" Paris ni Saku Etoile, " an original animated feature film directed by Goro Taniguchi , known for the " Code Geass " series and "One Piece Film Red," will be released on March 13th. Kondo Katsuya, who has worked on character design and key animation for Studio Ghibli films such as " Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," is in charge of character concept, teaming up with director Taniguchi for the first time. The film features a stellar staff, including Reiko Yoshida as the scriptwriter and Yu Yamashita as character designer and chief animation director. Born from Taniguchi's desire to "create an original animated feature film that would appeal to a wider audience," the film is set in Paris in the early 1900s and tells the story of Fujiko, who dreams of becoming a painter, and Chizuru, who is passionate about ballet, as they persevere and strive to pursue their dreams despite the difficult times. It seems unusual for a Taniguchi film, but... We spoke with director Taniguchi and character designer and chief animation director Yamashita about the behind-the-scenes production.
◇Is this an unusual work by Goro Taniguchi?
When did the project start?
Director Taniguchi: This was before COVID-19. It was around 2017 or 2018. We were planning an anime feature film and were thinking about how we could get people to come to the cinema. At the time, there was a strong tendency to focus on original works, but we felt that we couldn't just rely on that... so we started to shape the project. In 2019, we went to Paris with Yamashita to scout locations, and that was our first meeting. I was wondering what kind of person would be coming, so I was relieved when I actually met him and found that he was someone I could talk to properly.
Yamashita: When I first got in touch with Kalki Rajeev of Arbo Animation, I was a little wary, wondering if this was really going to happen, since the other staff members were all incredible people I'd never worked with before. From the beginning, it had been decided that the setting would be Paris, but the content was a little different. A while later, I was told they were going on a location scouting trip and asked me to join them, and that's when I realized this was really a project in motion.
-Why did you set the story in Paris?
Director Taniguchi: It's a big part of it that if you're in Paris, everyone has heard of it. If you set it in the future, it becomes science fiction, and if you set it in modern-day Japan, it's missing something to get people to come to the cinema. I wanted women to see it too, but I couldn't think of any ideas or visuals for a film set in Japan's past.
-Were you thinking of targeting women?
Director Taniguchi: No, it wasn't like that. I wanted it to be seen by a wide range of people. That's why I was thinking of something that wasn't sci-fi or robots. In the anime industry, projects tend to be driven by men, so I wanted to make something a little different.
--I also felt that the tone was similar to that of World Masterpiece Theater films such as Isao Takahata's Anne of Green Gables.
Director Taniguchi: It may have just come out naturally because I like Takahata Isao. So it's my responsibility.
Yamashita: When I first saw Kondo Katsuya's original character designs, I thought I should just use them as they were, but I decided to go ahead and do the character designs myself.
--Isn't this a bit different from Director Taniguchi's works?
Is that true, Director Taniguchi ? For example, if the main character is a woman, there's "Maria the Virgin Mary," and if it's about the everyday life of ordinary people, there's "Planetes." I don't think there's any difference. However, I do feel grateful that I was able to enjoy the luxury. It's rare to see a work with so many moving mobs. Partway through, I thought it was my own version of "Gauche the Cellist" (director Takahata's anime). I was making it little by little, with a feeling similar to an independent production.
◇ Express as much as possible by hand
--In addition to ballet and naginata scenes, everyday scenes such as meal scenes are carefully depicted.
Director Taniguchi: The ballet and meal scenes are difficult, but by carefully planning them, we were able to make them go smoothly. I wanted to avoid putting the lies of the anime at the forefront. For the naginata scenes, we had Yamashita and the sword fighting animation director Nakata Eiji actually wield the naginata. We also had a professional dance the ballet, and then had the experienced Yaguchi act as the ballet animation supervisor.
-Did you carefully create an environment where you could create the drawings properly?
Director Taniguchi thoroughly researches and listens to what we have to say before we begin work. Even for a small item, if there is even the slightest doubt about whether a certain color or shape is appropriate, he asks researcher Seiichi Shirato to look into it.
Yamashita-san carefully takes care of these arrangements.
