Column] Read this column and you will enjoy "Onimete" more deeply! A look back at the past of ufotable, the animation production company behind the blockbuster hit "Blade of Oni no Ruin the Movie: Infinity Train"!

The "Demon Slayer" the Movie: Infinity Train Arc" opened in theaters on October 16, 2020, and drew a record-breaking 3.42 million viewers in its first weekend. The animation production company ufotable was in charge of its production.

ufotable is also in charge of animation production for the 2019 TV anime "Demon Slayer. One of the most popular episodes of the original story, which is directly connected to the last episode of the TV anime, is the "Infinity Train Arc," which is depicted in the movie version released this time. Let us take a look back at the history of ufotable, a company that has shown overwhelming quality in this work as well.

ufotable's Launch and Turning Point

ufotable was established in 2000, and was the first company to produce a TV animation "Sumimeto no Cosmos-so Sutto ko Taisen Dokkoider" in 2003, as well as the TV animation "Futakoy Alternative" in 2005 and the original TV animation "Gakuen Yutopia Manabi-Straight! ! is often regarded as the representative work of his early years. It was a period of relatively light and comical works.

The turning point was "Futakoi Alternative" broadcast in 2005. The "Futakoi" series is based on "Futakoi," a readers' participation project in "Dengeki G's magazine," which depicts a love story between six pairs of twins. While the first TV anime "Futakoi" produced by Telecom Animation Film in the previous year (2004) was a twin love comedy relatively faithful to the original story, "Futakoi Alternative," the second TV anime project, heavily features the Shirakane sisters from the six sets of twins. With a 21-year-old detective as the main character, the production has created a slapstick, rudderless work with a strong original color. The opening video of the film features the six sets of twins in a spectacular battle action, but the fact that this video is only a play that has almost nothing to do with the main story is a clear indication of what this work is about.

Futakoi Alternative" was recommended by the Jury Committee at the 9th Japan Media Arts Festival. This work caught the attention of Atsuhiro Iwakami, producer of Aniplex (now president and representative director of Aniplex Corporation), who later joined forces with ufotable. At Mr. Iwakami's suggestion, the "TYPE-MOON x ufotable Project" was launched. The first project was the theatrical version of the "Kara no Kyoukai" series.

The Garden of the Sinners" is based on a novel published on a website in 1998 by Kinoko Nasu of TYPE-MOON, author of the "Tsukihime" and "Fate/stay night" series. The film version is a tremendous project, taking a full-length biographical novel with seven chapters and turning it into an animated feature-length film with seven chapters plus a final chapter, or eight films. To meet this daunting challenge, ufotable has taken the extraordinary measure of appointing different directors for each of the eight animated feature films.

A major characteristic of ufotable as a production company is that it has almost all the parts involved in video production in-house, including the Digital Imaging Department, which is in charge of filming and CG, and the Production Department, which is in charge of planning, production progress, and scenario production. This system, which allows for the completion of processes such as scriptwriting, directing, drawing, backgrounds, and 3DCG in cooperation within the company, has made it possible for the "Kara no Kyoukai" series, which was divided as an independent work, to be run on separate lines while coming to fruition as one grand series of works. Yuichi Terao, the cinematographer for the "Kara no Kyoukai" series, also participated in the "Demon Slayer" series as a cinematographer, and his participation from storyboarding the superb scene at the end of the "Demon Slayer" TV animation, in which he runs around the "Infinity Castle," which is entirely made of CG, was made possible. The final scene of "Demon Slayer," in which the characters run through the "Infinity Castle," which is made entirely of computer graphics, was realized with Terao's participation from storyboarding.

The "Kara no Kyoukai" film series was successfully completed with the release of "The Garden of the Sinners" on December 18, 2010 (in 2013, "Overhead View 3D" and "Future Gospel" will be newly produced).

It should not be forgotten that Kalafina was the unit formed for the theme song project of the theatrical anime "Kara no Kyoukai," and Yuki Kajiura was in charge of the music. The music for "Demon Slayer" is composed jointly by Kajiura and Go Shiina, who has participated in ufotable productions such as "Sakura no Temperature," the "Tales of Zestiria" series, and the "God Eater" series. In terms of music, "Demon Slayer" is the culmination of the history of works spun by ufotable.

ufotable is also deeply involved in the works of Namco Bandai Games, having worked on the "God Eater" game series and the "Tales of" game series, as well as the OVA "Tales of Symphonia The Animation" series released between 2007 and 2011, and the "Tales of Symphonia" series released in 2015. ANIMATION" series, the TV animation "GOD EATER" broadcast from 2015 to 2016, and the TV animation "Tales of Zestiria the Cross" broadcast from 2016 to 2017.

For the "Demon Slayer" anime series, director Haruo Tonozaki, who has consistently worked on the "Tales of" series, and character designer Akira Matsushima are working together.

From "TYPE-MOON x ufotable Project" to "Kimetsu

In 2011, another fateful work produced as the second installment of the "TYPE-MOON x ufotable project" was the TV animation "Fate/Zero. This work is a prequel to TYPE-MOON's masterpiece "Fate/stay night," a spin-off novel written by Nitroplus genius Gen UROBUCHI based on the world 10 years before. The TV anime version was produced in two separate seasons, from October to December 2011 and from April to June 2012.

Fate/Zero" is directed by Ei Aoki of "The Garden of the Sinners: Overhead Scenery". Music by Yuki Kajiura and animation production by ufotable succeeded the production system of "The Garden of the Sinners". LiSA got her big break when she sang the opening theme song "oath sign" for "Fate/Zero," and "oath sign" became her first single under her solo name. It is no longer necessary to explain that LiSA is now one of the nation's most popular singers and has had record-breaking hits with "Kourenka" and "Flame," the theme song of "Demon Slayer.

After the huge hit of "Fate/Zero," ufotable has been producing the TV anime "Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]" (the third installment of the "TYPE-MOON x ufotable Project") and the theater anime "Fate/stay night the Movie [Heaven's Feel]," as well as three parts of "Fate/stay night the Movie" (the third installment of the "TYPE-MOON x ufotable Project"). Heaven's Feel]" trilogy ("TYPE-MOON x ufotable Project" No. 4). All of these works have received overwhelming support from fans, and the "Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] the Movie" trilogy has earned over 5 billion yen in total box-office revenue from all three chapters.

What "TYPE-MOON x ufotable project" starting with "Kara no Kyoukai" has in common is that it has been able to bring to life the magnificent and detailed worldview of the original work, the depiction of supernatural battles, the sometimes bloody and comatose atmosphere that is unique to novels, and a variety of works that were thought impossible to visualize, in the form of animations. The company's success is due in large part to the fact that it has been able to create images that could only be realized through animation.

Since ufotable has a strong image as a TYPE-MOON production, it came as a surprise to us at first that they were involved in the animation production of "Demon Slayer," a work that is a signature of Weekly Shonen Jump. However, it is no longer necessary to explain that the company's strengths, such as its approach to creating images that closely match the story and appeal of the work and its effective use of 3DCG in battle action, were a perfect fit for "Demon Slayer. It was inevitable that ufotable, a company that has made the impossible possible through its consistent in-house production system and accumulated expertise in collaboration, would be involved in the production of "Demon Slayer," a work that is difficult to visualize and representative of its time.

The "Infinity Train Arc" depicted in the movie version is one of the most popular episodes in the original work, and vividly depicts the coolness and way of life of the flame pillar Purgatory Kyoujuro, who is one of the most powerful members of the Onigiritai. What kind of fierce battles will unfold between Sumijiro and the others in the enclosed space of the train?

（Text by Kiri Nakazato)