Bushiroad in 2019 with "Tsurutsu no Jin"! From "Bandolieri!" From "Starlight" to advertising strategy - Special interview with Takaaki Kitani, the man behind Bushiroad!

The company has conceived of a series of original content such as "Bandori! and "Girls' Opera Revue Starlight," in which the same cast performs on stage and in the anime, Bushiroad, Inc. has been the inspiration for a series of original content and has turned them into big projects. Mr. Kitani is a man of great ambition who played a key role in the creation of the current trading card game industry and Akihabara as a town of content.

When Bushiroad was founded in May 2007, it was more of a trading card game company, but in 2012 it surprised the public by making New Japan Pro-Wrestling a group company. Since then, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been revitalized and is thriving at its best this century, no need to explain.

Then, in October 2017, Mr. Kitani stepped down from his position as president of Bushiroad Inc. and declared that he would take the lead in the field as a single director. His current titles are Director of Bushiroad, General Manager of the Digital Contents Department, General Manager of the Public Relations and Advertising Department, and President and Representative Director of Bushiroad Music.

Mr. Kitani, who has moved from the top to the forefront of the content industry, explains how he views the industry today, and how he came up with the base idea for "Bandolier! which he came up with the idea for himself, as well as the past and future of such content as "Bandolier!

─ I was surprised when you announced that you were stepping down as president of Bushiroad and taking the helm of the company. Many fans have a strong image of "President Kitani," but what is the correct way to call you now?

KITANI Many people within the company call me "Chairman," but that has no meaning at all in terms of commercial law (laughs). (Laughs.) Some of our external business partners call me President, as the president of Bushiroad Music. Generally speaking, I think it is fine to call him Mr. Kitani or P. Kitani. Please call me whatever you like.

─ Okay, then, please call me Mr. Kitani today. It has been a little over a year since you announced your intention to be in the field, and in the spring of 2018, you moved your base of operations from Singapore to Japan. Can you tell us about your intentions for this series of steps and what you actually felt on the field?

Kitani Actually, what we have been doing since before that hasn't changed much. What has changed is that the number of works and sites I am involved in has increased. Since I am no longer the president of the company, I am no longer in charge of managing the company, and since returning to Japan, I am no longer directly in charge of overseas development, so I am now involved in a greater number of production sites.

─ What exactly do you do to "see the field"?

Kitani It depends on the content. For content that will be developed in the future, we come up with a concept and consider what kind of partners to work with. I am often involved from the planning stage up to the point where the content is about to be created in earnest. I always check the content once it has begun to develop, but I leave a lot of the work to the site. Another time when I am heavily involved is when it is time to release content. During the three months that the "Girls' Opera Revue Starlight" anime was on the air, we had advertising meetings every day. In addition to the weekly publicity meeting, every morning we would gather the "Starlight" team members and talk. We started by talking about things such as issuing press releases, distributing the entire broadcast, and starting a retweet campaign.

─ Which titles are you currently focusing on that you can release to the public?

KITANI: Right now, we have successfully released the smartphone app "Girls' Revue Starlight -Re LIVE- (Starilla)," so we are preparing for the anime "Bermuda Triangle: Colorful Pastorale," which will start in January 2019, and the smartphone app "Cardfight! Vanguard ZERO," which will be released next year. As for "Vanguard ZERO," we are sorry to keep you waiting, but we are that much more determined to make it a success.

─ ─ I have the impression that digital card games are difficult to handle in the world of smartphone apps, where the culture of free-to-play is deeply rooted, and how to find a compromise between the traditional TCG approach.

Kitani: It is very difficult. Also, when it comes to difficulty settings, if you set the difficulty level in the middle, you get both "it's too difficult" and "it's not enough" comments. In the case of online TCGs, it is easier for light users to enter the market, so it is easy to bifurcate the market. Now, in analog TCGs, there are not many new users who have no knowledge of card games at all, so this is a problem that is unique to digital. So in order to reach a wider target audience, we now think it is important how much we can enhance the appeal of the character content. I hope we can make people want cards not only because they are strong, but also because they like them.

A good project doesn't need a proposal.

───What kind of form do you use for new projects?

KITANI It also depends on the work, but first of all, I often come up with a theme or subject that forms the basis of the project. Themes and projects are simple. A good project doesn't need a proposal. It is not successful if you explain verbally that you want to do something with this kind of concept and the person you are talking to says, "That's great! If they don't bite on it, it won't be successful.

──What was the starting point for the most recent project, "Girls' Opera Revue Starlight"?

