Akiba Research Institute's Anime Writers Discuss "This Year's Fun! This Year's Anime Works & Industry Talk Special Roundtable Discussion Special Roundtable Discussion on Anime Works and the Industry in 2018

A great many TV and theater anime were broadcast in 2018. In this issue, we would like to look back on this year's anime in the form of a roundtable discussion with a group of Akiba Research Institute's writers in charge of anime.

Round-table discussion participants

Koji Shimizu is a veteran freelance editor and writer. He is a veteran freelance editor and writer, and has been commissioned to produce books and articles on everything from the technology and academic industries to erotica, with a focus on entertainment such as manga, anime, music, and idols.

Akiba Research Institute's personal recommendation article for 2018: Hinata Sato, former member of Sakura Gakuin and current actress of "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight" Junna Hoshimi, talks about voice actors and idols! The first installment of "The Road to Seiyu from an Idol".

Junichi Tsukagoshi Freelance editor, writer, and photographer. Writes interviews and articles for anime and voice-over magazines.

Akiba Research Institute's personal recommendation article for 2018: "I'm finally back! and a tearful smile! Aobuta": A look back interview with Masami Seto, Marie Uchida, and Yurika Kubo, part 1!

Tanaka Shinobu is a freelance writer. Writes about movies, anime, fashion, and cosmetics on the web and in magazines. He is interested in collaborations with subcultures in order to work on various genres.

Akiba Research Institute's personal recommendation article for 2018: You too can become a moisturizing princess! The Body Shop's interview with Takuya Eguchi, Shota Aoi, Natsuki Hanae, and other popular voice actors in the anthropomorphic collaboration "Princess Moisture and the Three Wizards"! [Collaboration's Gemba Part 1

Kiri Nakazato Freelance writer and photographer. Writes event coverage, interviews, and columns for anime and voice-over magazines. She specializes in 2.5-dimensional content such as idols, in which the voice actors themselves perform live and on stage.

Akiba Research Institute's personal recommendation article for 2018: [The girls on stage are actually ◯◯◯◯?　Koizumi Moeka (who plays Oba Nana) and Nakamura Kanata (lyricist) in "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight," the 7th episode of which has a shocking turn of events.

Editor A. Editor in charge of animation. Sometimes also in charge of interviews and writing. I have been enjoying anime genre-less for decades after stepping out of my life with Tomino anime and Mariko Kokufuda.

Akiba Research Institute's personal recommendation article in 2018: Yoshiyuki Tomino was furious at the colony drop scene! What did Director Yoshizawa think at that time?　A special conversation between Director Shunichi Yoshizawa and P Naohiro Ogata on "Mobile Suit Gundam NT," which is in the midst of production!

What anime productions in 2018 left a lasting impression on the writers?

Editor A This is a special project where we ask our writers to look back on the anime industry in 2018, including TV anime productions, theater anime productions, voice actors, events, etc. that were produced in 2018. We have made a list, and there are 239 titles just for the TV animation works that we are aware of.

Tanaka: Two hundred and thirty-nine?　That's how many there are!

Editor A. The purpose of this project is not to exhaustively list all the titles, so it is fine if you can look back on the works that left a lasting impression on you!　So, could each of you give us a list of this year's most noteworthy works and your top picks?

Nakazato: For me, it's "Revue Starlight" this year.

Shimizu: Wow, that's unexpected.

Nakazato I think Shimizu-san thought I would be giving idol anime, but this year there were many mini-anime turns such as "THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS THEATER 3rd SEASON" and "THE IDOLM@STER SIDEM: Mini for a reason!

Shimizu: The same goes for "BanG Dream! Galpa Pico".

Nakazato: Yes, it is. I think that short animations that are developed on the premise of long-term development including social game apps, CDs, and live performances are definitely one of the trends this year, but "Starlight" was the one that I personally followed closely as a stand-alone work, getting fully into the world of the work.

Editor A: In terms of our article, there was quite a strong response to "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight.

Nakazato: "The Little Opera Revue Starlight" is a "double-layered" work, with the same cast performing in both the musical and the anime.

