John UM
※ There are some plot contents involved in the article, please read as appropriate.
It is hailed as the “ghost talent supervisor” who pioneered the forefront of Japanese animation due to the free and wide video performance style. Yuasa Masaki’s latest original feature-length animated film “If I Can Ride Along With The Waves” has been released today. It will be released in China on the 7th. This is also the first time that Yuasa’s work has officially landed in the mainland China cinema
The stage of the film is set in a small town near the sea, telling a destined love story between the young fireman’s harbor and the university’s birthday rape who loves surfing. The story is from “The Cat’s Retribution” and “Movie Light Voice Girl!” “Leeds and Blue Bird” by Yoshida Reiko, and the music is played by Oshima of the 03 version of “Alchemist of Steel” and “Little Witch Academy”. Both have also worked closely with Yuasa
For the dubbing lineup, we also invited GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE’s Ryota Kayomi to voice the heroine, while the heroine Ninako is former AKB48 member Kawaei Rina. !! Ito Kentaro, who plays Shinji Ito, and Matsumoto Honoka, who played the heroine of the TV series “In the Corner of this World”, also participated in this work, which can be described as a luxurious array. When the film was released in Japan, Akiba-souken also conducted a long interview with Yuasa Masaaki to explore the production behind the film
“If I can ride on the waves with you”, the main plot is created by Yuasa and Reiko Yoshida, the producer of Fuji TV, and the producer of Science SARU. After Song, Yuasa and Yoshida re-cooperated again. It was precisely because of the experience of the previous “Song of Lu” that Yuasa wanted to cooperate with Yoshida again
Yuasa said that the previous time was to do other projects, but after the production team was assembled, due to inconsistencies in various aspects and other issues, the original plan had to be cancelled. This time it was a zero-level plan. Progress is relatively smooth. Originally intended to be a weird work, it was also the subject of love. In the end, only the subject of love was taken, and the blueprint of men and girls meeting from water turned into a blueprint, and this work was created with Yoshida
In “Song of Dew”, Yuasa portrayed a group portrait of a small town and many people, and Yuasa himself originally liked to create group portraits. However, he thought about his favorite movies as if they were the main characters. Not many, like Hitchcock’s “Frenzy”, the story is mainly based on the 3 characters who are murderers, and Jerry Zach’s “The Ghost Story” is also based on 4 people-centered love stories
This time, in order to allow the audience to directly transfer their emotions to a character, Yuasa decided to reduce the main characters to 4 people this time to better convey the content she wanted to express to the audience..
Yuasa said that when he was young, he hardly watched love stories. He would only watch thriller and horror movies. If there is a love component, he would not care. Almost all the songs I loved in the past are related to love. The reason why I started to get into love is mainly because if I avoid the elements of love, the plan will not pass. Therefore, at the beginning of the show, Yuasa was completely ignorant of the plot creation, watching and learning, trying to create a “Romeo and Juliet” style love story from the tragic ending of the two, tried all over Various types of love works
In the process of trial and error, Tang Qianmeng had the idea of creating a more ordinary love story, and wanted to create a more rustic two-person world, without unfolding. Yuasa didn’t understand whether it was fun to create such an ordinary love animation, but he hoped that people who haven’t experienced the love of firewood will be able to empathize with the work, so this time he took this work as a small test
To the outside world, Yu Qian’s evaluation is an animated writer who pursues experimental animation. Yu said that he never realized this point, and this “If I Can Ride With You On The Waves” is also a purely work It’s a bit different, and it’s not about deliberately challenging the public-facing work. Reducing the scope of the characters and simplifying the story, except for the setting of Hong Kong, are sealing as far as possible the fantasy elements like “Song of the Dew”
On the screen, the past works are showing the charm of animation as much as possible. There is almost no need to use image techniques such as depth of field or focus. This time, I dare to venture to try to add lines and refine the background. Let the audience gradually forget that this is an animation work in the process of watching
During the discussion, Yuasa first decided to be a female protagonist and has a hobby for surfing. There is a reason to say that this is a work that Yuasa has never seen before. Yuasa hopes to meet more people who have not been masked. The people who are farthest from them are probably popular and will Surf people. Yuasa also understands that it is not easy to use animation to express the work of firefighters, but he still hopes that everyone can understand the work of firefighters, so he chose a combination of firefighters and surfers
In the process of collecting materials, Yuasa also learned that there are various types of surfers. For example, the first question I asked was a type of surfing that I like alone, and I don’t want to be with a group of people. There are also people who don’t play surfing in order to be handsome. They just feel that surfing can relax them. It is precisely for this reason that Yoshida proposed that Nanako is a child with no self-confidence, and Hong Kong is an omnipotent boy who will lead her away
Except for Yu Qian, all the script conferences are present, so the image of Hong Kong is basically shaped as they want. Yu will also put forward some of his opinions, such as The perfect place actually has some shortcomings. The perfect one is just the shape. Even if he deliberately hides the unconfident place, people can still see his weak side
The four people who appeared in the story actually have a side of self-confidence, but because of this, they can maintain each other. Everyone can be a hero. This is a theme that Yuasa has always wanted to do. Although the four are not confident, they just don’t realize what they are good for. Everyone can be a hero for each other for others. Shallow hopes that this feeling will be passed on to everyone in front of the screen
