# E2
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GRVD22N5R/untitled)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
***SIGN*** Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** "In Between Morning and Night"
**[00:07] Ekoda**
*Pluck.*
**[00:09] Ekoda**
* There's a theory that children are more*
* likely to survive plane crashes than adults.*
**[00:16] Boyfriend**
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I know, I hear you.
**[00:20] Ekoda**
* Apparently, their bodies are more supple,*
* their muscles more relaxed.*
**[00:24] Ekoda**
* Which means there's less chance*
* an impact will do serious damage.*
**[00:27] Ekoda**
*Or so they say.*
**[00:28] Boyfriend**
Did you grow your hair out?
**[00:30] Boyfriend**
Huh? I told you, you should.
**[00:33] Boyfriend**
Chiyoko, I'm positive you'd
look better with long hair.
**[00:36] Ekoda**
*If you just relax and hold still...*
**[00:40] Ekoda**
*something like this won't hurt... one bit.*
**[00:45] Boyfriend**
Of course I'm not cheating on you.
**[00:47] Ekoda**
*And won't do much damage.*
**[00:54] Ekoda**
Caution
**[01:02] Ekoda**
So long...
**[01:05] Ekoda**
*All I've been doing is waiting.*
**[01:07] Ekoda**
*Should I give up and find a new path?*
**[01:11] Ekoda**
* But if I give up now, all the time*
* I've spent waiting will be for nothing.*
**[01:12] Ekoda**
Caution
**[01:16] Ekoda**
*It doesn't matter how long it takes.*
**[01:18] Ekoda**
*One day, after I've won this war of attrition,*
**[01:20] Ekoda**
* my triumph will prove*
* that all this was worth it.*
**[01:24] Ekoda**
*As long as I keep believing that...*
**[01:26] Boyfriend**
You know I love you.
**[01:33] Boyfriend**
And I won't cheat on you, okay?
**[01:37] Ekoda**
*Chiyoko... I wish she wasn't in the picture.*
**[01:40] Ekoda**
*No,* he's *the real problem here.*
**[01:46] Ekoda**
*Thing is, if I start telling myself that,*
**[01:48] Ekoda**
* it renders hanging on*
* as long as I have meaningless.*
**[01:51] Boyfriend**
Okay. I'll call you again later.
**[01:53] Boyfriend**
Yeah. See you.
**[02:03] Ekoda**
You wanna do it again?
**[02:07] Boyfriend**
I've got an early start tomorrow, so nah.
**[02:10] Ekoda**
Okay.
**[02:20] Ekoda**
* If I face toward him,*
* it feels like I'm begging...*
**[02:24] Ekoda**
*But if I face away, it looks like I'm sulking.*
**[02:29] Ekoda**
* Lying like this feels like some kind of*
* desperate compromise, and that's pathetic.*
**[02:35] Ekoda**
* But... if I'm gonna be*
* totally honest with myself...*
**[03:32] Narrator**
They say that ten different people
produce ten different versions.
***SIGN*** Ten Versions
***SIGN*** Ten People
**[03:37] Narrator**
But what if there were new Ekoda-chans?
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Takahashi
Ryosuke
***SIGN*** Daichi Akitaro
***SIGN*** Mochizuki
Tomomi
***SIGN*** Misawa Shin
***SIGN*** Takahashi Takeo
***SIGN*** Yonetani
Yoshitomo
***SIGN*** Kobayashi
Osamu
***SIGN*** Kojima
Masayuki
***SIGN*** Shigino Akira
***SIGN*** Nagahama Hiroshi
***SIGN*** Morimoto Koji
**[03:43] Narrator**
12 women, 12 versions?!
***SIGN*** 12 Women
***SIGN*** 12 Versions!?
**[03:45] Narrator**
Over the course of the next 12 episodes of the anime "Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan,"
we'll be checking in with the directors of each episode, and the voice
actress portraying Ekoda-chan!!
**[03:46] Narrator**
Over the course of the next 12 episodes
of the anime "Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan,"
**[03:49] Narrator**
we'll be checking in with
the directors of each episode,
**[03:52] Narrator**
and the voice actress
portraying Ekoda-chan.
**[03:54] Narrator**
This week, we unveil the director
of Episode 2: Sugii Gisaburo,
***SIGN*** Director
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo
**[03:59] Narrator**
and Ekoda-chan's VA: Park Romi-san!