Shimizu: The director and scriptwriter of "Starlight" were both meticulous in their work, so it should be interesting.

Nakazato Director Tomohiro Furukawa is a direct disciple of Director Kunihiko Ikuhara, but he himself has absorbed the essence of the works of the 90s and after "Neon Genesis Evangelion" in terms of animation. Director Furukawa's creative impulses and overflowing ideas are well translated by Tatsuto Higuchi, the series director, and shared by the entire team. In this day and age, TV anime tend to have relatively loose endings in consideration of second season productions and application development, but "Starlight" is a solidly structured one-cour anime that brings the story of the girls to a conclusion. I think we have to support this kind of solid and highly finished original work.

Tsukagoshi: I would say "Hizune and Masotan" and "Darling in the Frankis".

Editor A. Bonds and TRIGGER, right?

Tsukagoshi: I have always loved BONZ animation (which produced "Hizune and Masotan"), and "Darling in the Frankis" was a joint production of TRIGGER and A-1 Pictures (now CloverWorks), so I like the works of both companies. Hizune and Masotan" is very well done, and it is wonderful that they were able to create something with that cute picture that has such a big production feel. I think it's a strange arrangement by the general director, Higuchi Shinji. I thought he was very good at creating gaps and had an excellent sense of balance in how to make the most of them. No one would think of putting Mari Okada's script together with Toshinao Aoki's pictures.

Nakazato The comic version of "DARIHURA" by Kentaro Yabuki is also very good. I like the sense of bringing this work to that artist.

Tsukagoshi: "DARIHURA" is a work that really shows Atsushi Nishikori's creativity, and it is interesting that he was able to recreate it with such a splendid staff. Mr. Nishikiori, who is also a top-notch animator, is the director, and Mr. Masaga Tanaka, who is also a top-notch animator, is the character designer and supervising director. As someone who gets excited just by looking at their collections of original drawings, this alone is enough to get my heart racing, but the fact that everyone who is in charge of storyboarding is in the director's class makes me feel like I could spend an entire evening just talking about the staff. I feel like I could talk about the staff alone for an evening.

Nakazato I grew up on GAINAX productions, so I have a very strong impression of "Gurren Lagann" (for which Director Nishikori was in charge of character design, etc.), for which I covered the production press conference when I was just starting out. Nishikori-san is, in my opinion, the person who made the TV anime and movie version of "THE IDOLM@STER" a great work, so thank you for mentioning him.

Editor A. Speaking of TRIGGER, "SSSS.GRIDMAN" also attracted a great deal of attention. I have the impression that this work was a hit with the younger generation because of its approach, which has not been seen since the "Eva" series, of incorporating the studio's roots in special effects into a "Sekaikei" type of work. I think the live-action part of the last episode is exactly like the old "Eva" movie version (laughs).

Tsukagoshi: Then there is "Yomoi" ("A Place Farther Away Than Space").

Editor A. The New York Times gave it a rave review. I didn't expect it to go global.

Shimizu: It is a well-deserved acclaim.

Tsukagoshi: I think those three works were significant this year. I haven't seen the last episode of the winter anime, so I haven't listed them.

Editor A: In January 2018, when "Yoromoi" aired, there were also "Yuru Can △" and "Poppetepic," so it was a bumper crop, now that I think about it.

Nakazato I think it was a big breakthrough for "YuruCan△," which did not attract much attention in January, and I think this sense of wanting to find and share notable works by oneself is a trend that can be seen in "Kemono Friends" and others.

Tsukagoshi: I think "Yuru Can△" is different from that trend.

Shimizu: It is a "Manga Time Kirara" work. Kirara's works have a high batting average, so I think many people thought it would be solid to receive a certain level of recognition.

Nakazato It is a work with a very high batting average, and I don't think many people expected it to be such a home run.

Shimizu: As far as production goes, I think it is a solid anime with a solid original story. The really shocking Kirara-style "K-ON! was new in the sense that it took a four-frame comic strip about loose, everyday life and turned it into an anime work with a story like that. In that sense, YuruCan△ is a standard work in the Kirara style, and I think that Kirara has correctly grasped what is being sought and supplied it.

