by Animation of staff interviews conducted in Megami Magazine about Hokkaido Electric Power Group’s original MV “365 Days of Tomorrow”, featured on the double cover of “Megami Magazine February issue”! Anime! But specially published! We asked them how they made their high-quality music videos and what kind of attention they put into them.
Animation of the staff interview conducted in Megami Magazine about Hokkaido Electric Power Group’s original MV “365 Days of Tomorrow “, featured on the double cover of “Megami Magazine February issue”! Anime! But specially published! We asked them how they made their high-quality music videos and what kind of attention they put into them.
We hope you will read this interview and deepen your understanding of “365 Days of Tomorrow.” In addition to interviews, the main issue of Megami Magazine also publishes this music video’s story and character introductions. Please read this as well.
Tabito Furusawa, who is widely active as an advertising director and content producer, was in charge of this music video as general director and character designer, and up-and-coming creators who have worked on various animations are involved. Director and storyboarder Junichi Yamamoto said, “More than a couple, less than lovers. Haruna Hashimoto, character designer, animation director, and colorist, is known as the director of “The Reason She Went to the Duke’s Residence” and “The Reason She Went to the Duke’s Residence.” teamed up with. Art director Yumi Imamura also participated in Uma Musume Pretty Derby ROADTOTHETOP'' andTHE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS U149.” We spoke to the production and planning staff of sponsor Hokkaido Electric Power Company about various aspects of this music video.
Production begins for Generation Z, who will carry the future of Hokkaido
Please tell us how the Hokkaido Electric Power Group produced the anime music video (MV).
Morita (Hidetoshi Morita, Planning Manager at Hokuden) When proceeding with new corporate branding using the group’s theme song, “365 Days of Tomorrow,” we set a direction to clarify our target further. Therefore, we decided to focus on the so-called Generation Z and selected anime familiar to this age group.
Why did you target Generation Z?
MoritaCorporate branding takes time, so we chose Generation Z because they are the age group that will carry Hokkaido’s future and that we want to have a long-term relationship with. Additionally, from various surveys, we found that an increasing number of Generation Z members needed to be more interested in our company.
However, being indifferent means that if you treat them well, there is a high possibility that they will leave you with a good impression. Then we decided, “If you want to provide good content, it’s anime, after all.”
How was the content of the MV decided?
Morita, this project contains the message of “support.” With the focus on support, I wanted to portray a main character who makes a single-minded effort to take the entrance exam, which is a significant hurdle in life for Generation Z. However, since we want to reflect ourselves to many Generation Z students, we have chosen club activities as a significant element of student life rather than focusing solely on studying for entrance exams.
I decided to make basketball my club activity because a specific basketball anime movie had just become a hit, and the Japanese women’s national team was making great strides, so it was attracting much attention. The official reason was that it was my preference. (lol). When you think of “dedicated,” you think of “girls.” This is also my preference (lol). When I started producing the anime, I was introduced to Mr. Furusawa through an advertising agency I have always worked with.
Mr. Furusawa, how did you get started with the advertising promotion offer from Hokuden?
Furusawa: At first, we received keywords such as “high school girl,” “basketball,” and “examination” from Mr. Hokuden, as well as a draft of the project. However, even though we say “anime,” there are many different types, so we spent a lot of time perfecting the visuals, from realistic to deformed, including the height of the head and body. Since the theme is “examination,” which is a real-life situation, the visuals were based on realism, and we narrowed down the direction by fine-tuning the deformation and character characteristics.
Furusawa: Even though Mr. Furusawa and Mr. Hokuden asked him to work on the design after it had been thoroughly finalized, I was impressed that he was able to perfectly extract the elements of the character that I had in mind and that he sublimated the design into a design that was completely different from the original draft!
Hashimoto: I didn’t try to change anything or force myself to design it; I just drew it how I liked it. He told me about the direction of the design and the balance between realistic lines and deformed lines. He was allowed to draw freely once and gave me the OK. That’s why this work has a lot of aspects that reflect my tastes (lol).
Although it is not depicted in the main story, he imagines that there will be various troubles and friendship stories within Tomorrow’s close group, such as the encounters, the family structure of the friends, and the relationships, such as who is childhood friends and who is who. The gender was also set arbitrarily. If you oversee the movie, there are cuts where the characters casually exchange glances, but that reflects the settings in my head (lol).
Besides character design, Mr. Hashimoto also serves as animation director and colorist.
Hashimoto: I didn’t do anything different from my usual drawings, but I did try to keep the overall layout calm so that the angle of view didn’t get too close. I’ve worked with Mr. Yamamoto many times, and when it comes to his intention to get a realistic lens feel, he’s like, “Oh, I get it, I get it” (lol). That’s why I avoided anime-style angles and created a calm look that looked like it was taken with a standard or telephoto lens, and the characters were placed in a way that made the background lively.
Also, in cuts where I wanted the background to stand out clearly, I had the finisher reduce the color of the mobs, making adjustments to make the overall balance look nice.
Yamamoto: In this work, I felt that “Hokkaido is also a character,” and I wanted to express that aspect entirely. When a conversation scene in a typical anime is translated into a live-action version, the camera often films very close to the person. Still, just as electricity watches over our lives, it is not the case in the book. It’s appropriate for the film to look at the camera as if it’s kindly watching everyone working hard from a distance.
If there were a lot of cuts, the art that Mr. Imamura was in charge of also played a significant role.
