Nmia：Comix Wave Films is known for its distinct visual style and emotionally resonant stories. How has your animation philosophy evolved over the years, and what key principles do you believe contribute to the studio’s unique identity?
Shuhei Hamasaki: First of all, the foundation of the company philosophy is laid down by the CEO of the company, Noritaka Kawaguchi. Director Shinkai Makoto has been one of the creators under Kawaguchi’s management team. Talent management of talents such as creators and writers are important assets of the company. Three main agreements of our company are time punctuality, doing cleaning and greets each other. These creative steps are pivotal as parts that give birth to a great film.
Nmia：How do you create those visually stunning landscapes in the background that appeared in the movie?
Fujii Onoo : In order to create a picturesque background, we do a lot of research and observation on wonderful things around us and learn from them. For example, beautiful temple and shrine paintings, masterpiece works from accomplished movie creators, observation on trivial matters of our daily lives, we observe and obtain inspiration from all these sources, and that’s how a nice background can be produced.
Nmia：Comix Wave Films is known for exploring deep emotional themes in its works. How do you approach conveying these emotions effectively through animation and storytelling?
Yamamoto Tomoko : For example, for gloomy scenes, the illumination will darken, however for cheerful scenes, in order to bring out the happiness, bright colours will be used. So as the story unfolds, emotions are conveyed through the use of colorings.
Fujii Onoo : I share the same opinions as Yamamoto-san. For example, during a sad scene, it must give off a gloomy feeling. In order to portray the inner image of the character’s feelings, an icy atmosphere can be used for such portrayal. Of course, it is also very important that as the story progresses, the background will also get brighter bit by bit following the character’s change of emotions.
Nmia：Your studio is celebrated for its visually stunning animation. Could you provide some insights into the artistic techniques and technologies you use to achieve such captivating visuals?
Fujii Onoo : We used to use the analogue method to draw background animation, however we have since adapted to new technology and digitalized our drawing process. Director Shinkai Makoto himself always embraces new technology, just like how analogue drawing evolved into digital drawing. Whenever there is new technology, we will always accept the challenge and use it in background animation to produce better results.
Yamamoto Tomoko : Nowadays it is very convenient to do the colouring by computer. Sometimes photoshop is also being used to visualise and reproduce the image that appeared in the creator’s mind.
Nmia：What are some of the sources of inspiration and artistic influences that have shaped the creative direction of Comix Wave Films’ projects?
Fujii Onoo : Again, it goes back to observation on trivial matters of daily lives, like observing the twilight in detail, how the change in lighting as the time goes by during twilight. Through such observation and my own experience, all these factors are my important sources of inspiration.
Yamamoto Tomoko : I agree that keeping an eye of observation on everything around daily lives is important sources of inspiration, and can proceed further from there by always thinking on how to reproduce the colours from all the things we observed onto the artboard.
Shuhei Hamasaki : It is important to obtain and stockpile your own inspiration and creative ideas by watching a lot of videos of wide varieties, whether it is Japanese film, western film, anime, and also movies from different generations and eras.
Nmia：From your perspective, how has the anime industry evolved over the years, and how does Comix Wave Films contribute to shaping its direction?
Shuhei Hamasaki : At Comix Wave Films, we have a wide range of creator staff, and they range from veterans to young bloods. We aim to create an environment where borderless communication can be carried out among staff, especially among veterans and younger staff. As a result, veterans can teach younger staff about technical skills, while younger staff who are more proficient with digitising can teach veterans about it. Through this two-way communication and technical transfer, both veterans and younger staff can further improve their own skills. We believe the varieties of staff and borderless communication can contribute not only CWF internally, but also the advancement of the animation field.
Nmia：We really like the amazing landscape featured in your film. Is there any chance that we can get to see Malaysia’s landscape in an upcoming film?
Fujii Onoo : It might be a little difficult for us to put in our works directly, but all the wonderful scene I observed during the trip, especially the breathtaking aerial view I viewed from the plane, the moment of beautiful dawn coupled with the smell of morning mist that I enjoyed in Malaysia, I really appreciate and enjoy such beautiful moments in Malaysia and I believe they will become parts of our future inspiration and these inspirations will eventually be included in our future works.
Nmia：Comix Wave Films utilised a lot of technology in film making. What do they see the emerging AI trend as, is it as a useful tool or a bane?
Shuhei Hamasaki : AI technology is indeed already widely known in the anime production industry, however it has not been put in practical use yet. Animation is a product of the creators’ emotions and hard work, so even with the use of Ai, creators will still retouch and amend the final products with their professional judgement.
Nmia：Is there any chance for emerging Malaysian artists to work or collaborate with Comix Wave Films?
Shuhei Hamasaki : We welcome talented artists to join us with open arms, however since we are a Japanese company with local staff, of course the most important requirement is to learn Japanese language, and have communication skills to communicate fluently with other staff.
Nmia：How do you feel about the trips to Malaysia, especially about the local food and the experience of Animangaki?
Fujii Onoo : In my opinion, I think this event is full of fresh and young energy, the way the event is being held is also very different from the anime events in Japan, so I find it very exciting.
Yamamoto Tomoko : In Japan, since most of my work are done in the office, I don’t have much opportunity to join events like this, so to be able to join this event and watch the happy faces of event participants, I find it very enjoyable.
Shuhei Hamasaki : I had the opportunity to talk with some event participants, and they expressed their love towards Japanese anime and the works of Director Shinkai Makoto, and this passion warmed the hearts of all of our staff. We are not sure when the next works of Director Shinkai Makoto will come out, but we will continue our best effort to continuously produce anime films, and we hope our future films can be watched and well accepted by Malaysian fans, and this will certainly further boost our morale to work even harder.
