Relationships are not black and white. ...... that's why it's interesting! Interview with Naoko Yamada, director of "Liz and the Blue Bird," who took the time to face the drama of the girls!

The anime film "Liz and the Blue Bird," which depicts the subtleties of adolescent girls' hearts, opened in theaters today, April 21, 2018.

The film is based on the popular anime "Hibike! Euphonium," and the film depicts the "aftermath" of the two girls, Mizore Armorzuka, an oboe player, and Nozomi Kasaragi, a flutist, in a highly anticipated new film directed by Naoko Yamada and the main staff of the anime film "Form of Undeclared. The most anticipated new work of this spring.

We asked Naoko Yamada, the director of this spring's hottest film, about her thoughts on the film.

─ What made you decide to develop the story of two characters, Mizore Arumozuka and Nozomi Kusaki, into a theatrical film?

Naoko Yamada (Yamada): First of all, we were planning to make a movie about "Hibike! Euphonium," and during the scenario meeting, I was shown the plot of the new work that Ayano Takeda (the original author) was currently writing. When we saw the plot, Director Ishihara had already decided to make a film about Kumiko (Kozue), and when we decided to make a film about Kumiko's story, we discussed where we should focus first. The story of Mizore and Nozomi has a great deal of substance, and if we were to include it in the film and also depict Kumiko's story, it would be quite a lot. I thought that if the story was so strong, it might be possible to separate it and make it a stand-alone work. This was the start of the project.

What were your first impressions of Mizore and Nozomi?

Yamada: What an interesting relationship between Mizore and Nozomi. I remember being fascinated by Mr. Takeda's point of view and how he was able to develop the characters from such an angle. I also thought it was a very deep story. However, he is also very transparent, daredevil, and fascinating. I have always been interested in this character because he has a way of thinking that I have never seen before. Even though the main story of "Euphonium" is about Kumiko and her friends, their presence was so strong that I felt as if they were trying to appeal to me, and I was so attracted to them that I couldn't pretend to ignore them.

─ ─ In this work, one year after the second season of the TV series, the drama of the two girls who are now in their third year is depicted.

Yamada: I didn't get to touch on it much during the second season, but I was interested in it, so I wanted to give it some form. When we actually faced each other, we discovered various aspects of the characters, such as their very sensitive yet stubborn and bold sides, and it was really fun to work on the production.

Why Mochiyui Honda played "Liz and the Blue Bird

──Mochiyui Honda plays two roles in the play "Liz" and "Blue Bird" in this film. How did you come to this casting decision?

Yamada: I always liked Ms. Honda's voice because I thought it was clear and distinctive enough to be recognized just by listening to it. However, I had already decided that I wanted someone else to play the role of Liz and the Blue Bird, but I had no idea who I wanted to play the role. Then, when I was talking with the producer, he asked me, "Could it be Ms. Honda? Yes, that's right! That's how it was decided. I think that Ms. Honda's voice matched the image of the innocent, beautiful, and cute character.

─ I felt that the drama between Liz and the girl had a clear message. Encounters and partings are essentially the same form of love. That is why I felt that Mr. Honda was able to play both roles.

Yamada: I wanted to emphasize the two roles of one person, because it is true that both are possible. I am sure that this story is not a story about which one is which. Personally, I think that Liz should talk more with the girl (laughs), but I also thought that the fact that they think about each other but do not understand each other is a major part of this work. Liz's selfishness in this work is due to her love for the blue bird, but since they don't even talk to each other, they don't know what each other is thinking. But the fact that the driving force behind this is love or the desire to think of the other person is what made it so interesting. I think it was interesting that this film endlessly depicts that human relationships are not something that can be quickly put in black and white.

─ In the "Tamako Love Story" and "Form of Unknown" movies, there were two central characters, and you tried to give as much space as possible to the other characters around them.

Yamada: For a long time, it has been a subject that I wanted to challenge myself to concentrate on the two characters and to depict their structure endlessly, so I am happy to be able to take on this challenge this time.

I had the intention of overlapping the relationship between Mizore and Nozomi with that of Liz and Kotori, but I also wanted to find something I could express by structurally weaving the two together. The world of Mizore and Nozomi and the world of Liz and the Blue Bird exist in different ways, and I wondered what kind of effect would be created when they interacted with each other. I thought it would make for an interesting film if I could depict this in an interesting way.

─ Did you have this structure in mind when you were plotting the film?

Yamada: In Mr. Takeda's plot, there was the story of Liz and the Blue Bird from the beginning, which was gently depicted, and then the story of Mizore and Nozomi began. I had the impression that Mr. Takeda's plot was more about the world of Mizore and Nozomi.

What I wanted to depict was "the subtleties of the human heart

───The visuals are quite realistic compared to "Hibike! Euphonium", what was the director's request to the character designer, Mr. Taishi Nishiya?

Yamada: I think I told you that I wanted to focus on the sensitive aspects of the two girls. Since the work would capture even the slightest movement, we wanted to make sure that not a single hair or eyelash would be missed, and this was the answer Nishiya-san gave us.

─ Did you decide on the design straight away?

