Tumgik
#mineko yamamoto
osharenippon · 4 months
Text
Shoujo Manga's Golden Decade (Part 2)
Shoujo manga, comics for girls, played a pivotal role in shaping Japanese girls’ culture, and its dynamic evolution mirrors the prevailing trends and aspirations of the era. For many, this genre peaked in the 1970s. But why?
Part 1
The Year of 24 Group
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Some of the best-selling work by the Year 24 Artists (l-to-r): Yasuko Aoike's "From Eroica with Love," Ryoko Yamagishi's "Arabesque," Mineko Yamada's "Minori no Shoujo," Toshie Kihara's "Yomie no Ishibume," Yumiko Oshima's "The Star of Cottonland," Yuuko Kishi's "Tamasaburo."
Back in the early '70s, there was the prevailing notion that manga was for young kids. Despite the variety in themes, big magazines like Margaret, Shoujo Club, Nakayoshi, and Ribon were theoretically aimed at elementary school-aged girls.
In practice, the reality was more nuanced. Due to being published in Weekly Margaret, "The Rose of Versailles" was for kids. And it did very well with them. Yet, its revolutionary romance also appealed to broader audiences, exemplifying the crossover potential of shoujo manga. It was the title that opened the door for what is known as "the golden age of shoujo," which was further cemented by several other groundbreaking hits.
These hits widened the shoujo manga field, and soon, other editorial houses also wanted to cash in. Shogakukan, which published the powerful Weekly Shonen Sunday, entered the shoujo market in the late '60s. Shueisha and Shogakukan also partnered to form a keiretsu and open the Hakusensha publisher which deals mostly with shoujo manga.
That is the context in which a batch of artists known as "The Magnificent 24 Group" rose. And they were another key reason as to why '70s shoujo made such a mark. These manga-kas introduced themes such as sci-fi and homosexuality to the segment, revolutionized its art, further explored historical and terror narratives, and generally broke barriers of what was possible in shoujo manga. Their work was intellectually challenging, philosophical, and, above all, fundamental for male manga critics and connoisseurs to finally take shoujo seriously.
The Year 24 Group refers to the fact most artists were born around 1949, which is known as the year 24 of the Showa era in the Japanese calendar. These women came of age during the time artists like Hideko Mizuno were debuting and doing revolutionary work in the shoujo field, and they were eager to follow their lead. The success of unorthodox hits like "The Rose of Versailles" and the emergence of new magazines enabled them to be bold.
The two artists who led the movement are Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya. Their shared house in Tokyo, known as the Oizumi Salon, became a gathering place for several young artists keen on breaking new grounds for shoujo manga-kas. These women became the Year 24 group. But there were other two people, besides the artists themselves, who were just as crucial for the existence of the movement.
Firstly, there was Junya Yamamoto. Yamamoto was a young male editor at Shogakukan who had risen through the ranks of the successful Shonen Sunday weekly manga magazine. Noticing they were lagging behind Shueisha and Kodansha in the manga segment for their lack of a robust shoujo presence, the editorial house appointed Yamamoto to launch Shoujo Comic (known as Sho-Comi) in 1968 and Bessatsu Shoujo Comic (known as Betsucomi) in 1970. However, he quickly ran into an issue: most successful shoujo artists already had exclusive contracts with the competing houses, and aspiring names were vying for positions at the already established magazines.
In 1969, the "God of manga," Osamu Tezuka, introduced Yamamoto to Keiko Takemiya, then a university student living in Tokushima City. Takemiya had spent her school years dreaming of becoming a manga-ka and participated extensively in the readers' corner section of COM. COM was an avant-garde manga magazine Tezuka founded to nourish young talents and publish stories without the typical restraints of more commercial shoujo and shonen publications. In her first year of college, Takemiya won a Shueisha's Weekly Margaret newcomer competition and had a work published in the magazine. Still, she was persuaded by her parents to focus on her studies instead and to leave manga as a side hobby.
Yamamoto, in turn, was impressed with her talent and convinced her to chase her dreams. Quickly, she found work in all three publishers and started simultaneously publishing in Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan's shoujo titles.
Meanwhile, Moto Hagio also grew up enamored with the manga world. During her college years, she had a work selected by Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret (Betsuma) through a competition, but she could not find a fixed slot in the magazine. Then, she got introduced to Kodansha's Nakayoshi editors, who were impressed by her talent. While she did start publishing short stories there, editors rejected most of her submitted work as they did not fit the magazine's mold. One day, an editor introduced her to Takemiya, who, overworked while working for several magazines, was in dire need of an assistant. The two hit off, and Takemiya, who until then had her permanent residence in far away Tokuma City but was planning a move to Tokyo, proposed they both live together. She also decided to introduce Hagio to risk-taker editor Yamamoto, who, impressed by her talent, encouraged her to pursue her path instead of trying to fit into the expected shoujo template.
Then there was Norie Masuyama, who first became acquainted with Moto Hagio before becoming Takemiya's manager. Hagio was from Fukuoka, while Masuyama was from Tokyo, but due to their similar interests, they became penpals. When Hagio first moved to Tokyo, Masuyama hosted her in her home in Oizumi. Eventually, Hagio introduced Masuyama to Takemiya, and the three of them became close. Because both were artists from outside of Tokyo, Masuyama suggested Keiko and Moto should live together, and she was the one who alerted them of a house in her Oizumi neighborhood being up for rent.
Tumblr media
Keiko Takemiya and Moto Hagio, estranged since the late '70s, revealed details of their feud in autobiographic books: Takemiya's "Shonen no na wa Gilbert" (2019) and Hagio's "Ichidou kiri no Oizumi no Hanashi" (2021). The dispute, stemming from Takemiya accusing Hagio of plagiarism, was fueled by Takemiya's jealousy during a challenging creative and personal period. While Takemiya appears self-aware and analytical in her account, Hagio's book indicates she hasn't forgiven Keiko, revealing unresolved feelings. The publications triggered intense online debates.
Masuyama came from a sophisticated family that was very involved in arts and, from a young age, got familiarized with the world of music, literature, and movies. Her refined taste impressed Hagio and Takemiya. At a time when Japanese girls dreamed of Europe, Masuyama actually had friends living there and was up-to-date on the latest European trends. She also had a lot of knowledge of European cinema and literature.
As their rented house was old and rusty, Hagio and Takemiya started spending a lot of time at Masuayama's house across the street. She introduced them to films, songs, books, and paintings. It was Masuyama's taste -- including her interest in movies and books depicting gay romance and her desire for girls' comics to have bolder and riskier themes -- that helped to instill a passion in both artists to go further than the safe cliches usually depicted in shoujo works.
