#anime interview

Tachikawa: We discussed not wanting to include too many unnecessary camera movements, so we planned the sequences around fixed shots. This was to ensure that the focus remained on the detailed craftsmanship of the visuals. If we weren't careful, we would end up with more than 300 cuts just within the bar (laughs). — Yes. that's right. Tachikawa: Since we have to stage the scenes in the same location most of the time, using the usual shot-reverse shot technique would make all the cuts look the same. So at the storyboard stage, I asked for the camera positions and pacing to reflect the characters' emotions. I wanted the structure of the composition to maintain a sense of tension throughout the scene.  

— The storyboard for Episode 2 was done by Satō Yūzō, the director of Tohai Densetu Akagi -Yamini Maiorita Tensai- and Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor. Was he chosen because you wanted to expose the tension of a psychological battle?

Tachikawa: Actually, the original concept for that episode revolved around mahjong (laughs). But that got scrapped, and Sato was assigned to Episode 2.

— If the mahjong story was done, that would have been interesting (laughs). Earlier, you mentioned that you wanted to emphasize the detailed craftsmanship of the visuals. I heard that you have incorporated 3D layouts this time. What is the reason behind that?

Tachikawa: To start, the room inside the bar is extremely difficult to animate. It’s deceptively wide and circular…drawing curves can be challenging. When we did Death Billiards, we aimed to train young animators, so everyone drew it by hand. But the struggle with layouts alone consumed half of the schedule. If we did the same thing in a TV series, the production would definitely collapse. So this time, we created the bar in 3D and asked the key animators to focus on drawing the characters’ performances. That's why we opted for 3D layouts.

— Was this approach something that you had experienced in previous projects you had participated in? Tachikawa: In the project Terror in Resonance, which I participated in just before this one, we also used 3D for locations like the hideout used in a prolonged scene.

― You were also an assistant director for Terror in Resonance, right? How did you use your experience during that production for this one?

Tachikawa: Yes, that's right, and the direction of both works is quite similar (laughs). Actually, even the direction plans felt close to Director Watanabe Shinichirō's. We had many discussions where I thought, "ah, yes, that's right." I wanted to see Director Watanabe's work up close, so I participated in Terror in Resonance, and I was glad that there were many aspects of it that intuitively made sense to me.

― When you say that the directing plans are similar to Director Watanabe's, what exactly do you mean?

Tachikawa: It’s regarding how we create the visuals and structure the cuts. Terror in Resonance also focuses on crafting the visuals based on a fixed camera, using angles that are more typical of film. The approach is closer to live-action, and in that sense, I think we are similar.

Staffing and Their Tasks

― In this work, there is a position for key animators, but what exactly are they responsible for?

 Tachikawa: The key animator is the person who is in charge of the most important part of the animation.

― Three main animators are credited. Could you tell us about their primary responsibilities?

 Tachikawa: Tokura-san is good at effects animation, so he does a lot of cuts like that. In each episode, he draws the smoke effects when the game machines come out. Besides effects, he also draws various other elements, but his main focus is on those parts. I asked Ishibashi Shōsuke-san to do the original drawings for the parts where the characters' emotions are running high and more sides of their personalities are exposed. He joined from Episode 4 onwards. For instance, he animated scenes like the one where Misaki was running while shouting “Stop messing with me!," and the scene later on where she was caught up in threads and crying out. Kojima-san similarly works on scenes where the characters' emotions explode. For example, in the latter half of Episode 1, where Takashi shouts while gesturing, "That’s not my child! It has to be someone else’s!." He tends to enjoy working on scenes that are not typically depicted in anime.

― Regarding the staffing, Director Shishido Jun from Hajime no Ippo: Rising is listed as the Chief Director. What exactly is his role?

Tachikawa: At first we thought about an assistant director position, but then it was decided that someone with a career as long as Shishido-san's would not fit well as an assistant director for a rookie director like myself. So, rather than focusing on assistant director duties, he mostly assists in directing aspects at key points, which led to the title of Chief Director.

― What specifically does Shishido-san do?

Tachikawa: He's responsible for requesting the storyboards and directors for each episode. He also assists in checking the work when I become busy with other tasks. Additionally, he occasionally takes on assistant director tasks as well.

― Similar to Death Billiards, the artistry in this work is also incredibly intricate.

Tachikawa: Art Director Hirayanagi Satoru also worked on Death Billiards. For the previous work, we commissioned Studio Easter for background art, but now he has established his own art team called Heikuro. In this series, we show places like behind the bar, which wasn't shown in Death Billiards. When creating such things, we would submit new images, and after discussing them with him and his team, they would put them together into something that would suit this universe.

