Haxon Daimaou 2020" - Why a sequel was made after 50 years [Watching the Animation Industry No.66

Haxon Daimaou 2020", a new version of "Haxon Daimaou" broadcast in 1969, has been airing on Yomiuri and Nippon Television since April. Up until now, there have been extra series and flash animations featuring Akubi, the daughter of Daimaou, but this is the first time in 50 years that a weekly 30-minute terrestrial TV animation has been broadcast. The cast has been completely renewed, and although one might expect a modern remake, it is a bold move to create a legitimate sequel set 50 years after the old one: .......
We asked Atsushi Nigorikawa, director, and Shingo Mogi, creative director, about their intentions for the new film and their impressions of the project.

The shocking looking "Dandy Demon King" is drawn by a separate team

───It is broadcast on Saturday evenings at 5:30 p.m., an excellent time slot for families and children, isn't it?

Nigorikawa: Most of the programs I have directed have been late-night animations. This time, the program is in a time slot that can be watched by a wide range of age groups, so I feel it is worthwhile.

───How did you come to be the director?

Mogi: The process is complicated, but "Haxon Daimaou 2020" was produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Nippon Animation. We decided to ask for your help because Director Nigorikawa was at NIHON ANIMATION, and because of how your past works matched up with ours.

Nigorikawa: Nippon Animation was the production site for this film. I started my career with Nippei, and even after going freelance, I have continued to work with Nippei. I was happy to be asked to direct a well-known work like "Haxon Daimao," but at the same time I felt a lot of pressure.


───What do you think of the content?

Nigorikawa: K-chan in the new film is the opposite of K-chan in the old film. She doesn't like to play outside much and thinks she knows what she's doing through the Internet and virtual things. He is a typical modern child.

Mogi: The old work depicted the standard of Showa-era children, so I thought I should depict the standard of today's children in this work. I try not to call it a sequel, but it is a worldview that is grounded in the old work. At first glance, it looks like a remake, but if you look at the content, you will see that Kanchan in the old work is a grandfather, and Kanchan in this work is a grandchild.

Nigorikawa: The new Kanchan is in the 5th grade of elementary school, so I think that children up to the 1st grade of junior high school will be able to relate to it the most. At the same time, there is a connection with the older works, so the adult generation should also be able to relate to Daima-O and Akubi. Our goal is to create a program that will be widely felt by both the children who are new to the series and the adults who remember the older works.

─ ─ The old "Haxon Daimao" has been rerun very frequently, and it is a popular work with uninterrupted collaborations with companies and products.

Mogi: As a company, we don't know exactly why it is so well-loved. From grandparents to children, it has the No. 1 recognition among the many Tatsunoko characters. Famously, we were adopted as the image character for a rhinitis remedy, and when you went to an otolaryngologist in town, you would find a Daima-O doll.

Nigorikawa: As a character design, it is very easy to understand. It is so easy to recognize at a glance, whether seen from afar or as a silhouette.

──Did you ever think of changing the familiar design for the new work?

Mogi: Yes, in the planning stage, there was a suggestion to consider the old work separately and take a completely new approach. I thought it would be a good idea to take a completely new approach. After a round of discussions, we settled on a design that retained the image of the old work.


───However, in the avant title, we see Daima-O, Akubi, and Akubi's younger brother Puuta, who have different body sizes from those in the main story.

Mogi: We added a new setting in which they take on the appearance you know so well when they pass through the jar and emerge into the real world. In the world beyond the jar, the flow of time is different from the real world, and the Daima-Oh is also a dandy. The tone of speech is completely different, but the same voice actors play the characters. Character design and drawing were done by a different team than in the main story.

─ So there is a drama going on in the magical world that is different from the daily life?

Nigorikawa: It's not really a drama, but more like a "corner. The avant-garde title of each episode begins with a section on the magical world. This corner becomes involved in the main story in the latter half of the show. So, while we keep the old characters in mind, we also have some surprises in store for those who already know them.

Mogi: We have decided to do various new things, not just the same as in the past, but also to attract people we have not been able to reach so far.