Long interview with producer Tomoji Matsukura! (The "inside man" of anime and games No.55)

In the 55th installment of our writer crepuscular series, Tomoji Matsukura, producer and head of production at J.C. STAFF Co. Matsukura-san, who became the industry's fastest and youngest producer at J.C. STAFF, has been producing animation for the past 31 years and continues to support the Japanese animation production scene. He has produced a world-class number of works and countless successful titles. He is truly a "success contractor in the animation industry. He has produced "Revolutionary Girl Utena," "Azumanga Daioh," "Shakugan no Shana," "Honey and Clover," "Zero no Tsukaima," "Nodame Cantabile," "To Aru Majutsu no Index," "Toaru Kagaku no Railgun," "Bakuman," "Detective Opera Milky Home," "Bakuman. Bakuman," "Detective Opera Milky Holmes," "WIXOSS," "Shokugeki no Soma," "Dungeon ni Metsumo wo Motomete o Motomeru wa Wrong Desuka," "Saiki Kusuo no Ψ難," "Machikado Mazoku," ......, a wide variety of genres, laughter and tears, all of them are masterpieces that will shake the hearts of the viewers. They are all masterpieces that will shake the hearts of those who watch them. In this exclusive interview, Mr. Matsukura uses the many animated films he has produced as examples to reveal his unique production know-how. What criteria does he use to select the planning, staff, and cast, and what approach does he use to make his works a success? Mr. Matsukura also pointed out some of the problems in today's animation industry from his unique perspective. If you want to know what the Iron Man of Animation reveals about the recipe for hit animations, please read to the end of this article!

A producer who "connects the director and the client to make the work a success

Thank you very much for taking time out of your extremely busy daily production schedule. Let me start by asking you what an "animation producer" means to you, Mr. Matsukura.

Tomoji Matsukura (Matsukura): I think of myself as a "producer who successfully connects the director and staff with the client and makes the work a success. Therefore, I am neither "someone who lets the director make what he/she wants to make" nor "someone who makes what the client says. My ultimate goal is to work with both sides to make the film a success, and I will do whatever it takes to achieve that.

Tadashi: Like other producers, you also use different credits. You use two different credits: "Yes! Daa! Daa! (2000-02) and "Zero no Tsukaima" (2005-12), "Producer" for "Azumanga Daioh" (2002) and "Detective Opera Milky Holmes" (2010-16), "Shakugan no Shana" (2005-12), "To Aru Majutsu no Index" ( (2008-19), "Little Busters! (2012-13) as "Producer," and "Animation Production Supervisor" for "It's Wrong to Ask to Meet in a Dungeon" (2015-) and "Saiki Kusuo no Ψ難" (2016-19).

Matsukura I use various credits for myself, but I just have to put my name on the list as a responsible position, and it doesn't represent a specific role.

Matsukura: When you say "success," do you mean commercial success, or a "hit"?

Matsukura: I believe that "a hit is not the only kind of success. You can increase the probability of a hit by devising the production method and approach, but since animation is a kind of gambling game, it is impossible to make every work a hit. There are some works that have a very low probability of becoming a hit from the beginning. ...... In such cases, we consider it a success if we can create a work that satisfies the original creator and is interesting in its own way.

Matsukura: What do you find most rewarding about your work?

Matsukura: The most rewarding moment is, of course, when a work becomes a hit. When a work becomes a hit, it means that there are many people who recognize the work. I am also happy when I am able to take the approach that I wanted. It is not easy to achieve both, but "Hachimitsu to Clover" (2005-06) is an example where I think I did quite well.

Nobuhiro Osawa of EGG FIRM, whom I have talked about in my series, participated in the production of "Hachi-kuro" ( # ).

Matsukura: Mitsuhiro Matsuo, a subordinate of Mr. Osawa's, asked me, "Why don't we work together? I immediately said yes because I loved "Hachikuro. At the time, shoujo manga was one of the genres that were said to be unsuccessful in anime, so I thought, "With "HACHIKURO," I will make a successful example of shoujo manga anime! I thought. And when I was talking with Osawa-san about how we wanted this work to be seen by office workers as well, so we wanted to make it as shallow as possible in the evening slot, Koji Yamamoto, then a producer at Fuji Television, came on board, and "Hachikuro" became the first work to be broadcast on "Noitamina".

What works influenced you the most in the creation of "HACHIKURO"?

Matsukura: The most influential work in terms of animation was "Super Dimension Century Orguss 02" (1993-95), which I created with director Fumihiko Takayama.

You were involved in the production of "Super Dimension Century Orguss 02" (1993-95), weren't you?

