A long interview with producer Takayuki Nagatani! (The "inside man" of anime and games No.46)

The 46th installment of writer crepuscular's series, the first of 2021, features producer Takayuki Nagatani, president of Infinite Inc. His specialty, after all, is the creation of original animations. In addition to "SHIROBAKO," he has produced many other masterpieces such as "Hanasaku Iroha," "TARI TARI," "Nagi no Asukara," "The Celestial Method," "Chromeclo," "Flip Floppers," "From Tomorrow in a Colorful World," "Granbellum," "BLACKFOX," etc. The number of films produced has skyrocketed, and the number of hits has been increasing. Even in today's business environment, which is becoming increasingly difficult due to the rapid increase in the number of productions and smaller hits, Mr. Nagatani insists on producing original works. He is full of determination to do what he can do because he is an independent producer. What exactly is Mr. Nagatani's theory of producing? What kind of experience has he gained in cultivating his keen sense of smell for productions, his excellent communication and business skills, and his unique ability to nurture contents? Why did Infinite produce "Higurashi When They Cry Industry"? He also shared with us the painful experience of releasing the DVD and Blu-ray of the theatrical version of "SHIROBAKO" in the midst of the Corona disaster. This is the kind of information that fans really want, and you won't find it in other media!　Please read to the end.

Producers are the "lubricants of creativity

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview. First of all, what does an "animation producer" mean to you, Mr. Nagatani?

I started my career at Starchild, a label that is no longer part of King Records, where I was taught that "if a work is successful, the producer takes credit for the work, and if it fails, the producer is responsible. I am neither an artist nor a scenario writer, so the central axis of my producer theory is "how I can be a lubricant to facilitate creative work in the field. Whether the matching of creators will be addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division is determined to a certain extent at the moment of the teaming, so I don't think I can have much influence on the creative process if I intervene after the decision is made to ask these people to do the job. I don't think I would have much influence on the creative process if I intervened after the decision had been made. Therefore, my basic premise is how to expand the creative process without putting any restrictions on it, and how to make it fun and enjoyable.

You use the term "produce," which is different from "producer. Why is this?

Nagatani: When I first started my company, Infinite, I used the term "producer" to mean "we are not a member of the production committee" or "we are a non-financing company. Later, however, I came to think that in order for me to take responsibility properly, I needed people to know my name, so I asked them to use an independent notation so that people would understand that "this is a project that Infinite is working on, and that Nagatani is working on it.

Nagatani: You can also see the "Produced" notation in "Tears to Tiara" (2009) and "CANAAN" (2009), which were both produced during the Emotion era.

Nagatani This was not my decision. I booked both WHITE FOX and P.A. WORKS, so I think it probably came about in the sense of studio coordinator. Emotion was also an investor. So, the word "produce" that I use now has a different meaning.

Nagatani: Infinite is credited as a "promotional collaborator" for "TARI TARI" (2012) and "Flip Floppers" (2016).

Nagatani Infinite is a small company with only four members including myself, but we try to do as much of the advertising and other things that we can do ourselves. We do articles for magazines and the Internet, talk shows at the Loft, and other such things together with our staff. In those cases, I would put my children's names at the end of the article and only put my name on the opening to make it clear where the responsibility lies. Now, I try to put them together with the staff that has grown up.

Nagatani: When do you find it most rewarding?

Nagatani: Except for original works, if there is a staff member who wants to make something that is not mainstream in the animation market, I want to do something about it! I feel a sense of fulfillment when I see a work that I think "only we can do," and I feel like "I have to do something about it! I feel like, "I have to do something about it! If it is a child that could not have been born without our help, I feel a strong attachment to that child.

However, even if the starting point is the same, it is also important for us to consider how many years we can operate the work. For example, a one-cour anime takes two years to produce for a three-month broadcast, but unfortunately, there are works that are forgotten after only one episode is well received. Nowadays, nearly 250 new works are produced annually, but we try to produce two to three works a year, and we do our best not to accept them in the same season, so as not to leave any regrets.

I want to believe that robotics is a genre in which anime excels.

Nagatani: Do you have any favorite projects or genres that you are good at?

Nagatani: My personal favorite is "robot animation. My company has only been in the business for 10 years, but we have done three robot projects: "Chrome Chlo" (2016), "Regalia The Three Sacred Stars" (2016), and "Granbellum" (2019) (laughs). (Laughs.) While masterpieces such as "Gundam," "Macross," and "Code Geass" are being produced, this is in a time when the number of productions does not increase even annually, and robotics are not selling well.

