A completely new original anime "TO BE HERO X" by Aniplex and bilibili, which is based in China and is extremely popular among young people, has been airing every Sunday at 9:30 am on Fuji TV and other stations since April 6th. The superhero action drama is set in a world where heroes with special abilities are cheered on, and the ten top heroes are played by a luxurious cast of voice actors including Mamoru Miyano, Kana Hanazawa Koki Uchiyama, Yuichi Nakamura, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Ayane Sakura, Inori Minase, Minase Koichi Yamadera, Yamadera Kouichi, Shimazaki Nobunaga, and Natsuki Hanae. What kind of anime will it be? We spoke to Aniplex producers Nakayama Nobuhiro, Takashina Makoto, and Sun Zongteng to find out.
◇Localization of Chinese-made anime
-What is Aniplex's relationship with the three of you and your work?
Director Nakayama Haolin (Li Haolin, who worked on the film) had a worldview in mind, and at a meeting with bilibili, I saw an early PV. It was very interesting, and we decided to do it as a joint project. Basically, it is an anime made by the director and the Chinese side, and in a broad sense, Aniplex is localizing it. It is similar to making a dubbed version, but what is a little different is that we are involved in music production. At the director's request, we offered it to Hiroyuki Sawano, and since Aniplex has had a relationship with Sawano, we decided to make the soundtrack in Japan. Since there are 10 heroes, we proposed to the director that we would like to ask different musicians to do the music for each of the 10 heroes, and the director was interested, so we decided to make the soundtrack in Japan. We handed the soundtrack music over to the Chinese side, did the dubbing work in China, and checked it in Japan. It is a hybrid production method. Son and Takashina are in charge of the practical aspects. Son is in charge of the practical aspects that require Chinese, such as ordering and coordinating the soundtrack, while Takashina is in charge of managing the progress with China and producing the Japanese version. I oversee the entire project.
--Are you making everything other than music in China?
Nakayama: That's right. The scenario and storyboards are written over there.
-What is the appeal of your work?
Takashina: The characters of the 10 main heroes are a big attraction. Since they are all protagonists, the cast is naturally all leading actors. Also, each episode has its own soundtrack composer. The cast and music are just gorgeous. Each episode is produced by a different studio. There are several studios, some that focus on 3D and others that focus on 2D, and I think the way they mix them together is interesting.
Son's worldview is unique. A hero's abilities change depending on the number of people he trusts. It's modern and different from previous hero stories.
Director Nakayama is trying to create something that is not the kind of hero we think of, including the development and visuals. There are some parts that are like anti-heroes, but not necessarily. I think he is probably influenced by many things, but he depicts the world through his own filter. In particular, the characters and visuals are very distinctive. The first PV also mixed 2D and 3D with CG, and the fact that X (the absolute hero) fights in that environment was epoch-making. The director's visual sense, world view, and characters are interesting after all.
How did you go about producing the music?
Son: Our music producer, Yamauchi (Shinji), is in charge of staffing the soundtrack composers. The soundtracks are basically recorded in Japan, but the vocal parts for the song for the character Lucky Cian were recorded in China.
Takashina: The vocalists for Lucky Cian's songs were auditioned in China under the initiative of bilibili.
It's rare for multiple composers to work on one film, but the director was very enthusiastic about it. Son's work was very hard, but the end result was a wonderful film.
◇A luxurious cast of voice actors who all play the main characters
--The appearance of a stellar cast of voice actors is also a hot topic.
Nakayama: From the beginning, I wanted to challenge myself by asking someone who has played leading roles in various works. Since the subject is a hero, I wanted to ask someone who has both name and reality.
As this is a completely original work without any original story by Takashina-san , I took my time to carefully consider the casting in order to create an opportunity for people to become interested in this work. However, I never thought that this lineup would actually come together.
Nakayama: We didn't hold an audition, but instead made direct offers to each of them. Thanks to the efforts of the sound production company, in the end, almost everyone was able to appear as they had hoped. It was a miracle.
Takashina: It was a miracle that everyone was able to gather at the venue for the Japan premiere held on March 29th.
Nakayama: There was an episode in the main story where almost all the main cast members were together. The dubbing was amazing. I was shaking.
--I'm sure there are many anime fans overseas who would like to see it with a star-studded cast of Japanese voice actors.
Takashina: We were able to collaborate with various regions to make this film available for simultaneous global release. We have created an environment where you can watch it in Japanese in real time even from overseas.
◇Fuji TV's aim to broadcast on Sunday mornings
--It's also attracting attention because it airs on Fuji TV's Sunday morning slot.
Nakayama: Fuji TV and I are teaming up to create a new anime in this time slot, and we believe that broadcasting "TO BE HERO X" on Sunday mornings, which will be released simultaneously around the world, will be the most effective new attempt and have meaning. The world view of the work, in which heroes appear, should also fit. We tried broadcasting it on a Sunday morning slot, not a late-night anime slot.
--Is it a work that can be accepted by a wide range of people?
Nakayama: That's definitely true. It's not peaky.
Takashina-san's production is elaborate and there are some tricky ways of presenting it, but the theme is a classic and straightforward piece, so I think it can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders.
--This is an anime produced overseas, but does it still have the feel of a Japanese anime?
Takashina: The opening episodes, Nice and Soul Electric, are mainly 3D parts, but the episodes after that are mainly 2D, so I think they will be more familiar to Japanese viewers. Some of them have Japanese creators involved, so I think there are both differences and similarities with the Japanese anime we usually watch. I hope you enjoy them, including those differences.
Mr. Son: There are some parts that feel similar to Japanese anime. There are production teams from various regions, but the director is in charge of bringing it all together. It's great. The music production also went smoothly.
--Are there more and more Japanese anime works that are conscious of the overseas market?
Takashina: As a business, it has become impossible to ignore the overseas market, and I am always conscious of how my expressions will be received by people overseas.
I think Director Nakayama also had the idea of producing the film for a global audience.
Takashina: However, this scale of simultaneous worldwide release is a first for Aniplex.
Nakayama: This is an anime unlike anything that's come before, both in terms of business and content.
