Kinugasa X Tomose Newtype September 2022 Interview Full TL + Extra
Kinugasa X Tomose Interview (Newtype September 2022)
K: Kinugasa
T: Tomose
"There's no heroine in youjitsu!?"
The second season is finally here after five years.
K: There had been talks about the second season for a while, but many things happened that got me to a point where I truly thought nothing would be made. So I'm happy for it.
T: That's right. I was also very dubious until seeing something official (laughs).
Two of the key persons of the second season are Ryuuen and Karuizawa. As the writer, is there anything in particular that you're eager to see?
K: I like the male characters more than the heroines, so I'm excited for Ryuuen's spotlight the most. I'm also paying special attention to Albert and Ishizaki, the characters that are always close to him. I also like Kouenji a lot, so even though he won't be involved in the events that follow, I will be following his every appearance closely (laughs).
T: I like heroines like a normal person (laughs), so I'm eager to see how Karuizawa-chan is portrayed this season.
Karuizawa who used to be a side character on season one was suddenly promoted to the heroine class this season. Was this something that was planned beforehand?
K: Her role had been set to a certain extent. She started as a side character that I had the intention to work on. However, and this is true for every other character, there are some occasions where I work on the background of these characters only after they get the spotlight in the story. You could say I keep the makeshift style when writing them.
It's really amazing that a character can grow to be one of the most popular heroines with that style.
K: Isn't that thanks to Tomose-san's drawings?
T: No, I'm also still asking myself "Why?" when it came to Karuizawa-chan (laughs). Every girl is nice so I'm still very surprised about her outstanding popularity.
It's very unique to see a story with shifting heroines.
K: Based on what I feel, this story has no "heroine" in the first place. I never wrote Horikita, Kushida or Karuizawa with the intention to make them heroines. I understand these characters are no more than people that had a chance to interact with Ayanokouji at a given point in time, and that said relationships could change given the circumstances and the environment that revolves around him.
T: At first I really thought Horikita and Kushida were the two main heroines, so I designed them based on that. Although their heroine presence started getting less and less relevant so I was like "huh"? (laughs). The cases where Kinugasa-sensei tells me "this character is very important" are unique, so I almost always go with no hints on them, so it's always like this character I designed as a mob turns out to be a main one or the opposite can be true too.
So it's a style that the relevance of a character can always shift depending on the narrative?
K: That's right. Which means that in regards to romantic relationships, even though I do have a faint image of it, whom Ayanokouji will choose to stay or not stay with is something I don't even know myself yet. It's likely it might follow the expectative, but also likely something might change the outcome.
Following the development of season two, how were you two involved with the production staff?
K: I did participate at the script meeting, but I didn't say anything in particular. I believe the producers have taken the time to read my work more careful than I did, and I also believe they are capable of producing the best possible outcome in the anime, so I trust on how they do it.
T: In my case, I wasn't even invited to that meeting (laughs). They only called me a few times to ask about the character designs.
To begin with, how was the classroom of the elite and its peculiar protagonist conceived?
K: Usually, all school-related stories are based on the students themselves, but everything started when I thought about using the academy itself as the main stage on which many students would revolve around. After that, I added the backbone of the special tests and the point system characteristic of a meritocracy.
So in a sense, we could say the protagonists are all the students of the academy?
K: That's right. That's also why it would be ideal if I could introduce more students. Although I guess Tomose-san would really dislike that (laughs).
T: Kinugasa-sensei has a tendency to increase characters since the old days, so I'm kind of prepared for it by now (laughs).
K: Thank you very much. And well, about Ayanokouji, he simply turned that way after I poured every element I thought that would make him cool into his character.
How do you think and plan out all of these mind battles?
K: I think about them after rolling many times inside my futon. I initially start writing them with the general solution in mind, but even I can't tell how it will turn out at first until I finish writing everything, as everything is constantly changing.
Was there anything that affected the source material after it was adapted into an anime?
T: There's a lot in regards to the illustrations. I'm not very good at drawing cool-looking boys, so I always thought to myself "so this is how I can make him look cooler" when looking at Ryuuen.
K: There have been times where I check how a character's personality gets well-established in the anime and I use it as feedback for my work. Especially Ayanokouji, who wasn't well established as a character at first, but after seeing how well he was done in the anime, I used that "taste" from volume five onwards to refine the current persona that we all know.
What are your points of interest from episode six onwards?
T: Even though Ayanokouji finally gets a chance to display a portion of his abilities, he still does something very satisfactory to watch at the end too, so that's one of the things I want to see the most.
K: I'm repeating myself here, but I'm more eager to see what the boys do (laughs). I would be happy if you all could enjoy Albert, Ryuuen and Ishizaki's development with me. Let's not forget about Kouenji's scenes though.
Incidentally, the source material is already at the second year of the academy. Is the end in sight?
K: I have a very clear end in mind and we can say that we're past the middle point for sure. All that's left is going forward towards that end, but I can't really say anything for certain.
I will wait eagerly to see what happens with Ayanokouji.
K: That's also a crucial point of the series. A normal protagonist usually changes after experiencing many things with the heroines, rivals and friends, but Ayanokouji's essence and defect are that he is unchanging, after all.
T: From my perspective, I do feel that he is gradually changing. That's why as a reader, I'm also dying to see what kind of answer he arrives at. Couldn't you just tell me here and now (laughs)?
K: Of course I can't (laughs). That's something I hope you can check through the story while also choosing to stay with us until the end of it.
Extra - Main cast seiyuu's opinion on Ayanokouji -
Kito Akari (Horikita Suzune): "A reliable and cool character"
I think having a person as reliable as him as an ally would be awesome, and the fact that he can do some very scary things while playing dumb, the fact that he has a scary unseen side to him is something I love. I also like how he seems harmless so long as he remains as an ally. Although, the Ayanokouji from season 2 seems to be shifting more to his new tool, Karuizawa, so it makes me a little sad (laughs).
Kubo Yurika (Kushida Kikyo): "Fear incarnate"
The scene that prevails the most inside me comes from season one, episode six, where Ayanokouji catches the stalker and says "Your life is over". It truly portrayed how despite being a student, he could easily overwhelm even adults. The fact that he said that with his normal tone of voice was like the perfect incarnation of how frightful Ayanokouji could be. It's been five years and I still can't forget that, so I believe I was dead-scared at the time.
Taketatsu Ayana (Karuizawa Kei): "I'm incredibly curious about him"
Eh, I think he's slightly scary (laughs). He's scary, but he's also the type of character that one gets to be really curious about. Even though he's usually always trying to not stand out, it's still revealed to everyone that he's very, very fast at the end of the sports festival. Just like in the "a clever hawk knows how to hide his claws" saying, I think it's cool when a character shows the claws that they were hiding. However, I also think it is kind of unfair, because it makes me want to know what kind of character they truly are, making me more and more interested!
Mizunaka Masaaki (Ryueen Kakeru): "Scary, but I like him"
Scary. If someone asked me who is scarier, Ryueen or Ayanokouji, it would be Ayanokouji, hands down. We can't really read what he's thinking at all, he's pure null. I believe he's a very dark character in the good sense for a protagonist. That's also his appeal and why I like him. Even though Ryuuen himself hasn't realized how scary Ayanokouji can be, I'm always nervous on the inside. If possible I would even like to warn him "Ryueen! You're in front of the most dangerous of all! (laughs).