In 1970, editor Yamamoto convinced Takemiya to sign an exclusive contract with Shogakukan. The following year, Hagio also started publishing for Sho-comi and Betsucomi. Their work would attract a loyal fanbase, and aspiring manga-ka would flood their mailboxes. So Takemiya made a decision: to select female artists around her and Hagio's age to mentor and train at their shared home. Thus, the Oizumi Salon was born.
Despite attracting attention, Takemiya and Hagio's works were not always popular. In fact, they'd often rank last in readers' popularity polls, which tend to be all-deciding in manga magazines. But they persevered, and Yamamoto trusted them.
Tumblr media
Keiko Takemiya aimed to establish herself with a top-rated series through "Pharaoh no Haka" (left) in order to garner the necessary respect from editors to write the series she wanted, "Kaze to ki no uta" (right). Despite her resolute efforts, "Pharaoh no Haka" never secured the top spot in Sho-comi's readers' poll, peaking at #2. Nevertheless, the series succeeded in elevating her fame and earning her the respect she sought.
In 1972, Hagio had an idea for a serial focused on a male European vampire. However, as she wasn't a famous artist, Yamamoto only allowed her to publish one-shots. So she came up with a plan: to write three interconnected standalone stories. To circumvent another restraint - shoujo editors' avoidance of male leads - she put the first story focus on Marybelle, Edgar's sister. Once Yamamoto realized what Hagio was doing, he was amused and allowed her to continue. And so, "The Poe Clan" series began. In 1974, Shogakukan finally started publishing their shoujo titles in compiled paperback format. In another proof of trust, Yamamoto chose Hagio's "The Poe Clan" as the first title of the Flower Comics imprint.
To everybody's surprise, "The Poe's Clan," in paperback format, was a groundbreaking success, almost instantaneously selling out its initial printing. At the time, Hagio had just started a new serialization, "The Heart of Thomas," a tragic gay love story set in an all-boys German school. As usual for her, the story wasn't all that popular with Sho-Comi's readership, and its lackluster results in the reader's poll almost got the series discontinued. But the notable success of "The Poe's Clan" tankobon assured editors, who allowed Hagio to continue the series. "The Heart of Thomas" went on to become another best-seller and a seminal shoujo title. It also attracted critical acclaim and a loyal fanbase to Moto Hagio, which in turn helped put the Year 24 artists -- who were pretty good at self-promotion -- in the spotlight.
Hagio, Takemiya, and several other "Year 24" authors drifted between being popular and underground. They had a sizable, loyal fanbase that followed them and turned several of their works into best-sellers. On the other hand, by finding a way around the usual shoujo traditions, they weren't particularly popular with the average shoujo reader, ordinary young girls across the country.
Their peculiar position forced them to be clever, so they could fulfill their creative desires as well as their editors' expectations, who were there to make sure the stories published were satisfying to the core readership. Takemiya wrote "Pharaoh no Haka," an Egypt-set romantic adventure, to be well-accepted so that she could then dedicate herself to doing what she truly wanted in "Kaze to Ki no Uta," a gay love story set in a 19th Century French boarding school.
Tumblr media
Initially overlooked in popular shoujo magazines, Moto Hagio gained success with "The Poe Clan" in compiled format, launching Shogakukan's Flower Comics imprint. Over time, she became a highly respected manga artist, the only manga-ka alongside legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki to receive a Person of Cultural Merit recognition. In 2016, marking 40 years of the conclusion of her first hit, she released a new "The Poe Clan" chapter in Flower magazine, selling out the increased print run of 50,000 copies in a day. This success marked a significant shift for Hagio, who, despite not being a major magazine seller in earlier years, became a valuable asset to the struggling publishing industry. Following the one-shot, she released three more chapters and, in 2022, began a new sequel series.
Besides Takemiya and Hagio, several other notable shoujo artists who went on to become huge names used to frequent the Oizumi Salon and were part of the "Year 24 group." In the early '70s, most published their work on Shogakukan's titles, which had a "free policy" on storytelling compared to Margaret, Shoujo Friend, Nakayoshi, and Ribon. Then, as Shogakukan started being more strict to properly compete with the market leaders, several moved to newly launched Hakusensha titles Hana to Yume and LaLa. Influential names that were part of the movement included Yumiko Oshima, Yasuko Aoike, and Ryoko Yamagashi, among several others. 
Despite their unorthodox preferences, they weren't necessarily trying to rebel against the system, they simply wanted to put out good quality work they believed in. Like other Japanese girls from that era, they were fascinated by Europe, and plenty of their stories took place on the continent. In 1972, Hagio, Takemiya, Yamagishi, and Masuyama made a 45-day trip to Europe, visiting the Soviet Republic, France, and several other countries, which had a profound impact on them. Still, their narratives were widely innovative. They often had male leads, introduced sci-fi, "boys' love," and other bolder genres to shoujo manga, and contributed to the evolution of shoujo illustration. Above all, this group of artists was the one who made clear to naysayers, once and for all, that shoujo manga is indeed an art form.
But while their influence in manga history is undisputed, other significant -- and much more commercial -- manga movements also shook the shoujo manga world during that decade.
A Need for Drama
When talking about '70s shoujo manga, it's common for minds to drift directly to iconic series from that time, like "Candy Candy" and "Rose of Versailles." But, unlike in present times, in that decade, the manga industry's focus wasn't on successful, long-running series but on the artists themselves.
As opposed to the struggling publishing marketing of today, major shoujo manga magazines all sold over 1 million copies during that decade. Manga in tankobon (standalone paperback) format was turning into a money-maker field, but being able to sell paperback was very much secondary compared to being a name capable of selling magazines. Keiko Takemiya and Moto Hagio, from the Amazing Year 24 Group, would go on to become household names and had best-selling series, but, at the time, they couldn't compete with the actual shoujo manga superstars who were the signboard artists of the Kodansha and Shueisha's shoujo titles, the ones who actually moved publications. These artists' work was the most significant indicator of what the mainstream readers wanted and aspired to back then.
Tumblr media
In a December/1975 issue, weekly Josei Seven spotlights the new generation of superstar shoujo manga artists: (l-to-r) Moto Hagio, Machiko Satonaka, Ryoko Ikeda, Yukari Ichijo, Keiko Takemiya, and Ryoko Takahashi. While contemporary manga-kas are highly discreet about their lives and do not even tend to show their faces, in the '70s, they were treated like superstars, and, in the article, the manga-kas openly discuss their love life and details of their high incomes, including how much they had in the bank and how much they spent on rent and daily utilities.
For Kodansha, the top shoujo artist was definitely Machiko Satonaka, who won the Best New Artist competition in 1964, when she was still a freshman in high school. There have been several high-schoolers making their debut in the industry throughout the decades, but, as the first, Satonaka caused a media frenzy. Her ascent gave confidence to countless other young women -- from "Glass Mask"'s Suzue Michi to Keiko Takemiya (who also won a smaller prize in the same competition) -- to pursue their manga careers.
