angeldeviloshi

So, on the 23rd of September a talk between Fujimoto Tatsuki and Yonezu Kenshi hosted by Shihei Lin was uploaded onto MAPPA's official youtube channel to commemorate the Reze Arc movie that released in Japan on 19th September. It didn't come with any translated captions so I've taken the task into my own hands.

Watch on YouTube

Lin: Hello. This is Chainsaw Man's editor, Shihei Lin. "Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc" Release Commemoration Special Talk has commenced. Thank you both for coming. Do introduce yourselves.

Fujimoto: It's Fujimoto. Thanks for having me.

Yonezu: I'm Yonezu Kenshi. Thanks for having me.

Fujimoto: Thanks for being here.

Lin: It's the first time you're meeting each other.

Fujimoto: It's the first.

Yonezu: Nice to meet you.

Lin: This is more of an icebreaker so, these two are quite nervous. We'll order some drinks first.

Fujimoto: Right.

Lin: Yonezu-san what would you like?

Yonezu: Cream soda please.

Fujimoto: Then I'll have the same.

Lin: May I have two cream sodas please? Ah, it's really colourful, the cream sodas.

Fujimoto: I'll take green.

Yonezu: I'll have the regular one too.

Lin: Just straight to green. Then I'll have the clear one. So how is it seeing each other in person for the first time? Any prior impressions? That's probably hard to answer...

Fujimoto: Well... I've already seen him on TV lots of times. So, before seeing Yonezu-san I watched some PVs. And it's like "Ah, he's right in front of me. It's the same guy." When watching the PVs, since they're so unconventional... I thought "What if he's like that and came in a giant bike?", it'd be too much.

Yonezu: Not at all, yeah.

Fujimoto: I'm just super nervous.

Lin: Fujimoto-san's not the type to show his face often. But since it's you, he's here like this.

Yonezu: Right.

Fujimoto: I'm just, I've been super fond of Yonezu-san forever.

Yonezu: Ah, really?

Fujimoto: I listened to his songs too... I'm super-duper honoured!

Yonezu: Me too with Chainsaw Man, or even back during Fire Punch, I've been reading your work ever since. We're about the same generation too, yeah? Probably. About the same year...

Lin: Fujimoto-san always forgets about his age. I think he's probably 31.

Fujimoto: Somewhere around 1, 2 or 3.

Yonezu: Year 1992?

Fujimoto: It's probably 2 or 4. I only remember the even numbers.

Yonezu: Ahh. But we're probably in the same generation.

Fujimoto: Right, the same generation.

Yonezu: So, there's that too. It's like, an incredible person has shown up for real.

Fujimoto: Nah, not at all.

Lin: You debuted when you were 21, yeah? For serialisation.

Yonezu: So today, I was wondering too "What kind of person will he be like?" Since I've never seen him talk at all. I'm quite nervous.

Fujimoto: I've heard about him since I was in university, so I figured he'd be older than me. But that's not the case at all.

Lin: You're quite close in age.

Yonezu: Right.

Lin: You could even be the same age.

Fujimoto: Yeah.

Lin: Feeling stiff aren't we. I'm catching your nervousness.

Fujimoto: There's lots I'd love to talk about though.

Lin: Let's go over them one at a time then. So for a start, while we wait for our drinks... I have an opening here.

Since we're commemorating the release of "Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc", well it's only been little over a week since the release but, I'll be asking a few questions to get things rolling more easily.

Yonezu-san, may I ask how you came to know of the work Chainsaw Man?

Yonezu: Right, when the first chapter of Fire Punch was released on the web, there was a lot of commotion about it online and I rode on that wave so to say. After reading it I was like "something incredible's happening", it felt like an awesome manga has just started. I was astonished by it, truly.

Like "Ahh, I haven't seen anything like it." It felt very new, like a fresh gust of wind has started blowing? Thoughts like that. And after looking into it a bit, I came to know that Fujimoto-san is pretty much in the same generation. I think back then we were both in our mid-twenties?

Lin: Right, he was 23 when it began serialising. Though I think he was probably 22 when he worked on chapter 1.

Yonezu: To think that there was someone this young in the world of manga too, just debuting with a bang like that. I thought, it's an era where he's making a name for himself. I was just really astounded by it you see.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: So when I was a kid, I actually wanted to become a mangaka too. Just the fact that someone pretty much the same age as me was able to draw something this impactful, it really stimulated me greatly.

Of course, music's a completely different genre, but it had me feeling like I gotta up my game as well. That feeling that I gotta give my best too really stuck with me. And, from there I caught up on Fire Punch's run.

After it ended and Chainsaw Man began, yet again from the very first chapter, I was blown away by the same awe that consumed me with Fire Punch. Just, I think he's truly someone incredible.

I think those words alone say it all, like the page where the zombies were swarming in chapter 1 and the double-page spread with Chainsaw Man laughing there. Makes me go "Ahh, once again an awesome story is about to begin." you know. I remember feeling that intense excitement.

Lin: Thank you for following both works since the beginning of their serialisation.

Fujimoto: Thank you very much.

Lin: What impressions has the work Chainsaw Man left on you- ah, just nice.

Yonezu: Ah, wow! (Cream soda has arrived)

Fujimoto: Thank you.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: You know... I've really wanted to have a cream soda. See, I've gotten hooked on cola recently.

Lin: Oh, I see.

Yonezu: It's a funny story but, I'm able to have carbonated drinks now.

Lin: You didn't like them before?

Yonezu: I wasn't really able to drink them when I was a kid. It made my throat itchy, that I thought why does something like this even exist. Like cola and similar types of carbonated beverages.

