Continuation of interview (1). "Garden of Remembrance," an original short anime by director Yamada Naoko, known for "A Silent Voice," "Liz and the Blue Bird," "The Color of You," and others, is being distributed on Anime Times, ABEMA, Hulu, Lemino, and others. The anime is themed around anemone flowers and depicts the fluctuating emotions and "goodbyes" of three characters, "you," "me," and a "childhood friend." The original character designs were created by Mizusawa Etsuko, the manga artist responsible for the illustrations of the manga "Flower Lazy Meals," and it was produced by Science SARU. The anime has no dialogue, and the music by singer-songwriter Lovely Summer-chan beautifully expresses delicate emotions. We spoke to Director Yamada and Lovely Summer-chan about the behind-the-scenes of the production.
◇The destination of feelings for a loved one
--You mentioned "leaving some space." Isn't it difficult to produce a story while leaving some space?
Director Yamada Sometimes it changes depending on who I'm talking to, but I'd like to do it while thinking about it together if possible.
Lovely Summer-chan It was interesting to be able to exchange images, not just music, but also the outline.
Director Yamada In the end, I was given such a cool guitar, and I thought, "This is the one I wanted!" and it was an overwhelming feeling.
--There is a guitar in the anime. Was the keyword guitar also in the poem?
Director Yamada I wrote it as "something that connects you and me," but I don't remember if I told Lovely Summer-chan that "a guitar will appear." It wasn't a keyword like that, but the content went from "everyday life" to "scattering ashes" and "views on life and death."
Lovely Summer-chan I was told that there is a place called "Garden of Remembrance" in Dublin, Ireland, and I expanded on it from there. When I heard that it was a memorial garden for those who lost their lives so that Ireland could be Ireland, I was surprised to hear that it wasn't even a grave! The things that we don't want to forget and want to leave behind are there in the garden. The feelings people have for others have become a place. Loss is sad, but there are people who have decided to turn their feelings into a garden. That's wonderful. It became the backbone of my work.
Director Yamada: I once heard a story about how flowers fall around someone who has passed away in heaven, and it gave me the opportunity to think about where our feelings for our loved ones go.
Lovely Summer-chan: You said, "Why not make a film that conveys the warm feelings of people caring for others, rather than a cold, sad story?" That's what you said, isn't it? Maybe it was from a poem you wrote, not from someone you actually spoke about.
--Director Yamada, do words come to mind first? Or do images come first?
Director Yamada: Which is it... I've never thought about it before. But I feel like both come to mind at the same time. The words come out, and the image is here (points to the back of his head)... I really like words.
--Is it like composing music?
Director Yamada: It's embarrassing to say this in front of musicians, but when I'm writing a storyboard, I feel like I'm composing music. I can't compose music, so I really admire them. It's a sublimation of my admiration.
Lovely Summer-chan: I advocate the theory that "everyone composes music," and I think that, for example, remembering a melody incorrectly is also composing. Isn't humming also composing?
Director Yamada: That's interesting!
◇Speaks well, but doesn't talk too much
--What was your impression of the work?
Lovely Summer-chan: I was in tears. When I saw the poem, I thought this was definitely going to be a great work! But when the video was completed, the more I watched it, the more new gimmicks I noticed. I think there are probably some that I haven't noticed yet. Every time I noticed something like, "There's two game controllers even though there's only one character," I felt like God is in the details. When I saw the final version, I cried a lot for Jonathan.
Director Yamada: I can't really put it into words, but regrets that happen in daily life, and the present that comes after those regrets, just flowed into me. Gradually, the subject of the lyrics changed, and I thought, "That's the music for this film!" I also really, really, really love "Should Have Hurt Properly"! This film has no lines, but if you listen carefully to Lovely Summer-chan's song, a lot of things become clear. One of the keywords we brought to the table was "aha moment," and the lyrics really seem to sum up the entire film.
--Did you influence each other in any way as you worked on the film?
Lovely Summer-chan: I thought the ending might be a little brighter, so I wrote the second song in a relatively cheerful and bright, but flat, not explosive, way. When I saw the storyboard of the scene where the door opens, they face the loss, and finally meet... I thought this part needed to explode more, so I changed the structure to build up nicely to the chorus.
Director Yamada: It started with the line, "You'll be there, won't you?" I just... I love it! Sorry I don't have the vocabulary to describe it (laughs). The visuals were more or less complete, and when we added the music it was amazing. I got so emotionally involved while checking it out that I no longer felt like checking it out. It seems like they're a couple who'd broken up, but in fact it wasn't, and Lovely Summer's singing makes it clear that it was a much deeper breakup. Amazing! You're like a fan now (laughs). The song clearly expresses things that couldn't be said, but without saying too much, so it turned out to be a very well-balanced piece.
