– The last time you were in the position of director was during ‘Kemonozume’ and ‘Kaiba’, but anime production will again be done with Madhouse. As a director, is there a certain sense of it being easier to work when with this studio?

I have only ever produced anime with Madhouse, and as they let me make anime, I think it’s a nice place (laughs). With ‘Kemonozume’ or ‘Kaiba’ as they weren’t broadcasted nationwide and the economic situation wasn’t too bad, I was pretty much allowed to do whatever I wanted. But this time, though the staff haven’t changed very much, it’s a very different situation (laughs).

– With ‘Kemonozume’ and ‘Kaiba’ the original work and script was all done by you, but what is it like being a director this time?

At any rate, it’s a lot of work. Compared to when it wasn’t being broadcasted nationwide, when I could do what I wanted, this time it’s being broadcasted nationwide and a lot more people are involved in the making of the anime. Many are very high in ability, but as they are different from me, it has the opposite effect and makes it more difficult. To make the work my own, it certainly does take a lot of energy and time. It made me think that I had things so much easier up till now (laughs). Just, after all I do want to learn from the good parts of other people and implement this into my works, so I can’t be complaining.

-This time it’s being broadcasted nationwide, and moreover through ‘Noitamina’. What did you think when you heard this?

I had heard that the time slot had a good audience rating so I thought “this is good”. It didn’t make me feel particularly pressured. I don’t think too much, you see (laughs).

-Within the audience, there will be those that are familiar with the original work and those that are not. Are you conscious of this whilst making the anime?

The anime is being made with great respect to the original work, so I think even those that have read the original work will be satisfied. Just if I were to talk about it in more precise terms, within the staff, people have different impressions of the work whether they’ve just read ‘The Tatami Galaxy’ or whether they have read Morimi’s other works. For example the character ‘Higuchi’ does tend to appear in other works. So for fans of Morimi’s works, I would like them to be satisfied just with the world of ‘The Tatami Galaxy’. Essentially, I am thinking mainly for those who haven’t read the original work, so to those who don’t know this unique style and worldview, I look forward to what sort of impression the anime leaves. It may surprisingly be that it’s these kinds of people who will enjoy it the most.

– The broadcast will start soon, but as the director is there anything you would like people to focus on in episodes 1 and 2?

I was asked the same sort of question before and struggled as to what to say (laughs), but with ‘The Tatami Galaxy’, I think it gets more and more enjoyable as the series goes on. It gets increasingly enjoyable and interesting. Just, if you watch the first episode properly, then I think you will enjoy the second half even more.

– Just with the first episode, there’s a lot that’s not explained isn’t there?

Why does the series end like this? Come to think of it, just watching the first episode isn’t enough is it? But with this, as you watch the series the mystery will slowly become more clear. In this sense, particularly with the first episode, rather than telling you what to focus on, it would be better for you to just watch it. I think just watching it is fun, and as you watch the second and third episode, I think you’ll gradually start to understand it’s appeal.

– So as you watch the series, you start to get an appreciation for the series as a whole, and with that you can understand the appeal of the first episode.

Yes. I also want people to pay attention to the characters. Each character has their own proper story, and Ueda (Makoto)-san has worked hard to bring them all together into one. Though I’m trying to break that (laughs). Also, as I said earlier there’s the fast-talking narration by the protagonist. If you listen to it properly, he’s actually saying some pretty funny things.

– The fast-talking must be quite a lot of work over there.

It is a lot of work. The quantity I’m getting them to speak is many times more than the normal person.

– The fast-talking by Shintaro Asanuma is amazing, but the character being played by Hiroyuki Yoshino is also worth paying attention to.

Myself, I would like ‘Ozu’ to participate more. Though I love his character very much I noticed recently that surprisingly he doesn’t participate very much (laughs). Occasions for him to come out and do something are actually quite small in number. He is though doing a lot behind the scenes.

– The character played by Sakamoto (Maaya)-san, Akashi-san is also quite an interesting character.

She doesn’t really show her emotions, so it’s quite hard to tell why she would fall in love with the protagonist. Recently reading the novel, there are parts where I could somewhat understand why, but with the characters in ‘The Tatami Galaxy’, the deeper you dig the more you come to see about them. It’s very deep, isn’t it?

– To conclude, please give a final message to the fans looking forward to watching ‘The Tatami Galaxy’.

Fans of Morimi’s original work, fans of Nakamura-san, fans of Makoto Ueda’s (Europe planning) works, fans of Asian Kung Fu Generation and Yakushimaru Etsuko who sing the theme song, and finally fans of the voice actors, if you can just somewhat watch it, then I think you’ll get something out of it. Not thinking too much about it and not straining yourself too much; if you can just watch it normally then I think it will slowly get more and more enjoyable. Don’t stop at the first or second time, but please watch it for as much as the sixth or seventh. It will definitely become more enjoyable. I think it’s quite enjoyable from the first episode, but if you take a wrong turn and think it’s not, by no means give up there (laughs). If you watch the whole series, I think you will see a different and new appeal to each episode. Thank you.

– Thank you

Source: http://news.mynavi.jp/articles/2010/04/21/yojouhan/002.html

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