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Anime Director Interview (アニメ監督インタビュー Anime Kantoku Intabyū?) is an interview published on pages 66-67 of Dengeki G's Festival! Vol.8 with Takashi Watanabe, the director of the anime series and movie. It reveals information about the production of both the first season of the anime and the movie.

Interview Proper[]

"For the movie version, pay attention to the surging waves of new shots." (Watanabe)

When you leave the theater, there might be a Flame Haze there[]

──Asking first about the movie, please tell us why you chose the Friagne Arc as the theme.

Watanabe: I chose it because volume I of the original novels has a high level of completeness as an introduction, and many fans endorsed it. For the TV version, there were many parts of the novel that we couldn't incorporate, like the confrontation with the Rinne army. So the idea of "Well, let's make a canonical Friagne Arc this time" was the basis for the movie version.

──How much of it will be new shots?

Watanabe: We can just about say it's a new work. Percentage-wise, 60-70% of it is new shots. It was especially difficult to reproduce the battle with the doll Rinne in the second-half fight with Friagne. There are many of them, they're wearing wedding dresses, and they're moving around, it was hell (laugh). And about 20 minutes of the second half is non-stop action, so it was quite a lot of work. Thanks to that, you can experience the real thrill of the battle with Friagne, though it has caused great trouble for everyone (laugh).

──I'm interested to know how Yoshida-san, who didn't appear much in volume I, and Margery, who didn't appear at all, will become involved in the story.

Ep 09 Yoshida lunch

It seems in the movie Yoshida-san will be depicted just before her feelings of love begin to grow.

Ep 05 Margery head to Friagne

Margery will go on a rampage even in the movie? We look forward to her exploits in battle along with Shana as a skillful Flame Haze!

Watanabe: Yoshida-san will appear. She'll appear, but whether or not she'll be involved in the main storyline... she'll only show the initial pent-up feelings leading to love. From a chronological perspective, it's hard to involve Yoshida-san. On the other hand, Margery will appear at an extremely juicy scene, so she may receive the most applause. She makes a really flashy entrance.

──Please tell us what parts of the movie version you recommend.

Watanabe: This is a little geeky, but in the movie version, we fussed over the city's scenery. We created a realistic and familiar scenery, like one you can see around you, on-screen. Like in the real world, there are construction sites and buildings are being made, which make the city pulsate, with the battles of Flame Haze taking place in its corners, though unknown to ordinary people... And when the screening ends and the audience leaves the theater, a scenery like the one that was on-screen is there. If you look out over the city, a Flame Haze might be there. If you have a sense of something like déjà vu, I think the strategy has succeeded. There's also the aforementioned 20 minutes near the end which are surging waves of action, and please also look forward to the big twist at the end. It's "that scene" that the original novel fans are looking forward to!

Drawing Shana and Yūji's story while taking care to respect the original novels[]

──Looking back on the TV series, what impression did you have when you first came into contact with Shakugan no Shana?

Watanabe: Firstly, after the initial discussion, I read all 7 volumes released at that point all at once. Back then, I didn't even know about the word tsundere, but I quickly became a fan while reading, and thanks to this, pictures came to mind straight away. I think the foundation of this work is how the relationship between Yūji and Shana continues to change. The animation may be cool and Shana may be cute, but how emotions come together is the most important part. The process of them becoming comrades before you know it despite repeated misunderstandings and quarrels is the part that gets you the most fired up.

──When making Shana into an anime, the part you put the most effort into was in how emotions come together?

Watanabe: But depicting that is hard (laugh). With novels, you can depict emotional changes and outside conduct at the same time, but videos have overwhelmingly less amount of information than novels, so it's difficult to express both changes and emotions at the same time. That's why single-word lines like "Yeah" and "Hmph" have a lot of meaning put into them, and to express double-layered emotions like "they're angry but not angry," many takes were needed during recording.

──The anime also had original components, with Yukari Hirai, who was only a name in volume I, becoming a bigger feature.

Watanabe: I wanted to give a strong impression to the existences known as Torches through Yukari Hirai. The sorrow that burdened Yukari Hirai is the path that Yūji will go down one day. By depicting that, the anxiety and sorrow he harbors is emphasized and anxiety about the future comes to mind regarding Yūji and Shana's relationship. And after that, the cold-hearted Shana who indifferently forced herself into the poor existence of Yukari Hirai falls in love more with each episode (laugh). I was aiming for this amusement.

──And also different from the original work, Margery is introduced in the Friagne Arc.

Watanabe: That's the screenwriter (Yasuko) Kobayashi-san's idea. "Let's introduce the appealing characters earlier," she said. Due to Margery appearing earlier, we were able to involve Satō and Tanaka, so I think she was spot on.

──How did you decide on the original developments from episode 19 onwards?

Ep 19 Dantalion

Episode 19, the time period where production was said to be the most fun. "2 cours are needed for the characters to feel alive," Director Watanabe says.

