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Otsuka Takashi (大塚隆史 Ōtsuka Takashi)? is a director and animator who has worked mostly for Toei Animation.
He has a Twitter account.
History[]
Otsuka was born on February 23, 1981, in Osaka Prefecture. He was inspired to pursue a career in animation after watching the behind-the-scenes documentary on Studio Ghibli's "Princess Mononoke." Following high school, he enrolled in a vocational school for animation.[1]
When Otsuka was 20, he watched an episode of "Mo～tto! Ojamajo Doremi," not thinking much of it, as he thought works for children were lesser than those for adults. The episode he watched was the 20th one of that season, which focused on a girl who played truant from school. He understood that truancy was not a problem that could be solved in a single episode, so he was shocked when the episode ended without properly solving the girl's truancy. He was amazed by how the episode's direction conveyed sense and emotion in the "unpleasantness" a truant girl might feel about going to school to those who did not have similar experiences. He was impressed by directors Igarashi Takuya and Sato Junichi's work on "Ojamajo Doremi," who inspired him to pursue directing anime. Less than a year after watching that episode, he would join Toei Animation, also working on "Ojamajo Doremi." He began as an assistant episode director on "Ojamajo Doremi Dokka~n!," a role he would carry over into Pretty Cure.[2]
Otsuka wasn't an "anime geek" to begin with, so while working at Toei Animation, he looked into their archives to watch their past works, one of which was "Dragon Ball," which he loved as a child primarily for its animation. He was specifically fascinated by the animation of the 31st episode of "Dragon Ball Z," which involved a beam clash between Goku and Vegeta. He learned that the episode was directed by Nishio Daisuke, who he knew was the series director for that anime, someone he was vaguely familiar with, and would get to know better when he was soon assigned to work on Futari wa Pretty Cure with him in the same role.[3]
Otsuka describes himself as more of an "entertainer-type" of director rather than a "writer-type" one. Similarly, he prefers to be called an "anime director" rather than an "animation director."[3]
Work on Futari wa Pretty Cure[]
While working on Futari wa Pretty Cure, Otsuka watched the 30th episode, where Pretty Cure performed their new Rainbow Storm technique, thinking the impact was very "Dragon Ball-like." He wanted to convey that same "showy action" when he started working on Pretty Cure.[3]
Otsuka has noted that the end cards at the end of each episode are typically created by the assistant director for the following episode. As an assistant director himself, he was responsible for several of these. For his first end card on Pretty Cure, which would be shown at the end of the thirty-second episode, he thought about designing the card as if to foreshadow the end card shown at the end of the next episode, but thought that children wouldn't remember the previous episode's card a week later to understand the connection (Sept. 15). For the end card at the end of the thirty-third episode, it was supposed to be done by the following episode's assistant director, Suzuki Yusuke, but Otsuka convinced him to let him do it instead. Since the episode Otsuka worked on was focused on Kubota Shiho, he wanted to create Shiho's smile in the card himself (Sept. 26).[4]
Work on Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart[]
After Otsuka passed the exam to become promoted to a lead directorial position, his first job as one was to direct the theatrical trailer for the then-upcoming Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart movie. Usually, trailers are made with excerpts from the actual movie, but due to time constraints, he created original scenes for the storyboard. There were 41 shots in total, and the trailer was supervised by animation director Tamegai Katsumi. His first contributions as a lead director on the actual TV anime were the first pair of eyecatches used during the first half of the season, and the second version of the first ending theme used from the ninth to the thirty-sixth episode. Soon after, he became the assistant director for most of the banks this season.
The first full episode he directed in a lead capacity was the fifteenth episode. About a month before broadcast, Rissen Hirotoshi, a fellow episode director, was suddenly hospitalized. Series director Nishio Daisuke took over as storyboard artist, redoing Rissen's entire storyboard, and Otsuka became the episode director.[5]
Work on Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star[]
Otsuka notes that the way episode directors are assigned episodes to direct at Toei is based on a type of rotation system. Even so, Otsuka personally requested to direct the second and penultimate episodes of this season. He knew that the first episode was typically handled by the series director and character designer in the roles of episode and animation directors respectively, who would give it their all to hook the audience in. The real trouble, however, was keeping the audience hooked with the second episode onwards. Otsuka felt that the second episode was just as important in keeping the audience interested which was why he requested to work on it.[6]
Work on Yes! Pretty Cure 5[]
In this season, Otsuka directed the majority of episodes focused on Kasugano Urara. When asked why that was, he recalled seeing the character sheets for the five main Pretty Cure by character designer Kawamura Toshie for the first time, noting the each girl had their own unique characteristics, which convinced him that it would be an interesting work. One of his ambitions was to direct a transformation sequence, which was typically handled by the episode director for whichever episode the sequence occurred in. In previous Pretty Cure seasons, the initial transformations usually all occurred in the first episodes, as it was just two girls transforming together. However, in Yes! Pretty Cure 5, each girl would individually transform and each transformation was staggered across several episodes. For that reason, Otsuka requested to direct the third episode, which debuted Cure Lemonade and her transformation. However, he was already directing the penultimate episode of Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star, which aired about a month before. This was a rather short amount of time in-between to direct two episodes, which was why the production staff initially rejected Otsuka's requested, but he insisted and got the work done. The staff would then put him in rotation to direct several other episodes focused on Urara.[6]
Work on Pretty Cure All Stars DX[]
Work on Smile Pretty Cure![]
- "It’s not really about what I want, to be honest; it’s about what I feel is right for the anime. When I draw animation for [the pirate series] One Piece, I might put in some drawings that reflect my style, but for the most part, I’m keeping to the material. It’s not my job to alter the manga to what I think is better. It’s the same for Pretty Cure. It’s an anime for children as young as kindergarten, and it has its own traditions. It would be selfish of me to strictly impose my personal tastes. I love horror, and if I put in horror stories all the time, I might love it and think, 'Wow, this is so great!’ But the anime’s fans won’t like it, and the show won’t sell any toys. Individuality has its place, but that doesn’t mean that it’s good for every anime."
