"TRIGUN STARGAZE," the final chapter of the new anime series "TRIGUN," based on Yasuhiro Nightow's manga "Trigun," is being broadcast every Saturday at 11pm on TV Tokyo. "TRIGUN STAMPEDE," which aired from January to March 2023, was a hot topic for its hand-drawn texture and dynamic action scenes. "STARGAZE," the first new series in about three years, shows even more evolved visuals. We spoke to director Masako Sato, who worked on "STARGAZE," about the behind-the-scenes production.
◇The comfort and exhilaration of 3DCG
Set on a desert planet, "Trigun" depicts the struggles and struggles of Vash the Stampede, a gunslinger who has sworn not to kill, as he fights to uphold his ideals. The original manga was serialized from 1995 to 2007. An anime TV series was broadcast in 1998, and the animated film "Trigun the Movie: Badlands Rumble" was released in 2010.
Director Sato, originally from Studio Ghibli, has directed such films as "Anima Yell!" and "Haikyu!! TO THE TOP." Although he was not involved in "STAMPEDE," he had read the original manga when it was first serialized.
"I've been reading it since it was first serialized in the 90s, and I also watched the anime. When I reread it, I was surprised to see that it hadn't lost any of its luster. When I reread works I read a long time ago, I sometimes feel that there's something different about it, or that it's out of touch with the times, but that wasn't the case at all. Because it's a work that depicts fundamental human questions, I felt it could become a timeless classic. I believe it's a work that will continue to be adapted into a film 10 or 20 years from now."
"Trigun" has universal appeal, which is why it has been loved for so long and has been adapted into an anime once again in the Reiwa era.
"STAMPEDE" became a hot topic due to its high-quality visuals produced by 3DCG production company Orange.
"I had heard that STAMPEDE would develop in a different way from the original work, but when I actually saw it, I felt that rather than being an original work, it was made by extracting and incorporating the core elements of the original work. First of all, I paid attention to the structure of the story. Visually, the 3D action was spectacular. Many people were surprised by the cel look, and it has received high praise, but I wasn't all that surprised. I also think that if it's 3D, it's fine to have a 3D-like look. I've always worked with cel animation, so I don't have any particular attachment to cel-look 3DCG animation. However, since it's a 3D animation, I wanted to do things that can only be done in 3D. I wanted to make a work that made the most of the benefits of 3D."
Director Sato continues, "I think there are two things that can be done because it's 3D."
"One is the characters. You can move characters with complex patterns and shapes. The other is being able to move the camera in three dimensions. I think these two are the appeals of 3D, and we consciously incorporated them into 'STARGAZE'. Speaking of the camera, cel animation is not good at moving in depth. If you want a horizontal follow-up, you just pull the background to the side, but it's difficult to deal with moving in depth and changes in the camera's perspective. If you want movement, you either draw the entire background yourself (background video), or hire a CG production company and have the art director draw mountains of texture... so in the end it all comes down to CG. 3D requires the same amount of effort, so we use it in highlight scenes. The camera goes inside three-dimensional objects to move the characters, and the satisfying and refreshing feeling of movement, as well as the fun of animation, have been carried over from 'STAMPEDE'. So far, episode 3 has been like that as well."
◇At first I was going to do it with illustrations, but...
3DCG has become an indispensable part of anime production, but this was the first time that Director Sato had worked on a full 3DCG anime.
"It's been about 10 years since I last worked with Orange. They participated in the OVA, Busou Shinki Moon Angel. The characters in that work were cell-based, but Orange was in charge of 3D modeling of the weapons and other equipment. Even back then, I thought that (Orange's CEO) Eiji Inomoto was extremely skilled at animation. More than 10 years have passed since then, and a lot of new technology has emerged. Between STAMPEDE and STARGAZE, the technology was brushed up, and more can be done."
The action scenes, with their dynamic camerawork that only 3DCG can offer, are immersive. However, 3DCG is not a panacea.
