It all started with his image board! The second part of the web anime "Ai Hime MEGOHIME" project, an interview with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and a special showing of his original drawings!

Miharu-machi, Fukushima Prefecture and Fukushima Gaina/Gaina have teamed up to produce the web animation "Aihime MEGOHIME". Recently, we conducted a long interview with director Mitsuo Fukuda, producer Yoshinori Asao and associate producer Naotake Kozato of Geina Fukushima Geina Co.
⇒ " Ai Hime MEGOHIME" WEB Anime: Interview with Yoshinobu Asao (Producer / President of Geina Fukushima Geina Co., Ltd.) x Mitsuo Fukuda (Director) x Naotake Kozato (Associate Producer)

What became clear through this interview was the strong presence of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who is credited as a supervisor in the staff list, as a creator in the original planning position. We felt that we had to talk to Mr. Sadamoto about this.　We were able to interview Mr. Sadamoto at a moment's notice while he was working on the project.

In this article, we will introduce the interview with Mr. Sadamoto, along with a number of valuable documents.

─ I heard from Director Fukuda, Producer Asao and Producer Kozato that Mr. Sadamoto was responsible for a large part of the creative foundation of "Ai Hime MEGOHIME".

Sadamoto: Originally, they wanted to create a mascot character for the town of Miharu. I took on the design and production of the character, and since my assistant (Mari Araki) was good at period pieces, we decided to work together on it. But the production process was not going well, so I joined the project in earnest and started by asking the assistant what she wanted to do and what the people of Miharu Town wanted to do.

After about a year of talking about the possibility of creating goods and wrapping cars, we were told that they wanted to make an animation based on the ideas. At that point, there was only a three-person team of myself, my assistant, and a Miharu Town official, so we started with a rough idea of how long the project would take and the budget we would have to work with. So our initial idea was to have someone write a 5-minute piece of music and then make a PV to go along with it. I was hoping to stimulate the viewer's imagination. ......

───You decided to make a solid short animation.

Sadamoto: From the standpoint of regional development, we still wanted to have voice actors do the voices and hold events, so we decided to make a work with a story. However, that would be difficult considering the budget, so we settled on a work that could just barely tell a story, and drew up an image board. We came up with the idea of creating a story like this, but it would be difficult to draw it as it is in terms of volume. So I tried to convey the image of that kind of story. I may not be explaining it well enough.

─ It is like a digest that collects the essence of famous scenes.

Sadamoto: I wanted to create an impression that would stimulate the viewer's imagination. The other objective was to revitalize the town of Miharu, so I incorporated the location of Miharu and historical facts here and there. There are fantasy elements, but I wanted to create something that would stimulate people who like historical stories and that ordinary people could also enjoy. After the storyboard was completed, the director was chosen, Mr. Fukuda, so I asked him if he could do it like this. So for the first episode, "Reunion Takizakura," I had director Fukuda add battle scenes to the image board that had already been created.

───The ending image that you created was very impressive.

Sadamoto: I drew the image board for the ending scene, but I added it later to supplement the content. But without it, you wouldn't understand the story at all (laughs).

─ ─ I was able to get a good sense of Nene's feelings and the flow of her love.

Sadamoto: The people who were making the film knew the story and the relationships on their own, but I added it because the viewers wouldn't get it. Then, when I thought the first episode was finally over and done with, I was asked to make a continuation, but I didn't think about that continuation (laughs). But I thought that if I were to draw the rest of the story, I would have to draw how the relationship between these children would develop. Also, I was going to add more local elements, such as the origin of the town's name, which I thought Miharu-cho would want me to do.

─ ─ It is "Miharu-cho" where cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, and peaches bloom all at once in spring.

Sadamoto: Yes, I built the storyline while incorporating the locations. For the second and later episodes, I told my assistant what I thought should happen and how it should be done, and she put it all together. Since it was a short animation, the structure was naturally decided.

─ Was the line to depict the intense relationship between the girls fighting each other your idea?

Sadamoto: That was my assistant's wish. She wanted to do a story about friendship between girls, so that's what we decided to do.

───What elements of the second and subsequent episodes are Sadamoto-san's specialties, and what do you think will happen in the future?

Sadamoto: (I was particular about) the use of the three springs. Also, the interpretation of Ai-hime itself, or ...... (in the work), who Ai-hime is. In the first episode, she was only depicted as a girl who appeared out of the cherry blossoms, and at that point I had only told Mr. Fukuda that she was a fairy (laughs). (Laughs.) In the third episode, I think we will find out what Ai Hime is in the IXA game system and what her purpose is.

It was a harvest to hear that the story of a yuri-like relationship between fighting girls was a direction originating from the character designer, Mari Araki. Also, will the third episode be based on peach blossoms? We look forward to the continuation of the story, which is sure to reveal many mysteries.

(Reporting and writing by Kiri Nakazato)