#Kanako Ootani

[nakamorijuan]

キララとウララ - センチ・メタル・ボーイ KIRARA To URARA - SENTI METAL BOY

[444lpblue]

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End #1-4 - It was... Perfect

Episode 1 - The Journey's End Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Keiichirou Saitou Episode Director: Ayaka Tsuji Animation Director: Reiko Nagasawa Key Animators: Junko Abe, Shin Ogasawara, Ran Kamezawa, Jun Sekiguchi, Daiki Harashina, Kanata Yanagisawa, Shinichi Yoshikawa, Xujian Li, Odashi, Keisuke Kobayashi, Shinji Ootsuka, Hayato Kakita, Toshiyuki Satou, Ayaka Tsuji, Yoshiko Matsumura, Emi Yamazaki, Kanako Yoshida, Kerorira, Kou Yoshinari

Episode 2 - It Didn't Have to Be Magic... Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Tomoya Kitagawa Episode Director: Tomoya Kitagawa Chief Animation Director: Reiko Nagasawa Animation Director: Ayaka Minoshima Key Animators: Junko Abe, Nobuhide Kariya, Toshiyuki Satou, Harumi Takagi, Daiki Tanaka, Masaho Hori, Yutaka Minowa, Kanata Yanagisawa, Xujian Li, Fuuko Abe, Kyousuke Ootori, Takahito Sakazume, Jura, Yuka Matsumura, Yukiko Watabe, Hayato Kakita, Hiroyuki Kobashi, Jun Sekiguchi, Airi Takahashi, Daiki Harashina, Ayaka Minoshima, Kouta Mori, Shinichi Yoshikawa, Aoi Ootani, Naoki Katou, Sanae Shitaya, Shinya Segawa, Zihan Liu

Episode 3 - Killing Magic Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Daiki Harashina Episode Director: Daiki Harashina Chief Animation Director: Reiko Nagasawa Animation Director: Daiki Harashina Key Animators: Daiki Harashina, Junko Abe, Shin Ogasawara, Mai Toda, Kanata Yanagisawa, Daisuke Shibukawa, Kou Yoshinari, Fei Hung Donghua, Hanwen Ye, Tooru Iwazawa, Honami Takeuchi, Yoshiko Matsumura, Xujian Li, Yukiko Busa, Nonno

Episode 4 - The Land Where Souls Rest Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Yoshiaki Kawajiri Episode Director: Kento Matsui Chief Animation Director: Reiko NagasawaAnimation Director: Ayaka Tsuji Key Animators: Shin Ogasawara, Hiroyuki Kobashi, Toshiyuki Satou, Harumi Takagi, Rie Arakawa, Yuka Koiso, Masahiro Yufune, Pinqiao Hui, Norifumi Kugai, Ayaka Satou, Jun Sekiguchi, Miyuki Inoue, Shuuji Maruyama, Ryuuguu-san, Yenxin Fan

Last week was utter hell, with a new class, a new schedule, and my sleep going out of whack. I'm still trying to readjust, and let me explain why I'm mentioning all of this. Almost nothing would have motivated me to get out of my zone and type this post except for Frieren. Frieren is one of my favorite manga series. If you've talked to me about anime/manga before, you would know this. So, ever since it was announced, it has been one of my most anticipated series. To add to that, Keiichirou Saitou was announced as the director. He's a great example of an upcoming new-gen director who has excelled in everything he's been a part of. From the beautiful and abstract EDs he created for The Executioner and Her Way of Life or Boogiepop, to the mesmerizing, dreamlike episodes he directed for Sonny Boy, and the expressive, now very popular Bocchi the Rock. He was a perfect choice as a director for a series like this, and let me tell you, he delivered fully.

Just from a quick glance, you can see how the show looks. Everything is eye-catching, making it almost hard to focus on one particular element because they all just look so good, and no, it's not just the chromatic aberration causing the lack of focus. The various departments responsible for compositing, the background, and the overall color design have done an outstanding job, creating a beautiful and cohesive piece of art. Seeing someone you might consider a less experienced director pulling off such a complete and harmonious experience is incredible. In terms of design, the whole show is aesthetically pleasing. It's not the experimental work you saw in Sonny Boy; it's going in a totally different direction, like a beautiful painting that should be framed on a wall.

It works very well when paired with, you know, how Frieren is as a story. The fantasy world they are in isn't an extremely unique one. You've seen it before; it's fairly typical in that sense. But that's not truly the point. The main focus is showing the day-to-day or year-to-year life of this immortal elf girl, Frieren, and how she views time, how she remembers her past. It's not an incredibly grand adventure, but with the small lens we have on these characters, it feels like a cherished moment, something that should be captured in a photo or painting. It's beautiful in a very simple way. It's not a series made for extremely large moments, I think Frieren has always been focused on a simpler view of life, much like a painting. The smaller details of such a straightforward approach are highlighted so well. The trees in the environment, the squirrels just moving around—there's so much life in each scene. It really all comes together for me like a piece of art.

