How the Staff Tackled Trauma in Takopi's Original Sin Anime

Taizan 5's Takopi's Original Sin manga is not for the faint of heart. The single-volume manga series depicts the difficult, and often times torturous existence of three different elementary school children. Shizuka is neglected by her mother and bullied relentlessly at school. Marina, her bully, lives on a tightwire at home where the stress of her parents' failing marriage puts her in her unstable mother's crosshairs. Lastly, there's Azuma, a boy struggling to win his mother's praise by never making a mistake.

Director and series composition writer Shinya Iino tackled the series' stark subject matter at studio ENISHIYA. The six-episode Takopi's Original Sin anime marked the studio's first foray as the primary production house on a television anime, having previously produced tie-in commericals for Makoto Shinkai films and contracted episode work on popular series like Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Delicious in Dungeon.

We spoke with Iino and producer Kotaro Sudo about the emotionally difficult developments and what they hope audiences take away from the series.

How are you feeling about the amazing reaction to Takopi's Original Sin?

Shinya Iino: I was really shocked in a good way that so many people outside of our broadcast area were reacting to it. Of course, the show is set in Japan, and it takes place in what I would call a very unique environment of the Japanese school system. So it makes me really happy that it resonated with so many people outside Japan, and that they actually got the feel of the show.

Kotaro Sudo: The response not just overseas, but domestically as well, was way outside of what we anticipated. And so that was very surprising. But we produced this anime being very conscious of preserving the important themes and strong message from the original work. It makes me very happy to know that it resonated with fans.

After reading the manga, what were both of you thinking right away? Like, the anime adaptation has to have this in it.

Iino: This title definitely touches upon a lot of sensitive topics, whether it's bullying and neglect, or cruelty, but it was very important to us that we didn't hide or shy away from it, or even soften it. We just wanted to portray it as realistically as it was in the manga.

Sudo: For me, I would say that one of the overarching themes of this is not the violence, it's not the negatives, it's the fact that what's very important is communication, and on top of that, not just communication, like—this is the digital age, everyone's texting each other or messaging each other. But just as Takopi says in the series, what's really important is to sit down face to face and hash things out. I wanted to make sure that came through.

What were both of you thinking when you were reading the manga?

Iino: My first reaction was, Takopi's so cute! Whether we're talking about Takopi's movements, their dialogue, or actions, they're so fun! But then from there, talking about the other characters, whether it's Shizuka or Marina or any of the other characters, they have such heavy-hearted stories. On the one hand, I can empathize and sympathize with them, so their emotions hit me hard.

Sudo: This is a title that sticks with you long after watching it. I think it's not just a fad; it won't go away in a couple of years. I'm hoping that even a decade or two later, there'll be the next generation of fans that pick it up. And whether they read it or watch it, I hope it will endure.

What parts of the story were you particularly mindful of executing well?

Iino: There are two big things that I definitely wanted to focus on. First is to maximize Takopi's cuteness and appeal. Of course, anime is 3D. And Takopi's so expressive that whether Takopi's walking or running, we wanted to emphasize Takopi's characteristics through the motion, which you can't pick up from reading manga. I have to give a lot of credit to the character designer, [Keita] Nagahara-san, who really brought Takopi to life.

And then the second part, you already mentioned, about how there are very sensitive topics and sensitive parts to it. But one of the thematics is that we didn't want to just cover anything on the surface. We wanted to do a deep dive because, at the heart of it, whether it's Shizuka, Marina, or all these characters, it's a story of their salvation. So we wanted to make sure that comes through.

Sudo: And what I wanted to mention is that, if you've seen the anime, then you know there's a disclaimer at the very beginning, and a trigger warning. This is uncommon in anime, but it was important for us. As I said, the story really gets to a deep dive about the characters facing their fates, and trying to reach happiness. So we wanted to make sure that the viewers know to prepare themselves, and that they can actually watch and get that out of it.

What was your favorite silly moment, and what do you think was the darkest moment?

Iino: Takopi provides a comedic foil even in the darkest scenes. Takopi helps lighten the mood. And that's not even just viewing things, but even when we were making it and we were watching dailies and stuff, that was definitely something that lightened us up when we saw Takopi come on screen. The darkest moment for me, of course, is in episode 1, what happens at Shizuka's house. It was very important for us to depict it faithfully, but not overdo it. All of us had a lot of internal discussion while making it, “Should we do this? Should we do that?” We wanted to get it right.

