To commemorate the January 30th release of the animated feature film "The Camphor Keeper," based on the novel by Keigo Higashino, director Tomohiko Ito held a talk show at Tokyo Animation College (Shinjuku, Tokyo). Director Ito, known for works such as "Sword Art Online" and "Erased," spoke about his unusual background, having attended a ship-related university and wanted to become a sailor, the three pillars of anime production, and behind-the-scenes stories from the production of his latest work, "The Camphor Keeper," encouraging the students.
Director Ito explains his unusual background as to what motivated him to pursue a career in the anime industry: "I didn't want to be a salaryman, a job that requires wearing a tie and riding crowded trains (laughs). I went to a ship-related university and wanted to become a sailor. At the same time, I also went to Waseda University and studied animation in an animation research club. So when it came time to get a job, I decided to work in animation. I took my work to Madhouse." Despite his unexpected experience as a sailor, Director Ito adds, "Living a normal social life is also important. For example, if you know how a convenience store clerk moves...if you know, you can say, 'I understand!' I lived in a dormitory during university, so I had no choice but to live communally, and I think that experience has also been useful in my work in animation."
Director Ito, who was a production assistant at Madhouse, says that it was "MONSTER," based on the original work by Naoki Urasawa, that inspired him to become a director and producer. "I wanted to be a director, so I kept raising my hand and saying, 'I want to be a director or producer.' There was even a time when I told director Masayuki Kojima, 'I've written a storyboard, so please take a look,' and he thought it was annoying (laughs)," he said, sharing an episode of his proactive approach. "They always said it was important to raise your hand, so I think it's best to do it so that people think, 'This guy is annoying,'" he said, drawing on his own experience to give the students some advice, which prompted some students to nod enthusiastically and take notes.
After working on his debut film, "End of the Century Occult Academy," Director Ito said, "I realized that even if you try to cram everything into one work, you can't achieve everything. You can only do about three things. In my interpretation, I think it's the three: 'characters,' 'worldview,' and 'drama.'" He spoke of the three axes that Director Ito still incorporates in his anime production.
When asked what he wished he had done before becoming a director, he replied, "Traveling abroad." He recalled his experiences traveling alone to Peru in the past, and said it's important to remember the emotions he felt at the time and how he behaves in difficult situations. "When I went to Peru, a guide took me to a lake. There were no people around, and it was just me and the lake in 360 degrees," he said. He also shared a secret that this experience was put to good use in "Sword Art Online," saying, "I worked on it while remembering those feelings." Regarding what he wished he had done as a student, he said, "I realized that once you enter the industry, you learn things in a classroom setting in an instant. I think it's important to have something to do on an ongoing basis. Whether it's drawing three sketches or ten compositions... If you do that for 10 or 20 years, the accumulation of that experience will definitely make a huge difference."
His latest work, "The Camphor Keeper," is based on Higashino's novel, and while Higashino's works have been adapted into live-action films and TV dramas up until now, this is the first time they have been made into an anime. The story follows Naoi Reito, a young man who loses his job after being unfairly fired, becoming the mysterious "The Camphor Keeper" and meeting people with all sorts of circumstances. When asked what the biggest "challenge" was for director Ito, he said, "Those who have read the original will know, but there are no explosions, no other world, and it's not a flashy work. I thought of it as a trial for me to see how I could compile a story from a fairly realistic world into an interesting animation."
When asked what he would like students to pay attention to, he said, "Naoi Reito is old for an anime protagonist. At 21, he might be older than you all. When I watch the news, I think society is becoming a tough place for young people...I wanted to create a work that would give kids like that hope, and show that their hard work is rewarded. I think that when you watch it, you'll be able to empathize with the protagonist and Ooba Soki." He spoke about the appeal of the character.
The film features a team of talented creators, including Tsubasa Yamaguchi, known for the manga "Blue Period," and Akiko Itagaki, known for "The Isolated Lonely Castle in the Mirror," as character designers, along with Hiroshi Takiguchi, art director of "Weathering with You." Director Ito explained, "I asked Yamaguchi to design the characters because I thought that if we made the characters entirely realistic, they would look stiff, so I wanted to create a world where manga-like characters could coexist." Takiguchi's art is also a major highlight of the film, with a fantastical and beautiful camphor tree filling the screen. "I know there was a lot of trial and error, but he actually went to Atami to observe things and drew the actual scenes himself, so the results are showing," he explained.
He also answered questions submitted by students. When asked what he focused on while working on this film, he said, "It's related to the three pillars, but one is to portray Yanagisawa Senshu coolly (character), to make it a human drama with a fantasy element (drama), and because it's a realistic story, to include artistic art and cuts (worldview). I asked individual artists to include Takiguchi's camphor tree drawings and watercolor paintings as much as possible." It is said that because of this attention to detail, the director's "soul" is embodied in the story, characters, and each of the beautiful cuts that are inserted at unexpected moments.
The voice actors for the main character, Naoi Reto, were Fumiya Takahashi and Yuki Amami, with Amami Yuki appearing. "We had initially decided on Amami Yuki for the role of Yuki Amami, but we held auditions for the others. In fact, we also auditioned for Naoi Reto, but no matter what, he turned out to be cool," said Ito. So, Director Ito cast Takahashi, who he had always wanted to appear in his work. He was a perfect fit for the role of Naoi Reto, and he recalls praising Takahashi's voice.
When asked about a memorable moment from the production, he shared a behind-the-scenes anecdote about the dubbing process: "Yanagisawa Chishuu uses the first-person pronoun 'watakushi,' but in one place Amami-san pronounced it 'watashi.' I was also the sound director for this production, so I was worried about what to do, but 'watashi' suited the scene better than 'watakushi.' So I decided to go with 'watashi.' I thought that this was the moment when the character Chishuu, who had been guarding herself, finally let go, and I felt that it was the right choice. At the time, the original author, Higashino Keigo, was on set, and he came up behind me and said, 'I think that's good.'"
Furthermore, when asked what Director Ito values most when expressing a character's emotions, he answered that it's about "exaggerating" when it matters most. "There's one scene where Naoi Reito's eyes turn gold. This is something I learned from Director Hosoda (Mamoru Hosoda), who said that when the main character awakens, his eyes should turn gold. In ' Summer Wars,' Kenji's eyes turn gold in the scene where he does some calculations before saying, 'Thank you very much!'" Director Ito concluded with a powerful message: "There's a lot of work in the anime industry. Everyone, please come over here (to the production side) quickly. And help me. I'll be waiting!"
(c) Keigo Higashino / Anime "The Camphor Keeper" Production Committee
