JOJOs BIZARRE ADVENTURE Animation Production Secrets Part 1

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Jojo Anime Opens “This is a Conundrum”

Citation. production-note

When Warner Bros. Japan producer Hiroyuki Omori was approached by an anime-related company with the idea of adapting a manga into an animated TV series, he said he was for a while troubled, thinking, “This is a difficult question. The manga is one of Japan’s most popular big contents, but the original work was published in 1987. In particular, the characters drawn by Hirohiko Araki in the early days were gekiga-style and full of machoism, and were far removed from the popular drawings of today at least. I wondered if the generation that did not know Jojo would be able to accept them. However, Omori decided to make an anime version, saying, “There was the problem of what to do with the design, but the power of the work itself has not faded, and above all, I am a big Jojo fan myself, so I decided to take on the challenge, knowing the difficulties involved. With Shueisha’s willing consent, he immediately set about selecting a studio.　　　　　

When considering a studio that can draw Jojo, one must naturally choose a studio that can draw “powerful muscle dynamism. Omori then turned his attention to david production, which was in the vein of GONZO, a studio that had produced many solid works with substance and substance. At the time, David Productions was a new studio that had just been established, but the fact that they had carefully animated the “Fighting Librarian” series, which, like Jojo, was a Jump-affiliated work, with Strong lines, convinced Omori that they would be able to handle the project, and he approached them.

A team takes on the challenge of Hirohiko Araki’s talent

When David Production’s producer Hisataka Kasama received the news of the anime adaptation, he came up with a secret plan to have multiple directors: “I thought it would be difficult for a single director to take on the unparalleled talent of Mr. Araki. Although this was unusual for a TV animation composition project, we decided to have multiple directors and challenge ourselves as a team(Kasama) “The two who were chosen were Naokatsu Tsuda and Kenichi Suzuki. Although there are some differences in the credits, with Tsuda as “director” and Suzuki as “series director,” the two Substantials divided all the workload in the production process.

Kasama explained the reason for using both Tsuda and Suzuki: “Tsuda-san is strong in comedy, and Suzuki-san is strong in action drawing. I thought that by having these two work together, we would be able to incorporate both the power and fun of the original work into the anime. In fact, Tsuda said, “I am a Jojo fan myself, but if I had been asked to make the work on my own, I might have refused. But when I heard that I would be working with Mr. Suzuki, I thought I might be able to do it. But later on, I think I was foolhardy or fearless (laugh),” he said, looking back on that time. Suzuki, on the other hand, said, “I didn’t feel any pressure; I was more happy to be involved in my favorite JoJo. It’s a big title, but I want to work together with Tsuda to create a JoJo of my own without being distracted by the opinions of those around us.

Thus, the core team of producers Omori and Kasama, and directors Tsuda and Suzuki were assembled, and coincidentally, all four are big Jojo fans. The respect for the original work that can be felt from every corner of the film is perhaps a natural result of this lineup. With the recommendation of the editorial department, Yasuko Kobayashi joined as series composition, and Soejima Yasufumi joined as visual director, the JoJo anime finally got underway.

Not “something like JoJo,” but “making JoJo.

The first direction Omori consulted with the production team was to “make JoJo,” not something “JoJo-esque” or “JoJo-like,” but rather to make JoJo itself. Hearing this, Tsuda and his team read the original work again until it was torn to shreds, and wrote down as many Jojo elements and characteristics as they could think of on a white board. They came up with everything from easy-to-understand things like “onomatopoeia” and “unique poses” to impressions such as “a refreshing feeling after reading” and “the battles are difficult to understand. Finally, he organized them in order. However, “As long as the animation is made in accordance with general animation techniques, it will inevitably end up being an ‘ordinary adventure. Jojo must be a “Bizarre Adventure. When you think about it, the answer was in the title from the beginning,” Kasama reached the conclusion

Thus, everyone agreed to pursue the complete reproduction of all elements, including “onomatopoeia. The rules established through this meeting were later distributed to all staff members involved in the JoJo anime, and have functioned as a “bible” throughout the rest of the series.

From the first episode of the 1st Season, “Dio the InvaderA feature of “Jojo Anime” is that it completely reproduces the composition and dialogue of the original work.

The first three episodes of the series attract viewers

The JoJo anime was not promised to be produced until the 4th season from the beginning; if the 1st season did not achieve a certain level of success, the 2nd season would not be produced, and under such circumstances, producer Omori especially focused on the first three episodes.