Nakazato There was "Yuru Can△", which took the main road for Kirara, "citrus" for yuri, and good works like "Ryo no Oshigoto" and "Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san" for more niche genres, so there was a lot of variety.

Shimizu: Nowadays, it is like a major genre to attack niche genres.

Nakazato I often watch live Shogi games on the Internet, and it was refreshing to hear Shogi professionals, who usually do not have much contact with Anime, talking about "Ryuoh no Oshigoto" as if it were a hot topic. It was refreshing to hear the Shogi professionals, who usually don't have much contact with Shogi, talk about "Rio no Oshigoto," as if they were talking about a hot topic! I think that if a professional Shogi player wants to introduce it from the viewpoint of Shogi promotion, "March Lion" or something like that would have a wider range of viewpoint. ...... (laughs)

Shimizu: Well, yes, that's true. I am not sure if "March Lion" is also a Shogi manga (laughs).

Tsukagoshi: It has become more of a human drama since the middle of the manga.

Nakazato There were a lot of family problems and bullying. I think it is more a manga about the life of a professional chess player than a shogi (Japanese chess) game. It is interesting that someone like Chika Umino, who is the picture of kindness and goodness, can create such a harsh character and a heavy story.

Shimizu: I have thought that since "Honey and Clover". When I read Hanamino-sensei's doujinshi, he seems very sentimental and downer, so I think that is the essence of his character, and I think he does his best to create the comical parts.

Editor A. Since we are getting into a discussion about Mr. Hanamino, I would like to ask you about your favorite anime of the year (laughs).

Shimizu: If I had to pick an anime of the year, I would have to say "Yomoi" by far. It is an unrivaled work. Before it aired, I thought, "An expedition to the South Pole?　Very good! but I thought it would be difficult for it to be a hit, as I said before. It is a niche subject and a bit distant from everyday life. It is even more distant than chess. But I think "A Place Farther Than Outer Space" was able to gain popularity and recognition thanks to the creator's ability. It is a work with a story and direction that is just plain good.

Editor A. The goal is not to reach the South Pole, but to continue the story. The director is Atsuko Ishizuka, isn't that right, like "Sakura-so no Pet na Kanojo"?

Shimizu: You got your big break with "No Game, No Life.

Nakazato Personally, I really like "Hanayamata".

Tsukagoshi I like "Hanayamata" too. Yori moi" made me re-evaluate how interesting he was in creating such an interesting work. Anyway, "Yoromoi" stands out for its excellent direction.

Shimizu: I think that director Ishizuka, series director Juki Hanada, and the other creators have created what they really wanted to create.

Nakazato It is interesting to watch and report on works that combine the creators' creativity and perfection.

Editor A. Next, could you tell us about some of the works that caught your attention, Mr. Tanaka?

Tanaka: I was completely listening to the number and breadth of anime that you have seen, and I thought it was amazing (laughs). I enjoyed watching "Back Street Girls -Gokudolls-," which we were covering in the summer. I love dark worlds, and I like to hear the actors' voices in them, so I really enjoyed "Devil's Line. Devil's Line" ended before I got to the main storyline of the manga, so I'd love to see a second season or something.　It's a work that women seem to like, but I'm surprised it hasn't become more popular.

Nakasato From your point of view, Tanaka, is there anyone you liked this year in terms of voice?

Tanaka My view is that I like the voice of the role as a set with the role, rather than the voice actor. I used to think Daisuke Ono had a nice voice, but when I heard his dusky voice as Kentaro Yamamoto in "Gokudorsu", I thought it was really good. I try to watch as much anime as possible to gather information, but there are many that just end there.

Edit A: That's what Mr. Nakazato was talking about earlier, the way it ends leaves a hint of what is to come in the second season, the movie version, and the smartphone apps.