 ― How do you balance the art and 3D layout?

Tachikawa: For Quindecim's bar, we model it in 3D and apply textures. By creating it in 3D, we can freely move the camera inside the room. So, for Quindecim's layouts, the art department adds retouches to the still images created from 3D data. As for other settings, they are drawn from scratch.

― In Death Billiards, Murakami Izumi, who was a young key animator, is now in charge of prop design.

Tachikawa: Murakami-san has always had an original sense of creativity. She's responsible for designing small items and the design of Ginti's bar, and we ask her to come up with unconventional ideas.

― Ginti's bar filled with kokeshi dolls was quite amusing.

Tachikawa: In Ginti's bar, there's a large hand statue, and that idea also came from her. She's also involved in key animation, and she draws intricate movements as well.

― How do you delegate tasks between her and Akishino Denforword Hiyori, who also works on prop design?

Tachikawa: Akishino-san mainly works on designing the games featured in the story. Murakami-san is based in the studio, so we can discuss and work together easily. Akishino-san works from home, so we asked for things that are easier to explain, like dartboards.

― The music is handled by Hayashi Yuuki, right?

Tachikawa: Yes, I specifically requested Hayashi-san. I really liked the music he created for the TV drama Strawberry Night. I had the sound director create a music menu, and I communicated my vision and the kind of image I wanted for the music. Opening and Ending

— Please tell us about the much-discussed opening. What was the reason for making the opening more upbeat, contrasting from the main story?

Tachikawa: We had always discussed making the opening bright and enjoyable, especially since the main story tends to be rather dark.

— I think it was a great success, betraying the audience's expectations in a good way.

Tachikawa: Thank you (laughs). If we were to add an opening to the previous work Death Billiards, I think it would have had darker imagery, but I wanted to dispel that image.

— I see. So you wanted to separate it from the image of the work.

 Tachikawa: That's right. I hoped that if you feel down after watching the film, the opening will cheer you up.

― (laughs). Was the music the starting point for this, and then you developed the imagery?

Tachikawa: We had the image of how we wanted it to be first. The music we received afterward matched that image quite closely, so it expanded from there.

— It is interesting that the characters are dancing so seriously.

Tachikawa: Throughout the sequence, the arbiters are actually listening to that song. That's why everyone is dedicated to it. Some of the characters are more reluctant, but that too is incorporated into the way each of them dances according to their personality. ― Please tell us about the ending as well. Director Shinichiro Watanabe, mentioned earlier from Terror in Resonance, handled the storyboards and direction, right?

Tachikawa: Because of how tight the schedule for Terror in Resonance, Watanabe-san told me, "If you ever need any help, let me know." Since the main story has a heavy workload and Watanabe-san has another job lined up, we decided he could handle the ending. We conveyed the essence of this work and asked him to create the visuals by summarizing the concept.

― Just like the opening, the show proper seems to have a sharp sense of humor. Episode 6, Cross Heart Attack, which is a gag episode, was also very entertaining. What are your thoughts on humor in this series, Director Tachikawa?

Tachikawa: Rather than consciously thinking, "Let's make people laugh like this," I just did what I liked, so it came out organically. Someone told me that my comedy tends to be surreal. I like when jokes come at unexpected times. In Death Billiards, for example, there was a scene where an old man's dentures flew out after he hit the glass. In the sixth episode of this series, there's a moment when Mayu is about to fall and get pierced by a needle, which then becomes a gag. I think I enjoy the contrast between seriousness and comedy. If it's comedy all the time, it becomes monotonous, right? Before doing comedy, I intentionally insert tense elements and create a contrast, so that's where I aim for laughter.

― Decim also has quite a mischievous side. Is that also aimed at creating contrast?

Tachikawa: Yes, that's right. And Decim has a cute side too, so I thought I'd stretch that a bit.

 — (laughs). (Laughs.) Is the change in Decim a key point in this story?

 Tachikawa: Yes. I think that will be an important part.

― As the show is enters its final stages, could you tell us about the highlights of the second half?

Tachikawa: In Death Parade, we are trying to depict the essence of human "life." To that end, we need to define what it means to be "alive" within the story. I personally believe that the purpose of living lies in facing and embracing everyone’s individual qualities and destinies, while actively making choices that shape our own paths. This aspect might be related to the core of this work.

― It seems to have philosophical themes. Do you often think about human life and death?

