Long interview with Nobuto Sue, art director! (The 23rd "Inside" of anime and games)

The "Inside" of Anime and Game" introduces the true faces of top creators and their work styles. This time we interviewed Mr. Nobuto Sue, co-founder of the background production company "Kusanagi" and veteran art setter. The art setting is a position that creates the designs that form the basis of the animation backgrounds. He has worked on "Mysterious World El Hazard," "Please Teacher," "CLAYMORE," "Mobile Suit Gundam 00," "Waiting in the Summer," "Date A Live," "Cross Ange: Angel and Dragon Dance," "Tenkai Knight," "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blood Orphans," "One PIECE FILM GOLD," "Fate/Apocrypha," "citrus," and "Hakumei to Mikochi. In this article, Mr. Sue talks about the real joy of his work, his influences, his obsessions, his career, the qualities and abilities required for the art profession, and his future challenges.

Creating a stage that makes people want to make a pilgrimage to a holy place

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule for the production of the TV series. Quickly, what do you find most rewarding about the art setting?

Nobuto Sue (Sue): I want the people who watch the animation to feel something and say, "I wish I could go to this place! or "I liked that world view! I am glad that I am doing this work.

When I was a child, I liked the characters of anime, but when I was exposed to backgrounds at a vocational school, I learned that a world view is not possible without them and the joy of creating a stage where the characters act out their roles.

Nowadays, fans also enjoy "pilgrimages to sacred places" to visit the places where the anime took place.

Sue: "Onegai☆Teacher" (2002) was the first work that made me realize that fans could enjoy the worldview of an actual place when it was used as a location. At that time, there were not many pilgrimages to sacred places, but I heard that many fans went there. I went to an unmanned station where the film was shot a while later, and was surprised to see many notebooks of fans there (laughs). (Laughs.) It seems that the local people were pleased with "Waiting in the Summer" (2012) as well.

Sue: "Onegai☆Teacher" is set in Nagano Prefecture, and you are also from Nagano, aren't you?

Sue: The film was shot in Matsumoto City and Lake Kisaki, where director Yasuoki Ide spent his school days. I am from Saku City, so although we are a bit far from each other, we are both from Nagano Prefecture, and I remember being very excited about designing the film.

I remember that I was very enthusiastic in designing the film "citrus" (2018), which is set in Tokyo.

Sue: For "citrus," I went on location to Kyoto, where I went on a school trip. I didn't go to Tokyo for the filming, but Aihara Gakuin Girls High School and Yuzuko's apartment are based on the locations that director Takahashi Tsuyoshi and Paschone had decided on. The location of Yuzuko's apartment is actually a vacant lot in Toyosu. The route to school was also decided while thinking, "Get off at this station, go like this, and then go to .......

I love "Conan: Future Boy

What works have influenced you?

Sue: I think the works of Hayao Miyazaki were a big influence. Conan: Mirai Shonen Conan" (1978), before the Ghibli boom, is the best TV series. Also, "Lupin III: Cagliostro's Castle" (1979). I force my children to watch it (laughs). The 30-minute slot seemed very short, and the whole family would watch the movie together, wondering what was going to happen next. The family would watch it together, thrilled and nervous, wondering what was going to happen next.

After that, Leiji Matsumoto's "Space Battleship Yamato" (1974-75, 1978-79, 1980-81) and "Galaxy Express 999" (1978-81) made me an anime fan, and I watched "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979-80) and many prime-time anime based on boys' magazines. I watched a lot of primetime anime based on shonen magazines.

Sue: Did you pay attention to the setting of the works when you were watching anime as a child?

Sue: When you delve into a work that you like, your attention is drawn to the world as an extension of the characters. I remember the worldview of that work very well.

The work that strongly influenced my worldview was "Castle in the Sky" (1986). I was already in vocational school at the time, but I went back to the countryside and went to see the movie with my sister. My sister wanted to see the movie, so we went. After seeing the movie, I was drawing a picture of Laputa while looking at the pamphlet in Poskala (laughs).

Laughs] - The 1980s was a time when fantasy and science fiction animation was plentiful.

Sue: There are too few now. About 80% of the works that come to us now are bishojo and idol works based on novels and contemporary dramas. I don't think there are too many challenging original projects. In that sense, there used to be a lot of original works that didn't rely on original works, and the genres were also space or otherworldly, and there were many things that the whole family could watch together, which was fun.

─ Who do you respect?

Sue: I didn't participate in his films or ask him to teach me, but I admire Kazuo Oga, who was active in the Ghibli films. Also, I have been impressed by the works of Shichiro Kobayashi's predecessors from Kobayashi Productions ever since I was working as a background artist. There is no waste in the way they capture the world, and I still learn a lot from them.

Designing imaginary worlds is fun!

What is your favorite background or genre?

Sue: My goal in this job is to be all things to all people. No matter what kind of request comes in, I always try to produce something above a certain level. Personally, however, I enjoy designing fantasy, fantasy, science fiction, and worlds that do not exist in reality.

How do you go about creating a world with an original story?

Sue: There are almost no pictures in a novel, so I use what the author had in mind when he or she was creating the work as a guide, and after listening to what the director wants to create and the range of expression in the original work, I design it.

For "Date A Live" (2013-14), we went to Machida, Tokyo, because we heard that Mr. Tachibana Kouji had imagined the area there. The content is a harem story, but I remember that we created the worldview quite well.

What do you think of the setting of "Fate/Apocrypha" (2017)?

Sue: The key visuals for the characters, various accessories, the floating fortress of Semiramis, and so on were provided by the makers. We didn't go to Romania for the location shooting either, but the first team from A-1 Pictures did.

