Interview with Masaaki Yuasa, Director of "Dawn Teller Roo's Song" What is important is "how you want to live your life. A message for today's age when it is difficult to say what you want to say.

Following the film "The Night is Short and the Walking Maidens," Masaaki Yuasa's animated film "Dawn Tells Lou's Song" will be released on May 19, 2017. The fantastic story follows Kai, a depressed junior high school student, who gradually changes his surroundings when he meets Roo, a mermaid. The interaction between Kai and Roo, the pattern of the junior high school band, and the story that takes advantage of the setting in the port town of Himashi-machi are just a few of the various elements that enliven the work, which is colored with an animated expression that only director Yuasa can produce.
We spoke with director Yuasa, who has won numerous awards at film festivals around the world, about how he senses the contemporary atmosphere and how he projects his thoughts into his work.

An "atmosphere where it is difficult to say what you want to say" is becoming the norm.

─ How did you start planning this film?

Yuasa: First of all, we were given the theme of an original animated feature film. I thought it would be interesting to create an animation with the atmosphere of Fujiko Fujio's works that I had seen as a child, but in theatrical quality. At first, I was thinking of a different creature than a mermaid, and there was a timing when the main character was not a junior high school student. Then, through script meetings, we settled on the current form, and decided to make a film about a child who has something bottled up inside but cannot say it, and transmits something through music.


─ ─ The introduction on the official website says that this is "the story that Director Yuasa really wanted to make. Can you tell us what that really means?

Yuasa Of course, I wanted to make all of my previous works as well (laughs). (Laughs.) When it is an original work, the themes that I am thinking about now come out straight away, and because there is no original work, I think the message from myself will be stronger. Nowadays, I think there is an atmosphere in which it is difficult to say what you want to say. It is difficult to say, but I think it has become a habit for people not to be so honest about things. I wonder why they put up a front about something they like, such as "I can't tell others about it," or "I can't recommend it," when it should be fine if they like it themselves. I created this work while thinking that it would be nice if the listeners could say what they want to say in a more tolerant manner, without creating an atmosphere of "that's a strange thing to say.

─ ─ Do you feel the atmosphere of difficulty in saying what you want to say from adolescent middle and high school students like the main characters, Kai and the others?

Yuasa: Sometimes I feel it from adults who are close to me, but I do think it is more common among young people. I sense such an atmosphere in schools and social networking sites where young people gather, and it seems difficult to deviate from it. However, this atmosphere has become the norm nowadays, so the people concerned may not be too concerned about it. However, I am surprised when I bump into someone who suddenly speaks up strongly. It's complicated, isn't it? Perhaps it is a sense cultivated in order to live wisely, but what is the meaning of "wise" in the first place? It seems to me to be a bit constricting, and in the end, I think it's all about how you want to live your life.


───What kind of consultations did you have with the screenwriter, Reiko Yoshida, in order to incorporate director Yuasa's thoughts into the story?

Yuasa: Basically, this time I took a "let's listen to her" approach. We incorporated as many of Ms. Yoshida's ideas as possible, and she also gave us a good atmosphere for the middle and high school students. Ever since I worked with Mr. Yoshida indirectly on "Kasmin" (2001), I always thought, "If there is such an interesting person, I would like to work with him someday," and before I knew it, about 20 years had passed (laughs). (Laughs.) He writes very solid scripts, and he has a methodology and knowledge that I don't have, so I took in as much of his ideas as possible while making adjustments. As for Lou, I had originally planned to create a vampire character with two sides, but Mr. Yoshida said, "Why don't you create a cute character that makes people want to go to the cinema to see him? That's when I decided to go with a mermaid. With mermaids, we could have a conflict between underwater and land, and I thought we could tell the story we were trying to tell without having to push the two sides of the story. Rue's susceptibility to the sun is a remnant of her vampire days.

The characters are very unique. What did you pay attention to in portraying the characters?

Yuasa: There are not only young people like Kai and the others, but also many adults who live in the town of Sunless. I was careful not to make them stereotypical people. I tried to show glimpses of people who have something to hide but just happen not to be shown in the film. There is an atmosphere among adults that prevents them from saying what they want to say, and people who speak honestly are regarded as oddballs, and some people feel comfortable being treated as oddballs. Parents feel that they cannot show their children their weaknesses, or they believe that they should not impose on their children, and I thought it would be good if I could create the feeling that they are so concerned about their children that they are unable to see their true feelings.


─ ─ The residents of Nichinomachi also have interesting movements in various scenes. Do you have a favorite resident character?

Yuasa There is a ruffian fisherman played by Daigo-san from Chidori, and when he comes out and talks, I get deafened (laughs). (Laughs.) He was quieter in the recording sessions at first, so I think I asked him to be even more gruff. It was very interesting how freely he played the role. Since we didn't define the area of Hinamachi, we asked the actors to speak in whatever language they wanted.