***SIGN*** Playing Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Park Romi
***SIGN*** Episode 2's Director
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Episode 2's Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Park Romi
**[04:02] Narrator**
What does it mean to be a woman?
And just who is Ekoda-chan?
**[04:06] Narrator**
They'll even talk about the
depth of the original manga!
**[04:09] Narrator**
"Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan" special feature:
The Director and Ekoda-chan's Naked Chat!
***SIGN*** Rinshi!! Ekoda-Chan
***SIGN*** The Director and Ekoda -chan's
***SIGN*** The Director and Ekoda -chan's
***SIGN*** The Director and Ekoda -chan's
***SIGN*** The Director and Ekoda -chan's
***SIGN*** The Director and Ekoda -chan's
***SIGN*** Naked Chat
***SIGN*** Naked Chat
***SIGN*** Naked Chat
**[04:15] Narrator**
We're baring all for you!
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** What went through your head when you were
approached about working on the anime adaptation?
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo x Park Romi
**[04:18] Sugii**
To be honest, well...
***SIGN*** Episode 2's Director
Sugii Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Episode 2's Ekoda-san
Park Romi
**[04:20] Sugii**
The Ekoda-chan manga wasn't even on my radar,
**[04:26] Sugii**
so when Kataoka-san contacted me about
directing, he brought along the first volume.
***SIGN*** Project/Production
Manager
Kataoka Yoshiro
**[04:30] Sugii**
And as I was flipping through,
**[04:33] Sugii**
I couldn't help asking: "Why do you
want *me* for this adaptation?"
**[04:40] Sugii**
I didn't really understand why.
**[04:42] Sugii**
So I asked him directly:
**[04:46] Sugii**
"Kataoka-san, why'd you choose me for this?"
**[04:48] Sugii**
And he says to me, "Well, Ekoda-chan here..."
**[04:54] Sugii**
"The protagonist. I want to show
how she lives, as a woman."
**[05:00] Sugii**
"And I think you're the best
person to do that, Sugii-san."
**[05:05] Sugii**
So I agreed, even though I didn't
really understand what he meant.
**[05:08] Sugii**
That was how the
conversation went, wasn't it?
**[05:11] Sugii**
I honestly had no idea
why you wanted me for this.
**[05:14] Sugii**
Well, we'd actually worked
together once before.
***SIGN*** Why did you choose Park Romi for the lead role?
**[05:20] Sugii**
On a show which had Maruyama-san as
producer. I call him Marutan.
**[05:26] Sugii**
And whenever he's involved,
he takes the reins.
**[05:28] Sugii**
So I didn't really have much input.
**[05:32] Sugii**
For the most part,
I let Maruyama-san handle things.
**[05:36] Sugii**
But seeing you working with him made me
want to work with you. That was it.
**[05:42] Romi**
Really?
**[05:43] Sugii**
For a really long time, I kept thinking:
**[05:45] Sugii**
"If the opportunity arises,
I'd like to work with Park-san."
**[05:49] Sugii**
And I happened to be working
with Maruyama-san again recently...
**[05:52] Sugii**
And I told him, "Well, if I do this,
I'd like to get Park-san."
**[05:55] Sugii**
And his response was, "Hey, great idea!"
**[05:57] Romi**
Really? Wow!
**[05:59] Romi**
That's great to hear.
**[06:01] Sugii**
That was where it began.
**[06:02] Sugii**
So if I'm being totally honest,
**[06:05] Sugii**
in order for me to actually direct this...
**[06:09] Sugii**
I was having a really hard time settling
on how I wanted to approach it.
**[06:13] Sugii**
So... and this is just my gut
talking, but Ekoda-chan...
**[06:19] Sugii**
Even putting aside how much
I wanted to work with you...
**[06:23] Sugii**
Something about her...
**[06:25] Sugii**
I feel like you and her
have something in common.
**[06:30] Sugii**
I just get that feeling, for some reason.
**[06:32] Romi**
Well, I wasn't really familiar
with Ekoda-chan beforehand,
***SIGN*** What went through your head when
Director Sugii offered you the role?
**[06:37] Romi**
but when we first worked
together on a project,
**[06:43] Romi**
I really loved it.