Matsukura: I am of the generation that watched "Space Battleship Yamato" (1974-75), "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979-80), and "Legendary God of Ideon" (1980-81), and I liked all the other anime I watched as a child, but my first goal was the game industry. I even went to animation school to enter the game industry, and to be honest, when I was 20 years old, I thought that if I got to know famous creators, I would quit animation and go back to the game industry right away. However, my thinking changed 180° when I met Mr. Takayama and "Augustus02. Mr. Takayama was slow at work, and he never gave me storyboards at all. Even though I went to his home every day, he would only give me about 10 cuts a day, but when I read them, they were so interesting that I couldn't help but be curious about the rest of the story. This work made me feel like I had to prepare a staff that could respond to the storyboards I received and make the arrangements and do everything myself at ....... That's why "Augustus 02" is the starting point of my animation.

What kind of games do you like?

Matsukura: I like shooting games. My favorite is Namco's "Assault" (1988), but I like old arcade games in general. I also love "Darius" (1987), the T-shirt I'm wearing now, and since I was a teenager, I even collected arcade game boards and played them at home. During "High Score Girl" (2018-19), I told my wife, "This is a resource!" and I bought the enclosure I had longed for. Of course, I also bought the circuit board I wanted (laughs).

Matsukura's animation technique of "changing the approach for each title

Are there any projects that you are particularly good at?　Shana", "Zero Emissary", "Nodame Cantabile" (2007-10), "Toaru", "Bakuman. (2010-13), "Milky Holmes," "WIXOSS" (2014-21), "Shokugeki no Soma" (2015-20), "Danmachi," "Saiki Kusuo," etc. You have created various genres.

Matsukura: I try to say that I can create anything other than lolicon manga, including action, shoujo manga, gag, and so on. I know there are various definitions of "lolicon," but I absolutely cannot make a manga that depicts elementary school students as sex objects. I refuse all offers I receive. If it's interesting, I'm happy to do it, and if possible, I want to make it all a success. That's why I change my approach for each title, whether it is an original work or an original story.

Recently, there has been a lot of anime based on web novels, which is called "Noro kei," or "Naro" style.

Matsukura: J.C. was a latecomer to the Noro series. I think we were early in light novels, though. I think "Shana" was the first light novel anime in the late-night slot that was a great success. No matter what genre I am working in, I make my works with the mindset of "If I am going to do this, I am going to be a pioneer! I make my works with the mindset of "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to be a pioneer!

If there is a work that is easy to understand, could you introduce it to us?

Matsukura: "Azumanga Daioh" (2002), an anime adaptation of a four-frame manga, "Hachikuro" for shoujo manga, and "Aoi Hana" (2009) for yuri manga. In recent years, "Back Street Girls -Gokudols-" (2018) and "Kyokushudo" (2021), both directed by Chiaki Kon. Both are gags, but they were made in quite irregular ways. I persuaded the client to let me make the film. I dared to recreate 100% of the comic panels, with no movement at all except for the mouth. Instead, we tried to make the tempo more enjoyable. Of course, there are those who say, "It's an animation, so we want it to move," but I thought about which method would be the most interesting as visual content. Gokudorsu" became the top searched word the day after it went on air, and "Kyokushudo" was the No. 1 anime on Netflix in Japan in terms of views. The North American ranking was also in the single digits. Both were well received by the original author and the editorial department, so it could not have been a mistake.

A "high batting average producer" who does not let the production committee lose money

You have had a lot of hits and high-profile productions, not only in the past but also nowadays.

Matsukura: I have been a producer for a long time, so I think that means I have more experience and methodology than others. Also, I am the type of person who loves challenges. My batting average may have dropped a bit now, but when I was young, the probability of recovering the production committee's investment was over 70%. I was truly a hit-making machine (laughs). But that doesn't mean you can hit a home run, does it? But as a producer, I didn't want my clients to lose money, and as one of J.C.'s managers, the least I could do was not let the company go under. At the very least, as one of J.C.'s managers, I must not let the company go under. I have to maintain an organization that can continue to accept work and continue to pay its staff.

I have worked on many fantasy films, including "Resurrection Sky -RESCUE WINGS-" (2006), "First Love Only" (2009), "Blue Flowers" (2010), "The Last of the Blue Flowers" (2011), and "The Last of the Blue Flowers" (2012). (2009) and "Aoi Hana" (Blue Flower), all of which are set in Japan and have a sense of reality. In particular, "Yomigaeru Sora" was a very high quality work/occupation drama that was just as good as foreign dramas.