The attention surrounding Satonaka, who went on to become a public personality with TV hosting gigs and other appearances, is another interesting, nostalgic phenomenon. In the past, it was common for manga superstars to have a strong media presence. Nowadays, the norm is the complete opposite: for manga-kas to be highly private, no matter how famous their work is.
In any case, Satonaka quickly proved herself to be more than a sensational news story as she created extremely popular mangas for Kodansha shoujo titles like Shoujo Friend and Nakayoshi. Her style, widely accepted by readers, became symbolical of the story-telling the '70s girls craved: extremely dramatic with emotionally driven plots and lots of bombastic twists and developments.
In his book on subcultures and otaku culture, sociologist Shinji Miyadai notes that '70s shoujo manga can be divided into very few categories. There is the category the Year 24 artists dominated -- which he defines as the "Moto Hagio domain" -- of works with a lot of artistic value, up-to-par with literature. And then there's the far more commercially viable "Satonaka domain," which represented the mainstream taste.
In the "Satonaka category," the artist depicts a stormy life story as a proxy experience for the readers. Of course, there are universal elements of love, friendship, and insecurity that girls can directly relate to. Still, these stories provide adventures that readers could never experience in the real world. 
These facets of the "Satonaka domain" are present in almost all the best-selling, mainstream shoujo series of the '70s, like the revolutionary historical romance of "The Rose of Versailles," the dramatic rags-to-riches story of the beautiful orphan in "Candy Candy," and the rise of an ordinary girl to the top of the sports elite in "Ace wo Nerae." In all of these titles, you'll also spot other defining characteristics of '70s shoujo: the death of beloved characters and beloved female characters with voluminous blonde hairs and huge, sparkling eyes (a legacy of Macoto Takahashi, the illustrator who, throughout the '50s, created the art that directly influenced subsequent shoujo history).
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Yukari Ichijo was the most prominent Ribon signboard artist throughout the '70s, creating popular mangas like "Suna no Shiro" (left) and "Designer (right). Young girls across the country adored her work despite the adult drama in it.
Since these stories are extraordinary and dream-like, many of them use Europe or the US as their setting, another reflection of the times when Japanese youth dreamed with the West.
While Satonaka was Kodansha's star, Shueisha also had its top shoujo artists. For Margaret, it was Ryoko Ikeda who kept creating memorable dramatic manga after the conclusion of "The Rose of Versailles." Other classic '70s dramatic works published in the weekly included Kyoko Ariyoshi's ballet drama "Swan." Meanwhile, over at Ribon, no one shone brighter than Yukari Ichijo. Ichijo's works, which young girls across Japan devoured, contained a lot of adult drama with adult characters. Her 1974 manga, "Love Game," had a bed scene. One of her most celebrated works of the decade, "Suna no Shiro" (Sand Castle), dealt with incest. While Ichijo is the one who stood the test of time, another artist who also enjoyed great popularity in Ribon following this formula was Kei Nogami. 
These mangas served as an escape for girls, who left their ordinary school life behind for a few hours to embark on extraordinary adventures. In contrast, one of the main genres in contemporary shoujo is unassuming, everyday high school romance. How could the shoujo segment go through such a drastic transformation? The reasons for that also dates back to the 1970s.
Part 3
35 notes · View notes
brickme · 7 months
Note
I was rereading your post on otome-tique manga and found the divide between y24 and stuff by artists like Riyoko Ikeda very interesting! Recently, I've been reading Kihara Toshie's Mari to Shingo. Kihara is listed as a member of the Year 24 group frequently. If my memory serves, Marishin was published in Lala (which checks out for y24) but her work feels so much lighter than the other y24 stuff I've read. I was wondering if you have a take on where Kihara lies on the y24, epic-drama, and otome-tique scale? (Or if you could list the artists who are true y24, I'm so lost.)
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I often find myself confused by who is and isn't considered y24. Misinformation, namely that Riyoko Ikeda was a member of the group, is so wide-spread. I apologize if you've answered anything like this before. I really enjoy reading your posts!
Hello! Yeah, this is pretty interesting, isn't it, and I'm going to post this answer publicly (I hope you won't mind) because maybe other people are interested, too.
At the very basis of it, what people miss about the Year 24 Group is this: it's a term a group of female manga artists and aspiring manga artists came up with while they were hanging out in a small apartment that Takemiya and Hagio shared, called the Oizumi salon. So, to be really pedantic about it, anyone who wasn't there wasn't a member. It's like how anyone who didn't actually live at Tokiwa-so or hung out there isn't a member of the Tokiwa-so group of manga artists. It's a thing that has a geographic origin.
It's not quite that simple, though, and Takemiya has said that she wanted the term to encompass shojo manga artists who weren't part of the Oizumi salon per se but were nonetheless, at the time, writing works in a similar vein. In particular, the editor Yamamoto Junya recruited many of the year 24 group artists for Shogakukan's Shojo Comic line of magazines (I think I wrote about this in one of my previous posts... Shogakukan was a late-comer to shojo manga, so they had to recruit new talent to write manga for them and let them write pretty much what they wanted), and many of these artists would later go on to write for Hakusensha's Hana to yume/Lala. The Year 24 Group also have in common that they leaned more or less heavily into shonen-ai.
Ikeda Riyoko doesn't fall into any of these categories. She was never at the Oizumi salon, she didn't write for Shogakukan or Hakusensha, she wasn't really into shonen-ai, she just wasn't... in that circle, I guess.
As for a list, I think Japanese wikipedia has a pretty good list.
Takemiya Keiko
Hagio Moto
Yamagishi Ryoko
Oshima Yumiko (these are the "big four")
Aoike Yasuko (I actually disagree with her being Year 24 Group but people do like putting her here and she hasn't protested as far as I know; I think the only reason she's here is because she wrote some of the first manga focused on male/male relationships, but I have to insist that she was not a shonen-ai artist)
Kihara Toshie
Yamada Mineko
Sasaya Nanae
Kimura Minori
Sakata Yasuko
Sato Shio
Hatsu Akiko
...and a few others you probably have never heard about!
I hope maybe that was useful. :) It's a somewhat loose cultural/historical term, to be sure, but I think you do need to keep in mind 1. the Oizumi salon, 2. Shojo Comic and Hana to yume/Lala, and 3. shonen-ai when you try to define it.
49 notes · View notes
rikeijo · 6 months
Text
Today's translation #403
Ferbi vol. 41, Sayo Yamamoto's interview
Part 15.
-- You said just that, didn't you? (laugh)
Y: And then, for the first time, somebody had really listened to me. The producer told me that he'd just got a request from Asahi TV and that they wanted to make a sports anime. When I heard that, I thought that I had to make an anime about Grand Prix series - there was no other option. If I made Grand Prix series the theme of the anime, I thought that it should work just fine, if GP Final was in the final episode, and 12 episodes should be just enough to construct the story.