Other than that, nothing was set in stone, so we created the settings from scratch. However, director Yoshiyuki Asai presented us with a variety of images, so I didn't have the impression that it was very difficult. The director was quite an artist, so he gave me a rough sketch of what he had in mind, and I used it as a basis for my proposals, working out the details as I went along.

How would it be different if it were based on a manga?

Sue: In "Hakumei to Mikochi" (2018), the density of Yuto Kashiki's depiction of nature was so great that I couldn't use my own techniques to set the story as it was. For the background of the TV series, the biggest challenge was to drop a quality line that the staff could draw. Because it was a TV series, we had to divide the work among various staff members. Even if some of the backgrounds were great, if the rest of the backgrounds were terrible, it would not work as a single work. I believe that a stable level of overall quality is required for anime backgrounds.

The backgrounds for "Hakumei to Mikochi" were wonderful.

Sue: I also worked with Mr. Ralke on "Konohana Kitan" (2017), and in both works, he said that he wanted to emphasize the quality of the backgrounds. For "Hakumiko," there was also a request to "depict the world in a picture book style," so I stuck to a hand-drawn look.

My main work now is art setting and design, but for "Hakumiko" I also drew the background for the first episode for the first time in a long time. If I didn't have any other work to do, I would have loved to continue working on the second and subsequent episodes. The schedule is tight, and it's hard work, but the staff says, "The backgrounds for 'Hakumiko' are so much fun! I'm so happy to have been able to do it. When we go digital, we tend to process materials, cut and paste, and put priority on efficiency, but for "Hakumiko," I drew from scratch based on the layout, which gave me a sense of satisfaction as an artist.

What exactly were you in charge of?

Sue: I worked on the key visuals, and from the OP to part A. I wanted to draw nature objects such as forests. I wanted to draw nature objects such as forests.

─ How was Kashiki-san's reaction?

Sue: When he saw the key visual, he said, "As long as you do it in this quality, there is no problem. But are you sure you can do it this way? (laughs).

I heard that you proposed a different design for Tartaros in the movie version of "Appleseed" (2004).

Sue: Mr. Masamune Shirow's image was a disc-shaped structure, but the director, Mr. Shinji Aramaki, told me that it would be interesting if there was another approach, so I proposed various different design approaches while keeping the condition of "a mirror-like structure. As a result, we ended up taking over Mr. Shirow's image (Editor's note: For Mr. Sue's Tartaros proposal, please refer to the book "Background Art Collection: Kusanagi 2 SF Edition").

However, the Tartaros for "EX MACHINA" (2007), which was created after "APPLESEED," is completely different. I put a lot of effort into designing it (laughs).

Creating with the direction in mind

Do you have any rules that you always follow in your work?

Sue: I am conscious of the direction in my daily life, and I am also very concerned about the direction of the setting. Some directors decide which direction to face, east, west, south, north, and south, and say, "The school faces this way, please.

If you create the settings without paying attention to the direction, you may end up with the same orientation, but with the sun coming in from the west and the sun coming in from the morning, and so on. Some directors say, "That's fine for the sake of the picture," and in that case, I will accept it, but if there are no such instructions, I try to create the location with the direction in mind. If we are not told anything, we decide on the direction of east, west, south, north, and west.

Sue: Did you also create Arzenal for "Cross Ange: The Angel and the Dragon Dance" (2014-15) with the direction of the building in mind?

Sue: I checked with director Yoshiharu Ashino to see where the morning sun would be rising from, and created the three-dimensional images so that I could get the right shading when the sun was shining. I remember telling him, "Ange can get the western sun if she faces this way," even in the scene at the gravesite. In the daytime, but in the morning and evening, it would be a problem if the direction of the light was not consistent. If this is established from the beginning as a common understanding among the staff at the setup stage, we can work without hesitation.

Sue: Is there anything else you pay attention to?

Sue: I think it is to work within the budget. The other party wants the budget, so it would be rude not to deliver something that meets that expectation.

However, most of our staff members are overworked and end up doing more than what is budgeted (laughs). (Laughs.) As painters, we have a desire to express ourselves, so we do what we really want to pursue.

I heard that in some of your past works, you even put company names in the background.

Sue: I used to do that a lot in the past. I even put the last names of people I knew in the grave scene. For a work I did at a previous company, another staff member even drew "Sue Family Grave" or "Sue Hospital" (laughs). (Laughs.) Nowadays, notations are much more strict, so it may be difficult.

Do you have any criteria for participation in your works?

Sue: As a company, we work with a large number of people, so it is a matter of balance. If we continue to accept only heavy works, the company will become exhausted, and if we accept only light works, the staff who want to do solid art work will not be satisfied. In this regard, we try to provide a certain amount of options for the staff to be involved. The content of the work is also very important. The motivation of the staff is rather heavily weighted in this regard.

As an individual, I am more motivated if I am drawing a game setting that I can self-contain. With animation, I try to get involved in works that I feel I have to be involved in. If I am approached by a director with whom I have worked in the past, I am happy as a designer, so I tend to think positively about it. However, I try to consider all the factors before accepting the project, such as what kind of work he is trying to create, whether the production company can handle the schedule, and who would be the best person for the job.

Sue: You have worked with director Nagai Tatsuyuki on "Waiting in the Summer" and "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphens" (2015-17).

Sue: In addition to myself, I think that Nagai's work was a good match with the art director, Ayutaka Kawamoto. As an art director, I am more impressed by what and how the art director put into the work than by the art settings.