Introducing “ONE PIECE” Land of Wano Animation x UT Collaboration! Series director discusses creating animation as a team.

Broadcasts of the “Land of Wano” Edition of the hugely popular “ONE PIECE” animation series started from July 2019. UT has realized a collaboration with this popular series that has continued to receive high praise from viewers since broadcasting started. We visited series director Tatsuya Nagamine at the animation studio that masterfully combines unique dialog, color selection, and other factors to fully capture the charm of “Land of Wano” conveyed in the original manga.

A united team just like the Straw Hat Crew

――How does your vision of “ONE PIECE” Land of Wano” Edition differ from the overall series? What do you see as the appeal of this edition?

I think that the appeal of “ONE PIECE” is experiencing the completely different world views of each of the islands that serve as the setting for these stories. Until now “ONE PIECE” was drawn mostly from the perspective of Western world, so there was some strong interest in somehow adding some Japanese flavor to the story. Eiichiro Oda, the writer of this manga, is the only one who could create such a new world for the “ONE PIECE” series. I thought that a setting is similar to an Edo era Japanese drama but Land of Wano is not Japan. Various Japanese motifs are used, but the artwork and streets are very colorful and there are kimonos with novel color arrangements. There are even some people with Japanese hair styles but blond hair . This setting is drawn based on completely new ideas, so we created a new and exciting land that is unknown to the audience, and yet still seems somehow very familiar. I think this was made possible due to Oda’s wealth of knowledge and uncompromising attention to detail.

--What considerations must be made when converting the original manga into an animated series?

The creation of a single animation episode involves bringing together various aspects including movement, music, and voice actor performances. One particular aspect is the concept of “rhythm.” This “rhythm” will be viewed differently by each audience. Incorporating the interpretations of rhythm held by each reader is physically impossible. So, we are conscious of creating rhythm that we feel is cool and leaves a good impression. The best case is when this approach resonates with those watching the animation. As the story and characters are already clearly defined in the original manga, I think the most important point when converting a manga into an animation was to create a system allowing us to fully harness the strength of our many excellent staff members.

--How many team members are involved in producing the “ONE PIECE” Land of Wano Edition?

We established the “ONE PIECE” staff room, which is made up of over 10 people of full-time directors and animation directors, and 10 to 20 lead animators per episode. As for the art director, someone is in charge of configuration and someone is in charge of art. On a monthly basis, there are roughly 2,000 workers, including non-full-time workers. About 5,000 original illustrations must be produced for just one episode. As such work continues every week, a considerably large number of people are involved.

--What is the secret to producing such high-quality episodes every week? The drawings in this series are held in very high regard.

In terms of the drawings, the character designer and chief animation director always work very hard. The character designer is a big fan of Roronoa Zoro, and so is motivated to draw really cool versions of this character based on individual “taste”. The “ONE PIECE” series has been running for more than 20 years and this work is truly loved by so many people. Everyone has his/her own “likes,” but it is unfortunate when these likes become too disconnected. So, we have consciously tapped into the strengths of this fan base to arrange a shared vector for these varied “likes.” Many young people love this series and so we want to encourage them to participate in its production. Recently, there has been an increase of such people from overseas. There has been a globalization of our teams, which now include members from China, South America, France, and elsewhere. I feel that we are bringing together people from around the world who enjoy working on the production side.

Here is the special illustration for UT magazine made by ONE PIECE team.

The precious rough illustration that you can hardly see is like this.

The completed version of the special illustration!

--So, your job involves bringing together 2,000 workers?

However, for the most part I am only working with about 50 people. In particular, I have many exchanges with the directors. There are certain methods for expressing the original manga as an animation, but I work with the directors to prevent the storyboard level of difficulty from increasing too much in order to maintain quality. Initially the storyboard is considerably revised and portions that are difficult and not fun are cut. On the quality front, I first elevate the strengths of staff overall and teams. This is much like the “Gear Second” technique (enhances user’s strength used by the “ONE PIECE” main character), then I think it is important to move to the next higher gear. From my experience, if you immediately go to a higher gear, others will not follow you. There are 2,000 workers who each have various ideas. So, I build teams by asking, “Can you contribute this much to making ‘ONE PIECE’?” Ideally, I want us to try new methods for expressing the stories and shift to the top gear, but this is not possible without good working companions. This is similar to the “ONE PIECE” story. After all, Luffy cannot live without Nami.