Director Taniguchi: This work wouldn't work if it had any fantasy elements. The work had to convey the space in which these women lived. There weren't many lies to be included. Of course, there are limits to research, but I wanted to be convinced, and if possible, to understand. Ballet and naginata are both physical languages, so you have to understand that. It's not enough to just film them and have them draw while watching the footage.
Yamashita: When we were making the pilot film, I thought it would be difficult without a specialist.
-What instructions did Director Taniguchi give to Yamashita?
When Director Taniguchi went to Paris to scout locations, he talked to Yamashita about his thoughts on anime, and as long as it wasn't too far off from the original work, he basically left it up to him.
Yamashita-san, we talked about how to think about the contours of shadows. I'm not the type of person who draws strong pictures, so I wanted to match Kondo-san's atmosphere. The art was very beautiful from the pilot film onwards, so I thought it would be fine to draw the characters in a simpler style. There's no need to add more shadows than necessary. However, it can be difficult to completely eliminate shadows, so I add only the necessary shadows where necessary. I thought it would be fine as long as the characters' colors were solid.
Director Taniguchi shared Yamashita's desire to control as much information as possible by drawing by hand, since it's a hand-drawn animation. In this work, we tried to express as much of the emotional elements as possible by hand, rather than post-processing them. Although CG is used, the directing style is special effects, in the sense that everything is prepared before filming. The idea is not to rely too much on post-processing, or VFX. Drawing by hand is what makes it so compelling and interesting. I hope animators retain that pride. Even when asking the cinematographer for help, rather than simply saying, "Thank you!", we should be the ones to express our intentions about what we want them to do. Well, that's part of the director's role, I suppose. It's not that I don't trust the cinematographer; it depends on the project, and it's more about the weight of the director's work on a larger level. This time, the cinematographer is doing the behind-the-scenes work, in ways that are difficult for the audience to understand.
◇Don't boast about your skills
-Did you make full use of the technology that Japanese anime has developed up to now?
Director Taniguchi believed that he could fully express his skills by trusting them and building on them. He focused on the techniques he learned and acquired when he entered the industry. He uses the latest technology, but doesn't make it look like he's using it.
--Aren't you being overwhelmed by the latest technology?
Director Taniguchi doesn't use things to show off his skills, but uses what's necessary because it's necessary. I know this is just me saying, but trying to do something difficult with such a difficult subject is no good as a business.
The same goes for Yamashita-san 's acting direction. He puts in the necessary acting from the character's point of view, but doesn't shy away from it.
Director Taniguchi and (character director) Chiba Yuriko were involved, and we unified the direction at the layout stage. For example, if a character turns around, the key animator's plan, the director's instructions, and then my instructions are given to Chiba, who then fleshes it out. Then the animation director comes in. I asked him to specify that for this character, the character should turn around with a slight pause. Anime is partly made up of symbols, but I wanted to avoid it becoming a collection of existing symbols as much as possible. I wanted to make it into a theatrical performance as much as possible.
--I carefully drew the characters.
There are some things that were possible because it was a feature film directed by Taniguchi . If we had asked for this much from a TV anime, I don't think any studio would have been able to do it.
Yamashita: It depends on the budget and production period, but I think it would be difficult for an extremely average TV show.
Director Taniguchi: In the end, it took a long time. Arbo Animation is not a big studio, so there were times when we had no choice but to work steadily. There were many times when we were in a pinch. There were also times when we had to use brute force.
It's been more than two years since Yamashita-san started drawing. If it were a well-known big title, I don't think it would be such a long time to worry about, but since we're not a large studio, I honestly had some nerves wondering if we could even do it.
Director Taniguchi: This was completed with the cooperation of many people.
It had been a long process for Yamashita-san , so just before the delivery I felt a sense of sadness that it was almost over. At the same time, I felt joy that I could finally show it to everyone.
"Paris ni Saku Etoile" returns to its roots in hand-drawn art, expressing the era and atmosphere in which the two girls lived. It will be interesting to see how this new frontier for director Taniguchi is received. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
