‘Dan Da Dan’ Co-Director on Hideaki An...

Dan Da Dan is poised to make its extremely anticipated return to streaming platforms this July. Forward of the yokai-meets-sci-fi anime sequence’ second season, studio Science Saru and GKids have joined forces as soon as extra with Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, a theatrical premiere that includes the primary three episodes of its forthcoming season. They decide up proper the place the season one cliffhanger left off adapting creator Yukinobu Tatsu’s ongoing manga.

Whereas the theatrical occasion contains an insightful interview video with its administrators, io9 pierced the veil even additional, chatting with Abel Gongora, the opening theme director of Dan Da Dan‘s first season and co-director for its upcoming season. Throughout our dialog, Gongora mirrored on the popular culture influences that impressed his artistic course of and his evolving function co-directing alongside longtime collaborator Fuga Yamashiro—and the way their shared artistic imaginative and prescient and occasional creative disagreements contributed to the tag-team ebb and stream of Dan Da Dan season two’s early manufacturing.

This interview has been edited for readability. 

Isaiah Colbert, io9: Season one ended on a suspenseful cliffhanger that left followers looking forward to extra. Was that all the time the plan from the beginning, or did the choice evolve throughout manufacturing to construct anticipation for season two?

Abel Gongora: That was determined on the very starting—that’s extra like a script resolution. They’ve the manga already, to allow them to see the place they need to lower, and that was accomplished very early within the manufacturing.

io9: This time round, you’re stepping right into a co-director function as an alternative of simply dealing with the present’s opening, which featured shadowy silhouettes and daring, Kon Ichikawa-styled typography. What led to that shift from being the opening director to the co-director for season two?

Gongara: After the opening, I began to help [Yamashiro] additionally. I received concerned within the venture, after which I received to know essential issues to know, just like the characters’ story. It went type of clean as a result of I used to be already in season [one] slightly bit. The manufacturing is admittedly troublesome—it’s quite a lot of work to do one season. Manufacturing thought it might be good to have two administrators so the work isn’t too onerous on the season one director. I began with all of the setting designs that we had on the finish of season one, then it was already determined, so I type of slowly began [directing] in season two.

io9: Dan Da Dan’s opening theme by Creepy Nuts grew to become an on the spot fan favourite and even received a few anime awards. The sequence options clear nods to popular culture iconography, resembling Ultraman, mixing daring stylistic selections with the present’s distinctive vitality. What impressed that artistic path, and do you might have a private favourite second from its opening sequence?

Gongara: At the moment, I talked with the director of season one [and] he gave me whole freedom as a result of we’ve labored collectively for a very long time. He is aware of, roughly, my fashion. He simply requested me to make use of Ultraman as a reference—these silhouette footage. He’d say, “So long as you employ that, it’s okay. You are able to do no matter you need.” So I began watching Ultraman and I began to seek out some concepts on the right way to use it, and I additionally added one thing additional to make one other type of scenes within the opening. We agreed we didn’t need to have the traditional look of the present, so it appears slightly bit extra like shiny fancy colours—slightly bit extra particular.

I confirmed all of the concepts and ideas to the director. He appreciated it. Then I began I began the storyboard once I received the music. I believed the music was actually cool, so it was thrilling to do the storyboard, as a result of it’s a must to really feel the rhythm and discover concepts in accordance with the rhythm of the music. Yamashiro was actually open to the whole lot. It was troublesome, but it surely was enjoyable.

My favourite half is the silhouette that I did myself. After which among the tough animation cuts that had been accomplished by one man on the crew, who’s a extremely superb animator. I used to be very blissful as a result of I requested him if he may do it on paper and pencil. The image, just like the grain of the paper, is on the display screen. For those who cease the body, it has the true grain of the paper, after which the true pencil. That’s one thing we don’t do any extra in animation. It’s type of like quite a lot of work, and I’m very blissful this animator did it. It turned out to be very lovely. Additionally, I did the compositing on the finish as a result of I needed to push that tough fashion. Yeah, these components are my favourite within the opening.

io9: Will season two’s opening, “On My Approach” by AiNA THE END, observe the same strategy to utilizing silhouettes like the primary season did, or can audiences count on one thing fully new meshing with the poppy sound of AiNA’s music?