I've had alcohol frequently, I tend to avoid drinks other than that. But having tried cola again as an adult, it was intensely good. For cream soda, the way it looks is super duper nice, right?

Fujimoto: I love it.

Yonezu: But since I couldn't take carbonated drinks, I couldn't have it even though I'm drawn to how it looks. There's that feeling of frustration. And since I enjoy cola now, I'm super stoked to have this.

Lin: I see.

Yonezu: I kept thinking, I'd love to have this if I ever visit a cafe.

Fujimoto: Like watching a movie you didn't understand when you were a kid, then watching it again as an adult and seeing that it's super interesting, yeah? That sort of feeling.

Yonezu: Right. Now that I'm here, I'm super glad.

Lin: I'll be asking questions while having cream soda, alright?

Yonezu: Oh, sorry my bad.

Lin: No worries. No worries.

Earlier, you said "An incredible person has appeared" was your first impression of Fujimoto-san's work, but what aspect of Chainsaw Man fascinated you or had you thinking "Thats cool."?

Yonezu: Actually thinking back, the first thing would have to be Chainsaw Man's character design. When he transforms and takes on that form, the coolness of that. His head is super cool. And more importantly...

Lin: The chainsaws on his arms.

Yonezu: It tearing out of each of his arms from inside his body. It's like, the way it almost looks like self-harm, it's a depiction I hadn't seen anywhere else before regarding how chainsaws could be personified like this. I had that strong feeling of "Ah, this won't be leaving my head." Even that was a staggering aspect too.

As dark and serious it gets, it's also really off-the-wall that it almost seems pop-like too. That sense of balance or rather seasoning was right there. It's a really great design and form, that's one of the earliest impression I had about what's good.

But going through it all again, as you follow the story, it really formed the backbone of Chainsaw Man as a work, it being dark and serious but also very pop-like, that sensation of all that being shown in one shot. The more you read, you feel it as the story's core.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: I think that's amazing.

Fujimoto: Thank you.

Lin: While planning Chainsaw Man, at the very start Fujimoto-san, it was the designs first, right?

Fujimoto: That's right, yeah.

Lin: We began planning around that.

Could you share any anecdotes or reactions when you were assigned to work on the OP for the TV anime?

Yonezu: I've thought about how I'd love to give it a shot if an anime adaptation were to happen. If I could make a song I'd absolutely love to, I kept thinking about it.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: When I was actually given the offer, I was just, purely overjoyed.

Each time when I compose a song for an anime or drama, it sort of feels like I'm being tasked to look after someone's child. And after I'm done, I'd wonder if this turned out to be good, I'd get really anxious about it.

When I made "KICK BACK" too, I made it with the main idea that I want it to be a song that's made FOR Chainsaw Man. But even with that said, my personal tastes and such would tend to seep too much into it, I'd have this strong sense of doubt like "Will this be okay?" you see, so the memory of being filled with uncertainty is still quite fresh. Though I had a lot of fun while making the song.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: Also, when I was actually revving up the chainsaw during recording.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: I tried using the electric type, but with the electric type, just by hearing it, the sound isn't different from a vaccuum cleaner. So unless it's the gas-powered type, it won't be the sound we're familiar with. Having these discoveries like "I see, so that's how it is." while doing it was a lot of fun.

Lin: When you heard about it, Fujimoto-san, do you remember your thoughts about it when it happened?

Fujimoto: So... when I heard that Yonezu-san's going to compose the opening theme for Chainsaw Man, I had listened to "Matryoshka". And I thought, ah if it's Yonezu-san, he'll be able to do it since he made "Matryoshka".

"KICK BACK" may have been a different direction but I think it still carries some of that essence. Yonezu-san's songs are incredible, it's succinct to the listeners or should I say, he makes lots of songs that form the skeleton of a work.

And I wondered "Will this turn out too expository?" when he works on Chainsaw Man, but Yonezu-san's good at picking up on it. Just, he picked up on what can easily be picked up on unexpectedly, like in a good way, the cheeky devil-may-care aspects were properly incorporated into "KICK BACK". It came out as a really good song.

Yonezu: Ah... I'm thankful.

Lin: Makes you think of the many cases where a work is actually expanded by a song, doesn't it.

...Gosh... you guys are something. It's tense today, huh.

Fujimoto: Well, I mean, Yonezu-san's amazing and he has so much praise for my work, that I want to give tons of my praise too. I've listened to a lot to his work.

Lin: That's true. Since you two hadn't really met each other, upon meeting for the first time it's like, it puts you on edge, trying to measure the distance to place with each other. Though I'm sure there's actually lots you'd love to hear and talk about. I'd love to hear it.

Though you each have your distinct expressions through manga and music, since both of you are in the same generation and taking the front stage in your respective fields, do you have any movies, music or manga that had an influence on you when you were little?

Since you guys are in the same generation, I'm sure you've had stuff that weren't far apart. Mainly stuff that would have you go "Oh, you've seen this too?"

Yonezu: For Jump, I really loved Naruto. The stuff about Naruto that makes it seem like the origin point of shonen manga. Back when I was in elementary school, I think, I remember doing lots of copy drawings of Naruto.

Fujimoto: Naruto does have really great art.

Yonezu: Ah, indeed.

Fujimoto: It's like, you know, there aren't a lot of strokes, but the author's really good at anatomy so he's able to create such volumetric drawings with simple lines, is what I think.

So I think that actually makes it harder to copy. With drawings with more strokes, you could make it work just by the number of strokes. Naruto's just really good.

Yonezu: When I read the manga volumes of Naruto, there are these essays by Kishimoto-san included in-between...

