Long interview with Ryosuke Nakamura, animation director! (The 7th "Inside Man" of Animation and Games)

In this series, we interview creators active on the front lines of the animation and game industry to get a closer look at their work styles and personalities. In this seventh installment, we interview animation director Ryosuke Nakamura. As a director, he has created many masterpieces such as "The Deceptive Spirits of the Môryô," "Running Meros," "Nerawareta Gakuen," "Aiura," and "Ashes to Grimgaru of Illusions," so what is his background and his passion for his works? He also spoke in detail about his activities outside of animation production and his goals for the future.

Works that are not "depicting children from an adult's point of view," but rather "works that are down to the level of children's eyes.

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule today. First of all, could you tell us about your influences?

Ryosuke Nakamura (Nakamura): There are many works that I like, but there is no work that I can identify as having influenced me. I wish I could give some thoughtful piece of work.

I like children's literature, and I belonged to a children's literature club when I was in college. I think my love of children's literature came out unconsciously in "Grimgal of Ashes and Illusions" (2016). I used to explain it to the staff in terms of "juvenile," but then again, "What makes children's literature different from others?" I can't really define it myself.

What is clear, however, is that "works that depict children as seen by adults" and "works that come down to the level of children's eyes" are different. The children's literature I love are works that depict life-size children and their peers from the level of a child's eyes, and I am not interested in "safe images of children" from the eyes of adults.

What I think is important is the way children feel and think. What is important to me is the way that only children feel and think, which includes a delicate sensitivity that may sometimes hurt the reader. I think it is important to try to relive the childhood that everyone has passed through in a life-size way.

For example, taking gender differences, we cannot say that they are not present in childhood. It seems as if it is not there from an adult's point of view. But we can only say that it is still there, just in a different way, in a different way of feeling and being than adults. I believe that elementary school students have their own way of feeling, and junior high school students have their own way of feeling. I hope this way of speaking conveys the message.

When I watch Hayao Miyazaki's works, I feel that he likes the same aspects of children's literature that I like, and that he values them in his works.

Nakamura:So you were interested in such works before you entered the animation industry?

Nakamura: Animation can be enjoyed by both children and adults, and the fact that children are included in the audience is a major reason why I chose the world of animation. Excellent children's literature is naturally interesting for children to read, but it can also be appreciated by adults. I believe that this will not change when it comes to film.

Do you have any targets for your work?

Nakamura: I wish I could give you an example. I wish I could give you an example, but I think that there are parts of ourselves that we don't know the most about. I mentioned Director Miyazaki's name, but it is not so simple as to say that he has an influence on me. However, I have read a lot of children's literature, literature, movies, manga, music, and recently, stage performances, and I believe that all of these things have become part of my blood and have become my work.

I feel nothing but gratitude every day as I go about my daily life. Sometimes I feel that creating a work of art is like mobilizing everything that has been in my blood since I was born and creating it.