Challenges as The Animation DirectorーIs there anything that you were cautious of when animating the characters?KERORIRA: I tried to think about responding to the demands of the project first, without putting the animation that I wanted to do first. Each episode also has its own directors, and each director has a slightly different idea of what he or she wants to do. That's why the way the pictures are drawn in each episode is slightly different. This is an interesting point, and I think it was a way to create something that would never get boring.
ーWhat was the most important thing for you to control your creativity during this project?KERORIRA: I tried to come to the office as much as possible and meet and talk with people (in this project). I asked them what was going on, what they wanted to do, and if they had any problems. There were always little happenings that I was unaware of, but if I did not deal with them at the earliest possible stage, they would become bigger and bigger problems. So I tried to keep a close eye on the situation and understand what was going on at the moment.
When the animators send corrections to me, I ask them about what happened today and what they are having trouble with. During such conversations, they sometimes say things like, "This is the kind of expression I would like to do.” For instance, in episode 3 ("Hase Sans"), there is a lot of live-action material, and that was born from that kind of conversation.
Also, the production assistant is the person in charge of the number of episodes to manage the materials, and/or to communicate with people in the project. I’m trying to talk to the production assistants as much as possible. As I talked with them, they became more comfortable talking with me, and gradually began to share their opinions, ideas and/or questions with me. I have always wanted to create such a situation.
ーI see. You were able to organize everyone well and create a good atmosphere through this project.KERORIRA: I think the team atmosphere was pretty good. Each staff member has a number of episodes that he or she is in charge of, and when those episodes are over, everyone is usually finished.
ーAre there any other cases besides episode 3 where the ideas of the staff were utilized?KERORIRA: Well, it was more than just one staff but the Head Director who wanted to do it, as was the scene with the zoetrope in episode 7 ("To Your Home") and the live-action footage. At first, everyone wasn’t sure of the direction, but as we made them, they gradually became more and more enthusiastic and agreeable. It was like someone came up with a strange idea, then everyone around them thought it might be interesting, and slowly the project progressed.
From "Bocchi the Rock!"(©Aki Hamaji/Houbunsha/Aniplex)
From "Bocchi the Rock!"(©Aki Hamaji/Houbunsha/Aniplex)
From "Bocchi the Rock!"(©Aki Hamaji/Houbunsha/Aniplex)I got the impression that a lot of interesting things were happening in episode 7. There are scenes with an analog touch, like celluloid pictures, and they were done by an animator named Umi Igarashi, who is good at that kind of thing. Bocchi-chan is tied up, and the people doing the gymnastics around her are holding triangular rulers and doing abnormal things. It was Mr. Saito, the Head Director, who started doing the unorthodox. Mr. Saito said, "Why don't you put live-action pictures of the character, Tako-Sen, in episode 9, Enoshima Esker.” He took the initiative and did a lot of new creative things, so it was probably easier for everyone to do unique things.
ーWhich scenes or episodes in which you yourself took an initiative to do something excentrics?KERORIRA: I was nervous about the first episode because it was the first time for me to work on an entire episode as an Animation Director. It was also the first time for me to design characters, so I was a bit uneasy at first. I started by doing the original drawings first and then creating the material, but I was still nervous about my first job. I didn't know what kind of lines the Head Director was looking for, so I would often ask, "What do you think of the drawing I did?” In the beginning, it was a more complicated design with many lines, but in the end, I kept it fairly simple. Many of the previous CloverWorks works, such as "Wonder Egg Priority" and "That Dress-up Doll Falls in Love," had a lot of lines, so a simple drawing was a challenge for me.
It may look more difficult to draw more lines, but on the contrary, it is more difficult to draw fewer lines because you have to choose the information to be drawn. The amount of information in facial expressions and hair must be done with a very high degree of precision, or else it will look flat on the screen. That's what we were trying to figure out in the first episode. Around the second episode ("See You Tomorrow"), I got a little more comfortable with it, and from then on I felt like I was on the right track. I think it was a challenging part of my career to find a way to express myself with a clean design.
ーWeren’t you the solo animation director for episode 12, "Morning Comes to You" the last episode of the series?KERORIRA: I was completely used to drawing the characters when I drew the 12th episode, and I did more original drawings than I did for the first episode. During the first episode, I wondered what was going to happen, but during the final episode, I was like, "That’s it?” and already missed it. Of course, we couldn't go on the air until the work was completed, so it was better that it was over LOL.
In terms of expression, my pictures were gradually coming together, and I felt that I was finally able to draw well at the end. I still watch episode 12 over and over again, and I feel satisfied that it went well.