Fujimoto: Like the one about his brother buying a car.

Yonezu: Ah, yes yes yes. Back then, I wanted to become a mangaka and had strong aspirations about it, after reading those, I came to realise how tremendously difficult being a mangaka is.

So, I've put it on the backburner and left it slumbering since. Like how assistants would start screeching at each other when work hits a wall and such. For me in elementary, I figured it's likely going to be a formidable job, so I can still distinctly remember hitting the brakes on my dream of being a mangaka.

Lin: That's true. For weekly serials back then, there weren't really many double issues and there weren't breaks either. I believe many had their physical and mental health compromised.

Fujimoto: But I'm sure even the job of composing music could be pretty rough too.

Yonezu: Hmm, I wonder about that. I really think it pales in comparison to being a mangaka, I draw sometimes too and when I compare the two, drawing's definitely much more taxing. Personally speaking.

Since you'll always be like this (being in the posture for drawing). It puts a lot of strain on your back and waist.

Lin: The thought that many have had their backs and shoulders worn out comes to mind yeah. They have to care for it... You could say it's close to being an athlete.

Yonezu: Just by the load it puts on the body, that makes it an impressive job to me, if this is the workload I'll have to handle, I think I'd be in deep trouble for weekly serials.

Lin: What do you think?

Fujimoto: Since it's what I love... of course I hate it when I can't sleep and all that, but you know when I think about how I'm walking in the footsteps of that person or rather that mangaka. It makes me a little happy.

Yonezu: That sounds really nice.

Lin: Fujimoto-san, what do you usually read for manga when you were a kid?

Fujimoto: I've read all sorts of manga, it doesn't really matter what magazine they're from. For anime, I've watched plenty of Crayon Shin-chan or Doraemon etc. And a whole lot of Ghibli or Disney in that area, I didn't really watch much of the crazy stuff just the stuff for general audiences.

Lin: What about music? Any music you've listened to as kids? It might be hard when you were a kid, but do you remember any CDs you bought for the first time?

Fujimoto: I do remember, but it's super embarrassing... uhm I bought "Genesis of Aquarion".

The one that goes "These twelve-thousand years~"

Yonezu: Ahh, right right right.

Lin: Was this when you were in middle-school?

Fujimoto: Right.

Lin: Ah, I see, I see.

Yonezu: That's really such a good song, isn't it.

Fujimoto: But it's embarrassing.

Yonezu: Not at all, not at all.

Lin: Yonezu-san, do you have any you remember?

Yonezu: I remember it a lot, "Dango 3 Kyodai".

Lin: Ah~ of course. It sold over a million copies didn't it?

Yonezu: Back then, there was the game "Monster Rancher" too.

Fujimoto: Ah, I played that too, was it "2"?

Yonezu: Ah, yes it's "2".

Fujimoto: I played "2" too.

Lin: This is what it's like being in the same generation.

Yonezu: So I was super duper into that. And for the CDs I...

Fujimoto: Didn't "Dango 3 Kyodai" generate an exclusive monster?

Yonezu: Did it?

Fujimoto: There were CDs that give you exclusive monsters, so I'd go to TSUTAYA to rent CDs.

Yonezu: Right, so I was planning to collect CDs. And "Dango 3 Kyodai" was a big hit. So I thought, I'll buy "Dango 3 Kyodai" first... making it the first CD I bought.

Lin: The same generation doing same generation things.

Fujimoto: Our generations overlapped, probably.

Lin: I think that's probably the case.

Conversely, you might not get this question often but, do you remember the first movie you watched at the cinema?

Fujimoto: Mine's "Crayon Shin-chan."

Lin: Ah, the theatrical release of the anime. I see.

Yonezu: What was it again... I think it might've been Digimon.

Lin: I see.

Fujimoto: The one by Hosoda Mamoru, you mean?

Yonezu: Yes yes yes, that's it.

Fujimoto: That one's really good, isn't it?

Yonezu: It's super duper good.

Fujimoto: When Kokatorimon unleashed that electricity move, there was a slight delay then the electricty just went "ZAAPP", I was like "Woah! So, so this is an attack!" I thought about doing that, if I become a creator.

Yonezu: Wow, we're really in the same generation. The things we watched...

Fujimoto: Have you played Yu-gi-oh too?

Yonezu: Ah, yes yes yes.

Fujimoto: Dueling with three Blue Eyes merged with the chain.

Lin: You're really in the same generation. Do you remember any novels? It's probably assigned reading mainly, but do you have any novels you bought yourself or were memorable to you?

Fujimoto: I didn't buy any. I borrowed.

Lin: Ah, at the library?

Yonezu: I think I had it at home, Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea".

Lin: "The Old Man and The Sea."

Fujimoto: You had that at home?

Yonezu: Ah, but it's not like I'm a bookworm like that or anything. We're an average family, but I think it might've been my dad's interest.

Fujimoto: Wow.

Yonezu: I read it without really understanding anything and I thought "What's up with this story?" I remembered that clearly.

Lin: Fujimoto-san, do you have any recollections of the books you borrowed at the library?

Fujimoto: There were novelised versions of Gintama, so I had that.

Lin: Since you got it from the library, no one could get mad at you for it when you bring it to school yeah, it being a novel. Right.

Fujimoto: But after hearing about "The Old Man and The Sea", I'm just... maybe I should have mentioned Darren Shan instead.

Lin: Thank you.

Since both of you are already working as creatives, do you remember what kickstarted your venture into being a musician and mangaka?

Yonezu: I think having the internet set up at home played a huge part in it. We got a home computer when I was in 5th grade. And I started using that to participate in Oekaki boards, drawing on it and such. Back then I really liked Kirby, so I drew tons and tons of Kirby. And flash animation too.

