Interview with Arima Ryota, character designer and chief animation director of the summer anime “Mayonaka Punch” | Making the most of Kotobuki-san’s wonderful character while creating his own design [Staff and voice actor interview series, Part 3]The original TV animation “Mayonaka Punch”, brought to you by the PAWORKS staff behind “Paripi Kongming”, will begin airing on Monday, July 8, 2024!

Masaki, also known as “Masakichi,” is a member of the “Harikiri Sisters,” a trio of NewTubers active on the world’s most viewed video sharing site, NewTube, but is fired from her channel due to a certain incident. As Masaki tries to make a comeback, a vampire named Ribu appears before her, who for some reason feels that it is fate that she is with him.

With Ribu and her superhuman abilities, surely they can make the best videos…? This is the “rebirth” story of a group of high-spirited girls who are video contributors with their own problems, striving to reach 1 million subscribers on their channel.

Animate Times is currently running a series of interviews with staff and cast members. The third installment is with character designer and general animation director Ryota Arima. He also served as general animation director for the anime film “The Quintessential Quintuplets,” and is participating in this work as character designer and general animation director.

This is his first time participating in a production as a character designer. We asked him about his thoughts on taking on this project.

–Please tell us how you came to be involved in this project as a character designer.

Arima Ryota (hereinafter, Arima): I was introduced to PAWORKS by a producer at the first company I joined, who has been helping me since I started working in the anime industry, and I decided to participate in this project.

The first thing I heard was, “This is a work that I want to challenge myself to do various things.” I’m young in both career and age, so when I was asked, “What do you think?” I replied without hesitation. It was just after I left my previous company and became a freelancer, so the timing was good.

— Mr. Arima, you have served as chief animation director and chief animation director on films such as “The Quintessential Quintuplets,” but this time, while you are one of the chief animation directors, you are also in charge of character design. Does that mean it will be different from your usual work?

Arima: I’m not sure if I can explain it in an easy-to-understand way, but when it comes to design, you think about how the character will look in the anime, how to draw the lines and add shading, and when the animators color the lines they have drawn, you have to consider what kind of gradation and processing to use. In one word, I think it’s the job of “planning.” In that sense, design and chief animation director are completely different jobs.

–In that sense, was it a challenge for you as well?

Arima: I myself have done character design for short videos and promotional PVs for smartphone games. But when it comes to TV anime, many people participate in the production, and the expressions of the characters in the work look at the designs and settings I drew, and everyone grasps the atmosphere and starts drawing. It’s a big responsibility, and I felt a different kind of tension than before.

–What kind of interactions took place among the staff?

Arima: For this “Mayonaka Punch”, the original character design by Tsukasa Kotobuki was already in the works. Kotobuki is a much more experienced artist than me, and a truly amazing person… I wanted to keep as many of Kotobuki’s good parts as possible, while also creating a design that would catch the eye even when mixed in with current anime, so I had that kind of interaction with him. Rather than brushing it up, I was more conscious of assisting him.

–Director Homma Osamu apparently requested Kotobuki that the role be “not too emotional, but also not too modern.”

Arima: I don’t know for sure until I ask Director Homma… but I think it’s a design that is familiar to young people today, but also has a nostalgic feel to it. I think that might have been the intention behind asking Kotobuki-san to come up with the original idea.

— “Designing it so that it will stand out even when blended in with current anime” seems like a key phrase to me.

有間：ことぶきさんの原案は最初の段階で、かなり完成されていたんですよ。自分が最初に見たのは、色がついた状態のキャラクターだったので、キャラクターの服の線をどのように表現するかなどをアシストするような流れでした。また、もともとなかったグラデーションを自分のほうで足して、それをあとで監督たちと確認して、引き算をしていったような感じです。

また、意見を求められた時に発言をすることはありました。例えば、現在のりぶ（CV：ファイルーズあい）の髪の毛の色はハイライトとノーマルのピンクの色のみですが、デザインの段階では、一本、グラデーションの線が入っていました。そのあたりは、本間監督と話し合って、意見を出させてもらっています。

──本間監督は現場のスタッフからも厚い信頼を寄せられているそうですね。

有間：そうですね。僕が出した意見に関して、本間監督は寛容に受け止めてくれるんです。それは僕だけではなく、他のスタッフも感じていたと思います。みんなの意見を汲み取っていただいていたことは印象的でした。そうした作業が一通り終わった後は、すぐに総作画監督の仕事に入りましたね。