2024年 10月 05日
Interview (2006)
Harada, who is currently directing "BEM," was featured in the May 1, 2006 edition of the Mainichi Elementary School Newspaper.
Harada:
The producer decides the direction of the show. The director's job is to add flavor along those lines.
I'm present at every stage of the production to check and make sure the direction doesn't deviate.
For example, in the case of "BEM," I use old techniques in the images to bring out the good old days.
I use cels, which were indispensable in old anime, and I draw smoke (by hand, frame by frame) because it's hard to express it well in digital images. *1
Teamwork is important in anime production. Many different types of people work in the production, and the director brings them together.
Harada:
The producer decides the direction of the show. The director's job is to add flavor along those lines.
I'm present at every stage of the production to check and make sure the direction doesn't deviate.
For example, in the case of "BEM," I use old techniques in the images to bring out the good old days.
I use cels, which were indispensable in old anime, and I draw smoke (by hand, frame by frame) because it's hard to express it well in digital images. *1
Teamwork is important in anime production. Many different types of people work in the production, and the director brings them together.
I want to continue making anime that inspires people who watch it to want to make society a better place.
*1 There was only one scene that used cels. In the end, it was shot digitally, so it wasn't that noticeable. Harada added touches such as airbrushing to the digital data one by one in Photoshop to create the smoke and waves.
In the recording room. Harada is in the center.
About "Bem":Bem is a famous Japanese monster anime that was broadcast in 1968. The animation work was done in Korea, and the unique world view that is not Japanese scenery enhanced the horror taste.
An anime production company (a production company that does not own the copyright) recommended Harada to an advertising agency because of his directing skills in "Kirby"
The famous major advertising agency had acquired the copyright to Bem.
For several years, many anime companies had planned to remake Bem, but all of them were rejected by the advertising agencies.
Many anime directors respected the old Bem and planned a remake that was faithful to the original, but the advertising agencies wanted to create safe content that companies could make money from (Harada later heard this directly from the producer. In Japan, "content" refers to the legal definition of art imposed by the Japanese government (Liberal Democratic Party) since 2004. Since then, many large corporations have exploited the law to increase their profits).
From 2004, Harada was in charge of planning the remake and creating the pilot by himself for two years. However, all of them were rejected by the advertising agencies. (It was later discovered that the advertising agencies had not actually read Harada's huge proposal documents. Furthermore, the proposal documents and illustrations have now been destroyed.)
When it was decided to broadcast in 2006, the advertising agencies opposed Harada directing it.
Harada has always avoided telling people in the commercial anime industry that he was an independent creator. The commercial anime world was not interested in independent production. Also, he did not talk about commercial anime work in the independent production world. People in the independent production world were not interested in commercial anime work.
However, the people at the advertising agency had secretly looked up Harada's background on the Internet.
For several years, many anime companies had planned to remake Bem, but all of them were rejected by the advertising agencies.
Many anime directors respected the old Bem and planned a remake that was faithful to the original, but the advertising agencies wanted to create safe content that companies could make money from (Harada later heard this directly from the producer. In Japan, "content" refers to the legal definition of art imposed by the Japanese government (Liberal Democratic Party) since 2004. Since then, many large corporations have exploited the law to increase their profits).
From 2004, Harada was in charge of planning the remake and creating the pilot by himself for two years. However, all of them were rejected by the advertising agencies. (It was later discovered that the advertising agencies had not actually read Harada's huge proposal documents. Furthermore, the proposal documents and illustrations have now been destroyed.)
When it was decided to broadcast in 2006, the advertising agencies opposed Harada directing it.
Harada has always avoided telling people in the commercial anime industry that he was an independent creator. The commercial anime world was not interested in independent production. Also, he did not talk about commercial anime work in the independent production world. People in the independent production world were not interested in commercial anime work.
However, the people at the advertising agency had secretly looked up Harada's background on the Internet.
And without directly confirming this fact with Harada, they decided that Harada was a "dangerous person."(Harada was also called a "dangerous person" by some of his colleagues at university.)
The first episode of BEM, which Harada was in charge of, was so extreme that the sponsor, Marmiya (a food company), dropped out, and the advertising agency continued to broadcast the show at its own expense, but it was unable to find a sponsor after that, and the show ended after the 13th episode.
All 26 episodes were broadcast on cable TV.
When it was decided that Harada would be in charge of the final episode again, a person in charge at Sony Pictures (one of the companies that were members of the production committee) bowed his head on the desk in the lobby of the film developing lab and pleaded with Harada. "Please don't make anything dangerous. I have a wife and kids. I can't let the company fire me now."
The final episode was a resistance film that directly criticized human discrimination.
Humans judge people based on appearance alone and persecute those who have the elements of monsters.
However, the children appealed to the adults, "Please stop discriminating."
Finally, the children occupied the gas tank. Below them, the police, riot police, and TV news surrounded them.
All 26 episodes were broadcast on cable TV.
When it was decided that Harada would be in charge of the final episode again, a person in charge at Sony Pictures (one of the companies that were members of the production committee) bowed his head on the desk in the lobby of the film developing lab and pleaded with Harada. "Please don't make anything dangerous. I have a wife and kids. I can't let the company fire me now."
The final episode was a resistance film that directly criticized human discrimination.
Humans judge people based on appearance alone and persecute those who have the elements of monsters.
However, the children appealed to the adults, "Please stop discriminating."
Finally, the children occupied the gas tank. Below them, the police, riot police, and TV news surrounded them.
After that, an advertising agency planned to make "Bem" into a pachinko game.
Harada didn't want to be involved with commercial animation anymore, but sadly, he had no choice but to sell his labor to a corporation to make a living. Harada was in charge of animation direction for the pachinko game BEM.
After all these events, when a special program on BEM was broadcast on television later, Harada did not appear, but instead recommended cat-loving scenario writer T to the television station.
Although T did not mention Harada's name on the program, he recounted an episode in which Harada had distributed a newspaper article to the main staff as reference material, asking, "What is the state of the world today? Also, what is the environment surrounding children?"
Harada didn't want to be involved with commercial animation anymore, but sadly, he had no choice but to sell his labor to a corporation to make a living. Harada was in charge of animation direction for the pachinko game BEM.
After all these events, when a special program on BEM was broadcast on television later, Harada did not appear, but instead recommended cat-loving scenario writer T to the television station.
Although T did not mention Harada's name on the program, he recounted an episode in which Harada had distributed a newspaper article to the main staff as reference material, asking, "What is the state of the world today? Also, what is the environment surrounding children?"
Episode 1 of "BEM"
begins with a narration by Mizuho Suzuki , an anti-authority actor whom Harada admires, who says, "The Japanese government designated part of Japan as a government-designated city and carried out large-scale development, destroying the natural environment. Monsters from all over the world have gathered here." However, it is not just well-behaved scenes; scenes such as monsters jumping into people's mouths make it a grotesque horror film. Harada does not simply portray anti-authority and political scenes, but also does not skimp on violent and horror scenes. This style is similar to that of Kinji Fukasaku and Oliver Stone.
Final episode (episode 26)
Children occupy a gas tank and demand, "Stop discrimination!" The large group of adults who have gathered there shout, "They're in the way!" and "Deport these monsters from the country!" The mass media also only emphasizes the horror of illegal immigrants. This is a phenomenon that is accelerating in Japan today. Now, Japanese xenophobes are targeting the Kurds, in addition to the Chinese and Koreans they targeted in the past.
by kiyubaru2020
| 2024-10-05 13:08
| Life and history
