The reason for "crying" is the "careful" and "deliberate" production style! Interview to commemorate the start of the "#CureCry" trending campaign for "HUGt! Pretty Cure ♡ Futari wa Pretty Cure All Stars Memories" interview to commemorate the start of the "#CureCry" trending campaign!

The current critically acclaimed "HUGt! Pretty Cure ♡ Futari wa Pretty Cure All Stars Memories", which is currently in theaters, will start a "#CureCry" trending campaign on December 7.

The "HUGt! Pretty Cure ♡ Futari wa Pretty Cure All Stars Memories" is the latest "HUGt! Pretty Cure" and Cure Black from the first "Futari wa Pretty Cure" join forces to defeat Miden. The 55 Pretty Cure girls from the past appear in the movie under the theme of "Memories. The movie will be the first time since "Pretty Cure All Stars the Movie: Everybody Sing! (released in March 2016).

The film, which commemorates the 15th anniversary of "Pretty Cure," features a total of 55 previous Pretty Cure characters and broke the record for the highest-grossing first Pretty Cure movie of all time. The story is also attracting a great deal of attention among viewers.

The story of the film has also been a topic of conversation among viewers, who have been saying, "It makes me cry!

To commemorate the campaign, we asked producer Yu Kamiki and director Hiroshi Miyamoto about the reasons why this film "makes you cry.

Not only those who are going to watch the movie from now on, but also those who have watched it may be able to cry again with a fresh feeling if they read this interview. ......!

For children and parents to enjoy the movie together

--The "HUGto. the Movie," which started off as the number one blockbuster hit of all time, has become the most popular movie of all time! Pretty Cure ♡ Futari wa Pretty Cure All Stars Memories", what are your thoughts on the great response?

Kamiki: I am very happy. I am deeply moved by the fact that what I created so that as many people as possible could watch and enjoy the movie has taken shape and is now a reality.

I don't know what kind of numbers are great because I haven't studied enough, but I am happy to hear that there are good results, and as a director who was brought up by Pretty Cure and made his debut, I am happy to be able to return the favor to the film in some small way.

--This work has attracted a great deal of attention because it "makes you cry," but did you consciously think about "making people cry" while making it?

I don't think so, at least not for the three films I have made, including this one, and I don't recall any discussion of "this is the part that makes you cry" at any script writing meetings.

(*Note: For Director Miyamoto, this film is the same as the "Princess Pretty Cure Go! The Gorgeous Triple Feature! Wonder Night of Pretty Cure and Leffy!" (2015) and "Pretty Cure Dream Stars the Movie! (2017), the third film he directed)

- so that's what happened! Personally, I was moved by the scene where Hana-chan takes care of her friends who have become small, because I felt empathy for her desperate efforts to take care of her children. I was also moved by her passion in the subsequent scene where she inspires herself to stand up and protect everyone.

Director: The scenes you just mentioned were the ones that I storyboarded myself in the most pain. I think that in some way, the pain I felt was conveyed to the audience (laughs). (Laughs) It is often said that a film captures the suffering and sadness of its creator, and if you feel that way, I think it was worth all the hard work.

Kamiki: This is a movie, so unlike TV, you are watching it on a big screen and in a special space with good sound. When you said you felt "empathy," I think it was because you were in a movie theater, an environment where you could easily synchronize your feelings, that you were able to feel so many things.

--By the way, as someone who has raised a child, I was surprised by the very realistic depiction of the small character's behavior and Hana-chan's reaction to the chaos. Did you do any research or interviews to depict these scenes?

Kamiki: Yes. Junko Kamura, who wrote the script, interviewed people around her who had children, and producer Tanaka (ABC Animation), who also worked as a producer, participated in child-rearing and asked for their opinions.

--We asked for their opinions. Do you have such parents in mind as the target audience for this film?

Director: We talked about this from the very beginning.

