[Available Today! How to preserve traditional people's livelihood as a Japanese asset for the future......Interview with Director Kazuya Murata of XFLAG Studio's new anime "The Promised Seven Night Festival

The anime "Seven Nights of Promises," produced by XFLAG Studio, began distribution on August 3, 2018. In the final installment of our series of interviews, we are joined by director Kazuya Murata, who was also involved in the original plan and script from the beginning of the project.

Director Murata, who is highly acclaimed for his science fiction works such as "Suisei no Gargantia," "Correcting Kad" and "A.I.C.O. Incarnation," has built his story on a meticulously thought-out science fiction setting in this work as well. The film is full of suspense, action, and battles, yet is sentimental and voluminous, and has science fiction elements that can be compared to many futuristic anime works. I hope that after reading this interview on YouTube, you will return to the film as often as you like and enjoy the off-screen setting.

Raising Issues in the Form of Entertainment

--Director Murata was involved in this project from the very beginning, wasn't he?

Kazuya Murata (Murata ): Yes, that's right. I went to Mixi and asked them about the details of the project. The main idea was to create an original character in order to actively increase the number of characters appearing in the game application, and to create an animation for that purpose ahead of time. So the content of the animation is up to you" (laughs). (Laughs.) I was told that it would be nice if there were a few battles as a feature of "MonSt," but the rest of the story was loose enough that there were plans to distribute it on YouTube as a 40-minute short film.

However, Mr. Hirasawa told me that since the length of the film is not long and it is a one-shot, it would be good to have something along the lines of a mechanism. For example, how about an escape story about a protagonist who is trapped in a closed space? That way, we could depict the trial-and-error process leading up to the escape. I thought this was a good idea, but if the confined space where the escape takes place is small, the images that can be shown are limited, so I wondered if it would be fun to animate or if it would be enjoyable as an image. So, adding my own taste to the mix (laughs), I decided to use a village deep in the mountains of Japan as the confined space. I expanded it to the size of a village. If only the protagonist wanders into the village, he is inevitably forced to act alone. I also proposed a secret festival, a festival that must not be seen by outsiders, and a story in which the protagonist is in danger. As a motif for the festival, I thought of "Akamata-Kuromata," a secret festival on Ishigaki Island where outsiders are severely punished if they see the festival.

--The festival was modeled after the one Shintaro Ishihara wrote about in his novel.

Murata: Then there is the absurd fear of Yasutaka Tsutsui's short story "The Bear's Tree Line. Then there is Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut," which is not a festival, but is a tense film in which the protagonist is mixed up in a place where he should not be. However, it is a common setting to take on a traditional festival that has existed in Japan since ancient times, and I felt that it would not be fresh if I did it as is.

--I wanted to create an interesting gap between the old look and the new era, but I also wanted the village to look old-fashioned and the village to look really old-fashioned. What did you do to make the village feel like the future?

Murata: I think one of the most decisive points is that Kanna, one of the heroines, is a hologram. When the main character, Hoshina, encounters a hologram in a traditional mountain village, she also has a sense of "Where am I? The main character, Hoshina, also has a sense of "Where am I? I hoped that this surprise would also be a surprise to the audience. This would also allow the audience to imagine that the warrior who appears in the middle of the festival is not a ghost but a hologram. As for the festival as a whole, I thought of various futuristic systems that would be necessary to gather people together for a certain reason, as long as they would be feasible in the future. For example, the semi-transparent cloth like a "gauze" attached to the raven hat worn by the villagers is like an LCD screen, and when it comes down in front of your face, you can read the information projected on it. In other words, it is AR. It also has a communication function, so you can talk with Kanna. This is a technology that is already being put to practical use.

They also wear underwear called "hyoe," which is like full-body tights. This serves as an artificial muscle, but it is more than just a muscle support device; it has a function that allows them to download various craftsman skills. The canner is a hologram, so it cannot do the actual work of the festival. So we have to ask the participants to do those things. But the participants gathered from all over Japan are all amateurs when it comes to festivals. In order to help these amateurs prepare for the festival, we provide them with the skills of masters in their respective professions. The skills necessary to perform the rituals, such as carpentry, decorating, cooking, etc., are brought down to the possessions of each person in charge, so that they can perform their tasks as if they were their main job. The people gathered here can carry out the festival even as amateurs, and each participant can engage in his or her work without difficulty, so it is fun to do.

--The festival can be realized by having the tourists take over the management and implementation of the festival. The burden on the visitors is also short-lived.

