COCOLORS," an animation film produced solely by Kamikaze Animation, is a "small flower" that bloomed in the animation industry.

In addition to opening movies for games such as the "Dragon Quest" series, Kamikaze Animation has produced high-profile animated films such as "POPTEPIC" and "Ninja Batman. In 2017, almost 20 years after its founding, Kamikaze Animation returned to its creative roots and produced its own medium-length animated film, "COCOLORS.
People who can no longer live above ground live in the underground world wearing helmets that look like space suits. The delicate movements and calculated colors of 3DCG are stunning, but the film is by no means flashy. Why did Kamikaze Animation, a company that has been selling cool, energetic images, need to create such a rich and calm animated work as "COCOLORS"?　We asked the director, Toshihisa Yokoshima, and the head of Kamikaze Animation, Junpei Mizusaki, about their intentions.

What can we do in a situation that can neither be called a crisis nor an opportunity?

─ I understand that "COCOLORS" was produced completely in-house by Kamikaze Animation, but how did the project begin?

Yokoshima To tell you the truth, there was a time when I was talking about quitting Kamikaze Video.

Mizusaki At that time, I asked him, "If you're going to quit, why don't you make some work first? I said to him, "If you're going to quit, why don't you make something first?

Yokoshima: I started talking with Mr. Mizusaki and said, "Well, let's do something," and that was the beginning of our work together. In the early days of Kamikaze Animation, there was a 3DCG work called "Gasoline Mask" (1999). I thought that a work in the style of "Gasoline Mask" would be the most appropriate for an original work created by Kamikaze Animation. As long as it did not deviate too much from the "gasoline mask" style, Mr. Mizusaki did not give me any specific orders.


──Wasn't the budget tight, since the company was using its own funds for the production?

Yokoshima: We did not have a set budget. We didn't have a clear idea of when we would start and when we would finish, so we worked on storyboards and backgrounds little by little while working on other projects at the same time. We started with a small number of people, but I think the production period itself was quite long. We created a small studio for "COCOLORS" and gradually gathered people, mainly new staff members. When we felt that we could make it, we started the production line at once.

─ So you intended to train new animators through the production of your works?

Yokoshima: The company may have intended to train new animators, but I wasn't really aware of it. I was just so occupied with how to complete the production of this work. As I expected, there was only so much we could do with a staff of mainly newcomers. How far could we go in this situation? The characters in "COCOLORS" are all wearing masks and their faces are not visible, so adding facial expressions in 3DCG requires a very technical and advanced technique. However, if the characters were wearing masks, it would reduce the man-hours required, and we thought that the inability to show facial expressions would lead to a different expressive power. I thought it would be possible to create a work that met a certain level of quality through trial and error with new animators. That was my plan.


───The masks make it impossible to see the facial expressions of the characters, but the muscles of their bodies stretch when they say their lines, and when they exert force on their arms, the slight wrinkles in their clothes express the degree of force they exert. I thought all those realistic movements could be done by motion capture. ......

Yokoshima No, we did not use motion capture at all. We did not use motion capture at all. It was completely hand-designed (the animators added the action for each frame). The animation director and I also discussed the need to convey the character's emotions through physical expressions since we could not see their faces. When Kamikaze Animation created "Gasoline Mask" in 1998, it was still difficult to create facial expressions of characters in 3DCG. That is not the case now, but I wondered what kind of animation would be created under the condition of "not showing faces," as was the case back then.　I feel that such restrictions are more interesting for the creation of a work. Therefore, in order to have the filmmakers focus on movement, we used full frames for some of the animations. Because it was a small studio, I was always with all the staff, and I could go to each animator and talk directly with him or her about what was going on.

Mizusaki: Around 2007, when Kamikaze Animation was still small, we had a relationship with the game company Atlus. Atlus is famous for the "Megami Tensei" series, and I heard from the producers and designers of the time that the main staff of the "Megami Tensei" series had left the company, leaving only new creators. The remaining newcomers inherited the spirit of the "Megami Tensei" series and created the "Persona" series. In a situation that could not be called a crisis or an opportunity, the newcomers spontaneously created new works rather than waiting for instructions from their superiors at the company. Could Kamikaze Animation really do the same thing?　There was no clear goal or plan, but when young people are given a chance, of course there is a possibility that their work will not be realized, but something may come out of it. When Yokoshima-kun first started working on "COCOLORS," I had him show me the results of each section, and if they didn't look good, I would stop production. However, both the content and visuals were coming out very well. I set a rule for myself that I would not stop the production, and that I would support the project until it was completed, even though the company was pushing too hard.

Yokoshima: You could have tapped me on the shoulder at any time and said, "Stop (production) now. It was obvious to everyone that the project was not worth the money, and no other company would pass such a project. Normally, a company would think first about the merits of producing a work. Mr. Mizusaki and I usually have differences of opinion in our work (laughs), but with "COCOLORS," he really didn't say anything. I think Mr. Mizusaki is unusual in not meddling in such a simple project, and I was very grateful for that. Because I was in a situation where I was left alone, I was able to run through to completion.