Part 2: "AI's Legacy" depicts a near future where AI and humans coexist! Interview with the original author & director vs. Talks about the points that make the work easy to watch and the highlights.

The film is set in a "land-locked" society where people with a way of thinking that is not so different from modern society live, despite the development of a variety of technologies and AI.

The film is set in a "near-future world of the earth" where various technologies and AI have been developed, but where people live with a way of thinking that is not so different from that of modern society.

One of the most distinctive characters is the "humanoid," a being composed of AI and a machine body that has the same emotional and human rights as humans, but ages and dies in its lifespan. The advantages of having a machine body are great: even if one is seriously injured, as long as the head remains intact, it can be treated, and even if a mental problem occurs, it can be cured by rewriting the telekinesis. At first glance, they appear to be ideal, but because they have the same mind as humans, they have a variety of problems and issues.

The main character Sudo, a doctor who treats humanoids, solves these problems. Sudo also has a dark side, taking on dangerous requests and dealing with humanoids and humans who have their own reasons for being. The drama unfolds in a "near-future world with a connection to the ground," with humanoids that copy personalities, humanoids struggling with their own limitations, female humanoids who love the same sex, humanoids trying to master traditional arts, and a stubborn blacksmith who teaches robots technology (......). The drama unfolds in a way that is unique to "a near-future world on the ground.

This work has been highly acclaimed for its thought-provoking story that leaves a lingering impression and the realism of its "near-future world connected to the earth," but it has already reached the end of its 12-episode run. We asked Huuri Yamada (author) and Yuzo Sato (director) to discuss the future highlights of this work and broad themes such as the future of AI.

Following the first part of the interview, we present the second part, in which the rich conversation unfolds.

The "AI's Legacy" Weaves a Human Story from a Technological Perspective

--Which did you come up with the idea of "human emotion and drama" or "technology that might affect people's lives" when you were thinking about the story during the serialization of "AI's Legacy"?

Yamada: First of all, from a technological and science fiction perspective. Without this, it would be just a humanistic drama. While thinking about how to incorporate this idea into the drama, I struggled not to make it a science fiction or science fictional story. I want to show the way humans live their lives in a human-like way. I chose a direction that is not too extremely futuristic.

--Yamada: When you talk about the future, you have to be familiar with the future.

Yamada: When you talk about the future, it becomes less familiar, doesn't it? There is a direction to thoroughly explore this, but in "AI's Legacy," I dared to use things that are familiar to people today. But "AI no relics" dares to feature things that are familiar to people today. The world is established by asking the science fiction question, "Why haven't things changed since the present day?

Sato In animation as well, if you create too many settings, you end up having to "show too much.

Yamada If you make it too futuristic, the people who are familiar with the technology don't need explanations, but those who don't know about it won't understand what it means. For example, if you set the story in a time when there were no smart phones, it would look strange if you describe a person in the story swiping and operating a device like a smart phone (......), and to avoid this, you would need to explain the device. And to do otherwise would require an explanation. In some ways, "AI's Legacy Electronics" is intentionally archaic to prevent such a situation. So you are not making simple predictions about the future, but rather focusing on what the readers of your manga can enjoy at the present time.

Sato: People were reacting to the depictions in your work. They said, "In this world, brain implants* can be generated by vascular injection."

*Implants.

In "AI's relic electrons," nanomachines (microscopic machines) are injected into the body so that it can be connected to the network without a terminal. It will be like being able to use the Internet without having a smartphone. In the film, this is a familiar technology, and is used for everyday purposes such as chatting and playing games, which are no different from today. It does not seem unusual for children to use it as a matter of course, reminding us of today's digital native generation. The story also depicts high school students gathering together with their classmates in a space called "talk room" to talk, which is similar to the modern-day LINE. In the film, it is explained that the nanomachines are injected into the arm, and then the nanomachines are implanted in the brain, which is as casual as an inoculation.

