A long interview with animation director Masato Jimbo! (The "inside man" of animation and games No.45)

In the 45th installment of writer crepuscular's series, Masato Jimbo, a representative employee of PartsCraft, LLC, and animation director. His directorial debut work, the "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya" series, boasts overwhelming quality and is still very popular today. He has continued to produce a succession of high-profile works, such as "I've Been Taken as a 'Sample of the People' at a Ladies' School," "CHAOS;CHILD," "Isekai Shokudo," "Kawayagi Shoujo," "Heya Can△," "Hakuneko Project ZERO CHRONICLE," and "Dog Class Formation: Exelos" in 2021. In 2021, the company will continue to release "Azur Lane: Bisokusen Shinshin! and "The Rise of the Shield's Hero: Season 2" in 2021. In this article, we asked Mr. Jimbo about his career, directing theory, staffing and casting, jobs that marked a turning point, and future challenges. Mr. Jimbo is also famous for writing the series structure and screenplays himself, but what are the advantages of having a director write the entire script? What advantages does it bring to a production to have the director write the scripts for all the episodes, and what characteristics will appear in the actual images? In this issue, we will again take a look at the "inside man" to get a sense of the charm and depth of the animation production process.

An animation director who "gets close to the characters

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy year-end schedule. What is the most rewarding time for you as an animation director or producer?

Masato Jimbo (Jimbo): When I receive something different from what I ordered, but it surpasses my expectations, I feel "I'm glad I'm doing this job.

What are you particular about when creating pictures, or is there a particular visual expression that you are good at?　Personally, I like to draw Miyu from "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya" (2014-16), Takuru from "CHAOS;CHILD" (2017), Nanako from "Kawayagi Shoujo" (2019), Faios and Sima from "White Cat Project ZERO CHRONICLE" (2020), etc. etc., I feel Jimbo's style when the darkness of the characters' hearts and inner thoughts are expressed in the images.

Jimbo: I don't have a "signature expression. However, I always want to carefully depict the emotions of the characters.

Jimbo: On your Twitter page, you mentioned the key phrase "directing that is close to the characters.

Jimbo: I think it is more important to understand the characters than to give flashy direction. I try not to just say, "I don't know," when I am asked, "What is the character thinking at this moment? If I don't have a good understanding of the time period in which the character lived or the circumstances of the character's life, the character's image will be thin and lacking in depth in the anime.

I guess "Isekai Shokudo" (2017) is an ensemble piece, so there are a lot of characters, and it must have been difficult to understand them?

Jimbo Yes, it was. ...... However, in "Isekai Shokudo" the character formations were clear for each world, so I didn't feel it was that difficult. In addition, in the case of anime, the characters' images become more solid as they are created, so it was interesting to see the character designs completed, the voices added, and "Oh, so this is how the character's personality turned out.

I think that the director Jimbo does not hesitate to use erotic and grotesque expressions in his works. For example, the last scene in the seventh episode of "CHAOS;CHILD," which was written, storyboarded, and directed by Jimbo himself, was so extreme that it caused trauma to the viewer. In the pre-production of these works, did you ever consider alternatives, such as blurring the expressions?

Jimbo: I never hesitated, because I did it with complete preparedness. If it was decided that I should not do something, I would not do it, but I have only directed late-night anime, and there are many adult viewers there, so I believe that even rather outlandish expressions will be understood.

I have heard that some directors try to use the frame layout and illustrations of the original work as much as possible.

Jimbo: I think it changes from film to film. If a manga is drawn with a visual media-oriented approach, it may be better to use it as a reference. If a manga is drawn in a realistic manner, but you are asked to "output it in a way that fits the current era," it may be better to make it comical.

Narration and Monologue in Animation Scripts

In your works, it seems that you often write the scripts for all the episodes.

Jimbo: Yes, that's right. There are a lot of inconveniences when only directing, so it is easier for me to work on various projects if I start from the script.

I have the impression that the scripts you write tend to have a relatively large amount of narration and monologue. What is your thinking behind this?

Jimbo: I understand that the extensive use of narration and monologue is almost prohibited in a realistic video work. However, there are advantages to using a lot of narration, such as reducing the number of drawing calories, and using monologues to convey information more directly through voice than through pictures. Therefore, I try to use dialogue to convey what needs to be conveyed in a forced manner. Especially nowadays, the style of watching anime has changed, and many people are watching anime with their smartphones in their hands rather than with their eyes fixed on the TV, so I think narration and monologue are effective in this respect.

