The TV anime "Atelier of Witch Hat," based on the manga by Kamome Shirahama, will begin airing on TOKYO MX and other channels from April 6th. The original manga is a highly acclaimed work that has won numerous international manga awards and attracted attention from around the world, and the anime is directed by Ayumu Watanabe, known for works such as "Doraemon," "Children of the Sea," "Nikuko-chan of the Fishing Port," and "Summer Time Rendering." The original manga is very appealing for its high-density and beautiful visuals. Expressing this in anime form seems like a high hurdle, so how did Director Watanabe manage to do it?
◇ Expressing movement without sacrificing the amount of detail and texture of the original work.
"Atelier of Witch Hat" tells the story of Coco, a girl who longs to be a wizard, as she steps into the mysterious world of magic. The series began serialization in "Monthly Morning Two" (Kodansha) in 2016, and has sold over 7.5 million copies. It has been selected for manga awards in France, Spain, South Korea, and other countries, and in 2020 won the Eisner Award for Best Asian Work, attracting attention from around the world.
"Ms. Shirahama was rumored to be a very skilled, high-density manga artist, even in 'Enidevi,' and I had also read 'Atelier of Witch Hat.' I hadn't thought about turning it into an anime. I knew it would be difficult if someone else were to do it..."
Director Watanabe seemed to have read "Atelier of Witch Hat" as if it were someone else's work, but when he decided to adapt this densely packed work into an anime, what was the core he tried to focus on?
"First and foremost, it's the visuals. There's an overwhelming amount of information that immediately grabs your attention, and while there are various approaches to adapting it into animation, the approach is to simplify the information with the intention of making it move. Or, the opposite, of course. The goal is to make the most of the visuals and bring them to life through movement. Overall, we're increasing the amount of information per frame, but keeping the number of frames down. The original work is drawn with such high density and dynamism that it's impossible to completely change. We tried reducing the density once, but something was still missing. So, the first thing we focused on was expressing movement without sacrificing the visual information and texture. Simply put, this takes a lot of time."
In today's anime production environment, expressing the amount of information and movement from the original work in animation is no easy feat.
"It's taking a lot of time. When you're battling the sheer volume of work, all you can do is keep working diligently. It's not like we can do it with some amazing processing machine, so in the end, the animators just have to draw it carefully and painstakingly. That's all there is to it. It was a total team effort from all the staff. We're using a luxurious production method. Of course, we're using CG in many places, but the basis is that we have to draw it organically. The original work is organic, and the lines themselves tell a story. To reproduce that, digital is a mismatch, so we tried to express warmth as much as possible."
◇Authenticity is always a key factor.
Director Watanabe's comment regarding the anime adaptation was also memorable: "Manga can depict 'things that don't exist' as 'things that do exist,' but in reality, it's necessary to carefully depict 'things that don't exist' in order to depict 'things that do exist.' That's how you connect it to the sense of reality of 'things that do exist.' It's the same with anime."
"You could just say it's about telling lies skillfully, but the question of authenticity is always at stake. As we worked together with the staff, we shared the understanding that we couldn't fully portray the story without that kind of resolve. The emotion I felt when I picked up the original work, the feeling of why I love this work, is what supports me. Ms. Shirahama's writing style is getting better and better, and it was uncertain whether we could keep up with that in the anime."
"Magic" is a major keyword in this work.
"In this world, magic is assumed to be a normal part of people's lives. In the real world, it's like technology, and how it's used depends on the user—it can be good or evil. I once worked with a cat-shaped robot from the future that produced convenient tools, and this was close to what I personally thought at the time. I'd always wanted to depict it. When I met Mr. Shirahama, he told me, 'Actually, this is what I was thinking,' and I found it incredibly interesting. It's kept secret and only spread to a limited number of people, but it's actually very dangerous. It's connected to reality, and the sense of distance between that and the fantasy elements becomes very important."
Through conversations with the original author, Shirahama-san, a path towards an anime adaptation has become clearer.
"He said that he's drawing it as a manga that he wants people of all ages to pick up. So he wants to avoid depicting 'scary things,' or if he has to depict them, he wants to include cute and funny things to neutralize them. He's a person with a broad perspective and a generous spirit. So, even if we highlight something in the anime, we won't go beyond what's already established in the original work. There are scenes that require fear and intensity, but we also need to depict a world that's comforting, and strike a balance."
◇What does it mean for something to be "communicated"?
Manga and anime use different forms of expression. There are also challenges unique to anime.
"It's the time constraint. When adapting to the TV anime format, there are inevitably times when the length is insufficient. It's not that we cut out information from the original work itself, but rather that we amplified some parts in the anime. We inevitably spend time on things like increasing the character descriptions and expressing things between the lines. With manga, the reader has their own pace, and they can go back and reread parts. When you put it on film, you basically can't resist the irreversible flow of time. There are inevitably some things that we can't depict. That was the main challenge."
On the other hand, there are expressions that are only possible in animation.
"Simplifying an expression and making it easy to understand is different from 'getting the message across,' and explaining too much is also not good. There needs to be a point where it's just enough to allow the viewer to use their imagination. It's okay for each viewer to come up with their own answer. Personally, I have a desire to end with some room for interpretation. I think it's important to end in a way that leaves a lasting impression."
◇ Rena Motomura and Natsuki Hanae's brilliant performances
Rena Motomura will play the main character, Coco. Motomura is a new voice actress who has also appeared in anime such as "Maebashi Witches" and "The Ragged Young Lady is Doted on by Her Sister's Ex-Fiancé."
"Ms. Motomura participated in the open audition for 'Nikuko-chan of the Fishing Port,' and she made it to the final round, but she ended up appearing in a different role. From that time on, I was impressed by her soft and gentle voice and thought it would be great if there was a role that suited her. When I was reading 'Atelier of Witch Hat,' I somehow heard her voice and she became a candidate in the audition. After discussing it with various people, we decided on Ms. Motomura, and it just clicked."
The role of Kieffrey, the wizard who takes Coco as his apprentice, will be played by Natsuki Hanae. Hanae has also appeared in other works such as "Summer Time Rendering".
"Mr. Hanae is a stoic and gentlemanly person. However, I wanted to explore something a little different from what he's done before, so I asked him to play a character that was different from the image we've had of him so far. I was asking him to do some crazy things, but I was sure he would be able to do it. The recording sessions were also done in a good atmosphere. There were many young people involved, so they showed us not only how to act, but also how to stand in front of the microphone."
When I interviewed Hanae-san, he said he was happy to be able to take on a role like Keyfree, a type of character he hadn't had much experience with before. This casting was probably made possible because of the trust between the actor and director Watanabe.
Director Watanabe confidently states, "It might sound strange coming from me, but everyone is working hard on this with respect and love." We hope you will enjoy the beautiful visuals of "Witch Hat Atelier," which is depicted with care and unwavering dedication. (Man Animai/MANTANWEB)
