Commemorating the end of "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-" Season 1 broadcast! Behind-the-scenes story of Season 1 and highlights of Season 2 that will set everyone's "birdie brain" (Part 2 of Akihiro Sekiyama's interview with the producer)

In this second part of our interview, we catch up with the story behind the dark horse "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-" (hereafter, "BIRDIE WING"), which aired in the spring season of 2022 and has been slowly gaining attention.

In the second part of the interview, producer Akihiro Sekiyama delves deeper into the story of the project, including episodes, collaborations, and behind-the-scenes stories.
⇒ Commemorating the end of "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-" Season 1 broadcast! A major shift from a "loose-fitting golf anime" to a one-of-a-kind original work! Interview with Akihiro Sekiyama, Producer Part 1

I wanted to create a "Daiei Drama" image, a story with a royal roadmap.

--What was your main target audience for this work? Because when I looked at the cast, aside from Eve and Aoi, the voice actors were very familiar to anime fans who have been watching anime in the 2000s, so I wondered if you had a certain higher age range in mind.

Sekiyama: We were basically thinking of targeting people in their 20s and 30s. However, the president of BANDAI NAMCO PICTURES (BNP), with whom we were working on the project at the time, also wanted to target a wide range of people. So, for the two main characters, we decided to ask Akari Kito and Asami Seto, both of whom are currently very active. As for the surrounding cast, we immediately decided on Toru Furuya and Shuichi Ikeda.

--What was your intention with Furuya and Ikeda, and why did you choose them?

Sekiyama: When Yosuke Kuroda, the series director, proposed the structure, there were two important male characters (other than the main character), so I wanted Mr. Furuya and Mr. Ikeda to play them. I believe I made the offer before the main characters were auditioned (......) and even before the character designs were created. Besides, both of them play golf. I thought that casting someone who plays golf would make them more enthusiastic about the game and would also support the work. That was more important than the story element.

--What about the other casting?

Sekiyama: Basically, the casting was led by Director Takayuki Inagaki.

-Furthermore, and this is also a factor that made me curious about the target audience, the theme song is sung by Ms. Kamie Hirose. What was the reason for requesting Ms. Hirose to sing the theme song?

Sekiyama: Since the title of the film is "Golf Girls' Story," I told Inui and the directors that I definitely wanted a female vocalist. But at that point, I was thinking more of an edgy girl band. Then, when I thought about who to ask, I came back to what I had said earlier, that I wanted to target the masses.

Ms. Hirose's fans range widely in age, and her recent activities on YouTube and TikTok have made her name known to younger people as well, so when older people hear her music, they will say, "Oh, that's Kamie Hirose! It's Kamie Hirose. Original works are meaningless unless people see them, so I thought Ms. Hirose would be the best choice as a female artist who can appeal to a wide range of audiences. I also heard that Ms. Hirose herself plays golf, so I offered her the chance to sing the song, telling her that I would be happy to have someone who plays golf sing it for us. I also told her that I would be happy to have someone who plays golf sing the song.

--I was also told that it would be great to have someone who plays golf sing the song!

Sekiyama: When we first heard the song, everyone on the staff said, "Let's go with that! We all agreed. We felt that we had received a song that was in line with the work, and above all, we said that the best song would be if the artists were comfortable with it.

--In a comment on the official website, Kotaro Nakagawa wrote, "The director gave me an image of the '80s' in the music.

Sekiyama: As we were working on the story, the director and Mr. Kuroda and I talked about how we wanted to create a "royal road story," or in our image, a "Daiei Drama" type of story. We wanted to create a straightforward story that would be easy to get into the mind of the viewer, rather than a story with various foreshadowing elements. When we placed the order, I told them that I wanted to create a story like a Daiei Drama, because that is the music that plays in the background.

I told them that I wanted to make a story like a Daiei Drama--that kind of story is easy to understand and enjoyable.

Sekiyama: For example, when Yves came to Japan, he asked, "What? Why does she speak Japanese? I think. But we don't want to waste time explaining that, so we can just leave it as "Why? It's fine to leave it as it is. I created the scenario without such explanations because I thought that if the story was passionate, the audience would follow me whether I could speak Japanese or not, just like in the Daiei dramas "Prayer Girl," "Stewardess Story," and "School Wars.