Tanaka: That's why, for me, there are not many works that I feel that I have seen to the end! I don't have many works that I feel like I've seen all the way through. This season, I'm really into "BANANA FISH". I grew up without much exposure to manga and anime, so I am new to the genre. I often ask, "Do you have any recommendations? And one of the things that men recommend to me is "BANANA FISH". A shoujo manga original recommended by a man?　I wondered if it was true, but after the first episode of the anime, I was hooked. Now I can cry just listening to the intro of the soundtrack.

Tsukagoshi: As a fan of the original comic, I wondered if the anime was geared more toward women.

Shimizu: To begin with, Akio Yoshida's original comic is very good. I think it is a story that even people with no prior knowledge can be drawn into.

The remake boom of anime masterpieces and the theme of the works

Editor A. Not only "BANANA FISH," but recently there have been a great number of titles that revisit past masterpieces.

Tanaka: I don't have any knowledge about the masterpieces that everyone has seen, so I really appreciate this kind of movement. I look at them with the thought, "This is how it was exciting back then.

Tsukagoshi: Personally, I would like people to see the first anime and comics before the remake. This year's big remake is "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes," and there are good points of both the old and the new, so I would like you to watch both of them anyway.

Nakazato The first season of the OVA "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes" started 30 years ago, and the scale of the release of over a hundred episodes over a period of more than 10 years and the gravity of the cast, who now seem to be gods, are things that cannot be imitated, but the new generation, like Yuichiro Umehara, is really into the new work! Tanaka: Now, I personally feel that way.

Tanaka I'm currently going back through the history of such masterpieces personally, so if you have any recommendations, please let me know.

Nakasato At this point in time, it would probably be "Mamalade Boy," which has been made into a live-action movie.

Shimizu I was just about to say that (laughs). I would have to say "Fruits Basket". It is a work that makes you want to compare the old and the new.

Tanaka I am very interested in it!

Editor A: In nerd conversations, people are always talking about how they would have preferred Yui Horie to play Toru Honda.

Nakasato It's not easy because the image of Toru and Ms. Horie's image as a newcomer are strongly intertwined. I think this work has stuck in the deepest part of the fans' obsession, such as the fact that they can think of no one else but Ritsuko Okazaki for the theme song.

Shimizu However, it was the original author Natsuki Takaya's intention to "make it with all new members.

Nakazato The exchange between Tomokazu Seki, a member of the cast before the remake, and Nobunaga Shimazaki, a member of the new cast, in which he had warm words for him, was memorable.

Editor A. There are many other reboots and remakes of past works, such as "Captain Tsubasa" and "Fushin Engi," to name a few. Karakuri Circus" is also a work that was completed more than 10 years ago and is now being adapted into an anime.

Nakazato: It's not just a simple reboot and remake, but it is also a work that has been made in a similar way to the recent "Osomatsu-san" and "Late Night! Tensai Bakabon" by Avex, there is a pattern of changing the style and target audience.

Tsukagoshi: I think that's why there are fewer and fewer bullets for titles that can be made into anime. Or is it that there are too many animations?

Shimizu By the way, what was your most memorable anime?

Editor A. I am sorry to say that we have the same question, but it is "A Place Farther Than the Universe. Also, "Zombieland Saga". It is a work that was started by Cygames, and I wonder if there will be a trend in the future for companies in other industries with financial resources to spend the budget, time, and effort to create interesting animations like this. I wondered if there would be a trend in the future for companies in other industries with strong financial resources to spend the budget, time, and effort to create interesting animation. ......

Nakazato Producer Hiroyuki Tanaka, who was originally at Avex, has moved to CyberAgent. So I personally find it somewhat strange and interesting that Mr. Tanaka is working on an animation together with Takashi Murakami, a music producer from his old company, Avex, and others. I thought it was a strange thing to say, and when I was hit by a car and shot by a policeman at the beginning of the first episode, I thought, what the heck, but then the story moved into the context of a legitimate idol anime, and I was drawn in. The distribution of gags, idols, and sagas, represented by Mamoru Miyano's monstrous performance, was exquisite.

Editor A. Another one I can't leave out is "HUGt! Pretty Cure," as it is the 15th anniversary of the series.

