Bringing Imagination to the Sengoku Youko Supernatural Action Anime

Manga creator Satoshi Mizukami is already preparing his next manga series, but it's his supernatural action story Sengoku Youko that brought director Kagetsu Aizawa and producer Allian Cai to Anime NYC. Aizawa's directorial resume is long; he's worked in the animation industry since the late 1980s, directing episodes of Penguindrum and Laid-Back Camp, and overseeing the animation in Revolutionary Girl Utena, Hell Girl, and several Pokémon films.

Cai's producer credits span several animation studios. She was an associate producer on P.A. Works' Buddy Daddies buddy-assassin comedy-drama, Goro Taniguchi's campy Back Arrow anime series, and the demon slice-of-life anime As Miss Beelzebub likes it.

The director and producer discussed the challenges working on the anime, from finding just the right voice for a 200-year-old yōkai to tapping into their imaginations to bring Jinka's attacks to life.

What was it about Satoshi Mizukami's original manga that appealed to you?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: I guess for myself, it was the human relationship that I saw in this work. Every character, even the main character and secondary characters, they're very intriguing, and their personalities are very deep. They all have strengths and weaknesses. And even the weak characters, are written in a positive way. I think I was really drawn into the human relationships.

Allian CAI: For me, actually, the unique thing for this mangas is that the main character changes. There are 17 volumes for the whole series, and the main character changes from volume seven. It's the second main character that rescued the first main character in the end. I think this is a unique thing compared to other comics.

What was most important when casting the voice actors for the siblings Jinka and Tama?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: We did do a lot of tape auditions to choose the casting. As for Jinka. I think it was pretty straightforward. We got the voice actor [Sōma Saitō] pretty easily. Conversely, the character Tama was trickier and difficult for us to cast. But, still, we were finally able to select the person [Yūki Takada] who could not have been better. I feel honored that we could have done so.

Allian CAI: I was particular about my recommendation for Tama, and we had a lot of people audition for Tama on tape, but as a fox who has lived for about 200 years, I thought it was important she have a composed atmosphere, and I think the director did, too. Of course, [Yuuki] Takada-san and the other candidates all were cute, but we chose Ms. Takada for Tama because she was cute and, at the same time, invoked an atmosphere that was convincing that Yoko had lived for 200 years, which was very good.

Supernatural action series are a staple of anime. What makes Sengoku Yōko unique in the sense of its supernatural action?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: For one. it is a period piece, and what makes it unique? Of course, we have the katana stuff. Jinka has a unique weapon, a really long sword weapon, and they battle. But I think in the end, what's funny is then they just start punching each other and don't use weapons; instead, they use their fists. So I think that's kind of a funny, unique aspect, like how amazing the fist is.

Do you mean like Jinka's stone first attack, the one that comes out of the ground?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: For one of his attacks, yes. There are many different kinds of hand-to-hand combat scenes in it.

The series features a lot of Japanese folklore. Was there a katawara that you especially enjoyed bringing to life in the anime?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: I think there are a lot of serious scenes in the anime, but when Tago comes, he kind of stirs up and makes a mess. And then, in the end, he just leaves, and nothing really happens. For me, it's the humor about him, and the gap between how he looks and who he is drew me to him. He's one of my favorites.

In your opinion, what's the recipe for a great action scene?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: I feel like the action scene has to fit in with the story and create the drama. For example, in some action scenes, you see, it's like they'll battle, and then it stops the story. But I think it has to go together hand in hand, the story and the action scene. That's something I really wanted to emphasize for this series.

One of the biggest early fights in the series sees Jinka face off against a castle. What was it like to approach such a giant battle for animation?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: I think, not in just that scene in particular, but I know in the manga, there's a lot of scenes where it's a two-page spread, and it's pretty dramatic. I wanted to make sure that feeling or that scene wascorrectly conveyed in the animation when you watch it. So that's how I really approached it, and I hope that when you watch it you can feel that way. Please watch it and see how it turns out.

What has been one of the biggest challenges working on the series, and how did you overcome that challenge?

Kagetsu AIZAWA:One of the challenges was that Jinka had many special techniques. But when you're reading the manga, a lot of the time, it's not really detailed. I have to tell the animators what kind of attack or how he is going to perform the attack, right? It is ideal that everything is cleared in the storyboard phase, but it is not necessarily like that. So I had to really dig deep and use my imagination. There was a lot of work involved in deciphering the meanings of the kanji for each of the techniques named in the manga and reinforcing the idea that this is probably what it means. I'm glad that I was able to tap into my idea bank and not compromise on squeezing the ideas out.

What was one of the most satisfying accomplishments while working on the series?

Kagetsu AIZAWA: I think in terms of satisfaction, we still have a lot of work to do, so I'm not satisfied yet. We're still pushing forward. But, I guess regarding episodes, I think episode seven turned out really good. And also, the 13th episode was more challenging. So I think those are coming together. I'm really proud of those two episodes in particular.