-- And from that moment, the Yuri!!! project has started for good, is that right? The (original) screenplay was created by a mangaka, Mitsurou Kubo, but why have you decided to work with her?
Y: At first, I was planning to work with a scriptwriter, but I thought that I wouldn't be able to find anybody, who is as obsessed with figure skating, as I am (laugh). At that time I really loved a radio podcast that Kubo-san was doing with Nomachi Mineko-san, All night Nippon, and I were listening to them very often. I was just a one listener, but I selfishly thought that I could become good friends with her. And then Kubo-san started to talk about figure skating on that podcast and it was really interesting. I knew that she had created manga storyboards that were used as screenplay for "Moteki" the movie, but when I read about her more, I saw that she had a long-running manga series in "Weekly Shonen Magazine", so I could visualize that she should be able to write a screenplay for a TV anime series, as well. Another important thing was that she had experience in being involved with works based on somebody else's original ideas. I thought that she must be used to working with other people.
13 notes · View notes
majokkoradio · 5 years
Audio
“Presea” - Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland - March 20, 2019
22 notes · View notes
ryokuchagumi · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media
シナノ企画 (Shinano Kikaku)
人間革命 (The Human Revolution)
山本峯子 (Mineko Yamamoto)
0 notes
gotojobin · 5 years
Photo
Tumblr media
#IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInaDungeon #IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInaDungeon2 #DungeonNiDeaiWoMotomeruNoWaMachigatteuDarouKa2 #DanMachi2 #オタク2 #FamiliaMyth2 #FamiliaMyth #DungeonNiDeaiWoMotomeruNoWaMachigatteuDarouKa #DanMachi #ダンまち #ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか #KingDevinJoseph #キングデビンジョセフ #おたく #Otaku #オタク #GotoJobin #後藤Jobin #デヴィンジョセフ王 #Weeb #WeebDar #王デヴィンジョセフ 1. Episode 12 Screenplay Yaskawa Shogo Storyboard Sayama Seiko Directing Takashima Daisuke Sayama Seiko General Animation Director Shigeki Kimoto Drawing Director Masaaki Yamamoto Sho Asakawa Saito Atsushi Ueda Mineko 18 tiers where monsters are not born ,Labyrinth paradise under resort. From life, the bells who reached the safety zone (safety point) were welcomed there by Loki Familia, including Eyes. They were able to reunite with Hestia and Liu, and in a time of rest and peace in a hurry, the bells heal their wounds and tiredness. But they didn't know -- in the shortest possible time, they reached The Labyrinth of Paradise (Under Resort) and were treated to loki familia, the largest orario. How much envy and jealousy of adventurers - and how to bring in malice. 2. Episode 12 Screenplay Yaskawa Shogo Storyboard Seiko Sayama Director Daisuke Takashima Seiko Sayama General Drawing Director Shigeki Kimoto Drawing Director Masaaki Yamamoto Sho Asakawa Atsushi Saito Minedo Ueda 18 levels where no monsters are born, "Labyrinth of Paradise (Under Resort)". From their lives, the bells who arrived at the safety zone (safety point) will be welcomed by the Loki Familia, including Eyes. The bells can safely reunite with Hestia and Liu, soak in the time of rest and peace and heal wounds and fatigue. However, they didn't know--that they reached the Labyrinth Paradise (Under Resort) in the shortest amount of time were treated by Oralio's largest Loki Familia ... how much adventurers envy and 嫉妬 ――And how to call in bad faith. https://www.instagram.com/p/B09UOrpHqIqT3qgz_9IL_U5agpTAFXuN9XDtzE0/?igshid=tl1gu6pv747
0 notes
toraonice · 7 years
Text
Yuri on Ice interview translation - PASH! 2017/05 (p24-25)
I am pleased to bring you the very first interview with director Sayo Yamamoto!!! You don’t know how much I’ve been waiting for this... This one is pretty general because of course she has never been interviewed before so they are asking her the basics, but it’s very interesting to finally hear things from her perspective too, since she’s the one who started it all. More interviews with her will be appearing in other magazines in the near future, I’m looking forward to those ones too.
Also, I believe a bright future is to be expected for Yuri on Ice, since she seems to have lots of plans...!! (I was shivering typing out the translation, lol)
Translation is under the cut.
***If you wish to share this translation please do it by reblogging or posting a link to it*** 
***Re-translating into other languages is ok but please mention that this post is the source***
Interview (first appearance in media!) The world of “Yuri on Ice” that director Yamamoto wanted to create With 8 notebooks full of notes in one hand, director Sayo Yamamoto has answered our interview for the first time. We have asked her how this new animation that no one had ever seen before was born.
I was convinced that this would become an animation work no one has seen before.
I want to turn figure skating into animation!!!
—First of all, could you tell us why you decided to create an anime about figure skating?
I’ve always liked figure skating. In the beginning I was a light fan who only watched it on TV, but little by little I started dedicating an extraordinary amount of time to it. When drawing action scenes in a storyboard I began to add figure skating elements, like “if I put a movement similar to the flying camel spin here it might be interesting” (LOL). Around the time I created “LUPIN the Third -Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna-“ (2012) I couldn’t hold back those feelings anymore, and I considered the possibility of creating an anime about figure skating to broadcast at the same time as the Sochi Olympics. However, since most people said that “figure skating requires a lot of animation frames and it would be very difficult to animate for a TV series”, I couldn’t find anyone who agreed to work on the project and two years passed. In the meantime I tried to incorporate figure skating into various works, like the OP of “Persona 5”, but I still strongly felt that I wanted to create an anime all about it. At the time of the Sochi Olympics I met a producer who was looking for a project, and when, without any expectation, I tried to propose my idea, maybe because of the Olympic mood (LOL), they told me that it sounded interesting. —Could you tell us how you decided to invite Mitsurou Kubo to join the staff?
First of all, when I came up with the idea of “a figure skater in a difficult situation and the athlete he admires, who is also his rival, becoming his coach”, I thought that Kubo-san would be able to draw it in a fascinating way. In the movie “Moteki*” (2011) she worked on the scenario in the form of a manga storyboard, and above all, I was a listener of her radio “All Night Nippon**”. I just had the feeling that with her I would be able to create an interesting story. [*translator’s note: The movie “Moteki” is based on the manga by Mitsurou Kubo] [**translator’s note: The exact name of the program is “Kubo Mitsurou, Noumachi Mineko no All Night Nippon”, it aired for almost 2 years between 2012-2014 and then for about 5 months in 2015] —What was it about her that attracted you?
