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Director Tomotaka Shibayama's latest film, My Oni Girl, is an action-adventure drama with buddy comedy elements and an easy-to-understand coming-of-age story. The film, produced by Studio Colorido, was released in Japanese theaters and on Netflix on May 24, following an exclusive premiere at this year's Anime Central.
Tomotaka Shibayama first started his career at Studio Ghibli as a cel artist for Spirited Away before moving on to work as an animator. His talent and style have led to credits on popular anime films such as Penguin Highway and his 2020 directorial debut, A Whisker Away.
Today, he is one of the key creatives at Studio Colorido and his latest film, My Oni Girl, will be released soon. My Oni Girl revolves around Hiiragi Yatsuse, a high school student who is having difficulty making friends. However, one summer, his life changes when he meets a demon girl named Tsumugi, who has come to the human world in search of her mother. My Oni Girl is sure to be a touching film about friendship, with a message that resonates with audiences of all ages.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Shibayama to learn more about his new film, how his past experiences shaped its creation, and what audiences can expect. anything from this touching story. We discussed the unique aspects of My Oni Girl that impressed him during production and how he believes they will connect with audiences. Shibayama expressed the lessons he hopes viewers will learn from his film.
How would you say My Oni Girl compares to your previous work?
Tomotaka Shibayama: My Oni Girl is the first anime I directed. I had a lot of trouble getting started, even in pre-production.
Was there anything you learned from working on A Whisker Away that influenced the development of My Oni Girl?
Shibayama: So, as you may know, A Whisker Away is a co-production with Junichi Satō, a pretty legendary director. I received a lot of influence from him. One thing that director Sato emphasized is that the problem is not about making a movie. It's not about making a great artistic film; it's more like a good movie, which is supposed to have a strong connection between the audience and the movie.
So when developing the story of this film, I focused on connection. There needs to be empathy and connection between the audience and the film itself, and that's what I think is very important when producing My Oni Girl.
In your words, what makes My Oni Girl unique?
Shibayama: One of the main themes of this movie is that an oni, an ogre, appears in the story. Thus, the traditional Japanese root “on” suggesting something hidden or invisible evolved into'oni', meaning goblin.
So I looked up the meaning of that traditional Japanese word and tried to connect it to many problems that teenagers face today, such as not being able to express their true feelings because they can't really express themselves and becomes very shy. Thus, the connection between the meaning of 'oni' and modern teenage issues is unique, highlighting how underlying emotions are related to the traditional meaning of the word.
Is there any part of the film that resonated with you personally?
Shibayama: What personally impressed me in the film was the main character, Hiiragi. Hiiragi represents modern teenagers who have difficulty expressing their true feelings. This character also reflects how young I was. I also can't express my true feelings and tend to say something else instead. So this movie reflects my teenage years, so it's like a message to the teenage Shibayama that he could have done better to express himself. So it ended up being that kind of movie.
What themes can we expect to explore through Hiiragi and Tsumugi's story in My Oni Girl?
Shibayama: As I mentioned before, Hiiragi, the main character, represents current teenagers who cannot express themselves. At the opposite end is Tsumugi, the main female character; Her personality is completely different from Hiiragi. She is outgoing and likes to be honest. Tsumugi tends to express her true feelings. Through these two characters, I want to explore and convey the message to young people that it is necessary to tell everyone your feelings instead of hiding them.
You mention Hiiragi and Tsumugi are complete opposites. Did you enjoy using this in their character dynamics and development throughout the film?
Shibayama: Hiiragi has problems with his father, while Tsumugi is also very angry with his mother because of a misunderstanding. Therefore, throughout the story is the love between father and son, mother and daughter. Although this is a very problematic issue in the movie, at the same time, Hiiragi and Tsumugi go on a trip and have a friendship. So this makes the movie lighter. This is not a deeply painful film, but at the same time, there is gentle drama and fun throughout the film.
At the same time, this is a film about friendship. However, moviegoers may think: “Oh, will these two characters love each other?”. So the audience can be excited about it at the same time, but it's not written clearly. However, you can feel it in the movie. So that's something that's being worked on between their relationships.
What was your intention when you started directing this coming-of-age story?
Shibayama: During pre-production, when I was preparing to make the film, I wanted to do something about teenagers—about problems that teenagers want to overcome in modern times. I think nowadays everything is on the internet. You can Google it; then you can find anything. Like “how to get a girlfriend”, you can Google all of that. So, I feel like teenagers today are very strategic and know how to solve things using technology.
At the same time, in Japanese there is a term that means “reading the air”. In English, you have the phrase “reading the room.” Nowadays, many teenagers like that because they are afraid of hurting other people's feelings, they try to read the atmosphere. So I want to push and tell a story instead of “reading the story”, it's more important to get your point across. Say what you mean and your hidden truth. So, I emphasize that this movie promotes these types of teenagers.
What lesson or feeling do you hope audiences will take away after watching this film?
Shibayama: It's important to tell others how you really feel in your own words. That's the central theme I want people to grasp. And the second thing is that even adults tend to hide their emotions. There are times when they are also unsure of themselves. In general, in life you cannot always see everything but there are things hidden underneath. Therefore, to understand each other, we need to dig deep to understand each other and connect. That's the message I want people to take away after watching this movie.