# EIGHTY-SIX Character Designer/Chief Animation Director Interview: Tetsuya Kawakami ## I was immediately hooked by the source material and thought it was really engaging! > How did you end up on the production team and what were your impressions of the souce material? **Kawakami** I was invited onto the production team by Producer Fujii-san of AI-Pictures. When I joined the team, they prodvided multiple volumes of the source material and I binged my way through 3 volumes immediately (*laughs*). While the terminology and setting wereconfusing at times, I found the novels to be instantly enjoyable and fell in love with the series. Because the story is set during war time, any character can die which really kept me anxious the whole time reading. However, I also think that this harsh world is precisely what amplifies the impact of each and every character's words and actions. Personally, I am also a big fan of post-apocalypse settings, specifically I find the loneliness in a ruined city being overtaken by nature really interesting. Because of that, I liked the last part of volume 1 the most. > On the Design work, the designs were done based on Shirabi-san's work as we understand. What were somethings that stood out or is special about Shirabi's work? **Kawakami** I had known that Shirabi-san was really good at drawing cute characters like in "Ryuuou no Oshigoto", but was surprised to find out that he was also really good at drawing cool character. Specifically, Shin was a type of character that was very different from the type of characters I knew from Shirabi's works. Shirabi-san had also provided us many original designs for side characters, which was really helpful. ## In order to not lose the flavor of the source material's character designs, we had revised the designs many times to get it right > When designing a character for an anime, what were some precautions or details that were considered? **Kawakami** If we were to just take the designs from the source material directly, it would make productions costs extremely high. So, what we do instead is simplify the designs by removing and consolidating minor details, but even then we have to make sure the simplified design does not lose the distinct flavor* of its original. We would check with the source material over and over to get it right. For example, the combat uniform of the Spearhead in the source material is supposed to have a camouflage pattern but we opted for a single color design instead. Similarly, Lena's uniform was also simplified in many areas. However, for Lena we tried to retain as much of her design details above her bust area as possible as we believed it was important to her image. An example of this is the rank badges on her shoulder and sleeves which were anime original. We expanded on them, creating one for all ranks which were then used on mob and sub character's uniforms. > As the chief animation director, could you tell us some difficulties or interesting things that you had observed or ran into when animating. **Kawakami** Like most TV Anime, by the time the Chief Animation Director begins their work, the dubbing is often already done. Therefore in order to ensure the visuals and sound matches each other, I would listen to the dub while drawing. During this process, its easy to catch the minor details such as tiny shifts in emotional state of character and emotional direction that was not obvious in the storyboard. ## It is an animators job to "act on paper". > Director Ishii had expressed that "the expressions of characters should be vibrant while ensuring they do not appear too dark" previously. What were somethings about the character expressions that you took extra care with? **Kawakami** In general, I strongly believe that it is an animators job to "act on paper". Therefore, for something as important as the facial expression of characters, it is important to constantly think about the emotions behind the smile and not just the smile itself. Hidden emotions like this isn't always obvious, but I think its important that we show it to the audience. > Was there a character that you really enjoyed drawing? could you also tell us why. **Kawakami** I had a lot of fun drawing Kurena and Lena because they are often straightford with expressing their emotions. Especially Lena, whose expresses with her whole face for a variety of emotions which means I get to draw some really lively expressions. > Was there a character that gave you a hard time when drawing? could you also tell us why. **Kawakami** Contrasting Lena, Shin's expressions were really hard to draw. There are scenes where he smiles, but his smile always carries some other meaning and inorder to express it clearly to the audience there were cuts I had to redraw multiple times. I have to be extra careful when drawing Shin because a tiny shift in lines of his brow or face could mean a complete different emotion than the intended one. ## Lena's side used a colorschceme with white as base tone to create a beautiful yet lifeless feel. On flip side, for Shin's side we used a muddy, vibrant and natural colorscheme. > As the Chief Animation Director, when directing the character designs, were there any scenes that left an impression? **Kawakami** There were a few that did. For starters, Shin in episode 5 was notable, especially the last parts where the story is starting to show signs of ramping up. Also, episode 9 onwards, because of the large change in Shin's emotional state I had to be extra careful with it. > What are some points you'd like fans that bought this package to take a closer look at when rewatching? **Kawakami** In the early stages of production, I had a conversation with Director Ishii about heavily differentiating the production of the inside of the Republic(Lena's side) and area 86 (Shin's side). As a matter of fact, we took a different approaching beginning with lighting design to show the difference between the two sides. Lena's side used a colorschceme with white as base tone to create a beautiful yet lifeless feel. On flip side, for Shin's side we used a muddy, vibrant and natural colorscheme. Additionally, Shin's smiles as stated earlier are worth a closer look. Looking back at them after gaining a degree of understanding about the hidden meanings behind his actions and words is quite enjoyable as well. On top of that, Daiya's expressions were also worth a closer look because for this show we had placed a lot of gimmicks in various places that are hard to notice on first viewing. > ### Lighting on Lena's side > Sanmagnolia's beautiful streets were built upon the eradication of "colored people". In order to express that part of its history a colder, lifeless pallete was chosen. > Could you share with us a bit of your enthusiasm towards Cour 2? **Kawakami** "86"'s story will continue, along with new plot points and characters. I hope to create something that is even more enjoyable without loosing what made the source material intersting. (Writer: Kimimori Naoki) ### Interviewee Profile **Kawakami Tetsuya:** animator, character designer. Notable works include "Sword Art Online"(Subcharacter Designer, Chief Animation Director), "Demi-chan wa Kataritai"(Character Designer, Chief Animation Director etc.), "Gakusentoshi Asterisk"(Character Designer, Chief Animation Director)etc. --- ## "Rough Character Design 1" by Kawakami Tetsuya ### Shin His expressions were as stated earlier, it was a struggle to show his internal emotions while not much has changed on the exterior. On top of that he is still 16 in cour 1 and we wanted to make sure that he still felt like a teen, so we made sure his build was thin and not too bulky. Since his combat uniform doesn't fit him, the extra clothe makes the uniform look puffy on him. ### Lena Originally in the source material, of all the characters that show up in cour 1 Lena should have the second largest breasts second to only Kurena. However, because she wears a full uniform most of the time which makes her breasts stand out less so we shrunk it. Also, we took extra care with the garterbelts *(laugh)*. As for her bangs, we made it translucent as it covers up the space between her brows interfering with her expressions at times. ### Spearhead #### Raiden As the big brother of the group, we gave him a bulkier body. His hair style however was a painpoint to balance. Personally, wearing a jacket around the waist is peak Raiden. #### Theo Originally, he didn't only have one button done on his jacket but when making the rough drafts, it sometimes looked like he only had one button done so we just ran with it. Director Ishii also thought it was a cool idea, which resulted in the scenes in episodes 3 and 4. #### Kaie A character that is popular with the fans of the source material, therefore we made sure to get her designs right. A key point is that she actually doesn't have a true ponytail, but a sidetail. In the anime, her design was more strongly influenced by sakura. #### Daiya Similar to Raiden, the big brother of the group but also the mood maker as well. Therefore his expressions varies and were really fun to draw. His feeling towards Anju are shown in many places in the show, worth keeping an eye out for them. #### Anju I personally really like her "tear mole", which made me joy drawing her as well. In the anime, she has a more well fitted pants style. Her long hair is probably the most iconic, so we made sure to stay true to making her hair "long and beautiful". #### Kurena Probably the most expressive of the spearhead. In cour 1 she has the largest breasts, which due to her uniform being oversized as well we worked hard to make sure her breasts didn't stand out. Aside from episode 3 where it really stoodout *(laugh)* ## "Rough Character Design 2" by Kawakami ### Annette I remember trying to maintain the thickness of her hair through her sillhouete being difficult. In the later episodes, she had scenes where she is much more expressive so we had to treadcarefully when animating her without breaking her character. ### Rei The original designs were provided by Shirabi-san, saving us a lot of work. However, he is also another character who has larger expressions in the later half of the show so we had to painstakingly fine tune the ranges of his expressiveness as well. ### People of San Magnolia Including Lena and Annette, we had many rounds of trial and error to get the silver hair of Albas down. I noticed that the silver hair was lacking impact if we just drew them the usual way. This is likely due to the lighter pigment, so instead we just overhauled how we did the shadows for silver hair all together. It is easier to see the different when putting an alba side by side with another character of a different race. Similarly, their eyes colors also don't stand out due to the lighter pigment so instead we darken the pupil and added a blending effect to increase the impact. > Comparing Annette and Kurena. There were extra work put into the hair shadow and eye color of Annette ### Clothing Design Because the Spearhead all wear the same combat uniform, having to differentiate them were a big problem. In order to differentiate not just the characters from the source material but also original side characters, I had to do some extra research. On top of that, I also had to make sure that the side characters don't overshadow the main character's designs and keeping that balance was definitely tough. ###### tags: `EIGHTY-SIX`, `BD Interview`, `Tetsuya Kawakami`
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EIGHTY-SIX Author/Director Interview: Asato Asato & Toshimasa Ishii