I was often impressed by what she said. What I look for in an anime script is how many dialogues with a punch line you are able to insert. I can think about the outline of a story by myself, but I wanted to create it with someone who would be able to add punchy and impressive dialogues that would actually make the characters come alive. Kubo-san has done manga serializations for shounen manga magazines for a long time and also has experience drawing works created by other authors, therefore I thought that discussing together we could be able to create a powerful work. However, she was never involved in the creation of an anime, and I did understand that it would be challenging. The producer told me “wouldn’t it be better to add one more scriptwriter?”, but when I asked whether there was another person who was as passionate about figure skating as me I was told “there isn’t” (LOL). Since there was no other choice, I decided to study scriptwriting and create the series composition myself. Just at that time Kubo-san’s ongoing serialization ended, so I decided to ask her. We are also adjusting the animation based on the acting.
—How did production of the series advance, approximately?
I first came up with an outline of the full series, and talking with Kubo-san about that we decided the details and she drew the manga storyboard for episodes 1-5. But from episode 6 onwards it was like a venture into an unknown world (LOL). In the GP (Grand Prix) series I at least wanted to have 6 athletes compete in every episode. An anime episode is 20 min. 10 sec., and an actual SP (short program) is 2 min. 50 sec. When I ordered the music I had it shortened to about 2 minutes, but in the programs I wanted to incorporate all figure skating elements, so I asked the choreographer (Kenji) Miyamoto-sensei to adjust the time with transition parts and spins. However, since we still needed to make it shorter, when I created the composition first of all I calculated the exact time a character would skate, the exact time the following character would start skating and so on… all of it also considering flubbed jumps and such. Then we discussed the story more in detail and decided the elements and scenes we absolutely wanted to insert and the position of lines. Even so, when I translated this into the anime storyboard it was still too long, and editing required an exorbitant amount of time. The person who was in charge of it, Tomoki Nagasaka, is an outstanding editor who also has experience working in live action movies, so he managed to work it out somehow, but we really spent a huge amount of time on that every week. —Why did you decide to use original songs for the performances?
I thought that if we used existing songs people would already have their own impression of them based on real athletes who skated to them before, so they might end up comparing them to reality and not be able to enjoy them fully. We’re creating an original anime, it would be a pity if something like that happened and added pressure, wouldn’t it? I believed it would make more sense, as an anime, to create programs that no one has ever seen before, with songs that no one has ever heard before. —Could you tell us what you talked about with sound director Shimizu at the time of recording?
I have already worked with Shimizu-san in “LUPIN”, he’s very passionate about acting. He has the ability to organize actors, he read the story of “Yuri on Ice” enthusiastically and understood it fully, and on top of that he can even come up with things that I couldn’t think of, so I was sure I could entrust him with the job. While checking the acting, when I felt something wasn’t right most of the times Shimizu-san felt the same, therefore I trusted his judgement. “Yuri on Ice” has comical deformed parts too, but when we chose the cast we were careful to select voice actors who could act naturally. All of them were very skilled, so their acting was never drastically different from what I imagined. —Was there anything that impressed you during recording?
The voice actors always performed even better than we expected, so it happened that we changed the animation based on the acting. They were all subtle things, but that’s actually difficult. Anyone can easily be affected by a powerful line, so when a character says it you already get an impression of them, but a fine performance is what makes the difference and makes you feel that the character is really there, not just “a character inside an anime”. As long as I can I want to continue “Yuri on Ice”.
—What scenes impressed you in the anime?
What made me realize that this anime would become something amazing is Victor’s skating scene in episode 1. When we were editing this part, I was convinced that this would become an animation work no one has seen before. Of course I was confident even before that, but when I saw it turn into an actual 20 min. 10 sec. film I fully realized that we were creating something new. It’s not something I normally do, but at that time I told the producer “this anime is going to be amazing, it will definitely be successful!”. Usually, even if I think so myself, I don’t say it until the series is completed. However, their reaction was very weak, like “the schedule is already crazy, what are you saying?”… (LOL). Especially when it’s an original work, it happens often that the director is the only person who can see the whole picture. Also, if other people tell you right away “I know!”, “that’s nice!”, most of the times it means that it’s something they have already seen somewhere. That’s why on the contrary, when I got a weak response it made me confident that I was creating something new, something no one has ever imagined before. —Could you tell us about the ED?
For the ED song I ordered something that “could be played as the final song of an ice show or during the 6 minute warm-up”. Regarding the footage, first of all I reckoned it would be too much work to use skating scenes, therefore I thought we could use still pictures that had an impact and that could not fit in the actual anime. Many figure skaters use the SNS, so I thought it would be interesting to use that as a concept. For example, when we went location hunting in Karatsu I wanted to use the shower place we saw there, but since after all we couldn’t fit it in the anime, I asked to use it in the ED. In Almaty, the place where Otabek is, the subway is very deep, almost like a shelter. All the pictures were chosen based on the idea “a skater from this country could do this in this place”. (Yuuichirou) Hayashi-san took all these scattered ideas and organized them neatly. —I was a bit surprised to know that Otabek uses the SNS too.
He definitely does. Many foreign skaters have an account. For them it’s normal to show what they are doing. Otabek too is making full use of lots of SNS. I think that for skaters who have their base outside of their home country and travel the world SNS are also a way to keep connected to their friends and families. —The fireworks scene in the ED is also impressive.
That was Hayashi-san’s idea. The three of them weren’t actually together in Hasetsu in summer, so that scene is not something that happened at a certain time, it’s more like an imaginary world. Hayashi-san has good observation skills and the pictures he creates are always very convincing. He has the power to make you think that this might have actually happened. “This character might be doing this” is something that anyone could come up with, but Hayashi-san is able to show you one step ahead of that. —Could you tell us about the reading play that is going to be performed at the April 29 event?
Kubo-san and I conceived the basic ideas, and I was able to order the script from Kimiko Ueno-san, who among the people I know is the one who can write the craziest stories. I worked with Ueno-san in “Space Dandy” (2014) and I heard that she enjoyed “Yuri on Ice” until the end. I think it will be pretty crazy (LOL). —What about the future of the anime?
I’m being told “let’s continue as soon as possible” (LOL). I’ve already decided what to do next. I came up with it while doing the video editing for episode 10, but what I’m thinking is something grand, and I’m wondering, what will happen if I really do all of that…? At this moment, my intention is to continue “Yuri on Ice” as long as I can. —Could you let us know some information about the next releases?
The bonus footage of the last volume and Kubo-san’s manga that is going to be distributed as bonus for purchasing all the volumes are both awesome. The details will be announced soon, but I believe fans of Yurio and Otabek are going to be especially pleased. It will also include recording footage of Stéphane Lambiel’s appearance in the last episode! It’s precious footage that I took with my iPad during recording. Also, (character designer & chief animation director Tadashi) Hiramatsu-san and (animation director Noriko) Itou-san are doing their best fixing the animation, they’re having an immense amount of pictures redrawn. There are no ugly Victors in the BD/DVDs. In general, everything is being brushed up. It’s possible that the relationships between the characters too might look different in some instances. Therefore, if you are unsure about buying the volumes, I would recommend that you do. Thank you very much!