Gunpla and Pac-Man are also realized because of BNP

--I would like to ask you about more specific scenes and stories that caught your attention. First of all, what I thought was typical of your company was the "Gunpla". Whose idea was this?

Sekiyama: It all started with Mr. Kuroda. Kuroda-san's script had the word "Gunpla" in it (laughs). (Laughs.) There was a lot of internal coordination, but I thought it was interesting because it was a small story that could only be done at BNP.

--The "Shaiturn" (a mobile suit on the side of the Zanskar Empire that appears in "Mobile Suit V Gundam") in episode 12 was a rather maniacal choice, wasn't it? There was also a "Gerbera Tetra" and other items in the boxes that were piled up in episode 6, but the Shaiturn was indeed unexpected.

Sekiyama: I think this was another choice that only Mr. Kuroda could have made.

--Speaking of what was possible because of BNP, is the "Pac-Man" (Aoi calls him Pac-Kun) drawn on Aoi's ball the same?

Sekiyama: Yes, that's right. I think it started when Mr. Kuroda said at the scenario meeting that he wanted to add some character to Aoi. I also thought about it and said, "It would be more interesting if Pac-Man was drawn on the product if we could get the permission.

--I thought about it a lot, like, "If only I could get permission, it would be fun to have Pac-Man on the product. The length standard of golf clubs will be changed in 2022, and in professional and top amateur tournaments, the clubs that used to be 48 inches or less will now be 46 inches or less. Are you going to keep the 48-inch setting for Aoi after the regulation change?

Sekiyama: Yes, because 48-inch clubs have become Aoi's identity. We discussed this issue once in the production team, but we came to the conclusion that the story has already been built and it would destroy the work if we changed it. Besides, maybe the rules will change again in the future.

The idea for the course and the prosthetic hand was born by not denying it.

--I was also shocked by the "automatic course generation system" that appeared in episode 4, although the number of episodes goes back and forth. It was the most fun, because it was silly in a good way, with a dynamic that is typical of anime. How did you come up with this idea?

Sekiyama: It was not written in that much detail at the scenario stage, and it was the idea of Misawa (Shin), who was in charge of the golf course design and concept art, that brought it to its current form.

Moreover, there were many people who said, "It is impossible to have a golf course underground," and "How big is it? It's nothing compared to a baseball stadium." But it's an anime," and the wheels started coming off the cartoon. Mr. Misawa brought me a computer-generated design and said, "How about this? When I saw it, I thought, "This is really interesting! What's it running on? It has wheels on the bottom! But it looks like a lot of work to make ......." They got excited. But it looks like a lot of work to make.

--(laughs) - I felt that the moving scene was very Sunrise-like. I thought there was going to be a giant robot next (laughs). Speaking of gimmicks, the scene in episode 7 where Rose's prosthetic hand breaks was also amazing.

Sekiyama: Actually, I was surprised to see the reaction after the broadcast that it had such a big impact. We had read the scenario and seen the storyboards and postrecording, so we had become numb to it, so we thought, "Oh, yeah. It's an underground world. It's an underground world, and that's just how it is.

(Laughs.) The idea that the prosthetic arm would allow her to fly far away came from Mr. Kuroda, who asked me, "If you were to create a cheat (setting) for Rose, what would you like to see? The idea of making Rose fly farther because of her prosthetic arm came from Mr. Kuroda's question to Mr. Toru Inoue, who supervised the project, and the people at Global Golf Media Group, who are credited as collaborators. The idea came from a forced discussion: "Golf shots are impacted by the wrist, so if the wrist were made of steel, it would fly farther. Then let's make it a prosthetic hand. There were exchanges like that during the scenario.

--The end of the "Nafres Arc" was also a shock. I never thought that a major character in a golf animation would leave in such a manner.

Sekiyama: That's right. But I was happy to see the feedback on the Internet and realize that there were so many people who were rooting for Rose. Rose was more of an outlaw and hard-core character than cute or beautiful, but I was glad that people got emotionally involved with her.