Murata That's right. It is a system that realizes the "convenient country life" as conceived by city dwellers. You can feel like a local. I think that the traditional Japanese countryside, with its thatched-roof villages and rural landscapes, is very attractive. However, it is very difficult to actually maintain a job and a lifestyle in such places. I for one would never be able to do it physically. Since the end of World War II, the number of people engaged in agriculture and forestry has been dramatically decreasing. However, I have heard that there are many examples of people who have the ambition to pass on their skills and livelihoods. However, I don't think there are enough people to pass them on to the next generation. If this is the case, I thought that in the future, it might be a good idea to have a system in which unspecified people who normally live in cities take turns doing farm work and maintaining the village as part of their recreational activities, or perhaps this could become the mainstream. If working in the countryside itself is an enjoyable experience, and people can become professional farmers while they are there, I think it is possible to maintain the countryside and the lifestyle there by replacing one person after another with new ones. I feel that it is feasible in the future, including the technology used. In short, my idea is that it would be a good idea to replace the traditional livelihood of people with leisure, recreation, and entertainment that have real benefits, as a way to preserve Japan's assets for the future.

--Whenever you work on an anime title, do you put that much effort into creating a setting that doesn't appear on the screen?

Murata: I think about it. Or rather, I like to do so. The same is true of "A.I.C.O.," which I was working on at Bonds until recently, and before that, in "Suisei no Gargantia," I came up with the idea of a reconfigurable city life based on freely movable ships as a proposal for a new way of life. I enjoy thinking about how to turn an idea into a work of art (laughs).

From an Escape Drama to a Story of High School Students Achieving Their Goals

-I heard from producer Maeno that there were some points where the story took two or three turns (see the first interview in the series).

Murata: As it turns out, the relationship between the main character and the people who hold the festival became a crucial part of the work. At first, I was thinking of showing the story through interesting tactics, such as almost getting caught after witnessing a secret festival or trying to escape from the village but being unable to do so. But as I thought about the story, I realized that Shiori has someone she wants to meet at the festival, and I wanted to make it a festival for that purpose. When I did that, there was an imbalance between Shiori, the group that gathered at the festival with the same feelings as Shiori, and Hoshina. But as a setting, I feel that is more attractive. So it became necessary to fill the gap. Was it a coincidence that Hoshimasa came across this mysterious festival, or was it inevitable, and could it be portrayed as a simple escape drama?

--In the beginning, it was a coincidence, wasn't it? Like a lost person.

Murata Yes, that's right. You arrived here as a result of exploring an abandoned village or searching for a spot where you could take beautiful star photos. But I thought it would be better if he had a clear reason for coming here. He was invited by an old friend because there should be a more intrinsic connection between his reason for visiting here and the festival that takes place here. I thought that if the purpose of his visit was to see his friend, it would balance his motivation with that of the people who had gathered for the festival. This would be different from the escapade we had originally envisioned. So, we removed the restrictions. The story became very fluid instead of being free from the restrictions. It was like, "Well, what kind of story shall we tell again? (Laughs.) The ideas that came up in the process of developing the content of the work changed what we wanted to create and the image of the work that needed to be created.

Because of these various factors, it took me a long time to find the best place to set the landing point for the work.

--What was the decisive idea you came up with for the landing point?

Murata It was a suggestion from Mr. Fukushima, a scenario writer from Mixi. I felt that it came to fruition when the relationship between Atsushi, Hoshina's old friend, and Hoshina, Shiori, and Kanna, the festival facilitator, linked the thoughts of the three in the direction of accomplishing the festival, even though they each had their own thoughts and feelings.

--The first part of the story was about escaping from the festival, but the point where you landed was the complete opposite.

Murata: The point of departure was changed from "I want to go home" to "I have to stay here.

--Murata: But at the same time, the volume of the film increased from the original 40 minutes because you had to depict people's thoughts and feelings?

Murata Yes (laughs). (Laughs.) But the fact that it was an escape from a village, and that the motif was a festival, there were elements that made the length of the film longer. There were more characters to be portrayed and more arrangements to be made. I really wanted to have more time for the story, but I had to be able to physically complete it. So, once we finished cutting the storyboards, we threw them away and left about 200 cuts missing.

--What were some of the difficulties you faced after you started production?

Murata: I was concerned about the balance between the story of Hoshin, Shiori, and the villagers and the battles with the warriors. Since they are obviously still different from each other. The most difficult thing for me was to find the right balance in terms of what kind of comfort the viewer would feel watching the scene. To be consistent with the appearance of the warriors, we had created a backbone that the village used to be the ruins of a castle and many people died with a grudge.

However, even though we were going to use old Japanese visuals, it still felt strange to have the ghosts of warriors in a modern drama with a near-future orientation. So, I tried to incorporate that discomfort and turn it into something scary and pleasant in the battles.