**[06:45] Romi**
And I was really glad I'd gotten
the chance to work on it.
**[06:51] Romi**
So when you contacted me about Ekoda-chan,
**[06:55] Romi**
I was positive it was going to be
just as interesting as the time before,
**[06:59] Romi**
and I think the first thing I saw
were the storyboards, right?
**[07:03] Romi**
And those were already so, so interesting!
**[07:06] Sugii**
I see.
**[07:07] Romi**
I mean...
**[07:08] Romi**
a scene where she's plucking her eyebrows
and lining the hairs up on a tissue...
**[07:12] Sugii**
And that's how it starts.
**[07:13] Romi**
Right! But I found it really compelling.
**[07:17] Romi**
So after that, I went and read the manga...
**[07:22] Romi**
And I was like, "Huh?"
**[07:23] Romi**
"It has a story like this...
and it's told in four-panel strips?"
**[07:28] Sugii**
Right?
**[07:29] Romi**
It was a real shock.
**[07:32] Romi**
And honestly, I was super impressed.
**[07:36] Romi**
And the more I read,
the more interesting I found it,
**[07:39] Romi**
and I was really struck by
how candid Ekoda-chan was.
**[07:44] Sugii**
She's an admirable woman.
**[07:46] Romi**
Right.
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
***SIGN*** Behind the scenes stories
from Episode 2 of the
"Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan" anime
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo x Park Romi
**[07:52] Sugii**
I was having such trouble
figuring out how to approach it,
***SIGN*** Regarding the screenplay for
Episode 2 of "Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan"
**[07:56] Sugii**
but I happened to be in
contact with Okada Mari-san.
**[07:58] Romi**
Right.
**[07:59] Sugii**
She's a writer who does
a ton of work for anime,
**[08:02] Sugii**
and I asked her to write the screenplay.
**[08:04] Romi**
Right.
**[08:07] Sugii**
We didn't have many meetings.
**[08:09] Sugii**
And I thought an Ekoda-chan
monologue would work well.
**[08:13] Sugii**
I told her that all it really needed to do
was show things from her point of view.
**[08:19] Sugii**
So then, once the script was written...
**[08:21] Sugii**
Well, how should I put it?
**[08:24] Sugii**
"How on earth did you pull this off?"
**[08:27] Sugii**
It does such a good job of
adapting the source material,
**[08:31] Sugii**
but it makes the episode self-contained.
**[08:35] Sugii**
And I think if you haven't read
the original Ekoda-chan manga,
**[08:42] Sugii**
you might not appreciate
just how deep it can get.
**[08:48] Sugii**
So what I was worried about is...
***SIGN*** Director Sugii's concerns about adapting
"Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan" into an anime
**[08:51] Sugii**
Why does Ekoda-chan, y'know,
fall for such a free-wheeling guy?
**[08:56] Sugii**
I mean, she's waiting for Maa-kun to choose her.
And she's been waiting a long time.
**[09:00] Romi**
Right.
**[09:01] Sugii**
I thought the biggest question was,
"Why would she wait so long for him?"
**[09:08] Sugii**
With men and women... well...
**[09:12] Sugii**
It's strange how, sometimes,
no matter how clueless the guy is,
**[09:15] Sugii**
there are times where they have this...
**[09:19] Sugii**
How do I put it? There's a particular
type of kindness they show at times,
**[09:23] Sugii**
and women sometimes
subconsciously latch onto that.
**[09:27] Sugii**
Maa-kun doesn't realize he's doing it.
Even when he's talking to Chiyoko.
**[09:31] Sugii**
So, as she's listening to Maa-kun
talking to this other woman,
**[09:36] Sugii**
and he's being all sweet and loving
and showing that kindness...
**[09:41] Sugii**
Ekoda-chan instinctively realizes...
**[09:45] Sugii**
That's what she's attracted to.
She wouldn't wait for him otherwise.
**[09:48] Sugii**
I mean, he has another woman.
**[09:48] Romi**
Right.
**[09:51] Romi**
I guess the way she doesn't directly
confront him about it, but also kinda does.
***SIGN*** What they have in common with Ekoda-chan
**[09:58] Romi**
It's like, she's sorta giving in, but at the
same time, she isn't at all, y'know?
**[10:02] Romi**
I think that right there is
pretty much what defines her.
**[10:06] Romi**
When I think about it from my perspective...
