Interview to commemorate the screening of "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love, Chapter 3! Nobuyoshi Habara (Director) x Harutoshi Fukui (Series Composition) x Hideki Oka (Screenplay), What do you see after going through hardships and suffering? ......

The third chapter of the theatrical animated film "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love," titled "Jun-Aihen," will be screened in theaters starting today. In addition to the subtitle "Warriors of Love," the third chapter is also titled "Jun-Ai Arc," and is all about "love." Prior to the screening, we talked to the film's director Nobuyoshi Habara, series director Harutoshi Fukui, and screenwriter Hideki Oka about what "love" is all about.
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The pressure to recreate the masterpiece "Saraba Uchu Senkan Yamato" (Farewell Space Battleship Yamato)

--I am actually from the generation that just barely saw "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love" in theaters. I was in the early grades of elementary school at the time.

Fukui Oh, you saw it!

Habara Did you understand the content at the time?

--I did, but I was quite traumatized by it.

Fukui It was a kind of "radio wave" (laughs).

--It was shocking. After the movie version, a TV series was also produced, and "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love" has an image of being an "amazing work" in any case.

Fukui: I thought it would be very worthwhile, but at the same time I thought it would be very difficult. However, I am the type of person who finds pleasure in things that look difficult (laughs). However, there were too many things that needed to be completed. However, I started the project thinking that it would be a great feeling if I could complete it all, so the enjoyment outweighed the pressure.

Habara I liked it so much (laugh) that I couldn't help but want to do it, but I was worried about whether I would be able to direct a continuation of the previous work, "2199," because it was of such high quality. When the film actually started, I was very happy about it, but after it was screened, I kept feeling the pressure of "Am I going to be okay?
With "2199," I really felt like I was in Mr. Izubuchi's pocket, so I didn't feel any sense of responsibility at all, and I was just like, "I'll do whatever I want! (laugh), but this time (as a director), I really get nervous every time.

--How was it for you?

Oka: I am originally from the live-action field, so my impression was that it was a strange thing to do. I was invited by Mr. Habara, met Mr. Fukui, and ended up helping him with "Yamato." "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato" is the highest peak in the history of "Yamato" by far. I thought to myself, "I have to climb up there," and "This is a big deal.
And since they are going to make a movie called "Warriors of Love," it will be advertised as a remake of "Farewell" without a doubt. If this is the case, what is the right way to play the card?　My first thought was that it would not be possible to make it flow exactly the same way as the original, and I thought of ....... The previous film "2199" had Gatlantis in it ahead of schedule, and we were starting from that worldview.

--I guess "2199" is still stubbornly in the same vein, isn't it?

Oka: That's right. It would be impossible to ignore it at all. However, Mr. Fukui said at the beginning that he wanted to "convert the old things, keep the good things, and put a theme that is relevant today on top to carry the whole thing through. What kind of story will be told by these words?　We were waiting with great anticipation to see how the story would turn out. The storyline written in the proposal was up to the launch of Yamato, wasn't it?

Fukui That's right.

Oka: " What happens next?" I asked him straight out, and he said, "I haven't thought about it" (laughs). (laugh). He said that he wanted to continue writing while exploring various ideas after listening to the opinions of the people around him. However, even so, various lines of reasoning were already in Mr. Fukui's mind, and it didn't take long until they all came together.

Fukui: The flow itself. From my point of view, I didn't feel that I was making the film as I wanted it to be made, but I had a vague idea of the course that I would have to follow if I made the film to suit the modern age. The old film "Farewell" was the ultimate problematic work, which was said at the time to be a "glorification of suicide attacks. To do it again in a world where suicide bombings occur every day, we would have to do something quite drastic or else we would become a laughingstock. Then, the only way was to break through the front door. Even so, while it may look like we are breaking through the front door, the wall that we are sure to hit will actually break down cleanly the moment we reach it.
Thinking about such a path, you may think, "Should I go this way or that way? Should I go that way? I have never wondered, "Should I go this way or that way? The path is fixed. You never know if it will end with everyone dying, you know?　I'm just saying that this is the path I'm going to take as a theme and what I'm going to convey.

An anime with a very special mentality - that is "Space Battleship Yamato

--The previous work, "2199," was created with Mr. Izubuchi at the center, but this time the main staff has been completely replaced. Can you tell us why and how the staff was chosen for this project?