Fujimoto: I've seen them. We're the same generation! Have you seen "Nightmare City"?

Yonezu: The battles were really something, right? Yeah, I absolutely loved flash animations, I've seen a whole lot of it. They were really striking and stimulating.

I was raised in a rural area you see, like "There's a whole world out there." Thinking back on it now, I think what I'm currently doing isn't all that different from what I did back then.

Lin: Doing drawings.

Yonezu: Right, right, right. Drawing, making songs and music videos. And my concerts grew. But nothing's much changed since.

Lin: Being as you were since your beginnings, I see.

Yonezu: Maybe it's because I'm living life as a child at heart, I've wondered about that sometimes.

Lin: Fujimoto-san when you started holding a pen, or manga I should say?

Fujimoto: It's totally the same for me. I was in middle-school then, I drew art of Kingdom Hearts with a mouse and there were Oekaki boards for Kingdom Hearts. I posted it there, then I got embarrassed and deleted it immediately, rinse and repeat.

Since we're actually in the same generation, I was thinking "Oh, we did the same things!" I'm so moved.

Yonezu: It's just great. I feel the same about that.

Lin: Right. Fujimoto-san, about that time you were singing a song.

Fujimoto: I quite liked that too actually, but... it didn't do so well I think?

Lin: Yonezu-san you might not be aware of this, so I'll fill you in briefly.

Fujimoto: But, that's...

Lin: Back then, when he was in middle... no I think high-school? He sang something and uploaded it online. Right.

Fujimoto: Right, back in high-school I was playing Momotetsu with a friend. And the loser will have to think up a song and upload it on Youtube.

But if I don't get any comments I'd feel dejected about it so I made sure to say "If I upload it, be sure to rave about me in the comments, alright?" as I uploaded it. There were only 18 plays, but now it's spread so far and the plays got really... yeah.

Yonezu: Ah, so that's how it is.

Fujimoto: That actually stuck around. The internet's scary.

Lin: This is what they mean by digital footprint.

Yonezu: Things like that remain, huh.

Lin: Since both of you happen to be in the generation of online communities, I'm sure you've been on Nico Douga and Nico Live. By partaking in those yourself, you can see many people who put their faces and voices out there.

Fujimoto: This is true for Yonezu-san, but I'm sure everyone's been on Nico Nico Douga.

Yonezu: Right.

Fujimoto: Making songs and uploading them on Nico Nico Douga like Yonezu-san is a lot of work, so I wasn't able to do that, but as a viewer I'm sure everyone's seen it, the songs by Hatsune Miku and such.

Even if you can't hear all of it, you'd hear the ones at the top of the rankings, stuff like that, I do think there was an era where the parts that made entertainment fun were all on Nico Nico Douga.

Yonezu: It really was so much fun. Though referring to it in the past-tense now is quite... there were all sorts of people who just did their own thing in their own ways, that hodgepodge-esque vibe right there.

And by doing what I do and having been a part of that, it influenced me greatly. It became a place that could receive people like me, like we're all playing in the sandbox at the park, that sort of feeling. It was really fun.

Lin: Right. In a place like that, you could create together without having to see each other, I get the impression that there were lots of people who came together for projects.

I think I was already working back then, I was on stream quite often with writers. We didn't have to spend a single yen on advertising expenses, I streamed often with Jigoku no Misawa-sensei.

Fujimoto: When it comes to that, nowadays adverts are done on twitter etc. that's how it is now, but there was a time where everything was really on Nico Nico Douga.

Lin: That's right.

Fujimoto: Even for anime, the newest episode would immediately be up only on Nico Nico Douga.

Lin: So you've started creating things through those activities, but were there any turning points you experienced? Where things changed for you here, for Fujimoto-san it may have been the Manga Awards.

Fujimoto: Right, it's the Manga Awards for me. For Yonezu-san it's Nico Nico Douga?

Yonezu: Right. I'd say having come across Vocaloid is a huge part of it. My hometown's in Tokushima Prefecture and I head to Osaka in order to attend school.

And the moment I left town, I think it was the first day of school, when I connected to the web and looked, Hatsune Miku was trending and all that. It was the precise moment I left for Osaka, you know. So I think that timing was really perfect too. So I got into that as well and quit school partway through. The luck was just unbelievable, that's what I felt.

Lin: Tools, right. Fujimoto-san was drawing with a mouse.

Fujimoto: Of course, when I'm drawing manga properly, I'd use a pen tablet. I use a display tablet now but, I'm sure Vocaloid's similar. It's Digital Clip Studio for me, back then it wasn't called "Clip Studio", when you buy it once, you can keep using it without piling up the costs, so there's that advantage on the financial side. With traditional the cost adds up a ton.

Lin: Man, even completing a single work traditionally, there are people who wind up spending tens of thousands of yen on tone costs alone.

Fujimoto: That's true. So I thought, Hatsune Miku was probably the same. Having everything together in a single purchase when you'd be racking up costs otherwise after a while, practically for free. And that makes pursuing dreams easier.

Yonezu: Right, truly... Hatsune Miku's, how much was she again? I think I bought her for about 10,000 yen. The Desk Top Music software I was using then was pretty much a free resource too.

I also used this software, SONAR in the past and I remember it not being all that expensive as well. If you search online, there were plenty of free and public audio materials etc. being passed around. With just that, I've completely entered my music composition era.

From that point, for those that came before me it's a field where you would only wind up adding to your costs making music on the computer. So I feel immensely thankful for that personally, it making things that much easier in that respect.

Fujimoto: I feel the same, truly.