I drew the background based on Imamura’s location scout materials and the settings given by Mr. Yamamoto and Mr. Hashimoto. However, since I am ignorant of Hokkaido’s climate and life, and there are some inconsistencies in the materials, such as the summer season and different time zones, I have questions like, If it snows here, how will it accumulate?” I made assumptions and repeatedly gathered information, such as, With this angle of view, the sunset will shine from here.”
Mr. Yamamoto Imamura also set up the room for Tomorrow. It was a high school girl’s feeling that I noticed because she was the same gender, and it
was a room that reflected her youth and gave me a warm feeling. I was impressed and thought, “This wouldn’t be possible with male staff.”
Imamura: Unlike the outdoor room, where there were reference materials, I am fond of the art setting in the Asuka room because I created the art setting from scratch through trial and error. The room’s floor plan was set to be “a high school girl who loves basketball, and there are related goods and trophies,” so I added a corkboard with memorable photos and placed many reference books like a student. So…I added some elements in my way.
Also, Asuka is serious and considers his friends, but I wanted to give him an even cuter, fresher feel, so I placed stuffed animals like a penguin and a polar bear at the end of the bed, typical of cold Hokkaido. However, it doesn’t appear on the screen (lol).
Asuka Hashimoto’s stuffed animal settings are so cute that I thought about using them as an animation director, but I couldn’t find any cuts to include them, so I gave up.
Imamura: I was conscious of creating images that evoked emotion, and the background colors were subtly changed to match the characters’ emotions. For example, with the light in Asuka’s room, I wanted to convey the feeling that someone was watching over her, so I slightly adjusted the normal light to a warm color closer to red than yellow. In the scene where the character is in the background, I was conscious of making the scene more impressive by changing it to a bright night-time blue as a contrast.
Furusawa: A wonderful song was combined with a beautiful visual, and while I was working on it, the image was rapidly expanding in my mind, and I felt a strong desire to add a voice to Kashi and the others Tomorrow (lol). After the preview screening, Hokuden-san and I got excited about things like, “This actor should voice this character!” I was surprised everyone involved had a pretty good idea of the cast.
Yamamoto: In my mind, I had already recorded the song (lol), and as I was watching the music video, I could naturally hear the voice. Mr. Hashimoto carefully drew the facial expressions and mouth movements, so the image naturally came to me. Also, as an anime producer, I was happy to be able to express something primitive.
In the TV series, we often use illustrations close to the characters to reduce the amount of work. Still, this work is similar to the movie version so that we can focus on each cut, including textures, shooting procedures, and effects. I was very particular about it, so I am grateful to the creator.
Hashimoto: I have many fantasies about this world that I haven’t told anyone about, so I want to draw more of the characters Tomorrow. I want to see everyone’s casual clothes; I want to see Hokkaido in the summer with Mr. Imamura’s art, and this time, I mainly wear winter uniforms, but summer uniforms would be cute too…I can’t help but imagine so many things. Yes (laughs).
Imamura: I wanted to create a work that had a sense of real life and, at the same time, had some warmth, so I made some creative touches, and when I saw the finished MV, I think I was able to express it in a way that I was satisfied with. I have been involved in anime as a background artist, but this is my first time as an art director. I was allowed to play my first significant role in such an excellent work, and it was an enriching experience for me.
It’s lovely to see these girls with such unique personalities working hard while supporting each other towards one goal: passing the entrance exam. No matter how often I watch the scene where Tomorrow’s mother brings a cake to Tomorrow while she’s studying on Christmas Day, I still get nervous. If there is a sequel, I would also like to draw Hokkaido in spring and summer, and I am interested in Asuka’s past and future.
The beginning story, like how Asuka Yamamoto and the others met, is also great! It would be easy to make a prequel, like Asuka and Akane having a basketball shoot-off over Yakisoba bread in the cafeteria right after they enter high school (lol).
Finally, please give a message to our readers.
Yamamoto’s 365 Days of Tomorrow” is a song that feels like aprayer,” and the music video is appropriate for that, aiming to create a video that feels like a prayer” that will give someone encouragement and courage. I hope that this feeling reaches everyone. Also, this work is full of cute heroines, worthy of publication in a book called Megami Magazine”, so be sure to find your favorite Megami!
Hashimoto: When I first heard 365 Days of Tomorrow,” I was moved by the lovely lyrics, This sky is always connected to tomorrow.” Based on that feeling, I went back to my high school days and put all my heart into depicting the relationships between the characters and the family in Asuka, so I hope you will feel a sense of excitement as you reflect on your youth. I would be happy if it were.
Imamura: Through the production of this work, I remember when I was working hard to prepare for the art school entrance exam. At the time, I felt like I was struggling alone, but through this work, I felt that my family and friends supported me, and at the same time, it made me realize the people and existence I had taken for granted. I would be more than happy if, like me, this work serves as an opportunity to remind you to be grateful to those around you.
Furusawa: I visited Hokkaido during the final stage of the music video production process, and even though I was a staff member, I had a strange feeling of being on a pilgrimage to a sacred place: “The world of anime is right in front of me!” This work is filled with the essence of Hokkaido.
For example, “Yukimushi” is sung in the lyrics and depicted in the music video. I had heard about it from news videos, but I thought I might be disgusted by the many insects. Seeing snow insects dancing right before my eyes was a sight to behold! I would be happy if this work sparked your interest in Hokkaido, and if you can go there, you could compare the uniqueness of Hokkaido with the work!