I see. I have a few more thoughts on the use of narration and monologue by Mr. Jimbo, and I felt that the combination of drawing and sound worked beautifully together to create a moving image. In particular, I think the timing of the use of "monologues and colorless character drawings" is wonderful. For example, in "Prisma Illya: Zweiherz! episode 10, Takuru trying hard to find Yui who was kidnapped by Ito in "CHAOS;CHILD" episode 7, and Nanako running to the cherry tree in the park to say "I want to tell you this in person" in "Kawayagi Shoujo" episode 12, are all memorable examples.

Jimbo: These are the basic expressions of direction, and our generation is merely rearranging what has been handed down to us by our seniors using modern techniques. Isn't Mr. Tadashi Dezaki's "three times pan" famous? In animation, there is a great deal of staging expressions created by pioneers, and we use these expressions based on the input we receive from watching their works. We watch these works and use them as our input. I think the expression "the colors are removed" came out of the process of "how would I rearrange such a standard?

I heard that it is generally difficult to write a script for an ensemble drama, but "Isekai Shokudo" was really interesting. The structure was somewhat different from that of the manga, wasn't it?

Jimbo: The script for the anime was written based on the novel, and I was allowed to choose the composition of the episodes based on the dishes that would be the highlights of each episode number. In the original novel, the main character, the shopkeeper, did not speak much and explained the worldview in many of the paragraphs, so in the anime, I tried to make the characters speak.

The dishes in the novel are all familiar to Japanese people, but for the guests from other worlds, it was the first time for them to try them, so the way they ate and their reactions were unique and refreshing to watch. Many of the comments on the food were monologues, and the voice actors performed them with a lot of emotion. Episode 12 was also interesting. Sarah, the treasure hunter, remembered her mother's soup in the pork miso soup, and Gagampo, the lizardman, tasted the pork miso soup as if he was licking it with his long tongue.

Jimbo, thank you very much. There are some things I wish I could have expressed a little better ...... (smiles).

The director himself directs the difficult-to-interpret storyboards.

Compared to other directors, you seem to have used slightly fewer storyboards in your films.

Jimbo: This is due to scheduling reasons. I want to do everything myself, including scriptwriting, storyboarding, and directing! I want to do everything myself, including scriptwriting, storyboarding, and directing, but it takes time, especially for storyboards. ...... Since there are many productions that require a short time from order to delivery, I tend to ask people I know to do the work for me.

I see that you directed the "Carpaccio and Curry Bread" in episode 11 of "Isekai Shokudo" and the battle of Barre in episode 5 of "White Cat Project ZERO CHRONICLE" by yourself from the storyboards drawn by other storyboard artists.

Jimbo: This has nothing to do with how good or bad a storyboard is, but a storyboard without a solid interpretation will fall apart if the director does not have a strong sense of direction. These days, there are a lot of very stiffly defined contesters, so it is difficult for young directors to handle them. For those difficult storyboards, I try to do it myself. I had the opportunity to work on "Shakugan no Shana" (2005-12), "Slayers Revolution" (2008), and "Scarlet Aria" (2011) for many years as a director under Takashi Watanabe's direction, so I did the 11th episode of "Isekai Shokudo" by myself.

Participating in works that you "want to visualize" regardless of genre

What works have had the greatest influence on your creative work?

Jimbo: The TV drama version of "Byakuyakko. The original novel was written from the detective's point of view, but in the drama, the story is depicted from the criminals' point of view. I still think "It's amazing that they were able to change so much in the film and make it work. The camera work is very simple, but I like the way it carefully depicts human emotions.

It's not an anime, is it?　By the way, do you have a favorite animated film?

Jimbo: I don't have any. ...... I'm so frustrated (laughs). But recently I've been watching "Osaru no George" (2006~) under the influence of my children.

Jimbo: Do you have any criteria for participating in films?

Jimbo: When I am asked to direct a film, it is usually a film with an original story, so if I see the original story and think it is "interesting," I accept.

What kind of films do you find "interesting"?　Looking at your filmography, it seems that you tend to work with bishojo (beautiful girls). ......

Jimbo: I don't look at things in terms of genres, and there are moments when I find a variety of works interesting. If I find something that moves me and makes me think, "I would like to make a film of this part," I will try my hand at it.