Especially for people who like animation, the surfer looks more like a shiny crowd, but actually it is not. I hope everyone can lose this preconceived idea before watching this movie. The film was founded. Yuasa also likes the movie “I heard that Tongshima is going to retire”, “The red man who seems to have no trouble actually has all kinds of troubles for him!” thing. When I was young, I always thought “if I can be like him”, and when I grow up, I will gradually feel that even the person I admire has his own troubles
For Nanako, surfing is her haven. Although her job search stopped her, even a professional surfer couldn’t support herself. What she can do and what she wants to do, she must move forward when she is confused. Hong Kong is the opposite of Nanako. He understands his position, but he also has anxiety and uneasiness in his heart. He does not want others to see his failure. Yuasa wanted to help and support those who were working hard, so she chose to make this work
Speaking of the subject of surfing, Yuasa said that she had seen a lot of surfing-related masterpieces as a child, such as “Great Wednesday” and “California Dream”, and also watched HOICHOI PRODUCTIONS and Takeshi Kitano in college. The director’s film “That Summer, the Sea of Tranquility. 》 And other Japanese surfing movies. Just as the surfers mentioned above have all kinds of people, there are people in the movie “Burning Point” who have deep faith in the tide. They sometimes invite friends to surf for an hour or two every day before going to work. Life is always inseparable from surfing
When taking materials, Yuasa gradually became interested in surfing, and sometimes asked them the difference between short and long boards. Even if they accidentally fell into the water, the world they saw at sea was different. Yuasa also tried to experience a longboard, playing around and found that she accidentally fit well with surfing. Yuasa is actually a dry duck, and his physical condition is not very good. He has been afraid that he might be drowned when he gets into the water, but surfing seems to give him a little confidence, and he even hopes to go surfing when he is old
Yuasa said that he did not experience the bubble economy era at that time, so the impression of surfing at that time can only be indirectly felt from those movies and other film and television dramas of HOICHOI. But these are not the effects you want, or they should be described more realistically. Among them, the biggest gap between this kind of realism and the gorgeous impression that left Yu Qiang was “That summer, the quiet sea. ”, Although Yuasa likes this work very much, but this work does not want this effect
The life of Nakako in the drama is next to the sea in Chiba, but the first time Ninako and Hong Kong went to the sea in Shonan. In this regard, Yuasa explained that although the waves in Chiba are large, they are not suitable for beginners such as Hong Kong. Relatively speaking, the waves in southern Hunan should be more stable, and their dates do not need to be shocking
It’s just that Nanako usually rides a bicycle, so she can’t go to Shonan. And just as Hong Kong will drive, you can take Nanako to the cafe and some trendy places in southern Hunan, completely holding the feeling of Nanako. And from Chiba to Shonan alone, you can feel the feeling of dating movies just by moving the scene, and can also cleverly link the cafe complex in Hong Kong. This setting is from Yuasa’s proposal, Yoshida praised Yuasa greatly
The sea in the other scenes is just like some can be bathed in sea and some are suitable for surfing. Each coast in the play has different settings. The same surf sea can be divided into daily and non-daily when framing in the field
About the animation performance of this work in “Water”, “Fire” and “Song”, it can be said that it inherits “Song of Lu”, but it is also very different. The sea is very wonderful. In the “Song of the Dew”, Yuasa compared the sea to the source of life, and at the same time symbolized the world of death that human beings cannot survive. The control of the water by dew means that she has beyond this limit Fantasy ability. In “If I can ride with you on the waves”, the port that has become water is given a mission to transcend life and death, and it also signals that the sea is a world of life and death. The perspective this time is on waves, comparing waves to people to events and giving waves other meanings
Regarding “fire”, in “Song of Dew”, the sun and water were used for comparison. This time, it was a sad love story. The sun could not be used, so it was for the “surfer” who is “controlling” the water In contrast, firefighters specifically used to fight flames were used. In addition, firefighters also used water to extinguish the fire. At this time, the water turned into water vapor and finally disappeared, which also sublimated the thoughts of the two
Xiang Ke’s water and fire subtly connect the emotions of each character, and the song that more directly maintains the two is the song. In “Song of Dew”, the song also evoked wonderful things. This time, the song that sustained the two was resurrected from the port that disappeared next to Ninako. This miracle was inherited from “Song of Dew” come. Yuasa has always believed that music has a special meaning. This song plays a role in connecting the memories of the past. This song was originally only used to miss Hong Kong. It was a song that unintentionally connected with the two, and then it became the key to let Ninako look for the memory hidden in the song
The theme song of this time is also determined by the episodes “Brand New Story” and Yuasa and others while considering the story, which is fully in line with the content of the story, and has the feeling of the kind of youth hits that they want, It’s like a song that will be played while walking by the sea. The tune and the lyrics themselves did not deliberately express the special meaning of combining the two, but directly inserted this tune when a major event occurred, making people feel that this tune has such a deep meaning. In fact, in combination with the stories portrayed after this, this song can also be regarded as a love song dedicated to Nanako by Hong Kong