Lin: You're alike. Since you're in the same generation.

Fujimoto: Since we're in the same generation. Even for our tools. Even the tones are free. With just a single purchase.

Lin: That's true. Everyone's complaining about the tones. In the end they touched it up with diagonal lines or tones that look close enough. There were also plenty among the younger generation who don't even use it then.

Yonezu: I see.

Lin: I remember it. Since I bought the tones myself and gave it to them, the younger authors I mean.

Are there any works you've come across recently that left an impression on you? Movies, music, art or novels etc. You're pretty busy so you probably haven't seen a lot...

Fujimoto: I've seen a lot!

Lin: Did you have to interrupt like this?

Fujimoto: The Netflix original film "His Three Daughters" really struck my heart, it's simply the best.

Yonezu: "His Three Daughters"...

Lin: What's the story like?

Fujimoto: Knowing that their father is on his deathbed due to an illness, two of his daughters came home.

And the daughter who was living with the father was doing a lot of drugs, she has this vibe where she's up to all sorts of trouble when her dad's about to die, it's a movie with that as the story where the daughter eventually overcomes her father's death by the movie's conclusion and recovers, but there was this scene that really struck me deeply and had me going "This is a movie that's made for me!" You get that sometimes, like it's made just to bring you joy.

Yonezu: Ahaha, I totally get it. You get times where it just gets your inspiration flowing.

Fujimoto: And, Yonezu-san?

Yonezu: These days... I've been pretty busy until just now so I haven't seen much. But there's this novel... by the writer Sakisaka Kujira, "If You're Not Gonna Go Away, Don't Disappear".

I think, it just got nominated for the Akutagawa Prize, I read that and found it to be super interesting. It's about a pair of highschool girls who are best friends, one of them died. And just as the friend who was left behind was trying to live while harbouring deep feelings of loss... for some reason, her friend's alive, right before her eyes. Like "I thought you were dead." that sort of thing.

But nope, she's alive and well... or so it seems. And so she moved in, she doesn't have any money so she moved in. Oh, they weren't highschool girls, they were in college. Their relationship progressed in various ways and it became something incredible.

How do I put it, it's impossible to put into words how interesting it is like this.

Lin: Right, that's true.

Yonezu: It's really this, because they love each other, there are times where they can't help but want the other to disappear. How do I say this, it's a story where that sort of antimony is being stirred around.

Fujimoto: You know, when I listen to Yonezu-san's songs, since they're quite eloquent, I figured... but well it's hard to improvise on stuff like this, right?

Yonezu: Ahh, that's right.

Fujimoto: On how you were moved and what you found beautiful, putting them into words straight away is like... for me, it comes out as something silly.

Yonezu: Right, right.

Fujimoto: So it's quite... even for you, Yonezu-san, it's hard to form the words right on the spot, yeah?

Yonezu: Hmm, that's right. I'm aware that I'm not a great speaker, if I were to put things into words right away, it would certainly come out as a garbled mess. If I'm drinking, I'd go on rambling like a stopper's come off. I've had many instances where it got chaotic like this.

Lin: I see.

Fujimoto: I understand.

Yonezu: That's why, when I have to talk seriously like this, there would be all this "ah.." "uhm..." sorts of filler flowing out. And I wonder if that's fine, happens a lot.

Fujimoto: Me too, when I'm in an Izakaya's restroom, I'd think "We sure talked about a ton of pointless things." For me, if only time would stop for 20 seconds after the other side has spoken, I would have been able to reply with something better.

Yonezu: Right, right, right.

Fujimoto: If you expect me to reply in a moment, even as I'm talking to Yonezu-san, I'd like for Yonezu-san to think of me like "Ah, Fujimoto-sensei you're so wise!" as I wonder about what good vocabulary I could use, only for it all to come out as "super" and "really" soon as it comes out.

Even when I watched something moving, there are many ways I wanted to express how moving it is, but it's just "Gosh, that was soo good." Even that gets dampened in the end.

Yonezu: I get it, I get it.

Fujimoto: So, I'd like to stop time for 20 more seconds. Stopping right as Yonezu-san speaks while I look up words on the thesaurus. I really want to do that.

Yonezu: I understand, I really do.

Lin: When drinking, you're able to speak how you like, in such cases on the contrary, there'd be moments when you'd find the exact words you had in mind, yeah? Something you'd already thought of.

Fujimoto: When I talk while drunk, I'd talk as if I wasn't thinking and if I try to maintain some coherence, there were times I'd say something I was thinking about earlier. So having drinks can be really fun.

Yonezu: Having drinks is fun, it's so much fun isn't it. Though I'd regret it a whole lot once I got home.

Fujimoto: Right.

Lin: What do you guys do on breaks and such? Say if you were on vacation or took a long break, is there anything you'd like to spend it on?

Yonezu: Right, so... Even on my off days, there isn't really much of a change from my daily routine. I don't really have the desire to travel and such all that much. And I don't have a car. I don't really have anything I'd particularly spend money on.

The next thing I know, all I've done is play games. When I was in my twenties, I'd just go for drinks everyday, once I hit thirties I eventually stopped, I'd ponder about what to do for the day.

Lin: Depending on your tours that counts as a form of traveling yeah?

Yonezu: Ah, you're right.

Lin: You've been all over the country and the globe.

Yonezu: I've been feeling that I have to start adopting some new lifestyle habits that are healthy, you see.

Lin: I see. Fujimoto-san, what about you?

Fujimoto: For me, I go to the cinemas at Shinjuku, there are a lot of cinemas. There won't be movies that aren't showing when you're in Shinjuku.

