The Characters Are RealーHow do you feel about the fact that the series you were involved in as the chief director of character designer and animation has satisfied many people and the CD of KESSOKU BAND is number one on the ORICON Singles Chart (Japanese Music Chart)?KERORIRA: In the past, I used to search and look on X (former Twitter) to find out what people thought of the "Bocchi the Rock!" manga, but now I naturally receive daily information on "Bocchi the Rock!”. There are official character goods being released, radio broadcasts, events and so on. Lots of so-called “official” information everywhere now! It has become so large and beyond my anticipation. I feel like I’m just riding alone on a big wave.
ーIt is nice to know that it was the love for the manga itself that led to the creation of this great animation series by you and your team, instead of the focus on creating some kind of a trend.KERORIRA: I always thought this manga was interesting, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this phenomenon. CloverWorks has not done many “cute” animation like this, and Director Saito himself usually works for a production company called MADHOUSE, doing works like "Sonny Boy" and "Boogiepop," which have a different taste of animation so I was not sure how it would turn out. However it turned out to be a great success. It would be an exaggeration to say that everyone, including Mr. Hamaji, the original creator, was happy, but I think it was great that everyone was able to land in a good place.
ーAfter finishing all 12 episodes, what do you like about "Bocchi The Rock!” ? What is your favorite part of this series?KERORIRA ”Bocchi the Rock!" is very standard anime. The colors are bright like yellow and pink, and there are lots of jokes in the bizarre designs, but when you look at it, you get the feeling that there is a story line and that the girls are alive on the screen. It's a cartoon, but I feel that the girls really exist, which gives me a sense of the meaning behind the creation of this work. It's not easy to do that, but that's what I like best about "Bocchi The Rock! I feel that Bocchi-chan would be alive somewhere. To create that sense of existence, a lot of people have to work hard. Of course, pictures alone are not enough, and of course the background alone does not make it work. This is not only connected to the anime, but also to the good points of the original manga, but I think the atmosphere in which the characters age and seem to go further into their youth is also a very good point. I think this is also connected to the sense of realism.
ーEven now that the anime series is over, you sometimes upload pictures of "Bocchi the Rock! Are you able to draw such pictures quickly?KERORIRA: The pictures I post on X(Twitter) are quickly drawn in about 30 minutes. I usually draw pictures in between work or before going to bed without thinking about what I am going to draw. When it comes to work pictures, I spend more time worrying about the picture before I draw it than I do the time it takes to draw it. It is difficult to think about what kind of pictures people would like to see or what they would like to watch, and that is the part that takes the most time. For example, I had a lot of trouble with the CD cover (laughs).
ーThe anime series has ended, but when you post on SNS like this, it makes the fans happy because it makes it seem like the show is still going on.KERORIRA: I might be happy if I were a fan, too (laughs). I do what I do because I want to draw, and it's a bit of a bonus.
ーDo you have any goals as an animator that you would like to pursue in the future or what you would like to become?KERORIRA: Actually I have achieved quite a bit of what I wanted to do as a animation creator at "Bocchi the Rock!" I've been thinking about what I want to do next all the time lately. Now I am in the phase of thinking about what I want to do while doing various projects.
KERORIRAAnimator and the Chief Character Director and a Chief Animation Director of “Bocchi the Rock!” He also participated in "Wonder Egg Priority", "That Dress-up Doll Will Fall in Love", "Kunoichi Tsubaki no Mune no Nai" and other projects as an animation director.
From Rolling Stone Japan. 