Kitani The "Starlight" project was launched in 2015, before the success of "Bandolier! was still a success. I talked with Makoto Matsuda of Nerke Planning about the idea of a stage production next to the band. The concept was to do the opposite of the 2.5-dimensional stage that Nerke often does. When adapting an original anime or game for the stage, there are inevitably various restrictions imposed by the original content. So I thought that a stage adaptation would allow the director, scenario writers, and performers to express themselves in a more spontaneous way. One of the things I wanted to do was to create a successful stage show for male fans. While the culture of going to see a play has taken root among female fans, it has been difficult to make a 2.5-dimensional play for male fans a hit. Conversely, I thought that if we could break through and capture the hearts of male fans who had not been in the habit of seeing stage performances, there would be a large market and we could create a major production.

──Did you have a different approach in targeting male fans?

KITANI: We had to make sure that the cast of the stage version and the cast of the anime version were exactly the same. The nine main characters must be the same. I hope that "Girls' Opera Revue Starlight" will be an opportunity for male fans to see the stage.

─ ─ In that sense, the male-only and female-only performances of the stage "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight -The LIVE-#2 Transition" were groundbreaking.

KITANI: Of course I couldn't go to the performance, but I heard that the yellow cheers at the women-only performance were really loud. It was meant to be an experiment, but with stage productions, there were many people who wanted to see all the performances, and the number of unique users was not as high as we had expected. So I'm sorry, but I thought that by creating a day when neither women nor men could see the performances, I could create an opportunity for as many people as possible from a wide range of audiences to see the performances. As a result, the demand for women-only performances was overwhelming. So, although we launched this content with a male audience in mind, it was a pleasant byproduct of being able to create a stage in the 2.5-dimensional world where women perform and women cheer with yellow eyes.

───I think the staff work and direction of the "Girls' Opera Revue Starlight" anime was influenced by the fact that the producer Naotake Kozato of the Odo Ai Kurieitibu was involved in the planning of the project.

Kitani: Yes, I approached him and he has been involved in the project from the very beginning. He is very fond of the Takarazuka Revue, so that was one of the reasons.

─ Did you have the idea for the unique worldview of stage girls fighting for the center position?

Kitani: That came from the original team. The content of the "Starlight" project has changed quite a bit. The main axes that have not changed are that the stage came first, that the cast is the same, and that it is a work with a stage theme. I only briefly attended the script meeting to say hello.

─ ─ The production process of "Bandolieri! and "Starlight," I get the impression that you lead the project from the planning stage up to the point where the core members are assembled, and then you trust the production team and allow them to work freely once the project is underway. What are your thoughts on this?

KITANI I think it is largely due to the fact that I like making original plans, but I am not good at making original works. I am a pain in the ass. I also like sales and advertising.

Advertising strategy for Bushiroad's content that fills the city

─ In terms of advertising, I get the impression that you are always trying new things, such as wrapping advertisements on the Yamanote Line, which have become a common sight nowadays.

Kitani The "BanG Dream! 2nd Season" anime will start at 23:00 on January 3, 2019, and we will jack TOKYO MX for 24 hours from 23:30 on the 2nd, the day before. We will be showing the first season of the anime, live footage, and more, all Bandolieri! After the first episode airs, TOKYO MX will rerun the episode every day.

─ That's a big offensive, isn't it? I was quite surprised when the first episode of "Starlight" was shown in its entirety (as a commercial video) when you tried to watch other videos on YouTube using YouTube ads.

Kitani: That was probably the first time we did that. We had quite a few people who watched the whole thing through to the end. In this age when it is very difficult to get people to watch anime, I think we need to do more to get them to do so.

───Wrapping advertisements on the Yamanote Line have become an everyday sight now, so you can't expect to get as much buzz on SNS as you did when you first started out, can you?

Kitani Yes, but I feel that it is still effective and cost-effective. The specific effects of advertising are not something that can be measured, so it is a matter of feeling.

──The advertisements Bushiroad has done, such as the wrapping train on the Yamanote Line and the ad jacking at Akihabara Station, are very large-scale, and the advertising expenses must be quite impressive.

Kitani: We definitely spend a lot on advertising. We are not a large company, so we have to compete in those areas as well. Another byproduct of having a large number of contents is that, for example, if we were to launch a major new title and wanted to advertise here for a certain period of time, it would cost a lot of money. However, if there is a slot in the near future where we can keep the price low, we can hold onto it for the time being and have content that can be used effectively in some way. There are costs that can be held down because we are constantly advertising, so I don't think we spend as much as it seems from the outside. This is something that would not be possible for a company that is doing advertising on a vertical basis for each work.