Azuma: I have mainly worked on PD Takuya's works, which is how I got involved in Death Parade. I was given the opportunity to be the animation director for episode six, which was a very unique episode. To be honest, I didn't have much experience as an animation director, so key cuts were handled by Kojima-san, Ishibashi-san, Murakami-san, and other skilled animators and artists, who made the important scenes more appealing. Especially Ishibashi-san. His cuts were the first to get delivered, and they had an enormous number of keyframes where Mayu was moving ecstatically with very detailed acting. It was completely different from the keyframes I usually draw, so I was shocked to see how he handled it. It had a positive influence on me. Murakami: I think Ishibashi-san created Mayu's character. Ishibashi: No, that's not it. Since I participated in episode six first, Mayu was the first character I animated. I was like, "Huh? Decim hasn’t shown up yet," (laughs). I worked on episode 4 afterwards. Murakami: When I joined, Ishibashi-san's rough animation was already complete, so I watched the footage and thought, "Mayu is a girl who moves like this," and I understood what to do. Also, Episode Director Shishido was the type to entrust a lot to the animators. Kojima: Yes, Shishido [Jun]-san's storyboards are very easy to visualize in motion. Speaking of memorable things, in Death Parade, there were many scenes where the space was constructed in 3D, right? Ishibashi: Yeah, that's right. The first scene I worked on was in front of the bar counter in Viginti in episode six. It was challenging because it was not originally constructed in 3D. But then when I started working on other episodes, I realized that this [3D layout] was easy. Kojima: Working with 3D layouts means you don't have to draw backgrounds [laughs], which is convenient, but I also worried that neglecting to draw them might make my skills in that area rusty, so I had some doubts about whether it was the right approach. Ishibashi: I understand that. But drawing so many kokeshi dolls was tough... Murakami: Oh, I'm sorry. It's my fault that there were so many kokeshi dolls. When I was asked by Tachikawa-san (series composer and director) to design a Japanese-style bar, I thought it would be nice to have lots of kokeshi dolls lined up like bottles of alcohol, so I drew the image board with that in mind...

— PD Takuya and Kurita-san mentioned that Kojima-san broadened the range of character acting in Death Parade.

Kojima: Is that so? That's great to hear. In the first episode we worked on around 55 cuts, and during the meeting, either Director Tachikawa or Director Shishido-san requested that I present the acting with all the intensity of someone emotionally breaking down in tears at a press conference. So, I watched some videos for reference and drew accordingly. When it came to the ninth episode, I was initially consulted about the air hockey scen, but wanting to try something new, I asked to work on the scene where Shimada's sister is assaulted instead. Ishibashi: I thought you were definitely going to choose hockey, so I was like, "Oh, this is it?” (laughs). The cut with the light glinting on the knife,  the acting was so skillful there that we left it untouched and just let it run as it was. Kojima: (laughs) Well, I can't help but feel like I've been doing nothing but pitiful scenes most of the time. Also, the skating scene in episode eleven was very difficult. Ishibashi: That scene was mainly handled by Murakami-san, right? I also participated a bit, like drawing the childhood skating scenes. Kojima: I was allowed to draw the start of the skating scene. I did about 4 cuts in that area. Murakami: As for me…I am filled with a feeling of wanting to fix it… Ishibashi: No, you did really well. You had quite a number of cuts, right? Murakami: The number of cuts was around twelve. With everyone's help, we managed to complete it somehow. We had assistance from the 2nd key animation team as well.

