MDS Vol.07 "Behind the Scenes of Anime Production"

Behind the Scenes of Anime Production: From Planning and Story to Worldbuilding, Visualization, and Dynamism

Performance

Kunio Okawara (Mechanical Designer)

Ryosuke Takahashi (Animation Director, Screenwriter, Director)

Banjou Ginga (Voice Actor, Actor, Narrator)

Contents

In Vol.07, we invited Ryo-suke Takahashi, Kunio Okawara, and Banjo Ginga to talk about each part of the process—from the initial planning and story, through visualization, to the addition of audio and completion—under the guidance of Koji Igarashi.
We featured the novel "Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Philosopher on the Battlefield," written by Mr. Takahashi, which can be considered a new work related to the representative series "Armored Trooper VOTOMS," in which all three gentlemen were involved.
In the production process, Mr. Takahashi places great importance on scenarios that have a directorial image. While he delegates tasks such as storyboarding to others, we were able to catch a glimpse of Mr. Takahashi’s working style that leaves something unmistakably characteristic of Director Ryosuke Takahashi’s works. Regarding characters, he often imagines them by looking at film actors. For "The Philosopher on the Battlefield," he wanted Mr. Ginga to play a character inspired by Humphrey Bogart.
In terms of mecha, while following the worldview of Bottoms, the settings such as the characters' personalities and positions are meticulously developed, and the designs are commissioned. Mr. Okawara understands the intention of using robots, weapons, and the like as part of the performance and responds to the director's requests. Furthermore, he pursues style while also considering designs that are easy for animators to draw.
With the visuals of the story, character design, and mechanical design all in place, the next step is creating the storyboards. Then, the process of producing the animation was introduced.
At the stage of adding voices, sound effects, and music to the completed animation, Mr. Ginga performed a live dubbing, drawing the entire audience into the world of Bottoms and creating a very lively atmosphere.