The consistency lasts through all four episodes, and the staff distribution also seems fairly good, so I expect this to continue throughout the two cours. The pacing itself is perfect. I've really enjoyed how the story has been adapted to animation so far. I believe that nowadays, many anime series have fallen into the pitfalls of adapting things too quickly to capture the interest of newer viewers early on. However, the series composition for Frieren here is excellent.

This writeup might have been shorter than most people were expecting considering how amazing the anime adaptation is and how much I love the source material, but what can really be said about except just praising? I feel like even if you don't like the source material, the anime's execution is almost undeniably good. Additionally, as I said this past week has not been kind to me so my energy is a bit drained, at first I was planning to be more specific in my write up and make points more adhering to the specifics of each episode, but I didn't really have time for that. However, I will do my best to cover every Frieren episode weekly from now on. Make no mistake this is going to be my favorite series from this year.

[ganbaramen]

Ultra Jump March 2018: 100 Questions for Ai Furihata [EN Translation]

Profile

Ai Furihata (voice of Ruby Kurosawa)

Nicknames: Furirin, Aiai, Shokunin [TL: Artisan]

Birthdate: February 19

Blood type: B

Hobby: Cameras

Skills: Illustration, photography

Major roles include:

TV Anime: "orange" (Saku), "Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta."

Games: "Mahoutsukai to Kuroneko no Wiz" (Kaede), "Dare ga Tame no Alchemist" (Lisbeth)

Voice Comic: "Tottemo Yasashii Amae-chan!" (Amae)

Questions

What food do you like? Meat! Especially salted beef tongue!

What food do you dislike? None!

What snacks do you like? Calpico!

What do you enjoy most from your family's cooking? Karaage.

What color do you like? Pink.

What scents do you like? Ylang-ylang and the smell of the sun.

What season do you like? Autumn.

What's your favorite event of the year? My birthday!

What sports do you like watching? Basketball.

What sports do you like playing? Badminton.

What animal do you like? Pandas!

What animal do you resemble? A small animal...

Are you a dog person or a cat person? A dog person! I like a Shiba Inu and Pomeranian mix.

What manga do you like? Rumiko Takahashi's works.

What genres of manga do you like? Romantic comedy and slice of life.

What was the first manga you read? Ranma 1/2.

What was the first anime you watched? It might be Pokemon.

What film do you like? The Devil Wears Prada.

What artist do you like? Daichi Miura.

What songs do you listen to every day? Daichi Miura's songs.

What was the first CD you bought? One of Porno Graffiti's CDs.

What's your karaoke specialty? Something like Sayuri Ishikawa's “Amagi-goe”!

What's on your phone's lock screen? DiCaprio.

What brand of clothing do you often buy? I buy from second-hand clothing stores.

What’s your best outfit? Maybe a white one-piece dress.

What's your favorite place in your home? Perhaps my living room.

What do you want most right now? Free time.

What's certain to be in your bag? Taiwanese candy.

What have you been unintentionally collecting? Pink things and yumekawa things. [TL: yumekawa (ユメカワ) is a fairy tale-like style; literally "dreamy and cute"]

What do you treasure? Everyone ♡

What were you like as a kid? I was shy and didn't say much.

What did you treasure as a kid? A teddy bear that I'd had since I was a baby.

What did you dream of becoming as a kid? Being a veterinarian or mangaka.

Who’s someone you respect? My father.

Where would you go on a trip to? I want to go to space.

What country do you want to try going to? Europe! Particularly France!

Do you have any bad habits? Recently, I've been inadvertently touching my earlobe.

Do you have a catchphrase? Outlook on life has changed.

What's your charm point? The mole on my left ear! Don't miss it.

What's your strong point? I don't get angry very much.

What's your weak point? My thoughts sometimes slip out of my mouth.

What's your special skill? Drawing portraits.

What don't you like doing? Exercising.

What are you weakest against? I'm no good with ghosts or horror...

What about yourself do you want to improve? I should listen more carefully to what people say.

What can you confidently imitate? I think I'm good at imitating Ikue Ootani, who voiced Mitsuhiko from "Detective Conan" and Chopper in "One Piece".

What one thing could you live solely off of? My smartphone.

What's your current obsession? Collecting (aroma) diffusers.

What's a buzzword that you've been using? Enjoy!

What's your favorite motto? Have as much fun as you can!

How would you describe yourself in one word? Scatterbrained.

What do you unintentionally fuss over? I keep looking up references for Ruby's eyebrows! [TL: probably in the context of drawing them.]