Kamiki: (We may have had a slight feeling that we wanted parents to watch the film as well. Our target audience for "Pretty Cure" is, of course, small children, but they often watch it on their mother's lap. So, the environment in which children can enjoy "Pretty Cure" to the fullest actually means that there is an environment in which they can share it with others around them.

Therefore, it would be a more enjoyable movie and TV show if mothers watched it more together, and we have always been able to see the children and the people around them in our field of vision.

We discussed, for example, how loud to raise the volume of the voice in the scene where Cure Machery becomes small and cries, etc. If we were too upfront about it, it would make the parents feel uncomfortable. Some parents may feel that if the voice was too loud, it would be too harsh, but we discussed how much we needed to raise the volume to convey Hana-chan's feelings.

Director: This time, we were also very particular about the sound design.

The highlight of the film! Behind-the-scenes story of the climax of the 55 Pretty Cure dancers

--The climax of the battle between the 55 Pretty Cure characters was also a highlight. The way the characters unleash their lines one after another, with the theme song arrangements of past generations playing in the background, is like a roller coaster ride through 15 years of history all at once.

Director: As I mentioned earlier, we decided to put music at the forefront throughout the film, so we created this scene with the cast's performances as a matter of course, but also with the music, including the theme song, in mind.

--I was also impressed by the fact that all the voice actors from the past generations got together to say at least one line each.

Kamiki: In some cases, we worked together with the cast members on the nuances of the time. I really felt that they put their voices into each and every word with great care. Some of them had short lines, but they were able to put their heart and soul into it. I felt that he really put his heart and soul into each line.

--In a sense, the casting was extravagant in that you were asked to appear in the film for the sake of a single line, but I guess that was only possible because of the 15th anniversary of the film.

Kamiki: It is true that we were only able to do this because of the anniversary, but we had decided to depict the memories of each generation, so if any one person was missing, the work would not have been possible.

The scene where all the Pretty Cure characters are together is one of my favorite scenes, and the fact that they are all fighting and looking so cool is appealing, but at the same time, I can't help but think of the faces of the cast members and the people who were in charge at the time. I also remember the faces of the cast members and the people who were in charge of the film at the time. That in itself is the value of this work, and when I see that people who have seen it are happy, I feel that I have shared that feeling with everyone.

--I was also impressed by the way the production was condensed in such a way that it instantly reminded me of each work. What were you conscious of in recreating the successive Precures in just a few scenes?

Director: I tried to include as many homages as possible, such as actions and poses, but of course I had to create a sense of exhilaration and speed not only for each character from each generation, but also for the entire film, so I spent a lot of time editing and dubbing. I made sure to be meticulous in every way.

Kamiki: Also, the effects that Precure used to create with drawings are now in CG. And since we were able to see the movie in a movie theater environment, I think we were able to deliver scenes that were only possible this time, while keeping them in your memories.

I think that these factors combined to make the audience feel nostalgic even if it was only for a moment, and that the film was amazing.

Director: Naturally, there were some areas where the groundwork (of 3DCG technology) was built up, but many of the effects were newly created for each element, so there were some difficulties in that respect. For example, for the full CG version of Extreme Luminario (a technique performed by Cure Black, Cure White, and Shiny Luminous), we all watched the drawing version of Extreme Luminario and discussed "this and that" and "this and that". We came up with the idea that this could be likened to the prominence of the sun in the real world, and then we started to build up the idea of what it would be like if we reproduced it in CG.

--I think another point that will bring tears to your eyes is the way you ended up with the enemy, Midden.

Kamiki: This time, we are making a big deal out of the fact that it is an All-Stars movie, but what we wanted to emphasize the most was that it is a "HUGt! Pretty Cure" movie and the story of Cure Ale.

Therefore, the first thing we decided to do in the process of making the story was to include a cut at the end where Cure Yell hugs the enemy. I think that is why this work was led to be a gentle work. The last scene where he hugs Midden was a scene that the director was very particular about from the beginning.

But it took a long time to finally put it together in that way.

--The message that memories and memories taken from other people have no value was also very moving to me.