So I go there on the first day, but it's really surprising when you're there for the movies on the first day. You'd see people who're there on the first day of a different movie like "Ah, that person's here again."

Lin: Ah, since it's a place where cinephiles gather.

Fujimoto: Right, so there will definitely be people there for anime movies. That's what's great about it, it feels like you're with your kind of people. I'd find it entertaining when I'm watching a movie with that feeling.

But Kabukicho's scary. I'd get scared when I go to Piccadilly, you could experience something out of the ordinary. The danger of dying and such, I'm not dead of course.

Like I'm setting out to watch some entertainment while exposed to the danger of violence. When entering Family Mart, there'd be these youngsters smoking before my eyes, I'd think about how scary they are while buying water before leaving.

Lin: You were able to do that too in-between serialisations right? Once serialisation settled down for a bit, I'm sure you've had a long break. Was there anything you wanted to do?

Fujimoto: I wanted to visit the cinema at Oizumi-gakuen. I love movies, but I also love taking a break after movies. There's a 4-story shopping complex near Oizumi-gakuen and there's an arcade on the 4th floor but there's not a single person there. Not a single soul, you get an out of the ordinary experience wandering there as if you're lost.

Yonezu: Ah... that sounds nice.

Lin: I'm starting to feel like the arcade's owner, like "That's... that's my shop." Since you said there's no one there.

Fujimoto: There's a chinese restaurant with no one but me around too. If there's someone around, that's definitely me. There's really no one else around, but the food's delicious, seriously.

Yonezu: It's nice, having places like that.

Lin: Thank you.

Let's return to the work for a bit. When you're making something, do you have a process that you're particulary mindful of? For Yonezu-san, I feel that there could be a slight difference in your approach for songs that were made for something specific and songs that were not.

Yonezu: Hmm, I don't know. Even as I think about it, I can't quite tell myself. The process... So when I'm making a song for an anime, if it doesn't match the work, I think the primary idea wouldn't be good.

I tend to keep in mind the parts that overlap nicely like in a venn diagram for my personal stuff and the title, so at times I develop ways to go about it on my own, but I'd also wonder if this is really it, it's not that I don't trust myself but more, when I'm asked if I have a fixed process, it's not something I can be sure of.

Lin: Like how the methods would change depending on the song?

Yonezu: Change... yeah.

Lin: Like people who start from the lyrics or the melody.

Yonezu: Ahh.

Lin: But even for that it gets broken further down yeah?

Yonezu: I think that does go through changes too, these days I've been starting from the tracks often.

Lin: Right.

Yonezu: In the past, I used to make songs singing as I play on the acoustic guitar, but I feel like what matters differs from time to time. And I'd get this strong sense of "I'm not all that familiar with myself." you could say, I think it could be that I'm overthinking it, but I'd get into these moods where I'm just "I don't really know." these days.

Lin: Like how you'd have a hard time making something unless you've thought it through?

Fujimoto: I think you can pick that up from listening to the songs, you really do.

Lin: I was wondering if it's something you make after putting a lot of thought into it, if it's something that you can only make by submerging in it. Though I think it's a lot of work.

Yonezu: Right, thinking through a lot, deciding that it's getting nowhere and making it at a disorganised momentum. That happens more often. See, uhm I'm the kind of person who can't finish my summer homework.

Lin: Ending summer break with nothing to show.

Fujimoto: Me too. We're the same generation.

Yonezu: Generation.

Lin: I doubt it, I'm sure it's not about the generation. Right.

Yonezu: I've had friends ask me if I'm doing it all on the last day, but I've never turned in the homework you see. Or it's not that I couldn't hand them in, I've done them, but I just dragged it out frequently.

Fujimoto: Wow.

Yonezu: To keep it simple, I'm a sluggish person to begin with. So, I'm aware that my lifestyle is rather inefficient, you see.

Lin: But for collaborative songs, since they have a set deadline, I think you've managed yourself to meet those deadlines in time.

Fujimoto: I'm bad at efficiency too. We're the same in that regard. I'm happy to know that, like yay.

Lin: Thank you.

Fujimoto-san, when creating do you have a process that you're particularly mindful of?

Fujimoto: Storyboarding, drafting, inking... let me think. I enjoy all of them, I'm not sure if I'm particular about it... or well, I work while enjoying myself. There's nothing more to it. But like Yonezu-san, if let's say I were to be told right now "Please make a song.", when that happens, I'd have thoughts jumping around from time to time. It can be hard to describe.

Yonezu: It really is, more than you'd expect. It's hard, yeah.

Fujimoto: It's just, what differs between me and Yonezu-san is that I have this routine where I'd think to myself, "I need to come up with the storyboard." multiple times a week. So, for me, I think I probably wouldn't be able to get it done unless I have a method down.

But being an inefficient person as well, I still draw the manga borders myself even though there are tools for that. Even if I'm taught how to use it, I'd still draw it myself. I don't exactly dislike being inefficient or rather, how do I put it, it's like I'm having fun. Though it sounds like an excuse for the things I can't do. Since I'd tend to come up with excuses for the stuff that would be troublesome, so I've never been able to shake off this inefficiency.

Yonezu: Ah... Nah, I completely relate to that.

Fujimoto: My phone's cracked right now and the reason I haven't gone to have it repaired is because of this saying that the person next to you can't see your phone if it's cracked. Constructing it up like this in my mind even though that's definitely not how it is.

I quite like indulging in thoughts like that. How should I say, like even as I'm looking at this metallic part of the cafe and thinking "That's really nice", like that pattern or the dry flowers on top and going "That's really nice."