— It seems that episode eleven had one of the stricter schedules among all the episodes. Ishibashi: Indeed, I was worried about whether we could really broadcast the episode or not, but the atmosphere in the studio wasn’t tense at all, and I felt very good. It was more like, "Can we do it?" rather than "Oh no, oh no!" (laughs). In the end, we managed to complete it (laughs). Murakami: While drawing, I kept thinking, "I can't believe this is going to air in a week," "unbelievable." Ishibashi: I think it was because Kurita-san, PD Takuya, and production manager Nakatani were people who had such a reassuring presence. When I heard laughter coming from their corner, I thought, "As long as Tachikawa-san is laughing, it will still be OK.” — Who was the easiest character to draw? Azuma: The dark-haired woman was relatively easy to draw, but Decim was quite challenging to get right. Kurita-san's designs are characterized by having their mouths positioned lower on their jaws, but when I started drawing, I unconsciously kept placing the mouth too high… Kojima: All the main characters were difficult. Decim especially was a total struggle for me. Personally, I might not be good with characters who lack expressions. I found it enjoyable to draw characters with expressive faces or those in despair. Ishibashi: I found the dark-haired woman somewhat difficult to draw, but Decim was relatively easier for me. With guest characters, there was some flexibility in altering their faces, which might have been influenced by Kojima-kun's work in episode 1, where he broadened the scope of the acting. Murakami: I had already given up on trying to make them look on-model (laughs). Kurita-san's characters, when drawn by him, are very beautiful, but if you don't draw them well, the balance gets messed up. It's beyond me... (laughs). Also, in episode six, drawing Memine the cat was challenging. Azuma: But you were the one who could draw the cat the best. It was really helpful while working as an animation director. Murakami: Really? I didn't know what to do, so I started with a lot of cat sketches. Ishibashi: In episode six, Murakami-san drew great facial expressions in the live scene in the C part. Especially when everyone was like, "Yay!" (laughs). Speaking of what left an impression on me, in episode nine where I was the animation director, Hiromi Ishigami-san, Ryoma Ebata-san, Tetsuya Masuda-san, and Akitsugu Hisagi-san participated as key animators, and it was really enjoyable. Ishigami-san is my senior, but it had been about 7 years since I last saw her original drawings, and I was again impressed by how good she is. Ebata-san's presentation of Tatsumi smoking a cigarette and putting it out with his foot had a very good sense of perspective. Ebata-san was also in charge of the part during the ending theme, where the emotions were conveyed amazingly even without any dialogue. And Masuda-san also did a lot of keyframes. I personally like Masuda-san's drawings, so I got excited whenever I received his keyframes... But even though I'm talking so familiarly, I don't actually know Masuda-san at all (laughs).

— So you've only seen his keyframes.

Ishibashi: That's right. So when I came to the studio for the animation meetings, I wanted to meet him... I was saying "Masuda-san, Masuda-san" so much that they thought we were old acquaintances, but no one told me "Masuda-san is here" (laughs). I was shocked (laughs). Azuma: As an animation director, it makes me happy when I receive wonderful keyframe drawings. This time, there were a lot of good people of a similar age as me who participated, and I was glad that I was able to get a lot of inspiration from them. Kojima: As for what left an impression... Well, due to certain circumstances, I didn't work inside the building, so I feel like there's a bit of a difference in atmosphere here (laughs). But if I had been working inside, it would have been a bit more enjoyable, so it's a bit disappointing (laughs). Ishibashi: Kojima-kun and I have worked together at a different company before so I was looking forward to working together again, but when I heard that you wouldn't be joining the company, I was a little disappointed. Kojima: Since I didn't have many opportunities to meet people this time, I'll try my best to work in the studio next time (laughs). Ishibashi: (laughs) Speaking of disappointments... Personally, I wish I could have seen more of Kurita-san's keyframes. Like in the first episode, the scene where Decim pulls out the thread. Or in part C of episode three, when Chiyuki does that flourish at the end. Every time I thought, "Who did this!?", it turned out to be mostly Kurita-san (laughs). Kurita-san always talks as if he hasn't done anything, but I thought that was unfair. Murakami: He did mention he wanted to do keyframes. Ishibashi: When someone is that skilled, of course they would want to do keyframes. As an animation supervisor, you're in a supportive role, helping with the difficult parts and making sure the characters are on-model, so the keyframes are more exciting. Kojima: But as a Chief Animation Supervisor, Mr. Kurita, was able to make corrections in a way that preserved the good points of the person in charge of the original drawings, and I think this is one of the reasons why I enjoyed working on this project.

— Murakami-san, is there any particular scene that left an impression on you?

Murakami: Working on the figure skating scenes was really fun, but bowling was also really enjoyable. My previous project [Ace of Diamond] also had sports-related elements. Sports movements are different from everyday actions; they're very straightforward. For example, if you're "throwing a ball," you're solely focused on the act of throwing. That aspect makes your work very focused and exciting. During the bowling scenes, I consciously tried to convey the weight of the ball. However, the fun part is from drawing to the rough animation. When you’re in it, you think, "This might work," but when it comes together as a finished visual, you end up reflecting, "It's not as good as I hoped," right? Ishibashi, isn't that how all animators feel? [Ishibashi laughs]. The linetest is probably the most intense emotionally (laughs). There's no color or anything decided, so your imagination can run wild.

— It seems like the animators had quite a bit of freedom in their drawings, from what I've heard.

