– Please let me ask you about the characters. Shinbo-kantoku, in that you’re adapting the work into an anime, are there any characters that you’re particularly looking forward to adapting?

Shinbo – Of course Rei-kun, as he’s the main character. I also look forward to the other shogi players Rei-kun will have to face, as each have their own set of problems and dramas. I’m both excited and nervous to adapt these shogi players.

– In that it will be adapted into an anime, I’m interested in how the shogi matches will turn out.

Shinbo – The difficult thing is that, as an anime I like to use bluffs, like having smoke suddenly appear the moment a shogi piece is placed on the board, or having all the pieces on the board start to shine. But the world of ‘March comes in like a Lion’ isn’t like that, so I’m currently wondering what I’m going to do. I want to use the bluffs, but end up thinking that it’s not quite right. As the match happens face to face, instead of going bang after a piece is placed, it would probably be better to focus on the opponent’s expression. With this work, I feel that I’ll have to focus more on expressing things in this way.

Umino – When I first thought of using shogi, I wanted to do something like ‘Game Center Arashi’ with characters flying upside down whilst moving pieces with their teeth. But as I was setting up the framework for the story, there weren’t any places I could write it in this way. I couldn’t joke around with it, so it felt like a bit of a waste. I really wanted characters to shout out the name of their techniques and such, but as I researched more I realised that I shouldn’t really be doing this, so I was a bit disappointed.

Shinbo – So on the other hand, it’s like we don’t have the showy anime style for the matches. I didn’t think of forcefully changing those scenes to make it more suited to anime, so the shogi scenes may end up appearing very boring.

Umino – I also thought that if I could make the reader feel that the matches were cool by removing the boring bits, then I’d have won. So after realising that I couldn’t do ‘Game Center Arashi’ I felt really sad (laughs).

– The anime also won’t become like ‘Game Center Arashi’ (laughs).

Umino – Maybe, bit by bit (laughs).

Shinbo – If we did that it would be disliked a lot, wouldn’t it (laughs)?

– But listening to you, Shinbo-kantoku, it sounds like you are quite particular about the adaptation.

Shinbo – I think that there are a lot of anime (adaptations) where the characters look similar, but the worldview isn’t. With ‘March comes in like a Lion’, I want to bring over the worldview of the manga to the anime.

– Where do you think this worldview can be placed?

Shinbo – In many subtle areas, I’d expect.

Umino – With these important things I feel that you can only hide it as subtext, so we have no choice but to place them carefully, one by one.

Shinbo – In regards to shaft, this is quite the challenge. Up till now, we haven’t had to make much like this, you see.

Umino – I wanted to ask you (to adapt the work), but after thinking about it, it’s the sort of work that might end squeezing out what makes shaft appealing. Oh no! I thought. Skirts won’t wave in the wind either (laughs).

Shinbo – No, we don’t know that yet! I’m sure they will (laughs).

– Whose skirt will this be? Akari- san? Or will it be Kyouko?

Shinbo – Kyouko’s definitely will. That is, if you’re by the river it’ll end up fluttering in the wind, won’t it (laughs)? Come to think of it, I don’t fully understand the relationship between Kyouko and Rei. Reading it, I can imagine what their relationship is like, but since it’s not clearly stated I worry that it’s just my interpretation. So I just don’t know, it all feels very mysterious you see. Also, in me I feel that Kyouko is closest to Hanekawa (Monogatari Series).

Umino – Kyouko is very dependent on Rei, you see. Like what Araragi-kun is to Oikura-san.

Shinbo – In older terms, like Joe Yabuki and Youko Shiraki from ‘Ashita no Joe’. It’s a complicated relationship that can’t be described in one word.

Umino – I really like the relationship between Kiriyama-kun and Kyouko. It’s too awkward for me so I still haven’t clearly shown in the manga what happened between the two.

Shinbo – I thought it was fine being able to imagine that various things had happened between the two, but it was intentional that you left it out, was it?

Umino – I think Rei-kun actually really likes Kyouko, but he’s too nervous, so from his point of view he sees Kyouko as being unapproachable. Maybe living in the same house was a mistake.

Shinbo – The scene where Kyouko is thrown outside in the winter does make her seem difficult to approach, doesn’t it? I felt like with this scene, her position in the story had been fixed.

Umino – The bit where she’s standing imposingly, your first impression is that she’s angry rather than cold, as if she’s saying that she’s not cold and she won’t give in.

Shinbo – She even has a sort of godly presence, doesn’t she?

Umino – Living with someone like her must have been difficult for Kiriyama-kun as he can’t really contend with her. Even if she tries to bother him, he doesn’t go along with it.

Shinbo – Well, they’re just not in the same world are they? Kyouko might want to talk to Rei, but it’s not possible because they’re thinking on different levels.

– Certainly Kyouko has been a key character from the first panel of the first chapter. It’s certainly worth paying attention to how she’ll be presented in the anime, including her casting.

Shinbo – Her character may also be a big responsibility for the voice actor.

Aniplex Production, Yodo – Someone who could act in a mystical manner would be good. Someone who could portray her dignity even after being hurt, and her strength, but also the weakness behind this.

Source: http://3lion-anime.com/special/interview/vol01/?p=14

Image: http://3lion-anime.com/special/endcard/