In a way, counter to how there's no uniformity in doing this, if my actions were more uniform, I'd have much more free time that I could watch movies with, but it's this unsorted aspect as I've mentioned before about enjoying breaks where I'm not watching movies too. That probably has me seeing the positives in being inefficient.

For Yonezu-san too probably, he talked about being inefficient just now, but I think he likely wasn't even thinking about being efficient.

Yonezu: Yeah, I totally get how that feels.

Fujimoto: I do all my homework on the last day too. While doing it I'd think about how I don't want someone getting mad at me, so I did it.

Yonezu: It's like you know, being efficient and all that is... So, I play games, this is very recent, I've been playing an online game these days. Been playing it since its release, it was by chance, I came to know about it on the day of its release and thought "Alright, let's give it a shot!" So I played it and quite liked it, it being what I enjoy.

In online games there's often this thing like unlimited score attacks and getting into rankings. And I figured "Hm? I could aim for first place." I had that thought for the first time and went for it. In online games there's a stamina limit, it takes time to recover so you can't use it continuously, it's a common system. And when I thought about it, I wasn't actually thinking about aiming for first place all that much from the start, I was just playing as I like normally.

So, I've used my stamina on the abilities I wanted to raise from time to time that by the instant I thought "Let's aim for first place." I'm already far behind. You won't be able to beat the people who have been efficiently at it from the start no matter how hard you try, you know. Like "Ah, I see. You really gotta be efficient if you want to aim for the top!" I had that thought, but even if I were to aim for the top at the start, looking at strategy guides, I think I'd get super bored of it partway through. If I see that, the journey to reach that point...

Fujimoto: Would have already been done you mean.

Yonezu: Right, right, right. I'd end up thinking of it as nothing more than a chore too. Prioritising reaching that destination, or the journey you took to get there are completely different. It's just some of the stuff I thought about. So, I'm not all that built for doing things efficiently, but I'm not exactly against that part of me either, though I've certainly pondered about it.

Fujimoto: That's right. Thinking about checking out strategy guides before you start a game and following what it says only to not do it.

Yonezu: That's right.

Lin: It'd just turn into a chore.

Alright, Yonezu-san if you have any questions for Fujimoto-san, please go ahead.

Yonezu: Would a silly question be alright?

Fujimoto: Yes.

Yonezu: So I draw too sometimes but compared to making music it does put a lot of physical strain on me. Are you mindful about your health?

Fujimoto: I've started dieting recently and run for 30 minutes each day. I'm not necessarily doing it out of concern for my health but because there's a screen attached in front of the treadmill for me to watch movies.

While watching the movie, I'll go "Ha! Ha! Ha!" while shadowboxing, venting my frustrations absorbed in the movie as I run. It's not that I'm not being conscious about my health, Yonezu-san probably doesn't know... about how much I've drank.

Just you know, it's good to get involved in interests that also happen to be good for your health.

So when I was little, you probably won't get on board with this, but I used to like holding in my pee. And because of that I experience frequent urination. Ever since I was little. So I don't think of that as being healthy when I was holding it in.

And due to the frequent urination, I can't drink any water at all before I watch a movie since I'd just pee in the middle of it. Right now, I really want to go to the toilet, for a moment. I wouldn't want to hold it in, I don't want to hold it in under such situations, you see. May I use the toilet?

I don't like holding it in when there's people around, you know.

Lin: Alright then, please go ahead! We'll have a short break for the time being.

Lin: Alright, let's get back into it slowly. So we've just had Yonezu-san's question, now Fujimoto-san do you have a question for Yonezu-san?

Fujimoto: Yonezu-san's songs besides "Lemon" seem to involve Yonezu-san leaving, be it female or male. With Yonezu-san around I'd wonder, "Are there many stories of Yonezu-san leaving someone?", if it's something informed by past experiences and such.

Yonezu: Ahh...

Fujimoto: Of course, there are songs from Yonezu-san too that more clearly questions the separation. Just wondering if there was some sort of prompt that brought about it.

Yonezu: Ah, it's the first I've been told that. I do see how it could come across that way. I wonder why...

Fujimoto: So, I'd analysed Yonezu-san and... like, could it be that all of these people are actually Hatsune Miku?

I figured it could be "something" Yonezu-san felt towards what he stopped using when he began singing. Even the part "I love you vivi" in one of his debut songs "vivi". "vivi" too is about distancing oneself that it's like "Isn't this about Hatsune Miku?" Did something happen? That sort of thing. A personal experience?

Yonezu: Ah... Hatsune Miku...

Fujimoto: Say, there's a work that impacted you and it's a work where you've distanced yourself from the main character, so you've been chasing after something regarding that.

Yonezu: I really wonder about that. Even as you describe it to this extent, I haven't really thought about it all that much up to now. Though I am currently wondering if it was something, what is it exactly?

But, I'm really not good with having very little distance with others, having this disposition by nature might be one of the reasons, I think.

If I get too close... for example when I go for drinks and after having a blast, since we all had a good time and there's nothing on tomorrow, we'd all stay over at someone's place as is or being like "Let's go visit Disneyland too!" there were times where I'd join in, but I really can't stand that. Just, I'd like to go home at least once. Absolutely.

Fujimoto: That's true.

Yonezu: Right. Like the feeling of "Let me go home for once!" is intense.

Lin: I see.

Yonezu: Really, even if I've arranged to stay over with my friends over 2-3 days I'd absolutely just want to go home once. That yearning to go home is just very strong.

Fujimoto: I see.

Lin: Ahh, I see.

Yonezu: Right. It's not for any dramatic reason and the like.

Fujimoto: I get it now, hearing that.

Lin: It's a matter of disposition or your personal feelings, I see. How you live your life and such.

