The TV anime "A Star Brighter Than the Sun," based on the manga by Kawahara Kazune, known for "Sensei!", "High School Debut," and "Aozora Yell," will begin airing nationwide on the TBS network every Thursday at 11:56 PM starting October 2nd. It depicts the first love of Iwata Sakuei, a girl with stronger-than-average physiques. As an elementary school student, Sakuei falls in love at first sight with Kamishiro Kouki. Once small and slender, Kamishiro grows into a refreshingly handsome man in junior high, and while he seems distant from her, the first love she has kept hidden deep in her heart begins to stir. The director is Kobayashi Aya, My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999" and "Captain Tsubasa Season 2: Junior Youth Arc," and this marks her directorial debut. We spoke with Kobayashi and TBS producer Shiraishi Yoko about the behind-the-scenes production.
◇ Dynamic psychological depiction
-What made you decide to make it into an anime?
Shiraishi: I had read Kawahara-sensei's other works before, and I started reading this one as it was a new work. In shoujo manga, the camera tends to focus on the main character and her love interest, but in "A Star Brighter Than the Sun," the camera also focuses on the other characters, and it not only depicts romance, but also the friendships and everyday life that are unique to high school students. Each character is appealing, and there are plenty of moments for characters other than Sakuhide and Kamishiro to shine, so I thought that if I could portray that well while also showing Sakuhide's love life, it would make for a compelling visual.
-How did Director Kobayashi come to be involved?
Shiraishi: I asked Studio KAI to produce it, but I didn't have much experience in adapting shojo manga into anime, so when I consulted them, they introduced me to Director Kobayashi. It's a different genre from "A Star Brighter Than the Sun," but when I saw Director Kobayashi's work, I felt he was very good at portraying psychological issues. Monologues are often portrayed with very static images, but Director Kobayashi's portrayals of psychological issues are very dynamic. It felt like I was watching a movie.
--This is Director Kobayashi's directorial debut.
Director Kobayashi: I've read and come across Kawahara-sensei's work from time to time. I was in the generation when "High School Debut" was popular in high school, and I loved "Wonderful Boyfriend," which was serialized after it, and personally bought it even before I was asked to direct. "A Star Brighter Than the Sun" really shows how the down-to-earth protagonist thinks and acts, and I thought it was amazing as I read it. There were parts where I could understand the development of a story where a boy you've always been close with grows up and becomes out of your reach. I also had the experience of a close friend from elementary school transferring schools, only to reunite with him in high school, and those memories came back to me. It wasn't that I liked him, though (laughs). I tried to interpret the story in my own way based on that experience and turn it into a film.
◇The highlight is Sakuei's flashback scene
-How did you try to express the monologues, flashback scenes, etc.?
Director Kobayashi: There are a lot of episodes that reminisce about her time in elementary school, middle school, etc., and I thought it was important that these mundane episodes were important to Sakuhide. I wanted to make the "flashback processing" in which Sakuhide looks back on her memories with Kamishiro unique, so I focused on the color and filming process. Only Sakuhide's special flashbacks are given a hand-drawn style of filming, and that's the key point. The other characters' flashbacks aren't processed in that way.
--There aren't a lot of characters, but each one is unique.
Shiraishi-san appears earlier than in the original work.
We're giving sneak peeks early on so that even people who haven't read Director Kobayashi's original work can easily understand what characters will be appearing.
Shiraishi and Director Kobayashi put all their effort into both the serious and comedic aspects, and they have a great sense of playfulness. The work has a lot of monologues, and because the methods of expression are different between manga and film, I think it would be lacking if it was filmed as is. The way it's presented and the attention to detail, such as how it's made to feel like you're watching a movie screen in the first episode, are wonderful. Izawa's rap scene is also elaborately filmed and well-drawn, and the comedy is also full-throttle, so the film has a good tempo.
Director Kobayashi: In the original work, the rap scene is just "a scene where the boys, including Kamishiro, are chatting happily," but in the anime it's expanded. It's a late-night broadcast, so I wanted to wake up the viewers with a surprise attack (laughs). They're all good kids, and Sakuhide is a girl who doesn't stray from the path, so I added a little spice to it.
◇Reason for hiring Minori Fujidera
-- Minori Fujidera will be playing Sakuei. Fujidera is a young actor who was still a high school student at the time of recording. What was the reason for casting him?
I was amazed when I saw her acting at Director Kobayashi's second audition. In terms of whether Sakuei's voice is high or low, there were times when I interpreted it as low. However, as in the original work, apart from being tall, she is a normal girl. I myself was a little lost, but when I heard one word from Fujidera, I got chills. The more I listened, the more I felt like Sakuei had thought carefully about what she usually eats, what time she wakes up, what her routine is to get to school... and the resolution of her acting was incredibly high. To be honest, the moment I heard it, I knew this was the girl for me! I vividly remember screaming in the booth, "What should I do?!"
Shiraishi-san had a lot of courage.
Director Kobayashi: That's right! I felt it the moment I stood in the booth.
Shiraishi: Some people end up raising their voices to express kindness and delicacy, but it's hard to describe how to put it. Fujidera's voice tone was natural and effortless. The moment we heard Fujidera's acting, we all agreed that this was the girl for us!
◇ Express Sakuei's feelings clearly
-What has been a challenge?
This was Director Kobayashi's directorial debut, so everything was a challenge. I tried to include everything that happens in the original work, but it wasn't possible to fit everything in, and it was difficult to make adjustments. Sakuhide isn't a pushy character; she's a step back character, and she often takes a passive role, so we used up a lot of time there. The challenge was figuring out how to speed up the scene changes. For example, when switching from the classroom to an outdoor scene, we used wipes and other methods to shorten the time and instead focused on Sakuhide's feelings. Since we couldn't change the flow of time inside Sakuhide, we tried to adjust the speed of the things around her.
-How did you deal with the parts that couldn't be included in the main story?
I wondered if there were other parts that Director Kobayashi had cut that could be used, and included them in the opening. I tried to create a structure that would make it so that even if you haven't read the original work, you can get interested in it by watching the anime (and once you've read the original work), and have twice the fun.
Since Shiraishi and Sakuhide are the main characters, we had to portray their feelings clearly. If we made one wrong move, Sakuhide might come across as an introverted child. Kawahara-sensei, the original author, showed this with a very exquisite balance, and the director was also able to show this skillfully in the anime. It may look simple but it's difficult, but I think you'll be able to watch the film with the same impression as in the original.
-How do you feel about your first time as a director?
Director Kobayashi had a lot of things he wanted to do, but there were some difficult parts, and there were many things he felt when he was directing. However, he was happy when the staff members said, "It's interesting" and "It's fun to work on." In his own way, he felt satisfied. Now he is excited about the broadcast.
-Finally, please give a message to those who are looking forward to the broadcast.
Shiraishi's girls' manga has been getting more and more anime adaptations recently, but this one is sure to be enjoyable for both men and women, and all ages. It's serious but also comedic, so people of Sakuei's generation will be able to relate, and those who have graduated will feel nostalgic. If you watch until the end, you'll understand the meaning of the title, "A Star Brighter Than the Sun," so I urge you to watch until the end.