Watanabe: When the anime series began, we had decided from the beginning on a confrontation with Bal Masqué serving as the final boss and concluding it with the ultimate weapon of Alastor Manifesting. In regards to specific developments, we had a meeting with the whole staff and naturally began with "Princess Yūji" (laugh) being abducted. Using that as the starting point, we worked out ideas such as the Whole Sacred Chapel. Takahashi-sensei participated in the meeting and we all pooled in our ideas with great pace saying "I want to make an image like this," and this was the most exciting time period for the whole production. Anime become the most interesting when made with repeated brainstorming. Everyone is very talented, so I fold my arms and watch, putting it all together at the end (laugh).

──Were there any parts which were difficult technologically?

Ep 08 Toga flames

The director's hatred is put into them? Flame effects are the fruits of the efforts of the development team.

Watanabe: Effects to do with flames. Glittering flames, scattered flames, a lot of flames appear, and I worried myself sick on how to make them. With digital, though a lot of things can be done, it can easily become too uniform, so it can't be used carelessly. I believe the photography team and cinematographer made tremendous development efforts. Also, this work had a small number of formatting storyboards for a series. Normally, I would make a rule like "for footage from this camera position, keep the angle almost fixed" and leave it to the staff, but for Shana there were parts where a scene can't be created from a fixed form like this, so in order to express the visualization in my head, there were many cases where I had to draw the storyboards myself.

──During planning, were there any ideas that you wanted to include that were rejected?

Watanabe: I never thought to include original ideas I had thought up. To borrow the theme and then do whatever we wanted with it is discourteous to the original work, so I kept simply supplementing and even boosting up the original work as the fundamentals for making the series. Also, it's meaningless to only display the difficult-to-understand setting, so I thought one of our important roles was to make the work more accessible to fans by presenting it so it is easier to understand.

Yūji's a modern boy? The director's standpoint as an adult[]

──Changing the topic a little, please tell us your favorite scene from the TV series.

Ep 24 Shana confession

The last episode. "The TV version of Shana was for this scene," Director Watanabe says. Will it be an eternal mystery whether the confession was heard?

Ep 01 Hirai class

The episode with Hirai-san, a renowned rearrangement in adaptation. The events from being treated coldly by Ike to her disappearing are the director's favorites.

Watanabe: I like the series of events leading to Yukari Hirai being extinguished. And also in the last episode where Shana asserts "I love you, Yūji." I really like how it's ambiguous if those words were heard by Yūji or not. I earnestly feel (laugh) that this vagueness is like a modern boy. And the pair's relationship probably hasn't progressed even after that.

──Who's your favorite character?

Ep 20 Chigusa

Chigusa-san, who is the director's favorite. Her warm aura is proof of a charming adult.

Watanabe: I like Chigusa. I like adult women. And Margery has experienced a lot and suffered tragedy in her past, but is unexpectedly unsullied. That part of her is the charm of an adult.

──Who do you like out of Shana and Yoshida-san?

Watanabe: ...Shana, I think. Yoshida-san... is a bit scary for me (laugh). I know this is not true, but it feels as if she's calculated everything. She's a girl prone to misunderstandings like that.

──Thank you. Lastly, please leave a message for Shana fans, especially the readers looking forward to the movie.

Watanabe: Please enjoy Shana, who has become more and more cute and getting closer and closer to the zenith of tsundere. I think that's the most important thing.

"The studio was in high spirits from episode 19 onwards." (Watanabe)

Asking the Director! Secret Production Anecdotes[]

Oga-chan is very popular among the staff![]

Oga-chan was active at a protagonist level in the OVA. It's said she's loved by the staff.

Watanabe: It's pandemonium when the Yoshida fans and Ogata fans among the staff have discussions about their fantasies. And I watch over them enviously. "That's nice~, looks so fun~," is my recent catchphrase.

The director wanted to make it too? Extra Edition Shana-tan[]

From the topic of Oga-chan, discussion about the extra edition packed with playfulness, Shana-tan, also unfolded. He was quite jealous of its production environment full of freedom.

Watanabe: Shana-tan is the sanctuary of a different team of staff, so I am not involved with it. While I'm earnestly making the main story, beside me I hear people having fun saying "Woah, that's so funny!" There is no end to my envy of that environment (laugh). However, that funniness has no point if the main story isn't doing well, so my role is to do the main story properly.

Navigation[]

Books
Art Collection GurenKaenSōenShana
Noizi Itō Dōjinshi AkaShakushaku
Main Guide Books Shakugan no Shana no SubeteAnime Shakugan no Shana no SubeteAnime Shakugan no Shana II no SubeteShakugan no Shana no Subete Kan
Others Shakugan no Shana Guide Book Nyūmon-henShakugan no Shana Guide Book Anime-henDengeki G's Festival! Vol.8Shakugan no Shana Marugoto Guide BookDVD Special Book Grand GrimoireShakugan no Shana Second Saisoku Visual BookBlaze of Love Shakugan no Shana SecondShakugan no Shana Second Climax Chokuzen Special BookShakugan no Shana Final Guidebook
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