Dual Magazine No. 5
Supervising Director Ryosuke Takahashi interview
● The Fate of Robots
In Votoms, our goal is to create an anime world where robots are not unique. Although I have used other robot works as references, I think that they’re all too caught up in the fate of robots, so to speak. I thought it could be possible to create a robot work that isn’t bound by that.
If Votoms fails, it will be criticized in various ways. For example, the same robots always appear, the main character isn’t flashy, or the visuals are too dark, etc. However, our thoughts are directed at those who are always being shown the same thing. I believe that we, as the ones who impose this, need to make an effort to change things little by little.
I believe that “robots” are an asset of anime. Therefore, it would be a shame to let them decline or be forced into a mold. I think that would be a bad thing. Votoms is also aimed at high school students, like Dougram. I don’t think we’re able to cover the traditional lower-elementary school age demographic, but I would be very grateful if we could reach that audience as well. I wish I were more skillful, but I’m not able to make a work of art that fits the whole.
I’m often told that Dougram doesn’t have many female fans, so I’m trying to find ways to attract more of them. Now that I think about it, Crinn (of Dougram) didn’t have enough appeal as a main character.
Please look forward to the 2nd arc (Episodes 14 to 27) and beyond.
● Chirico and Phantom Lady are both victims of war
Chirico’s motivation for pursuing Phantom Lady is that he wants to defy people who have lived their lives only as a soldier.
Even if people are unaware of it, they’re forced to fight according to the national policy without any ideology. There’s a certain sense of victimhood. However, the Prototype has no such feelings, and it was born just to fight. Chirico is attracted to her as a woman who has suffered the same fate as he, and takes pity on her.
In the battle in the Kingdom of Kummen, a male prototype developed by the Secret Society appears. Phantom Lady is drawn to him as a companion. In other words, there is a love triangle between Chirico, Phantom Lady, and the male prototype.
Chirico also develops a sense of camaraderie at the EX-10 base, making friends with other Votoms pilots. Chirico is hired as a mercenary at this base. One of the other pilots, “Lu Shako,” is an alien (Quentian). He is a little larger than Melkians, and will be riding in a special A.T.
Another piece of information is that we’d like to produce a four-legged walking weapon. The A.T. is fundamentally an infantry concept, so I’d like to have a weapon equivalent to a tank. However, there’s the Crab Gunner in Dougram, so I’d like to come up with a different design. But we’ll see what happens.
● The staff of Studio 1 is working hard
Currently, the animation has been completed up to Episode 10, and the quality has not decreased. We’ll continue to work hard to maintain this level of quality. After all, the level of Studio 1 (Sunrise 1st Studio) has increased as a result of the Dougram project. I think Mr. Shioyama’s enthusiasm as an animation director is really showing in his work.
Recently, many young staffers in their 20’s are working in the industry. This is proof that anime itself is a young industry. However, as for me, I’m working with a lot of determination. We’re the oldest, and these days we’re treated as if we’re elderly (laughs). We’re from the first TV generation, although Mr. Otsuka and Mr. Miyazaki are also here. That’s why we’re still active in other worlds, trying to gather as many veterans as we can.
I don’t think this work needs to be a perfect masterpiece. We just need to see a desire for something new in every generation.