The “High Score Girl”, which was broadcast in July, said goodbye to the “Primary School Articles”, such as Jin Daye Jing, who entered the “Junior High School Student” from the 4th, and ushered in a new round of the story of the female host, Gao Xiaochun. . The play is adapted from the comic book of the same name serialized by the teacher, Lilian Jie, in the monthly magazine BIG GANGAN. In the 90s, which was a popular way of fighting street games, there were other romantic comedies in the arcade hall that were full of nostalgic and slightly green memories. Japanese media “nlab.itmedia” interviewed JCSTAFF animation production as the general manager of Matsukura Yuji, listening to his detailed search for the original arcade, importing game images into cartoons, and audience response after the animation was broadcasted. Various anecdotes. .
The current JCSTAFF production of Song Cangyou II, has organized and launched a number of big hot animations such as “Girls Revolution Utina”, “Shakugan Shana”, “Zero’s Magic”, “Science Super Electromagnetic Gun” It is JCSTAFF’s leading ace producer. .
After graduating from the college in 1992, Matsukura entered J.C.STAFF and was promoted to producer in his twenties. Looking at the industry, it is rare for him to co-ordinate the director producers of all the works in the community. According to Matsukura, the year when his career entered a new stage and thrived all the way began in the 98 years after the TV version of “Girl Revolution Utina” (97). When doing “Little Leather”, Matsukura’s business card is not the current title. In the company, he has a superficial boss, and there are many on-site producers in his class. .
However, fate seems destined to make Matsukura eye-catching. In his early twenties, he is already famous. It is said that the industry was circulated everywhere, and J.C. STAFF recruited a newcomer who was so angry that at the age of 20, it took less than half a year to grow from a production to a producer. And the point is that the partner with Matsukura is actually supervised by the famous Takayama Wenyan in the industry. .
.
高山文彦. Animation supervision, scripter. Masterpiece: OVA “Mobile Suit Gundam Wars in the Pocket of 0080” (Supervisor), theatrical version “WXIII Mobile Police Patlabor” (General Supervisor). In the animated work of J.C.STAFF, he served as the series composition and script of “Alice in Flowers” and “Alice and Tibetan Six”. .
The animation of the first collaboration between Matsukura and Takayama Supervisor is OVA “Timeless Sky Orguss 02”. It is worth mentioning that the original role of the work is Ms. Mikimoto Haruhiko. So everyone talked in private, this time let Mei Shuben’s role in the original case, actually a young man in his twenties. .
.
美树本晴彦. Animator, illustrator. The role of the design of “The Macross Macros”, “Unlimited Zone 23”, “Flying Leaping Peak” and other plays. He also served as the original role of the “Cabanelli of the Iron City” released in 2016. .
Matsukura is a young man who has been immersed in the workplace and is so versatile that he has benefited from the times. At that time, he was given the opportunity to reach out to all aspects of the network including creators, production companies, and producers. One to two, the business contacts will come to the door one after another. .
It’s all about pretending to be famous, not to mention the fact that Matsukura has worked together with legendary figures. Among the most impressive ones are the “Overseas Century Orguss 02” mentioned above, and the first TV work “Girls Revolution Utina”. Moreover, let him put a lot of effort into this is the quarter-long “High Score Girl”. In the meantime, Matsukura is the origin of the game industry, and has always claimed that he likes games. He has also undertaken a lot of related work before. .
Originally, when Matsukura was 18 to 20 years old, he worked in a game company called “East Star Software” in Kyoto, and “East Star Software” is also a super-famous company in the industry, and because of its numerous counts The production of the game is rarely known to the layman, and is also known as the “Shadow Warrior” enterprise. During the school, Matsukura studied every morning, went to the game company in the afternoon, and worked in the arcade hall at night.
When making “High Score Girl”, Matsukura took out the game machine that he had collected for many years and provided a physical reference for the production team. On weekdays, Matsukura likes to collect substrates and hardware, but whenever he sells goods, he always wants to play it with his own hands. In the initial stage of animation production, even if the funds were tight, even the purchase of second-hand “NEOGEO” was stretched, and the price of “Sega Saturn” was even more expensive to let Matsukura doubt life. Therefore, life was extremely difficult during that period. .
“High Score Girl” is the first full 3DCG work of J.C.STAFF challenge. So why did you give up 2D and choose to make 3D? In this regard, Matsukura’s explanation is that this is based solely on the unique brushstrokes of the teacher, and it is more difficult to display in 2D. After considering various factors such as arcade, game screen and character matching, I decided to use 3D. He especially mentioned Ohno. Although Chun Xiong’s rapidly changing facial expressions undoubtedly improved the difficulty of operation, the wilderness of the expression “stereotype” is more difficult to control, but more or less always bring some expressions, and Matsukura wants to play a stable “No expression.” .