By the way, since she talked a lot about the ending footage, I’ll link you the interview with Yuuichirou Hayashi that I translated from Animage some time ago, as he talks more in detail about how it was created. You can find it here.
2K notes · View notes
nikifoorov · 7 years
Text
Interview With “Yuri!!! on ICE” Creator Sayo Yamamoto
By Lachlan Johnston
Let’s talk about your latest animated series, “Yuri!!! on ICE”, and jump right into the deep-end of it. First off, in the credits there’s a section under the title of “Name (Rough Sketch)”, but what exactly entailed for this position? Both your name, as well as the established mangaka Misturo Kubo are both listed under this “Name” title, rather than the more traditional “screenplay”. Could you tell us why it is that you chose to work under this title?
Well, I originally sat down and thought about the structure and plot of the series; following this myself and Ms. Kubo worked out the details for episodes 1 – 5. From episode 6 onwards however, it was a totally different dimension (laughs). In the Grand Prix, we wanted to have at least six skaters go up against each other. The actual episode of the series ran for about 20 minutes and 10 seconds, with the actual short programs running for about 2 minutes and 50 seconds, while the free programs would run for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
When we ordered the music, we reduced the length of it to about 2 minutes. In a bid to keep all of the elements from the skating program, we had our choreographer Kenji Miyamoto make adjustments to transitions and spins so it would all fit the cut. Even then, we still had to make it shorter; this is where we decided how many minutes each character would skate, we pretty much calculated absolutely everything. Then both Ms. Kubo and I decided on the key elements we wanted to incorporate into each episode, and would write them into the plot. After all these discussions, this was the point in which Ms. Kubo would start writing the names.
When comparing a “name” to a “script”, the sketches are kind of like stage directions. It’s as if each drawing or sketch represented a different movement or scene. As a matter of fact, these “names” were the script. Try not to overthink it though, it’s essentially just the same thing as a regular script… (laughs). Given the nature of “names” however, they actually helped a whole lot when we began drawing details such as facial expressions for the characters.
Generally when an anime is created, it’s based on a pre-existing manga series or light novel, making it a little easier to work with. With “Yuri!!! on ICE” however, there was no source manga to be used as a basis. So the thought of you bringing on board a manga artist to work with you on an original anime was quite revolutionary. Where was it this idea came from?
When I first thought of the project, I was considering working together with a screenwriter, thus taking the traditional route. I quickly realized however that screenwriters are typically working on multiple projects simultaneously, so I felt as though it would be difficult to find someone who could dedicate all their time and think about figure skating as seriously as myself (laughs). Right around that time, I was avidly listening to a radio show called “All Night Nippon”, which featured both Ms. Kubo and Mineko Noumachi. Even though I was just a listener, I always thought I could probably become good friends with Ms. Kubo (laughs).
Eventually I heard her talk about figure skating on the radio, and I thought her perspective was extremely interesting. I knew she had contributed to the 2011 film “Moteki” as a screenwriter in the same “name” format we utilized. However, after doing some further research, I found out she had been writing for “Shonen Magazine” here in Japan for quite some time. It was after this discovery that I started to picture her writing scripts for a TV series. Admittedly, it was also a huge bonus to know that she was experienced in making manga based on novels as well. I had this idea that she must be accustomed to collaborating and creating various projects with others.
Were you acquainted with Ms. Kubo from the beginning?
No, not at all. I had previously made a PV for Japanese singer/songwriter Yasuyuki Okamura, and at the time Ms. Kubo was writing creating special manga boards as a bonus with Okamura’s releases. At a later point, I was invited for drinks with Mr. Okamura, and I mentioned me listening to Ms. Kubo on the radio, where he then mentioned him having her contact information (laughs). I guess you could say that my first real contact with Ms. Kubo was through this discussion with Mr. Okamura.  
“Yuri!!! on ICE” has been met with much praise internationally, and not just because of it’s figure skating theme. It features a diverse cast of foreign characters throughout the anime, and whilst that isn’t exactly very special in and of itself, it’s believed that they were drawn and animated extremely naturally. It isn’t exactly something that is done often in Japan, so was this done with a certain demographic in mind?
Actually, we weren’t thinking about a market demographic at all (laughs). It’s impossible to write about figure skating without depicting foreign characters, which is how that happened. What I always wanted to do was recreate and depict the stories of the top class skaters in each seasons final competitions. So it was kind of inevitable that the setting would take place on a global scale.
I went to the Figure Skating Championships which was held in the Czech Republic this past January and happened to see a spectator in cosplay. They were minding their own business, but I saw them in the hallways dressed like Viktor. I accidentally yelled out “Wow! It’s Viktor!” and they ended up hearing me, so they asked if I wanted to take a photo with them. I answered yes, and we ended up taking a picture together. I asked if they knew “Yuri!!! on ICE” and they said they knew about the show (laughs). Later on I saw the same person at the station, but this time they were dressed as Otabek… waiting and sitting there, just like Otabek would. It was really cute honestly.
It’s almost like there’s a totally different feeling when interacting with foreign fans, right?
Exactly! It wasn’t like they were jokingly going to the tournament wearing an outfit that just happened to look like cosplay either. I was completely overwhelmed with joy when I realized that people were starting to take interest in the sport of figure skating because they watched “Yuri!!! on ICE”. I’m sure you’re aware, but I’m not necessarily promoting the wearing of cosplay at figure skating tournaments. We wouldn’t want to distract the competitors, would we? (Laughs)
Since this was the first ever anime to revolve around the world of figure skating, there must have been quite a few challenges. After all, animating figure skating would appear to be an incredibly difficult process. Did MAPPA know what they were getting themselves into right from the early proposal stages of the project?
You know, there’s no real guarantee that any original anime will be a success. I realize how difficult it can be just to get a proposal through, but I thought that if I ever made something, I would just throw it out there regardless of how reckless it may seem (laughs). I believe it’s important that when proposing such an idea, you take a moment to think and verbalize as many interesting ideas as you possibly can.
As for whether or not the production staff were aware of the difficulty of the figure skating scenes, we had already given the work orders for the songs and the choreography during the series construction stage, so I’m sure they were aware. There were moments however where I was asked to reduce some aspects during production when the team were struggling to get the work done.  
How was the planning originally decided?
It was around the year 2012 when I started having these desires to make an anime about figure skating. I was previously the director for a project called “Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine’, and it was during that process that I decided my next animated project would be about something I truly care about, which was of course figure skating. There were often times when people would approach me and ask if I had any original ideas, and when I would suggest a figure skating anime, they would typically reject the thought (laughs). Usually they’d simply shake their head due to the sheer difficulty of such a project. I’d also get a lot of questions regarding whether it would be a “student figure skating club”.
