Episode 2 of the anime "Enter The Garden," born from the NFT project "Azuki," titled "Fractured Reflections: A World on an Elliptic Curve," was released on the anime platform Anime.com on February 28. "Azuki" is a project born from the Los Angeles-based startup company Chiru Labs, and the anime will be a trilogy, with Goro Taniguchi , known for the " Code Geass " series, serving as creative producer. Episode 1 of the anime, "The Waiting Man," which premiered in April 2024, became a hot topic, recording more than 7 million views on social media. We asked Taniguchi about his thoughts on the anime.
◇ Thinking about anime within the constraints of a country will eventually become outdated
--You said you aimed to make a work that people all over the world could enjoy, but what did you do specifically to achieve that? Is it different from making a work for the Japanese market?
That's not what I'm aiming for. First, to make my fellow Azuki community members happy. Second, to help people who don't know Azuki understand Azuki a little better. Many people around the world know Azuki, but unfortunately not many people in Japan know it. As a result, there are elements that anime fans will understand, but there are also elements that Japanese anime fans are not interested in. In this case, Japanese anime fans mainly mean people in their early 30s who watch anime based on original works that are broadcast late at night. If I start talking about the specific differences, it will take a long time and it's a business secret, so please bear with me.
-What do you think is the potential and interest of NFTs?
I think that thinking about anime within the constraints of a country will eventually become outdated. Just as the idea of Japanimation has already come to an end, as Japanese "anime," which was originally influenced by animation from around the world, continues to spread and penetrate the world, I think we must also consider how production costs should be. We must think more broadly about production costs, without being tied down to specific companies. NFT is one way of exploring this possibility. And ideally, it would be a way to give back to the staff. I would like to pave the way for this someday.
--Japanese anime is popular all over the world. What do you think is the reason for its acceptance around the world? Did you try to express the "Japanese anime-ness" in this work?
If Japanese anime is accepted around the world, it is because it is based on the rules and grammar of global images. On the other hand, if we forget that, Japanese anime will be isolated from the rest of the world. If the grammar is wrong, it will not be conveyed. We must not forget that we have a very compatible partner, manga. We have been working with games for about 40 years now. We use the techniques and ideas that have been cultivated through our work with them and within the constraints of business, so if you say that it is "Japanese anime-like," then that is what it means.
◇The real answer to what we are searching for will come in 10 or 20 years.
--Why did you choose different concepts for each of the three episodes? Please also tell us what you were trying to express in episodes 2 and 3.
First, the first film was created with the aim of visualizing "Is this what the world of Azuki is like?" and was made mainly by Director Junichi Yamamoto. If I had to say, this is the taste of modern anime. The second film uses existing Azuki characters and Director Yukio Takatsu explores their possibilities. Personally, I felt that it was a good combination of the style of showing things from the 1980s and 1990s OVAs to the present day. In terms of casting, while the first film featured voice actors who are active in anime, this one features people who are also active in dubbing foreign films. The third film is a challenge to see how far we can expand the world of Azuki in a good way. This one is also being produced with the participation of a wonderful director. I think I'm the one most looking forward to seeing the finished product.
-What were you able to express only through this project?
It's not over yet, so the answer is yet to come. This is one of the challenges we face as we look to the future of anime. I believe that the true answer to what we are exploring will come out in 10 or 20 years.
*The "taka" in director Takatsu Yukio's name is pronounced with a "hashigodaka" character.
