[OSHI NO KO] stirred up the anime community when it aired weekly. Before the release of the television anime, we had the opportunity to speak with director Daisuke Hiramaki and ask him about the adaptation.
*Daisuke Hiramaki will participate in the official AMA above Account @oshinoko_global X (formerly Twitter) on November 15 at 5pm ET.
It’s your first time participating in an anime project [OSHI NO KO] how?
Daisuke Hiramaki: I had worked with animation studio Doga Kobo before and knew producer Ryo Kobayashi. Kobayashi-san approached me about a series and I was very interested.
What aspect of manga caught your attention and made you become a director?
Like everyone else on the staff, they were fans of the series before joining the project. I’m a little different because I don’t know the story. Kobayashi-san introduced me to this series. The cover of the first volume really attracted me and it looked really cute, but I felt a bit betrayed after reading it. The title itself is a play on words. [OSHI NO KO] can refer to someone, but it can also mean the child of “oshi”. The double meaning is really interesting to me.
Plot-wise, the first episode was fast-paced and showcased behind-the-scenes of the entertainment industry and made me curious. Kanna Hirayama, the character designer, also influenced me. And so, I decided to become a director.
What is your working relationship like with Assistant Director Chao Nekotomi-san and Character Designer Kanna Hirayama-san?
I was amazed at the passion they both had for the series. I feel my job is to create the foundation for this passion to grow and flourish.
Between Nekotomi-san and I, it’s a friendly relationship and I try not to create walls. This industry has a very top-down structure, especially top-down director roles. I wanted unlimited creativity and a more friendly relationship that might not be expected in other anime projects.
What were the creative decisions behind making the 90-minute episode 1 so special?
First and foremost, we feel that the first volume of the manga cannot be divided into three parts. Even if we did that, the three 23-minute episodes (about 69 minutes of content) would still be less than 90 minutes long. We want to make sure we keep as much content as possible because it’s hard to cut it out. The first episode follows “kishōtenketsu” and the narrative elements of opening, development, twist, and ending.
The staff also felt we needed to make it a complete episode. We think die-hard fans will appreciate this approach as well. Because the main story of [OSHI NO KO] doesn’t focus on Aqua and Ruby’s childhood, so it would be ideal to end it sooner rather than later. We wanted to focus on their teenage lives.
©Aka Akasaka x Mengo Yokoyari/Shueisha, “OSHI NO KO” Partners
The film focuses on the idol and music industry which entails a heavy reliance on music and sound. How is that incorporated throughout the series?
Idols are not really the main topic of the story. The main themes of the story are revenge and hurt. Since Ai is an idol, we have to pay attention to the songs used and played. I had to discuss with the manga authors the image we wanted to create for B-Komachi when it came to their music and sound.
There are two B-Komachi groups, one with Ai and the other with later anime series. I wanted to show the difference between the two generations. The song and melody are a little different to reflect that. If you pay close attention to the dances, you will see that even their way of cheering is a bit different, especially the rhythm and tempo. In a way, the cheers and songs that Ai performs will have a more mature feel.
Can you talk about the “wotagei” song that Aqua and Ruby performed as children during Ai’s performance?
The wotagei sequence is actually original. There is no generational difference. Wotagei’s real movements are cooler, but it’s hard to show that in animation. We make it cuter rather than cooler. When we drew rough sketches and showed them to the manga creators, they thought it was really cute and we went with it. Even though it’s not an important scene in the series, we wanted people to laugh and get a reaction from it.
©Aka Akasaka x Mengo Yokoyari/Shueisha, “OSHI NO KO” Partner
[OSHI NO KO] covers many thrilling topics and challenges of working in the entertainment industry. How did you balance the funny moments and tense moments in the anime?
It was done very well throughout the manga and was balanced in the original work. I feel we don’t need to add anything to the balance. In manga, serious scenes are tense but can turn into humorous moments. We made sure to incorporate that into the anime adaptation. We like to play with camera angles and zoom in and out of scenes. It helps break tension and add humor to moments. This is just one tool and example that we use.
To expand on that, some directors will create rules to not move the camera at all and to always be faithful to the original source. I’m really one of those types of people. But this time, I decided not to because I wouldn’t be able to capture the expressions and nuances in the story.
When you say the rules, can you explain them further?
Rules in the sense that the director will have a way of doing things. For this series, I asked assistant director Nekotomi-san to do what I usually do as a director.
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In anime adaptations, it offers the opportunity to create scenes that get more attention than a single manga page or panel. How do you decide when to do it? [OSHI NO KO]?
Because of the shots and perspectives, we had freedom in how we adjusted the scenes such as the camera work and angel acting. That’s how we deploy similar scenes and make viewers feel the same, just like how they read comics. Even though we show a scene in the anime differently from the manga, it still manages to be faithful to the adaptation.
Do you have any final comments for fans as they watch the series?
The series deals with a difficult subject. Many Japanese readers may feel that the series can be very traumatic and very close to real life, including me. It will be entertaining. We consolidate everything in a way that it can be enjoyed. This is a work of fiction and intended for entertainment purposes. Enjoy watching this anime.
Special thanks to Daisuke Hiramaki and KADOKAWA for this opportunity. 【OSHI NO KO】 is now streaming on HiDive and other platforms. Yen Press is publishing the manga in English.
For more information on [OSHI NO KO]check out EN X’s official Twitter account (formerly) @oshinoko_global.
Interview interpreter: Adele San