Yamada: Yes, that's right. Nishiya-san had an image in his mind that he thought "this is the one," and in order to see how good or bad it was, I asked him to draw a completely different image. I asked him to draw a completely different image to see how good or bad it was. After that, I decided that I liked this one, and the rest was fine-tuning. I wondered if the size of the eyes would look so different with just one different line, or if the jaw would be round or pointy.

I think the design is quite mature. For a moment, I wondered if it would be okay if I looked like an older woman, but I soon changed my mind, partly because of the power of the pictures.

─ What kind of acting plan did you request for the cast members?

Yamada: I told them to be natural. I told them that it was okay if they did not seem to be moving the story along with their lines. Just by feeling something and responding to it as it is, the girls seem to be living their lives, so that's what I asked them to do. （Even when the camera is off Kumiko and the others (the main characters of "Euphonium"), the characters are still alive in the background. I personally like it when the main characters are not the main characters in a production. （I like to show that this is how they are living their lives (even if they are not on screen).

─ Mr. Tanesaki, who plays the role of Mizore, says of the director, "Everything is a bystander. The wind and the trees are just like everyone else.

Yamada: I told them to be present as a matter of course, not as something special. And "everything is a bystander" is what Mizore and Nozomi are winding up. The music is created as Mizore and Nozomi walk, and the people around them are watching them with bated breath, but they are watching without being aware of it, so neither of them is acting for show. It's like asking them to perform a play where everything is off.

Yamada: Was there anything you didn't want them to see or say this time?

Yamada: It was very difficult to find the right amount of force. Every single conversation, every single word you say can be a lie, so I didn't want to act as if I understood the other person, or to be condescending and give them a false impression. I wanted to be faithful to the feelings of these two women, so I did not want to explain to the audience "this is how it is" from the creator's side, or rather, I did not want to lie. I was conscious of the importance of protecting the dignity of these girls.

─ ─ In the main story of "Euphonium," Kumiko and her group have a more straightforward conversation, but with Mizore and Nozomi, it seems as if they are not always on the same page. Was that a challenge for you this time?

Yamada: That was important. It was as if they were listening to each other's voices all the time, but not listening to each other, and in an ambiguous state. If things go even a little well, all the layers of the relationship will be ruined, but we had to make it look as if things are going well on the surface, which was important. Everyone wants to be understood. But they understand each other more selfishly than you might think. I felt that the person I love wants me to love him or her, but in reality, I can't reach him or her.

I am not saying this out of a sense of despair, but that is why I want to convey that there is hope, and that if you give up on that feeling, your feelings will not be conveyed. The sense of tigthiness is important in this case, and I don't think the conversation is engaging until the very end. I don't think the conversation is going to be in synch until the very end. However, I also felt that this is what makes people interesting.

─ ─ I think the theme of mutual miscommunication is similar to the theme of your previous film "聲の形". Is this a motif that you continue to carry with you?

Yamada: Actually, it just happened. Before that, "K-ON! and "Tamako Market," I was focusing on depicting the state where people know each other and understand each other, so I don't think it's a matter of one or the other. I think what I wanted to depict was the subtleties of the human heart, but it just happened to be in this order, so I am not really conscious of that.

The challenge of "capturing the girl in all her glory

─ ─ What did you focus on in the performance scenes this time?

Yamada: In the past, when I was cutting the storyboards for the performance scenes, I always paid attention to where to put the drama, but this time it was very difficult. But this time it was very difficult. Since it was a performance scene, I couldn't have them say lines like, "Wow, that's great. I thought it would be difficult, but this time I focused on the world as Kimi sees it and took on the challenge.

─ What kind of direction did you give to the musicians?

Yamada: We first talked about the personalities of Mizore and Nozomi. I thought it would be better not to talk too much about the characters' personalities, since the performer is not an actor, but I realized that the performer is also a performer. It was very interesting to see how he played out the psychology of the characters through his performance.

─ You also wrote the lyrics for the ending song, didn't you?

Yamada: The ending song was written by Kensuke Ushio, the accompanist for the play, and he asked me, "Who will write the lyrics? At first I said, "I wonder who should write the lyrics. Then Mr. Ushio said, "Mr. Yamada," which sounded interesting, so I said, "Yes," and gave him my two cents. I accepted it lightly, but lyrics are very difficult to write, and I had to wait for a long time, but I think I was able to capture the core of the work in the song. I tried to write from the perspective of watching over the viewer, as I mentioned earlier.

─ Lastly, could you tell us again about your own sense of the challenges you faced in making this film?

Yamada: "To film the girl fully. If you do this in a TV series, it is difficult to get people to watch the movie next week, but if you do it in a movie, it is difficult to get people to watch the movie next week. But with a movie, I thought that people would watch it, so that's what I wanted to do this time.

─ ─ Thank you very much. Now, could you close with a message to those who are about to go to the movie theaters?

Yamada: This is a film that will give its best performance when seen in a movie theater, so I would like you to see it in a movie theater. In particular, I am deeply particular about the sound. Not only the music, but also the other sounds such as environmental sounds and accompaniment, we are trying our best to make the story of Mizore and Nozomi come to life. Please see the film in theaters. I am sure you will enjoy it.