A special talk event report on "Liz and the Blue Bird" featuring Naoko Yamada, director, and Ayano Takeda, author of the original story, has arrived!

The official report from the special preview of the anime film "Liz and the Blue Bird," which will be released next weekend, April 21 (Sat.), featuring a talk event with director Naoko Yamada and original author Ayano Takeda on stage, has arrived.

Liz and the Blue Bird" is based on Ayano Takeda's novel "Hibike! Euphonium Kita-Uji High School Brass Band Club, Disturbing Second Movement," which depicts the adolescence of high school students. Kyoto Animation, which won the "40th Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation" and the "Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2017 Animation of the Year Film Grand Prix in the Theatrical Film Division" for the film "Unamplified", depicts a fleeting and beautiful moment between two girls, Mizore and Nozomi.
⇒Main staff comments and the latest information from "Liz and the Blue Bird," KyoAni's latest work directed by Naoko Yamada!
⇒Schedule of Anime Film Screening

The official report and guest comments from the "Liz and the Blue Bird" special talk event held at Space FS Shiodome (Minato-ku, Tokyo) on April 11 have arrived.

<"Liz and the Blue Bird" Special Talk Event Official Report

On April 4 (Wed.), the film was unveiled to many fans at a completion announcement screening with a stage greeting, and on April 11 (Wed.), a special preview screening with a talk event was held with director Naoko Yamada and original author Ayano Takeda on the stage. The two female creators, an animation director and a novelist, engaged in girl talk about the subtleties of a girl's mind as depicted in the film!

When asked about her impressions of the film, Ms. Takeda said that she was moved by the lingering adolescent atmosphere of the film, saying, "The work itself is packed with so many elements of youth that I want to watch it again and again, soaking up the afterglow and the atmosphere after watching it. I tried my best to incorporate the transparency of Ms. Takeda's writing into the film," Yamada said shyly.

In addition, when asked for advice on how to realize their dreams, the two female creators, both of whom are at the forefront of the creative industry, said, "Never give up on what you want to do and go for it (Director Yamada)," and "The moment someone recognizes your efforts, you will be able to feel something. I think the most important thing is to cherish the feelings and impulses that arise at the moment when someone recognizes your efforts (Takeda).

<Guest Comments

Q: What made you decide to focus on Mizore and Nozomi from the original novel?

Director Yamada:
When I read the plot of the new novel written by Mr. Takeda, I thought "Hibike! Euphonium", there was also a story about Mizore and Nozomi, which made me feel as if I was peeping into a girl's secret.
I was intrigued by the way you wrote about feelings of envy, love, jealousy, etc., which are not often expressed out loud, and you did not hide them, but rather put them out there in a clean manner.

Q: About the depiction of the different forms of "like" emotions in this work

Takeda Sensei:
When I looked back at the story to confront the relationship between Mizore and Kimi, I realized that the feelings of "like" for each other were contained in different ways. I wanted to convey the difference between their feelings.

Q: Why did you focus on the girl?

Director Yamada:
I thought the girl was beautiful because I felt the worries unique to adolescence and the wishes and thoughts of what she wants to be are very beautiful.
I am looking forward to seeing what the students think about it, and although the story takes place in a co-ed school, I think it would be great if it looked like an all-girls school.

Ms. Takeda:
When I write, I usually have the desire to write about what I think is beautiful, and everything that passes by should be beautiful, but when I am actually in the midst of it, I cannot see the beauty. I wanted to fill the story with that invisible beauty, and I was impressed by the way he meticulously recreated what I wanted to write and what I wanted to recreate.

Q: What are the differences that can be seen by watching the film from Mizore's and Nozomi's perspectives?

Director Yamada:
I am very interested in how people who see this film think about how they themselves do with their friends and whether or not they can trust their beloved friends through the relationship between Mizore and Nozomi. I hope that the audience will watch the film while paying attention to the relationship between the two, which is not only beautiful but also something that is in everyone's heart, and wondering which one they are.

Q: What did you focus on in terms of visuals and sound?

Director Yamada:
This is a film about girls keeping secrets from each other, hidden thoughts that they can't say out loud and proudly.
If I approached the girls with a camera, they would run away, so I felt as if I was quietly watching them from afar, through a glass window. The sounds that create their world were sampled from an actual school, and I hope that the audience will experience the sound of the two girls in 5.1ch sound, becoming the atmosphere of the surroundings without disturbing them.

Q: What is the best word to describe their emotions?

Director Yamada:
When I finished drawing my storyboard, I suddenly realized that I could not give a good name to the emotions I was describing.
I would like to ask everyone who has seen this film to tell me if there is a good word for it.

Takeda: I was very impressed with this film :
My impression of this film was "like a photograph of a soap bubble just before it breaks.
It was like a photograph of a moment becoming eternal, or a fragment of a moment falling out of the time that flows in a certain direction in their high school life, and you want to take a beautiful picture of it and cherish it.

Q: Advice for people pursuing their dreams

Director Yamada:
I think I am fulfilling my dream. I love movies, I wanted to make images, I was impressed by animation techniques, and now I am here directing animation. I think it is a waste of time to decide that something has to be this way. When I create something, the work is already finished, and whether it is a bright or dark work, if the desire to express it is positive, it will become a work of art. I hope that you will not give up on what you want to do, but go for it.

Mr. Takeda:
I am still a novice writer, but my first motivation to create was "when a friend read my book. and the moment someone read it and acknowledged my efforts, I felt something, and I think the most important thing is to cherish the feelings and impulses that I felt at that moment.

Q: Closing remarks

Dr. Takeda:
Thank you very much for your time today. This work, "Liz and the Blue Bird," is based on my original novel "Hibike! Euphonium" series, I extracted the beautiful essence of this work and made it independent. It is a film that you will want to share the afterglow with someone after watching this film. If you think this film is "nice and wonderful," I hope you will visit the movie theater with your friends and family and share the atmosphere with them.

Director Yamada:
This film focuses on the growing pains of girls, or rather, the emotional turmoil of adolescence, and the feelings that they cannot express outwardly. I hope you will enjoy the film as I am sure it is something that you have in your hearts as well. Thank you very much for your time today.

Film Information] (*Honorifics omitted)
Liz and the Blue Bird
Release date: April 21, 2018 (Saturday)
Theater information: #
・Distributor: Shochiku