Jojo has a strong image of “stand battles,” and the third part of the original work, “Stardust Crusaders,” in which stands made their first appearance, has gained a particularly large fan base. Therefore, a major issue was how to handle “Phantom Blood,” the first part of the original work, which tends to be regarded as a rather plain story. Omori therefore decided to have viewers become fully immersed in the world of Jojo in the first three episodes, and the anime staff depicted the first 17 episodes of the original manga, the first climax of the series, all at once in the first three episodes. Since an episode of an anime is usually equivalent to three or four episodes of the manga, one can clearly see how drastic this decision was in its structure. According to Omori, “I wanted to get viewers hooked by showing a roller coaster-like development.

The roller coaster ride worked and was well received by many fans. Omori, who had been following the reactions on SNS in real time, recalls, “I was relieved from the bottom of my heart that things might be all right now.

From 1st Season Episode 3 “Youth with Dio The fierce battle between Jonathan and Dio at the Joestar mansion engulfed in flames. quality befitting the opening of the long-running JoJo battle.

The popular “Stardust Crusaders” isThe quality has been improved with the strongest lineup

After the popularity of the first season, the production team moved on to the second season “Stardust Crusaders” (the third part of the original work) immediately after the broadcast. The second season is the most attractive season because of its depiction of fierce battles using stand, and it is one of the most popular seasons in the series that cannot fail. For this reason, the number of drawings was increased compared to the first season, and a new action director was brought in to strengthen the drawing aspect. In addition, Toshiyuki Kato, who played a central role in the first season, was newly appointed as chief director, establishing a more stable production system.

Thus, the 48 episodes, the longest of the four seasons, were successfully completed with consistent quality from start to finish. The “dynamic beauty of muscles” that has been pursued since the first season has gained in maturity, and it can be said that it has reached a state of perfection as an animation image.

From the 3rd episode of the 2nd Season, “Dio’s Curse The 2nd Season was the closest to the original work.　　The silhouette is familiar to many Jojo fans.

The 3rd Season “Diamond Is Unbreakable”a complete change of direction due to its unique style

The third season takes place in a small town called Morio Town, a complete change from the second season, which was a road movie that took viewers on a journey from Japan to faraway Egypt. Kato, who replaced Suzuki, who left Jojo to direct another film, once again held a brainstorming session with the team in order to accurately grasp the different style of the film, which was different from previous works.

The objective of the story was clear up to the third part, but in the fourth part, it is difficult to know where the goal is. In that sense, it is quite special, so we thoroughly discussed the direction of the story,” （ Kato.）

As a result, various innovations were made, such as inserting a bizarre scene of Kira Yoshikage, the last boss, at the beginning of the film. We succeeded in boldly reconstructing the original without losing the charm of the story.

Episode 2 of the 3rd Season: “Toho Josuke! Meet Angelo. In the 3rd Season, the “town” itself plays a leading role, and the recreation of Morio Town is also a particular focus.

With a new director, it has evolved even further.Anime 4th Season “Golden Wind” (Part 5 of the original work)

Kato, who directed the 3rd season, left the JoJo anime to direct another film, and with the loss of Suzuki and Kato, the two wings who had been the core of the work since the 1st season, Tsuda sought out new talent and used his own contacts to persuade Yasuhiro Kimura and Hideya Takahashi to become the directors. Tsuda even goes so far as to say, “My greatest achievement in Part 5 was bringing in Kimura and Takahashi as directors and Takahiro Kishida as a character designer.

The two new directors, who had never worked on a JoJojo animation before, said, “At first I wasn’t sure if I would be able to draw a JoJo storyboard, but I found that I had more freedom than I had expected. I was able to work at my own pace.（kimura) Kimura-san and I have very different personalities, and I think the result was a series that really brought out each other’s individuality” (Takahashi). As a result, the talents of each of them were fully realized.. Tsuda’s theme for the fourth season was “Renaissance,”(return to basics) a reference to Italy, where the story takes place. The goal was to bring both directors back to the roots of the JoJo anime from scratch. Tsuda’s goal was successfully achieved, and the series was given a new lease of life thanks in part to the results of his meticulous location scouting in Italy. This is the culmination of Tsuda’s work on JoJo animation, and the highest achievement to date.

From the 4th Season Episode 4 “Introduction to Gangsters Beautiful Italian landscapes and well-designed artwork combine in the 4th Season

Jojo Anime, what is its “inherited golden spirit”?

The JoJo anime is a magnificent epic drama that spans 63 book volumes, with a total of 152 episodes over a period of 7 years. While some staff members, including director Naokatsu Tsuda, series director Yasuko Kobayashi, and sound director Miwa Iwanami, have been involved in all parts of the series, many staff members have left or newly joined the project midway through. While based on the “bible,” the visual concept of the JoJo anime has been renewed with each season. The production team, which continues to move forward while repeating metabolism, is like a “golden spirit that is passed down from generation to generation” itself. We look forward to seeing them continue to evolve and be passed on to new generations.

Thank you for watching. See you soon!

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure　Hirohiko Araki

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