When talking about modern anime that share similar themes, such as “Yowamushi Pedal” and “Haikyuu!!”, it’s not often that you’ll see professionals of the sport being drawn, but I think that’s just the style of anime. With this work however, you flipped that convention on its head, and I think we all found that extremely interesting.
Thank you very much! When you’re in the process of planning an anime, you get a large amount of pressure to make the main characters young, and if the story is set in a modern time, they inevitably leads to the character being a student. I think that’s why a lot of the people who aren’t interested in figure skating thought this would be about a school club. On top of that, I feel as though people thought it would be easier to simply jump on the bandwagon of previous anime that have found success with amateur sports clubs. I also had a lot of people telling me that the series wouldn’t find success if it wasn’t based in Japan, and that nobody would follow it if the characters didn’t have Japanese names. But my usual reply was “Huh? What’s makes you think that?” (laughs).
Looking back now, I think that “Yuri!!! on Ice” was the result of me ignoring all this “advice”, and simply making an anime that I myself would enjoy watching — the story of a character who has already matured and is taking on their final skating season, not some story about a character who is just getting started. I feel as though that would make conveying my ideal image so much more difficult. So when I shared the idea of “Yuri!!! on ICE” with everyone, people said “If you have more matches, we’d have to draw more skaters and that’d make things even more complicated!” (laughs). I couldn’t even get a nod or a “That sounds interesting.”, but I was absolutely determined to create something incredible. If I tried creating something that people would simply “like”, it’d end up being nothing but commonplace and mundane.
What kept me motivated through the whole process was the inspiration I received from actual figure skaters while watching their matches. Even when their retirement could be just around the corner, they’d continue to keep fighting and challenging themselves — that compassion for what they loved really stuck with me. That’s why I first came up with the idea of Yuri and Viktor; a skater on the edge of retirement and a world champion who becomes his coach, all while remaining both his hero and rival.
It almost seems like you were on some sort of lifelong mission to turn your passion for figure skating into an anime. Was there any particular moment that triggered this?
During the production process for “Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine”, Japan was devastated by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, and then immediately after that, one of my relatives passed away. My mental state was a total disaster. Usually as a director, there’s a certain element that drives you to create something interesting based on what you’re given, but I’d lost any emotional capacity to do that. I started to think to myself that it would be impossible to pull anything great out of someone else’s idea. It was at this point I realized I needed to create something from the heart, and for me that was figure skating.
I’ve heard there’s a lot of writers and creators in the industry who are afraid to apply the things they truly like into their works.
I hear that quite often too, the belief that you shouldn’t bring the things you like into your work. I had actually forgotten all about this, but the reason it was important for me to turn my figure skating passion into an anime was that doing anything else would have been impossible. The process of creating anime has become a really tough operation for me as of late. It was like I was creating, yet at the same time I was beating myself to death over it. My hands moved slow, and I would force myself to stay awake just in order to finish a project on time. So I thought to myself that I needed to work on a topic that I would never grow tired of, something that would keep me awake all day. Otherwise, I don’t think I could have ever made another anime, all while thinking “Someday I’m going to make something I like” (laughs).
A woman talented well beyond her years, Sayo Yamamoto is a model example of just what the Japanese animation industry needs. We continue to expand upon this in the second part of the interview which will be made available in the near future. A preview of the second part is featured in our ‘Yuri!!! on ICE’ film announcement piece, which was made available here.
SOURCE
23 notes · View notes
undercover-witch · 7 years
Note
In regards to the green carnation post, I understand the point being made but I also feel it is noteworthy that Yamamoto is no stranger to western references in her work (she supervised the calendar drawings), and the person who got her into skating is openly gay (Weir). In addition, one of Kubo's inspirations, and also who Victor's design is based on, is an openly gay American director (John Cameron Mitchell), and her good friend (Mineko Nomachi) on her radio show is a trans woman (1/2)
YoI has tons of even more direct Western references, which is not surprising considering that Kubo and Yamamoto travel around the world a lot. For any other anime I’d agree because it’s ridiculous to view everything through a Western lens but for YoI I can see why people would make that assumption because it wouldn’t be new for it. That’s also the widespread meaning of green carnations, it’s not like it’s necessarily some obscure Western thing. Hope I'm not coming across rude or anything! (2/2)            
In which case those flowers are perfect in both Western and Japanese meaning!! Perfect choice
4 notes · View notes
rikeijo · 2 years
Text
Today's translation #11
Sayo Yamamoto's interview in Go Yuri go!!! offical fanbook
Part 1.
Watching [the animation of] Victor's FS at Worlds, I became certain that this is going to be a film [as in a 'roll of film'] no-one has seen before.
Q: First of all, tell us please, why you have decided to make an anime about figure skating.
I have been a figure skating fan for some time now. At first I was a light fan, watching competitions only on TV, but then gradually I started spending crazy amount of time on figure skating. I started inserting figure skating into other projects I've been working on, for example even while working on storyboards for action scenes, I was thinking "Wouldn't it be interesting, if I gave this kick here the motion of flying camel spin?". Around the time I was working on "Lupin the 3rd. The woman called Fujiko Mine" I couldn't help but to start thinking seriously about it and at first I was thinking about maybe making an anime about skating to air around the time of Sochi Olympics. People [from the industry] were listening, but not very intently - I heard comments like "Is it going to be about bukatsu [school sports club]?" or "Sounds like that's going to be hard to do". I personally wanted to animate competitions, because this is what I watch and find interesting, but it seems I couldn't make this idea come across well. But at the same time, I became convinced that I'm trying to do something new, something no-one can even visualize. In this state, the project wouldn't be accepted for around 2 years. During that time I was inserting figure skating into other projects, for example opening to "Persona 5", but I really wanted to make a TV anime with figure skating as the main theme. The breakthrough happened around the time of Sochi Olympics - there was a producer who was looking to start a new project and he very kindly listened to my ideas.
Q: When have you become really hooked on figure skating?
Some time between Turin Olympics and Vancouver Olympics. For example, when it's a short program, it's like the whole life of a figure skater is packed into these 2min50s. The longer you watch the better you can understand what the skater is thinking about while they're skating. The first time I've watched a live competition was because of Johnny Weir back in 2009. At that time he skated his own choreography to Lady Gaga's "Poker face" at exhibitions in a very sensational way and it left a huge impression on me. I thought it was so cool and I must see it live!!… After Vancouver Olympics, one Johnny's Angel was so kind to give me their ticket and I was able to go to Fantasy on Ice in Niigata and Fukui… The cast of skaters was dream-like! After that, I fell for figure skating for real.
Q: Please tell as about the circumstances in which Mitsurou Kubo has been invited to join the project.
