Gather the Camp Refugees! Commemorating the end of the broadcast of the TV anime "YuruCan△," director Yoshiaki Kyogoku tells all in this second interview!

The TV anime "Yuru Can △" (original story: Afuro / Houbunsha, Manga Time Kirara Forward) recently reached its final episode to great acclaim. The worldview, beautiful backgrounds, careful depiction of the characters' emotions, and excellent music have all been highly acclaimed, and have left a lasting impression not only on anime fans but also on many other people.

In this second interview with director Yoshiaki Kyogoku, the creator of such a blockbuster hit, we continue our pre-broadcast series of interviews. Now that the final episodes have all been aired, we can talk about the behind-the-scenes story behind the production of the anime. We hope that you will enjoy the thoughts and persistence of the director as you look back on the main anime.

⇒ The first part of the interview with director Kyogoku conducted prior to the broadcast is here.

⇒ "Freshness" and "looseness" color the work! Interview with Asaki Hana and Sasaki Eri, who sing the theme song of TV anime "Yuru Can△".
⇒Yumiri Hanamori and Nao Higashiyama: "I'm so influenced by them that I cook camp food! Interview with winter anime "Yuru Can△

It took a year just for the script meeting.

--Thank you very much for the interview before the last broadcast. YuruCan△" was very well received right after the first episode aired.

Kyogoku: I heard about the reputation from the producer and unusually, I received a call from an acquaintance who said, "I saw it" or "It was good. I am grateful.

--The popularity of the show has spread to a wide range of people, not only anime fans but also, for example, small children who were watching it with their camp-loving fathers were also pleased with it.

Kyogoku: I don't have a real sense of it, but I created this work because I thought it would appeal to people who don't normally watch anime, so I am very happy to see such a response. I hope that children will watch it as well.

--I hope that children will watch it as well. The first episode is an important introduction to the story.

Kyogoku: First of all, I wanted to depict the passage of time slowly to express the "relaxed time when camping". （When I actually went camping (during location scouting), I got the sense that time really does pass slowly, so I wanted to express "the richness and sense of fulfillment that comes from the slow passage of time.

--I think that in the first episode, you wanted to pack in a lot of information, including an explanation of the worldview, in order to make an impact. But you dared to show something more leisurely in order to show the color of the work, which was also a challenge, wasn't it?

Kyogoku: That is exactly right. Until the story is set in motion by Nadeshiko, Lynn is just camping solo and nothing particularly unusual happens (laughs). (laughs) But I put a lot of effort into the camp description to make it seem appealing. By taking the time to draw things like setting up a tent or picking up firewood to make a fire, I was able to make it look like a fun camping trip, even though it is just a casual camping trip.

--The backgrounds were also well-received. Did the director make any adjustments in that area?

Kyogoku: I only made some adjustments at the beginning, but there were no major revisions. The art director, Yoshimi Unno, and some of the art staff went on location scouting together, so they were able to see and experience the film with their own eyes, and they created a truly wonderful picture.

-What were the initial adjustments?

Kyogoku: Since the theme of this work is autumn and winter, the landscape is not as green and colorful as a summer campground, but rather rather a rather lonely landscape. I asked the artist to be conscious of the fact that it is not just lonely, but to depict it in a way that makes it look beautiful and attractive, even though it is a bit lonely.

-In the early episodes, the third episode was particularly well received, and the original scene at the beginning is very natural. What were your particular concerns or points of care in including the original scene?

Kyogoku: That was something we worked on a lot during the script reading. It took us a year just to read the script, even though it was based on the original story (laughs). When making an anime, we wanted each episode to have its own highlights and be interesting, so we had to make decisions such as "let's add something here" or "let's cut something there," depending on where we wanted to cut.

--So that's how you put the originals in key places.

Kyogoku: But when we tried to include original material, it didn't go well (laughs). (Laughs.) I could have made as many stories as I wanted, but they just didn't seem like "YuruCan△". It was a good story, but I couldn't figure out what was the cause. I redid the story over and over again, had Afro-sensei look at it and consult with me, and after repeating the process ......, I finally finished the original anime.

So I think it is thanks to the fact that we were able to take the time to create it that it was appreciated (laughs). (laugh) But I don't think I could have created the anime original for this work without taking that much time to read the original work.

--The scene in the last part of episode 3 where Lynn calls you by name "Nadeshiko" is also original, isn't it? I thought it was a really nice scene.

Kyogoku: I think Afuro-sensei is very skillful in portraying the changes in the characters' relationships in a natural flow. In the original story, they go through several camps and before you know it, the way they call each other changes. The way they call each other changes at a moment's notice, or the way they say things on social networking sites changes. That naturalness is also fascinating, but I wonder when Lynn started calling me "Nadeshiko." "Wasn't there a reason why they started calling her that?" And then we discussed it and came up with the last scene of the third episode.