Shimizu: "Pretty Cure" is very aggressive in terms of theme, isn't it?

Editor A. The main character, Hana-chan, is raising a child.

Shimizu: It reminds me of "Mama is a Fourth Grader" (laughs), but "HUGt! Pretty Cure" has sub-themes such as child-rearing, black companies, and LGBT. It's really aggressive.

Tanaka Isn't it a children's anime?

Editor A. I like the way it weaves in modern society, bringing director Junichi Sato's creativity to the forefront while at the same time being entertaining.

Nakazato: Personally, I think the theme is a little too over the top. I really like the work and it is a good theme, but I feel a little uncomfortable when, for example, an article in the Asahi Shimbun extracts just that part of the work and links it to Precure and LGBT.

Shimizu: When the major media picks up on a story, the timing is slightly off. In terms of the work itself, I think it was a difficult theme to deal with because it is a children's work and it would be wrong to keep a low profile. However, I think that by taking a hard line this time around, it will be easier to take the high road in the next series and onward.

Editor A. But the anime that we have watched since we were small children also have that aspect to them. I wonder how "Neon Genesis Evangelion" could be broadcast from 6:00 p.m., now that I think about it. Animation was originally intended for children, but at the same time, it had the richness of a hybrid appeal that was created by infusing sharp expressions and aesthetics into the work. Late-night anime has an edge of expression that can only be found in the late-night slot, and the fact that even today there are sharp aspects in children's anime such as Nichiasa makes me think that anime is not yet abandoned.

Shimizu: In terms of character development, late-night anime may be more conservative.

Editor A. Some people are suddenly talking about the LGBT issue because a boy became a Pretty Cure, but the "Pretty Cure" series has always had many characters in male clothing.

Nakazato In "Sailor Moon," there are many characters who are mysterious about their gender, such as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Star Lights. So perhaps that sense of mystery has been inherited from Toei heroine anime.

Editor A. It could be said that this is Toei's normal operation of animation. I think we can be adventurous because we are dealing with children who have no preconceptions.

Which theatrical animated films are you looking forward to?

Editor A. Next, what do you think of the animated films of 2018?

Shimizu: I think this year's "Wakaoka wa Shogakusei! will be the one to watch, don't you think?

Editorial A. I guess so. I thought it would be similar to the hit of "In a Corner of the World".

Shimizu: Like "Yoromoi", I think we are seeing a trend that if you make a good product, it will become a hit.

Nakazato As for theatrical animations, I think we may be seeing a form of well-made animations that spread by word-of-mouth and become long-run. The Waka-Okami wa Shogakusei! was directed by Kitaro Kosaka, who has participated in many Ghibli films, and in fact, the first poster visual that came out looked very Ghibli-like. But the new visual that was released at the time of the film's release is more like the cover of the original children's novel, with the taste of a children's anime. To be honest, I don't think it was a visual that would appeal to people other than families with small children, so I thought it might have been a strategy in a way.

Shimizu: I am amazed that you made a film of that work. I had seen the original novel and thought it was good, but when I told people that before the release of the film, I was often met with surprising looks. I think it's great that the soil has become conducive to making a hit film, even if it is not based on catchy elements such as the participation of many popular voice actors and the luxury of the film.

Editor A. The theater animation that left a personal impression on me was "Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou (Let's Put the Promise of Flowers on the Morning of Goodbye). I think it is a work that straightforwardly incorporates Mari Okada's egoistic and muddled love-hate feelings toward her family and her mother.

Tanaka: Those works were also often recommended by male editors.

Editor A. These works require a lot of energy on the part of the viewer, but in the end, I am glad I saw them.

Tsukagoshi: I love Mari Okada's realistic portrayal of people, especially the way her emotions move, and I think she is really good at it! I was surprised to see that Okada-san also likes fantasy! I was surprised that it was such a big fantasy film. I thought he did a great job for his first film as a director, and it was very interesting. Personally, I liked "Macross Delta the Movie: Gekijo no Valkyrie" if I had to pick a movie animation. The TV series and then the theater anime, which is the standard for the "Macross" series, had not been done for "Macross Delta" until now, and the members of Valkyrie had talked about it during the MC at their live performances. Finally, it took shape, and the next step was to produce a completely new theater version. I think this is a complete victory for Valkyrie, and I think it is largely due to the power of the Valkyrie unit. I am very attached to it, including that kind of real-life drama.