Fukui: We were invited to participate in the project, and the reason for changing the staff was simple: "Make a different work from the previous one. However, there are fans who love "2199," and it would be inefficient to create a work that completely ignores them. Therefore, I wanted to make the most of the previous work, while at the same time, I wanted to take out the parts of "2199" that had been left out. The market for "Yamato" is large in that it is not only seen by anime fans, and even adults who are not in the habit of watching anime still watch this work. However, there are many parts of "2199" that are easy to understand even for current anime fans, but the visual aspects of the work may turn people who are not anime fans away from it, thinking, "This is not relevant to me. To avoid such a situation, we have already achieved results with the bullets we shot in "2199," so now let's throw a net in this direction.

--Let's bring in a new wind.

Fukui: That's right. The subtitle "Warriors of Love" was necessary for that.

--Fukui: It seems surprising that you, who originally worked in the live-action field, took part in the film as a scriptwriter.

Oka: At the request of Director Habara, I prepared a document saying, "If the White Comet Empire Arc is to be replayed as a series of 26 films, how about this kind of storyline? I submitted a document saying, "If the "White Comet Empire Arc" were to be replayed as a series of 26 films, how would you like the story to flow? I was involved in a lot of impossible things in my career, but I love "Yamato," so I thought I might be able to help in some way, so I joined.

--Fukui: So you have always been quite fond of "Yamato.

Fukui Of the three of us, (Oka-san) is the best.

Habara Your personal belongings there speak for themselves (laughs).

Oka However, it was a strange thing to be a part of "actually creating Yamato.

Fukui: (Oka-san and I) share almost all the same things we watch and think are "good. On the first day we met, I asked him why he didn't go for "Gundam". I asked him. He didn't seem to understand, and replied, "Why not? He answered, "Why not?

Habara For his generation, it is not surprising that he went that way.

Fukui As a result, I ended up doing both, and I have recently come to realize that there is a definite difference between "Gundam" and "Yamato. What is different is that in "Gundam," the main battlefield is in the belly of the robot, although it is on the White Base. The main character is alone there. He takes on everything there, and everything he experiences, including the possibilities of humanity, is his own experience. The frustration of not being able to convey that experience to others is what makes "Gundam" so special, but in "Yamato," everyone is on the first bridge.

--I think that's right.

Fukui: So instead of "doing something on your own," the story is about "what if you can't fulfill your assigned role? And so we always work in unison to get through difficult situations. Normally, people are divided and fight with each other, but the main focus is on what is seen at the moment when these people unite to overcome a difficult situation. In the case of "Gundam," when people get together, all that happens is friction (laughs).

(Everyone laughs).

Habara I see (laughs).

Fukui From the perspective of the so-called anime market and anime fans, I think "Gundam" was probably easier to approach. But Oka-san never came to the animation scene. It is not a matter of not having seen "Gundam" or being good at drawing, but rather, I think it is a human quality. I myself have never been involved in the animation industry, and as a result, I am now neck-deep in it, but considering that I was not originally from that field, "Yamato" is a very special kind of animation.

--Fukui: It was designed for the high-growth era.

Fukui: If it were said that it was something that everyone in Japan would enjoy watching, based on the specifications of the high-growth era, that would be true, but I thought, "If people are in a group, there will be nothing but friction. But I am not depicting "how to overcome such frictions," but rather, "of course there is anxiety, but there are so many things in the world that we need to overcome by working together" - things that people forget today. Because we can't do that, everyone is turning their eyes away from various problems and trying to follow a detour, and they don't even know what the problems are anymore, do they? At a time like this, I think it would be very good to do "Yamato" again.

--I think it will be an opportunity to take a fresh look at the current era.

Fukui: In the past, Susumu Ancient was following the great goal of Captain Okita, or rather, his mentor, and he would say, "When in doubt, go back to Okita, The fact that the ancient people are forced to live in a society that is not easy to live in is clearly portrayed as a mirror image of the Japanese people after the collapse of the bubble economy.
At the beginning of the third chapter, Ancient Japan finally shoots the wave motion gun, but normally, he would say, "Captain Okita would take care of everything and shoot himself. So I'm going to shoot too." That's beautiful in its own way. That's beautiful in its own way, but it's not like that. He says, "Captain Okita wants you to show your resolve, but you've never been in this situation in the first place!

--That's true (laughs).

Fukui: For example, when I hear stories from the previous president or a senior salesman who has done a lot of work, saying, "When I was young, this is what I did," I say, "I see! That's what he was talking about! But you haven't experienced the declining birthrate, have you?　How are you going to sell something when the number of people is decreasing? How do you expect me to sell something when the number of people is decreasing? What is preparedness? is the same as the ancient exclamation, "What is preparedness? In such a situation, what will they catch? What will they obtain by working together? That is what makes "Yamato" so interesting.

--I felt that the theme that Ancient Ancient Ancient is struggling with is deep, or rather, he is struggling with various things. Is that one of the highlights of the story of his growth?

