CATDOLL: July new show "Charlotte" Dengeki G'S magazine May issue special interview

I believe everyone is looking forward to the new July anime "Charlotte". As a work of cooperation between Jun Maeda and PAWORKS again, can it still move us like "Angel Beats!"? Dengeki G'S magazine's May issue interviewed the production team members to see what they think about "Charlotte".

STAFF

Original work and screenplay: Jun Maeda

Original character design: Na-Ga

Director: Yoshiyuki Asai

Character design: Kana Sekiguchi

Art Director: Kazuo Higashichi

Sound Director: Satoki Iida

Animation production: PAWORKS

This story depicts the growth of a "mean" protagonist.

Puberty boys and girls have some special abilities. They use them without being known. The protagonist, Yuu Otosaka, who considers himself an excellent student, is destined to meet the girl, Nao Tomori, who also has abilities, and the story begins. Following the 2010 TV animation "Angel Beats!", KEY, Aniplex, and Dengeki G'S magazine jointly created the TV animation "Charlotte".

As in Angel Beats!, Jun Maeda is in charge of the script for all episodes, and NA-GA is in charge of the character design. This is the second TV animation project that the two have collaborated on, so please wait and see how the story will unfold. The center of the story will be the "most despicable" male protagonist Yuu in Jun Maeda's mouth. He looks handsome, but his nature is indeed greedy and despicable. In other words, he has the shortcomings and sensibility that his peers should have. He was enrolled in the Hoshi no Kai (Star Sea) Academy together with other people with special abilities. Will he grow up or gain anything from countless encounters? A touching story is about to begin.

Asai: This character is described as "mean", which makes me feel a little bit like him. He is handsome, and he has the ability to "take over another person's body within five seconds", so anyone would become "mean". So he gives people the feeling that he is greedy and has a head full of dirty thoughts. Please pay more attention to how his story will develop.

Sekiguchi: Speaking of the protagonist of this game, the director said he was a mean guy, and I was surprised and said, "Hey, can I draw him with a look of "I am the boss?" (laughs) So I drew him with a look of "I am the only one who is superior" and other unkind expressions. Also, his eyes need to be processed differently when the ability is activated, and I was worried about how to draw it.

Asai: In a nutshell, this is a mysterious girl who is hard to figure out! It's hard to explain not only from the story perspective but also from the on-site explanation. Some people say that her character image is somewhat similar to the angel in "Angel Beats!", I want to say that you must not be fooled by her appearance (laughs). Although she has some action scenes, in a sense she is not a combat-type character.

Sekiguchi: The heroine in this game has a lot of expressions. This is not only due to the original character design by Na-Ga, but the director also asked me to make the heroine's expressions more diverse in this game, so that she can cover most situations. So I drew very hard (actually, it was not necessary to do so hard...) to show the contrast between her before and after, which was really hilarious (I came up with a lot of expressions... lol).

Asai: I deliberately designed Takagi to be similar to Takamatsu from Angel Beats! For now, I can only ask everyone to look forward to him (laughs). Although he looks like a brainy character, he has the biggest contrast among all the characters. He is a die-hard fan of Yuzuki Nishimori, so please wait and see what kind of sparks will the combination of Yuzuki and Misa and Takagi create.

Sekiguchi: They said this was Takamatsu from Angel Beats!... I immediately grasped the characteristics of the character (laughs). Then I started to think about how to make this handsome guy more perverted... To be honest, I was troubled about whether to keep the hair on his forehead. His expression is easy to recognize without the hair on his forehead. As expected, if it is a cute girl character, it is still cuter like this! But Takamatsu is a man with glasses, and it would look disgusting if the hair on his temples was removed, so I left the hair on both sides (it doesn't matter...).

Hoshinokai Academy Student Union

This is a school that secretly houses people with special abilities. The student council president, Tomoki, leads the members to "use their abilities to solve incidents and problems caused by other people with special abilities" and conducts various activities.

Asai: She (Nishimori Yuzuki) is a lively person. Take the heroine Tomoka for example. She lacks the temperament of being simple and easy to understand, and the temperament that can give people a cute feminine power is supplemented by Nishimori Yuzuki. There are many shots of her idol poses. In short, she is a simple and energetic girl in the usual sense. By the way, there is a dance choreographed by Maeda-san for her in the animation, so stay tuned!

