The director of Kirby of the Stars is Soji Yoshikawa, a veteran of the anime industry. He also participates in creating the scripts, creating the wonderful world of Kirby. We asked the director, who has worked on numerous other animation masterpieces, to share his passion for Kirby!

	PROFILE Veteran director of the first theatrical version of “Lupin the Third” and the animated TV series “Tensai Bakabon”. As a screenwriter, he has participated in many hit movies including “Future Boy Conan”. ● ● ● ●●●What are your thoughts about the Kirby of the Stars anime? Yoshikawa At first, when I heard it was being based on a game, I was reluctant. The reason being that anime adaptations of video games don’t usually go well. The characters weren’t originally created for animation, so I thought it would be difficult. However, when I started working on the character, I found that he had a simplicity and strength that had long been forgotten in the world of animation. So now I’m filled with the feeling of “we have something good here”. ●●●The Kirby games are quite simple. I think the anime needed a new setting, but how was it creating one? Yoshikawa　Yes, you’re right. It’s thanks to Masahiro Sakurai, the original designer, that we had the condition of “there will be no humans in the anime”. This is why the setting is very unique for a Japanese anime. In other shows, the main character is surrounded by (human) boys and girls. We don’t have anything like that here. I think it’s rare to see a work with only fantasy characters like this. It’s similar to things like Moomin. ●●●You’ve worked on a variety of animated series, but what kind of impression did the character of Kirby give you?。 Yoshikawa　 I’m currently struggling with how to make the most of a character who does not speak. But there can be a certain charm in silent characters. Snoopy is like that. So that’s what we’re desperately seeking out. Specifically, I’m most concerned with how to make Kirby stand out as a character. In complex stories, Kirby tends to not be at the center because he doesn’t have any lines. So I’m very conscious of creating a sense of presence for Kirby as a main character starting from the scriptwriting phase. ●●●The anime has attracted attention for the skillful combination of 2D and 3D. Yoshikawa　The 3D is a means of increasing the number of drawn frames. Once you’ve created a 3D model, you can use it to make things more efficient. The job of a 2D animator is extremely difficult. For example, it takes a year to learn to draw a single line properly. With 3D however, the model has already been created, so all you have to do is click to create movement. Therefore, the animators can concentrate on movement without struggling with drawing, and it gets easier to learn about staging and camera work. In other words, they can grow faster. I think this will be a revolution in TV animation. This series’ animation is already moving 3-5x faster than other TV anime series. ●●●The number of cels for one episode is approximately 10,000. This is groundbreaking since the average for Japanese TV anime is said to be 3500-4000. Yoshikawa　It’s partly due to budget, and Japanese anime’s strong point is simplification. It’s like “Look, it works even when the picture isn’t moving, see?” and this is why quality has gone down. So this time, we’re making it with the feeling of “Let’s make it move as much as we can”. I also think Japanese animation is over-localized, and I think we need to seriously and strategically create something with wider appeal. It would be an exaggeration to call it a global standard. ●●●Does this reflect your intention? The atmosphere and colors of the characters are very American. Yoshikawa　That’s the influence of the original series (games), but that is the direction we’re aiming for. I think the world’s appearance in the games is reflected well in the animation. Kirby is a big name brand by Nintendo, and has a high reputation in the US, so I’d like to make it even bigger on a worldwide scale. ●●●You’ve also written scripts for this project, and the scripts themselves are interesting to read. Yoshikawa　Japanese anime is influenced by comics and often runs on something like emotion rather than logic or reason. It’s like they want to express something, but they don’t read as ‘cool’. I think it’s only stimulating in a surface-level way, and not properly trying to create something well-made. ●●●So in that sense, the story and presentation are properly connected in this case. Yoshikawa　Yes, exactly. There will be stories about human nature, a great war, and many others. I think you’ll enjoy it.。 ●●●Are the characters moving the way you want them too? Yoshikawa　No, not yet. There’s still a way to go. Especially with the CG, we have the data, so we can make improvements. There’s no drop in quality, so the more we do this, the better we’ll get. But when I go to the US and watch TV animation there, I see this level of movement, so I feel like “we’ve finally made it”. ●●●By the way, I understand that you enjoy musicals and you’ve personally been to Broadway. Yoshikawa　Animation is part of a very broad popular art form. Disney, for example, doesn’t make much distinction between animation and live action. Animation is a big part of Hollywood, and it’s been completely incorporated. Moreover, Disney productions have recently made their way to Broadway with great success. The composer Alan Menken, who wrote many famous Disney songs in the 1990s, including "The Little Mermaid," originally worked on musicals. They called that person in to work on the film. There are musical scenes in practically every animated film, right? It’s my dream to do that someday. ●●●So there might be musical scenes in the Kirby anime. Yoshikawa　I’d say I’d like to try at least once. But it’s a lot of work. You have to match all the movements to the music, you know? And you need a choreographer. I think it would cost a lot of money. (Laughs) ●●●What made you interested in Broadway? Did you want to use what you learned there for animation? Yoshikawa　My love of musicals and opera has its roots in animation. It’s Hollywood that makes animation interesting. When we’ve tried making live action movies in the past in Japan, we only had limited genres like “food”, “crime”, and “detective” films. But in anime, you have the French Revolution, stories set in space, anything goes. The boundaries of the genres are very wide. I’ve been asked several times. “Why don’t you write a script for a live-action film?” but I have no interest in doing so. If it’s something being made in Japan, animation would be more interesting. ●●●What is the most appealing aspect of anime for you? Yoshikawa　I think it’s the escape from reality in a positive sense. It’s not a bad thing. High quality entertainment can be refreshing, like the feeling you get after a good drink. ●●●Finally, what message would you like to say to fans who are going to watch the Kirby anime? Yoshikawa　It may be cliche but, “Please love it.”。 ●●●Thank you very much for your time today.