A talk event with the producers of the theatrical anime "Aikatsu! x PriPara THE MOVIE - The Miracle of Encounter!," a collaboration between the popular anime and game series "Aikatsu!" and "PriPara," was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) on November 1st. Kimura Dai and Shimizu Ryota from Bandai Namco Pictures, Yoda Ken from Tatsunoko Productions, Harada Masashi from Bandai, and Oba Shinichiro from Takara Tomy Arts took to the stage to reveal the behind-the-scenes story of this "miraculous collaboration."
◇If you think someone will make a calm decision...
The work is a "miraculous collaboration" to commemorate the 10th anniversary of "Aikatsu!"'s Akari Generation and "PriPara." Bandai developed the arcade card game for "Aikatsu!", while Bandai Namco Pictures produced the anime. Meanwhile, Takara Tomy Arts is in charge of the game for "PriPara," and Tatsunoko Productions is in charge of the anime. Takara Tomy Arts' Obata joked about Bandai's Harada, saying they have a "long-standing rivalry" and "stomp each other's feet with smiles on their faces," but it does seem like "Aikatsu!" and "PriPara" have been rivals to begin with.
This time, a series of "miracles" led to a collaboration between "Aikatsu!" and "PriPara." While Kimura of Bandai Namco Pictures was thinking of a project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Akari Generation, he came up with the idea of an unprecedented collaboration with "PriPara," which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary. When he proposed the idea to Tatsunoko Productions, Yoda consulted with Oba, saying, "We have no choice but to jump on board! We'd love to do it!"
Oba also wanted to do it, but said, "It would be uncool to say it's impossible. I thought someone would make a calm decision," and he was also worried that the plan might be scrapped because it was an unprecedented collaboration. Harada said, "There was some unrest within the company, but we were determined to give it a go!" Each company gave the go-ahead, and the "miraculous collaboration" was realized.
◇After much discussion about the song selection
A major highlight of the event is the collaborative stage between "Aikatsu!" and "PriPara." Each team brought around 10 songs, and the songs were selected with balance in mind. In addition to the songs performed in this production, other candidates included "Pretty Pretty," "Hello Hello," "Friend," and "Usukon Daytripper" for "Aikatsu!", and "Panic Labyrinth," a song related to Dressing Parfait, for "PriPara."
As Oba said, "The combinations are endless," various combinations were considered and discussions lasted for three or four months. At one point, the song selection was almost decided, but after many twists and turns, including fine adjustments made even at the scenario stage, all 13 stages were finalized.
The 3DCG for the live performance scenes was produced by Tatsunoko Productions. Yoda said, "We borrowed the data from Aikatsu!, organized it, and made fine adjustments to all the characters so that they would look natural when the characters from both shows were lined up, and so that there was no sense of incongruity between the animation and the 3DCG," showing the attention to detail. Shimizu commented, "As expected! They adjusted it so that it matched the animation," and the footage impressed even the staff at Bandai Namco Pictures.
In the drama, "Luminous," consisting of Aikatsu!'s Ozora Akari, Hikami Sumire, and Shinjo Hinaki, and "Sorami Smile," consisting of Manaka Lala, Minami Mirei, and Hojo Sophy, from PriPara, formed a new six-person team called "Sorami Luminous," which also became a hot topic.
Regarding the costumes for "Sorami Luminous," Oba said, "I wanted to create a new outfit to use on the arcade (game), so I asked Shin Sophia (the game developer) to help me. Sakurai Ayaka, who worked on the Pretty Series, helped me bring out each character's individuality." Shimizu also mentioned the points they paid particular attention to, saying, "After meeting with Director Okawa, we decided to incorporate a sneaker-type design, like the ones worn by actual idols today, which is something that isn't often done in Aikatsu!, which is something you can only get from a collaboration."
◇To the next miracle
Harada said, "I think the important thing from here on out is to look forward to the next 10 years. I hope we can keep working hard and look forward to seeing you all again," and Oba said, "I really like the subtitle 'A Miracle of Encounter!' I think this is a film made with the idols, the creators, the promoters, and the message-givers all working in the same direction. It's a film that was completed because of all of you who watch it. I think that will lead to the next miracle, so let's all create that miracle together! I look forward to your continued support."
At the event, it was revealed that preparations are underway to have a new collaboration stage song that can be heard as an add-on to the main story from the sixth week onwards, and that details such as the song title will be announced at the stage greeting on November 7th.