**[10:09] Romi**
There'll be times when I think
I'm doing something unexpected,
**[10:13] Romi**
but I'm just being totally predictable.
**[10:15] Romi**
So I think, maybe in those ways,
I'm kinda similar to Ekoda-chan.
**[10:22] Romi**
Like, the way she wasn't crying, but
a bead of sweat rolled down into her eye...
**[10:27] Romi**
There's something about that moment
that gets to the heart of her character.
**[10:33] Romi**
I honestly wasn't sure
what to do in that scene.
**[10:36] Romi**
I mean, if you get sweat in your eye, it stings,
**[10:39] Romi**
so I thought to myself,
"How much should I emphasize that?"
**[10:43] Romi**
"How strong should her reaction be?"
**[10:46] Romi**
You know how, in that scene,
Ekoda-chan's trying to act tough,
**[10:51] Romi**
but you can just tell
how she's actually feeling?
**[10:53] Romi**
I think that kind of thing
is what I relate to the most.
***SIGN*** On how complicated it is to try to depict a character
as multifaceted as Ekoda-chan
**[10:58] Sugii**
The thing about the character of Ekoda
**[11:01] Sugii**
is that we want to bring
across how cute she is.
**[11:06] Sugii**
But in the monologue, it'd be bizarre
for her to talk about herself in a way
**[11:11] Sugii**
that suggests she finds herself cute, right?
**[11:13] Sugii**
I mean, in a conversation,
how you act can highlight that aspect,
**[11:17] Sugii**
but here, she's talking to herself.
**[11:18] Romi**
Right.
**[11:19] Sugii**
So today, we got you to do take after take,
**[11:22] Sugii**
which I can only apologize for...
**[11:23] Romi**
No, no, it's fine!
**[11:25] Sugii**
But when I realized how much difference
**[11:26] Sugii**
the fact she's talking to herself
made to the scene...
**[11:31] Sugii**
Sorry, I should've said something sooner.
**[11:32] Romi**
Oh, no, it's totally fine.
**[11:35] Romi**
The way the various scene
breaks interact is so interesting,
**[11:39] Romi**
and because of that, I leaned toward
reflecting that in the different takes.
**[11:43] Romi**
And when you were talking to me about
the essence of Ekoda-chan's character,
**[11:48] Romi**
I wasn't expecting this rough,
fuzzily-drawn appearance.
**[11:54] Romi**
And there was part of me that
wondered if that's how it should look.
**[11:59] Romi**
I kinda wanted to do
a more serious Ekoda-chan...
**[12:03] Romi**
And I couldn't shake that impression.
**[12:07] Romi**
So I was approaching it like,
"Here's how a woman would *really* act."
**[12:10] Romi**
And I think maybe because of that,
**[12:11] Romi**
the takes were heavier than necessary.
**[12:12] Sugii**
Oh, no, it worked well.
***SIGN*** Sugii's approach to recording voice-overs
**[12:13] Sugii**
Fundamentally, after
a certain point in my career,
**[12:19] Sugii**
I stopped making specific
demands of the cast.
**[12:23] Sugii**
I like how, if you don't say anything,
**[12:27] Sugii**
the actors will read the script themselves,
and come up with their own take on it.
**[12:30] Sugii**
And if the animation side
makes too many demands,
**[12:34] Sugii**
those demands will be treated like rules,
so they can't add their own personal touches.
**[12:39] Sugii**
And ever since I realized that...
**[12:42] Sugii**
And maybe this makes it sound
like I just don't want to give direction,
**[12:46] Sugii**
but I tend to leave it to the actors.
**[12:48] Sugii**
And I think that's for the best.
***SIGN*** After the break,
we'll ponder Ekoda-chan's life!!
**[12:53] Sugii**
I just realized something.
**[12:57] Sugii**
This is kind of a tough story to adapt.
***SIGN*** The Director and
Ekoda -chan's
Naked Chat
***SIGN*** Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Episode 2's Director
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Episode 2's Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Park Romi
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
**[13:06] Narrator**
It's one surprise after another!
**[13:08] Narrator**
Director Sugii and Park Romi-san
**[13:10] Narrator**
both admitted they were unsure
about their approach in the first half.
**[13:14] Narrator**
In the second half,
we drill down further,
**[13:16] Narrator**
and examine Ekoda-chan's outlook on life.