This Interview it recorded before Episodes 22 and 23 of EIGHTY-SIX are completed What are your thoughts on the series now that production for cour 2 has concluded? Ishii As this is my first time directing a TV series, I found it difficult to pace the highs/lows across the episodes and often just ended up going all out on every single episode instead. Especially in cour 2, I really had a hard time pacing the series and adapting to the situation. Asato Its been on my mind since cour 1 and I think this has been quite the blessed adaptation. It stays true to the source material, but even when it does break away it does so in a way that is the result of understanding and treating the source material with care. For example, by adapting the epilogue of volume 1 in the 23rd episode it preserves the core idea of the source material. However, it also presents these scenes in ways that I had never imagined in the source material, surprising me with just how much the anime format can elevate the material. As a writer, I was able to learn a lot from this experience. Therefore, I sincerely wish for Director Ishii to direct the sequel to EIGHTY-SIX, though, I also would like to see him direct a non-sequel original series as well... As the author for the source material, I am quite conflicted (laughs). Asato-san, which episodes or scenes made you want to see an original series from director Ishii?

4/30/2022
EIGHTY-SIX Author Interview: Asato Asato

What were your initial reaction to receiving the anime adaptation offer? Asato "Juggernaut action scenes are hard to imagine" were common feedback the novel had received and I thought that the flow of action would be conveyed better when animated, so I was really happy. On the flip side, the series is structured such that the female and male protagonists do not meet each other at all which had me worried as well. However, in my first meeting with Director Ishii, he insisted on adding certain directions to already difficult parts, making it even harder in the process. Upon hearing that, I was relieved and felt that I could trust them to do it right. I am sure that Asato-san had mental images of certain scenes and visuals while you wrote the novel. Did you shared these with the director? Asato Nope, i did not share any of my mental images. I think that it is better to leave the visuals and direction to a professional like the director, so I refrained from interjecting. In that case, would you say that most of your involvement is with the script and character dialogue?

2/4/2022
EIGHTY-SIX Composer/Director Interview: Sawano Hiroyuki, Kohta Yamamoto, Toshimasa Ishii

Instead of sample music, we sent over explanation of the setting and structure of the material along with the request(Ishii) Director Ishii, could you tell us how Sawano-san and Yamamoto-san were invited to join the production? Ishii Since this is my first time directing a TV Anime series, I wanted something someone who is familiar with this type of series. After consulting the Producer I went to Sawano and Yamamoto-san, to which they said yes. Sawano-san, Yamamoto-san what were your impressions of EIGHT-SIX? Sawano Its a series filled with settings and concepts that I enjoy. I was excited to see our music/sfx/voice as a part of the final product.

11/8/2021
EIGHTY-SIX Director Interview: Toshimasa Ishii

Note: this translation is a paraphrase and has included the question asked into the answer. Each section is a paraphrase, including context, of a question and the answer following. Bolded text signifies the overall topic of the following section (up to the next bolded text). This interview came with the first BD volume. On the 86 project I was invited by producer Fujii Shota to direct 86. Fujii-san was a kouhai(junior) of mine when I was still working at A-1 pictures. I (Ishii) first read the novel after I got on the project. This was also when the talk of it being 2 cours long began. Because of these things I started thinking about how best to end the first cour... which led to the idea of having Lena and Shin be completely separate and unable to see each other. Ultimately this became the direction of the series, "a boy-meets-girl where they only know each other's voice". We then decided to sprinkle in some emo (in japanese, this means specifically emotional) visuals over it The question then became how to show Shin and Lena's relationship with them never meeting. "Never using a Cut-back", while a wild idea comes with the risk of boring the audience. On top of that, Shin and Lena will be shown "together" on screen at many points in this series which may mislead the audience into thinking they have met before. In order to avoid the confusion, we decided against having any scenes where both of them are in frame at the same time.

10/29/2021
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