Nishio Daisuke (西尾大介?) is a director and storyboard artist affiliated with Toei Animation.
He was the series director for Pretty Cure's first two seasons: Futari wa Pretty Cure and Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, also storyboarding the former's OP and directing a few episodes for both. After that, he directed the Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash☆Star: Maji☆Doki♡ 3D Theater animated short, and an episodeYPC543 for Yes! Pretty Cure 5.
Work on Futari wa Pretty Cure[]
Washio Takashi, the producer for the first five Pretty Cure series, asked Nishio of "Dragon Ball Z" fame to direct the inaugural series. Nishio gave detailed instructions on the character designs, such as the girls wearing shoes without heels as they would be on their feet during the action, and the post-transformation costume being a "action uniform" that acts as armor.[1] Another fundamental principle was to avoid showing the girls in swimsuits and underwear, as there would be no need to rely on fanservice to appeal to adults if the girls were simply fun to watch. This is also why the Pretty Cure costumes are designed to prevent showing underwear, such as with the use of leggings to support the skirts.[2]
Being conscious of their influence on children through the anime, Washio and Nishio discussed refraining from putting images they didn't approve of on screen, or wanted kids to imitate.[1] For this reason, they avoided depicting direct blows to the face or abdomen, having the characters block them instead. They wanted to exaggerate the power and damage in a way that couldn't be imitated, such as when a character blocks an attack, they are sent flying back into a wall which breaks upon impact.[2] They didn't want to depict behaviors such as picky eating or talking back to one's parents.[1] A specific example comes from the original series, where initially, there was a scene where Nagisa's mother barges into her daughter's room, which Nishio took issue with, saying that mothers wouldn't act in such a way as it would anger their daughters. They would instead knock the door and call their name from outside. Washio was impressed by Nishio's sensitivity and attention to detail, which he kept up for the two years he was series director.[3] Nishio was the only person on staff who understood the English word "gender," and discussed with Washio how to convey that in the work, where anyone, regardless of gender, can "stand gallantly on one's own two feet."[4]
Washio believes that the original series "vividly reflects what Nishio thought and wanted to do," and that the characters of Nagisa and Honoka are derived from the "dual nature" of Nishio, though he denies this. Washio goes on to say that Nishio's way of creating things in the work is to act as if he was in the same world as the characters, being compared to "an old man who lives next to Nagisa and the others," interacting with them.[3]
Work in Pretty Cure[]
Series | Year | Episode Director | Storyboard | Series Director |
---|---|---|---|---|
Futari wa Pretty Cure | 2004 - 2005 | 28, 42 | DANZEN! Futari wa Pretty Cure | ✅ |
Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart | 2005 - 2006 | 15, 47 | ED1(ver. 2)[5] | |
Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star | 2006 - 2007 | ❌ | Maji☆Doki♡ 3D Theater | |
Yes! Pretty Cure 5 | 2007 - 2008 | 43 | 43 | ❌ |
Transformation/BANK[]
- Cure Black and Cure White's Marble Screw Max.[5]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 An interview with Washio conducted by Suzuki Yasuro for The Asahi Shimbun Digital on February 28, 2018 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 An article by Noguchi Tomoo, published in the August 30, 2010 issue of President (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Part 1 of an interview with Washio hosted at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of PreCure on July 28, 2023. The article was written by Hagiya Mika and published in Cocreco on August 27, 2023 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ Part 3 of an interview with Washio hosted at an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of PreCure on July 28, 2023. The article was written by Hagiya Mika and published in Cocreco on September 9, 2023 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A page on director Otsuka Takashi's personal website that goes into a behind-the-scenes look on his contributions to Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart (source is in Japanese).