The TV anime "Snowball Earth," based on the manga by Yuhiro Tsuji, currently serialized in "Monthly Spirits" (Shogakukan), will begin airing on Nippon Television's "FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT" block every Friday at 11:30 PM starting April 3rd. It's a sci-fi x monster x robot action story set on Snowball Earth, an Earth covered in snow and ice. It had already generated a lot of buzz before the anime adaptation was announced, with praise coming from people like Masami Yuki and Kazuki Nakashima. Behind the creation of this話題作 (much-talked-about work) was the author Tsuji's extraordinary love and passion for robot manga and robot anime. We interviewed Tsuji before the anime's broadcast.
◇Drawing robots was natural and inevitable.
The robot genre may not be considered mainstream in the manga world these days. Of course, robots are a classic genre, but with the exception of a few long-running series, it tends to be difficult to produce hits with them.
"I've always wanted to draw manga about giant robots. I've loved robot anime ever since I was in middle school. It all started with ' Gurren Lagann.' From there, I got hooked on works like 'Gunbuster,' ' Martian Successor Nadesico,' ' Getter Robo,' 'Gundam,' 'Macross,' and the 'Patlabor' series. I was drawing manga with the goal of becoming a professional during my university years, and the very first work I submitted to a publisher featured giant robots. For me, drawing robots was a very natural and inevitable choice."
"Snowball Earth" follows a story set 10 years after a shy boy named Tetsuo and his giant robot Yukio fought a final battle for the survival of humanity, only to return to a frozen Earth. How did the idea of setting the story on an Earth in an ice age come about?
"It all started with the idea of creating a manga about monster gourmet food. I love Ryoko Kui's ' Delicious in Dungeon' and Satoshi Mizukami's 'Enigma Viking,' and I thought that if I combined the unusual gourmet food of eating things that don't exist in reality with my favorite giant robot stories, I would start thinking about a robot manga about eating monsters. If the characters are going to eat monsters, there needs to be a compelling reason why they have to eat them. So I thought, what if an ice age hit and food became scarce? If the only way to get protein is from monster meat, then the monsters, which were previously something we wanted to drive away, would become something we'd be in trouble without. I thought that reversal of roles was interesting, so I solidified the setting."
"From there, we continued by adding some common tropes found in robot anime," he said.
"In robot anime, the final battle often takes place in space, and that's one of my favorite things about it. So, I started creating the story from the idea that it would be sad for the protagonist if, while he was engaged in a fierce battle in space, an ice age hit Earth, and when he returned from space, the world had changed... In my mind, there's an image of about 50 episodes, or four seasons' worth, of robot anime existing before the first episode. I'm drawing this manga with the feeling that it begins from the 'final episode' of that fictional anime."
◇ A robot that has the feel of a "solid block of iron"
The giant robot Yukio has an endearing design. He's also a kind-hearted robot who takes care of Tetsuo, who has trouble communicating.
"The design is based on the anime I watched as a child. I love the low-profile designs of characters like Kyoro-chan, Kirby, and robots like the Gunmen from Gurren Lagann, The Doraemon, and Hikarian. In manga, if the robots are too mechanical and don't speak, readers unfamiliar with robot stories might find it difficult to get into. But I thought that if they had the approachability of a mascot character, even readers unfamiliar with robot stories could enjoy them as characters, so I designed them cutely with that in mind to attract readers."
On the other hand, it also possesses a sense of gravitas that will impress robot anime fans. The balance between cuteness and coolness is exquisite.
"There are parts where my personal preferences are fully expressed. I like the heavy, solid designs of Getter 1, Big O, and Gunbuster, the way they stand there with a thud. I love the feeling of a solid block of iron. I especially love Getter 1's design with no curves. Recently there are a lot of stylish robots, but with Yukio, I focused on the sense of mass. The feeling that his stomach is packed full of machinery! I don't really know what's packed inside (laughs), but I just love that overwhelming volume."
The monsters, like the robots, were designed with the reader's entry point in mind.
"I wanted readers unfamiliar with kaiju to be able to easily immerse themselves in the world. That's why the kaiju that appear in the early chapters incorporate animal motifs. As the manga progresses, I gradually made the kaiju look more like they were made out of costumes, and of course, I was heavily influenced by 'Kamata Shin Godzilla'."
◇My experience as a salaried worker also came in handy.
The protagonist, Tetsuo, being extremely shy around strangers might be a setting unique to modern times. People who struggle with interpersonal relationships will surely relate to him.
"When readers unfamiliar with robot stories read this manga, if the first chapter tells them that the protagonist is fighting monsters in the far reaches of space while piloting a giant robot, it's usually difficult for them to empathize. That's why I wanted the protagonist to have problems that everyone could relate to and root for, so I made him shy. I'm shy myself. Because there are parts of him that I can relate to, I can depict the nuances of his emotions without hesitation."
Mr. Tsuji has experience as a salaried worker, and he has also faced difficulties due to his shyness. That experience is proving useful.
"My experience as a salaryman has come in handy in this work. When you enter the workforce, there are moments when you just need to make small talk, right? I stumbled spectacularly in those situations. I was alone with a client and didn't know what to talk about, so I just fell silent... Because of that experience, I was able to realistically depict Tetsuo's struggles with communication, and I was able to incorporate elements of a corporate organization into the enemy monsters, which made it really fun to draw."
The anime will be directed by Munehisa Sakai and produced by Studio KAI. Takeshi Iwata will serve as assistant director, Shigeru Murakoshi will handle series composition, and Toshiya Kawano will be in charge of character design and chief animation direction. A stellar staff has assembled, including mecha designer Kim Se-jun and monster designer Ryuta Yanagi.
Tsujitsugu, who draws his favorite robot manga, is delighted that it's going to be made into an anime, saying, "For someone like me who loves robot anime, this is truly a dream come true."
"I'm truly grateful that such wonderful people are creating this. I've actually seen the animation, and it's incredibly powerful. They've clearly respected the original work, and I was amazed by the unique expressions that only animation can offer. The advantage of manga is that readers can use their imagination to fill in the gaps between panels, but animation fills those gaps with so many creative ideas. Even something as simple as the movement of a door opening—I learned so much, thinking, 'Wow, that's how you can make it look interesting!' The original manga was created with the desire to share the joy of giant robot anime with readers, so I hope we can all enjoy this anime together."
From Mr. Tsuji's words, I could sense a passionate desire to spread not just his love for robot anime, but the culture itself. I look forward to seeing how far Tetsuo and Yukio's story will soar now that it has been given the great wings of animation. (Manami Anima/MANTANWEB)