───Nowadays, smartphone apps are becoming larger and larger, and especially in the world of rhythm games, the "THE iDOLM@STER" series and "LOVE LIVE! series are so strong that new titles tend to struggle. In such a situation, "Bandoli-Girls Band Party! Girls Band Party! (hereafter referred to as "Galpa") is the only one that seems to have managed to break into the top two.

Kitani: First of all, the quality of the game and the characters. Another important factor was that we were able to differentiate ourselves by having the cast perform as a real band. That was an element that was not found anywhere else. In terms of advertising, the first season of the "Bandolier! We had done various measures during the first season, so we were quite well known at the time of the first episode's broadcast. So, while watching the reaction of the public and fans, we shifted all of our promotion focus to the game at an early point during the broadcast. I directed everything down to the smallest detail in order to maximize the effect of the "Galpa" commercial. And I waited for February 5 (2017) while raising the profile of "GARUPA.

BanG Dream! 3rd☆LIVE Sparklin' PARTY 2017!" held at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL.

Kiya Poppin'Party performed live at a time when the attention to the work was rising, and they were going to perform at the Nippon Budokan, and then Roselia appeared on stage. I think the tide turned there. It was a big turnout. And actually, the anime "Bandolier! has aired more reruns from April to June than it did from January to March 2017, when it aired. It is important for a smartphone app not to lose momentum in the first two months of service, so I think it was significant to overlap the anime reruns with that period. Of course, we also concentrated on the retweet campaign during that period. I felt that the stage performance cannot be understood unless the audience actually sees the band and stage performance. Live performances can be shown even with a 5-minute video of one song, so even with the same measures, the response to "Bandolier! I think the age of YouTube and bands are a good match.

What I thought about and how it came about in the inside story of Roselia's cast change

Mr. Kiya's controversial statement that he was "looking for drama," I think this is a story that would fit well with wrestling fans. Whether you want it or not, you take everything that happens in and out of the ring and turn it into dynamism.

Kitani: I was beaten up quite a bit for this. I understand the feelings of the fans. I am truly sorry for those who were offended. It's a wrestling-like feeling to have realism and fantasy mixed together, and to incorporate all of them into the story and make it progress. Yurika Endo's retirement in May was a real disappointment for the Bandolier! project, but there was nothing else we could do but to give it our all and make it as exciting as possible until the very end. That's why we performed "BanG Dream! 5th☆LIVE. Day2: Roselia -Ewigkeit-" in May.

I think it was a truly wonderful live performance, including the way Endo-san kept smiling and being cool until the very end. It was Yuki Nakajima who took over the role of Lisa Imai on stage. How did you decide on Ms. Nakajima for the role of Lisa?

Kitani: We really found Ms. Nakajima by chance. When there was a memorial service for a certain person, Ms. Nakajima's manager was there. As we were chatting, he told me that he could play the bass guitar, and I said, "Oh, you can play the bass guitar? I said, "Oh, you can play the bass guitar? I think it would be really difficult to replace Ms. Endo. She has to be that beautiful, fit the image of the character Lisa, and have the skills as a voice actor. So when I actually met Yuki Nakajima at the studio, I was very relieved to have met someone so lovely and with experience as a bass player.

─ ─ In that sense, the next cast change, Satomi Akezaka as Rinko Shirogane, was also a talent that cannot be replaced. An audition was held for this role.

KITANI: This was also a real disappointment, and I wondered if there was anyone who could replace her. I wondered if there was anyone who could replace her. Roselia is a band that places great importance on its visual image, so it was a real challenge to find someone who would fit Roselia and Rinko as well as the band as a voice actor. The first thing we focused on in the selection process was performance. Many people thought we would announce the new members at the "Roselia Fan Meeting 2018" held at Carutz Kawasaki in September, but that day was to send off Mr. Asaka and also to welcome back Aina Aiba of Roselia and the other four members of Roselia. So we decided to hold "Roselia Live Vier" on a weekday in November to introduce Kanaon Shizaki, and then Roselia would participate in Ryogoku Kokugikan in December as an opening act, and Shizaki would join the live performance in earnest. In December, Roselia will participate in Ryogoku Kokugikan as an opening act, and Mr. Shizaki will join the live performance. I thought it would be less burdensome to start with a limited number of songs, rather than to suddenly perform a solo live show.

─ When Ms. Aiba called Ms. Raychell from the audience to announce her participation in the Ryogoku Kokugikan, it really was like a pro wrestling microphone appeal.

