Anime "BASTARD! -God of Dark Destruction" distribution has started! ─ Why we insisted on hand-drawn effects in the age of computer graphics (Interview with Takaharu Ozaki, Part 2)

Netflix has finally started distributing the anime "BASTARD! -Destroying God of Darkness-", which has finally started streaming on Netflix.

This work strongly reflects the artistic talent of its director, Takaharu Ozaki. It can be said that the dense visuals and story have been beautifully developed into an anime.

In our previous interview, we asked director Ozaki about the anime "BASTARD! The God of Destruction", we asked him about the roots of his work.

⇒" More realistic" and "more austere colors"--The "BASTARD! What is the basis of the anime "BASTARD!

In the second part of the interview, the director Takaharu Ozaki explains what the anime "BASTARD! How was "BASTARD!!!-God of Destruction" created? In the second part of the interview, we asked him specifically about the points he focused on.

We did not set a specific number of episodes, but did what we could do now.

--I think that the selection of episodes from the original work must have been a point of concern for the anime adaptation.

Ozaki: I don't want to sound violent, but I told him, "Don't take everything off the top of your head. In all the years I have been involved in various original works, there have been many scenes that have been eliminated because of the structure of the story. Fans would say, "Why don't you do it in the anime? (Laughs.) No, of course we were aware of this, but there were various reasons why we had to cut them out.

--(Laughs.) - Starting with the length of the film.

Ozaki That's right. It's not just that it's not interesting, but for various reasons. In particular, "BASTARD! has a dramatic flow to it, so I told them that I wanted them to start from the beginning and work their way backwards, rather than being tied down by the structure. I also received permission from Warner and Shueisha to do so, and asked Mr. Kuroda to work from the beginning to the end of the story. Mr. Kuroda gave me two plans, one to omit and the other to draw the whole story, but for this project, I chose to start from the beginning and work my way through. If the length of the story is too long, I think it would be fine to include original elements as supplements to the story to the extent that it does not interfere with the content. After all, this is an animated film. I think it's more problematic to cut out the original elements. So, for me, I think it's a good structure.

--So, Warner did not specify the number of episodes?

Ozaki: Warner had a wide range of ideas for this project, and at first I thought it would be either two-cour or one-cour, but they didn't clearly specify. He gave me some possibilities, or rather, the number of courses was decided through discussions among the main staff, including myself and Mr. Kuroda. I thought it would be the saddest thing to make a short story, thinking that it would be censored if it was not popular. I wanted to be allowed to do it as it was from the top of my head, assuming that if it was cancelled, that would be the end of it. But since the people involved were all from the "BASTRAD! generation, we agreed to do what we could do now.

--Even if the project was cancelled, there is still a possibility to continue the work a few years later, as long as it is based on the original work.

Ozaki That's right. If you put all the stories together, they become unique, so there is no connection between them. There are works that reset the story each time, but I felt that "BASTARD! was different. However, I feel that this anime adaptation has come together just right.

I want people to see the effect drawings that make them feel alive.

--I would like to know what the director controlled in terms of character design and drawing.

Ozaki: In terms of character design, I didn't want to renew the characters and make them look modern, but to retain the atmosphere of the 1990s, when the series was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. As for the changes in the original character modeling, I thought it would be best when they were at their most energetic.

--I wanted to keep the atmosphere of "BASTRAD! was when the work became the signature title of "Weekly Shonen Jump"? It was widely known by everyone.

Ozaki Yes. I also considered stability. I think Mr. Hagiwara (Kazushi Hagiwara, the original author) probably went through a process of trial and error depending on the trends of the times, and pictures are something that evolve from the beginning. That is why I asked him to base the design around the 7th to 10th volumes of the original comic book. However, what is difficult is that today's animations have less detail, such as shadows, and some animators have trouble with drawings that have a lot of detail. Those who are good at this are veterans, so it was difficult for them to gather at different studios, and it was a bit of a challenge to get the current generation to match the drawings of the old fan generation. Moreover, the amount of work involved in this project was huge.

--I heard that you spent quite a lot of time on the drawings.

Ozaki There are a lot of characters. That's why we had a lot of trouble with that part.

