The final translation to celebrate Kizumonogatari’s 5th anniversary is with none other than director Tatsuya Oishi: his feelings after wrapping up such a monumental production, the reasoning behind his visionary direction, and even themes you might’ve missed.
This week’s Kizumonogatari translation is a collection of commentaries by the ace animators who handled the most iconic sequences, talking about their feelings and goals with those scenes, as well as the techniques employed. This is how the most stunning moments came to be!
Our next Kizumonogatari staff interview translation has VFX supervisor and eventual director of photography Michiya Kato give an in-depth chronicle about its production: the deliberate aesthetic mismatch yet tremendously cohesive creative approach, and the nearly impossible amount of work behind it all.
Kizumonogatari hit its 5th anniversary last month, and to commemorate that, we’ll be publishing a weekly series of interviews. First, a lengthy conversation with its lead animators and directors about the movie’s creation, and what it’s like to work under an eccentric genius like Tatsuya Oishi.
What does BEASTARS‘ opening sequence have in common with other iconic intros like DRIFTERS and Tatami Galaxy, the filmography of geniuses like Satoshi Kon and Tatsuya Oishi, plus many sweet commercials and educational works? The answer is Michiya Kato and his studio CYCLONE GRAPHICS – a team you might have loved for a long time without even noticing their presence!
In perfectly NisioisiN fashion, Monogatari has received closure in the form of the final entry of Endstory, which isn’t quite the end. The tale of Araragi’s adolescence definitely wrapped up however, and the anime itself seemed to be reflecting on the long 8 years journey that has taken us through 96 episodes and 3 films before returning where it all began. To understand all the changes it’s gone through, the best approach is to divide the series into three periods…
Last time we examined the past decade of Studio SHAFT to have a better understanding of Tatsuya Oishi’s style and the circumstances that lead to Kizumonogatari’s existence. Time to actually tackle the film.
Kizumonogatari is as much the story of a vampire and a teenager as it is the story of Tatsuya Oishi. And while his tale is relatively well documented, it’s often tragically overlooked. His impact on SHAFT’s modern state can’t be understated, and yet it’s his comrade Shinbo who stays in the spotlight – the sad yet understandable consequence of what has been happening at the studio for over a decade. To understand this fascinating film we need a grasp of the company’s culture first,…