Official report from the special screening of the anime "Levius" has arrived! Cast members Nobunaga Shimazaki and Takahiro Sakurai also took the stage!

To celebrate the distribution of the anime series "Levius - Levius-," a special screening of "Levius - Levius-" Netflix Distribution Commemoration in LIVE ZOUND was held at Kawasaki Cinecitta on Saturday, December 14, 2019.

Levius" is an animated battle action film by Polygon Pictures based on Haruya Nakata's popular comic series in "Young Jump Comics Ultra" (Shueisha). The film depicts the world of "Kikan Kempo," the ultimate martial art that fuses the human body with machinery, with the latest 3DCG technology, a profound storyline, and a cast of splendid voice actors.

The official report of the special screening event to celebrate the distribution of the film has been received and is introduced below.

■Official Report (original in Japanese)
This special event consisted of a screening of episodes 1 to 4 and a talk show by the cast and directors. After the screening, Nobunaga Shimazaki, who plays Levius Cromwell, Takahiro Sakurai, who plays Bill Weinberg, Keisuke Ide, and Miwa Iwanami, the sound director, took the stage to give a behind-the-scenes talk about the production of the "Levius" anime that could only be heard at this event.

In his opening remarks, Shimazaki asked the audience, "Was it interesting? to which the audience responded with loud applause. The audience seemed to be satisfied with the carefully crafted sound and powerful visuals, and the speakers on stage also had expressions of satisfaction on their faces.

Shimazaki said excitedly, "Malcolm is so cool!　（He's so cool on set too! Malcolm Eden, played by Yoshitada Otsuka, is very cool! He continued, "I love 'Sidewinder' because it's so cool. I love 'Sidewinder' because it's so cool. It's full of onomatopoeia. Sakurai followed up with a smile, saying, "I think those who have just seen it can feel the atmosphere.

The screening that day was up to episode 4. The audience was all "This is where it starts to get interesting! One of the most notable characters was Hugo Stratus, played by Daisuke Ono. It makes me cry a lot," commented sound director Iwanami. Shimazaki and Sakurai also seemed to share the sentiment, saying, "It's good, isn't it? Sound Director Iwanami said, "The first month is free on NETFLIX, so please watch it in one sitting! He was appealing the worldview of the film, which drew the audience in.

While the audience was excited by the interesting talk that seemed to derail the discussion, the topic of the similarity between the characters and the atmosphere of the performers came up. Looking at the poster, Sakurai explained with a smile, "Even his hair is close to the character's. (laughs) He raises his glasses quickly and reads lines filled with kanji and katakana. Looking back on his first encounter with Sakurai, sound director Iwanami commented, "I knew he was going to be a big seller. Up to this point, there was a lot of out-of-the-gate talk at the event. However, Sakurai appealed to the audience to "write your comments on SNS, it's okay," which drew laughter from the audience.

Shimazaki revealed that he had auditioned for the role thinking, "Levius sounds like Sakurai-san," to which Shimazaki replied, "Levius? Really? Sakurai was surprised. Shimazaki explained to Sakurai, "He has a light pigmented look, ......," to which Sakurai replied, "In my mind, he's a building full of buildings. I put on my glasses and said with all my might, 'I'd love to play Bill! I put on my glasses and appealed to him with all my might. Director Ide praised Shimazaki's voice, saying, "Levius' dual nature, which is not only strong but also kind, was expressed in your voice. Sakurai seemed to agree, saying, "He's perfect for the role. Shimazaki smiled and bowed, saying, "Thank you very much! Sakurai, with a mischievous look on his face, commented, "Well, I'll just give you a compliment here," to which the audience burst into laughter. The talk was also a great display of teamwork, with the two actors working well together.

Director Ide said emphatically that "all the voice actors, including Shimazaki, were perfectly matched" for this year's cast. Sakurai responded, "I think it's great that Mr. Suwabe (who plays Zach Cromwell) plays a manly and masculine role. He often plays ruthless bosses and intellectuals, but this kind of role with a macho atmosphere is also very nice. Shimazaki also explained the appeal of the role, saying, "It must be thrilling to hear someone with such a good voice do that voice (of Zax).