***SIGN*** Ekoda-chan's
Outlook on Life
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** What sex means to Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo x Park Romi
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
**[13:25] Sugii**
The way people treat sex
throughout their lives...
**[13:30] Sugii**
Their values, and their opinions on it...
**[13:34] Sugii**
I mean, Ekoda-chan
sleeps around, doesn't she?
**[13:36] Kataoka**
Right. She does.
**[13:38] Sugii**
And that's... What's the right word?
**[13:42] Sugii**
I think it's terrific.
**[13:44] Sugii**
How, in spite of that, you
don't view her as lascivious.
**[13:48] Sugii**
And it's not like she has
a warped perspective.
**[13:51] Sugii**
I think it's because, for
women, it's sort of like...
**[13:55] Sugii**
Sex and, I guess, your outlook on life, maybe?
**[13:59] Sugii**
I mean, like, your identity...
They're completely separate.
**[14:02] Sugii**
And that...
**[14:06] Sugii**
That's a kind of controversial
way to look at sex.
**[14:10] Kataoka**
It's revolutionary.
**[14:11] Sugii**
Yeah. There was that Cuckoo movie...
**[14:15] Both**
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"?
**[14:16] Sugii**
Yes, "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest." That's it.
**[14:19] Sugii**
There's a part where the
protagonist's with this woman,
**[14:21] Sugii**
and in the same mental hospital,
there's this other guy...
**[14:25] Sugii**
And he offers to let his girl
sleep with this virgin.
**[14:31] Sugii**
When I saw that movie, I thought
the protagonist was remarkable.
**[14:37] Sugii**
That really opened my eyes
to the reality behind sex.
**[14:43] Sugii**
I mean, for the sake of this
man who hasn't had sex before...
**[14:46] Sugii**
he literally asks his girl,
"Hey, could you sleep with this guy?"
**[14:52] Sugii**
At the time, I thought, "Any man
who can do that is amazing."
**[14:58] Sugii**
And to me, that's similar
to Ekoda-chan's situation.
**[15:02] Sugii**
And it's why I think she's terrific. As a woman.
**[15:08] Sugii**
I mean, Maa-kun's just your average guy.
**[15:10] Romi**
Right.
**[15:11] Sugii**
So it means Ekoda-chan's
situation isn't out of the ordinary.
**[15:15] Sugii**
It's not like she's found Mr. Right.
**[15:19] Kataoka**
Yeah.
**[15:20] Sugii**
She's just in love with a loser.
**[15:23] Sugii**
And you know, sometimes, sex
is treated as something liberating.
**[15:28] Sugii**
This isn't like that.
**[15:29] Romi**
So true.
**[15:30] Sugii**
It's just a normal part of life.
**[15:33] Sugii**
And I think Ekoda-chan's way
of life... y'know, her lifestyle...
**[15:40] Sugii**
I think it might just be a societal thing.
**[15:43] Sugii**
This might be the future of how
men and women interact, you know?
**[15:48] Sugii**
I mean, I get the impression that, for women,
**[15:52] Sugii**
they don't get all pretentious
over sex, you know?
**[15:56] Sugii**
All this, "What exactly is a man?"
"What exactly is a woman?"
**[15:59] Sugii**
And, "What is sex, anyway?"
**[16:02] Sugii**
All of that gets addressed.
That's what makes this work so amazing.
**[16:08] Romi**
I think so, too.
***SIGN*** What did you think of Ekoda-chan's lifestyle?
**[16:10] Romi**
I mean, it's really
understandable, for one thing,
**[16:12] Romi**
and well, it's sorta...
really cool, as well, y'know?
**[16:17] Romi**
And... how should I phrase this?
**[16:20] Romi**
There are things it touches on, like
how women can be motivated by emotion,
**[16:25] Romi**
but she's just... She's good
at keeping it together.
**[16:28] Romi**
I mean, she has her problems
and plenty of heartache, sure,
**[16:32] Romi**
but it's like, she has this inner strength,
**[16:35] Romi**
which makes you feel like
it's not dragging her down.
**[16:38] Romi**
It's amazing. On a human level, it's impressive.
**[16:40] Kataoka**
It's truly remarkable.
**[16:42] Kataoka**
I mean, I get the feeling that women
often get told they have to be strong...
