do you think?” So, I decided to take a look at his work and quickly realized that if we let him handle the whole thing, it’s possible to do something very exciting thing.
Simple: let him use his maximum strength. Because the theme is rap, because Vercreek not Japanese, we told him not to care too much about being culturally aligned with Kaguya-sama *) Do what he likes to do. We let him listen to the song and gave him free rein on the concept and design. The results were surprising. Without any specific directions or requirements, the only thing we asked was hip hop and it was cool. Just these two things. There may be some requirements during the animation process, but other than that, it’s all up to him.
Hip-hop is now getting active attention in several animes. Are there any unique considerations or crew for these scenes and the rap in Season 3 Episode 5?
Director Hatakeyama likes music very much, especially in the 80s and 90s American and British music scene, so the show has quite a strong backbone in terms of music. Actually, there is probably a lot that Japanese teenage anime viewers don’t understand, but I don’t think we should worry too much. Interesting things will transcend generations. This is culture, it transcends borders. Our vision is to pursue anything interesting.
) The third season of Lord Kaguya
is over. What do you think made the series so successful in Japan and abroad?
In addition to the very interesting core foundation of the original (manga), I believe most of the success is due to the work environment, where staff, such as directors and animators, are given the freedom to be creative and pursue the best in A-1 image . Maybe the way things are depicted is more free than the manga, and I don’t think any interpretation is wrong, but the way the adaptation is presented is very unique, yet faithfully done. I think a big factor is that this show is where everyone is committed to cherish Kaguya-sama case.
I want everyone who likes Kaguya-sama , not only in Japan, but also overseas can feel the meaning of the program to the staff.
Has the team faced any particular challenges in the last season of work ? How did they overcome it?
In the U.S., the season finale comes as two separate episodes Episode streaming, Episode and Episode600 , but released as one-hour episodes in Japan. Doubling the workload for two episodes was a challenge when we could have ended the season with one episode. But episodes and It felt more interesting if you could watch it back to back, so we took up the challenge and headed in that direction. In addition, the song “Sentimental Crisis” played in the climax scene of the episode , we wouldn’t be able to have that moment without the accumulation from season 1 to season 2 to season 3. Although the song seems to have been written for that episode, it was there from the beginning. Keeping our theme from Season 1 going all the way to the final climactic moment of Season 3’s finale is a very enjoyable challenge.
Is there a story you personally identify with or remind you of your character youth?
I have to say Ishigami…or maybe that’s me who should say. (laughs)
Actually, I really care about the interactions between all the characters except each story. In Japan, asking for someone’s contact information can be seen as a romantic interest or an expression of love, especially during adolescence. Think about these things – like the control in terms of romantic relationships is… that’s pretty common in Japan so I can relate from a plot point of view, but in terms of characters, I like them just as much. Having said that, since Ishigami and Shirogane Miyuki are the only male protagonists, perhaps I identify with Miyuki’s father the most. Not being too parent-like, I can really relate to wanting someone to do what they want to do now, not later.
