TAAF2019] Isao Takahata Memorial Special 2: What is the reality of the production of "Jarinko Chie" that exceeds the original work?

Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2019 (TAAF2019) is being held in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, for four days from March 8 to 11, 2019. TAAF2019 will feature a "Isao Takahata Memorial Project" in honor of Isao Takahata, one of Japan's leading animation directors, who sadly passed away last year. Here we report on the screening of "Isao Takahata Memorial Project 2: Respecting and Exceeding the Original Work - "Jarinko Chie the Movie"" held on March 9 (Sat) and the talk event that followed.

Before we begin, let us review a little about "Jarinko Chie. Jarinko Chie" is a manga work by Etsumi Haruki, which used to be serialized in the monthly magazine "Manga Action." The serialization started in 1978 and continued for about 20 years until 1997, with a total of 67 volumes. The TV series was also broadcast for a year and a half from October of the same year to March 1983. The second TV series, "Chie-chan Sensenki Jarinko Chie" was also made and broadcast from 1991 to 1992. The film version and the first TV series were both directed by Isao Takahata. The animation was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now TMS Entertainment).

What made the animated version of "Jarinko Chie the Movie" particularly memorable was the use of a number of comic storytellers from Yoshimoto Kogyo at the time as voice actors. The cast included Norio Nishikawa as Tetsu, Chie's father; Keisuke Hou and Kyo Utako as her grandfather and grandmother; Yoshio Kamigata, Yasushi Yokoyama, Kiyoshi Nishikawa, The Bonchi (Osamu and Masato), Shinsuke Shimada and Ryusuke Matsumoto, the All-Hanshin Giants, Sanshi Katsura, Gannosuke Ashiya, and many others from the Osaka entertainment world. This film is so closely tied to the city of Osaka that Takahata thought they would be appropriate to represent the rich worldview of the film. This plan worked, and the animated version of "Jarinko Chie" was a considerable success at the time. The voice of Chie was voiced by Chinatsu Nakayama, who later became a member of the Diet, and their famous duo with Norio Nishikawa, who played Tetsu, was well received.

After the show, Kazuhide Tomonaga, one of Japan's leading animators in charge of animation, Hiroyuki Okiura, an animator who had experience with the film as a student, and Seiji Kano of the Graduate School of Film and New Media took the stage as moderators for a lively discussion about the unique drawing and direction of Takahata's work. They had a lively talk about the unique drawing and direction of Takahata's works.

First of all, Mr. Tomonaga is famous for drawing the car chase scene in "Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro" (directed by Hayao Miyazaki), which was produced in 1979. When asked by Mr. Kano how it was for him, he replied that it was "pretty normal." He then recalled how difficult it was for him to make a film that was full of everyday acts and movements, and that he could not fake it. For example, in the izakaya (Japanese-style pub) scene, Takahata gave him detailed instructions about the size of the space and how many steps it would take to reach the counter, which he then translated into a play. He also said that Takahata was very conscious of the atmosphere and space of the original manga, and that the way he captured this was very realistic and different from that of Hayao Miyazaki.

What impressed Mr. Okiura most about this film was the detail of the characters' everyday movements. Even in scenes where the characters are simply walking, they are shifting their weight, and he felt that each scene was very finely controlled. When I asked Mr. Tomonaga at what point in the process he gave instructions for such detailed movements, he declined, saying, "I don't really remember," but he did seem to remember Mr. Takahata giving very detailed instructions during the rough drawing check stage, such as, "This drawing may not be enough to reproduce this movement. I think this picture is not enough to reproduce this movement.

In terms of the theme of this talk, "respecting the original work and directing in a way that exceeds the original work," there are many extreme deformations in the film (e.g., a giant geta flying in the air, a scene from the "Godzilla" movie, etc.), which were not in the original manga, and the frequent use of such deformations is an exception among Takahata's works. (Incidentally, the production period was only about six months, an unusually short time for a Takahata film.) ) There are many such effects in the film that are not in the original work and are unique to the anime, but Mr. Okiura analyzes that they were all intended to make the connection between scenes look natural. The scene at the end of the story where Chie and her family go to an amusement park is not in the original story (in the original story, they go to Kinkakuji Temple), but Mr. Tomonaga said, "I am not sure of the intention," and recalled that he must have been inspired by the scene where they get on a Ferris wheel and look at the scenery. On the other hand, Mr. Okiura said that even though Chie is basically a gag, the play is a detailed depiction of everyday life, and there are parts that make the audience feel emotional. Mr. Takahata has never wavered in these areas, and that is why he does not go out of his way to make the occasional leap of deformation.

Lastly, Mr. Tomonaga commented, "I was involved in this work as an original artist 40 years ago, when I was in my 20s, and it remains in my memory along with "Karijo". I was really happy to be involved in this kind of work. Thank you very much," he commented, bringing the event to a close.

Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2019 (TAAF2019) official website

(C) Etsumi Haruki/Ie Kouchi Kosha, Toho, Universal Music, TMS