**[16:49] Kataoka**
I think that might be what
Sugii-san noticed in her.
**[16:51] Kataoka**
Park-san, you give off that same strong vibe.
**[16:54] Sugii**
I think so.
**[16:55] Ekoda**
But Ekoda is weak, too!
**[16:57] Both**
Oh, you've got a point.
**[16:59] Sugii**
When her feelings get hurt...
**[16:59] Romi**
Right, exactly.
**[17:01] Sugii**
But it usually only comes
out when she's alone.
**[17:03] Sugii**
She'll get frustrated and do this...
**[17:04] Romi**
That's right.
**[17:06] Romi**
We have that in common!
**[17:09] Romi**
I think, for me, personally,
ever since I was young,
**[17:14] Romi**
when it comes to stuff like men,
and women, and aging...
**[17:18] Romi**
I never really let it bother me.
**[17:19] Romi**
I suppose it's the "Hey,
we're all the same" thing.
**[17:23] Romi**
So when it comes to that, I think...
**[17:27] Romi**
that's one thing I have in common with her.
**[17:30] Romi**
As time goes on, the story
sometimes gets complicated,
**[17:35] Romi**
but I think her character
is very progressive.
**[17:39] Kataoka**
Right.
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
***SIGN*** "Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan"
and its depths
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Director Sugii's interpretation of Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Sugii
Gisaburo
***SIGN*** Rinshi!!
Ekoda-Chan:
The Director
and
Ekoda-chan's
Naked
Chat
***SIGN*** Sugii Gisaburo x Park Romi
**[17:45] Sugii**
Back during the planning phase,
it was honestly...
**[17:49] Sugii**
It felt like it'd be a real challenge.
**[17:51] Sugii**
"Has there ever been a show like this?"
**[17:53] Sugii**
So, in that sense, at first,
as a character designer...
**[17:58] Sugii**
I thought about going
for a more realistic, raw look.
**[18:04] Sugii**
You know, make it as realistic as I could,
in spite of it being a short-form show.
**[18:09] Sugii**
But then, Takinami-san's art...
**[18:13] Sugii**
When I took a proper look at it,
it's got this strong pop aesthetic.
**[18:16] Romi**
You're right.
**[18:17] Sugii**
There are elements of Andy Warhol in there.
**[18:21] Sugii**
She has a very pop art look about her.
**[18:25] Sugii**
And because of that,
I thought a more realistic style...
**[18:30] Sugii**
I started thinking it wouldn't
be very funny like that,
**[18:32] Sugii**
so I veered away from
that idea partway through.
**[18:36] Sugii**
But when it came to your acting, I didn't
want it to be exaggerated or "animefied."
**[18:45] Sugii**
I wanted a more natural performance.
**[18:49] Sugii**
I get the feeling that, as a director,
**[18:52] Sugii**
I've never had a project like this where I've
been so unsure which direction to go in.
**[18:56] Sugii**
And I honestly didn't know exactly what I was
aiming for, even while I was working on it.
***SIGN*** Your thoughts going into the recording session
**[19:01] Romi**
Well, I was thinking how rare it was
**[19:03] Romi**
to have more staff present than actors.
**[19:05] Sugii**
Right.
**[19:07] Romi**
So something about that whole
setup was a bit intimidating,
**[19:11] Romi**
but the picture I had in my head was...
I didn't want to make it overly colorful.
**[19:15] Romi**
And I figured that's how I'd approach it.
**[19:18] Romi**
So I went for a much,
much starker delivery.
**[19:22] Romi**
And that maybe made my interpretation
more pensive than was ideal.
**[19:26] Romi**
So, after getting some feedback,
and doing a few different takes,
**[19:30] Romi**
I think the tone changed
a bit as we went along.
**[19:33] Sugii**
I think, just looking at the lines and
the storyboards for this episode...
**[19:41] Sugii**
There's a real, for want of
a better word, *literary* feel to it.
**[19:43] Romi**
Yeah, I agree.
**[19:44] Sugii**
Which probably explains why
you voiced her the way you did.
**[19:47] Sugii**
But even so,
**[19:50] Sugii**
considering how "pop"
the source material is,
**[19:53] Sugii**
it needed an air of lightness to it, too.