Director Nagamine at his desk. Nagamine said that when he is busy with work, “I live at my desk.”

--I assume that the performance of voice actors is very important when telling a story through animation.

Yes, that is because the performances of voice actors breathe life into the animation. All of our voice actors have a deep understanding of “ONE PIECE.” Also, their lines in the Land of Wano Edition are long based on the direction. These voice actors are very talented and somewhat long lines are needed for fully leverage their capabilities. When veteran actors add emotion, the lines become somewhat long. Initially there were some complaints that the lines were too long (laughing). We took the idea of the direction from Kabuki.

What do you see as the appeal of Luffy and his gang of pirates?

--I want to hear your thoughts about some of the “ONE PIECE” characters used as designs in this UT collaboration. First, what do you think of Luffy?

I have long thought about the Luffy character. He is fully committed to doing what he wants to do. In this modern era, when we want to do something, so much information is already available. This is like the proverb “look before you leap.” Luffy is the type of person that would just leap without looking. He wants to see new worlds and is willing to break through any obstacles in his way. Anyone witnessing that stance will feel inspired. Luffy is ready to knock down any enemy who emerges. This is not a matter of right or wrong, but simply his willingness to knock down any obstacles preventing him from doing what he wants to do. He lives by the motto that “besides breaking down obstacles, all that is left is death.” I think that is the truth. One point to keep in mind with animation is that these people are the cream of the crop in the world. I ask for dialog with some leeway so that the characters do not seem silly even when they are just playing around.

--How about Trafalgar Law and Komurasaki?

Trafalgar Law is really cool, but during his time with Luffy and his gang, he is like a meddling man. His desperate expression is impressive. Despite enduring some hardships in his life, you can feel his human kindness. Komurasaki has had many experiences, but never expresses any hardships. I like that. I think she is a complex character with both strength and weakness.

For this collection, Jimbei is drawn as a member of the Straw Hat Crew and there is a solo design for Chopper.

Jimbei supports the Straw Hat Crew as an unsung hero. Franky and Jimbei were top pirates and so support Luffy as they understand the anguish of a leader. They are proud to be members of the Straw Hat Crew. Just like this design composition, there is a strong sense of stability with Jimbei joining the Straw Hat Crew. Chopper boasts unflagging popularity, but recently he has endured some hardships. This is a good character as he understands Luffy’s objectives and, in addition to being cute, holds certain beliefs.

T-shirt designs use motifs based on patterns featured in the clothing worn by Luffy and his gang in Land of Wano.

Drawing these designs within an animation is very difficult (laughing). Such detailed designs take a tremendous amount of time. But we could not create Land of Wano unless we faithfully reproduce these designs. This was also nerve wracking for those asked for such work. If you were to ask the Land of Wano animators what is the hardest part of their job, I am sure they would say the many designs (laughing). Expressing the clothing with vibrant colors is possible thanks to the digitalized animation era. In the past there was only around 100 colors, but such designs are now possible to be expressed in animation due to this digital era.

--Thank you for your cooments on the characters. The various characters seem to be brought to life in this manner through approaches made possible by your sensitivity. Finally, could you tell us about your awareness and the beliefs that you always hold when producing animation?

The objective of animation is to delight children. I produce animation with that point in mind. I am still like that kid at lunch time who laughs so hard with his friends that milk pours out of his nose (laughing). I think I will keep that state of mind. However, I am also an adult, so of course I prepared the proper comment that my work is “for the sake of Japanese culture.”

More information about ONE PIECE ： https://one-piece.com/