Fukui: The support there is snow, which is picked up in Chapter 3.

Fukui throws the ball, and Oka corrects the course.

--Fukui: So you decide on the overall plot, and Oka-san creates the scenario, is that how you divide the work?

Fukui: Yes, that's right. We would check the script, and then return it to Oka-san for the final finish (by me)!　But then, when it goes to the storyboard stage, it changes again. ...... (laughs). (Laughs.) It never ends.

Oka: Is it rare for the scriptwriter to stay with you that long?

Habara No, basically. Generally, the storyboards and direction are left to the discretion of the director.

--So the script is continuously rewritten until the very end?

Oka Mr. Fukui accompanies the storyboarding, but I always attend the postrecording sessions to check for any minor discrepancies or mistakes.

Fukui: Nowadays, Oka-san's work is like having a "literary position," which is always held in a normal anime, and as a result, he is doing it for me (laughs). (laugh) He checks for things like, "This person doesn't talk like this," or "This is the way he said it before.

Oka: It's like another one came after the main competition was over.

--This film has seven chapters as a theater production and 26 episodes as a TV series.　Is it long or short?

Fukui: For me, it's not long at all. In fact, I was thinking, "Is that all there is in the film? (laughs). (laughs). It's always a struggle between the two.

--Fukui: "Saraba" was originally a 150-minute film, but in expanding it into seven chapters, were there any parts that were omitted from the original film, or were there any parts that were rushed through that you had to supplement?

Fukui: "Farewell" is very complete. I think there are two different impressions of a film: one is that you feel you have seen a lot of things, and the other is that you have seen something very simple, but both are interesting. In that respect, I think "Farewell" is the best example of a film that makes you feel that you have seen a great variety of things. So when I became a filmmaker, I used "Saraba" as a model for what I should do to make people feel like they have seen many things, and how many mountains should be enough to fill their stomachs. So, from my point of view, "Farewell" is not too much or not enough at all. However, if I were to make a TV series of "Saraba" as it was, it would probably be cruel, so I did not want to bring anything to "Saraba" as an approach. If I were to finally create something that would have the same flavor as that one, it would be easier to set it up from scratch. However, I made sure to include the parts of "Farewell" that give a strong impression of "this" in the final product.

--Fukui: The title of this work starts with the word "love," and the subtitle of the third chapter is "pure love.

Fukui: You are pushing "love" very hard (laughs). First of all, what was called "love" back then and what is called "love" today have completely different feelings and impressions depending on the generation, so I started by reconstructing them.

--I was under the impression that the relationship between the ancient people and Yuki would be at the center of the story, but I have a feeling that it is probably not the only thing that is important.

Fukui: At the beginning, the enemy also says that "love is necessary. So I am talking about what happens if we take it as a paradox. The choice between Ancient and Snow this time turned out that way, but it doesn't always happen that way. But I am confident that if I were put in the same position, I would probably make the same choice as the ancient one. I think that is what it means to say that "human beings are bound by love.
It is not always beautiful, and there may be parts that are close to a kind of madness, parts that are close to ego. However, I intend to depict in a step-by-step manner how human beings would not be able to live without it. This episode is like the first mountain in that sequence.

--Did you and Oka-san discuss these points?

Oka: Discussions?　No, we have not. You don't have ......, do you?

Fukui I think there were times when I talked one-sidedly and he listened to me (laughs).

Oka Basically, "2202" was created based on what Fukui-san captured. How do you feel about the history of "Yamato"? How will it succeed "2199"?　How do we reflect the current zeitgeist?　All of them. Before we joined forces, Mr. Fukui had written a proposal with the words "Warriors of Love" as a subtitle, concluding that we should create a "Yamato" that speaks of love in multiple layers. From that point to the final episode, the axis of the story has not been shaken at all, so this is Mr. Fukui's world all the way through. However, there were many opportunities to discuss how to draw the story, or how to throw the ball, or how to subtly adjust the course of the ball, and to say, "If there is something that is like 'Yamato,' this is the way to do it. We had many opportunities to talk about this.

What is the landscape that can be seen after going through the hardships and tribulations?

--One of the new elements in this project is the "time fault" setting. In the previous interview, Mr. Fukui told us about this, but could you tell us how you came up with this idea again?

Fukui: This may sound like a reversal of what Oka-san just said (laugh), but it was Oka-san's idea. (laugh) But that was Oka-san's idea. Oka-san had already created a plot for "Yamato" together with Habara-san. When we met, I looked at it and thought, "I love the idea of a time fault! I had never thought of that idea. In terms of "zeitgeist," "2202" had to include Japan after the earthquake somewhere in its consciousness, but I thought it would be a good way to express the sense of bias and accumulated debt due to the lack of a successful recovery, and at the same time, I thought, "If this is the way to do it, why not just make Andromeda? "You can do whatever you want! (laughs). () The liabilities of this setting will also be depicted in the future. This setting will come into play more and more in the future.

