A new TV anime series, "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA" (Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV, Saturday 5:30pm) is based on the swordplay action manga "YAIBA" by Gosho Aoyama , who is known for " Detective Conan " and other works. The original author Aoyama is fully supervising the script, and the masterpiece is being "fully animated" about 30 years after its completion. WIT STUDIO, known for " Attack on Titan" Seasons 1-3, "SPY×FAMILY" and "Ranking of Kings", produced the anime, updating the setting to the present day. While it has a new feel, it also has a nostalgic feel, as if Aoyama's drawings from when it was serialized have been reproduced. We spoke to Yoshinori Kameda, character designer/chief animation director who has been involved since the planning stage, about the behind-the-scenes of the fully animated version and the attention to detail in the production.
◇ A project that began during the coronavirus pandemic "It would be too hard to turn this into an anime"
--Please tell us how you first encountered "YAIBA". What do you find attractive about it?
I think I first encountered "YAIBA" when I was in the early grades of elementary school. One day, I went to visit my parents' company and there were a lot of Sundays piled up on the bookshelf, so I just happened to flick through them. I think it was an issue that had a special feature page that traced the trajectory of "YAIBA's" battles. I thought, "What is this cool manga!?" and went to a local bookstore, where there were many volumes, but as a child's allowance was limited, I couldn't afford to buy new copies, so I think I spent about six months buying the whole collection from the first volume at a second-hand bookstore. The appeal of the series was, above all, the cool blade and the cute Sayaka, the Raijin Sword, the Fuujin Sword, and the Haoh Sword that appears later. That was it.
-How did "YAIBA" come to be made into a full-length anime?
I think I started thinking about the project around the summer of 2021 during the COVID-19 period. It all started when producer Maiko Okada asked me, "Is there any work you want to do?" I think I immediately replied, "I want to do YAIBA," perhaps to shake off the gloomy mood of the COVID-19 period. At that time, works such as "Hoshin Engi," "Shaman King," and "Chinese Master!" were being re-animated, and I thought, "YAIBA" might be animated somewhere too! Or maybe some company has already made it! Maybe I was anxious. So when I was writing the proposal, I reread it for the first time in a while, and I was shocked at how heavy the content was (laughs). I thought, this is going to be too difficult to make into an anime.
However, I somehow had a vision for the finished product, so I started calling out to staff who could bring it to life. I asked four people to help me with the project when I was planning it: Director Takahiro Hasui, sub-character designer/main animator Takeshi Maenami, special effects director Hiroshi Masuda, and veteran animator Masaru Oshiro. I was going to give up if these four people couldn't do it.
Somehow I managed to create a proposal, submitted it, and it seemed like it would work, so I decided to go and say hello to Aoyama-sensei. Before I went to meet the professor, I had prepared a rough plot of how many episodes there would be, how I would approach the broadcast in the Reiwa era, how I would cast, and other proposal materials.
The sensei's reaction was very good, and I was relieved when he said, "I've been waiting for this!" He was basically sympathetic to our suggestions, and we were able to decide on settings that hadn't been in the manga at the time. He also told me stories about the time when "Kenyuu Densetsu YAIBA" was broadcast in 1993, and even gave me a New Year's card of "YAIBA" that he had drawn in the past as a souvenir.
◇ Expressing the charm of the illustrations different from "Detective Conan" Episode 1's opening declaration of determination
--As character designer/chief animation director, what are you particular about?
I'm particular about the character design, recreating Aoyama-sensei's drawings from back then. When I read it back then, I thought, "What cool drawings!!!" so I wanted to express a different charm from the current "Detective Conan" drawings by the author. So I decided in the planning stage that I wouldn't brush up on my recent drawings. When I visited Aoyama-sensei, he was surprised when I showed him the rough draft. He said, "That's my old drawing!" and gave me the go-ahead to go in this direction. Just to be sure, I have Aoyama-sensei check all the character designs, but he rarely makes any red pen marks, so I guess he trusts me? It gives me confidence.
However, when trying to recreate Aoyama-sensei's drawings, I ended up with a lot of points of attention to convey to the other staff about things I noticed. Things like how to handle the nose when turning around, how to draw the eyes and mouth, the balance of the blade hairstyle, how to make the hair flutter, the tendency to cross the eyes, and the contours of the face being a little chubby. It's not like you can make it look like him just by doing that, but there are a lot of rules to draw characters. But I try to make it more flexible in terms of the visual expression and the way he moves.
Another feature of this anime is that we are also challenging ourselves to include scenes from the sensei's color manuscripts, and we are creating special cuts that are not cell-painted, such as the introduction cut when a new character appears and the still image of the last cut. In order to do this, we created a section called special effects in "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA". Ryoko Mita and Suina Kinomura are working on it. The pale watercolor expression of Aoyama's paintings is not easy to reproduce, so we have had them try and error many times. Also, there are not many color manuscripts from the "YAIBA" era, so we decided on the colors and how to paint them while looking at the "Detective Conan" art book. I'm relieved that the fans of the viewers seem to be very happy with it.
