10/21] How to recreate the Asagaya apartment complex that no longer exists - A secret story about the production of "Bokura no Yoake," a sci-fi animation film filled with a passion for "danchi" (housing complex)! Interview with Dai Sato (scriptwriter)

Bokura no Yoake," an animated feature film, is finally set to be released on October 21, 2022.

Based on Tetsuya Imai's comic strip that was serialized in "Monthly Afternoon" (Kodansha) in 2011, "Bokura no Yoake" has attracted the attention of many intellectuals for the science fiction mindset it depicts, and was even nominated for the 2012 Nebula Award.

Bokura no Yoake" is a science fiction juvenile feature film set in an apartment complex in Suginami Ward, Tokyo in the near future. It depicts the interaction between an artificial intelligence "Nigetsu no Reimei-go" that came from another celestial body, boys and girls living in the city, and an autonomous AI robot for home use. The story, in which familiar everyday life, "space" and "the future" are intertwined, is sure to resonate not only with children but also with adults.

In this article, we interviewed the creator of the film, Dai Sato, who worked on the scenario. The "danchi" is an important factor in this work, and in fact, Mr. Sato is a big fan of "danchi". In fact, Mr. Sato is a big fan of "Danchi," and it seems that his approach to this film is different from that of others.

A children's adventure and a grand vision of science fiction all in one!

--First of all, please tell us how you came to be involved in this theatrical animated film "Bokura no Yoake".

Dai Sato (Sato) I got involved in the project when I was approached by the producer in 2019.

When the original comic was published in 2011, I was a member of a talk unit for danchi lovers called "Danchidan. I was a member of a talk group called "Danchidan," a group of people who love "danchi," so I naturally gathered information about manga and movies that featured "danchi. Then, I heard from Mr. Ken Oyama, the president of Danchidan, that "a wonderful manga set in Asagaya Danchi has been published. I was on a business trip and bought the original comic book of "Bokura no Yoake" at a bookstore on my way to Tokyo! (I'm so happy!)" I thought.

After that, I approached the original author, Mr. Imai (Tetsuya), and asked him to join "Danchidan," and we have been friends ever since for about ten years.

--I was wondering if you knew about the relationship between Mr. Sato and Mr. Imai through the "Danchidan"?

Sato......I wonder how much he knew (laughs). (laughs) I think I was aware of the fact that they were acquaintances. In fact, after I started participating in "Bokura no Yoake," I asked the producers to come to "Danchidan" events, but I don't think they knew what kind of group of people the "Danchidan" unit was until that time (laughs).

Of course, when I received the proposal, I thought to myself, "There's no way I wouldn't take it on." On the contrary, I would have been shocked if someone else had been asked to write the script. I would have been shocked if someone else had been offered the script.

The producer himself was very fond of the original story and was very passionate about it, saying, "I want to make this into a movie someday. I feel a connection to the scenario, including the fact that I was able to participate in it. I also worked with pomodorosa, the designer (note: he was in charge of animation character drafts and concept design in this work), on the TV animation "LISTENERS LISTENERS," and also with Hana Sugisaki, who also played the heroine in "Words Like Cider Gush Up"? That's right. I was happy to be asked to be a part of this project because I had connections with these people.

--What was your impression of the original story of "Bokura no Yoake"?

Sato: The original story is a short, 10-episode juvenile work about a summer adventure by a group of children, which is a very familiar package. It is a very familiar package. At the same time, it has elements such as the Singularity, which was cutting-edge at the time of its publication, and IT in the field of education, but it also depicts the wet atmosphere of girls in the upper grades of elementary school and the silly humor of boys in the upper grades of elementary school.

While the different directions of reality are multiply interwoven, the basic premise is a science fiction story of first contact ...... with an encounter between an unknown life form and an AI. It also incorporates a rocket science aspect, and the beauty of the department store of ideas that is so neatly put together is nothing short of amazing.

Also, I was reminded of the theme of "Lies" in the animation adaptation. Bokura no Yoake" begins with an AI telling a lie. When you think about it, this is a very frightening thing, isn't it? The AI, which is the basis of all the AIs in the film, is describing a "lie" in which it is concealing the fact that it has come into contact with an unknown species. This is a very dangerous lie from a security point of view.

Just before the last scene, Nanako (note: an autonomous AI robot collectively called "Autobot") says, "Humans are amazing desu because they can lie but they don't." I think this is significant in this day and age. I think it is brilliant that the children experienced at that age that lying is not necessarily evil and that truth does not = justice, and that it is tied to the theme of contact with the unknown.

--I would like to know how you approached the scenario when you were writing it.

Sato: The original story is quite elaborately constructed, so if I were to easily remove any element, it would fall apart like Jenga. For example, if it were a one-cour TV series or a trendy VOD series, the length (number of minutes in the movie) would be sufficient to include elements of the original work. However, since this is a movie, unlike a series, the length is limited, and as a movie, we also have to provide a musical showcase. This meant that I had less time to create drama through dialogue. As a screenwriter, I was quite worried.

What was encouraging, however, was that Mr. Imai, the author of the original story, participated in the scenario creation stage as a member of our team. I was grateful that we were able to discuss the selection of lines at the meeting. Some original authors request that the dialogue not be changed word for word, but if we follow their wishes and proceed with the animation, we may end up changing the image of the original work itself.

In fact, this was almost the case with "Bokura no Yoake," and each time, Mr. Imai would give me ideas such as, "Well, that part should be like this," or "I thought of something like this. There were also times when Mr. Imai would suggest, "You don't need this line.