Fill in the blank with something positive in "Actually, I/I'm ___". I care a lot for my younger sister.

Fill in the blank with something negative in "Actually, I/I'm ___". I'm very boyish and crude (laughs).

Anything but this! Don't call me tiny!

What do you want to disappear from the world? Conflict.

How do you kill time? Katamari Damacy.

How do you relieve stress and refresh yourself? I get Thai-style massages.

What app have you used a lot recently? Animal Crossing.

What do you always do after you wake up in the morning? Look at my phone.

What do you always do when you go to bed at night? Look at my phone! (laughs)

What do you do when riding a train? I keep a mask on, so since people can't see, I make weird faces (laughs).

Is there anything you do to maintain your health? A mask is indispensable.

What do you do on your days off? I go to clothing stores.

What do you do when you're alone? Reading magazines.

What do you do when you're out with friends? We go looking for Insta-worthy places.

Where do you want to go on a first date? A museum!

If you were to confess to someone, what kind of situation would you be in? I'd confess directly at my place!

If someone were to confess to you, what kind of situation would you like to be in? I'd want it to be really romantic, in a place with beautiful lighting ♡

What memories do you have of Valentine's Day? When I was in elementary school, I gave a boy I liked chocolates that my mother had incidentally made for me, and said that I made them myself.

What have you enjoyed recently? Meeting all our fans at the fan meetings!

What’s something sad that happened recently? I couldn't make a recording of the FNS Song Festival...

What funny thing has happened recently? Today, on the bus for our photoshoot, I heard a bird tweeting early in the morning, and I thought it was one of the staff's alarms. But when I asked whose it was, it turned out to be mine (laughs).

What do you want to erase from your past? The time I fell down while playing jump rope in 5th grade.

What moment made you think "It's a miracle!"? Meeting all my fans.

What moment made you think "I'm glad to be alive"? Seeing a sea of pink lights during a live.

What do you want to happen in the future? An Aqours worldwide tour!

What did you wish for that happened? Continuing as Aqours in season 2 of the Love Live! Sunshine!! anime.

What did you enjoy in 2017? The whole year was fun, but going to Los Angeles, perhaps.

What went wrong in 2017? On the last day of 2nd Live, during the MC after "SKY JOURNEY", I was explaining the dance move we called "Sky Walk". But I kept calling it "Aqours Walk", so I ended up doing a dogeza [TL: you may know the pose better as OTL] in front of everyone...

What do you aspire to do in 2018? I'll put all my strength into accomplish everything that falls onto my plate!

What would you do if you won 100 million yen in the lottery? I've been saving up to buy a house. If I had 100 million yen, I'd just buy one (laughs).

What would you do if you had a time machine? I'd go back to the past and practice my jump rope skills.

What would you do with your last day on Earth? I would be with my family.

What would you eat on your last day on Earth? Salted beef tongue, of course! I want to eat the things I like!

If you went to an uninhabited island and could only bring one thing, what would you bring? Everything you need for camping (laughs).

If you were reborn in another world, what would you want to become? A final boss. I want to be strong.

If you were reborn [in this world], what would you want to become? A sloth. I don't want to think about anything.

If you were reborn, would you want to be male or female? Male.

What challenge do you want to take on? I want try startling someone with a prank (laughs).

What's good about being a girl? Growing out your hair and trying different hairstyles with it.

If you were a guy, what would you want to try? Nanpa (laughs). I want to try seducing girls (laughs).

What role do you want to try taking in the future? Maybe an adult woman, someone stable.

What job would you want to do outside of voice acting? Something like dealing with second-hand clothes at a tailor's shop.

What has made you the happiest out of what people have said to you? That I seem like a type A person. [TL: probably blood type.]

Are there any secrets you've kept from the Aqours members? Nope! I'm very open! I have faith in everyone.

Where in Numazu would you want to visit again? I want to go to Marusan Bookstore with King (Kanako Takatsuki).

Praise yourself as highly as you can! You sure did your Rubesty, didn't you! ♪

What are your thoughts on today's photoshoot? It feels fresh to do a photoshoot in personal clothes, and I'm very happy that we could do it as CYaRon!. It's been a long time since I went to the aquarium, and that was a lot of fun!

Finally, a word for your fans! I'll keep doing my Rubesty as a member of Aqours. I really want to surprise everyone and show everyone a variety of sights. I'll continue to be in your care!

Happy birthday, Furirin! (Again.) I hope you’re having a wonderful time on your favorite day of the year.

Please consider buying the magazine! Along with the 100 questions feature, it has an interview and a photoshoot involving all three members of CYaRon!, featuring some wonderful photos. You can order it on Amazon Japan at https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B079NBWSZS.

Translation: @ganbaramen QC: @yujachachacha