Ishibashi: When we were asked to "do this part," there were many areas where we had a lot of freedom. It might have been a bit challenging, but it allowed animators to expand their creativity. Kojima: It was easy for me too. I really enjoyed the work. Azuma: Especially with guest characters, since they only appear in that particular episode, I think they were given a lot of freedom to draw. Mayu in episode six, for example, was a character where we were told we could go all out with the comedic, exaggerated expressions, so there was a lot of freedom. Ishibashi: Mayu's face when she's hit with wind from below was really something (laughs). Murakami: Yes, there were many cuts where we could do whatever we wanted with the acting. Ishibashi: When we were asked to "do this part," there were many areas where we had a lot of freedom. It might have been a bit challenging, but it allowed animators to expand their creativity. Kojima: It was easy for me too. I really enjoyed the work. Azuma: Especially with guest characters, since they only appear in that particular episode, I think they were given a lot of freedom to draw. Mayu in episode six, for example, was a character where we were told we could go all out with the comedic, exaggerated expressions, so there was a lot of freedom. Ishibashi: Mayu's face when she's hit with wind from below was really something (laughs). Murakami: Yes, there were many cuts where we could do whatever we wanted with the acting.

—  Looking back on the series, were there any episodes that left a deep impression on you?

Kojima: I like episodes eight and nine. They're a bit gut-wrenching, but there's something about the feeling of hopelessness that I appreciate. You don't see stories like that often. Ishibashi: I'm quite sensitive, so watching sad stories makes me sad too. I prefer more gentle endings, like in episode three. Also, the farewell between Chiyuki and Decim in episode twelve, that scene made me cry a lot (laughs). Murakami: When I saw episode twelve, I thought, "I was doing a ‘good story’ anime" (laughs). This series had different vibes for each episode, which was interesting, but episode six had a really good balance... The story was wild, and so was the animation. It was a lot of fun to watch. However, just before it aired, I started worrying, "Did we go too far?" "Is it going to be okay?" Even Shishido-san, who storyboarded it, was worried. Azuma: Is that so? I thought episode six was interesting from the moment I started working on it (laughs). So, I wasn't worried at all. I was like, "It's definitely going to be fun! Watch it!" Ishibashi: Actually, what made me wonder if it would be okay was the opening. When I first saw the storyboard, I thought, "Huh? Is this really for Death Parade?" (laughs). Azuma: Yes, that's right. When I heard the song, I was so excited that I thought, "Oh! (laughs). [Murakami laughs] Overall, this project was challenging, but it was also enjoyable.

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It appears that all of your anime soundtrack work has been with Kinema Citrus. How did you come to work with them?

I met Kinema Citrus when we were attached to the same project called "Under the Dog"[...] Since then, we've enjoyed a wonderful relationship on other projects such as Norn9 and most recently, Made in Abyss.

Do you expect to be working on anime outside of Kinema Citrus in the future?

That would be lovely. It's not entirely up to me, but that would be lovely. I'm very grateful to get any work in anime, as I'm very, very passionate about this industry. If I do get the opportunity to work on another project from any company, I would consider it to be a great privilege.

What was your first reaction to Made in Abyss when you were approached with the project? How much of it did you get to read?

I was given the first 4 books as source material to read and was immediately taken by the world that Tsukushi Akihito had created. The early stages of production were just me going through the books and finding interesting scenes or artwork to write music to.

Who did you have the most contact with on the Made in Abyss staff? What sort of questions did you ask?

I have a music director named Hiromitsu Iijima, who I would talk to on a daily basis. Every couple of weeks after a large chunk of the soundtrack had been written, we'd set up a meeting with Kojima-san [Director, Storyboard, and Episode Director] and Ogasawara-san [Animation Producer who works with Kinema Citrus] to discuss the current state of the soundtrack. We'd discuss if there were any points of concern or if anything needed to be changed. We essentially repeated that process until we were ready to record, mix, and finalize the music.

What sort of instructions and materials were you given in regards to making tracks for Made in Abyss?

In addition to all the manga books, I got a lot of background and concept art that I could reference. Trying to match the visual colour palette and the musical "colour" palette was really important to me. For example, looking at how the foregrounds and backgrounds were so juxtaposed gave me ideas such as writing for a small ensemble of instruments, but recorded in a large space. This was meant to act as a metaphor for Riko and Reg exploring in this humongous, expansive cave system.

Could you elaborate on the idea of developing a musical "colour" palette? How do colours and music correlate?

It might be best for me to give some examples. Starting more broadly with Reg, he's a character made up of both organic and mechanical body parts. So combining organic and mechanical sound sources when writing for Reg felt perfectly natural.

