The Reason for the Decision to Distribute the Movie "Cry Me a Cat and Cover Me" on Netflix and the Anime Industry's Future Map---An Interview with Koji Yamamoto, President of Twin Engine

Studio Colorado's second animated feature film, "Cry Me a Cat" ("Crying Cat"), will be distributed exclusively on Netflix beginning Thursday, June 18, 2020.

This film was originally scheduled for theatrical release on Friday, June 5, but due to the spread of the new coronavirus, the form of announcement was changed from theatrical release to Netflix distribution, which caused quite a stir.

Akiba Research Institute conducted an interview with Koji Yamamoto, representative of Twin Engine, who was in charge of planning this film. Mr. Yamamoto, who was involved in the establishment of "Noitamina" during his time at Fuji Television and has been active as a pioneer in the Japanese animation business, thinks about the value of movies in the "with Corona era. ......

Studio Coloride to be in the position of "Post-Ghibli

─ ─ "Crying Cat" is the second animated feature film from Studio Colorado, following "Penguin Highway," which was released in theaters in 2018.

Yamamoto: This film was planned as a follow-up to "Penguin Highway," the "step" in Studio Colorado's "Hop, Step, Jump" series.
The situation has changed drastically due to the new coronavirus, but there was a strong will to produce original theatrical works, and I was determined to "create a lineup of works that would push Studio Colorado into the position of 'post-Ghibli'". I had been thinking about this since I retired from Fuji Television.

─ The film is set in Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture, which is famous for its earthen pipe slope and cats. What was the reason for choosing it?

Yamamoto: "Crying Cat" is a story about a cat named Okada, with whom I worked on "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. I am from Tokoname City, so we talked about doing it in Yamamoto's hometown this time.

In the past, Tokoname City did not promote cats that much, but when I left my hometown, huge beckoning cats started to be placed there. The city was originally famous as a "pottery town," but when I was a child, earthenware pipes piled up on the walls of houses' yards and snakes coming out of them were a common sight, so I didn't feel anything about it. But when I left my hometown, I realized that I was surrounded by scenic wonders.

If you look at it from a close-up, you can see the touristy chimneys; if you look at it from a closer perspective, you can see a huge pile of old clay pipes; and if you look at it from a cat's eye view, there are gaps in all sorts of places. As was the case with "Penguin Highway," Studio Colorado expresses a magic realism that slides continuously from reality to another world, and that is one of its charms.

─ This film was directed by two directors, Junichi Sato and Tomotaka Shibayama.

Yamamoto: The roles were divided between Junichi Sato, who was in charge of storyboarding and sound. Tomotaka Shibayama was mainly in charge of the work of going into the studio and looking at one cut at a time. This work began with the value of the relationship with Mari Okada, and when the initial concept was decided upon, Mr. Sato was also responsible for getting Ms. Okada on board. From that time on, Shibayama-san drew up an image board of how he would picture the magic realism with the cat world.

Mr. Sato-san also became an employee of Twin Engine as a result of this work. Mr. Sato is a veteran storyboard artist whose storyboarding skills have been known in the industry for a long time. When Mr. Sato was asked to storyboard one of our productions, there was such an uproar on the set.
I think the fact that Mr. Shibayama was there between Mr. Sato and the young animators at Studio Colorado made it possible for the relay to work well, and the freshness of Mr. Sato's storyboards was able to be incorporated into the animation.

─ What was your impression of the two lead actors (Mirai Shida and Natsuki Hanae)?

Yamamoto: I usually watch works without paying much attention to the voice actors, so I think that the ideal is not for the actors to be good at acting, but for them to be able to be seen as the characters without thinking about it, and the two lead actors embodied this perfectly.

In particular, I wondered, "Will people love the character of Muge?" This was one of my concerns even before the casting decision was made. There was a possibility that some of the performances might come off as too harsh, but I felt that Mr. Shida perfectly portrayed the naturalistic side of Mugue that Mr. Okada wanted to portray, and the way he reads the air by pretending to be unconcerned on the surface.

The Value of Films in the "with Corona Era

───This time, due to the impact of the new coronavirus, the film was changed from theatrical release to distribution on Netflix.

Yamamoto: Films are the pinnacle of the visual industry, and most people enter the industry because they have a passion for films. Studio Coloride has also been pursuing the purity that can only be achieved through film, so I think the creators were shocked that we had to postpone the originally scheduled release date due to the state of emergency declared.

