Long interview with composer Keisho Fujisawa! (The "inside man" of anime and games No. 20)

Just as the characters in anime and video games have their own dramas, their creators also have dramatic lives. In this issue of "People in Anime and Games," we introduce their stories. The 20th interview is with composer Keisho Fujisawa. He is now well-known as a composer of dramatic accompaniments, but what kind of struggles and paths did he face before he became a professional? Love Live! YuruYuri San☆High!", "Prince of Stride Alternatives", "The Family from the Top of the World", "RAIL WARS! Prince of Stride Alternative," "Vatican Miracle Investigator," "No Game No Life Zero," "Jewel of the Land," and many more. And where will Fujisawa music go from here? For anime and game fans, this article is a must-read for your permanent collection.

Drama accompaniment is hard work, but stress-free

What do you find most rewarding about composing musical accompaniment for anime?

Keisho Fujisawa (Fujisawa) It's not that I dislike singing or other music, but when I work on anime ......, or rather gekitan accompaniment, I feel that it is not unnatural and that many things become clear to me. With gekisen accompaniment, there is no strange burden of making music.

I hear that the schedule is very tight for a TV series.

Fujisawa: It's hard to shake it off right now (smiles), but even though it's hard, it doesn't break my heart; there is a balance between what I want to do and what I don't want to do, so there is no stress. At first, I look at the menu and think, "I don't know how much more I have to do. ......," but it is interesting to see the songs I create based on the blueprint in my head, one by one, building up one by one.

What are some of the works that have influenced you?

Fujisawa: I have seen many movies as an adult, but "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" directed by George Lucas, which I saw as a child, and movies directed by Steven Spielberg are stuck in my head somewhere, and I think they are one of my filters when it comes to expression. I think it is one of the filters I use to express myself.

My family was somewhat strict, so I didn't watch much anime or manga in elementary school. The movie that turned me on in high school was "Cowboy Bebop" (1998). I happened to turn on the TV and the opening song "Tank!" composed by Yoko Kanno came on. It really came on the moment I turned it on (laughs). (Laughs.) I knew jazz music, of course, but I had never heard it integrated with an anime like that, so it was a big shock. Until then, I had been listening to metal music under the influence of my older brother, but when I met "Cowboy Bebop," my musical orientation changed.

Did "Cowboy Bebop" lead you to compose for anime?

Fujisawa: No, I didn't go that far. At the time, I didn't think I would be able to work in music. Nowadays, with the Internet, it seems more accessible, but at the time, it was something beyond the cathode ray tube, and I felt distant from it. When I was in college, I formed a three-piece band and played rockabilly and oldies in bars, but I never thought about making a living with music.

Cooling down with music after composing

How much music do you listen to in a month?

Fujisawa: I can only compose for 12 to 13 hours a day. I try to do as much as I can in that time, and after I get home from work and eat something, I listen to music for an hour or so, whether it be a CD, a song on iTunes, or whatever. I have always liked craft-related videos, so it can be background music from such videos. When I'm working, I listen to it as a kind of cool down. Otherwise, I can't stop my brain (laughs).

When I have nothing else to do, I often listen to it in the car. I play music I bought or listen to InterFM radio or something like that. When I'm driving, I can't concentrate so much on the music. Things that I would miss if I were only listening to music are often thrown in while I am driving. I try to remember what I hear.

Who are the artists you are paying attention to now?

Fujisawa: Recently, I have started listening to jazz music again, and I pay attention to music by people who combine minimalism and jazz, drum'n'bass and jazz, and other interesting combinations such as GoGo Penguin, Snarky Puppy, and Robert Glasper. Robert Glasper, and so on. I like Kamasi Washington, for example.

─ According to your Twitter page, you also listen to Led Zeppelin.

Fujisawa: There was a reason for this. When I was working on a section for a play I was producing in November of this year, an old guitarist friend of mine said to me, "You sound like Led Zeppelin. I meant to say "the guitar fret is a 7," but the way I told him was wrong, and he thought I meant "the chord is a 7," or "the seventh chord. It was really Zeppelin-like when you start with the seventh chord (laughs). It was cool, so I decided to OK it as it was, but then I suddenly remembered that, so I listened to it for the first time in a while, thinking, "Well, I wonder how it was.

It often happens that something triggers me to want to listen to my archives, and it seems that the music I listened to when I was a teenager has roots in me, and even in another piece, I was asked, "Do you like T-SQUARE or something like that?" or "This phrase is ......," which made me realize, "Oh, yes! I was made aware of this.

So you were listening to T-SQUARE as well.

Fujisawa: I played the electone until junior high school, and there were many T-SQUARE and J-fusion songs in the sheet music sold for technique practice. My father also liked J-fusion music, and he often listened to T-SQUARE, CASIOPEA, and Masayoshi Takanaka.

So you also have a musical environment. By the way, do you yourself pay attention to your children's musical environment?

Fujisawa: My oldest son plays the trumpet, but I have never forced him to play. At first, I was surprised when I saw him taking a booboo scale with a thick straw (laughs). (Laughs) I said, "Well, why don't you try playing the trumpet? I said, "Well, why don't you try playing the trumpet? That's how I started playing the electone, so I think it's a good idea to do it freely. I think that if you can play a musical instrument, your life will be enriched. Recently, I watch anime on "Hulu" and "Netflix" and say, "I want to play the theme song! and he seems to be practicing.

Aiming to be the John Williams of Japan

Who is your target?

Fujisawa: John Williams, who has composed songs for Lucas' and Spielberg's films. His theme melodies are very simple and sophisticated. Both "Superman" and "Star Wars" sound grand and majestic and complex, but when you look at the score, it is very simple and organized.

I think he is one of the people who established the position of dramatic accompaniment as entertainment, and although it is a bit of an exaggeration to call it a goal, I would like to be like him. I want to "tidy up the notes and subtract them" like he did.

Are there any other composers whom you admire?

Fujisawa: I respect Joe Hisaishi, Hans Zimmer, Henry Mancini, and Ennio Morricone more as a musician than as a theatrical accompaniment composer.

I watched "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988), composed by Joe Hisaishi, many times until the videotape was worn out. Hans Zimmer in "The Lion King" (1994) was a musical revolutionary, and I admire Henry Mancini in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" for that wonderful sense of sophistication. Ennio Morricone's melody in "New Cinema Paradise" also makes me wonder, "How can he write like that?" I can't help but wonder, "How did he write it like that?