Shimazaki, who was told by Seshita that one of the themes of Levius is "overprotection," said, "Levius is not a strong warrior who pulls everyone along, but he is surprisingly selfish and kind, but he can be a bit shaky at times. But because Levius is like that, he means that everyone supports him. Because I emphasized overprotection in my interview, overprotection has become a power word, but this anime is about overprotection, boxing, and institutional fistfights," he explained.

At this point, the talk turned to the topic of Plesko. Shimazaki, who said this was the first time he had done a prescreening for a main character, recalled, "I was very nervous because it was the first time I had to work with everyone. I was very satisfied with the process," he said. "Everyone would get together and speak their lines without any pictures at all, and if I felt that I and the others were imagining different pictures, I would make adjustments each time, and it was interesting to feel like I was creating something on the spot.

When he saw the finished film, he said, "I knew the action scenes would be great, but this time they included facial expressions and scars, so I was impressed that they could do this well with CG! Shimazaki was impressed. Director Ide responded, "This time, I wanted to show the "hardness" of the film as well. He explained, "I knew I was asking for a lot, not only in the action scenes, but also in various other areas, and I asked them to make sure it was drawn well. He continued, "The key point this time was to make the legs move. It is very difficult to move the legs without motion capture, but I am grateful that we were able to move the camera as well. It was also very difficult to shift the center of gravity of my body weight," he said.

Sound Director Iwanami, who literally shared many "behind-the-scenes stories" on the day and enlivened the conversation, answered "nothing in particular" about the particulars of the sound, drawing laughter, and then said, "As you can hear, it's just as you heard. You heard it, didn't you? The audience applauded loudly when he asked, "Wasn't it good?

The theme of the music by Yugo Kanno was "flamenco," and Kanno said that he traveled to Spain, the home of flamenco, to write the music. He also revealed the episode of the birth of the sound of flamenco rhythms in battle, and talked about the indispensability of music in this work and the secret story behind the creation of the music. Sakurai commented that the passionate and emotional atmosphere of the music suited the work, to which director Ide replied, "I wanted to use sound to express the passionate emotions of Levius, even though he does not speak. Shimazaki seemed convinced.

In his closing remarks, Sakurai said, "What you have seen today is just the introduction. What follows is the exciting part. Please pay attention to the human drama that emerges through the battles, and the drama that is deeply depicted in the film.

Shimazaki said, "Now that we know the backbone of the characters, this is where things really start to get exciting. Various characters will shake your heart in that way. It's a well-crafted film that can be enjoyed over and over again, even if you watch it a hundred times. The event ended with an appeal to the audience: "It is easy to stop, rewind, and fast-forward when you watch it on TV.

Outline of the anime
■Anime "Levius

Distribution date: November 28, 2019 Worldwide exclusive distribution on Netflix


<Staff>
Original story: Haruya Nakata (Shueisha Young Jump Comics Ultra)
General director: Hiroyuki Seshimo
Director: Keisuke Ide
Series composition: Koji Seko
Screenplay: Kenta Inohara, Koji Seko
Production design: Naoya Tanaka, Ferdinando Patulli
Character Design: Yuki Moriyama
Director of Photography: Mitsunori Katamori
CG Supervisor: Takeshi Iwata
Art Director: Yuki Hatakeyama
Color Design: Hironao Noji
Sound Director: Miwa Iwanami
Music: Yugo Kanno
Animation Production: Polygon Pictures
Production: Polygon Pictures


＜Cast＞
Levius Cromwell: Nobunaga Shimazaki
Zach Cromwell: Junichi Suwabe
Bill Weinberg: Takahiro Sakurai
Natalia Garnett: Ayane Sakura
Malcolm Eden: Yoshitada Otsuka
Hugo Stratus: Daisuke Ono
Mysterious Beauty: Saori Hayami
Dr. Crown: Makoto Miyano Mamoru


＜Story＞
New history 19th century. It has been five years since the end of the Fosania conflict over the ownership of Agartha Water Mining. In this era when "steam" is used for all kinds of motive power, the martial art of "engine fistfighting," in which machines are fused into the human body, is flourishing. Levius, a lonely boy who lost his father and his right arm in the war and his mother in a vegetative state, devotes himself to Kikan Kempo under his uncle Zack, and his talent blossoms. Then, a mysterious man, Dr. Crown, watches Levius overcome strong opponents in the Grade-III Kiken Kempo with a fearless smile. The memories of the war flash back in Levius' mind.

(c) Haruya Nakata/Shueisha, Polygon Pictures