--In terms of drawing, were there any particular difficulties or points you were conscious of in terms of movement?

Ozaki: "BASTARD! is a magic battle, so there are a lot of one-shot moves. Rather than acrobatically moving their bodies and fighting each other, they would perform a single technique and the effect would be like a bang! and then the effects go "boom! So, we have an effects supervisor who carefully checks the effects. Nowadays, with the introduction of computer graphics, the number of people who can draw effects is decreasing, but "BASTARD! " has monsters in it, so I thought it was absolutely necessary to have someone who specializes in effects. The final adjustment of what the characters look like and what they don't look like will be made by the supervising artist, but I wanted to respect the atmosphere of the drawing when it comes to effects such as wind and electric shocks. So, of course, I mixed in CG, but I tried to use as much drawing as possible.

--What is the advantage of drawing effects with CG?

Ozaki: It's not mechanical, and it really gives a sense of life. Animation effects, like characters, have unique timing, and if you draw them in CG, they end up looking too much like live-action. However, I personally think that characters and effects are the same, and in terms of the beauty and dynamism of the physical flow, whether they are characters or effects, the timing and movements that are pleasing to the eye should be the same.

However, more and more animators do not know how to draw smoke, wind, and beams. I think it's fine to have a specialty, but I think it's important for animators to express smoke and characters as if they were living things, and to move them with their own individuality.

But the number of people who can draw and teach is decreasing, so there is a possibility that such drawing will also decrease in the future. It pains me to say this, but I am not good at teaching either.

--So, this "BASTAARD! is also the latest educational material on drawing effects.

Ozaki That's right. I hope it makes people think, "I want to draw drawing effects! (laughs). Everyone wants to draw characters. But there are other elements to animation as well. In fact, I think that Japanese animation is what it is today because of that foundation.

As someone who has seen such animations, I am very interested in the "BASTARD" series, which is about "how to draw an effect drawing! I would like people to know more about it through "BASTARD! I would like people to know more about how to draw effects through "BASTARD! Even though digitalization has progressed, I would like to preserve the analog quality, and I think that is what makes animation animation what it is. I have experience in both filming and CG, so of course I think it is good to have CG animation, but I would like to see it work well as a hybrid with drawing animation. I hope that such craftsmen will survive.

BASTARD! Cast members with a sense of "BASTARD!

--Now, what are your guidelines for casting?

Ozaki: First of all, I wanted people whose voices were close to their real voices. There is the idea of using technology to change the voice and create the role. But this time, I think it was a result of gathering people who sounded like them from the way they usually talk. So when you look at the breaks during recording, you will see that the actors are not talking, but the characters of "BASTARD! characters are talking. I think it's great that the characters are so natural. I also thought that the series was going to be a long one, so the casting was decided in such a way that it would be simple.

--I think the casting was decided in such a way that it could be done without any problems. Please tell us about your intention in playing the role of Dai Amon.

Ozaki: Dai Amon is a vampire, so he is noble, but even if he thinks he is cool, he looks funny to others. I wanted him to be both noble and funny. In the original story, he was a very impactful character.

--Did you choose Mr. Koyasu or did you audition for him?　Or was it an audition?

Ozaki: It was an audition. I think I had four or five people audition for each character. But I think I might be the best of all of them (laughs). It was like, "We've all been waiting for this. But I think we were blessed with a really good cast. Even just listening to the voices, I get a "BASTARD!!!" feeling. I can feel the "BASTARD!

--Lastly, as a director, what character do you find the most challenging to work with?

Ozaki: That's a tough one. But I think it would have to be Dirk Schneider. He is the main character. I guess that's a pretty middle-of-the-road answer.

--So you enjoy drawing Dirk Schneider?

Ozaki: It is fun. I am not an artist, but I enjoy drawing Dirk Schneider and the girls when I am writing the storyboards. It is good to be able to draw girls, isn't it? I also like drawing evil characters like Dirk Schneider.

--For Director Ozaki, "BASTARD! is a work that suits you well, isn't it?

Ozaki: Yes, it suits me. There are so many characters I want to draw.

(Interview, text, and photography by Koji Shimizu)