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Under The Dog Fan Q&A at Sakuracon 2015

by Caitlin Moore,

This panel was held at Sakuracon 2015.

Moderator: Welcome everyone. Ohayou gozaimasu. Are you all here for the Under the Dog panel? [applause] Thank you very much for coming. Before we introduce ourselves, I'm going to show two clips of videos. One is the opening sequence of Barakamon, the latest production of Kinema Citrus, the company that we are from, and the second video that we will be showing is the video recording of the message of the president of Kinema Citrus, who couldn't be here at this time. That is followed by another video that I am sure you're all familiar with.

[shows OP of Barakamon, followed by a PV of clips of shows Kinema Citrus worked on]

Moderator: So we're going to move on to our presentation next. I'd like to thank the O-Network Online today for recording our panel and this panel recording will be on their website for you and others who couldn't come to Sakura Con this time. Okay, so I think we are ready.

Jirō Ishii: Hello everyone. My name is Jirō Ishii, and in Under the Dog, I am the original story writer and also the script writer.

Kōji Morimoto: My name is Kōji Morimoto, and I'm being credited as a producer of Under the Dog.

JI: I'm going to talk about the story of Under the Dog. As you could see in our promotional video, which you have just seen, it is a science fiction—it is sci-fi. Japanese animations from the 1990's were really, really popular in the United States, such titles as Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Under the Dog is aiming for the caliber of those titles. The next thing you'll see on the screen is “Post Guns & Girls”, which I'm going to explain now. From what you've seen in the promotional video, you see a girl in military guise, which almost seems like a fantasy, which is calling back to “guns and girls”. What Under the Dog is aiming for is to have a sort of very realistic atmosphere carry over from the 1990's and to evolve into something new. It's not something as simple as having a teenager fighting evil guys with guns, but what I'm going to do with Under the Dog is to describe or to depict what is going to really happen if you hand guns to a teenager and have them use the weapon. For those of you who are not really satisfied with current anime in Japan in the category of “guns and girls”, this is something that is going to give you some kind of answer to questions like how to do something more about this genre. About the last line on the slide, like I said, it almost seems like the “guns and girls” category is all about the fantasy, but it's actually going to be quite the opposite of that, and essentially Under the Dog will really be about death. The essential theme of the question is, “How do you die?” which is kind of connected to bushido, the way of the samurai, and having this theme of destiny and how you die, we've been that destiny how do you find life or meaning. That is going to be theme, that is going to be the style in Under the Dog. What I just talked about, that was very, very serious and heavy, but it's certainly going to be something very fresh and new, so please look forward to it.

KM: Mr. Ishii just described what the content of Under the Dog will be and as for me, I can tell you now about the production of Under the Dog. It will be complete in Spring of 2016. So now, I'm going to explain to you what the production status of Under the Dog is. As far as the script is concerned, it is already finished. They'll be moving on to making the storyboards for Under the Dog, and the storyboards will be complete by this summer. Since director Ando provided so many sci-fi ideas, now we are integrating all these ideas into the animation work, so you'll be seeing lots of sci-fi gadgets in Under the Dog. We are now proceeding with the actual production of the movie with those settings and a new promotional video will be ready with those settings by this summer.

Many of you might be concerned with the rewards, but we can guarantee that all the rewards will be made and delivered to you. This includes, of course, the Anthea figurine that comes to you, so all the rewards will be out, so look forward to them.

Delivering some of the rewards has already begun, including the distribution of wallpapers. A forum will be launched within this month as well. How many of you have received the wallpapers already? [several audience members raise their hands] Oh, that's very many. Thank you.

This is the presentation we had planned, and next we move on to Q&A.

Q: I'm not very familiar with the project… Is the 2016 release date for Japan or is that for the US? Is there going to be an English dub?


KM: Under the Dog was a Kickstarter campaign project. We will deliver the rewards as listed on the Kickstarter campaign in Japan and in the US. It depends on what kind of status you have on the Kickstarter campaign. If you are one of the backers, then depending on the status, you can download the finished product when it is released, so it depends on what kind of backer status you have. Even though it's launched as a Kickstarter project, we have a way for new backers to come in. We have a webpage where you can still buy one of the backer tiers and join the OAV backers. Everything will be delivered as to the backers as promised, but we are also trying to figure out ways to bring new people and have them join and support the project. After the animation work is complete, we would like to have some sort of event or something to commemorate the completion of the project. Please look forward to it, but at the same time, please be patient and give us some time.