--The opening scene of the first episode of "Shin Samurai Densetsu YAIBA" is reminiscent of the "Yamata no Orochi Arc", which is the climax of the original work, and the scene where Blade is holding the Haoken and Onimaru is holding the Maoken, became a hot topic. The "Yamata no Orochi Arc" is also a part of "Kenyu Densetsu YAIBA" that was not animated. What does the opening scene of the first episode signify?
It was me who said I wanted to do Yamata no Orochi in the opening of episode 1. I said this in the planning stage too. If we produced the first episode normally, it would give the impression of a kendo anime about a jungle boy, and I felt that it would be a waste if it didn't satisfy my excitement for "YAIBA." So I thought it would be better to show the battle between Haiba and Onimaru, whose powers are inflated, to build up anticipation for the battles that await in the future. Furthermore, since the Yamata no Orochi arc is one that fans of the original work are all looking forward to seeing adapted to screen, I also wanted to declare my determination to YAIBA fans like myself that I'm fully committed to "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA" until the very end!
What's more, I even did the key animation myself. It took a while to finish, but I'm glad that by doing the key animation myself, I was able to increase the resolution of "YAIBA". The first teaser visual that Aoyama-sensei drew also had a large depiction of the Haohken, and I heard later that it was a declaration of determination from the sensei in response to the composition of the first episode, so I was very happy that our thoughts were united.
◇ The charm of "YAIBA" remains strong even 30 years after its completion. A surprising anime
--What are the difficulties and challenges you face during production?
The anime adaptation of "YAIBA" was as expected, but I am keenly aware that the content is heavy (laughs). Of course there is a lot of action, but every episode we move to a different location, fight a different enemy, and change the outfits and accessories, so there are many things that need to be decided for each episode, such as drawing, finishing, art, and photography, and it is difficult to create bank cuts (cuts that can be reused), so for the time being we are doing it in a strong style. Moreover, because it is a long-term work, we started broadcasting with a stock, but that stock runs out every week, so we are forced to produce the remaining number of episodes with the bare minimum, which is very thrilling (laughs). I felt that creating bank cuts and calculating the calories is also a future challenge.
--On the other hand, where do you find fun and joy?
What makes me happy is seeing the reactions on social media after it airs. I started working on it about two years ago, so finally people are watching it and giving me feedback. It feels like it's finally finished. It's also a lot of fun to be able to watch the broadcast in real time with the staff. I've heard from Aoyama-sensei that he watched the first episode ten times (laughs). When I hear stories like that, I feel like all the hard work is worth it. If I could be greedy, I think it's a very well-made anime with an interesting story, so I'd like more people to watch it (laughs). Of course, there's nothing we can do about this in the anime production industry.
--While working on "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA," what do you feel is amazing about Aoyama's drawings?
Rereading the "YAIBA" manga, the characters are of course charming, but the dynamic action and great posing, as well as the panel layout, are genius. Also, the exchanges of famous lines and the great illustrations. Just reading it naturally creates a tempo. It's hard to believe it's a weekly series, and it's a level of perfection that makes it hard to believe. When I read it back then, it got more serious with each passing second half, and I was on the edge of my seat. I knew that Aoyama-sensei had made anime when he was a student because he had said so in an interview, and I think that experience must have been a factor in the quality of the visuals.
--What is the significance of broadcasting the "YAIBA" anime in the Reiwa era? Please tell us the unique appeal of "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA."
First of all, I'm happy to be involved in the work "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA". I'm often asked "Why Reiwa?", but although many anime works are broadcast every season, it seems that the genre is quite biased. Among them, I think that there are very few anime that are adventure stories for all ages like "YAIBA", and even more so in manga, so I think that this masterpiece should be revived now. While there is a clear goal of confronting Onimaru, famous swordsmen appear, the excitement of traveling and getting items, and the gameplay of changing abilities by replacing balls with swords and battling enemies. Although it has been about 30 years since the work was completed, I think that the setting around this is still popular in modern times, as proven by Sentai and Kamen Rider.
However, in drawing "YAIBA" in the Reiwa era, I updated the world view to the modern era by giving Sayaka a smartphone and setting it in Asakusa, where you can see Tokyo's new landmarks. Furthermore, because Aoyama-sensei is supervising the scenario, the changes to the manga are not unreasonable, and I think they have succeeded in increasing the tempo of the story while keeping the important parts. It is a given that people of the real-time manga generation like me can enjoy it, but I think that by making full use of the skills of the animation team, "Shin Samurai Den YAIBA" has been elevated to a quality that can compete with other anime currently being broadcast, so even first-time viewers will be surprised and ask, "What is this anime?!" It is an entertainment work that is easy for children to watch, so it can also be enjoyed by the whole family. I am proud that it has become a very luxurious anime adaptation, so please look forward to it. In the future, we are creating developments and mechanisms that will surprise even the original creators, so please look forward to them!
