The TV anime " A Witch's Life in Mongol ," based on the manga by Tomato Soup, which was also selected as the No. 1 female manga in " Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2023" (Takarajimasha), began airing on July 4th in TV Asahi's anime block "IMAnimation." Naoko Yamada , known for " The Heike Story," "A Silent Voice," and "The Colors Within ," is the general director, Abel Gongora, known for the second season of " Dandadan," is the director, and Science SARU is producing it. Unusually for an anime, it is set in 13th-century Mongolia. It is an anime, so there is movement, but it also has a painterly beauty. How was this unprecedented visual beauty created? We asked Director Abel.
◇ Naoko Yamada expresses her respect for Kenichi Yoshida
"A Witch's Life in Mongol" is based on a manga serialized on Akita Shoten's manga website "Souffle." The story follows Shitara, a girl who becomes a prisoner of the Mongol Empire and decides to use her wits to gain favor with the royal family and bring down the empire from within. The anime was apparently produced under the leadership of two people, General Director Yamada and Director Abel, but there wasn't a clear division of roles between them.
"Ms. Yamada started working on the script from the beginning, and I became fully involved from the visual development stage. We worked together on things like visual style, character design, art direction, and storyboard checking. Once we started actual production, Ms. Yamada's areas of involvement changed, but the degree of her involvement varied from stage to stage, so it's a little difficult to explain in general terms."
I'm inspired by working on anime with Mr. Yamada.
"I've admired her work for a long time, and I've always wanted to learn from her approach to storyboarding and art direction. She's truly amazing, and it was a great opportunity to be involved with her. I also learned a lot from her in how she communicates with the team."
Kenichi Yoshida is in charge of the anime's character design and is participating as the animation chief. Yoshida is a former Studio Ghibli staff member and is known for his character designs in works such as "The Orbital Children," "Gundam Reconguista in G," "Eureka Seven," and "OVERMAN King Gainer." Abel also highly praises Yoshida's work.
"Having Mr. Yoshida involved in this project was a huge surprise. I was truly excited. He exceeded my expectations. We have a really great team of animators, but he makes it even better. He captures subtle expressions and conveys complex emotions. Every time he draws a character, it suddenly looks special somehow. It's truly amazing."
◇A composition that is both realistic and artificial
The story is set in 13th-century Mongolia, a period rarely depicted in anime or manga. The original artwork is also unique, and the anime adaptation brilliantly captures that original visual style.
"I felt that the original work had a classic feel to it, and I wanted to make the most of that. I wasn't simply imitating the manga, but I tried to bring a classic feel to the art, character design, colors, and music. For example, I was influenced by works from Toei Animation's (formerly Toei Doga) golden age, such as 'Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji,' for which Yasuji Mori was the animation director. I tried to make that more apparent, and it also influenced the style of the backgrounds. Regarding the character processing, I tried to reduce the digital feel and make it look more analog. For example, I made the lines rougher, added texture to the colors, and added a little grain in the final composite."
As it's an anime, there's naturally movement, but it also possesses a beauty reminiscent of a painting.
"Even in storyboards, I tried to incorporate experimental and flat compositions. For example, I was influenced by film directors like Yasujiro Ozu and Wes Anderson. Rather than naturalistic depictions, I tried to push a slightly artificial style by using symmetrical compositions, low camera positions, and shallow depth of field. Conversely, in important or dramatic scenes, I also used natural compositions and extreme perspectives."
As Abel says, "Many things were a challenge," he aimed for a new form of expression while paying meticulous attention to every detail.
"Mr. Yamada is a very easy person to work with, but working with another director like this was a challenge. Also, the composition, which I mentioned earlier, was a challenge. In my previous anime, I've tried to make things as realistic and cinematic as possible, without using symmetrical compositions or isometric projection. However, I thought it would be interesting to bring in influences from Persian art at the storyboard stage, so I incorporated artificial compositions as well. I also didn't want to make any mistakes regarding Persian and Mongolian culture. I want the people who have those cultural backgrounds to be proud of them. To do that, we needed to pay attention to every detail. Persian and Mongolian history is very rich, but none of the team members are from those regions. We had to put in a lot of effort to show respect."
"A Witch's Life in Mongol" is an anime unlike any other, brilliantly blending nostalgia and novelty. I urge you to see for yourself the story, the visuals, and the overwhelming expressiveness of the characters. (Manami Anima/MANTANWEB)