Some people may think that in the play, Ohno has implemented a series of active attacks on Chunxiong. These dynamics will be more convenient when done in 3D, but this is not the case. The character’s dynamic hand-painted performance is relatively labor-saving, but considering that the film also involves the scene theme reproduction of a series of scenes such as game screens, arcades, arcade halls, such as a large space of box-shaped objects. How to make the character play the game in front of the amusement equipment, it does not seem to have a sense of violation, it is more ideal to make a 3D effect. .
In fact, this is the decision of Matsukura. The biggest reason for everyone’s opposition is that based on 3D production, there are defects such as stiff expressions and unnatural movements. In the crowds whose main characters are selling points, 3D works are still quite unseen. .
Among Japanese animation enthusiasts, there are not many people who don’t want to watch 3D. However, when some viewers who were worried about poor 3D performance actually watched the “High Score Girl”, they also gave “the effect is not bad.” Positive evaluation. .
Matsukura attributed this to the efforts of the field staff. Because 3D modeling needs to do 2D design beforehand, naturally people who want to understand the principle of 3D production design, so J.C.STAFF found the designers of SMDE first draw the line draft, and then model on this basis. .
SMDE is an old brand that has participated in the production of such works as “Sos Machinery Beast” and “Group Friends”. Exquisite and exquisite professional technology to create an impeccable image. This is also why J.C.STAFF has its own CG department and is also looking for someone to outsource. Matsukura admits that it is purely because the technical strength of the company is not in the same position as SMDE. .
According to Matsukura, when doing a 2, 3D combination of works, the role information will be provided to the outsourcing company, and the other party will be required to complete the cooperation, but since this is the first time to do full 3D, so from the beginning, the role The design is fully delegated to the SMDE side. Of course, there will be things like corrections in the middle, but in the end, under the supervision of supervision, the SMDE will assist in the completion of the work. .
In other previous interviews, Matsukura once talked about the hard work of finding an arcade. Seeing that there are almost no special arcades such as “Street Fighter”, “Let’s Beat” and “Space Gun” on the market, Matsukura has to investigate four places to find out which type of machine can be found, and then send people to the field to measure. The former GM, because it was nearly 30 years ago, has long since disappeared in today’s arcade hall. I can’t see the shadow of Sega’s “Aero City”, and the “Namco Consolette” series is also missing. The grim reality forced Matsukura to seriously consider buying a second-hand machine. So he tried to talk to his wife and said that he wanted to buy an “Aero City” arcade that was about the same size as the refrigerator. . .
The dejected Matsukura swayed in Akihabara with no purpose, but happened to catch a glimpse of the arcades that the world was looking for, and rushed to ask, which one is the “responsible person”? Later, as long as they are free, Matsukura will go to Akihabara to go shopping, and face-to-face negotiations with others can provide reference materials. .
.
The picture shows Sega “Aero City” which debuts in the primary school article. In the second half of the 1990s, its successor “Astro City” became the mainstream at the time.
In addition to the arcade, Chunxiong also bought a home game console. Moreover, Chunxiong is the kind of game house that is completely used to store the rules of the machine into the box. The unpacked machine can buy medieval products, but the original box can not be found. At this time, Matsukura was asked to inquire about Sharp’s “Twin Famicom” (incorporating the red and white machine body and floppy disk drive) and the “first generation Game Boy” packaging, but in the “Beep” and “Super Potato” and other medieval stores. He was particularly grateful to know that Matsubara’s intention was to lend the outer packaging to JCSTAFF for free. . The
Game occupies the main part of the film. When it comes to games, you have to mention the difference between the game and the animation in the frame rate. As we all know, Japanese TV animation uses a 24p frame rate of “3 grids”, while the game is 60p, which is 60 images per second. In order to match the presentation of the game screen, the animation of “High Score Girl” is specially made with 60p, which means that the amount of data to be processed in this film is more than double that of the usual one. Therefore, the people in the 3D department are inevitably unhappy. .
Also, under the premise that the eyes of the audience have already adapted to the 24p frame rate, the introduction of the slow 60p3D image is accompanied by the risk of “don’t be thankful”. Fortunately, the technology of SMDE is re-emphasizing. Under their treatment, the picture looks just like the ordinary 24p cartoon. Adjustments in this area can only be based on experience and usual data accumulation. However, the total number of sheets generated has doubled, greatly increasing the burden on the photography department. .
That assumes that a 60p game screen is inserted into the 24p image. What happens? The answer is that a 60p image will skip the frame. Different types of games will be more or less different. Some games will have a translucent strobe that appears to be flickering, like the moment before disappearing. I have tried to use 30p before, but the effect is still unsatisfactory. For example, if you play a wave of punches, your opponent will be shot without showing any intermediate process. Therefore, all must be unified into 60p. .
To restore the scene of the arcade hall, you only have to go to the field to view the scene. To this end, the production team often visits the Takada Racecourse arcade hall, which is called “Mikado”. Because you can’t use Hagger to get through the “Hurricane Whirlwind” by yourself, and there are so many games in the show, you must ask the street game masters who are present to help out. It is said that because Mr. Beche is also a frequent visitor to “Mikado” and knows the manager of Ikeda, he will draw a bridge. .
