The Transcripts: Naoko Yamada and Kensuke Ushio
Below are my edited transcripts from interviews with Naoko Yamada and Kensuke Ushio, which I conducted while writing a feature for The A.V. Club. There were enough details that did not make it to print that I wanted to publish these in full for the kind of people who update wikis.
Yamada's interview was conducted over Zoom through a translator provided by GKIDS and 42West. Ushio's was conducted over email with translation via GKIDS.
Naoko Yamada
Reiko Yoshida has written almost every script you’ve directed. What’s your relationship like? How do you two work together?
I was thinking the other day how long I've been working with Miss Yoshida, and I think we're working for about 15 years together. And then I was like, it doesn't really even seem that long. But I think her appeal is, I really don't know what she's thinking. Every time…She's a very quiet person, so no matter what you say, she doesn't really give you that response. But even though she has this quiet demeanor, she has internally, she has this deep universe just swirling around inside her is the sense that I get. Her writing is very polished and very sharp, but also filled with emotion. But it's not too much, though…She has a lot of opposite ends of things within her, like. She's calm and collected, but also passionate. And then I think her stance towards any work that she takes on is very, her work ethic is really good. I really like working with her.
Composer Kensuke Ushio is another recurring collaborator across your features. What is your process like working together to score your films?
The first time I worked with Mr. Ushio was in A Silent Voice. And, you know, he's a musician. He creates music. And I'm an animator, who, creates animation. Although what we create is different, I think, as artists our process and how we build things from the bottom up, the way we think in that process is very similar. It was really relatable, I could understand why he goes through this process. It is very similar to mine. So I think ever since then, it's really been easy to work with him. But also even easy to discuss something with him if I'm thinking about something and I want to discuss it with someone, that he was really easy to talk to. And I think what we hold precious within ourselves is very similar. That's also how we resonate.
What was your process like for creating an original story?
Creating the story from from scratch was really hard. With this original story, I wanted to challenge myself — using animation as a medium, and using music, time, movement, colors, etc — to not explain using the words, but express feelings using the elements that I described. I think I wanted to create a movie that you don't understand, but you experience or you feel. And I think that's what really led the process to this story.
Your cinematography mimics the use of film and camera lenses. Why are you drawn to these techniques? What are the technical challenges to animating them?
I always do think of myself as a cameraman. I feel like I'm picking up a camera and actually taking existing people who are my characters. I don't think of it like anime is made by drawings, but actual people and actual background. So, in fact, it is harder for me to create anime-ish anime because I think I want to portray the existing world around us.
Since Koe no Katachi, your projects are noticeably less moe. What’s prompted this shift in presentation over the years?
I didn't realize that the style has shifted. I really think that every work is different. I don't categorize like this would be moe, it's just what the work requires, or is asking for, or what fits this piece of work or project. So it's not like I have a rule like I'm not going to do moe style anymore. If the next project or the future projects require that, of course I will go to that style.
Your early work was largely synonymous with Kyoto Animation. What motivated you to work with more studios? What’s drawn you to return to Science SARU?
Kyoto Animation, they taught me a lot, I learned a lot, and I gained a lot of experience. But I think for the next step, I think I wanted to challenge myself into doing something that is hard for me to imagine what will come of it. And I think for that reason I went to Science SARU because working with Science SARU, it was really hard to imagine what was going to come out of working with them. So I think I wanted to challenge myself with that unknown, unimaginable something. So when I worked with them on The Heike Story (I mean, this is the same with Kyoto Animation as well) the staff at the studio, their work ethic towards creating anime is very good. And they're also having fun while they're working on the animation. So I thought that was really fun. So that's why I came back to make this movie with them.
How have you felt moving through the anime industry as a woman? Do you think the work of female directors has been received differently?
[Long hum] Maybe it was different as a woman working in this industry, but I tend to be the type of person who doesn't remember negative feelings or negative experiences, so I don't really remember any. To be honest, I do get a lot more interest because I am a female director. And maybe I do have a feeling that, well, I guess that's fortunate or lucky of me. But on the other hand, I don't want people to consider my gender to consider my work. I'm hoping that this gender gap would continue to [get] smaller in the industry.
What kind of films do you want to make in the future?
I have a lot of dreams to work on a lot of different things, but I think what's most important to me in all of my work, the world that that I create, is to always have respect for my characters, because I think that's really connected to always having respect for my viewers of the film. That is something that I always want to hold true to myself.
Kensuke Ushio
You’ve worked on several productions with director Yamada. Why have you continued to work alongside her?
Thankfully, it’s because Director Yamada keeps inviting me to work with me! It’s an honor to be invited by a comrade whom I’ve worked with on many projects.
Could you walk us through your creative process collaborating with Yamada and any others on these films. Have you changed how you work together since making A Silent Voice?
At the very beginning of the development stages, Director Yamada and I do what we call “concept work.” What kind of a film will this be? We don’t really use words to discuss that, but use art pieces, poetry, photographs, mathematical formulas, and architecture to find what the core of this film is.
This process has been used thoroughly since The Silent Voice. Luckily, we haven’t changed it.
I enjoy how your soundtracks on Yamada’s films mix electronics like synths with acoustic instruments. How do you decide the instrumentation for a film?
I take pains to bring sounds into the world that I created with Director Yamada. If the film requires it, I don’t limit myself to using what instruments.
I just keep thinking and worrying about what to do, as if I’m wallowing in mud.
How was the music for Shironekodo written and recorded?
When I heard the words “Sui Kin Chi Ka Moku Do Ten Amen,” I came up with the music immediately. Getting this kind of inspiration is very rare. The other music pieces were created by discussing with the director.
The character Rui plays the theremin. Who’s idea was it originally to have a character play theremin? What was writing for it like? Who recorded it on the soundtrack?
Incorporating the theremin was the director’s idea. A theremin is an instrument that has a lot of freedom in regards to pitch, so the sound was difficult to create on the keyboard I use to compose. Thanks to Mr. Gregoire Blanc, who performed the theremin for us, we were able to add amazing texture to the sound.
Speaking of Rui, do you relate to him (or any other of the musician characters) in particular?
I do resonate with an equipment geek like him. And clearly, he likes techno music. Just like me!
Your soundtracks for Yamada’s films use unique naming schemes for individual track titles. Could you explain the meaning behind how you named the tracks on The Colors Within? Was this similar to Liz and the Bluebird?
The track titles in the soundtrack are three numbers. These are RGB codes that indicate colors. So all of the tracks are titled by colors.
In Liz and the Bluebird, I used titles that are abstract, like poems. So it’s probably different from what I did this time. I always think about what fits the concept of the film best, just like how I think about what instruments to use.