Gongara: It’s gonna be utterly totally different. I can’t say a lot, but it surely’s gonna be actually totally different and I’m blissful about it. I believe it’s superb. I needed one thing totally different, as a result of in any other case it’d appear to be making an attempt to redo one thing that was good, and I believed that wouldn’t be fascinating. However yeah, you will note.

io9: Within the Evil Eye director interview, you talked about watching and drawing heavy inspiration from horror movies and Hong Kong cinema to assist form your strategy to the Evil Eye arc. What movies helped you nail Dan Da Dan’s action-meets-horror ambiance in season two? 

Gongara: The primary reference for Dan Da Dan could be Ultraman, in fact. I actually appreciated the way in which Hideaki Anno did the brand new model of Ultraman, Shin Ultraman. We even have kaiju and issues like that, so I actually appreciated Shin Godzilla and Shin Kamen Rider. There’s additionally some widespread factors with Kung Fu films. They often share related storytelling, with one influencing the opposite. For instance, like a crush-zoom on the face of a personality, issues like which are used quite a bit in each media. We attempt to analyze these issues.

I’m additionally very influenced by the Alien films. That additionally suits Dan Da Dan‘s science fiction half, and it’s very scary. I believe the unique Alien is a extremely superb movie. I don’t assume there’s actually a film that mixes all this, however we attempt to get the concepts and common affect by watching quite a lot of movies. I believe Yamashiro-san would try this, too.

io9: The primary season was an enormous visible spectacle, effortlessly shifting between horror, motion, and romance with expressive animation that heightened each second. Have been there any particular scenes from the manga that pushed the studio creatively in season two? Moments the place animation allowed the sequence to take issues to a different stage, however proved to be a problem to recover from the end line?

Gongara: (laughs) We’re in the midst of [production] at this time. We try new issues like mixing 3D generally to assist the animators. Typically, we’ve concepts that can’t be accomplished by conventional animation, or it might be loopy to do. We’re looking for the right way to use 3D in a extra artistic method. There’s slightly bit in Evil Eye, too. We’re experimenting slightly bit with the 3D. We even have quite a lot of new music within the season, and we’re experimenting slightly bit with the way in which we use it.

io9: You’ve talked about that you simply and Yamashiro have labored collectively earlier than, in a collaborative setting. How has the meshing of each your types to create Dan Da Dan season two been? Has it proved to be a tough feeling-out course of working via the place you guys disagree creatively, or has it been a seamless transition for the 2 of you?

Gongara: I believe, in fact, [Yamashiro] has extra heavy involvement as a result of he determined all of the issues you possibly can see in season one, and I attempted to observe his path. In fact, we don’t agree on the whole lot. However we’ve half of the season divided. It’s not precisely like half-and-half. It’s like I’ve received the primary arc, then he will get the second arc, after which I’m going again for the third arc, after which he’s additionally doing one thing later. We share like that, however nonetheless, we’re concerned in each. Typically, he’s helped me including some storyboard components or some concepts he had, and I’d additionally test with him [on] colours. Issues like that we have to resolve as a result of some designs may seem in each my episode and his episode. We’re working on a regular basis collectively.

We have now this background the place we used to work in lots of initiatives collectively. [We’ve worked] with Masaki Yuuasa earlier than, and we realized quite a bit from him. So we’ve related imaginative and prescient. We agree on many issues and our view on animation and cinema is analogous. We wish to push perspective and we wish to push the expression of the characters, possibly greater than different administrators. It’s type of not too onerous for each [of us], I hope. I can’t discuss for him, however I believe it’s clean on the whole.

Dan Da Dan season two premieres this July on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu. Evil Eye hits theaters throughout the U.S. June 6.

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