Director: That was one of the things I wanted to say. Even if you are a small child, you can't take something from someone and make it your own, and the same goes for adults. I think that the essence of a student or a member of society is that it is valuable because you experience it for yourself. After all, there are no shortcuts in this world, and what I wanted to say at the end was that we should accumulate such things together.

The secret of "Cure Crying" lies in the careful production of the work!

--The crossover with "Futari wa Pretty Cure" is also a key point of this work. Was it decided from the beginning that Cure Black and Cure Ale would be the main characters?

Director: That part was decided from the beginning.

Kamiki That's right. We decided how they would meet and how the story would be told, but it was decided from the beginning that there would be a crossover.

--What were you careful to keep in mind when creating the characters of 15 years ago and those of today to coexist in the same room?

Director: I felt that the physical and personal qualities of Nagisa, Honoka, and Hikari have universal appeal, so I was not worried about that and did not try to be coy.

However, in terms of the visuals, I decided to give Mr. Kamiki's personal clothes a modern look, so I had Mr. Inagami (character designer Akira Inagami) draw them for me, and then there is the skin tone. When I put Yale and Black side by side, it looked a little strange, so I asked him to make the Black side a little closer to Yale. We had to tune the skin color to see if it would be white and pale pink, or if it would have a strong orange tint, and so on.

Kamiki: Also, when I think of the first generation characters, I feel as if they are my seniors, but on the other hand, the three girls in "Futari wa Pretty Cure" are life-size girls. So my supervisor at the time told me, "Don't hold them up as the first generation, but don't forget that they are in the second year of junior high school. That's why we wanted to portray them as life-size girls, and that's how some of the scenes were created.

--I have the impression that "Futari wa Pretty Cure" is one of the most action-packed series.

Director: Yes, that's right. I tried to include as many homages as I could.

Also, Daisuke Nishio ("Futari wa Pretty Cure" and "Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart" series director) gave me a lot of advice, including details such as making the characters guard themselves when they are fighting the enemy, rather than being attacked unilaterally. Kamiki: The key is to add poses.

Kamiki: In short, the director gave us a lot of hints on how to make the pose and how to make it look like "Futari wa Pretty Cure," even though it's only for a moment. I think that the director really worked out how to depict it.

--It is said that "God is in the details," and it is this kind of attention to detail that may have led to the creation of images that captured the viewers' hearts and minds. Finally, the hashtag "#Cure Crying" is gaining momentum on SNS, and the "Cure Crying Trending Campaign" will be launched this time. What do you think about the fact that the film has been recognized as a "movie that makes you cry"?

Kamiki: As the director mentioned earlier, I was really surprised at first because I didn't expect it to be like that. I was really surprised at first when people who saw the movie said, "It made me cry so much! I was really surprised at first. Are you tired? (laughs).

(Laughs.) But when I thought about why everyone was so moved, I realized that it was because they had their own cherished memories that triggered the movie. At first, I thought it was surprising, but "having people face their memories" is what we wanted to do with the film, so when I saw the hashtag, I was very happy.

I was also very surprised, but I think it is because everyone has always loved "Pretty Cure" and that is why we were moved to tears this time. I believe that it was the efforts of everyone involved in the series over the past 15 years, rather than anything we did ourselves, that brought about this emotional moment.

--Thank you very much. Today, I think I understand a little more about the true nature of the emotion of this film.

Director: I am sure that if we had made the film with the feeling of "let's make them cry here," that kind of sneakiness would have appeared in the film. If we had done it that way, I am sure that you would not have said that the film was so good. When I think about it, I am glad that we made this film.

Campaign Outline

Campaign name: "HUGto! All-Stars Memories" campaign to commemorate the blockbuster hit of "HUGt!

Start time: Friday, December 7, 18:00

Description: If "#CureCry" becomes a trending topic, an illustration drawn by Director Miyamoto will be given as a present! Post your "#CureCry" scene and get an illustration drawn by Director Miyamoto! In addition, we will give away gorgeous prizes by drawing lots!