On the other hand, if we were to continue making films, there is no guarantee that we would be able to release this film in the next few months, and even if we were able to release it, it might only be for a short period of time due to conflicts with other theatrical productions. In such an uncertain environment, the next film will probably be stuck in the back of the queue.

More than half of the staff involved in "Crying Cats" will also be involved in the next film, so if this film is not released to the public, we will not be able to summarize it and move on to the next film. With this in mind, I discussed with the directors that although I wanted to release the film in theaters, I wanted to distribute it first.

After that, I asked other staff members for their opinions, and we reached a consensus that they wanted to release the film at this time, even if we had to switch to distribution, so I approached the production committee.

─ How do you expect the value of movie theaters to change in the future?

Yamamoto: For example, people are basically shifting to the Internet, just as the high specs that used to be found in game arcades can now be played on smartphones.

Even in such a situation, the movie business is growing, with not an extreme decrease in the number of screens nationwide, but rather an increase and the construction of huge facilities. I think this is about "experience," which is the complete opposite of the convenience of playing games on a smartphone.

In simple terms, people take their children to the "Doraemon" movie on vacation, or go out as a couple. That demand will not disappear and cannot be replaced by anything else. I believe that the splendor of that movie culture will survive in the future through various innovations.

On the other hand, there are a certain number of people who say, "I watch new Pixar movies on Blu-ray. For those people who enjoy the visuals not as a cinematic experience but as if they were watching foreign dramas on Netflix, they have a high affinity with the Internet, so I think that movies watched by adults will be replaced by online distribution.
The existence of Netflix has accelerated the demand for distribution, and I believe that this polarization will continue to grow.

The "EOTA" Concept as a Receptacle for Creators

─ At the "TWINENGINE Conference 2020" held at the end of April, you also announced the establishment of a new corporation, "EOTA," which will serve as a large receiving center for studios and units.

Yamamoto: For example, it is impossible for Studio Colorado to continue making animated feature films without the will to do so, so we are trying to recruit people and strengthen the system for that purpose. But when we do that, we are not satisfied if all the staff can work for one film every few years. I think there is also a desire to make one music video by myself, or to do independent productions.

Since there are few creators who say, "I can spend two years just for this division of labor," we envisioned "EOTA" as a large receptacle for individual transmission, such as short films, rather than just a predetermined large series of feature films.

The other thing is that the studios in the group, such as Geno Studios and Lay-Duce, have been working hard to produce TV series, etc., but even before Corona, it has become difficult for any of the studios to continue producing works on their own. We are trying to make it possible to work together with other studios within the larger group structure of "EOTA".

However, our strategy is to "brand the studios," so we do not want customers to be aware of the "EOTA" name.

─ In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of creators distributing their animations on YouTube.

Yamamoto: Yes, that's right. For example, when there is a unit like an individual creator who is getting a lot of attention, they are held up by a number of powerful firms. The purpose of this is to ensure a certain freedom and nurture them, but there is a big gap between individual artists and commerce. I have long felt that there is a need for a mechanism to bridge this gap and for a studio where individual artists can be active.

I would like to see creators who normally do other work to make a living showcase their creativity in studios, which they might otherwise transmit on YouTube or SNS. We hope that "EOTA" will function as a receptacle for such creativity.

─ Finally, do you have a message for those who work in the animation industry and for the fans who are looking forward to the various works that will be released in the future?

Yamamoto: Just like ourselves, the animation industry is entering an era in which survival is at stake. I think it was always destined to be that way, but from now on, what has been allowed in the past will be ruined if we do not set our own position and think about it.

For example, freelance producers have been taking on a great deal of risk for some time now, but freelance animators generally had plenty of work, so I think they were able to draw whatever they wanted and set the intensity of their workload on their own without belonging to any one company.

That was partly due to the new coronavirus, so how will I maintain my creativity and stability in the future? I think we have no choice but to desperately think about it, and I would like to work together with people who have the will to do so, with "EOTA" serving as a receptacle for this.

Our message to those who look forward to our work is that we will continue to make anime for when daily life returns, but anime is what it is because it is so intensely supported by those who love it. I hope that you will continue to support us so that we can continue to make animation.

(Reporting and writing by Kounosuke Yoshino)