--I am sure that in the original story, you call him by his name before you know it.

Kyogoku: I think there was a way to casually change the way we called her, just like in the original, but we wanted to make it clear. Moreover, I thought that the reserved manner in which Nadeshiko says it while she is sleeping would really bring out Lynn's character. We were all overjoyed when we came up with this idea. It's like Lynn to not say it to her face, isn't it?

The scene where she relies on her voice made me realize the power of voice actors.

--The acting was wonderful, even in the way they called out to each other. Related to the cast, the use of Akio Otsuka as narrator was also a hot topic.

Kyogoku: We didn't decide on a narrator from the beginning, and we had a lot of trouble deciding who to use. But I am very glad that I asked Mr. Otsuka to do it.

--I was really glad that we asked Mr. Otsuka to narrate, though.

Kyogoku: He was in high spirits. He was in a groove, saying things like "puchi puchi" (laughs).

--(laughs) - In terms of feeling the greatness, I was also surprised to hear Nao Higashiyama voice out "Kuawasedrftgyfujikolp" in the second episode.

Kyogoku: It was amazing, wasn't it? I didn't know that the original was Internet slang, and I thought it was just a randomly typed sentence (laughs). (Laughs.) I wondered how it would be read. I was wondering how it would be read, but Higashiyama-san had practiced it and decided on it in one shot.

--What? This was a one-shot recording?

Kyogoku: That's right. The script is just a list of letters, and we didn't give him any specific instructions. It was completely Higashiyama-san's original. I said, "Let's just give it a try," and he read it perfectly.

YuruCan△" doesn't have a lot of dialogue and is a work that is relatively presented through the use of pictures, but in scenes where voice acting is important, such as the scene where Lynn calls "Nadeshiko," I was reminded of the power of voice actors. There were so many scenes that would not have been possible without their voices, and I think we were truly blessed with a wonderful cast.

--I think we were really blessed with a great cast. You didn't just read the script as it was written, but you used sounds that were in character.

Kyogoku: That's right. Hanamori-san in particular was very studious, and during the scene where he eats a Pocky, he even brought his own Pocky and actually ate it while performing the scene. In the end, he didn't use it, but he really put a lot of effort into the scene.

--What I was a little concerned about was "DJ Ito-san" on the radio in the third episode. Is he the same person as Mr. Ito who appears in other scenes?　Looking at the credits, the same person (Shoto Kashii) plays the role, right?

Kyogoku: It is the same person (laughs). (laughs) To begin with, I don't know what "Mr. Ito," who appears in the first episode, is doing in the original story. He doesn't appear again after that. So, I thought it would be interesting if Mr. Ito appeared from time to time in various places. I imagine it as a little subplot, or perhaps a subtle gag that runs throughout the entire episode (laughs).

--(laughs) - some of the subplots were taken from "Heyacan△", you know. When I reread the original work again, I discovered many things.

Kyogoku: We were talking about trying to create as many tricks as we could think of that would make people reread the story several times and discover new things.

To create a sense of life and realism, we paid attention to areas other than the characters.

--In terms of gimmicks, the change in the opening of episode 8, when Lynn and Nadeshiko interact on SNS, was also a topic of conversation. Please tell us about any other stories that you actually included.

Kyogoku Yes. ...... For example, there is "the license plate number of (Nadeshiko's sister) Sakura's car changes. The Kakamigahara family lived in Hamamatsu, so at first it had Hamamatsu license plates, but they moved to Yamanashi and the license plates have changed since episode 6.

In the original story, the license plate number was also changed between the first and later episodes. I checked with the teacher and he said, "They are both correct. The number changed when you moved. I thought that he was thinking about the small details that you wouldn't notice if you were reading the original story, so I tried to reproduce those details.

--I was thinking that I wanted to reproduce that part of the story.

Kyogoku That's right. I think the biggest one we thought of was Mr. Ito (laughs). Also, we came up with the SNS stuff in episode 8 that I mentioned earlier.

--Did you think that the SNS material would be noticed right away?

Kyogoku: We knew it would be noticed at some point. Since we were going through the trouble of exchanging SNS messages, I thought it would be fun to change it a bit, but everyone gave me a very disapproving look, saying, "At this busy time of year," (laughs). But I'm glad I pushed them to change it.

--(Laughs) But I'm glad I asked them to change it.

