Director Yoshitomo Yonetani looks back at the time and environment that gave birth to the unique work "Better Man" [Animation Industry Watching No. 53

Following "Gaogaigar, King of the Braves" (1997), director Yoshitomo Yonetani's "Better Man" (1999) for Sunrise is being released on Blu-ray box set. Better Man" is a horror-inspired work that demonstrates the skill of director Yonetani, who excelled in black comedy with his "Laughs" (1989). The beautiful girl characters designed by Takahiro Kimura and the creatures created by Takayuki Takeya are full of charms that do not fade away even when viewed today.
Better Man" was produced shortly after Sunrise shifted to a divisional system. What kind of time period was "Better Man" born in?　Director Yoshitomo Yonetani looks back on the days 20 years ago.

If "GaoGaiGar" is "front," is "Better Man" back?

─ For director Yonetani, "GaoGaiGar, King of the Braves" was your first Sunrise film, wasn't it?

Yonetani: It was my first as a director. I had been approached by producer Ryosuke Takahashi for a project before "GaoGaiGar. I think the reason was because that project did not take shape and he was sorry ......, but when I was called by Ryosuke-san, the planning meeting for "GaoGaiGar" had already started in the next room. Without knowing that, he asked me, "Are you going to do it?　Are you going to do it or not?" I said, "Yes! I was told, "Well, the meeting is going on in the next room," and I went straight to the room to attend the planning meeting. I had not been told until that day that I was to be the director of the "Yusha" series, but I suddenly made an impassioned speech at the meeting, saying, "This is how the "Yusha" series should be! I made an impassioned speech at the meeting (laughs).

─ ─ Mr. Shinichiro Kobayashi of Sunrise Production Division 3 was the producer of "Better Man," wasn't he?

Yonetani: I had worked with Mr. Kobayashi on "Armored Den: Samurai Trooper" (1988). At that time, I directed and storyboarded each episode. From that time, he seemed to think I had an interesting style. Later, near the end of "GaoGaiGar," I was told, "From now on, the division must develop its own personality. We need to create a unique character for the division in the future, so please come up with a work that targets a high target audience. I proposed the projects "Better Man" and "Brigadoon Marin to Meran" (2000).


─ Did you think of "Better Man" and "Marin and Meran" at the same time?

Yonetani: No, I had been thinking about this project for a long time. At the time, there were few people around who could create original projects, so they were probably very useful to me. The Third Production Division also found it difficult to focus on a single line of work, so I think the intention was to proceed with two lines: "Gasaraki," "Argento Soma," and "Witch Hunter Robin," and in parallel, the Yonetani line. That was "Better Man," which was a continuation of the "GaoGaiGar" line.

─ Did Mr. Kobayashi have any orders for the content of the work?

Yonetani: He wanted something in the style of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" for a high target audience. I felt that was not quite right for me. In the end, that trend seems to have converged with "Gasaraki," which was produced by Mr. Kobayashi at the same time. For my part, I had been thinking for some time that it would be possible to animate a horror game-style work with monsters and girls being attacked.

─ Why did you choose a monster story?

Yonetani: When I was 3 or 4 years old, "Ultraman" began to be broadcast, and there was a monster boom in my childhood. Of course, I also watched "Godzilla," and the presence of monsters was very strong. I already had monsters in my blood (laughs). However, around the time of "Better Man," the tokusatsu genre was in its infancy. I had a strong desire not to let the tokusatsu and monster genre die out. If we were to make a monster movie in this day and age, we would have to rearrange the design for the current style. So I proposed a new image of the monster.


─ ─ Do you mean that it should not be retro?

Yonetani: I thought that if we simply released a retro monster, only the older generation would come along. I wanted to create a project that would be a gateway for the younger generation to enjoy monster movies.

─ ─ Didn't you think that you would like fans who watched "GaoGaiGar" to continue watching "Better Man"?

Yonetani: I didn't have that feeling at the time. If "GaoGaiGar" was the front, "Better Man" was the back. With "Better Man," I tried to create something interesting that could only be done in late-night animation, something I couldn't do with "GaoGaiGar," which was an evening children's animation. I suggested that the worldviews of "Better Man" and "GaoGaiGar" should be the same.　It was producer Kobayashi, of all people, who suggested this idea (laughs). (Laughs.) Until then, I had only intended that some of the supporting characters would be similar enough to make people think, "What? (Laughs) Until then, I had only intended to make people think "What?