For example, the sense of fear felt by Hoshina and Shiori. By making the holograms "touchable," I tried to express the possibility that the spirits might harm flesh-and-blood people. This "touchable hologram" is a technology that is actually being developed, but this work takes it further. Another thing is that the presence of the warrior amplifies Hoshina's feeling that she has come to a strange place. In this sense, the dramatic element of escape is still alive.

--In fact, at first Hoshina tries to escape from the village.

Murata But Shiori, on the other hand, has a situation that prevents her from leaving the village. So we can reaffirm that she has a strong reason to overcome the crisis and bring the festival to fruition. So, although (the samurai) is a seemingly irregular event, it is a litmus paper that brings to the surface the different feelings that Hoshin and Shiori have deep in their hearts, and is used as a necessity in the drama.

I also believe that the presence of this foreign object, the warrior's ghost, is in a sense proof of existence that this work is within the framework of an XFLAG Studio title. The viewers who enter through this point will be the first viewers, and no matter how free the content may be, I felt that it was necessary for them to get the initial impression that this was a work they wanted to see within the framework of that title.

--In that sense, "battle" is an important element, and it makes sense that XFLAG Studios asked you to include it.

Murata Yes, that's right. However, I myself don't have much experience with battles or the desire for battles, so I was worried about whether I would be able to fulfill the order (laughs). In that sense, it was probably the biggest hurdle I had to overcome in this project.

--( Laughs ) - Hitoshi Akutagawa, the sound director, told you not to be too nervous about playing the role of Shiori ( see the second interview in the series ).

Murata Yes, that's right. Also, I wanted the viewers to enter the story from Makoto Hoshi's point of view. Shiori is a representative of the villagers, and her feelings are the feelings of the villagers. Therefore, I wanted Shiori to be in a position to confront Hoshimasa. That is why I wanted to make it so that it is Hoshimasa and not Shiori who is at first confused.

--Murata: So you are working together as Hoshina's buddy, but there is a difference in their positions?

Murata Yes. However, Shiori is the only one among the villagers who can act on Hoshimasa's side.

--Shiori is the buffer between Hoshina and the villagers.

Murata Yes. That's what makes Shiori special and why she is a heroine.

--What was your intention in choosing Ms. Saito, Mr. Yamamoto and Ms. Mineuchi?

Murata: First, I asked Mr. Akutagawa to choose more than a dozen people who would fit the roles in this film and who would not be covered by existing MonSt characters, and then I listened to voice samples from these people and made my choice. For Hoshimasa, the most important point was that he should be able to naturally express the rawness of a real-life first-year high school boy. It's a familiar, life-size feeling that can represent the viewer's side. Shiori also had the same raw, fresh, and cool feeling. Shiori also has the same raw and refreshing feeling, as well as a sophisticated and intellectual feel, but with the amplitude of being single-minded about her own feelings. I was looking for an expression that would allow her to have both a natural, easy-going, everyday feeling and a wide range of expression when her emotions overflowed. I also chose a voice with a princess-like quality for the role.

--I think it must have been a little difficult for Kanna, who is an AI.

Murata: Kanna was difficult (laughs). (Laughs.) She had the potential to be taken in any way she wanted. I wanted her to have a unique flavor in her simple mannerisms, but I had several choices as to which direction to take her. I had several options for which direction to take, including whether to go cartoonish and symbolic or raw, cool or mild, and so on. I chose that form (delivered) from among several options.

--Is that one of the choices among several correct answers?

Murata Yes, that's right. Among the finalists, there were people with completely different vectors. As a result, I think we were able to create a very raw and unaffected look, and give it a unique flavor. Characters with this kind of look are easily symbolized, but I think we were able to create a unique presence.

--This work is an anime distributed on YouTube. Were you conscious of that?

Murata: No. I was not conscious of that. I was not conscious of that. However, I was conscious of the fact that the main target audience is middle and high school students. We wanted to make it easy to understand and familiar, so it would be accessible to a wide range of people. We also had to consider where the boundary between the ordinary and the extraordinary lies for the viewers. Also, since there was no assumption that the product would be packaged, we thought that it would be enough if the viewers could enjoy it while they were watching it. With packaged products, you not only have to watch the film, but you also have to generate the motivation to buy it later, but I was free from that (laughs).

--Lastly, are there any points that you, as a director, would like people to look for when watching the show?

Murata First of all, I want people to fully enjoy this festival with Hoshina. That was my main motivation for creating this work. I would be happy if you could experience the wonder of a summer as a participant in the festival. And since this is a work for junior high and high school students, I would like each of you to have your own thoughts on the issues I have selfishly raised. I would love to hear your own thoughts on how the future should be. It may not look like it at first glance, but it is a "work that proposes the future" (laughs).

(Interview and text by Koji Shimizu)