Template:Interview 2

Interview with Asai Yoshiyuki (director)


 * '――Director Asai, how did you first get involved with "Buddy Daddies"?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: At first, I had the idea that it was a "parenting story", but when I got to meet the scriptwriting team and read the plot, I found out for the first time that it was a "buddy story". (laughs) And so I wondered what sort of worldview I wanted to have for this "buddy story" - if it was going to include parenting elements, I figured it might be better to go for something a bit more comedic. From there, together with the rest of the production staff, I developed the characters' personalities, the overall worldview, and so on.


 * '――I hear that you had very clear images of Kurusu Kazuki and Suwa Rei, right from the start…?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: I spent ages pondering Kazuki and Rei as characters - what sort of thoughts they'd have, how they'd talk and behave. That's how fascinating I felt they were as characters. So, rather than my image of them being fixed from the beginning, I'd say that I kept randomly fantasising about how Kazuki and Rei's story might unfold, and figuring out how that might tie in to the plot… I guess. They're in the assassin line of work, and at the same time, they're raising a child - so how can I make that enjoyable for the audience? I thought about that a lot.


 * '――Did you have any specific suggestions for the design process?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: Kazuki and Rei's appearances were developed through discussion with the character designer, Enami Katsumi-san, but I also drew a rough sketch of my own early on, just for fun. I wanted to go for the vibe of a contrasting duo, so the sketch was along those lines. I requested a design from Enami-san based on that. As for how much of it carried over to the final version - honestly, at this point I don't remember my own sketch. (laughs)


 * '――Was there anything you paid special attention to in portraying a "buddy story"?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: Personally, I think in a "buddy story", it's important for the two people to have a finely calculated balance of contrasting aspects and complementary aspects. For example, they may clash verbally, but they have little gestures which are perfectly in tune - it's great to show that sort of thing. And besides, this series "Buddy Daddies" focuses a lot on how the roles of the duo change going forward, as they "play happy families" with (Unasaka) Miri. How does the Kazuki-and-Rei duo grow through meeting Miri? It was important to keep that in mind while depicting the two of them.


 * '――This series contains contrasting elements of hard-boiled stories and sitcoms - was it difficult to maintain that balance?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: That was incredibly tough. They're cool assassins, but the fact is that they're still criminals. At first, I struggled with how to handle such a worldview, where guys like that would end up raising a child, even just by chance. The fact that they deal with matters of life and death, versus the slapstick comedy of Miri jerking them around - I feel like I had to fret over that and make up my mind again with each episode. You could say it's a worldview where "anything goes", but I wanted to be conscious of the significance of "life and death", and to not make light of human deaths too much. Otherwise, the parenting thing also gets a lot less convincing. So I drew a line for myself.


 * '――Amidst all of this work, was there anything you personally got hung up on?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: When producing animation, I essentially place a lot of weight on the characters' expressions. This time, I especially wanted Rei to have distinct "on" and "off" modes - he's "on" when he's being an assassin, but when he's "off", he's just a shut-in lazing around at home. So it was vital to have those differences in his expressions and gestures. And there was also the question of how to portray Kazuki's subtle expressions whenever he's tenderly doting on Miri. We had to be careful with that during the storyboarding process. How do Kazuki and Rei's expressions change during their family roleplay? I really enjoyed myself, coming up with the depiction of their emotional states.


 * '――Speaking of Kazuki and Rei, what do you think is appealing and interesting about them?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: They're an assassin duo that first start out as simple roommates, but after a child is added to the mix, they basically get cast in the roles of mother and father - and as the story progresses from there, their relationship becomes more than just a duo. I think that's what's interesting about them. Since we always wanted the series to have comedic elements, we made Rei and Kazuki quite clear-cut yin and yang character types, but in fact, the yang-type character has a deep inner darkness, and the yin-type character has all sorts of problems. Ultimately, both of them are outlaws, so we also wanted to bring out the charm of this duo when they're being uncouth and slinging insults at each other. I found myself surprisingly fond of these characters, so I'd love if the audience looks at them and goes, "What the hell, are you two a married couple?!"


 * '――Toyonaga Toshiyuki-san, who plays Kazuki, and Uchiyama Koki-san, who plays Rei, are both perfect casting. Were your impressions of the characters enhanced by the cast's performances?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: For sure. After the casting was decided, the instant I heard the first words of the recording session, I thought, "So Kazuki's that sort of person," and "So Rei's that sort of guy." It reconstructed my internal conception of the characters. I produced the animation materials with a thought process of "give them such-and-such expression; have them talk like this", so in that sense, the cast members were a huge help. I really got the feeling that these characters were being made to grow and develop in various ways.


 * '――Miri is the key to this story. How was she developed?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: It was a process of trial and error - both with whether to make her a shy girl or a lively one, and with her appearance. I figured that if she was going to be brought up by those two, it'd be better for her to be a lively girl, but after Enami-san's character design came in, that was when I could really see what direction I wanted to take this character in. That was all due to how incredibly powerful Enami-san's design was. But Enami-san went through countless attempts before settling on Miri's final design - that ended up taking the longest. We'd decided on "a 4-year-old girl", but we tried all sorts of different things for her hairstyle, the look in her eyes, and so on. We really spent ages coming up with that.


 * '――And what about the performance of Kino Hina-san, who plays Miri?


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: When it came to Miri, we requested that Kino-san not speak in the usual style of anime child characters - we wanted a performance that was a little more true to life. During the audition, we ran through a number of different styles, and in the end we asked Kino-san to read the lines in her own voice, without trying for a child's voice. Somehow, that came closest to my impression of Miri. We didn't use that exact same voice in the show itself, but when playing a pure and innocent character who believes firmly and with zero doubt that two hitmen are her dads, that's the level of expressiveness you need - or else it won't be convincing at all. Kino-san was a real help in that way.


 * '――Please tell us what you think are the selling points of this series "Buddy Daddies".


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: Speaking as director, I'd love if the audience can fully take in the entire series, but simply put, I'd like you to pay attention to the characters of Kazuki and Rei. If you observe their little gestures and behaviour, I think you'll find a lot to love about these characters, no matter how things play out. If you're amused by these two men who aren't cut out for parenting at all, that would make me very happy as a director.


 * '――Finally, please give a message to everyone who is anticipating this series.


 * Asai Yoshiyuki: Miri is going to get even cuter going forward. As the story progresses, there'll be more of Kazuki and Rei and Miri acting as a trio, but there are still some mysteries about Miri, so please watch how she gets Kazuki and Rei wrapped around her finger from now on. I hope you'll enjoy seeing how our one and only heroine, Miri, manifests her cuteness.