Kyogoku: That's right. The more I read the original, the more I noticed the details that were in the story, and I had no choice but to visualize them (laughs). (Laughs.) There are probably many more stories that we are not even aware of. (Laughs.) I think there are probably many more stories that we are not aware of, and the teachers don't tell us unless we ask them.

--I think there are a lot of other stories that we are not aware of, and they don't tell us unless we ask them.

Kyogoku: It's not that we insisted on hand-drawing it. I really wanted that cut for the production, so I included it in the storyboarding stage. However, I did not think it should be featured, but rather that it should look "natural. It was definitely challenging, but the animators did a great job, and I think it turned out to be a very good scene.

--I was able to watch it without any sense of discomfort when I first saw it.

Kyogoku: If you say so, it was a great success. You did a wonderful job with both the original drawings and the animation. I really pushed them too hard, though (smiles).

I was conscious of the fact that I had to pay attention to such small details as the camping equipment and food. I had to pay attention to "things other than the characters," such as the camping equipment and the food. I think one of the charms of "YuruCamp△" is that the characters are not imaginary, and there is a sense that they have their feet on the ground. I wanted to give the characters a realistic depiction of the tools they touch and the food they eat, to give them a sense of life and existence. That's why from the beginning we talked about doing small things carefully.

--I enjoyed just looking at the compact fire grill in episode 6 and the description of the tools used in the caribou in episode 8.

Kyogoku Thank you very much.

Camping with everyone is not the goal, but I wanted to depict both solo and group qualities.

--Kyogoku: Going back to the story, episode 5 was also quite well received, wasn't it?

Kyogoku: I put a lot of effort into the fifth episode, as I thought it would be the peak of the first half of the story. I even wrote the storyboards myself.

--I was especially moved by the last scene where Nadeshiko and Lynn are looking at the night view.

Kyogoku: That scene was created in a rather special way. There are two night view scenes, and the musician, Akiko Tateyama, created the climax to match the two scenes. So I controlled the images so that the climax of the music would coincide with the night scene. Thanks to the cooperation of all the staff, I think the scene was worth watching.

The music--every song is wonderful and fits the scene. And this scene is connected to the catchphrase of the film, "Surely, we are connected by the sky.

Kyogoku: That's right. The catch copy was created with this scene in mind.

--The eleventh and twelfth episodes are Christmas camp episodes, depicting a group camp for five people.

Kyogoku: The first episode started with Lynn camping solo, and this is her first time camping in a group, so I wanted the audience to feel the fun of group camping. I was very excited when I read the original story, and I thought it would be nice to have everyone together.

--As well as depicting the fun of group camping, I also thought the original scene at the end (where Nadeshiko goes on a solo camping trip and meets Lynn at the campsite) was wonderful.

Kyogoku: It would be better to end with the Christmas camp. But if we ended with the Christmas camp, it would end up being "the final goal is everyone camping together," and the theme of the work, "groups are good and solos are good," would be blurred. So, I wanted to depict that Lynn continues to camp solo after the Christmas camp and Nadeshiko also starts to camp solo, so I added an original scene.

--In the beginning of episode 12, there is a scene where Nadeshiko appears in a flying tent in "Heyacan△," which is also connected to the flying tent scene in the opening. Was this something you had in mind from the beginning?

Kyogoku: Yes, I would like to say so, but the opening tent was an idea that Masato Jimbo, the director, came up with after reading the original story (laughs). (Laughs.) Mr. Jimbo has a great ability to read the atmosphere, or rather, he chooses his materials precisely. I left the entire opening to Mr. Jimbo.

--I thought he had prepared it from the beginning.

Kyogoku: When Mr. Jimbo asked me about the opening, he said, "Can I skip (the tent)?" I had read the script for episode 12 and knew it was going to fly, so I said, "That's totally fine. But Mr. Jimbo didn't know about episode 12, but he was connected to it, so he had a great sense of smell. The director also helped me with many other ideas.

--So it was really everyone's help that created a wonderful work. Finally, do you have a message for the viewers and readers?

Kyogoku: I really fell in love with Mr. Afuro's original work, and I feel that I was able to do my best because of the excellence of the original work. I hope that those of you who got to know "YuruCan△" through the anime will read the original story as well. And since the weather is going to get warmer from now on, we hope that people will go camping. That was one of the reasons we decided to broadcast the anime at this time of the year, but everyone is going camping so quickly (laughs). (Laughs.) If people can experience the charm of camping through this work, it will be worthwhile for us to have made it.

The Blu-ray and DVD will include a short but new animation "Heyacan △ episode 0" as a bonus. Although the broadcast has ended, we hope you will enjoy it as well. Thank you very much for watching until the end.

(Interview, text, and photos by Kenichi Chiba)