JI: As far as the dubbing is concerned, it's going to be dubbed in Japanese, but we will have English and German subtitles.

Q: I was wondering if you guys could describe Anthea's character a little more, like maybe what archetype or the feelings she has toward other characters.


Mod: Describe the characters?

Q: Just Anthea.

JI: With these characters, if I describe them, it's going to be spoilers but…

Q: I was wondering what is the rationale behind choosing Kickstarter rather than choosing a more traditional path to making this anime and tell me more about this new Studio Citrus.


JI: It started from the fact that I wrote this story myself back in 1997. This was originally just a personal story that I wrote, so I thought that it's almost impossible to bring it out, to make it realized with the mainstream release format. Next reason is that something of this content, it's almost impossible to broadcast as a TV series in Japan. Since Under the Dog was something that I was able to make very edgy, so that is why I thought of bringing Under the Dog to Kickstarter. Lastly, like we mentioned before, this project was from the 1990's, and I knew that the American audience was interested in Japanese anime style from the 1990s. So, I thought that the content of Under the Dog was very suitable for the US audience and to be introduced and to be seen by people through Kickstarter. Does this answer your question about Kickstarter? So Morimoto-san next is going to talk about Kinema Citrus.

KM: Kinema Citrus was founded in 2005, so it's a rather new studio. As for the representative work, that's Eureka 7, the movie version of Eureka 7, which was a co-production with Studio Bones. As for me personally, I have worked with Kinema Citrus before from my former company that I used to work at, on a project called .hack//Quantum. The studio started up with the Studio Bones co-production, the movie Eureka 7, but they have moved on to other productions, including many other genres, so we are capable of making things in all genres, including sci-fi and school videos for kids in various genres.

The clip that you saw, Barakamon, is Japanese calligraphy.

Q: For backers who have already backed the project who would like to increase their pledge, what can we do to continue to support the project?


KM: When the new trailer is complete this summer, in August, maybe by that time the design of the figurine is ready. If that's the case, maybe we can add a new option, including the figurine, as a way to get new backers as well. That's something we're planning to do.

Q: Hello, I just want to know how many episodes you plan to make after this one.


JI: Originally the story was structured as a 26-episode-long series. [laughter] However, when we were trying to rewrite, to update the story for 2016, I am not sure – I'm still contemplating if 26 episodes is good, or if it should be shorter like 12 episodes, or if it should be a feature like a movie. [laughs] So I'm still thinking about that. I want to explain the reason for that. Since Under the Dog was supported by Kickstarter backers, they… The original plan was to make an OVA called Under the Dog, so we first would like to complete this first episode foremost. That's the first priority right now, but after this production is complete, after this is delivered to the backers, then we can get feedback from the fans. Then we can start thinking about the next step, if we can make a sequel or we can expand it more, but that's only after it's complete and delivered.

Q: So, a lot of more recent anime, in action scenes use a lot of CG in the work, but you mentioned you're trying to capture the style of 1990's anime, so is there a desire to use more hand-drawn animations, or will you still be using a lot of 3D CG in the action sequences?


JI: As far as the machine animations are concerned, those are going to be done in computer graphics, but for the action scenes, like characters, it's all going to be hand-drawn because that's what the director Ando is best at.

Q: In the past few years there have been numerous anime projects on Kickstarter and other platforms including Under the Dog, Santa Company, Little Witch Academia, and then also releases of previous projects such as Mai Mai Miracle. What do you think the future of anime and crowdsourcing is? Do you think this is a thing that will continue to grow and really allow fans to be a part of the process?

KM: I think there will be more projects supported by crowdfunding. However, I also feel that it's difficult to fund the entire process by crowdfunding. As far as the business side is concerned, it may be more common to launch the project through crowdfunding, but then maybe through the popularity find a sponsor for the final project. The key is for the sponsoring company to see the appeal of the product, like if there is a project that is very, very edgy then it's kind of risky, but maybe if it's popular enough with the fans, then the project may go on to the next step, the next stage, so the question is, is it going to be popular? Then, if it is, then go ahead and do it.

Q: My question is, if the inspiration for Under the Dog comes from 90's anime such as Akira, those anime primarily had heavy social commentary and it has been mentioned that the story has been updated, but despite details about Under the Dog having to do with the concept of girls and guns, is there a sort of commentary that is more current or international that is a central concept, that pushes the story forward aside from what we've already seen that is allowed for us to know? I know that you're trying to avoid spoilers.


