Chainsaw Man : Reze Arc - Interview with Director Tatsuya Yoshihara and Assistant Director Makoto Nakazono(2)

Continued from Interview (1): The film version of " Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc," a sequel to the TV anime "Chainsaw Man ," based on Tatsuki Fujimoto 's popular manga, was released on September 19th. "Reze Arc" tells the story of Reze and protagonist Denji, who also appeared at the end of the TV series that aired from October to December 2022, and became a hot topic. While Denji is excited about a date with his crush Makima, he takes shelter from the rain and meets Reze, a young girl working at a cafe. The film is directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, who served as action director for the TV series, and assistant director is Makoto Nakazono, who also served as chief director for the TV series. How did they plan to animate "Reze Arc," a popular episode from the original manga? We spoke to Director Yoshihara and Assistant Director Nakazono about the attention to detail they paid to the action scenes.

◇Battle scenes that are more than just cool: Typhoons and explosions

--The "Reze" chapter features the typhoon demon and bombs, and the battle scenes are attracting attention. What did you pay particular attention to in the battle and action scenes?

The greatest strengths of Director Yoshihara's anime are sound, movement, and color, so I think the elements that can be most enhanced from the original are the action scenes and how the drama uses its time. In the "Reze" arc, the typhoon demon appears, and I thought it would be possible to create a more large-scale production and action scenes, so I asked action director Shigetsugu Sota to "step it up a couple of notches from the original." Even when Denji and Beam are fighting seriously, there are some casual expressions, which I think will allow viewers to relax and enjoy the action more without feeling too tense.

Assistant Director Nakazono: While there is a lot of action in this film, I think we've created action scenes that are not just cool, but can also be seen as dramatic, with exchanges between characters woven in.

Director Yoshihara: This time, the screen size is Cinemascope (2.35mm horizontal to 1mm vertical), and we were able to make full use of the wide angle of view to create action scenes with a sense of scale and depth. The sense of scale of explosions and typhoons, as well as the sound effects, are well suited to a theater, and I feel that the theater environment and "Reze" are a perfect match.

-How did you try to express the bomb explosion scene?

Director Yoshihara's "Reze" has many visually appealing situations, such as nighttime battles and shining explosions. Among these, he paid particular attention to the color of the explosions. Orange and yellow are common patterns for explosions, but he chose beautiful orange and yellow bars to make them stand out even more. Depending on the scene, he drastically changed the color of the explosions themselves, so that viewers wouldn't simply see the same explosions happening one after another.

Regarding the action scenes, Assistant Director Nakazono had some very interesting ideas in the storyboards submitted by action director Shigetsugu, and I think that Bomb's actions, which aren't depicted in the manga, will be fresh even for people who have read the original, and I think the action scenes have the spectacle that only a movie can offer.

◇The contrast between Reze and Makima captivates with “color”

--In the "Reze" chapter, Reze appears as a very charming character. What was important to you when portraying Reze?

Director Yoshihara: Reze undergoes a dramatic transformation towards the end of the film, but up until that point, I tried to avoid revealing what Reze is hiding behind, and instead focused on showcasing her pure cuteness, as she interacts with Denji purely.

--The scene in the promotional video where Reze is in the pool is also beautiful. Did you put any thought into how her skin is shown and the lighting?

Director Yoshihara : That's right. When we were making the "Reze" episode, we had someone called Riku-san in charge of the color script for the entire film. The pool scene was also based on Riku-san's color creation. Before placing an order with the art director, we had a process where the staff shared the finished color screens.

--Specifically, what colors did you use?

Director Yoshihara: I think that the backgrounds and colors of anime have a certain base of saturation and brightness that has been built up over the history of anime up until now, but in recent anime the number of colors and the variety of color usage have increased significantly, with the range becoming wider, from more illustration-like to more photographic color usage. Following that same approach, for "Chainsaw Man," Riku came up with the idea that we could create images that are closer to the original work, while also taking an approach that is closer to illustrations in terms of color.

--In the "Reze" chapter, Makima appears as another woman who contrasts with Reze.

Nakazono was in charge of directing the date scene between Denji and Makima in the beginning of the film , and the scene where Denji and Reze meet in a phone booth. I asked Nakazono to direct Makima, who has a mature feel and is quite different in mental age from Denji, while Reze and Denji are close in age and have a sense of excitement, so that the two relationships could be seen as a pair, or contrasting ones.

Assistant Director Nakazono: Makima is an adult woman, and while she goes on adult dates like movie nights, her dates with Reze are a bit bad-boyish, as they sneak into the school at night and go to a festival in the evening in addition to talking at a cafe (laughs). I tried to portray the subtleties and changes in Denji's reactions and perceptions in response to this difference. I directed her while keeping in mind the contrast between Makima, who is Denji's absolute goddess and a symbol of his admiration, and Reze, who is a familiar girl of the same age.

--How was the contrast between Reze and Makima expressed?

Assistant Director Nakazono : The cafe where Reze and Denji are is softly lit, with a calm atmosphere and time, whereas during their date with Makima, the lighting is a bit more dramatic with a stronger contrast. In terms of their actions, Makima is more subdued, while Reze is more active, but the colors are the opposite of their actions. Thanks in part to Riku's color script, there's a nice balance.

◇The passion of the production site, surprises, discoveries, and challenges

-What was the most memorable thing about making the "Reze" episode?

Director Yoshihara: I thought the enthusiasm of the production staff at MAPPA was at an extremely high level. Not only are they motivated, but they also have a high level of drive and execution, and they have helped us a lot in many ways, and I feel that each and every one of them is a great source of encouragement. In being involved in "Chainsaw Man" this time, the enthusiasm with which various people came up with ideas was very fresh and fun. It felt like we were all helping each other out.

I was impressed to see Shoichi-san credited as assistant director Nakazono's main animator. He joined MAPPA during the "Chainsaw Man" TV series, and was the main animator for the "Reze Arc," working on the classroom scenes in particular, which I found very moving. I was also directing the first half of the film, which placed great importance on "how to portray Reze as cutely," so I was able to experience firsthand the realism of Reze as drawn by Shoichi-san, and the surprise and discovery of "Reze even makes gestures like this?" In addition to the cuteness that is present in the original work, he has also done a good job of showing the gestures and movements that are unique to the anime, and I think that is a really noteworthy point.

-Finally, what was the biggest challenge for you in this work?

Assistant Director Nakazono: This was my first time working on a film in this capacity, so it was a real challenge to figure out how to structure "Chainsaw Man" as a film. Although I was in the position of assistant director, as a member of the staff, I wondered how I could work together with the other staff members to create a film. I was able to have a lot of different experiences from the previous TV series, and I think every day was a challenge.

In converting Director Yoshihara 's manga "Chainsaw Man" into an anime, there are some elements of the TV series, but I think there were many parts that were reconstructed to make it even more appealing. Every step of the process, from drawing, finishing, filming, and art, was a challenge. Each of those challenges became a reality when I saw the finished product. I hope you enjoy it.

*The correct spelling of Director Yoshiwara's "Yoshi" is "Tsuchi + Kuchi".