Individual key visuals for the eight works in " Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26," a series of eight short stories by manga artist Tatsuki Fujimoto , known for works such as " Chainsaw Man" and "Lookback Back," have been released. The visuals, drawn by the character designers of each work, express the appeal of each work, which ranges from science fiction, romantic comedy, action, and human drama. All seven directors have provided comments.
" Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26" is an animated adaptation of all eight stories from "Tatsuki Fujimoto Short Stories 17-21" and "Tatsuki Fujimoto Short Stories 22-26," which are collections of short stories that Fujimoto wrote between the ages of 17 and 26. It will be exclusively distributed worldwide on Prime Video on November 8th. It has also been announced that it will be screened for two weeks only at nine cinemas nationwide, including Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku, Tokyo), from October 17th.
*Comments from the seven directors
"There were two chickens in the garden." Director Seishiro Nagaya
This is Tatsuki Fujimoto's debut work, but you can feel the essence of his later works in many places. Because his initial impulse explodes, I focused on not diluting that intensity. Ultimately, I think this was made possible thanks to the wonderful work of all the staff! Drawing, color, background, cinematography, sound, editing - everyone worked hard to express that impulse in a visual work. As for the story, please enjoy not only the relationship between Yuto and Ami, but also the outcome of the faint romance between Youhei and Moemi!
"Sasaki-kun stopped the bullet" Director Nobukage Kimura
In this film, we tried various methods to expand on the passion of the original's fascinating characters through animation. For scenes where emotions clash, we had stage actors read the original work and filmed a live-action performance. Using this footage as a foundation, we checked the animation and direction, and under the supervision of the animation director, optimized the timing, poses, and expressions for the animated performance, and incorporated them into the video. Furthermore, we pursued unique appeal in each section, from color, art, photography, CG, sound, and music, to complete the work.
"Love is Blind" Directed by Nobuyuki Takeuchi
The story of an unpopular student council president who plans to go to a university overseas after graduation, and his confession to a junior colleague feels like a major event! The characters are mostly standing still and barely moving, but the sense of speed permeates the entire work! The pure passion felt from the illustrations! The cool, thorough structure! I tried to portray the image I felt when I first read this work in a straightforward way. I would be very happy if viewers could pay attention to the characters of Ibuki and Yuri in the anime.
"Shikaku" directed by Naoya Ando
When I first read "Shikaku," I thought that even though it was violent, dark, and chaotic, these two were somehow cute... and I wanted everyone to experience that feeling, so I tried to express it in the video. What has Shikaku done in life so far? What kind of things does she like? When you think about it, apart from the fact that she's a hitman, she's actually a pretty normal girl. It's a normal apartment, a normal girl's room, but there are guns scattered around... In that sense, the places where Shikaku and Yugel live are spaces filled with a lot of attention to detail. Also, it was written at the end of the original work, but apparently Tatsuki Fujimoto drew this while he had a fever of 39 degrees. He's a genius, isn't he? Everyone, please don't think too deeply about it, just watch it as you feel.
"Mermaid Rhapsody" directed by Tetsuaki Watanabe
Someone told me that Tetsuaki Watanabe can't make a normal anime, so I just went ahead and made this. I wonder what normal means (lol). I don't want to be a mermaid, I want to eat fish.
"I woke up and found myself a girl" directed by Kazuaki Terazawa
As this is a compilation of short stories, I tried to broaden the scope of visual expression when creating the screen. There are many playful touches scattered throughout the depictions of small items and backgrounds, so I hope you'll enjoy them. I also tried to set the time period in the work in the Heisei era, since that's the period when the artist was drawing. Personally, I think Fujimoto-sensei's work and Heisei J-POP are a perfect match, so I hope you'll enjoy that as well.
"Nayuta of Prophecy" directed by Tetsuaki Watanabe
Someone told me that Tetsuaki Watanabe couldn't create unique anime, so I went out of my way to make this. I also like Nayuta as a character. (I like Kenji too.) Blood, splatters, and spatter. Severed eyeballs.
"My Sister's Older Sister" directed by Osamu Homma
To draw the croquis used in this work, I dug out the drawing tools I used in high school. The moment I opened the lid, the smell of pencils and kneaded rubber wafted out, just like back then. All the pure emotions of those days, such as impatience, joy, and regret, came flooding back to me. I think the work "My Little Sister's Older Sister" has the power to remind us of those nostalgic feelings we all have. This is the last of the eight works being released in this project, but I hope you will watch it until the end.