Mod: So your question is…

Q: It's more like, what is the social commentary, like the current social commentary that is the central focus of 90s anime.

JI: When I say I'm updating Under the Dog to suit the 2010s, I am including some of the social issues that we face today in Under the Dog. However, those social issues will not be so obvious. For instance, in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, it's that they talk about the population of an aging society. It has very obvious issues that you can see in society. Under the Dog will contain some of the social issues that we have, but it's going to be smaller scale, where it's not as obvious as some of the series that you see.

Q: Hello, I just want to thank you for coming to Sakura Con and answering our questions, and congratulations for getting this funded on Kickstarter. As a backer on Kickstarter, I was wondering if you will be incorporating feedback from the fans in the animation, and see some interaction between fans and creators in the project.

Mod: You're asking if there will be interaction between the backers and the production?

Q: Yes, or maybe if the current episode that they're working on with the Kickstarter project, whether or not backers will have some say in the other project, once the project is more set in place and going at its own pace.

KM: The production of the first episode is already under way and is pretty much all set, so it is hard to bring in backer feedback. But, if there is any future episodes, then it might be possible to integrate backer feedback into some of the details. However, we cannot attach anything on the core theme of the story. But it is possible we can find a way to use fan requests in details, but it's all up to the description of writer Ishii and director Andou.

Q: You made many anime in the past, and I'm wondering what the pros and cons are of doing an anime on Kickstarter as opposed to the typical way.


JI: From the creator's side, as Under the Dog’s creator, I kind of realized that of course Kickstarter is a good way to reach out with the creative side to the backers. I first thought, “Oh, this is the ideal system” but then after you proceed with the project, you realize that the creators are kind of forced to be active outside of the creativity, including knowing the production committees and what production companies take care of. I realized, “Oh my gosh, I have to do so much work other than how the creator works.” That's kind of the downside of it.

KM: From the production side, I feel it's very, very important that the customers paying the money for the work feel that they're satisfied with what they get. With Under the Dog we have over 12,000 backers and each one of them has different expectations for the work that we are creating and it is pretty much impossible to satisfy all these requests and hopes and expectations, because each one of them is different. Before we had the excuse that we couldn't do it because the demand from the sponsoring companies, we don't have that excuse anymore, so it's actually quite difficult from the producer's side.

JI: We talked about demerits, so now we're going to talk about merits. I think there's great possibilities to have this direct connection with the backers. Also, at the same time, I feel that the project is based on the needs of a smaller group so I feel there's that big potential there. In order to realize this ideal that we have, I think it's very, very important for both backers and creators to work together and to keep it… to sound like… to see their dream together, and to make it happen.

Q: Remember that we are supporting your story, so don't let the internet trolls boss you around.

[laughter, applause]

JI: One of the biggest merits of Kickstarter funding is that you can keep the original story intact, so that's a good thing. Thank you.

Q:  I have two short questions, one's from my brother and one's for me. The question from my brother is, when are the official body pillows going to be available? And the second question is, what anime from recent years do you think have captured the feel you're trying to achieve with Under the Dog?


Mod: The first question is…?

[laughter]

Q: The first question is, quote, “When will the official body pillows be available?”

Mod: Official…

Q: Body pillows. I swear it was my brother.

JI: Huh? Huh? Huh?

KM: My answer is that you can go to hell. [laughs]

[laughter, applause]

JI: If there is demand for that, then…

Q: And then my second question is, if there are any anime in the past or recent years that you feel like captured the feel that you were trying to go for with Under the Dog?

JI: From the older series, Akira for the sci-fi aspect. There's also Kite, which is closer to the feel of Under the Dog.

Q: What about in recent years?

KM: [puts head in hands]

JI: For recent series, it's going to be Ghost in the Shell Arise series, but keep in mind, it's not exactly like that, because we want to make something different from any other titles. But having the story of having a female protagonist and having a heavy action series, in that regard, we can kind of say it's closer to Ghost in the Shell Arise. And also, the reason why we say that is because there's an element of cyberspace settings. Does that make sense?

Mod: Thank you all very, very much for coming today. We are so glad to be able to meet you and talk to you and we will be sure to convey the message and your questions all the way back to Japan. Thank you very much.


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