Sekiguchi: Because she is set as an idol, I tried to make her expressions as cute as possible and avoid making her look too annoying. In the main anime, I think her cute behavior is also a highlight. Also... Yuzuki should be considered a big-breasted character among the main characters, right? I realized it after seeing the storyboard drawn by the director (laughs).

Asai: Her expression is a bit cunning compared to Yuzuki's. She is a bad girl and she can swear. Her ability to "breathe fire" can be seen from her appearance, so she will be the protagonist of the action scenes. I hope you don't fall in love with her when you watch it (laughs). Please also look forward to her interactions with other characters.

Sekiguchi: She is the counterpart of Yuzuki. I made her expression more cunning to make the original design more vivid. Since they share the same body, I not only changed the coloring, but also made changes in the line drawing, which I think is good. In this story, I thought about how the two of them would switch between each other. I also thought about how to draw if Yuzuki gradually turned into Misa (laughs).

Higashi: The art scenes of Charlotte are simply the scenery that teenagers in their teens often see. I think this has an irreplaceable feeling of adolescence. It seems that every time I participate in Mr. Maeda's work, I am asked to draw this feeling more or less. This is a real flavor, that is, the air of youth that boys and girls can no longer see or breathe when they grow up. In order to dig out this feeling, I started working on the art board. The protagonists sweating in such scenes will probably be more charming... I will try my best to carry this concept through to the end. Please don't miss Charlotte.

Iida: I am Iida who has participated in the production since the script meeting. Although it is rare for the sound director to participate in the script meeting, since Maeda's works are very rich in scenes related to music, I am expected to express my opinions from the script stage... Although this is the case, I am always responsible for singing the opposite tune in the funny scenes. There are so many funny scenes in "Angel Beats!" that it was almost exhausting to death during the post-recording. This time I hoped that they would show mercy, but it seems that this work will also be exhausted. It is Maeda's usual trick to insert songs into the play. As a sound director, I feel a great sense of responsibility, and I also enjoy the fun of production.

Supervisory Interview Section

——First of all, please tell us why you were chosen to supervise this work.

Asai: I was in charge of storyboarding for a few episodes of Angel Beats!, and that was the opportunity. I don't know the details, but it seems that the feeling of this work is closer to those episodes, so I was invited to be the supervisor. Mr. Horikawa (President of PA WORKS, Mr. Kenji Horikawa) asked, "Will you do it?" I said, "Yes." That's probably how I felt (laughs). This is my first work as a supervisor, and I had been thinking that it was time to be a supervisor, and this opportunity was rare, so I took it without hesitation.

-What did you pay attention to about Jun Maeda's previous work "AB!"?

Asai: Of course, there is still pressure. After all, it is a big project. I have seen all of Key's works that have been animated, so I am still worried about whether it is a problem to give such a project to me. It would be a lie to say that I don't care about "Angel Beats!" at all. Compared with "AB!", this work will not contain too many new elements. Instead, it will show the characteristics of Maeda's works in their original form, just as usual, and it will be carefully produced. And speaking of "AB!", it is as interesting as a group drama. On the other hand, "Charlotte" not only focuses on the creation of characters, but also follows the psychological changes of each character and makes it complement the development of the plot, so it gives people a feeling that is different from "Angel Beats!". Also, in "Angel Beats!", the production team not only showed me the storyboard but also invited me to come up with ideas, and I said, "Ah, I want to make it more comedic" (laughs). So I have always had some wishes in this area, to make something I like within the scope of being asked.

——Fans have given high praise to episodes 5 and 14, for which you were the storyboard supervisor.

Asai: Really? Back then, we were doing comedy stories. I was a little infected by director Seiji Kishi, and the whole episode was out of control. This time it's my turn to be the director, I will try to go in a normal direction... But it seems that the storyboards are already full of funny rhythms... (laughs).

——Please briefly summarize the highlights of this work.

Asai: It should be the characters written by Maeda-san and Na-Ga. In Charlotte, the protagonists have two sides, strong emotional fluctuations, and are very human. I hope they can resonate with everyone.