At first I was thinking about working with a screenwriter. But screenwriters usually work on many project at the same time so I thought I wouldn't be able to find somebody who was as deep into figure skating as I was (laugh). Just at that time I really liked and often listened to "All night Nippon", [a radio program] Kubo-san was doing with Noumachi Mineko-san [Mineko is a biological man living as a woman, btw. Well, you'd say trans woman, but afaik, as per her interviews, she doesn't like the "trans" label. She's an essayist, illustrator and writer]. I was just a random listener, but I had this one-sided conviction that "I could be good friends with this person" (laugh). So one time Kubo-san talked on the radio about figure skating and I thought her views on it are very interesting. I knew she has written the screenplay for "Moteki" movie (2011) in a form of manga storyboard, but then when I checked her bio in detail, I learned that for a very long time she was drawing a manga series in Weekly Shonen Magazine, so I could easily imagine her writing a screenplay for a TV anime. The big point was also the fact that she had experience with works based on somebody's else original idea, so I thought that she's for sure used to working with other people.
Q: What was the thing that made you feel drawn to Kubo-san?
Kubo-san is a person who doesn't shy away from talking about things [like, normally you'd choose to maybe not talk about something for whatever reason]. She has her own way of interpreting things and she doesn't hesitate to state that "Because of that thing, then we have this" [The context here is that very often Japanese people would rather choose not to speak up their mind]. She's like this on the radio and in person too. One very important thing that I demand from a screenwriter is that they should be able to write dialogues with good punch lines - I thought that Kubo-san would be good at this, but she's turned out to be even better than I expected. However, as it was the first time she was writing a screenplay for a TV anime, I decided that because I was used to working with the format of TV series, I should be the one to do the series composition, so I started to re-learn screenwriting. Working on the series was very fun, because after the project was launched, almost everyday I was visiting Kubo-san at her house and we were discussing the show, as well as exchanging info about figure skating. Kubo-san is very intelligent and observant and very good at collecting information, so even though she often says things like "I don't really know that much about figure skating…" she very quickly became very knowledgeable, and in the end I even learned some things from her I didn't know before (laugh). In addition, Kubo-san, as you'd expect from a person who for a long time was drawing a manga series for a weekly magazine, is really a pro when it comes to creating stories. I often had a revelation-like moments when I was thinking "Wow, now I see it!". Also, as it was a first time Kubo-san was working on an anime, I was convinced she's going to create very refreshing visuals, and without hesitation I decided to ask her to do character designs. The character design ideas she made were very stunning and while still a bit real-life-like, the points that make you excited while you watch them were highlighted by making them a bit super-deformed. Also, her bold art style is so pleasant to look at. I was very excited when the best possible team was created, after it occurred to me that Hiramatsu-san is the only person who can translate Kubo-san's great art style into anime character design.
(Note: It's around 1/3~1/4 of the whole interview. Next part will be about YoI production.)
33 notes · View notes
rikeijo · 1 year
Text
Today's translation #180
Yuri!!! on Life Official guidebook, Yamamoto Sayo's interview
Part 4.
~ I expect the scriptwriter to write good punchlines ~
What is the reason why you asked Kubo-san to write the screenplay?
At first I planned to simply work with a scriptwriter, but I thought that most likely I wouldn't be able to find anybody who would think about figure skating on the same level that I do (laugh). Right at that time, Kubo-san as a radio personality together with Nomachi Mineko was hosting "All Night Nippon" radio audition - it was so interesting and I loved it. I was listening to the same audition like three times per week while working. I especially loved the "Twitter Again" corner. They talked a few times about figure skating in that corner and their perception of the sport was very interesting. In addition, I have noticed that Kubo-san is a person, who interprets things in her own way and can state definitely what she thinks - "Because this is how it is, then as a result we have this". One important thing that I expect from a scriptwriter is to be able to write script with good punchlines, and I thought that Kubo-san must certainly be very good at it. I knew that she wrote scenario for Moteki movie in a storyboard form, but when I checked her resume in detail, I saw that for a long time she was publishing her works in "Weekly Shonen Magazine", so it was easy for me to imagine her writing a screenplay for a TV series. Another important reason was that she had experience with works based on somebody else's original works. I thought that she was probably used to creating something together with other people.
When did you first meet with Kubo-san?
September 2014.
And it wasn't during an ice show or a competition?
I asked Okamura Yasuyuki's manager to introduce me to her. Before that I saw her at the "Fantasy on Ice 2014 in Makuhari" venue - she was there together with Hyadain-san [Mitsurou does her TV show on Fuji TV with him] and others. At that time, I thought "Yes, I can work with her" - quite creepily I just selfishly assumed that (laugh).
9 notes · View notes
majokkoradio · 5 years
Audio
“Cadena” - Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland - June 22, 2011
26 notes · View notes
majokkoradio · 6 years
Audio
“Pilgrimage” - Atelier Totori: Arland no Renkinjutsushi 2 - June 24, 2010
22 notes · View notes
gotojobin · 5 years
Photo
Tumblr media
#IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInaDungeon #IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInaDungeon2 #DungeonNiDeaiWoMotomeruNoWaMachigatteuDarouKa2 #DanMachi2 #オタク2 #FamiliaMyth2 #FamiliaMyth #DungeonNiDeaiWoMotomeruNoWaMachigatteuDarouKa #DanMachi #ダンまち #ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか #KingDevinJoseph #キングデビンジョセフ #おたく #Otaku #オタク #GotoJobin #後藤Jobin #デヴィンジョセフ王 #Weeb #WeebDar #王デヴィンジョセフ 1. Episode 5 Screenplay Ayue Koto Sayama Seiko Director Seiko Sayama General Drawing Director Shigeki Kimoto Drawing Director Ueda Mineko Tomioka Hiroshi Kumagai Katsuhiro Yamamoto Masaaki With Lili's help, Bell's adventures were more smooth than ever. By concentrating on combat, the income increases, and the goddess Hestia of Familia can return the favor modestly. However, the uneasy air which is sure to bring such good luck drifts around Lili. "What is an adventurer... Is it?" mutters alone, the eyes of the supporters staring at the sky in the dim alley It is despair, and hatred that reflects there. Or. 2. Episode 5 Screenplay Ayumi Hisao Storyboard Seiko Sayama Director Seiko Sayama General Drawing Director Shigeki Kimoto Drawing Director Mineko Ueda Hiroshi Hirooka Katsuhiro Kumagai Masaaki Yamamoto With the help of Lili, Bell's adventure was like a smooth sailing like never before. Dedicated to the fighting will increase your income, and you will be able to give back to the Familiar goddess Hestia a little. However, the undisturbed air that drifts around Liri should have brought such good luck. "What is the adventurer ...?" A supporter's eyes murmuring alone, staring at the emptiness behind a dark alley Reflected there is despair, hatred ... or ... https://www.instagram.com/p/B04jjPpHJPI-ZtjvLM9z3xU4VMGmaydnEyxs9M0/?igshid=de85dhfv7g11
0 notes