by “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “Lucky Star,” “K-ON! , A writer and book reviewer, Taniguchi Chiriuchi, looks back on the history of “Kyoto Animation,” which has produced many animations that have caused social phenomena.
A company that makes anime that moves the world
The anime “Violet Evergarden” will be broadcast on Nippon Television’s “Friday Road Show” for two weeks, October 29 and November 5. The first week is a “special edition” that reconstructs all 13 episodes of the 2018 TV series. The second week is “Violet Evergarden Gaiden-Eternal and Automatic Note Doll-” released in theaters in 2019. First appears on terrestrial broadcasting. Both works were produced by the animation production company “Kyoto Animation” headquartered in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture.
“I am deeply grateful to all the people involved and many fans for their choice.”
At the “Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2021” held in March this year, “Violet Evergarden theatrical version” released in 2020 won the Anime of the Year Theater Film Category Work Award. Shinichiro Hatta, director, and producer of Kyoto Animation, who took the stage at the award ceremony, thanked the people who continued to support Kyoto Animation even after the tragedy (note) in July 2019.
Reiko Yoshida, who wrote the award-winning work, also won an individual award in the original and screenplay category of the Anime of the Year. From the words “I think many staff members are pleased with this award,” he said at the award ceremony, he inherited his thoughts on the works of his colleagues who couldn’t walk together and the skills he had accumulated to complete the award. I could see the feeling of being able to finish it.
Kyoto Animation is a company with a history of nearly 40 years, including its predecessor, the studio era. Initially, he was involved in the finishing work of painting cells. Still, in the 1990s, he began to handle all the work related to animation production, such as drawing, art and directing. He made one episode of a famous anime series such as “Inuyasha” and gained a reputation for its high quality.
And in 2003, the work of the prime contractor who undertook the entire series was “Full Metal Panic? It started in earnest from “Fumofu.” After that, he continued to animate game works such as “AIR,” “Kanon,” and “CLANNAD.” He impressed “Kyoto Animation” as a safe brand as a company that creates images that do not disappoint the expectations of enthusiastic game fans. To go. That’s why fans were surprised at the mechanism that Kyoto Animation put out in the 2006 TV anime “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” which had a high reputation in the past.
The original is a series of light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa. In the first anime version, instead of the first volume, the short story “Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00” in the sixth volume was suddenly broadcast. Those who entered from the anime would have been very confused because they didn’t know the characters and settings of the characters. After that, the original episode was broadcast back and forth. In the second period, the episode of “Endless Eight,” where the same story is repeated every time, was broadcast for eight consecutive weeks. The impression of “a company that does something” was watched. I planted it in a person.
On the other hand, in the “Haruhi” series, “Haruhi Dance,” the characters dance to the ending song, became popular. The work of Kyoto Animation carefully describes the movements that are important for animation, became known. In the episode “Someday in the Rain,” the daily life of club activities where nothing happens was depicted by camera work over the bookshelf and a relaxed, conversational drama, showing the high-performance output.
Since then, Kyoto Animation has been booming in pilgrimage to sacred places with “Lucky Star,” “K-ON! ], Which caused a band boom and attracted attention as a company that makes anime that moves the world. There is no doubt that it will be a hit if you have Kyoto Animation animate it. It seems that the number of places requesting production from such speculation has increased. Now it’s the same story as if you wanted ufotable from “Kimetsu no Yaiba” and MAPPA from “Jujutsu Kaisen” to be animated.
However, while Kyoto Animation is working on animations for existing originals such as “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid,” it has begun creating originals from within the company. The result is the 2012 broadcast “I want to fall in love with Chuunibyo!, And this time it is “Violet Evergarden” that will be broadcast on “Kinro.”
(Note)
On July 18, 2019, a man invaded the first studio of Kyoto Animation, sprinkled gasoline, and set fire. Thirty-six employees were killed, and 33 were seriously injured.
For convincing animation production
There is a light novel label called “KA Esuma Bunko.” Unlike the long-established labels such as Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, which released “Haruhi,” and Fantasia Bunko, published for more than 30 years, the first issue was new in 2011, and Kyoto Animation itself published it. From the time of its first publication, a contest called “Kyoto Animation Awards” was held to solicit novels and projects, and “I want to fall in love with Chuunibyo!, “High Speed,” “Tsurune” and other award-winning works have been published as a library and animated.
“Violet Evergarden” is one of those in-house works. The work posted by Kana Akatsuki in the novel section of the 5th Kyoto Animation Awards won the first grand prize. In addition to publishing from KA Esuma Bunko, Kyoto Animation also worked on animation and broadcast it as a TV series from 2018.
Why did Kyoto Animation dare to set up a label in-house, hold a contest, and collect the originals? In the animation of the original published by a major label, the rights may be dispersed, and it may not develop as expected. Still, it may be because I thought I could make a convincing animation if it were a work of my label.
Also, if a book is sold, it will be the company’s income as it is. If you look at the bookstores that handle KA Esuma Bunko, which are appealing side by side with the four books currently available, as if to match this terrestrial television broadcast, it can be said that the effect is not small. ..
We have staff, invite veterans to accumulate technology, become a prime contractor as intended, produce original projects, and even publish. Kyoto Animation’s business has become a model for other animation production companies that want to promote diversification. That’s why the entire anime industry has expressed sadness and started to support the tragic incident in July 2019.
Kyoto Animation responded and continued to make works without stopping. It is probably the result of their constant efforts to win several crowns in “Violet Evergarden the Movie.” Broadcasting on “Kinro” by NTV may be one such support. With this as an opportunity, I hope that Kyoto Animation will spot some masterpieces that it has worked on in the past and gain recognition beyond traditional fans’ boundaries.