Talking more specifically about colour correlation, there is a lot of information in colour that allows us to perceive essential things such as relationships and distances between objects. The sound has this as well. Depending on how you combine the essential components of sound (pitch, timbre, harmony, loudness, etc.) and controlling how they either complement or clash against each other is going to result in a specific listening experience.

“Depths of the Abyss” is another example of the musical key slowly “ascending” over time to act as a sonic metaphor for the Abyss rising up to surround and engulf our main characters. There's the flip side to this as well. The title track “Made in Abyss” features descending string passages to represent Riko and Reg's descent into the world of the Abyss. I've personally found that thinking about these sorts of concepts can be very helpful when trying to establish the palette of sounds (colours) that you think will complement and/or enhance what's being displayed on-screen.

How much did you know about how your music would be used? Did you know that Underground River would be used to introduce the world in a montage just six minutes into the first episode?

Syncing music to anime is a slightly different process than what I've experienced [...] In the limited amount of anime that I've done, I've typically been instructed to create music away from the picture, which is then matched to the desired scene(s) at a later stage of production. This might contribute to why a lot of anime music can feel like a music video at times. From what I've experienced and from what I can research, I've seen directors take large chunks of time out of an episode to let the music take over so that the audience can “breathe". Underground River is a good example of this. [In episode one] you're introduced to characters, their motivations, world building, monsters and action all in a very short amount of time. Taking a minute or two to let the viewer digest all this can be very effective, and music can help with that.

You're also known for your work on Necrobarista and Kieru, two Australian indie games. What draws you to working on Aussie games, even after making your debut internationally?

[Being an Aussie], there's a lot of pride in how interesting and unique Australian indie games are. I've always had a connection to games and Australia. So even though I'm currently living in the UK, the fact that I'm still able to work on games with friends who are living back home is something really special.

It's not common to see an Australian in the credits for anime. Do you think musicians from outside of Japan are becoming more common?

I [...] grew up watching Dragon Ball Z on TV. There are actually two scores composed for that series depending on [whether you are watching dub or sub]. So I actually grew up listening to Bruce Faulconer's music for DBZ, not Shunsuke Kikuchi's original score. 

[In regards to other foreign anime score composers] There are also other examples such as Blood+ with Marc Mancina, Gabriele Roberto with Zetman in 2012, and Evan Call has done quite a few things as well [like Violet Evergarden]. So I think while it may be becoming more frequent to see musicians from outside of Japan being attached to anime projects.

How would you say composing for games differs to composing for an anime series like Made in Abyss?

Speaking for myself, composing for games, anime, or whatever typically starts the same. I feel that if you're able to nail the concept and/or tone of the project, that's a big part of the process already completed. Then it's just up to the individual needs of the project. Games are typically approached from an interactive point of view. If it's film or TV, you need to know if you're writing to picture or if you can write with no time contractions like I described before. You sort of go from there really.

How would you describe that concept/tone of Made in Abyss?

Made in Abyss offered the perfect opportunity to get really specific with instrumentation. We had analog synthesizers, field recordings, vocal samples, and much more that were heavily manipulated to create distinct electro-acoustic textures. Deciding where to record was also a really important discussion, and we ended up recording at a studio in Vienna.

[It was] a huge, state of the art recording facility just outside central Vienna. I asked for a custom chamber orchestra comprised of three violins, three violas, two celli, one double bass, two flutes, two clarinets, one bassoon, two french horns, one trumpet, one trombone, and one tuba. Totaling 19 musicians. Each musician had their own “solo" part, meaning that there was up to 19 different “lines” being played at the same time during a piece of music.

The concept behind such a setup was to represent the small company of characters exploring the Abyss. Everyone's in this massive underground cave system, so I felt having a small group of soloists in a space designed to fit over 130 musicians was the perfect sonic metaphor for this. It just so happened that we were also working with some insanely good musicians and an unbelievable technical team as well.

If you were given the chance to collaborate on a soundtrack with one composer working in anime today, who would it be?

That's an interesting question. To be honest, I think I'd rather be an understudy of someone really experienced, rather than write side by side with them. If I could be a fly on the wall while Cornelius was writing Ghost in the Shell Arise, or Yoko Kanno while she was writing Terror in Resonance, that would be so, so informative. That said, Flying Lotus just got announced as the Blade Runner 2022 composer so I'd do anything to get in on that, even though it comes out in a few days (laughs).

Made in Abyss is one of the most highly regarded anime of the year. What do you think about the reaction to it?