Tanaka: I enjoyed "Penguin Highway. I also went to see "Chiisana Hero: The Crab, the Egg, and the Invisible Man," and in the theater I went to, after the end roll, there was a man shouting "What the hell! I was impressed that there was a man in the theater I entered who was shouting "What the hell! Most of the people watching the movie that night were elderly, which was surprising since I thought it was a film for children.

Editor A. "Chiisana Hideo: The Crab, the Egg, and the Invisible Man" is a collection of short stories, and originally, Isao Takahata was going to make one as well. But I think it's time to forget the illusion that a hit film = Studio Ghibli.

Tsukagoshi: Hayao Miyazaki is a god, and it is not something that can be imitated. I feel that people like Kosaka, the director of "The Young Wolf," are more successful who have gone out on their own.

Editor A. There was an atmosphere in the industry as a whole that we had to create a post-Miyazaki director, wasn't there?

Tsukagoshi That would be Mamoru Hosoda and Makoto Shinkai.

Shimizu Shinkai-san is a "visual" person, and I think it is fair to say that the hit "Kimi no na wa" came from the producer, Genki Kawamura.

Nakazato Perhaps it is important to have a producer who can get creators with fetishistic and strong habits to make something that reaches the masses.

Editor A. This may sound a bit violent, but if it weren't for Toshio Suzuki, Mr. Miyazaki would probably have drawn only airplanes and beautiful girls.

Tsukagoshi I love films with only airplanes and beautiful girls.

Nakazato I think that Hideaki Anno may be the successor to Hayao Miyazaki in terms of his work.

The Future of 2D and 3DCG Animation

Shimizu: Looking back at animation as a whole in 2018, I feel that the idol animation genre is becoming saturated.

Nakazato: First of all, the premise is that works in which a large number of beautiful girls appear on the screen singing and dancing require more calories than the viewer expects. Uma Musume" is similarly demanding. I think the increase in the number of mini-animations in the industry is a reflection of the high calorie content. So, in a sense, it is difficult to compete with such extravagant works unless they are developed over a long period of time in combination with smartphone apps and supported by financial strength and quantity. If the genre is saturated, it is not anime about idols, but the world of idol-themed apps and real live shows, such as "THE iDOLM@STER" and "LOVE LIVE! and the following "Tokyo 7th Sisters" are too strong.

Shimizu Some people think that mini-animations are rather inefficient when considering the work involved in creating promotions and settings and building up to the actual production.

Nakazato As for the cost, I think it is like absorbing the total cost of smartphone games, music content, live performances, etc. Actually, there is a reason why there are so many mini-animes, which is unique to idol games. There is a limit to the number of people that can be drawn in the main story line in a one or two-cour anime. The first season of "THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS" focused on the 14 members of the Cinderella Project, but there are nearly 200 idols in the game. Each of them has their own producers and fans, but we can't show all of them. With a mini-anime, there is not much need for heavy drama or ups and downs, so there is the advantage of being able to show a lot of idols in a short length of time. So the mini-anime is a way of capturing the idols and producers that the story animation could not fully depict.

Shimizu: Is the anime an entry point to the real events and games?

Tsukagoshi It's more like that's the main focus.

Nakazato I think that animation is no longer the goal. That is the situation, but if 3D animation continues to evolve and become more efficient, it will probably become easier to produce works similar to idol animation. Teams such as Namco Bandai Group and Cygames, which have major idol content, have accumulated a lot of 3DCG know-how. In addition, I was hoping to see more and more 3D animation of beautiful girls produced by companies such as Toei, Sanzigen, and Polygon Pictures, which are strong in 3D. I personally think it is a great accomplishment that SANJIGEN became the production company for "Bandolier!