Sudo: In terms of my favorite silly moment, it's weird because the scene is actually more dramatic than silly overall. It was episode 3. There's this line going, “What's a tassel?” And the thing is, we were even like, “What's a tassel?” It became an internet meme because of that. So when it came time to adapt that part from the manga into the anime, I was curious — not in a joking way, but still a little excited to see how it would turn out. Another fun moment was also at the very, very end. When they're at the store, and they see this pen that has this little rabbit head on top, and they think of Takopi's rabbit from the Saturn ballpoint pen. And Marina tries to kick at Shizuka, and Shizuka just turns away so that she doesn't get kicked. So that was kind of a funny scene for me, too.

In terms of the darkest scene for me, it's in episode 5, where Shizuka goes to see her father. She's so expectant, anticipatory, excited, and sparkly. When he opens the door, and she says, “Daddy!” and he responds, “Who are you?” You can see her expression fall suddenly. That was probably the moment I would pick.

How did you know how to pace the trauma so well? How did you build up to those moments?

Iino: With a manga, you have the act of turning the page, and that allows you to do quick plot twists by putting it on the next page and surprise the readers. With anime, you can't do that. Most of the time, it is expressed through time, creating the pauses and pacing. So that was definitely something that I paid extra attention to when I was working with the editor. Since we are not producing a TV series but a streaming project, the flexibility in length gives us an advantage. It allowed us the freedom to create the pauses and timing within the scenes.

Sudo: In terms of the pacing and the tempo, that was all thanks to director Iino's diligence. In Japan, anime airing on TV has a time limit of 24 minutes per episode. Original net animation was really a perfect medium for it, because as TBS, we are the executive producer for the show, but TBS is actually a television broadcasting system—that's what TBS stands for. But we decided to go with streaming because we wanted the best form for adaptation of the original work.

How did you balance the darker moments of Takopi's Original Sin?

Iino: Not being a dark, serious person helped me. My point of view of not being so dark myself really helped shape the work to not end up becoming too dark, but also, if you look at all the main characters, whether it's Shizuka, Marina, or Azuma, they're all grade schoolers. I was able to distance myself emotionally and not be so invested because they're not my contemporaries, and in fact, almost be on the standpoint of an elder and being protective of them.

Sudo: We had discussions about how the readers and fans of the original manga would feel — that we wanted to stay close to their perspective. It wasn't like we were trying to go in a particular direction in a calculated way. Whenever we found ourselves wondering, “Should we do it this way or that way?”, we always came back to the same question: “When the fans of the original manga watch this anime, how will they feel? Will they think it's good?” That's where we always tried to find our balance.

What do you want people to take away from these characters?

Iino: I wanted audiences to remember that Takopi's always striving to help the other person. I wanted viewers to feel that sense of effort and sincerity.

Even if you accidentally kill someone with a camera. [Everyone laughs]

Iino: Takopi's also a child, just like the others, like Shizuka and Marina. They don't understand the difference between good and evil. Takopi didn't even have a chance to learn the difference between good and evil, but yet, as the story unfolds, Takopi realizes on their own that, “Oops! Maybe I didn't do the right thing.” And then turns around and tries something else. But still, a lot of times, it wavers between the different options.

Sudo: For me, it's very important that at the very end of the story, Takopi makes the final decision. And you really see how Takopi has matured. In the very first episode, the main thing on Takopi's mind is, “Why did Shizuka die? Why did she take her own life?” And yet, through a very short period of just six episodes, Takopi decides not to commit suicide per se, but sacrifices themselves for the betterment of all the others. I would like the audience to take away Takopi's thought process and how they mature.

And Shizuka?

Iino: In the beginning, you see that she's getting bullied, she's neglected by her mother, and she's giving up on humanity and the world. And yet, even though it's twisted, after Marina gets murdered, she actually switches gears and realizes: “I'm actually going to try to make myself happy.” The fact that you go from someone who's completely apathetic to actually desiring to change how she's reacting is something that I want the audience to take away.

Sudo: You have Shizuka, who's given up, and she has an apathetic personality. And yet in the final episode, she reaches the point where, while punching Takopi with a stone, she can finally let out the cry from deep within her heart. She's actually able to face him and actually have a conversation, and actually interact directly with Takopi instead of being apathetic. So I definitely want people to take that away.

What's the one message you'd want fans to walk away with?

Iino: All the main characters want to be happy; they're just not there yet. And we tried to portray how they struggle, and how they're working toward becoming happy. I hope the viewers won't give up, but will keep struggling and reaching toward their own happiness.

And what do you want people to walk away from the ending with?

Sudo: I'd like audiences to accept that we all face challenges, and dark moments as well as light moments. And yet, especially with communication. Through communication, we should all be able to move forward. Always keep that in mind.