Matsukura: "Reviving Sky" is a favorite of mine, too. Although the film did not do well commercially, I am satisfied with everything from the production process to the finished product. I think it was a success in that the client and the director were able to create what they wanted. In March 2019, there was an all-night screening of all the episodes at Cinema City in Tachikawa, Tokyo. So, although "Reviving the Sky" did not "sell very well," I think it became "a much-loved work.

Blue Flower" was also a wonderful work in terms of both story and images.

Matsukura: Looking back on it now, I think "Blue Flower" was a work with a very high level of perfection. This work was also very rewarding to work on. It was directed by Kenichi Kasai, character designed by Masayuki Otochi, series composed by Fumihiko Takayama, and art directed by Shichiro Kobayashi, which was a dream team. The music was also great, with OP/ED by Kuki Koudan and the play accompaniment by Takeshi Hageta. I hope you will watch it!

You said that you can handle various types of animation, but are there any original works that you think would be difficult to animate?

Matsukura: Yes, there are. I think it's a bit difficult for me to work on light works where the future development can be read quickly, or works that only require calories from the drawings.

This is the first time it has been shown in Japan!　The story behind the establishment of "Jam Creation

Recently, we rarely see anime based on erotic games, don't we?

Matsukura: Not only erotic games, but games and anime have always had a poor affinity. Games have multiple stories and heroines. Also, in terms of original eroge works, I think it is no longer possible to get pure sales or popularity.

─ Mr. Matsukura, while working as an animation producer for J.C., you were also an eroge producer as the representative of Jam Creation Inc.

Matsukura: When I started my own eroge company, the situation was the exact opposite of today, and there was a kind of eroge boom. Also, at the time, I had a strong desire to "go upstream to create content, no matter what it takes! I had a strong desire to "go upstream to create content no matter what it takes! Publishers are successful if their manga is made into anime and the original work sells well. The ideal situation would be for J.C. to create an original anime and make it a big hit, but that is actually quite difficult. We have to invest a huge amount of money and time into an original work that we don't even know if it will be a hit or not, and it causes a lot of trouble for the people and companies involved. It's impossible for an animation company to make a profit on its own. ...... Just when I was about to give up thinking that, the eroge boom came along. I thought to myself, "Really?　If I make my own eroge, I can become an original author!　If I sell a lot of them, I can make a profit from eroge alone! And that's how I started Jam Creation.

So you created an eroge company of your own volition, rather than as a hired president?

Matsukura That's right. I did everything myself, including the start-up, planning, production, and store sales. At the time, I had two telephones on my desk, one for J.C. and one for Jam Creation. I would prepare characters, setting materials, and demos for eroge in the middle of the night, check the movements on my own computer, burn them to CD-Rs when they were finished, and hand the CD-Rs to the publishers while I went to pick up the finished original J.C. animation, and I would also go to the eroge stores in Akihabara to sell my new works I also went to the eroge shops in Akihabara to sell my new work. ......

I was very surprised to learn that the president himself was involved in the entire process from the entrance to the exit. ...... I was also surprised that you were able to work on both animation and game production at the same time, and that you didn't get sick.

Matsukura: I don't know how to say it myself, but I am extremely tough (laughs). (laughs). At the time, I was working on several animated feature films and TV series at the same time. Besides, I was able to learn many things by making erotic games by myself, so I am really glad I did it. Making packages and ROMs is something you can't experience if you are just making animation.

I understand that some eroge fans still regret the dissolution of Jam Creation, but works such as "Momoiro Paradise: Live-in Part-time Job with Love" (2003) by AINOS have received very high acclaim.

Matsukura: Thank you very much!　Momoiro" also sold quite well, but the eroge boom was coming to an end and we had to close it before the company went into the red. We were a new brand, so we decided to put in a lot of anime in order to sell well, but it ended up costing us a lot of money. The first one, "eye's ONLY: Sono Shine wa Dazzling" (2000), did not get any reservations, partly because it was a new brand, and the management of J.C. said, "You started an eroge game on your own and spent 50 million yen on it, but with reservations like this, how are you going to recover it? How are you going to collect the money? They asked me, "How are you going to recover the money? Fortunately, "eye's ONLY" spread by word of mouth and became a longtime hit, and we were able to recoup our funds and make a lot of money, but paying the staff and planning the next work to continue the brand, and launching multiple works in parallel, would have melted away hundreds of millions of dollars in an instant. It became very difficult to make a big profit. ...... So, after much reflection, we also created a brand of "non-moving erotic games," which was highly profitable, but the number of units did not sell as well as we had hoped. ...... In the end, I decided to put the company to rest before I lost money.