Featuring "Kuroizu-san of the Monster Development Department!" Many cast members of tokusatsu hero productions appear! Legendary & Local Hero Producer Nobuhiro Suzumura talks about casting secrets [Interview].

The anime "Mr. Kuroizu of the Monster Development Department," featuring a hiraresearcher, Toka Kuroizu, who spends his days and nights researching to create a monster to defeat the heroes in the secret society Agastia.

Who is Legendary & Local Hero Producer?

--Nobuhiro Suzumura, who has worked in the live-action field, I was a little surprised to hear that you are going to work on an anime.

Nobuhiro Suzumura (Suzumura): I have a friend who works in the animation field, and he asked me about it. Kuroizu-san of the Kaijin Development Department" is a manga about special effects, and he asked me if I would be interested in cooperating with him in making an anime version of it. I didn't know the details at that point, but I had always loved tokusatsu heroes, entered the industry, and had actually directed one, so I thought, "If there's anything I can do," and met with one of the producers of the project, Mr. Niyu Huangju of Quad, at first.

--What was your impression of the original work?

Suzumura: When I first had dinner with Mr. Koki, he gave me a copy of the first volume of the book, which I read. There have been very few tokusatsu hero stories that have been taken from the perspective of evil, so I thought it was an interesting point of view to start with. I also thought it was a work filled with many other elements that would make it fun to animate.

--The program credits say "Legend & Local Hero Producer," which is an unfamiliar title.

Suzumura: There were two main areas in which I was involved. The first was the appearance of local heroes, an element that was not in the original work. This was largely due to the fact that the show was scheduled to be broadcast on a nationwide network, from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu and Okinawa in the south, so I was asked to select local heroes based on the suggestion that "it would be interesting to have local heroes from all over the country. Also, local stations have different broadcast times, such as late at night or in the evening, depending on the region.

This is the case even with national networks, but this time the program was aired on a national network and in the same time slot in all regions. This way, we don't have to worry about spoilers due to regional differences, and if we show a local hero in each episode as a surprise, fans in that area will be excited and say, "Oh, our local hero is in the show! and they would get excited. I myself am also involved in "Dogengers" (from 2020), a local hero program from Fukuoka, as a director, and this is how I got involved in producing a local hero. This is a project that originated in animation, and I think it is a major highlight of this project.

--What is the other thing?

Suzumura: The narration. Usually, the narrator is fixed for each program and doesn't change every week (laugh), but I was asked, "How about having the actors who played the legendary heroes do it? I was asked if I would be interested in doing this with actors who have played legendary heroes. and we decided to help out there as well. The times have changed from Showa to Heisei to 2025, and there are still new "Masked Rider," "Super Sentai" series, and "Ultraman," but for my part, I dared to have heroes from the 20th century narrate the story, so I chose them. First, I proposed about 20 candidates, and then the program staff chose 12 of them. I chose them based on my own prejudice, and asked people I am personally close with to do the job (laughs).

Local heroes from all over the country gathered!

--From here, please tell us more about the local heroes. What criteria did you use to decide who would appear in the program?

Suzumura: Since there are 12 episodes, we couldn't have heroes from every prefecture, but we wanted to have heroes from all over the country appear in the 12 episodes without being biased toward the same region, so we gave a lot of thought to the selection process. Also, everyone has a great love for their hometown. I chose people who were proud of their hometowns and showed a strong will to live there, based on my own judgment and prejudice.

The location is important, but it also plays a role in the story, so I also emphasized the importance of a well-developed setting, a well-defined name and pose, and so on. We also thought it was absolutely necessary to have the original voices of the local heroes do all the voices, so that was another theme.

--There are now many local heroes throughout Japan. Did you do your own research?

Suzumura: Yes. With "Dogengers," I had more opportunities to be introduced to various local heroes, but I couldn't choose all of them, so I did a lot of research on my own. Unlike in the past, local heroes now have great design and modeling, and they are all cool heroes, so you can't go wrong no matter which one you choose, but I searched on YouTube or found their Twitter accounts and asked, "Can I have some data if you have any materials?" Some of you even sent us a direct DM saying, "If you have any data, would you be able to give us the data?

