The TV anime series " A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation, " based on a popular light novel that originated on the novel submission website " Shosetsuka ni Naro ," will begin airing on TV Tokyo, BS TV Tokyo, and other networks from January 7th. The popular series has also been adapted into a comic, drama CD, stage play, and recitation drama, and the anime will be directed by Noda Kenta. This is Noda's first time directing a TV anime series. We spoke to Director Noda about the behind-the-scenes production of his "directorial debut."
◇ Carefully depicting everyday life
" A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation" tells the story of Lizel, a young man who was renowned as the prime minister of a great nation in a fantasy world, who is transported to another parallel world. Although he is unsure whether he will be able to return to his original world, Lizel remains calm and says, "I'll just enjoy it as a vacation," using his excellent intelligence and speaking skills to win the hearts of the people. With Jill, a senior adventurer who neither panders to nor obeys anyone, as his partner, Lizel becomes an adventurer herself and enjoys life in another world.
Director Noda has previously worked on directing such works as "Gunma-chan" and "Duel Masters!". "I've been in the anime industry for about 10 years, starting out as a production assistant, and it's been six or seven years since I started directing. I was approached about this anime about two years ago, so I think it might be a little early in my career," said the young director.
The appeal of "A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation" is its relaxed and unique atmosphere. In adapting it into an anime, we tried to express that atmosphere.
"It's difficult to express this unique atmosphere in anime. In anime, something happens and it grabs your attention, but the question is how to keep you interested without that happening. When they're having a normal conversation, the strength of the characters and their voices is important. The story doesn't progress by telling you important things at a good tempo, but the normal conversation is interesting. It's important to make it seem relaxed, so I said in the scenario meetings that I wanted to try my best not to lose that."
By carefully depicting everyday life, I tried to express a unique atmosphere and tempo.
"I think there will be very few close-ups of faces. Of course, the face is important, and if there are too many long shots, I'll get told off on set (laughs). I want to show a relaxed look from a distance, and then when the time comes, there will be a close-up, and I want people to think, 'Oh, there's a face!'"
◇The opposite of easy-to-understand anime
I also paid particular attention to the depiction of the other world, aiming for a different expression from the so-called other-world anime.
"So-called isekai anime have things that people imagine, and of course that makes it easier to understand symbols and makes it seem more like an otherworldly world, but I thought that would be boring. So I proposed taking an entirely different approach to the otherworldly world. I created a backstory that is similar to the image of Malta, with a slightly drier climate. ReZEL is based on blue and white, and Jill on black. If we had used the usual colors for otherworldly worlds, it would have looked cluttered and the characters might have seemed weak. In order to bring out the characters' potential, I used a white-based townscape. I also used elaborate designs for the shop signs, although they are hard to notice."
Although there is an unprecedented boom in isekai anime, "A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation" tries to differentiate itself.
"It has an unusual sense of tempo. It's perhaps the complete opposite of an easy-to-understand anime. If this work were all about easy-to-understand expressions, the good points of the work would be lost. I thought that it would get lost in the crowd among so many other works, so I tried to make sure to show the unique sense of tempo of this work. I don't speed up the tempo as much as possible. This is a difficult point, so at first I went through a process of trial and error. Misaki-sensei, the original author, also told me, 'Imagine the action scenes being done lightly behind the dialogue.' There are fighting scenes, but Jill is the strongest, so there is no fighting. It ends quickly."
Perhaps the unique tempo is soothing in this information-filled modern world. It may be a departure from mainstream, but that will surely become the color of the work.
"I rely a lot on the voice actors' performances. There's also a drama CD, so I trust them. However, when I was writing the storyboard for the first episode, if I got too much information, I would get carried away, so I deliberately tried to write without listening to it. I've been listening to it while writing since the second episode. When I actually listened to it, I got a clearer picture of what kind of person LiZEL is."
Director Noda recalls, "It was difficult overall."
"We create anime that will be broadcast about two years from now. Even if something is popular at the time, there's no telling what will be happening two years from now. I think about what the future holds, but no one knows what will be popular. So it's better to keep doing new things that I find interesting. Flashy anime was popular two years ago, and it's still popular now, but I think there should be things that aren't flashy as well."
Director Noda is not one to be swayed by trends, but rather seems to be trying to maximize the appeal of "A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation" through the anime. We hope you will thoroughly enjoy this "unique, other-worldly anime" that is packed with attention to detail. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