Yamada I wonder if it is possible to pass through the barrier against substances entering the brain ....... If it were now, I would probably describe it as residing in the optic nerve. I had a hard time deciding how to set it up, but it is set up in the work as having something like a parent machine. So we went with a low-tech approach.

Mr. Yamada Huuri

Sato Recently, there have been cases where nanomachines have been injected into the body to treat the circulatory system.

Yamada: There is also a lot of research on "brain-machine interfaces," in which a device is attached to the brain so that the brain can control a computer, or send commands from the computer to the brain to move immobile parts of the body. Whether invasive or non-invasive*, I believe that eventually there will be technology to implant something in the brain. Elon Musk's company has already received permission to begin clinical trials.

Invasive" and "non-invasive

Simply put, it means whether it requires surgery or not.

--I think the good thing about "AI's relic electrons" is that even though they use high-tech such as nanomachines, the applications themselves are human-like, such as making phone calls or playing games. Even Sudo-sensei gives us advice like, "If you want to see pornography, you have to put the device in private mode.

Sato: Episode 4 (*) is also like that.

Episode 4 "Four Cases
Animated adaptation of the original episodes 35 (Vol. 4) "Painful Confusion," 79 (Vol. 8) "Mousou Machine," and 41 (Vol. 4) "Buttons. A high school boy gets involved in a romantic VR game modeled after a girl in his class, but receives a surprising approach from the girl in question. Lisa sees various scenarios, including romantic-comedy style and BL style, played by a virtual Sudo created by AI. The film also depicts the tragedies and joys of VR and advanced technology intervening in love, such as a man with a girlfriend who implements a "sage button" to suppress his desires in order to cure his habit of cheating on her.

Yamada: Episode 4 is pretty gruesome. It was more graphic than I expected. I aimed to create a controversial work.

--There is actually software called "VRChat" that allows you to wear an avatar and have a conversation in a VR space. It feels very real, and when a beautiful girl avatar approaches you, you get nervous even if you know that she is your friend of the same sex.

Director Yuzo Sato

All episodes of "AI's Legacy" can be viewed without hesitation, and are highly recommended and a must-see!

--Yamada: First of all, I would like to ask you about the existence of humanoids.

Yamada: First of all, the existence of humanoids. Usually, when we hear the word "robot" in AI, we think of "a being used by humans as a tool. Many people tend to look at humanoids as an extension of that and wonder, "Who is the owner of this humanoid? I think that many people are wondering "Who is the owner of this humanoid?

The humanoids in this work have human rights, are equal to humans, and do not have owners. I think you can think of it as "a world where a new race of humanoids has emerged.

--Yamada: And humanoids are a new race of people.

Yamada And apart from humanoids, there are "industrial AIs" as "robots used by humans as tools," such as Poppo, who is petted like a ...... stuffed animal, and Joe, the lover robot. There are also "industrial AIs" like Poppo, who is cuddled like a stuffed animal, and Joe, the robot lover.

Sato: The necessary explanations are given in the animation, and even without explanations, you can tell them apart by the shape of their eyes. Humans are round, humanoids are horizontal, and industrial AIs are round, similar to humans. If I explained too much, you would say, "Is this part necessary for the drama?" Yamada: "Who is the humanoid?

Yamada: Some people say, "I can't tell who is the humanoid. (laughs) Basically, we made it so that the theme of the story can be conveyed even if you don't know who the humanoid is.

*"I can't tell who is a humanoid.

It is possible to tell them apart by the shape of their eyes. In the original book, there is an explanation of humanoid eyes and industrial AI at the beginning of the book. Humans have circular eyes, while humanoids have horizontal eyes. Industrial AIs have a round shape similar to humans, but they also have mechanical slits in the whites of their eyes. In the sequel "AI's Legacy Electron RED QUEEN," there is a scene in which humanoids are called "sheep-eyed devils" because they have horizontal eyes.