"The first thing I was told was, 'Please reduce the number of cuts,' and 'Eating scenes are difficult.' This meant reducing the number of cuts and creating longer shots to reduce the burden on me, but as we continued production, we started to think that it might be easier to split the shots into smaller ones, and from then on, we started using more shots that looked like cel animation."
Although it is not omnipotent, orange visual expression is evolving.
"Eating scenes are difficult even when drawn by hand, but changing shapes is even more difficult in 3D. I rewrote the storyboards with that in mind, but in the end the staff took on the challenge and even parts that I had initially intended to draw were made into 3D. For example, I was planning to draw the contents of the egg that appears in episode 4, but in the end it was all 3D. The same goes for the scene in episode 1 where Hopperd combs Vash's hair. There was an issue with how the comb would get tangled in the hair, but that was expressed in 3D. Conversely, there were also scenes that I thought could be done in 3D but ended up being drawn by hand. For example, in episode 1 Hopperd enters a bar and goes to the back from his point of view, and the people there are annoyed and avoid him, so that scene was drawn by hand."
It inherits the traditional Japanese animation techniques and uses evolved 3D CG to achieve a level of expression never before seen. The dynamic action seems to have been influenced by Hollywood blockbusters...
"We weren't particularly conscious of trying to make it closer to Hollywood blockbusters. However, I think the power of music is great. It's quite extravagant for a TV anime, but we used film scoring (a method of designing and composing music to match the finished footage). Composer Kato Tatsuya created songs to match the scenes. This is not the traditional method of ordering a song first and then fitting it to the scene. So even within a single song there are changes in tempo. It starts peacefully, then ominous sounds suddenly come in, and the song flows smoothly to match the images."
◇ Director Isao Takahata's "Comfort, not healing"
Director Sato also said, "I made it knowing that people would copy it."
"People watch anime in cosplay, imitate lines, and go on pilgrimages to sacred sites, and I believe that Trigun is a work that influences the real lives of its viewers, so I didn't want to make it a hopeless story. It's easy to incite hatred, but I tried not to go that route. When I thought about what message to send to society through this work, it was important to end it with a hopeful message. Life is often difficult, isn't it? This is an anime that you can watch at times like that, to feel a little better, to try to hang in there a little, to help you forget. In an interview about My Neighbors the Yamadas a long time ago, Takahata Isao said, 'What I want to convey with this work is not healing, but comfort,' and those words have always stuck with me. I felt like I understood it, but I didn't really understand it... and it was a bit confusing to me, but as I was making this work, I began to understand a little bit about what comfort might be."
How did he interpret the words left behind by the master?
"Perhaps comfort is to let go of things (wounds) and not get caught up in them. Rather than trying to heal things, distance yourself from them and let them go. Even if you work hard and don't get rewarded, the sun is watching over you. I've come to think that this feeling is what comforts me."
"STARGAZE" was a challenge for director Sato.
"It's a personal challenge, but it's 'to leave it to someone else instead of drawing it myself.' With original illustrations, you draw it yourself, but with 3D, you can't fix it yourself. You have to get someone else to do it. In order to leave it to someone else, you need to draw a line within yourself. Creating a line that I absolutely won't compromise on was a challenge."
"STARGAZE" is set two and a half years after "STAMPEDE." It's a bold adaptation of the original work, so it's interesting to see how it develops in the future.
"I think the atmosphere of the work has changed a lot with Millie's appearance. STARGAZE has a lot of comical scenes, but I like the playful relationship between Meryl and Millie. Jessica is popular among the staff. She's probably the easiest to control. She's popular with older guys (laughs). We had a lot of different buddy pairs in mind when writing the scenario, so I hope you'll continue to enjoy her."
"STARGAZE" seems to be trying to confront the universal questions contained within the original work and hand them over to the future. Director Sato's words reveal a sincere gaze that seeks to empathize with people's hearts. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