– Otsuka Takashi, from a personal interview conducted by Bryan Hikari Hartzheim for his article (pg. 1072).[7]
Otsuka was given the opportunity to direct an entire anime for the first time with Smile Pretty Cure!, using the "psychological expressions" of "Ojamajo Doremi" and the "showy action" of Pretty Cure as the two main pillars of his work. He recalled growing up on other Toei Animation works, such as "Bikkuriman," "Sailor Moon," "GeGeGe no Kitaro," "Fist of the North Star," and "Kinnikuman," all of which he had a fun time watching, and wanted to replicate that feeling for children watching the work he was directing.[3]
Up until this point, each season of Pretty Cure usually took place in a recreation of a typical Tokyo suburb. Smile Pretty Cure! broke the mold by setting its story in a version of Japan that incorporates different regions, taking a more active interest in the cultural differences within and outside the country. The western Kansai region is prominently depicted in the anime, largely due to sponsor Asahi Broadcasting Corporation's roots in the area, leading to a two-episode arc taking place in Osaka Prefecture, and one of the Pretty Cure, Akane, being from Osaka herself. The heavy presence of Osakans in the staff, including Otsuka, was beneficial for the show in its multicultural approach. He ensured that the region's "dialect, vocabulary, and culinary habits" were well represented through the characters in those two aforementioned episodes. He is known among staff for his "restless personality and offhand jokes," traits stereotypically attributed to those from Osaka (pp. 355-356).[8]
As series director, Otsuka was responsible for "nearly all aspects of production," from the setting, to maintaining the "tone, quality, and style of the series." He, along with the producers, offered suggestions on how to incorporate the merchandise into the episodes (pg. 1068). The visual incorporation of these objects was up to him, to make all of it "fit seamlessly into the anime's world and alongside its characters" (pg. 1071). Otsuka believes that "conspicuous individuality is subservient to the main goal of selling toys" in economically successful anime, viewing himself as "the creator of a combined advertisement, simultaneously realizing the desires of both creators (writers, artists, animators) and sponsors (producers, advertising reps)" (pg. 1072).[7]
The process of writing scripts for episodes ends with Otsuka approving a final script for storyboarding. He, along with the producers, weigh in on the script and suggest changes for each draft submitted (pg. 348). A key question asked at these meetings is if the story is consistent with how the character should act. For example, in the scriptwriting session for the 26th episode, which involved a summer festival, Otsuka noted that as Nao is more tomboyish and "helps out in physical ways," and Yayoi is more fragile, the writers should come up with more natural and fun scenes to convey their personalities. A writer suggested that Nao could bang a taiko drum, a role traditionally reserved for men, and that Yayoi could draw up posters and flyers advertising the event. Otsuka is satisfied, but also asks the writer to come up with more interesting ideas. Ultimately, neither of these ideas are kept in the actual episode (pg. 350). In another session, ABC producer Matsushita took issue with an episode revolving around the traditional Japanese activity of splitting open a watermelon while wearing a blindfold. Specifically he warned that parents of blind children would find it offensive, to which Otsuka rebuts that they wouldn't be able to do anything if they were always worried about angry parents. Again, this detail is cut out from the episode, and another activity is chosen instead (pg. 354).[8]
Otsuka was one of the biggest promoters of the staff behind Smile Pretty Cure! During the anime's rerun in the latter half of 2013, he made several tweets for each episode highlighting notable work from staff members, singling out specific animators and directors for their unique contributions (pp. 1075, 1084).[7]
Work in Pretty Cure[]
*Assistant Episode Director role
Transformation/BANK[]
- Otsuka worked on the following banks in Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart in an assistant role.[5]
- Cure Black and Cure White's Dual Aurora Wave! and Marble Screw Max Spark
- Shiny Luminous' Luminous! Shining Stream! and Extreme Luminario.
- Shiny Luminous' Heartiel Action.
References[]
- ↑ Part 1 of an interview with Otsuka conducted by Maeda Hisashi for Febri on September 13, 2021 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ Part 2 of an interview with Otsuka conducted by Maeda Hisashi for Febri on September 15, 2021 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Part 3 of an interview with Otsuka conducted by Maeda Hisashi for Febri on September 17, 2021 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ The September 2004 section from Otsuka's web diary. The entries for September 15 and 26 are the most relevant (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 A page on Otsuka'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).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 An interview with Otsuka conducted by Kato Reizuna for the web magazine Gentosha, in July 2010 (source is in Japanese).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Hartzheim, B.H. (2016) "Pretty Cure and the Magical Girl Media Mix," The Journal of Popular Culture, 49(5), pp. 1059-1085. Translations provided by Hartzheim.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hartzheim, B. H. (2015). "Case Study: Pretty Cure's Convergence Text," Inside the Media Mix: Collective Creation in Contemporary Manga and Anime, UCLA, pp. 306-374.