The characters in the world of the work probably experience the same thing: "I don't know who the humanoid is. The reader also sees the shape of the eyes every time he or she meets a new person, and thus feels that this is an experience that allows the reader to become one with the world of the work.

--I personally think that the appeal of "AI's Remains" is that it is a story that can be interesting without being defensive about the fact that it is a science fiction or AI story.

Yamada: I think you can look at it as if it were "Doraemon. Basically, our first priority is to make it interesting as a drama, and we try not to include technical terms as much as possible, so I would say just give it a try and watch it.

--We have passed the turnaround point, and "AI's Remaining Denshi" is running to the last 12 episodes, but can you talk about the highlights in the future?

Yamada It's a complete story, so everything is a highlight (laughs). You can watch it from anywhere, and the highlight is that each episode deals with various themes. It is interesting even if you don't pay attention to the themes, and at the same time, it is thought-provoking. I think we were able to express these aspects well throughout the 12 episodes.

Sato Although the story is based on the original story, there are some points that were dropped in the anime and there are some original anime effects, so I think it will be very interesting for fans of the original story to watch until the last 12 episodes.

Yamada Even for those who know the original story, there are changes that will surprise you and make you say, "Is that what happened? Yamada: We have made changes that will surprise even those who know the original story. We also asked voice actors who have dubbed live-action movies to do the voice-overs, and I think this kind of attention to detail adds depth to the drama. The music and other sounds are quite "good," so if you use good speakers and headphones, you will feel the drama a little differently. The sound you hear in the studio is really good. I participated in the recording of the music, and it sounded so good that I thought, "What is this, the movie version? (laughs).

Sato The sound is totally different from what you hear on TV.

--I'm a little off topic, but could you tell us about the books you have read recently and what you would recommend?

Yamada It's a manga, but I would like you to read "Danzen-tei Nichijo" by a manga artist I know named Mr. Gump, who describes his own battle with illness. Also, Kiyoto Shitara's "Katagimodoshi" and Manabu Yashiro's "TANK CHAIR" have great pressure of drawing.

Sato: I don't read many books. I often enjoy music and videos on YouTube while working. I like videos that make me learn about the universe, so I play stories about galaxies and black holes. The scale is so different from human life that I feel it refreshes my brain in a good way. I also like sports, so I check the news about Otani every day.

--I am now multitasking, from work to entertainment. Finally, could you give a message to those who have never seen "AI's Legacy"?

Sato: Now that AI has become more accessible, I would like people to see "AI's Legacy Electronics. There is no "huge dark" like secret societies, but "petit dark" makes you think. I would like you to watch it without being too preoccupied, because it presents the fact that such things are coming from the near future.

Yamada If you are hungry for an anime with a different flavor, please watch "AI's Remains". When you hear the words "science fiction anime dealing with AI," you may imagine a hard action or dark worldview with a strong science fiction feel, but this is not the case. I hope it will help people think about "how to live in a good mood" as the technology that has become so familiar to us continues to change the world little by little.

--Thank you very much.

AI no Isanbutsu Denshi" is a cyberpunk manga if we strictly classify it into genres, but it deals with universal themes and can be viewed and read without hesitation. Among the episodes that have not yet been made into an anime, there is "Face," in which a beautiful humanoid idol, who can freely change her face, tries to survive in the age of idol wars (original story #34/vol. 4), "Sixth Sense," in which a character from a game whose service has ended (original story #39/vol. 4), and "The Last of AI," in which a humanoid who adheres to natural healing powers for ideological reasons tries to survive in the age of idols. Sudo confronts a humanoid who clings to his natural healing powers for ideological reasons in "Aura Healing" (ep. 22, Vol. 3), and "The Only Flower in the World" (ep. 74, Vol. 7), in which a humanoid aspiring to become an artist interferes with his own telekinesis in search of talent.

Why not start with the anime and read the sequels "RED QUEEN" and "Blue Age" to get an introduction to the world of the work?

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Shinichi Yanamoto)