Zegapain ADP", Interview with Director Masami Shimoda [Review].

Zegapain ADP," which was produced 10 years after the TV series was broadcast, is being screened at 8 movie theaters as an event. Even before the screening, "ADP" was said to be "more than just a compilation", but what did those who have seen it think? In this issue, following on from the last issue's "Preliminary Review," we will be looking at "Zegapain ADP" and asking questions such as, "What does it mean? How am I supposed to interpret it? This time, following the previous [Preliminary] interview, we present a [Review] interview for those who are puzzled by "Zegapain ADP" and wonder, "What does it mean? Naturally, the interview goes into the contents of "ADP," so those who have not yet seen the film should beware of spoilers!

Why the latest technology deteriorates with each loop

─ ─ "Zegapain ADP" was like a festival.

Shimoda: At an event some years ago, I said that I wanted to set off a slightly larger fireworks display, and I am glad that my words did not turn out to be a lie. The Blu-ray has been released at the same time as the theatrical screening, and it is also being distributed online, but please see it in theaters if you can. For example, the future terminal machine that Kyou uses changes in accordance with Kaminagi's dialogue. I feel that such details can only be seen on the big screen.

─ There are parts such as the functions of the telephone that are expressed a little differently each time the film is looped.

Shimoda: As Shima says in episode 16 of the TV series, this is an indication that "the quantum server is not a magic box. So I don't think it is possible to maintain a virtual world with a huge accumulation of data without cutting something else to keep something alive.


─ ─ Unlike the TV series, the simulator for Zegapain has also been updated to look like the current VR.

Shimoda: This year has been called the "first year of VR," so instead of presenting the simulator in the way that video game consoles did 10 years ago, we researched some of the latest VR equipment to create a unique depiction for "ADP. However, with each loop, the technology in the server deteriorates, so we eventually go back to the old video game consoles that were in the TV series.


─ ─ Perhaps it is not only the simulators and telephones, but also many other things that change with each loop?　There are various versions of the world, or .......

Shimoda Ah, you've got a good point (laughs). It is really a quantum physics way of thinking. For example, when Takehiko Ito, the author of the original story, suggested the scene in which "Kaminagi sees a vision of the future," I initially responded, "That's impossible in a compilation film. But I managed to include it because I was able to find such a point of view.


─ ─ But the more you know about the TV series, the more confusing the structure was, wasn't it?

Shimoda: After all, it starts with the scene of Kyou's sister, which only appeared in the last episode, so you would think it was a continuation of the last episode. You would think it was a continuation of the last episode, wouldn't you? Yuji Hirooka, who was in charge of advertising at Bandai Visual, or someone like that, just wanted us to watch it until the final episode, and said, "Zegapain is only real after the sister comes out! He said, "'Zegapain' starts when the younger sister appears in the movie! Then, I thought, why don't we start with the scene with the younger sister? I have also received hints from many other people. Recently, I heard from Shintaro Asanuma, who plays Kyou, that Kentaro Kobayashi of Rahmens creates his comedy by rearranging detailed ideas as if he were hanging a cut-out film. I did the same thing. I wrote down the necessary ideas and the cut content of the TV version of "ZEGA" on post-its and rearranged them over and over again as I composed the story. Wouldn't you be surprised to hear that this is the first draft of the "ADP" script?　Looking back at it now, the structure is quite different from that of the "ADP" film being screened.