Iwa ni Hana

Interview with Director Furuhashi on the making of Le Chevalier D'Eon

There is a series of interviews with Director Furuhashi on the making of Le Chevalier D'Eon which is full of outspoken insights (or at least more outspoken then the typical PR stuff from staff and cast). The interviews are available in English here:
ttp://www.productionig.com/contents/works_sp/44_/s08_/000794.html

There are a few quotes that I would like to comment on. On the fictional D'Eon de Beaumont transforming into a woman when his sister's soul possesses him:

If you overemphasize unrealistic aspects when you are rendering occult elements, you lose the freakiness. It might work with books, but when you are working with pictures, going too straightforwardly would leave no room for imagination. It would be easy to use it as a format, but at the end of the day it's not very effective. So I thought we had to take a minimalist approach. Just show a little of what would hint at his transformation from a man to a woman, like untying the hair and changing the color of the lips.

I honestly never knew that D'Eon physically changes into a woman until I read about it in this interview. When I watched the anime, I assumed that the body remains male although his voice changes into Lia's voice, and the change of lip colour is just an indication that Lia is 'there'. Now, that's a freakish touch that I completely missed.

Here is another quote on the thin line between the 'imagined' and the 'real' in animation:

In animation, there is no much difference between hallucinations or psychic phenomena. I mean, they look the same because we use drawings in order to render them. For this reason, you must really render well to show the difference between, let's say, something that is actually happening and D'Eon's hallucination. We must always question ourselves on how we can accomplish the difference between hallucination and the reality as we produce an animation.

Let me give you an example. There is a scene where King Louis XV touches D'Eon's lips. I tried to incorporate that sort of bodily touch to make the scene look more real. By the way, that part was drawn by Saburo Mochizuki who did the storyboards. He really did a great job.

Now here is another intentional touch that I was mistaken about. When I saw that scene in which Louis XV touches D'Eon's lips, I assumed that was a homoerotic thing to please BL fangirls... Apparently, the touch was only supposed to be an indication that D'Eon is in reality. Nevertheless, Furuhashi's comment on the 'imagined' and 'real' in animation is spot-on.

Plot summary of Production I.G.'s 'RD Sennou Chousashitsu'

Comments from the staff and cast were publicized today and you can follow the link below to read further if you like. I don't have time to translate everything so I will just stick to summarizing the plot which they also posted:

In the year 2012, Haru Masamichi who was surveying the phenomenon of the 'burning sea' on the coast of a man-made island got into an accident and went into a comatose.

In the year 2061, Haru Masamichi awakes to an aged body after 50 years. This reality causes him to lose the energy to walk. He has to live on a wheelchair. However, whenever he sees the sea, he still feels the pull of the mystery of 'the law of the earth' which he encountered in the depths of the sea minutes before the accident.

Kushima Eiichirou, who was an old friend of Haru and who has become the executive manager of Denriken, appoints Haru to be a 'diver' of the computer network, Metariaru (also known as Metaru for short).

Aoi Minamo, a girl of great powers of observation, comes to the aid of Haru.

Minamo's elder brother is an intern of Denriken and works under Kushima. He is also skilled in combat. He worries about his sister who seems to have become an assistant of Haru, and comes to frequent Haru's office.

There is also an assistant android called Holon. Together, they form a team and solve problems arising between Metaru and reality.

Furuhashi Kazuhiro is directing this, along with Amatsuki. He has got his hands quite full. My guess is that his energies are directed at RD Sennou Chousashitsu rather than Amatsuki, which explains why Amatsuki (or at least the first episode I have seen of it) seems rather pedestrian. Certainly it seems several notches off from his level at Le Chevalier D'eon. I for one just hope that he will do justice to both shows.

(Source: ttp://www.animecenter.jp/jp/200804/07202717.php)

New anime series from Production I.G.: 'RB Sennou Chousashitsu (RD潜脳調査室)'

News reached me that Production I.G. will be launching a new series called RB Sennou Chousashitsu (RD 潜脳調査室). It has a number of big names on the staff roll such as Shirow Masamune as creator and Furuhashi Kazuhiro as director. You can see the rest of the staff here:

ttp://www.ntv.co.jp/RD/
ttp://www.production-ig.co.jp/contents/works_sp/1740_/index.html

I can't say I am too thrilled about this just by reading the plot summary. There is something the virtual world where people's suppressed instincts and desires are unleashed etc etc. I thought that sort of thing is old-hat by now in the sci-fi genre. (You know it is old hat when it has become more like a real issue in the Real World...)

But we shall see.

New anime announced: 'Amatsuki (あまつき)' to be directed by Furuhashi Kazuhiro (古橋一浩) of Le Chevalier D'Eon fame

There are good and bad news about this. The bad news is that the manga on which the anime is based is yet another alternative world fantasy:

Rikugou Tokidoki, who failed his Japanese history test, goes to a fair on the Bakumatsu Era as extra study during springbreak. There he is attacked by a mysterious Nue and is saved by a swordswoman called Kuchiha. Before he knows it, he is transported into a world called Amatsuki, which is similar to Bakumatsu Japan except that you (妖) exists.  As a result of Nue's attack, Rikugou loses the sight of one eye. There he also meets his ex-classmate Shinonome Kon who was transported into Amatsuki some time before Rikugou. The two try to find a way to return to the modern world, and Rikugou is asked by both humans and you for help, as his decision to help one side or the other would determine the fate of Amatsuki.

As you can see, the plot is quite pedestrian. I may be mistaken but this looks to be a character-driven anime as opposed to a theme-driven anime like Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi  (another anime series set in the Bakumatsu Era with otherworldy creatures called youi). And while Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi has a script of a certain philosophical bent, I have yet to hear any guarantees that Amatsuki appeals to the brain. 

The good news is that Furuhashi Kazuhiro (古橋一浩) will be directing it. He recently directed Le Chevalier D'Eon, and he was also responsible for the storyboard of Mononoke.

The voice-acting cast has not been officially announced yet, but the info on the CD drama based on the manga is available on Wikipedia. Quite a solid cast that is.

On the whole, I will be taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach to this.