-Speaking of Rose, that room was also very cozy. Arowanas in the back, turtles in the front. It was very typical of a boss's room.

Sekiyama: This was also designed by Misawa. I think the turtle was the director's idea, but the arowana and everything else was Misawa's.

--I enjoyed seeing the promises that came as promises. Did the filmmakers have a sense of wanting to add more excitement to the film?

Sekiyama: Yes, that's right. I think the director, Mr. Kuroda, and Misawa-san all felt that they did not want to hold back. It is an original work, and there is more momentum and enthusiasm when what everyone has thought up is put directly on film. Even if the quality of the pictures was a little lower, I thought that the story and characters would be more enjoyable to watch if they were enthusiastic.

That's why I didn't deny much this time. Of course, I would not accept anything that was unethical, but for other things, I was willing to accept it as long as the budget and schedule were met. As a result, the budget and schedule haven't been met. ......

-That's why I got the feeling that everyone watching the show was getting "birdie brains," or set by the "birdie wing" standard.

Sekiyama: I'm glad to hear that.

--I think it's very rare in this day and age to bring a rocket launcher to assassinate an important person (episode 6). It's such an easy thing to understand. I thought.

Sekiyama: The rocket launcher was Mr. Kuroda's idea. He even specified the type of rocket launcher. I thought, "A rocket launcher. That's certainly easier to understand" (laughs).

What I want you to see most is the relationship between Aoi and Eve.

--The "Japan" version, which takes place in Japan after the "Nuffles" version, which had many such shocks, is a school story. With numerous schools and rivals appearing, I am looking forward to seeing what kind of competition and special moves they will show us.

Sekiyama: That's right. The director has put a lot of thought into the production in order to bring out the characters, so I hope you look forward to it.

-Even if it is not as good as the "yuru-fuwa golf anime" that I first thought of, there are various female characters in the "Japan version. What did you have in mind when creating this one?

Sekiyama: I was concerned about the rhythm. I didn't want to go on and on about a single episode or rival. However, there were no such concerns in the scenarios that came from Mr. Kuroda, so I was looking forward to receiving the scenarios week after week. I looked forward to receiving the scenarios week after week! This is how it's going to turn out! every time I read a new scenario.

I think the director had complete trust in Mr. Kuroda when it came to composition. There were some requests, such as "I want this character to have more dialogue to make him stand out more," but there were no major retakes.

--What do you want to see in the future?

Sekiyama: What I want people to see the most is the relationship between Aoi and Eve. The relationship between Aoi and Eve is what I want people to see the most. This will be the main storyline from the first to the last episode. In addition to that, there will be many rivals with strong characters in the future, so I don't think you will get tired of watching them.

--I'm sure we will continue to see a few stories that will make you grin if you know them. In episode 12, Itina said, "Great people don't understand that.

Sekiyama: I think it will be in names and lines from time to time. Please look forward to it.

--Lastly, I would like to ask you about your thoughts as a producer. You have been involved in both the "Jewelpet" series and "Hebot! I feel that there is a similarity between your work on "Jewelpet" series and "Hebot! What is the underlying idea behind the creation of your works?

Sekiyama: Making animation is hard work. But I don't think it is productive or enjoyable to just say, "It's hard, it's hard, it's hard. We are most happy when the audience enjoys what we have created, but before that, we are conscious of the fact that we are having fun while creating the animation.

--So, first of all, you have a lot of fun onsite.

Sekiyama: That's right. For the films you just mentioned, we basically loosen the reins (laughs). (Laughs.) We allow them to do whatever they want. I said no to what is wrong, but if I really wanted to do something, I would go to the TV station and apologize.

--As a producer, you have a responsibility.

Sekiyama: Basically, yes. I believe that an original work is almost entirely the director's own, and the director's overflowing ideas are the key. If you limit that, I think the work will be uninteresting. I am conscious of this, because it is the creators who make the film.

--I think "BIRDIE WING" is interesting precisely because it was born from that kind of work site. Thank you very much for your time today!