Yonezu: Hmm, I wouldn't be able to take it if I don't have time for myself. It could be a matter of personal space I suppose. It'd be nice if it was something cooler though.

Fujimoto: Like a woman in the past?

Yonezu: Right, right. This is all I can think of about it.

Fujimoto: You wouldn't want to go to Disneyland the next day after drinking.

Yonezu: That's right. I'd be like "Please just let me go home for once already." Yeah, happens a lot.

Fujimoto: Thank you.

Lin: Circling back, I'll be asking about "Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc" as well as the theme song.

Yonezu-san talked about making the song while "staring intently at open pages of Reze in the manga round the clock" for his comment during the unveiling. Yonezu-san, how did you go about capturing Reze as a character?

Yonezu: How should I describe this, the page I was staring intently at is this one right here.

Lin: Vol. 6 of the manga.

Fujimoto: Ah, right, right.

Yonezu: I kept staring at this, and the rest of this too when I was making "JANE DOE" with this page open the whole time as I worked on it.

Lin: Vol. 6 of the manga. "I've never gone to school either." and the scene Reze laid after saying that, I see. Right.

Yonezu: Just, the feeling of "Think of her as someone you like" was really strong as I made the song. In modern terms, it'd be like stanning.

Carrying the strong feelings towards Reze led by that consciousness towards her during the process. So it's like, she becomes as if she's a girl I had feelings for in high-school. That may have been the impression it resulted in, compared to looking at her from an objective perspective. Yeah. Almost like you're reminiscing while flipping through the yearbook in a way. The feeling that this has become what her presence entails is really strong.

Lin: Did you proceed after growing fond of her during your process of deepening your understanding in order to create the song, or if there's a core that drew you in that allowed you to create it because of that fondness?

Yonezu: Right. Since it's a movie made for Reze, in order to make a song for that... without that process, I think I'd just end up making "KICK BACK 2". That's definitely something I did not want to happen at the very least, so for a start... I looked at her and her face. And while pondering over what to do about it, I vividly remember that feeling of "I should just like her!" coming up.

Lin: I see. Thank you.

Fujimoto-san, what is Reze to you as a character?

Fujimoto: She's a character created by gathering my favourite elements.

Lin: And the elements that make up your favourite character?

Fujimoto: Their visuals and how they are internally.

Lin: Let's say there are aspects about Reze you love about here, in particular.

Fujimoto: For Reze, while she's obviously turned towards Denji, due to her nature or disposition, she could have someone think "Is she into me?". There are types like that, and I enjoy that plus having a side that's actually quite violent. Having that slip in and out in glimpses is what I really love.

Lin: Mmhmm. When you were writing it, do you remember anything that stood out to you? For Reze Arc, though that was probably a pretty busy time for you.

Fujimoto: Stood out... was there any? I don't remember.

Lin: Back when you told me everything's fine apart from not being able to sleep when we met up every week?

Fujimoto: I really wasn't able to sleep. Rather than being insomniac I was just busy.

Lin: Tangibly speaking.

Fujimoto: I couldn't sleep then. It was rough.

Lin: The theme song "IRIS OUT" and ending theme "JANE DOE", these two songs have been newly composed, if you have any thoughts, or if there were any lyrics or phrases that stood out to you while listening to it do share with us, Fujimoto-san.

Fujimoto: I tried not to listen to them, since it's what I gotta listen to alongside the context of the movie. So I'd have the same impressions as the audience, you see.

Especially when I was watching "The Boy and the Heron." I thought "Thank goodness I hadn't listened to 'Spinning Globe' first." If I watched it after listening to the song, I figured I'd only be able to view "The Boy and the Heron" through the lens of "Spinning Globe". So in this case I didn't listen to it, I tried to avoid it. While looking forward to it.

Lin: That's right, that's a right way to go about it. You'll give your thoughts after hearing them, I see.

Fujimoto: I don't look at trailers and such too, for movies. I want to go in with anticipation.

Lin: Being excited for it in the theatres. For me, I'm truly thankful for these remarkably good songs.

Fujimoto: Thank you.

Lin: Right.

I'm really excited for how the fans will respond, we've chatted a lot too but time's almost up, so I'll proceed with the information segment and ask you two to give your messages.

Allow me to share some information, "Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc" is now showing in theatres all over the country to raving reception, do check out the official homepage for detailed information on the theatres.

And theme songs "IRIS OUT" and "JANE DOE" are both now available for streaming. Additionally, the bundled album will go on sale on 24th September. Do check them out on Yonezu-san's homepage and social media.

To close off, a message from each of you to our listeners. Yonezu-san, if you may.

Yonezu: This is the second time I'm involved with the Chainsaw Man anime, I'm truly honoured and happy about it. Being given the opportunity to make "KICK BACK" had been a major experience for me as well.

Even now thanks to Chainsaw Man I've managed to make these two songs I wouldn't have been able to otherwise, it's an honour. I'm just plain excited to see the movie. Thank you very much.

Fujimoto: Thank you.

Lin: Thank you. Alright, Fujimoto-sensei, if you may.

Fujimoto: Given it's a story that continues from the first Chainsaw Man anime, one could wonder "Can I watch this as a snippet without knowing what came before?"

Lin: I think you can. You can watch this without having read Volumes 1-5.

Fujimoto: I think you can get into it casually and it's very active. So, if you like action and want to see lots of action, I think you'll really enjoy it. Please do give it a watch. Thank you very much.

Lin: Right! Thank you two very much for today. This has been Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei and Yonezu Kenshi-san. Thank you very much.

Fujimoto: Thank you very much!

Yonezu: Thank you very much