——It is said that the protagonist this time is "Key's most despicable protagonist in history?!"

Asai: I only found out about this after watching Mr. Maeda's interview (laughs). The protagonists in Key's works always have a sense of otherworldliness in some way. Compared with Saka Yuu and them, the protagonist of "Charlotte" is just an ordinary 15 or 16-year-old boy who can be found everywhere. He is called "the cheating devil" and is a very interesting character. He will gradually grow up in the story. In this sense, it is probably like a shonen manga.

——Next, could you please tell us about the aspects that you focus on when making animation images?

Asai: Because it is an animation, I pay the most attention to conveying the rich emotions of the characters to the audience. Another thing is the display of acting (the translation is not rigorous, the original word: shiba. In animation, it mostly refers to the way of presenting the plot, such as the setting of the plot, such as the various plots of the characters coming and going. - Translator's note), PAWORKS is good at daily plots. After integrating Key's style, I hope to show more daily plots + funny comedies. Putting aside "AB!", I hope to add more funny comedies to this work compared to other Key works. The character design was given to Sekiguchi (Kanami), who was responsible for PAWORKS many times. The characters drawn by Na-Ga have become more diverse in her hands. You can see from the setting drawings that the characters have very rich expressions. Mr. Higashichi (Wu Sheng) was responsible for the background art of "Angel Beats!". This time he is our art director, which is really a shot in the arm.

Solve the incident quickly! Will there be road movie elements?

——It seems that there will be many fans who visit the story stages of the work and make pilgrimages to various holy sites.

——Please tell us about the plot.

Asai: It’s a youth story with some comedy touches. The story will closely follow the actions and inner world of the characters, so stay tuned.

——Just now you said that this is the "story of the protagonist's growth", can you tell us more about it.

Asai: I see. I hope everyone will pay attention to how the protagonist Otosaka Yuu, who is described as mean, will interact with other characters, how he will relate to them, and how he will change.

——I think music is also something that fans are looking forward to.

Asai: Two bands with different directions will appear in "Charlotte". The first band is called "How-Low-Hello (abbreviated as HARO-HARO)", a rock band with a female idol as the lead singer. The second band is a post-rock band called "ZHIEND (Japanese pronunciation of 'The End' - translator's note)". The songs of both bands are deeply related to the story and are very important. In particular, the composition of the band "ZHIEND" is a bit adventurous compared to the songs in Key's original works. So, you can enjoy two kinds of music at the same time in this work (laughs), I hope everyone likes it. Regarding BGM, the enthusiasm of Mr. Maeda's fans has been conveyed. In short, the amount of BGM is very large, there are many songs corresponding to the works, and there will also be songs that echo the plot, because we want to combine the music and the image part.

——You just said that you are good at the funny and humorous parts. Besides this, what other parts are you good at?

Asai: I won't mention this for now, but I really like the changes in the characters' expressions. Maybe it's just a small change, maybe it's different from the character's usual expression, so as to show the character's inner thoughts. I always pay attention to this. To be honest, I like this aspect of the work the most.

- In other words, is it through subtle changes in movements and expressions that the character's growth can be expressed?

Asai: Well, I don't usually adjust the expressions of the mean protagonists. But even in some funny scenes, I will use multiple cutouts that reflect the expressions and actions. Unconsciously, maybe a certain action is a foreshadowing.

——Even in the comedy episode, don’t miss the changes in facial expressions, right?

Asai: Of course, this is Mr. Maeda's work, and there are many foreshadowings from the beginning that will affect the overall story. Please use your imagination and look forward to the development of the story.

——What do you think of the latest concept art released?

Asai: At first, I felt like it was similar to an overseas detective TV show. The student council room also felt like a detective agency. Although I didn't know what would happen, after seeing the key scenes, I could more or less feel the atmosphere of the work.

——Finally, please say a few words to everyone.

Asai: In any case, it is most important not to destroy Mr. Maeda's worldview, and I pay great attention to this. This work will be performed with comedy and funny scenes as the center, but since this is Mr. Maeda's work, we have hidden a lot of things. Please rest assured that we will present a work full of laughter and tears. The staff will work hard to make it, so stay tuned.