by The setting is another world, and the background was also carefully designed.
“If the other world seems unrealistic, it’s hard for the viewer to concentrate. I wanted to make it as realistic as possible, so I asked the original team what city they had in mind and tried to make it more realistic based on that. It’s easier to depict places I’ve been to, so I used landscape photos of castles in France and other places as a reference. It’s challenging to convey the art direction to the art director if you don’t fully understand the atmosphere. Art director Suzuki Akira worked hard, and the backgrounds are amazing. I hope viewers will also enjoy the scenery.
Even parts that are only seen a little in the main story are used as sponsored backgrounds.”Art director Akira Suzuki worked hard on the backgrounds, and they are amazing. I hope viewers will also enjoy the scenery. Even the parts that are only seen briefly in the main story are used as sponsored backgrounds.”
Prioritize coolness
Another appealing feature is the rich visuals, reminiscent of the OVAs (original video animations) of the 1980s and 1990s, a style that doesn’t seem to be seen much these days.
When deciding on the style, I used a lot of shadows. By increasing the shadows, I aim to enhance the amount of information. I used ‘The Rose of Versailles’ as an example. I wanted the picture to hold up as much as possible, even when stopped, and I wanted any slight fluctuations in the animation level to be unnoticeable.
Recent anime doesn’t use many shadows. That is beautiful in itself, but without shadows, the difference in drawing ability becomes obvious, and even if a character looks cool on the character chart, they can end up looking flat when displayed on screen. The techniques of the ’90s will feel fresh in today’s world, and I wanted to emphasize that it is a dark fantasy, which permeates the work as a whole.
Indeed, in the Reiwa era, anime that emphasizes shadows looks fresh.
“It hasn’t been done recently. It was around the early ’80s that we started adding this much shadow. The younger staff had never done it before, so they said it would be difficult at first. We asked character designers Okada Hirona and Saito Kaori to create numerous samples, and we all reviewed the ones that had shadows added in the first episode and incorporated the shadows.
Some staff members said that the way the shadows were added was strange, considering the light source, but we told them that it was OK to ignore the light source for this production. We value a cool, realistic look rather than realism, so it’s okay to exaggerate the light source. It’s an expression that can only be achieved with animation, and we prioritize coolness. It also creates a sense of dazzle and luxury.”