--Is there a local hero that you found attractive through this production?

Suzumura: Yes, there are. I am a little fond of a hero from Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, named "Dalryzer," who appeared in episode 7. His motif is the Daruma doll, and the fact that he stands up again and again with his "seven falls, eight rises" of hard work and ingenuity gives him a Showa-era heroic flavor that I really like. Moreover, the setting itself is neither a modified human nor a reinforced suit, but just an old man (laughs). In other words, it's just cosplay, but I really sympathize with him when he tries his best with spirit and feeling. I am of the generation that was energized by the tokusatsu heroes of the Showa era, so the "Dalryzer" setting is very exciting for me.

Also, on the enemy side, there is a combatant called "Dice" who uses dice as a motif, and it is very stylish, which is also one of its charms.

--Which heroes did you feel a particular local love for?

Suzumura: "Safety First Daichi Man," who appeared in episode 9, is an Okinawan hero. Okinawa is already famous for "Mabuya," but this time I chose "Ochiman. Okinawa must have been quite difficult for a while due to the Corona disaster. But it is precisely because of this situation that I felt the enthusiasm of Daichi Man, "I have to give courage and energy! I felt his enthusiasm.

--I think there will be many episodes that are unique to the local area.

Suzumura: For the scenes in which local heroes appear, we were particular about the backgrounds. In some cases, we were instructed by the client to choose a location, such as the Seto-ohashi Bridge, which made me think, "I see. In episode 3, the local Hokkaido hero "Owl Warrior Kant" fights in front of the TV tower in Odori Park in Sapporo, which was also a request from Kant, I believe. If a local hero fights in a familiar place like that, I think the locals would be happy to see it. I hope that this will trigger interest in the area among people outside of the prefecture. It may be overstating it to call it a tourism demand or a pilgrimage to a holy place, but I would be happy if the chain of events spreads in a positive way.

--In the second episode, the "Dogengers," in which the director also participates, made an appearance, didn't they?

Suzumura: The "Dogengers" has an enemy organization called the Secret Society of Evil, and this work has elements from the enemy's point of view, so it has a lot in common with "Kuroizu-san. There is a scene in the play where Mr. Kuroizu and the evil secret society's Yabai Mask exchange business cards, and since "Dogengers" originally had a business card exchange scene as well, I think it was a logical scene. Since I was involved, you might think, "Isn't that a bit much?" (laugh), but in that sense, I think the two works have a high affinity.

The Appeal of Legendary Narrators' Voices

--Please tell us more about the narration.

Suzumura: I mentioned earlier that we chose mainly heroes from the 20th century, but we were careful not to bias the narration by focusing on the four major Japanese special effects heroes, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and Metal Hero. For example, I tried to avoid having only Rider or only Sentai Red, so I cast the cast as evenly as possible. There were some heroes, such as "Superhero Barom 1," who didn't fit into any of those categories (laughs), but I think it added to the range of the cast. (Laughs.) But I think that is what gave us the range we wanted. When I asked, "I have a project like this, would you be willing to do it?

--The first episode was directed by Hiroshi Watari, wasn't it?

Suzumura: Mr. Watari had played the leading roles in "Space Cop Shariban" (1983) and "Space Time Warrior Spielban" (1986), as well as "Boomerang" in "Giant Beast Special Search Jaspion" (1985), so I thought he would be a good choice for the first episode. I thought it would be a good fit for the first episode. Also, there was the recent "Space Detective Next Generation" (2014), which is not only for people from the Showa period, but also has a certain level of name recognition among young people today. Also, the first episode made me think, "Is Wataru-san going to do this every time? and then in the second episode, it's a different person, so we wanted to betray the audience in a good way.

--I was surprised to see Hiroaki Murakami in the second episode (laughs).

Suzumura That's Mr. Murakami from "Masked Rider (New)" (1979), isn't it? This was made possible by ABC Animation producer Kazusa Umeda's connection with our office. We thought, "What do you think? I was wondering if you would do it, and I was very excited when it was decided that you would appear in the film.

--How do you feel about the narration of each episode?