Tsukagoshi I wonder if it will be a cost reduction. 3D models are hard to make, and of course there are difficulties that only 3D can solve.

Nakazato For example, it seems that depicting characters changing costumes is a point where 3D tends to suffer. However, I don't think the cost of 2D animation will go down, even if it goes up in an age when there are calls for improvement of the working environment at production sites. I think the cost will go down in the future, but I don't think it will go down.

Shimizu: It costs a lot to make the initial 3D models, but the cost goes down dramatically after a long animation season or after the second season. However, although we have become able to reproduce the movements and expressions of the characters to a great extent, I have the feeling that the expressions are still not as good as the drawings.

Nakazato But in the case of "Bandolier! the naturalness of facial expressions has evolved compared to when Sanzigen started making music videos in the first half of 2018 and now. I think it will improve even more by the time the second and third anime seasons are over at the end of next year. Not only idol animations, but I think "Pretty Cure" for example, will be transitioning to full 3D cell-look drawings in the near future.

Tsukagoshi: I have the feeling that it will be a bit more difficult to do live scenes with a lot of dancing using conventional drawing. But I saw the A part of the first episode of "Bandolier! I was surprised at how well the subtleties were expressed in the first part of the first episode of "Bandolier! I was surprised at how well the subtleties of the scene were expressed. I was very impressed.

Shimizu: I guess we are in a transitional period. I think "Arpeggio of Blue Steel" was made possible because of its genre of science fiction and battleships. However, it would be great if we could find a work like "High Score Girl" that works well with CG. It was a wonderful "anime adaptation.

Tsukagoshi By the way, I think "Kiratto Pri☆Chan" is by far the best CG for dance (laughs).

Nakazato As far as girls are concerned, "Aikatsu! and Takara Tomy's Pretty Series is another leader in the girls' market. The business model of Takara Tomy is based on arcade game cabinets and toys, so the genre is a little different. However, even if the standard of CG drawings improves, the value of live performances that show the cast working hard, their growth, and their emotions will remain the same.

Tsukagoshi: Is it important to show the cast working hard?

Shimizu & Nakazato I think it is important!

Nakazato On the real side, for example, "Love Live! was a great example of how the cast members, who had various roots, took on the challenge of performing at a level so high that it would have been unthinkable at the time, and the way they accomplished it struck a chord with the viewer.

Editor A. I think the strength of μ's story is that they created a stage from nothing.

Nakazato I feel that it takes a lot of energy to do something that no one has done before. It is the same with iM@S. Because there is the first person who paved the way, the juniors who follow that path can aim for a higher place at top speed from the beginning. Of course, the juniors are aware of this, and I think that is why they are working hard while feeling the pressure and weight of it.

Tsukagoshi: I think it is the same in all works that they are doing their best. In the case of two-dimensional works, I think that the anime complements the story of their efforts. With real idols, you have to keep thinking about how to become popular, but with characters, the cast is not doing just that all the time. So that part is weaker than with real idols, which is why I have an animated storyline. I am the type of person who, when I see a live performance, I tend to think of the anime and think, "This girl had a past like this. That's why I think that the whole team, not just the cast, is working hard on the two-dimensional idols.

Nakazato That is the concept of 2.5 dimensional idols, and I agree with it in general, but I think they are weaker than real idols because they have the strength to carry both the cast and the characters' stories on stage. I think it is the job of the adults involved in the contents and our job as a medium to visualize how to deliver the cast and characters walking together and doing their best, and to make them sympathize and support us.

Shimizu: "Love Live! The first season of the anime was still wonderful. Even for those of us who know idols and the production site, Juki Hanada's script was outstanding, and the weight of each line of dialogue was different.

Nakazato: I really agree. The method of depicting the multilayered relationships between the characters in the unit, rather than each character's turn, was very good, and I think it has influenced later works as a model for one-cour anime.

Editor A ...... and now that I have moderately digressed, I would like to leave this review of 2018. We'll continue at the pub!　We hope that Akiba Research Institute Anime will continue to produce fun articles next year, and we look forward to working with you!