Interview] Tomohisa Ishikawa and ZAQ talk about the music in the TV anime "Super Cub" on Blu-ray BOX!

In the spring of her sophomore year of high school, Oguma meets a Super Cub. Her daily life, which had been passing by without a care in the world, changes into something colorful. ...... After 12 episodes, the TV anime "Super Cub" was released on Blu-ray BOX on August 25, 2021. Along with the delicate drawings and beautiful artwork, it was the music that colored the work.
The Blu-ray BOX will include a DL card to download the music of the play and the ending theme "Haru e no Densetsu". The music can be enjoyed separately from the main anime.
The music was composed by Tomohisa Ishikawa and ZAQ, and this is the first time that ZAQ has composed music for a video work. What was the production process like?　We asked the two to tell us more about it.

I composed the music with the scene of the little bears riding on a Super Cub in mind.

───When and how did you receive the request to compose the music for "Super Cub" (music for the play)?

Ishikawa: It was the beginning of last year (2020). Namco Bandai Arts asked me to be in charge of the accompaniment.

ZAQ I had only made songs before, and I had no experience in play accompaniment. I didn't know what was right and what was left, so I was told to follow Mr. Ishikawa (laughs).

Ishikawa: Don't call me "sensei" (laughs).

─ You two worked for the same label and are old acquaintances (laughs). I assume you had an initial meeting with the animation production side, including director Toshiro Fujii and sound director Satoshi Yano, but what kind of explanation did you receive?

ZAQ I think we were told at the beginning that "Super Cub" is a work in which the daily life just goes by, so they wanted the dramatic accompaniment to be less dramatic.


Ishikawa: We were shown the background art that had already been created at that time, and we wanted it to fit with this world view.

ZAQ We were also told that we wanted to use famous classical music at key points in each episode.

ZAQ─Although not included in the downloadable songs this time, classical masterpieces such as Debussy's "The Maiden with Flaxen Hair," Schumann's "Troimelai," and Satie's "Gymnopédie" were always used in each episode, weren't they?

Ishikawa: All of those songs were chosen by Director Fujii. Every song was newly recorded to fit the size used in the play.

ZAQ The production of the classical music was left to Mr. Ishikawa, and he also played all the piano. I graduated from the piano department of a music college, and I actually used to play the classical pieces used in this piece with a bang in class. But now I have left piano, so I decided not to mention this (laughs).

Ishikawa: You graduated from the piano department?　I just found out for the first time. I should have asked him to play for me. I practiced a lot (laughs).

ZAQ I was listening to your piano while thinking how beautiful it is (laughs).

─ How did you go about creating the original accompaniment?

Ishikawa: We received the music menu, and then we created the music according to it, as usual. If the theme of the song was "Everyday Life," there were roughly two patterns, "Everyday Life A" and "Everyday Life B." I would do this one, ZAQ would do that one, and so on. The songs with guitars were ZAQ's forte, so I asked him to do those, and on the other hand, I thought it would be better for me to do the low-tempo songs.

─ After you divided the menu, did you work completely on your own?

Ishikawa: Yes, that's right. But I asked our Fujimura (Fujimura Toworu, leader of TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND) to oversee the accompaniment, and he connected me in between.

ZAQ Since this was my first attempt at a theatrical accompaniment, Mr. Ishikawa took the lead in the production, and through Mr. Fujimura, he told me how he was making the accompaniment. Through that, I understood what kind of image he had of "Super Cub," and I was able to match my feelings to that image.

─ What kind of image did you have of the work?

Ishikawa: First of all, I read the original story to understand the story and characters, but I was especially conscious of the scenery when I was creating the music. I composed the music while imagining what kind of scenery, how fast they were running on the road, and how the wind was blowing against them.


ZAQ Scenery is very important in this work. During the meeting, Director Fujii seemed to enjoy talking about his location scouting.

ISHIKAWA I heard that the location scouting for the bulldozer road on Mt.

ZAQ In the 12th and final episode, there is a location of Cape Sata in Kagoshima, right? My parents live in Kagoshima, so I went to Cape Sata for an independent location scouting. At that time, the Corona disaster had not yet spread.

─ Cape Sata is located at the southernmost tip of Kyushu, isn't it?

ZAQ Although I grew up in Kagoshima, I had never been there before. I was surprised to see so many bikers even though the road is hilly and difficult. I was surprised to see so many bikers. I thought, "Little bears rode here.


Ishikawa: That's great. I stayed at home and composed music without going anywhere (laughs).

───ZAQ, how do you feel about your first experience in creating a musical accompaniment for a play?

ZAQ: After listening to Mr. Ishikawa's music, I started with everyday songs, but I had a hard time at first. Unlike Mr. Ishikawa's theatrical accompaniment, which blends in with the scenery but has a solid theme, my songs have too much of a theme and end up sounding like a song. I realized how difficult it is to accompany a play.

ISHIKAWA If you could write that many songs, it wouldn't be difficult (laughs).

ZAQ That's what you say (laughs). So I consciously reduced the number of notes more than usual and tried to make it simple and uncomplicated. I also had to keep in mind that it would be cut and used, so I learned a lot from that. Mr. Ishikawa told me at the beginning that modulation (in a song) is not allowed, and I now understand why.

Ishikawa: If there are modulations in the songs, they won't fit when I edit them to add to the video.

──There are 22 songs available for download, but are these all the songs for "Super Cub"?

Ishikawa: Yes, this is all of them.

───Although there are other classical songs, they are not so many for a one-cour TV animation. It is true that there were many scenes without music.

Ishikawa: I was sure from the beginning that it would be a quiet animation without much music. The meaning and importance of the music would be higher, so as a composer, I would have a clear sense of purpose, and the sound effects would enhance the overall quality of the film. I am glad to have been involved in this work.