Legendary animator Tomoken Kogawa's persistence made the film even better - Interview with Shinichiro Ueda, director of the film "The Crocodile Who Lived for 100 Days".

Yuki Kikuchi's four-frame manga "The Crocodile That Dies in 100 Days," which was posted on Twitter for 100 days and attracted a great deal of attention, will return on July 9, 2021, as the animated film "The Crocodile That Lived for 100 Days!

This film is directed by Shinichiro Ueda, the director of the live-action film "Don't Stop the Camera! and Miyuki Fukuda, who also works as an animation director, were the main actors in this animated film adaptation.

We interviewed Director Ueda, who said he strongly empathized with the message contained in the original story and was eager to make it into a film.

He also talked about the differences and discoveries from his usual filmmaking, as well as about his thoughts on the film, which he made into a story that he "wants people to watch now," while facing the Corona disaster while working on the script, and the dramatic changes in his daily life and sense of values. We also talked with legendary animator Tomoken Kogawa, who participated in the production process as a content/animation director, which Akiba Research Institute readers are also interested in.

What was your desire to "make a movie! What was it about the original story that made you say "I want to make a movie!

Ueda: I started reading the original work on the second day after I posted it on Twitter, and by the 30th day, I was working on a proposal for the film adaptation. I was most attracted to the "aesthetics of not telling" and the blank spaces in the original manga. I felt that there was something cinematic about it that made people who had read the original manga want to write various interpretations in the comments section. I wanted to make a film about the time that flows between the frames.

Ueda: It is interesting that the crocodile is the main character.

Ueda: Anthropomorphizing animals is a common practice, especially in animation. However, I really liked the fact that the main characters are not familiar animals such as dogs or cats, but rather crocodiles, rats, and moles, which are a bit niche animals that some people may be uncomfortable with.

TM: Did you ever consider making a live-action film?

Ueda Actually, I wrote the proposal as a live-action film. I assumed that I would replace the characters with human beings, instead of using covers or CG. However, I received a proposal from the distributor, Toho, to do an animated film with my wife, Miyuki Fukuda. After receiving this suggestion, I began to think that it would certainly be a better film if I worked with my wife, since Fukuda tends to draw rather daily life type films and I am not a daily life type film maker. Considering that everyone can easily superimpose it on their own lives, it would be better to keep the characters anonymous, such as crocodiles and rats, instead of having them played by beautiful actresses or cool actors. That's why I'm glad I chose to make an animated film instead of a live-action one.

T : Did you find any differences from your usual filmmaking, anything that stimulated you, or any discoveries you made?

Ueda This was the first time for me to work on an animated film as a director. It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun. I feel that I now have more weapons that I can use when I work on live-action films. What I felt again was the difference between the way live-action and animation are made. In live-action, you edit what you have shot, and the rhythm, timing, and other aspects of tempo are created later. In the case of animation, however, the storyboard defines how many seconds are needed for each cut. The necessary pictures are created and voices are recorded to match the storyboard. For example, when creating a 4-second scene, in live-action, we would shoot about 10 seconds and adjust it later in editing. However, in animation, the cut is made on the assumption that it will be 4 seconds long. There is no such thing as "what you see is what you get," as is the case with live-action. I learned a lot from the clarity of the process of deciding what will appear on every inch of the screen, down to the shape of the image. Of course, the beauty of live-action is that you can see things that you didn't intend to see (laughs).

(Laughs.) There are some developments that are original to the film version. Is that part of the story that you want people to see now strongly reflected in the film?

Ueda: I myself am not the type of person who puts a theme or message into my films. However, that doesn't mean I don't put anything into it (laughs). (laughs) My style is to search for the answer together, without knowing the answer. This time, however, because of the Corona disaster that occurred while I was working on the script, I felt that I had to depict not only the 100 days until the crocodile's death, but also what I myself wanted to see, what happened to the people who were left behind. In this day and age, some people say, "Let's look forward!" while others say, "It's a little hard to do that. I am of the former type, but I didn't want to make a film that imposed that on people. I didn't want to make a film that imposed that on people. I made this film while searching for something that no one would deny in the midst of the many different types of people living.

Ueda: There is also a new character in the film, the frog.

Ueda: When I thought about the story I was going to tell in the latter half of the film, I thought it would not be enough if the crocodile disappeared and everyone was just depressed. The frog is not a replacement for the crocodile, but I thought it would be better to have some overlap with the crocodile, which is why I chose him. I also wanted the frog to be a foreigner in the world of "100 Crocodiles," and that's how I came up with the character.

Toward the end of the film, you and your wife, Fukuda-san, worked together to write the script and direct the film.