For the sound effects in the arcade hall, the production also took great effort. Matsukura handed over the sound engineer’s data, substrate, and rocker of the same size as “Astro City”, and then discussed with the sound engineer, assuming that a certain game is placed in a certain position in the arcade hall to see if it can be made from the front of the game console screen. Outgoing, the sound of playing while playing games? Or how much can I restore the sound when I operate the joystick or tap the button at high speed? According to Matsukura, when the final recording was synthesized, it was very hard to add the necessary sound effects from the rear. .
In addition, in terms of detailed examinations, for example, when you want to make a gorgeous combo in “Street Fighter II”, there will be an old player who suggested that it was impossible to play this game. In addition, I would like to ask the teacher Shi Hexian, who is in charge of the supervision, to help confirm the details of the hardware and the substrate. When the masters of “Mikado” went into the demonstration, some people pointed out that “there was no ○○ in the same year.” .
The testimony of Lianzhao is really commendable. Not only that, but the study is also about the fact that you can go to the lower house Yangzi teacher as a companion composer. When you mention “Street Fighter II”, you will immediately associate with the teacher of Shimomura. It is really a suitable candidate. .
At the earliest, Matsukura found Warner’s producer, Tsuruoka Shino, who was asked to write a soundtrack, and Tsuruoka remembered the teacher of the village who had worked together in the Extremely Living Society” and also known as “Street Fighter”. The deity of the composer of II is immediately applauded. However, the teacher in the lower village is a busy person and cannot be contacted at all. It was just before the teacher of the village and Warner, who cooperated with the “Napple Princess ~ I don’t know the story ~”, I tried to approach the two sides. When I learned that the teacher of Shimomura had heard of the name of “High Score Girl”, but had not read the original comic book, Matsukura rushed to send the book.
After listening to the OP and ED of this film, many melodies are familiar and can remind people of the characters in the game. It is no wonder that the composition instructions given by the production team indicate: music similar to the ○○ level. After the event, Matsukura was fortunate that the loss was to ask the teacher of the village to “self-improve the cottage”, otherwise, for others, such a blatant side-by-side ball can be used. .
At present, the animation story has been transferred from the primary school students to the junior high school students, and the appearance of the Japanese high and small spring has also caused a lot of repercussions. When the first words were broadcast, I witnessed the re-emergence of the arcade hall that I experienced in the past, which surprised many viewers. The industry-related people including Matsukura, game-related practitioners are said to be very excited. In short, the first words successfully reached the mission of stunning people’s attention. The third words, because of the unexpected and ignorant feelings, have resonated with some of the unexpected audiences. .
Matsukura explained that the production team only devoted himself to the creation of “High Score Girl”, which was purely unintentional and unexpected surprise. According to the statistics, in the first and second words, the audience is still concentrated on the M2 floor (male 35-49 years old), almost no M1 (male of 20-34 years old), F1 (female of 20-34 years old). However, in the third sentence, M1 showed a trend of aging more than M2, while women were mainly F1 and F3 (women over 50 years old). .
In the future, with the appearance of Hidaka, the love atmosphere will become more and more intense. By then, I believe that it will trigger a new round of changes in the audience distribution. The so-called human count is not as good as the day, the original anticipation of the uncle’s continued nostalgia has not occurred, but it is likely to evolve into a situation of eating young and old. According to the incomplete statistics of Matsukura on the industry’s uncles, M2 still accounts for the vast majority. On the other hand, young members of the J.C. STAFF community, despite their lack of understanding of the arcade, were impressed by Chunxiong’s “masculinity”, and they felt that Ohno was so cute and happy. .
This drama is an interesting topic for the audience of different age groups, and, in December, will also be distributed to the world through Netflix. Looking forward to the future, Matsukura still has confidence in the deep mass base of nostalgic arcade games overseas, but the concept of love in the drama is entirely a Japanese-style thinking circuit. To be honest, he is somewhat worried that foreigners do not eat this set. Therefore, Chun Xiong, who is always in love with the words, does not know what to do. The wilderness of the unrestrained, unclear, can be accepted by overseas audiences, and Matsukura is also uneasy at the same time. .
Matsukura lacks an understanding of the American arcade game culture in the 1990s, but has already scheduled to participate in the “Otakon” held in North America this year, just taking the opportunity to inquire about it. .
Finally, when it comes to the future, Matsukura suggests that you should pay attention to the movement of Chunxiong after the new female host Xiaochun debuts. Also, which arcade game will appear afterwards, it will also be a great pleasure for the uncle’s age audience. Originally mining the game itself is also a personal preference of Matsukura. From this point of view, the OP song is an excellent deep-dive stage. I really want to say that the street trips inside are all right, and the skill is also very good, because some games even the “buried pit” Matsukura himself is not clear. .
References: .
- .
- 「ハイスコアガール」がアニメになるまで制作統括・松倉友二のこだわりとJ.C.STAFFの挑戦