Anime Trending sat down to chat about anime Sengoku Youko new with Director Kagetsu Aizawa and Series Producer Ailian Cai in AnimeNYC 2023. Sengoku Youko opens on January 11, 2024 and is produced by White Fox make animation. Sengoku Youko is an adaptation of the manga by Satoshi Mizukami This composition and adaptation are expected to last three courses. In our one-on-one interview, Aizawa and Cai discussed their favorite parts of adapting Sengoku Youko, how the project came to be, and what it took to assemble a creative team succeed together.
Thank you both again for your time at Anime NYC. How did the Sengoku Youko project originate?
Ailian Cai: Initially at the end of 2020, this project came to us and of course we were familiar with Mizukami-sensei’s Works. When we saw the original manga, we were surprised because it wasn’t an anime yet so we took a look at it and then we talked to one of the producers and the president of White Fox. It was really fun to work on this project really enthusiastically and that’s how it initially started.
As for director Kagetsu Aizawa, What was your reaction when asked to do this project?
Kagetsu Aizawa: I was really happy when they asked me to direct this project, and as we mentioned, the president of White Fox really loved the idea of turning Sengoku Youko into an anime. So, just by receiving such support from the president, I feel assured that I can put all my heart and soul into this project.
What was your first impression of Sengoku? Youko manga?
Kagetsu Aizawa: When I watch manga, the characters are very attractive to me, all the characters, the main characters, even the protagonist. The supporting characters, they all have really profound traits, strengths and weaknesses. All the characters being so developed is something I’ve never seen before.
Ailian Cai: I agree with the director, I think not only the main character but also the supporting characters are really great. Also, I think the unique point of this manga is that the manga has 17 volumes, in the middle we will change the main character from volume 7, then we change the main character, and the 2nd main character will rescue the main character. main object. finally the first main character, and that’s really something unique when compared to other manga.
To expand on this, what do you find most appealing about manga?
Kagetsu Aizawa: When approaching the manga, I love how in the story you can see even the weak characters approaching the world as themselves and the character development of those characters is to me truly admirable. , and it’s like they become the adults you aspire to be.
And when you make anime, of course you aim the show at the mainstream anime audience, but I just don’t want to create something that you watch once and see it all, but [đúng hơn] there’s something you can learn from it, like how these characters develop in the story.
Can you talk about this process? behind assembling the creative team and crew for Sengoku Youko? How does White Fox participate in production?
Kagetsu Aizawa: I think for the main production staff, White Fox chose that for us. In terms of other things, we want to make sure that even if they are industry veterans, they are truly passionate and we can tap into their expertise. They also really understand and are passionate about this project.
Ailian Cai: From the production side, you know, I really feel that the script is very important, and the manga is very long as we mentioned–17 volumes–so we wanted to make sure that there was someone who could finish it. Put it all together, and there it is [Jukki] Hanada, the series composer, who really helped us with that.
On the music side, we reached out to Evan Call, who really produces great music and the director is really happy with his work.
Director Aizawa, you made your debut as director of the Hakyuu Houshin Engi series in 2018. What was the most valuable lesson you learned from that experience?
KagetsuAizawa: When I first debuted, I was new and nervous, and I was just making sure everyone there was happy. I guess I don’t want to cause trouble for too many people, so the lesson I learned is that even if there are a lot of challenges, risks or obstacles, we must not avoid them but overcome them, and don’t Don’t give up because that means the final animation or the final product that we release will be good and that means the fans will be happy with what we produce. So I think that’s one of the big lessons that we all learned, everyone, all the staff, including me. We just need to do our best, no matter the circumstances, and create excellent products. That’s what we did for Sengoku Youko, so I hope that you can see the results!
Sengoku Youko will have three courses. What are the main challenges of directing such a long anime series?
Kagetsu Aizawa: One of the challenges with longer, three-phase anime is having a staff and being able to get the staff that you need because there are so many anime being produced these days and so many staff working on them. different projects. So I think that’s one of the challenges for our staff.
Of course, even with those challenges, we still want to do our best and do something good. In this anime especially, there are a lot of fight scenes and we always thought: “How can we make it better? How can we make it more interesting for people?” So that’s what we really emphasize here.
For viewers who are both familiar and unfamiliar with manga, what can they expect from Sengoku Youko?
Kagetsu Aizawa: I think the action scenes we mentioned earlier are what viewers can expect, please check it out. We wanted to make sure that when creating this anime, we followed the main story of the manga. We also wanted to include details that weren’t in the original manga and make sure that actually showed on screen.
For the uninitiated, we want to make sure they watch Sengoku Youko and think, “Wow, this is so cool, I want to read this author’s original work!” That’s how we think about it.
For fans unfamiliar with Sengoku Youko, how would you describe the show’s premise?
Kagetsu Aizawa: We also touched on this earlier, of course, there are strong characters and you can see how they live and go through the story, but the weak characters are also something you should pay attention to. how they approach life in this. the world and the way they live. Because of its entertainment value, anyone can easily visit Sengoku Youko and enjoy it for what it is.
Ailian Cai: This story is based on humans and youkai living together in this world, and to me, Shinsuke is just a normal guy, and I think when looking at the world through his lens, a lot of who can relate to that as a viewer. Also, the scenes where humans and yokai merge together, those are pretty cool scenes, but even the character development is really something to behold in this series.
Sengoku Youko is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, and is scheduled for three consecutive courses.