Animation Industry Watching No.24: 75 Years Old This Year, Life in Animation is a Life of Rabble-rousing Rabble-rousing!　Interview with Masao Maruyama!

Five years have passed since Masao Maruyama, former president of Madhouse, established his new company MAPPA. During that time, the company has produced such excellent anime programs as "Apollo of the Hill" and "Rage of Bahamut Genesis," and the movie "In a Corner of the World," which will be released on November 12, 2016 (Saturday), was also produced by MAPPA.

This year, Mr. Maruyama will turn 75 years old, but what is his attitude toward animation production?　We visited him at his workplace in the midst of a heat wave.

I have a system in place that will be safe even if he collapses next year or the year after that.

─ ─ Five years have passed since MAPPA was launched, and what is your current position?

Maruyama: Originally, I left Madhouse and started MAPPA in 2011 in order to produce works with new staff members. Two and three years after its establishment, producer Manabu Otsuka (current MAPPA president) worked very hard, and I began to entrust more and more of the work to him. Finally, in April of this year, after five years, I decided that it was time for the young to take over, not the old, and asked Mr. Otsuka to become president of MAPPA. I am not at the age where staying up all night and all night is fun anymore, and I was ready to step away from the front lines, but I still wanted to do something ....... So I created Studio M2, a planning company that only handles pre-production. It was supposed to be a planning company, but we ended up having to do a lot of other things. That's the way it always happens in this industry.

───How did M2 come to be?

Maruyama: Professor Yasuki Hamano of the University of Tokyo, who passed away in 2014, suggested that I form an "H Association" with Mamoru Hosoda, Keiichi Hara, Shinji Higuchi, and others. But since I am a Maruyama, I was not allowed to join the "H Club. I was disappointed, so I decided to form a "Domination Group" with Taro Maki of Jenco and Masahiko Minami of Bonsu.　I think that's what they were talking about.

─ Is that true (laughs)? But it is true that you are working on this project, isn't it?

Maruyama: I am 75 years old. Even if I collapse next year or the year after that, I would like to have a solid foundation for the story line and other aspects of the project in the next year or two, so that the young producers who have worked so hard with me can follow up on the project. At the very least, I would like to realize two major projects that only Maruyama can make happen. These two projects will probably take five years to complete. I have enough energy left to be involved in the first two to three years of the project, so I wanted to make sure that everything was ready to go.

─ I understand that director Sunao Katabuchi approached you about the project "In a Corner of the World," which will be released in November.

Maruyama: I was not approached by him. I am not the type of person to put my stamp on a project that comes my way, but rather, regardless of the outcome of the film, once I have worked with a director, I always ask, "What shall we do next? I am not the type to put my stamp on a project that comes my way. In the case of Director Katabuchi, we worked together on "Mai Mai Shinko and the Magic of the Millennium" (produced by Madhouse), so we started by asking "What shall we do next? The project was decided rather easily. The project was decided rather easily, but we could not raise any money. The first three to four years were hell (laughs).

───Producer Ryoichiro Matsuo of "Mai Mai Shinko" is in charge of "In This Corner of the World," isn't he? Did you invite Matsuo to be the producer?

Maruyama: Yes, I persuaded him. Matsuo was the only producer for "In This Corner of the World," including his ability to communicate with Director Katabuchi. Rather, it was inevitable that we would produce "In This Corner of the World". It was our destiny. It is easier to think that way.

───After production began, did you visit the MAPPA studio?

Maruyama: Of course, I visit them often. But if things are going well and they are left to them, I don't interfere. If things don't go well, I will get involved and make a big deal out of it (laughs).