The part of the scene where the duo sings “Brand New Story” is partly from the idea of Ryota. Yuasa said that in the original play, there were two orchestral scenes, and the film was sent to Ryota and Kawaei Rina to sing separately. After the film was sung, let Kawaei sing. At this time, the film post proposed that I hope to sing this song more casually. In this case, there is no need to intentionally separate the two. It is more natural for the two to sing together, and the song was not originally a song sung by the two. I can sing this song more together
In this regard, Yuasa felt completely okay, so he decided to play only the accompaniment version when he was alone, and also tried to record the version where the two sang together. When actually singing, the film post perfectly guided Chuan Rong, performing with an expression that looks like the two are in love with each other. The recording was completed without interruption, very smoothly. There are almost no such scenes in Yuasa’s past movies, and this drama is especially fresh for Yuasa
Other lenses are also indispensable for Yuasa, as always. Yuasa said that because Hong Kong actually looks more like a ground-bound spirit, in the end, I hope to add unusual picture performances and think about various ideas. At the same time, Yuasa wants to express the feelings of young couples, even if he can’t believe it
Although Tang Qian has also seen many live-action movies, he doesn’t particularly want to make animated movies into real-life movies. I thought about it in the last “Song of Dew”, because it is an animation, we must emphasize the performance of animation. This time, I don’t have the same idea, and I won’t be constrained by the fixed idea that “I have to shoot an animation because it is an animation”
Yuasa said that he loved animation since he was a child. That is because he couldn’t understand “reality”, because animation has a part that deviates from reality, so it is interesting. However, after growing up, Yuasa began to get into the work of setting, and found that there are also many interesting things in “reality”, and there are such interesting things in animation. Animation is just an advantage of painting interesting things in reality. Come on
For example, when shooting a real movie, it ’s common in real life to walk and eat, and it does n’t need to be carefully designed. As long as the actor’s acting skills and the cutting of the picture are taken into account, the animation will not work. Just to make this character go up, you must draw these seemingly “ordinary” actions, which are both laborious and laborious
Therefore, when drawing these seemingly “ordinary” actions in reality, you must also give this action a meaning, and then think about the necessity of planning these parts. This is the essence of animation. On the other hand, once you shoot it, you have to find ways to use these scenes. There is a limit to what can be done on the scene. How to go beyond this limitation is the joy of real shooting
It can be said that if I can ride on the waves with you, this animated film is in the theme and setting close to the actual film, allowing the world to see these in reality through the superb animation performance supervised by Yuasa The fun of “ordinary and no wonder” is also Yuasa’s biggest challenge this time. Yuasa also hopes that the audience will come back to notice the fun of reality through this movie
The expressions of waves and flames accumulated from the opening, and the changes in the mood and action principle of the four characters, are closely integrated with the events that occur in the play. Regarding the scene of the climax, Yuasa mentioned that because it is a story of surfers and firefighters, in the end it is natural to use the fire scene to end it. How to cause a climax-like fire is the key consideration. Object
To this end, Yuasa and others specifically found a university professor who specializes in fire prevention, and found that the buildings that are common in Japan today can actually be easily ignited, but the example of all-fire is not common. I also found some cases of major overseas fires. However, these flammable materials are almost useless in Japan, and it is difficult to achieve them in reality. So, if there can be a huge combustible, then the main creators suddenly thought that they had heard about the news that they would make the world’s largest Christmas tree. It seems that they can start from here and create a similar structure
Since it can’t be done in reality, then use the whimsy of animation to achieve it. No matter how big it is, it will be more than 30 meters at most, so there is no specific determination on the size of the building or the specific number of floors. Then, as long as the event of the encounter between Nanako and Hong Kong happens again, it will create the climax of the story. Then there is the design of the usual fire fighting methods that cannot be done by firefighting. Here, let the surfing come in handy, not to the extent that it is funny, in the end, what you see is this climax scene
Yuasa began to worry about whether the last absurd situation could be accepted by the audience, but when he saw the audience’s response, he was relieved. The sense of liberation that people feel here is like facing the helplessness in life, even if you have to resist the drastic changes in your heart. Although exaggerated, think about how even the fire that can burn out such a building can be extinguished. What else can’t be done? Such feelings also fit the ending of the movie
From Yuasa ’s first theatrical editor-in-chief “Mind Game” to “DEVILMAN crybaby”, Yuasa has established a sharp line, so “If I can ride with you on the waves” does it mean that Yuasa is riding on With a new wave, take a new step?
Tang Qian himself felt that “Devil Man” itself has a fixed audience, so the first thing to do is to let more friends who have not touched “The Devil Man” come to see this work. This “If I can ride on the waves with you” is indeed different from the usual works, but I did not deliberately follow the “mass” line, but it is different from the production staff gathered together. Chemical reaction. Yuasa always thinks about how to continue to throw the ball in his hands to the catcher, but this time he has exerted more energy than ever, and nothing more
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