**[19:55] Sugii**
And I realize asking, "Could you make it
lighter?" when talking about plane crashes
**[19:59] Sugii**
sounds kind of unreasonable.
**[20:00] Romi**
Oh, no, no...
**[20:02] Sugii**
But I never realized just how hard
**[20:02] Romi**
I didn't think it was that odd.
**[20:04] Sugii**
doing a monologue could be.
***SIGN*** Your thoughts after the recording session
**[20:06] Romi**
The fact that it's such
a short piece of animation,
**[20:10] Romi**
but there are so many people there, thinking,
"What should we do about Ekoda-chan?"
**[20:14] Romi**
"What should we do with this project?"
**[20:17] Romi**
Being able to work in an environment
like that was really wonderful.
**[20:22] Romi**
I'm the kind of actress
who wants to do lots of takes,
**[20:27] Romi**
so the thought of our time coming
to an end so quickly made me sad.
**[20:30] Romi**
I just wanted to keep doing
two, maybe three takes.
**[20:33] Romi**
And I was really appreciative
that I got the chance to do
**[20:36] Romi**
a few different readings of the lines.
**[20:40] Romi**
It feels like, compared to works with bigger
casts, or stories on a much larger scale,
**[20:47] Romi**
this is so much more intimate, yeah.
**[20:48] Sugii**
It is.
**[20:49] Romi**
So I wanted to have more of a back-and-forth
with the staff on my approach to the role.
**[20:56] Romi**
And because of that, I think
**[20:58] Romi**
it's a performance I'll always remember.
**[21:02] Sugii**
That makes sense.
**[21:04] Sugii**
And I let you handle
all the finishing touches.
**[21:07] Romi**
"If you wanna give me some
direction, just let me know!"
**[21:09] Romi**
"I'll do it! Seriously, I'll do whatever!"
**[21:11] Romi**
I mean, usually, when recording...
**[21:12] Sugii**
It's your role, though.
**[21:13] Sugii**
And when you have an actress
as good as you are, Park-san...
**[21:16] Park**
I'm not that good!
**[21:17] Sugii**
I honestly started wondering,
"Should we really be doing so many takes?"
**[21:21] Romi**
I wouldn't say that.
**[21:21] Sugii**
It felt like maybe we were splitting hairs.
**[21:23] Sugii**
But, in spite of that, I had a really
strong image of where to take it.
**[21:27] Sugii**
But I didn't want to say, "Do it like this,"
and ask for another take.
**[21:32] Sugii**
So even though I felt like
you were finding it difficult...
**[21:36] Sugii**
I mean, that's a first for me.
**[21:38] Sugii**
A lot of the time, you don't want too much
forethought going into production.
**[21:41] Sugii**
In animation, you need
to make snap decisions.
**[21:46] Sugii**
No matter what issues you encounter, you
need to resolve them as quickly as possible.
**[21:50] Sugii**
It's a bad idea to keep the
actors waiting, for instance,
**[21:52] Sugii**
or indeed, any of the other staff...
**[21:55] Sugii**
Making short work of plotting out the
best path is meant to be the director's job.
**[22:00] Sugii**
But today? I wasn't able
to make snap decisions.
**[22:04] Romi**
For the first time?
**[22:05] Sugii**
For the first time.
**[22:06] Romi**
I got to be the first!
**[22:10] Narrator**
And that brings today's
discussion to a close.
***SIGN*** Next Episode Preview
**[22:14] Narrator**
Next time on "The Director
and Ekoda-chan's Naked Chat,"
***SIGN*** Director
***SIGN*** Ekoda-chan's
VA
**[22:17] Narrator**
an unexpected character
design choice has
**[22:20] Narrator**
the actress playing Ekoda-chan
in Episode 3 reeling!
***SIGN*** Ekoda-chan's
VA
***SIGN*** Director
**[22:23] Narrator**
What on earth was the director thinking?
***SIGN*** Director
***SIGN*** Ekoda-chan's
VA
**[22:26] Narrator**
Look forward to it!
***SIGN*** Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** The Director and Ekoda -chan's
***SIGN*** Naked Chat
***SIGN*** Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Until she's ready
***SIGN*** Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan
Until she's ready
***SIGN*** Ekoda-chan
***SIGN*** Eyes
***SIGN*** Tweezers
***SIGN*** Smartphone
***SIGN*** Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan