Animation Industry Watching No.23: "Yuyake Dandan Dan," a chic short animation set in downtown Tokyo, what is the secret of its perfection?　Interview with director Hideki Futamura!

Have you ever heard of "Yuyake Dandan", a short animation film set in downtown Tokyo, featuring the famous landmarks in front of JR Nippori Station, Yuyake Dandan and Yanaka Ginza?　This is a short animation that has been shown at the "109 Cinemas" chain of multiplexes since last spring before the main feature film begins.

Do not underestimate it as a "local animation for regional promotion. The characters are designed by Renji Murata and star Koichi Yamadera. The light-hearted conversation between Kotobuki, a cat with an Edokko temperament, and Nanami, an urbane girl, is emotional, yet somehow filled with cool humor.

This chic 3D animation is directed by freelance filmmaker Hideki Futamura. We asked him about the charm of "Yuyake Dandan Dan".

Renji Murata is the character designer, but there were no girls?

───How did Director Futamura get involved in "Yuyake Dandan"?

Futamura: I wish I could tell you a cool story about how a cat stood on my dream pillow that night when I read the proposal (......), but there was no such story (laughs). The voice actor is Koichi Yamadera, the character design is by Renji Murata, and the story takes place in Nippori on the hill of sunset. The story takes place on the sunset dandanzaka slope in Nippori. When I received the proposal at that stage, I was reminded of the TV show "Yuyake Nyan Nyan," which is my generation's version of "sunset," so I searched for the actual Yanaka Dandan Slope (laugh) and thought it might be a gentle work. I accepted the project, including the fact that the main character is a cat, and also with the expectation that it would be something different from my previous works with a dark side atmosphere.

─ ─ When I think of your past works, I have an image of hard science fiction, such as "The Animatrix" (2003) and "LIMIT CYCLE," a short film in "Genius Party" (2007).

Futamura That's right (laughs). In the case of "LIMIT CYCLE," I was aiming for works like Buñuel's "Dog of Andalusia" and Jean Cocteau's "Blood of a Poet" because I like them. But similarly, I also liked loose-fitting anime like "Peeping Life" and "Rope the Paper Rabbit," so I thought that perhaps works like "Yuyake Dan Dan" would suit me as well.

─ ─ The background is almost fixed, and the style is like a cat (Kotobuki) and a girl (Nanami) doing a comic dialogue. ......

Futamura: I am a fan of Showa-era comedy, so I am familiar with compositions like "Downtown's Gotttsue-eki," in which the characters seem to be talking on a stage. The background of this work also has a fancy gimmick like "8 o'clock! I would have been happy if I could have added a flashy gimmick like in "8 O'clock!

(laughs) ─ ─ But I can't help but laugh at the dialogue between Kotobuki and Nanami.

Futamura The script was written by a playwright named Fumio Fujisawa, who also wrote the script for Koichi Yamadera's stage play, so I think it has a strong flavor of that.

─ The combination of a girl and a cat is a fun pictorial combination, but was Nanami there from the beginning?

Futamura Actually, there were only cats in the beginning. I am from the "Gamba's Adventure" generation, so I thought, "Why not have several cats instead of just one? I thought, "Why not have several cats? Murata-san had already drawn a few cats earlier, so I thought about expanding on that, but it didn't come to fruition. I also wondered why there were no girl characters in Renji Murata's work. I asked Mr. Murata to do it, and he was happy to oblige. So I asked Mr. Murata to draw a girl, and he gladly did. I also wanted to make the character more revealing, but Mr. Orugawa, the producer, told me "no panties allowed. After the design was finalized, I was told by others that the skirt was too short. I don't mind so much. ...... (laughs).