Suzumura: I really feel each episode has its own personality. For example, episode 4 was narrated by Hiroyuki Takano, the narrator of "Chojin Barom 1" (1972). For episode 7, we asked Koji Moritsugu of "Ultra Seven" fame to do the narration, and he did it with a profound veteran's touch. Also, the narration at the beginning of each episode is the same line, but with a different narrator, so it is interesting to see the difference in the way each line is read. If these were different lines, it would be difficult to compare them, but because they are the same, I think this is the part that allows us to compare them.

--There are also times when a retired actor is already in charge.

Suzumura: Ryosuke Kaizu from "Hikari Sentai Masked Man" (1987) in episode 4, and Hiroori Tokoro (then Shohei Kusaka) from "Mobile Cop Jiban" (1989) in episode 7. Both of them readily agreed to my offer, and it is a bit rare to have such a person in charge of a film. Mr. Kaizu has a child who loves anime, so he asked me, "Can I bring him to the set? On the day of the postrecording, his child was watching the postrecording with a twinkle in his eye. I think Mr. Kaizu was able to provide some family service. I was also happy to see such a scene, because I was hoping that there would be some benefit for him since he agreed to do the recording.

--I think some of the legends were cast as the voices of the local heroes as well.

Suzumura In the fourth episode, we had Shigeru Kanai (Shigeru Kanai at that time) of "Heavy Armored Be-Fighter" (1995) and "Electromagnetic Sentai Mega Ranger" (1997) voice Edogold.

Edogold is a member of a local hero called "Edoranger" in Edogawa Ward, and Mr. Kanai is currently a ward assemblyman in Edogawa Ward. Mr. Kanai is currently a ward councilor in Edogawa Ward, and we asked him to appear in this production with the official permission of Edogawa Ward. I was talking with Mr. Kanai, "It's been a while since I've acted in a play, so please put on some guts" and "No, no, no" (laughs), but it was fun.

For episode 8, I asked Daisuke Tsuchiya, who also appeared in "Bee Fighter," to narrate. They did their postrecording separately, but I heard that they kept in touch with each other, and Mr. Kanai and I were talking about "if only we could get Red Ru together now" (laughs). (laughs) I was also an assistant director for Metal Hero, so my coloring may have been a little stronger there.

--What about Gogo-Red, the sunken warrior in the second episode, played by Takaya Aoyagi?

Suzumura: This is a hero from the "HE-LOW" series directed by Hachimasa Takano, the director of "Ultraman Gaia" (1998) and "Kamen Rider Ryuki" (2002). I am involved in this series as a supervisor, and since the latest "HE-LOW THE FINAL" (2022) will be released this May, I wanted to bring it out since it is so important.

Mr. Aoyagi has experience in live-action postrecording with his role as Jugglas Juggler in "Ultraman Orb" (2016), and his wife is also a voice actress (Kaede Yuasa), but he himself does not have much experience in anime postrecording. One interesting thing about Mr. Aoyagi is that there is a local hero from Niigata called "Flame Heavenly Fox Tochionger Seven" who appeared in the second episode, and Hiroshi Watari, who is from Niigata, appeared in its movie version, and Mr. Aoyagi also appeared as the voice of the enemy (Oniurami, the demon beastman). Such a connection is also a strange one. The slider masked dragon knight in episode 9 is also a character from the "HE-LOW" series, and is voiced by Takamasa Suga of "Ryuki" fame. Incidentally, the Slider Mask also has an antagonist named the Walinder Mask, voiced by Kenji Matsuda of "Masked Rider Hibiki" (2005) and "Kiva" (2008).

--Mr. Suzumura was also involved in "Ryuki" and "Hibiki" as a director, wasn't he? Do you have any episodes in your performance this time?

Suzumura: I couldn't be present for the postrecording of Sugacchi and some others because I was just in Fukuoka for the filming of "Dogengers". This time, unless my schedule conflicted, I did my best to be there for the postrecording.

--Please tell us about any episodes you had during the postrecording.

