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J.C. Staff Producer Yuji Matsukura Says Hi Score Girl Was Not Originally Intended to be 3D Anime
posted on by Kim Morrissy
In an interview with OTAQUEST published on April 5, J.C. Staff producer Yuji Matsukura said that the Hi Score Girl anime was not originally intended to be a 3D anime. The producers convinced the director Yoshiki Yamakawa and original manga creator Rensuke Oshikiri that 3D would be "best for the characters."
In particular, Matsukura argued that only 3D could bring out the appeal of the arcade cabinets, which are all based on real-life models. The staff managed to track down the original hardware of the arcade games thanks to the help of collectors and dealers. "Not many of the cabinets from 30 years ago remain physically, so I searched Akihabara and elsewhere, and had to buy some cabinets from junk dealers."
Matsukura further said that the game visuals shown in the anime were recorded from the real software. "It took a lot of work to get the cooperation necessary for it, but we wanted to make every reconstruction 100% accurate."
Although J.C. Staff is credited for the animation production, the anime's CGI is produced by Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment (SMDE). The character designer Michiru Kuwabata and CGI director Yūsuke Suzuki are both affiliated with SMDE. For the anime's second season, Yūya Hatano is replacing Eri Sekido as character modeling director. Both people are affiliated with SMDE.
Character modeling was assisted by F-Sik, IKIF+, Picona Creative Studio, Shiitake Digital, SUBARU, TRICREST, and WELZ Animation Studio. Prop modeling was handled by Aera Laboratory, Aura Studio, and Hayashi Digital Construction. J.C. Staff is not credited for any part of the CG animation production.
Matsukura said, "Our staff count is top-class in the industry, so we can do everything that isn't editing and sound design in-house. Few companies go this far."
The interview was conducted by Nesmith, a member of the Japanese boy group Exile.
The first season for the anime of Rensuke Oshikiri's Hi Score Girl manga premiered on television in Japan last July. Netflix began streaming the show outside of Japan on December 24. The second season will premiere in October.
Source: OTAQUEST