However, there were some lines that Mr. Imai suggested to be cut from the film that the staff, including myself, the director, and the producers, who were very attached to the original story, thought "No, this line is important! I convinced Mr. Imai to leave some of the lines as they were (laughs). (Laughs.) It was really encouraging to have Mr. Imai on the scriptwriting team right up to the final stage of the scriptwriting process.

--What about the scenes from the original story that were important to you when you were writing the scenario?

Sato: In the middle of the original story, after the guerrilla rain stopped, there is a scene where Gin-kun (one of the main characters = Ginnosuke Tadokoro) and Reimei-go have a conversation. I personally think that this is a very important scene. It is also important to have this scene in the middle of the story. It is the moment when Reimei-go learns about "death" and "life" from human beings, and when Gin-kun accepts the "absence of his father" as "death," which he had not been able to accept until then. However, if the priority was to fit it into the length of the film, the scene would probably have been cut. In fact, we had many discussions about whether or not to cut it. It was a real existential crisis (laugh).

I insisted, "This scene should be kept. The fact that Reimei-go knows "death" makes this work a "movie. After the exchange between Gin-kun and Reimei-go, the children kick the can and say "wow!"...... I believe that this sequence of events could have been left in, so that "Bokura no Yoake" would have gained an important flow that transitions it into a "movie". I can't say much more because it would be a spoiler leading to the last part of the film.

Passion for "Danchi" in the images

--Do you have any memories of the time when you first met?

Sato: I don't remember the details, but the first time we met was at the "Danchidan" talk event "Bokura no Yoake Special," where we spent about four hours reading through all two volumes of the original comic. It was a thorough discussion about "as a danchi" and "as a story.

We also talked about Imai-san's other works, and I was able to get a sense of his perspective, or rather, how he thinks about the story from a bird's eye view.

This feeling remained unchanged during the two years we worked together as a scriptwriting team. I think that Imai-san and I were almost in agreement as to what parts of the story should be retained in the anime adaptation.

We are both of the generation that grew up influenced by anime and manga, so even in Mr. Imai's work, there are moments that are comical, and at the same time, there are expressions that are anime-like, but he uses both of them as appropriate. I think he prioritizes what he wants to depict as a story.

The design of the characters changed from the original work in this anime adaptation, and I was thinking that perhaps that was a difficult decision for Mr. Imai, the manga artist, to make, but as the person in question, he said, "I am glad that the design makes me feel that the adults have bones and muscles in their bodies. He told us. Mr. Imai also calmly judged that the drawing style of pomodorosa is suitable for this animation, saying, "It is the opposite direction of my touch.

--I think that the more realistic the picture is, the more juvenile it has become.

Sato: I think that's true. I think the sense of "If I fall from the roof of the apartment complex, I'll be in trouble ・・・・・・" has increased. The reality is that if you fell from the roof, your bones would break. I think this is the importance of the design that makes you feel the bones and muscles. I was reminded of this when I watched the video.

In terms of juvenile, all of the main character's children are necessary, so I could not leave any of them out. However, if we were to make a 120-minute film based on the original story, it would become a highbrow story, including the terminology, if we increased the level of science fiction. On the other hand, if we wanted to make it a pure juvenile, there would be too much information in the original work. ...... Therefore, when adapting the script, the key point was how much to increase the resolution of which parts, and we discussed with the director at the initial meeting that we should "soft focus the science fiction vocabulary, such as singularity, as much as possible. When I proposed this policy to Mr. Imai after putting together a plot, he told me, "Basically, do whatever you want on site," which was reassuring.

After that, we began the process of starting the specifics of the scenario and had Mr. Imai scrutinize it page by page. Of course, adjustments were made from there as well, but I felt that we made some progress on the site first.

--Lastly, what was the most difficult part for you?

Sato: Above all, it was how to depict "Asagaya Housing," which is the setting of the film. I asked the opinion of Mr. Oyama of Danchidan and interviewed people who actually lived there at that time. After all, the place no longer exists (note: it was demolished in 2013), so we prepared a map and pasted photos from that time onto it while discussing this and that. It was as if we were walking on the actual site, and we put the information into the script while confirming the location in great detail, such as "a rocket will fly from here" and "50 meters from this area.

Incidentally, when we formed the "Danchidan," it was right around the time that the Asagaya Housing complex was going to be demolished, and we used the actual videos we shot at that time as reference for this animated film. As a member of the "Danchidan" group, I was more than happy that we were able to preserve the Asagaya Housing, which no longer exists, in the animation (big smile).

--Thank you very much for your time today.

(Reporting by Koji Shimizu, Writing by Yoshito Sakai and Naoto Sakai)


Film Information】】
Bokura no Yoake
October 21 (Friday) in theaters nationwide

・キャスト︓杉咲 花(沢渡悠真役)、悠⽊ 碧(ナナコ役)、藤原夏海(岸真悟役)、岡本信彦(⽥所銀之介役)、 ⽔瀬いのり(河合花⾹役)、⼾松 遥(岸わこ役)、花澤⾹菜(沢渡はるか役)、細⾕佳正(沢渡遼役)、津⽥健次郎(河合義達役)、横澤夏⼦(岸みふゆ役)、朴 璐美(⼆⽉の (Reimei-go))
Based on the novel by Tetsuya Imai "Bokura no Yoake" (published by Kodansha Ltd. "Monthly Afternoon")
Director: Tomoyuki Sugawa
Script by T.Sato
Animation character draft, concept design: pomodorosa
Animation Character Design, Chief Animation Director
Rainbow Root Design ︓Michie
Music by Katsu Yoko∏s Music by Katsu Yoko∏s
Animation Production: Xerology
Distribution: GAGA / Avex Pictures

ⒸImai Tetsuya・Kodansha/2022 "Bokura no Yoake" Production Committee