--I think it is only natural that there will be distortions created by the time fault line.

When Mr. Oka told me that he wanted to depict the time fault as a negative thing for society, I immediately thought, "I see," and I also had a general idea of what effect it would have. However, the introduction of a setting that had never existed in the history of Yamato was a rather delicate matter. I think the staff exchanged a lot of opinions. But Mr. Fukui was unwavering in his opinion, and we decided that it was necessary. The "time fault" is an element that affects the entire story.

--I think the thing that fans are most concerned about is what happens next and what happens in the end. What we think on our own is that there won't be any misfortune up to the level of "everyone dies," but can you give us some hints?

Fukui: Everyone will die and be reborn on another planet (laughs).

--That would be a different anime (laughs).

Oka But if there were no hardships to the point of losing one's life, the audience would not feel like they were watching a remake of "Saraba". However, I don't think the audience would feel like they were watching a remake of "Saraba" if they didn't have to suffer so much as to lose their lives. I don't intend to distort the story in that direction. In the process of carrying out the story according to the theme that Mr. Fukui wants to depict, there will be many hardships and tribulations in the future, and that is already guaranteed. In the process, various images and details that we have seen in the past history of "Yamato" will be expanded, drawn, and expressed in more amazing ways. ......

Habara Right now, we who are making the film are in the midst of tribulations (laughs).

Oka: We are waiting for the story to flow in such a way that we have no choice but to do so. I think everyone is most concerned about what will happen after we get through that and how we will get through it, but oh well, it's only the third chapter (laughs). Let's take our time.

Habara We are not even halfway through.

Fukui But if we consider the time axis of "Farewell" to be two and a half hours, and if each event is divided into 26 episodes, it is not that much of a stretch. It's more than an hour later that we arrive at the planet Teresart. In fact, there is a point where everything is simply expanded in scale and episodes are included.
However, from around chapter 3, you will begin to see that we are not expanding as is from here on out. As we move on to the fourth and fifth chapters, you will find yourself saying, "Ah, this brings back memories. I miss this kind of thing. Huh?" What? I think the story will develop.

--You mentioned earlier that you wanted to emphasize the "form of love" in the work. Could you tell us what the main theme of this work is?

Fukui: I think that the people in the center of the audience, who are either in the midst of raising their children or have already finished doing so, have experienced many times that they would rather die than live. I think that the story of "life and death" conveyed to a generation that has experienced such things needs to be told in a completely different way from the one directed at young people.

If "Saraba" was made to strike a chord with the "young generation," as they called it back then, this time it must strike a chord with the current audience. This will inevitably lead to some changes. It is a challenge to show the audience that "it is better to be dead," that they are forced to betray their own souls, and that they go through many other things, but in the end, they will be able to think that "being alive is worth it. In the play, I was really conscious of showing the catharsis of things that are not possible in ordinary life.

I said "radio waves" earlier, but the earnestness of "Farewell" is a kind of madness. At the end, when Ancient lost his mind, there is a strange atmosphere, isn't there?
In the last scene, they succeeded in blowing up the inside of the white comet, and while looking at it, Ancient says, "It was a great sacrifice, Sanada-san," but in that scene, he doesn't say Snow's name. For years I wondered why that was, and at the time I thought that Snow's death had to be more final.

But at that point, the ancients probably forgot that Snow died. Or rather, I realized that he didn't accept it. He's shifting his consciousness. Now he says he has to launch and he will carry out the order, and as a result of what he has done, he comes back mentally shredded and has a dialogue with Okita, but I don't think the Okita of the previous film would say, "Use your life as a weapon. Many fans must have thought that Okita-san, who valued his life, would never say that. But that's how it sounded to the ancient people at that time, or rather, it was an illusion shown by the ancient people who wanted Okita to say so. If you interpret it in that way, you can understand why the atmosphere was so strange.
I think that the children of that time were also affected by the insanity and the fear of being on the verge of insanity, as if they didn't understand that they were dead, like "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you. If it had been "I will sacrifice myself to die in order to save the earth," I don't think anything would have stuck. I wonder if it would be possible to recreate that bizarreness. I wonder if I can recreate it and make it cathartic.

--Fukui: Is that strangeness or atmosphere important?

Fukui: It's not just a matter of piling up similar episodes in a story line. If we can do the homework, I think we can automatically solve the meaning of the embarrassing title "Warriors of Love" in today's world.

--I see. Thank you very much for your time today.