The TV anime "Dandadan" is based on the popular manga by Tatsuyuki Shinnobu, which is currently being serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine app "Shonen Jump+". It began airing in October on the late-night anime slot "Super Animeism TURBO" on MBS and TBS, and has been a hot topic for its innovative visuals, including powerful battle scenes, psychedelic color usage, and breathtakingly fast-paced development. The anime is directed by Yamashiro Fuuga, a member of Science SARU. He has worked on "Inu-oh," "The Tale of the Heike," "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" and more, and this is his first time as a director with "Dandadan." We asked Yamashiro about his particular attention to color.
◇The difference in color between monsters and aliens, with special effects elements
"Dandadan" is the story of Momo (Ayase Momo), a girl who doesn't believe in aliens, and Okarun (Takakura Ken), a boy with an occult obsession who doesn't believe in ghosts, who encounter an overwhelming strangeness... Okarun, who encounters Turbo Granny in a haunted tunnel, is cursed with the power to transform, while Momo, who comes from a family of mediums, awakens her hidden psychic powers after being attacked by the Serpo aliens. The two unleash their special powers and face the mysteries that appear one after the other.
One of the attractions of the anime "Dandadan" is its vivid use of color, with the screen turning bright red in the scenes where Turbo Granny appears, and blue as the main color in the scenes where the Serpo aliens appear. According to director Yamashiro, a theme color is chosen for each monster and alien.
"The idea of painting the screen in a single color is one of the gimmicks to visually express the feeling of stepping into the extraordinary, but it is also a way to succinctly express the characteristics of the aliens and the monsters. They must have their own cultures and lives, and I thought it would be better to clearly distinguish their individual differences, so I gave them different unique colors. There are some irregularities, but I thought it would be good to express the differences in the races and origins by using warm colors for the indigenous monsters and cold colors for the aliens."
In the first episode, as a prelude to the color settings, the moon in the tunnel where Turbo Granny appears is yellow, and the moon in the hospital where the Serpo aliens appear is pale blue. Later, we find out that the moon in the hospital is a Serpo alien UFO disguised as a moon.
"I wanted to express the difference between the places Okarun and Momo are heading to and the species they encounter through color impressions, so I changed the color of the moon at the hospital. It's strange to have the color of the moon change drastically on the same night, but if the UFO was disguised as the moon, it would be consistent and contribute to the necessary sense of incongruity in the story. Since the Serpo aliens were disguised as humans, it wouldn't be strange for the vehicles to be disguised as something, so it wouldn't be a bizarre depiction and could even contribute to deepening the world view. By the way, in the scene where Momo encounters the Serpo aliens, the moonlight shining into the hallway gradually disappears, which is a strange depiction that is full of incongruity from a physical perspective. However, in a later scene, it is revealed that the moon is a disguised UFO, so while creating the necessary sense of incongruity for that scene, it is consistent and works. Everything is a hook of some kind, and hooks are stretched all over the place. That's the kind of image I want to aim for."
That's why it's meaningful that Turbo Granny's color is "red".
"The first episode had to function as a strong hook, so I tried to make the unique colors of Turbo Granny and the Serpo aliens easy to understand by using opposite colors. I thought that red and blue were the most obvious colors for warm and cool colors. Also, I wanted Okarun, who fights against enemies like Ultra Monsters and aliens, to remain Ultraman, so I made the transformed Okarun red. His power was originally Turbo Granny's, so Turbo Granny's unique color became red. Okarun also has red accents in the original work, but I thought it would be better if it stood out even more."
The original author, Ryu, is a fan of special effects, so the anime is peppered with special effects elements, and this is reflected in the "colors" as well.
"The Flatwoods Monster's unique color is set to black. It's also related to poison gas, but I wanted to match the impression that many people had when the original Ultraman was broadcast, as they watched it on black-and-white television, and I thought that if the red of Ultraman was seen as an accent color for Okarun, who transforms in the series, it would leave a lasting impression and would emotionally emphasize his heroism. By the way, the transformation sound was also inspired by Ultraman. Thanks to sound effects artist Yaso (Shota), he has a wide range of sounds and a great number of techniques, which greatly expands and deepens the bizarre worldview."
◇Director Yamashiro Fuuga's source of ideas
Director Yamashiro incorporates elements from various works in "Dandadan" and tries to express the charm of the original work through well-thought-out direction. How do these ideas come about?
"I'm sorry to get personal, but I personally love the films of directors from the 1980s and 1990s, such as Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. The reason is that they are full of ingenuity in order to convey more than just the script through their images, and the way they are presented is often well thought out, and even the camerawork alone is meaningful to the work. The cuts and camerawork are also smart, and two or three pieces of information that need to be shown are conveyed in one shot. I also think it's great that the films flow smoothly and don't feel like the director is trying to be showy. It feels like everything is tailored for the work. For example, when an object is placed on a desk, and the character's expression changes in response to the object being placed there, If someone has seen something, they usually shoot the object and then the reaction. But they reflect the face on an object or a desk and shoot the character's reaction along with it. The above is just one example, but there are many ways to do it in one shot or to tell the story of something that cannot be seen through images. In fact, by accumulating these small details, the density of information is increased, which contributes to the good tempo and completeness. Their works are short, but I think the reason they feel so dense is because they do these things in an extremely detailed way. This is what I want to do with anime and what I want to aim for (I'm not saying I've achieved it). However, he emphasizes that "I'm not aiming for something that shows the director's ego." "I think that images are a accumulation of 'impressions,' so I think it's necessary to properly organize the timing and order of information. I'm very careful to incorporate it in a way that is necessary for the progression of the story, so that it doesn't feel like it's just 'this is cool' or 'this is amazing.'" Director Yamashiro says that at one point he used to compile scenes that he found interesting from movies into frames. "I'm trying to create something like a dictionary of expression. I'm just an ordinary person, so I borrow ideas from my predecessors, great directors, and directors, and mix them together when I create. For example, if there is a scene that I feel is scary, I analyze why I feel that way. It could be the camera work, or the timing of the acting. I'm sure I was moved, so I analyze what caused it. When I break it down and think about it, I can see things like, "Maybe it's because of this that I feel that way." I try to incorporate it as one of the elements in the scene where I want to express "fear." There may be some parts where I do it to prove what I feel. Of course, I choose what suits the work and combine it with many other elements of the work and mix it. I think this is where I can contribute to the work, so I did everything I could for the work and contributed to its completion."
The anime "Dandadan" is sprinkled with Director Yamashiro's direction. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of images he will show us in the future.