Kitani She looks good in that kind of thing, doesn't she? I thought it was wonderful to hear Ms. Aiba and Ms. Raychell sing "Lefranc of the Soul" together, but I was told that Ms. Raychell would be led by a staff member, so I thought that was not good enough and suggested that we bring a strong-looking black man from the waiting room of KNOCK OUT (a kick-boxing event). I suggested. I think the show went well, but I told him later that he should make the two black guys wear sunglasses (laughs). (Laughs.) Then, after the Kokugikan 2-DAYS in December, we will lead up to the Nippon Budokan 3-DAYS in February.

─ ─ The final live performance of Milky Holmes is also scheduled for January 28 after the New Year at the Nippon Budokan.

Kitani I believe that what we have gained from the Milky Holmes work and unit has spread to many different places, and that is how Bushiroad came to be what it is today. What I regret is that I think the work and development of "Milky Holmes" would have been different if it had been in the smartphone era. We later made two smartphone game adaptations, which didn't work out, but I think we could have done things differently if we had been able to weave a smartphone game into the project from the beginning. The full-fledged smartphone era came after Milky started up, and that kind of timing is largely due to luck. I think Milky Holmes was the first voice actor unit to continuously perform live shows with the characters in the foreground. and "Starlight".

DJ" and how to compete in the content industry in 2019.

───And on December 30, 2018, the day before this article is published, a new challenge called "Bushiroad DJ LIVE" will begin. Please tell us about the concept and inspiration behind the DJ by voice actors and artists.

KITANI: I thought that the anime song club and DJ culture is a genre with a wider base and potential than bands. The idea came to me when I saw The Chainsmokers perform at the 2017 F1 Singapore GP. At that time, the idea of DJing came to me.

─ I saw the examples of "Bandolieri! and "Starlight," I wonder if there is a possibility of linking with anime and game content.

Kitani: We hope to do something like that, but first of all, this live performance is an experiment. We won't know what kind of event it will be until we actually do it. The idea is that DJs have a strong image of working alone, but it would be nice to have a unit that does a variety of things, such as a DJ, a musician, and a singer. With such a loose unit structure, the stage can be set up and presented in a different way, even if all the members are present this time and two will join the next time. The live performance on December 30 is a test case for the idea that we can do something interesting if several such units gather at the same event.

─ ─ I am looking forward to it. Lastly, please tell us about your outlook for the content industry in 2019 and how Bushiroad will make the world more interesting in that context.

Kitani I believe that 2019 will be a year in which the content industry will see a further push from Chinese and Korean application games. In the midst of this, new content from domestic companies is not very energetic. If you ask what the difference is, Chinese and Korean content makers are desperate right now. They are determined to come.

─ Is this because content regulations in China are becoming stricter?

Kiya That's right. Companies that are finding it difficult to expand in their own countries are spending their budgets to steal the Japanese market. In South Korea, the economy is in a bad shape, but they are backed up by the government. In any case, they are desperate. In contrast, Japanese companies are no longer able to come up with innovative plans, and they are only rehashing the same old thing. If things continue as they are, I think this will be the year when China and South Korea will take another shot at us.

─ I feel that there is a gap between projects that are easily approved by the upper management, who are far from the frontlines, or by the decision makers, such as investors, who are not familiar with content, and projects that have the potential to create a new wave of interest in the world.

KITANI: That's right. If you try to talk to people who are unfamiliar with the content, you can only gather prominent staff for projects that have precedents.

─ ─ In this world, Bushiroad's greatest weapon is its ability to move with light footwork, with Mr. Kitani, who is the best idea man in the world, also being the decision maker.

KITANI: I think that Cygames, Aniplex, GungHo, mixi, and other companies with plenty of cash can also do a lot of things in this area. I believe that Aniplex, which has "FGO" and "Magia Records" is the strongest among these companies, and Aniplex, which can compete on sheer volume with attractive content and animation as its mainstay, is a scary presence for us as a competitor.

─ What is Bushiroad's strategy in this context?

KITANI: Our strategy is to expand our wings by working with various companies while creating core original works. We also do music, and make goods such as cards, gacha, and prizes. Publishing is also getting off the ground. We also have an office for cast members. Our strategy is to expand our wings by increasing what we can do, so to speak. With games and animation content in the center, we will expand to include events, live performances, music, gacha and prizes, voice actor agencies, publishing, and card games. I am sure there are many other companies that would like to do this in-house, but it is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process. We have been preparing for this for the past three years, and I feel that it has finally borne fruit and we have arrived just in time. We look forward to your support in 2019.

(Reporting and writing by Kiri Nakazato)