Ueda: There was no clear division of labor. We did everything together. We also worked together on the casting of the film, and came up with candidates together. Looking back now, however, I think there may have been some kind of division of labor. I was in charge of composition and editing, and Fukuda was in charge of characters and the way pictures should be drawn. We each have different areas of expertise, and we believe in what each of us is good at, so it may have been a natural division of labor rather than a decision. Fukuda writes the script first, and I receive it and revise it. Fukuda would handle the picture revisions, and I would take care of the filming effects and editing. We never had any conflicts of opinion, and there was no difficulty in working together. We were in the middle of the Corona disaster, so because we were two people living under the same roof, we were able to communicate quickly and closely, which was a big plus.

Akiba Research Institute readers are also interested in the participation of legendary animator Tomoken Kogawa. I could feel Mr. Kogawa's unique movements and drawing style in many parts of the work. Were such expressions decided at the stage of storyboarding by Mr. Kogawa, or were they requested by the director?

Ueda: Under the title of "Animation Director," I was in charge of storyboards, animation supervision, and original drawings. I think I drew the largest number of original drawings. This time, I asked Mr. Kogawa to take charge of all the work, and then I made minor adjustments to his drawings.

How was it working with Mr. Kogawa?

Ueda: In a good way, he is not a straight shooter (laughs). (laughs) But that is one of the reasons why we asked Mr. Kogawa to work with us this time. We asked Mr. Kogawa to work with us because we were hoping for the chemical reaction that would be created by working with someone whose generation and values are different from our own. There were many times when we were told, "Please do this," or "No, we can't do that. But they always gave me a good reason, and I often found myself thinking, "I see. I myself love people who stir things up in a good way, and I feel that the presence of someone like Mr. Kogawa, who is very particular about his work, made my work even better. I really appreciated his advice, not only about the pictures, but also about what I should have done in terms of the story.

TM: Did Yuki Kikuchi, the author of the original story, give you any requests for the film adaptation?

Ueda: Basically, he asked us to make the film as we wanted. Since the characters were created by Mr. Kikuchi, he looked at the finished script and gave me a lot of opinions and advice, such as how to make the crocodile talk and how the mice should act. I think the script could not have been made by just me and Fukuda. I feel that he also stirred things up in a good way. To be honest, it was a tough job, because many people, including myself, were very particular and had strong personalities, and we had a lot of discussions, but I think that's why we were able to make a good product.

TM: Do you have a message for our readers?

Ueda: One of the people who saw the preview said, "It was like watching a live-action film. I think that is one way to look at it, since it is an animation that was created with the intention of making a live-action film. People who are used to watching anime, such as the readers of Akiba Research Institute, may find the pacing, tempo, and pauses a bit strange. I was introduced to "Komplex x Complex" directed by Fukuda in the past, and I have the impression that readers enjoyed it as well. I was impressed that readers enjoyed it. "The Crocodile That Lived for 100 Days" was made with the idea of making a "strange animation" that we could do because we are not mainly engaged in animation, and that it would be nice to have such an animation as well. We felt that we could create a different kind of animation from the usual, so please give it a try!

(Reporting and writing by Shinobu Tanaka)

Film Information

Animated film "The Crocodile that Lived for 100 Days

Friday, July 9, 2021 in theaters nationwide

Distributor: Toho

<Staff> Director/Screenplay: Shin Ueda

Director/Screenplay : Shinichiro Ueda, Miyuki Fukuda Original Story : Yuki Kikuchi "The Crocodile Who Lives for 100 Days" Conte/Animation Director : Tomoken Kogawa Music : Seiji Kameda Theme Song : Ikimono-kari Animation Production : TIA

＜Voice Cast

Ryunosuke Kamiki Michinari Nakamura Subaru Kimura

Yuko Shinki / First Summer Wika Kurumi Shimizu Kaito Nobue Ikeya Tomokazu Sugita / Hirotaka Solda

<Story

In March, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the crocodile is nowhere to be seen at the cherry blossom viewing party that everyone had promised. His best friend, Rat, is worried and on his way to pick him up on his motorcycle, he sends a photo of the cherry blossoms in full bloom to his friends, but when he receives it, Wani's phone is lying on the road with a cracked screen.

100 days ago --- The crocodile visits the hospitalized rat and makes him laugh with his favorite one-liners. A phone call with his mother, who sends him oranges every year. A fleeting romance with a sempai at his part-time job. Ramen noodle shop with friends. His favorite games, basketball, movies... Wani's everyday life is ordinary and mundane.

One hundred days after the cherry blossom viewing, the cherry trees are green and the falling petals have turned to rain. The friends were unable to face their memories of the crocodile, and they were no longer in contact with each other.

The daily life that has changed, and the days that go on. This is a story that could happen to anyone.

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