This is largely due to the fact that this was the case with anime that I was crazy about before I entered the animation industry. I watched "Wataru" (1988-89), "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995-96), "Escaflowne in the Sky" (1996), and "Mobile Battleship Nadesico" (1996-97), for example. I believe that robotics is one of the "genres that can only be done in anime," and at the same time, I think that it may be a "genre that is going extinct. So I think somewhere in my heart I want to preserve robot animation as much as possible during my lifetime.

On the other hand, as a company, we are often consulted on "daily life" projects. But when I try to do a daily life story, I am often asked, "What is the reason for doing it as an animated film? For example, when we did our first work, "Hanasaku Iroha" (2011), our clients asked us, "Why don't you just do a morning drama series? I was also told, "Why don't you do it as a morning drama series?

I feel that "otherworldly stories" are in vogue now, but we don't have many opportunities to handle the trendy genres. In such a situation, we were allowed to do "Hataraku Maou-sama! (2013), which we were given the opportunity to work on. (2013), but this project was even more fortunate for us because we wanted to do it at our company.

I was also very happy to have the opportunity to work on "Hataraku Maou-sama! is based on Satoshi Wagahara's light novel. It seems that a large percentage of your work is original, but do you actively plan original works as well?

Nagatani: Basically, we are a company that likes to do original works. However, we love original works as much as they are original. We have had various opportunities to work with them, and we have been able to produce any of them by raising our hands and saying, "We want to work on it! We are a small company, so we have to be careful about what we say. However, we are a small company, so we can't be involved in as many productions as we would like. So I think it is our role to listen to the stories that come from the field, even in the planning stage, that maybe people don't listen to, that have no track record yet, and we try to keep a good balance.

How "Higurashi When They Cry" was born

Higurashi When They Cry Business" (2020-) was written by Ryuunishi 07 and 07th Expansion, but the content is different from past works, isn't it?

Nagatani: When I first spoke to Ryuukishi 07, he said, "Let's not remake it," and "If we're going to do it, we'd like to do a new one. I thought there was no need for me to remake something that had been created by the people who had created the 15-year history of "Higurashi" using 2025 animation techniques. So, I thought, "If you want to take what I have done for 15 years as a reference and make a new work as the next step, I would like to work with you. Ryuunishi07 agreed to work with me, and a month after our meeting, he had the plot ready for me to work on. Other companies might have said, "Which series should we work on?" But because I brazenly said, "Let's work on a new work," "karma" was born, I think it was worth it.

Nagatani's way!　How to Create Original Animation

Nagatani─Where do you come up with the ideas for your original works?

Nagatani: In our case, the starting point can be anything. It's easy to say, "We won't do it because it's not popular in the genre right now," but we don't really want to do that. Instead, we adopt a backwards approach, saying, "How can we make this happen? So I hope that creators who read this article will keep coming up with new projects (laughs).

(laughs) - Can you give us an example of a creator-led project?

Nagatani: "Flip Flappers" was a project that was led by the field. It is said to be for experts, but Kiyotaka Oshiyama, the director, and Takashi Kojima, the character designer, started this project with the idea of doing something that would make people think, "Animation is fun like this. We did not say, "Let's do something like this," but rather approached them and said, "Why don't you do something with these creators?

How do you feel about it now that you look back on it?

Nagatani: It was an exciting experience, that's all I can say. Mr. Oshiyama and Mr. Kojima have strong aspirations for the future, and I think they will continue to grow and support the animation industry in the future. I think this project was a good match.

Nagatani: According to past interviews, in the case of P.A.WORKS, the idea often comes from Kenji Horikawa, the president of P.A.WORKS.

Nagatani In the case of P.A., many things often come up in the course of chatting with Mr. Horikawa. Other than that, it is on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes I make a proposal for the basic elements, such as "How about this form?

Nagatani: What do you write in your proposals?

Nagatani I am the type of person who values feeling over logic, so I don't write much in a proposal. The proposal for "SHIROBAKO" (2014) was almost a blank sheet of paper, with only the words "anime industry" and "directed by Tsutomu Mizushima.

Nagatani: I heard that you also formed the production committee yourself.

Nagatani I think other people are raising money while making the film. But with us, we first find a partner, and from there we work together on a tripod to create the film. However, the theme of the film is a fundamental part of the work that cannot be compromised, so we talk about this with the director and the site staff to ensure that there are no misunderstandings.