Sunrise Festival 2021] "A story of a woman who started as a witch and came back as a girl" - "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection" Director Goro Taniguchi & Yukana (C.C.) talk show report

A screening event of the anime "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection" was held at the Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro in Tokyo on October 29, 2021. Director Goro Taniguchi and Yukana, who plays C.C., participated in a talk show after the screening.

This event was part of the "Sunrise Festival 2021 REGENERATION," a screening event held from October 1 to 31, 2021.

Code Geass" is a cross-media contents series that began with the TV anime "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion" broadcast in 2006. Set in a fictional world where Japan is ruled by the Holy Britannian Empire under the name "Area 11," the story centers on Lelouch Lamperouge, a young man who has acquired the power "Geass," which allows him to force others to do his bidding. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection" is the latest film version released in February 2019.

When asked at the beginning of the talk what "Lelouch of the Resurrection" was like for him, Director Taniguchi replied, "From my point of view, I feel like I've finally made the final chapter. I am grateful to the members of Sunrise, Mr. Yukawa of Namco Bandai Arts, and all the other people who helped me get there. I felt very fortunate to have been allowed to shoot this film. Yukana said, "To be honest, I was surprised to hear that they were going to do "Lelouch of the Resurrection" when I received the materials just before the film. I looked at the script thinking that Lelouch would probably talk a lot again, but there were so many lines that I wondered if C.C. had spoken that much in the entire series. (Laughs.) As a work, I felt that the TV series and the movie version had reached a point where they had reached a common goal, and I felt refreshed. I am glad I was able to do it.

Director Goro Taniguchi

Director Taniguchi commented on how "Lelouch of the Resurrection" became a story in which C.C. could be said to be the main character, "I had several script plots written at first, but they all turned out to be different. I felt that the major flow of the story had to be defined as a story about a woman who started out as a witch and then came back to being a girl. At first, I still thought the main character would be Lelouch, but as I was cutting the storyboard, I realized that this was C.C.'s story. I thought it would be fine if Lelouch could answer the question posed at the end of the TV series," he said. Director Taniguchi and Ichirou Okochi played a central role in writing the script, which went through many drafts as they struggled with how much to include as a fan movie.

Yucana-san was pleased to see C.C. as the main character in the script, but she was also pleased to see that C.C. was blamed for something that happened because of her selfishness, and she said, "I want you to apologize to the director (Yucana-san)! (Director)," making the audience laugh. (No!)" The audience laughed. Yukana-san emphasized how lonely and miserable C.C. was as he supported Lelouch by himself, working hard and accepting responsibility for his actions.

When asked about the story behind the postrecording of "Lelouch of the Resurrection," Yukana replied, "It had been 10 years since the first film of the trilogy (before "Lelouch of the Resurrection"), so I felt like, 'Oh, it's been a while! I felt like it had been a long time. I think the recording sessions revealed a lot of people's lives and time spent. Thanks to the trilogy, I was able to enter "Lelouch of the Resurrection," so I'm glad it was there. Director Taniguchi revealed that when he was recording the audio for the film trilogy, he was troubled by the fact that the cast members had the style of the past battles, even though they were re-enacting the story from scratch. For "Lelouch of the Resurrection," Yukana was able to record with Keiko Toda, who was originally scheduled to record separately, and was happy that they were able to perform the final scene together.

Ms. Yukana

When asked about the changes that have occurred in the 15 years since the TV animation and how he approaches his work, Director Taniguchi replied, "I am someone who has been saved by TV animation, so I think I was able to return the favor with this work. After that, in order to broaden the scope of my work, I have been assisting the Agency for Cultural Affairs and working on works for overseas audiences." He then told the audience, "What I did not calculate was that Fukuyama, who plays Lelouch, invited me to teach at a voice actor training school. Yukana was also consulted by the director on her appointment as an instructor.

Looking back 15 years ago, Yukana said, "I had a lot of fun participating in this production 15 years ago. I also enjoyed watching Director Taniguchi lose weight every week (laughs). (Laughs.) There is no one who can cut down on himself and others like that, so it was great to work with Director Taniguchi at that time and under that kind of tension. Even in his jokes, one could catch a glimpse of the stoicism with which the director poured everything he had into his work at the time. Taniguchi also talked about his in-depth acting and directing theories, such as how he intentionally pushed the actors to bring out the best in their performances due to the nature of the work, and how he has a different approach when working with cast members in their current careers.

During the talk, he also talked about the harsh production environment during the TV anime production. Director Taniguchi revealed a funny story about a time when a neighbor came into the studio, which had been converted from a convenience store, and when a staff member said, "A suspicious old man came in with his dog," he checked him out and found that he was actually Yoshiyuki Tomino (......). The talk show was a great success.

In the latter half of the talk show, there was a question-and-answer session for fans. In response to a question about the theme song "Kono Sekai de" (In This World) by Leo Ieiri, Yukana commented on the travel scene in which the song is played, "In that scene, C.C. is really at a loss and lonely because he is alone with Lelouch (who is not in his normal state). I think loneliness is something you don't feel when you are alone, but only when there are other people around but you don't interact with them. I carried the burden alone, fought inside my heart, carried it on my back, and wandered around, but I didn't break. Director Taniguchi said, "I had talked with Ms. Ieiri about how I wanted the song to address questions from a woman's point of view and the situation she was in. （We had visual conte of the scene (where the theme song is played), so we talked about how we wanted the song to fit in with the length of the picture, etc., and worked it out as we went along.

In his closing message, Director Taniguchi said, "I am relieved that the "Code Geass" series, which has been through a lot, seems to be expanding in various ways after its 15th anniversary. I hope that by bringing in as many (new) staff members as possible, we can expand the possibilities. I think it would be meaningful for us to do this series if we could explore things that we had not anticipated. That is partly why we decided to release the Lelouch story after we had settled it. I think it is thanks to the support of our fans that we have made it this far, and I would be grateful for your continued support. Thank you very much for your support today.

I think 15 years is a long time. I can't imagine how precious it is that you have continued to love us amidst all the changes and circumstances. I can only imagine how grateful I am to all of you. I am so glad that we have this environment to present the new work and the expanded world to all of you who have been looking forward to it. I think that because of the new winds and new developments, there is a possibility that we will be able to see expressions and stories that we have never seen before from C.C., Lelouch, and other characters. I believe that it is your power that has given us the opportunity to give shape to this idea. I am looking forward to seeing new expressions of the characters with you in the future. If you support us, we can do our best!　It is only with your support that the staff members can lose weight and still want to work, and that they can get up on their feet even though it's tough, so let's keep on pushing them! She delivered her message in her typical Yukana way. The talk show ended to warm applause.

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Kiri Nakazato)