Suzumura: I also do postrecording for voice actors in special effects works, but my main work is with actors. Whenever an actor comes to the studio, the animation staff will say, "I used to watch this when I was a child! or "I loved 'Shariban'! The tension is obviously different (laughs). (laughs). Katsuhiko Takayama, the series director, was also excited, "Oh, wow! I, on the other hand, was very excited about the gorgeous voice actors in the film, and I was very surprised. I was also a bit surprised at the gorgeous voice cast (laughs). (Laughs). It was a refreshing change from the usual surroundings.

--Did you actually direct the recording of the local heroes?

Suzumura: No, no (laughs). (laughs) No, no (laughs). The director Hisashi Saito and sound director Satoki Iida were there. But what was interesting was that I was just watching from the back, but he would look back and ask me. Is it okay the way I'm doing it now?" I was very pleased with the way he was acting as usual," he would say.

--How did you feel when you watched the postrecording of the animation?

Suzumura: With live-action, even if the CG and compositing are temporary, the picture itself is there. With animation, the storyboard is inserted on the screen, and the dialogue changes one after another, and the voice actors start adding lines. I was looking at the screen and thinking, "What in the world am I supposed to say? I was impressed by the way the voice actors vividly added their voices to the motionless pictures.

The fun of being able to empathize with the evil organization

--You have been working in the live-action field for a long time. Did you feel any differences in expression between live-action and animation?

Suzumura: Animation is of course very difficult to draw, but no matter what the angle or cut, if you draw it simply, it will work. For example, if we wanted to shoot a pull shot from the sky, we would need a drone and special equipment, and if we wanted to shoot an action scene like in "The Matrix," we would need more than 10 cameras and CG processing. Even if you have a good idea, there are times when you say, "If I can't call in a remote crane, I'll give up. I am sure there are various restrictions in animation, but as someone who comes from a live-action background, I feel that anything is possible in animation, which makes me feel like I am dreaming.

--Conversely, did your involvement in animation make you realize the appeal of live-action again?

Suzumura: Yes, there was that too. In live-action, there is a storyboard, a close-up, a pull, and then the camera tracks up from the actor's back, and so on. In live-action films, however, there are times when the cut is changed based on the actors' performances.

When we find a location where the sun shines through the trees, we may say, "Let's make the actors stand in silhouette here," and so on. This is the real thrill of shooting live-action film, and I realized once again that there is more to it than just calculation.

--Then, on behalf of the staff, could you tell us about the highlights of "Mr. Kuroizu of the Monster Development Department"?

Suzumura: As I mentioned a little earlier, I think the appeal of "Kuroizu-san of the Monster Development Department" is the perspective from the side of the evil organization. Normally, I would say "Go for it! But in Agastia, even to create a single monster, you have to get the budget and permission from each department, which is very difficult (laughs). (Laughs.) So it was the complete opposite of the usual hero shows, where we would say, "Good luck, Agastia! Mr. Kuroizu!" The viewers are able to look at it from the evil organization's point of view.

Also, there is not only one evil organization, but the Brockroar organization is a black company (laughs), and I think the different ways of being an evil organization is another aspect that broadens the scope of the show.

Also, as is standard in tokusatsu hero stories, there are power-ups for the heroes. We think it's cool, but it's also a part of the hero's power-up. But from Agastia's point of view, it's like "I didn't hear that", "Why? It's not in the data. (Laughs.) In this way, I enjoy the depiction of various aspects of the backstage of the evil organization that you don't usually see in tokusatsu hero shows.

--What is your favorite character in the movie?

Suzumura: That would be Kuroizu-san, of course. His passion, strength of conviction, and hard work. She also has the ambition to become an executive, and she herself is quite strong, so she probably does muscle training (laughs). (Laughs.) I can really sympathize with her because she makes me think that there are people who lack that kind of invisible effort. Another person I would like to mention is Megistos.

--He is voiced by Toru Inada.

Suzumura: Yes. I had been involved in the discussions from the very beginning, and the first voice actor we decided on was Mr. Inada. The first voice actor we decided on was Mr. Inada. It was unanimously decided. I thought it was a very good casting decision, because the voice of Mr. Inada gave a special effects executive feel to the animation.