The Story of The Dancing Youth Ballet, "Dancing Non-Stop" supervises an interview with Jing Zongjiu
The New Japanese anime "Dancing Non-Stop", which began airing in April 2022, is based on George Asakura's manga of the same name. The work tells the story of three junior high school students who learn ballet and shine. The animation supervisor is Seki Munehisa, and the animation production company is MAPPA. The two have collaborated on the animation "Saga Idol is Legend" and "Love and Producer". In this article, I interviewed The Supervisor Seki munehiro about his impressions of the original work and the focus of the anime.
——Please tell us about your impressions of the original manga.
Environment: The daily life of middle school students, as well as the vivid youth drama of the characters led by Runping, are very interesting and fascinating. In addition, I didn't know much about ballet when I first read manga, but after doing various investigations, I found that the work was full of delicacies unique to the ballet world. In particular, the appearance of body curves and body shapes is also one of the talents of ballet. The original author George Asakura's painting fully illustrates this point.
——What kind of effort was made to the ballet scene in the animation?
Key: With the help of Miss Abe, who is in charge of ballet supervision, I and the staff explore the homework every day, trying to integrate the beautiful shape of the ballet into the picture. In addition, we used motion capture to capture the movements of Tokyo Ballet dancers. Each different dancer will be responsible for different roles, such as Junpei is Mr. Toshitaro Ikufuku, Ryuying is Mr. Yasune Akimoto, all of them are Miss Akiyama, and Natsuhime Igawa is Miss Adachi Shinya. Miss Abe and the choreographer, Mr. Naoya Homan, assign matching dancers according to the impressions of each character.
- Is the ballet scene represented by motion capture CG?
Jing: No, it was basically drawn by hand, and the ballet scenes were not painted with CG. When it is animated, it is used as a painting to imitate the captured movements. In addition, animation is not a faithful reproduction of the dancer's movements, but needs to exaggerate the "charge" of the animation's characteristic movements. The shape, including the beautiful fingertips, and the delicate parts such as the muscle lines, are the top priorities of the ballet aesthetic, so this aspect wants to be used as a unique intensity to pursue the effect.
——Is there any special focus on recreating the beautiful picture of the original manga with animation?
Environment: The way the pupils are depicted in the original manga is very unique. Highlights, in particular, are very distinctive. Animation should also show this aspect, and this is called "anti-highlight" among the staff. Be sure to keep an eye on the pupils when close-up!
- Is there any focus on drama?
Jing: Sure enough, it is still the "youthful drama" I felt when reading the original manga. Real sophomore life and peer interactions, relationships and competitive relationships, hopefully the animation will successfully represent these parts. I also told voice actors not to exaggerate their acting skills and to come up with "acting skills that are not acting".
- Is it closer to a live-action TV series?
JING: Yes. The emotional fluctuations of the characters in this work are very delicate. For example, a sentence of all, Runping will have some thoughts. I hope to dig deeper into these areas, and go deeper and deeper. On the other hand, there are also witty and funny scenes, so while using the real route, we will also pay attention to constructing a unique world of works.
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Jing: First of all, Runping, undoubtedly a ballet genius. However, he started dancing ballet too late, so he also had a lot of troubles. He, a troubled genius, will involve everyone together, and the people around him will be attracted to him and move towards higher goals together. On the other hand, the drifting warbler is a genius type at first glance, but it is actually the result of his great efforts and research since childhood. He is now squatting at home, but the encounter with Runping is an opportunity, and he will spread his wings and fly again. In addition, the relationship between Runping and the warbler is not simply a good relationship, which is very good. They are hostile to each other and recognize each other's strength. Two people who are aware of each other stimulate each other and improve each other – this relationship is surging with blood. Then, the person who pulled the two people together was Both, and her mood of swinging between the two was also very interesting. Three people, one indispensable, is the fun of this work.
——What is the highlight of the first episode of the broadcast?
Environment: The biggest difference between manga and anime is "sound". What kind of music will be played in the animated ballet scene? In addition, there is the sound of ballet shoes while dancing. This one is the recording staff to record the actual ballet sound, reference and production. I hope that people who did not know much about ballet before can also immerse themselves in the unique beauty of form.