Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! Interview with Director Shotaro Kitamura

Which girl captured your heart this summer?

Let's take a look back at the heroines who colored the summer with their unique “kawaii” style!　

We asked the director what kind of charms the characters have and how they express their cuteness!

Interview with Director Shōtarō Kitamura

Shōtarō Kitamura: anime director and supervisor. Notable works include Kaguya-sama: Love is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends- (storyboard artist and supervisor), Overtake! (storyboard artist and supervisor), among others. This project is his debut directorial work.

Depicting a summer of heartbreak,
And bringing everyone's memories to the surface.

──Please tell us your first impression of Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

Kitamura: I read the original novels for the first time after speaking with A-1 Pictures. Through doing so, I found that it contained deep characters, as well as a unique perspective that didn't often appear in novels, so I found it to be quite interesting. Before reading it, I couldn't help but wonder why I'd been asked to work on such a cute, girly series, despite my specialty being dramas. However, once I read it, I quickly understood.

──This is your first time directing a series. What approach did you take for it?

Kitamura: My stance on things remained largely unchanged from when I've storyboarded and supervised individual episodes, but above all, I tried to create something that would resonate with the audience. When I work on storyboarding or supervising, I don't have to think up the story myself, and instead would use the scenario I'd been given to decide how things would look and how people would feel. Therefore, as director this time around, I imagined how I would want viewers to feel after watching the series, and then decided on various aspects of it, including the storyline itself.

──This article, originally published in monthly Newtype, features an original illustration of Lemon Yakishio. What do you think of the story's unique heroines, like Lemon, Anna Yanami, and Chika Komari?

Kitamura: I'd have to recommend episode two for anyone who likes Lemon. I love the scene when Kazuhiko Nukumizu pushes her down. Thanks to our character designer and chief animation director Tetsuya Kawakami's skills, her resulting facial expressions as she fell came out brilliantly. Meanwhile, Yanami is adorable with how animated her expressions can be. I'd like for people to think, “What's up with her!?” when they see her comedic entrance. Finally, Komari is different from the other heroines, as she takes a new step forward in her life after ending her relationship on her own. I'd like for viewers to take notice of her efforts. Please look forward to episodes that don't revolve around love, as well!

──The Makeine anime is unique in that it features many 'losing heroines,' but it's a romantic comedy at its core. What was it like composing that sort of story alongside scriptwriter Masahiro Yokotani?

Kitamura: There are some serious moments to be sure, but as it's a romantic comedy, we've endeavored to make it something that makes you laugh in the end. This has been our policy not only with each individual episode, but with the series as a whole. That's why in order to make the audience grow attached to the characters, we decided to focus on the relationships between them. Yokotani was a huge help in developing a storyline that could dive deep into each heroine's story, making sure that individual episodes had some sort of conclusion to them and never felt half-baked. In addition, as the director, I was always thinking about how to portray a sort of cheerful nostalgia.

──Is that cheerful nostalgia something you keep in mind while portraying the characters?

Kitamura: There are two main things we keep in mind. The first is that the characters be shown in a way that makes them stick in the viewer's memory. Makeine's story begins from a place of heartbreak for the cast of heroines, but the way that Yanami, Lemon, and Komari experience it differs. They're portrayed in a way that the viewers can empathize with how they overcome their heartbreak, and therefore, come to support them even further. The second main point we keep in mind is our portrayal of a “Toyohashi summer,” which we hope can awaken memories of summers past for the viewers as well. There are, of course, people who haven't had these same experiences as the heroines, but everyone has at least experienced summer [laughs]. Alongside the duo in charge of our visual board, we polished our direction to make it clear from a glance that summer would be the stage for this story.

──So that's the sort of work that Aoi Ōtani and Keigo Arihara, who are credited as working on the visual board, did.

Kitamura: Before we went to Toyohashi for location scouting, we had discussions on what a Japanese summer entails, and layered things on top of that. From the pictures we took on our scouting visits, we used trial and error to figure out exactly how to portray summer in the anime. We discussed how best to draw the backgrounds with our art director, Yūki Hatakeyama, using the visual board we developed with the two of them.

──The lighting used inside classrooms and other buildings is kept somewhat dim. Was that done to evoke the summer atmosphere, as well?

Kitamura: Yes. With the visual board as a base, we had many long talks with our photographers and color designers about things. Following the direction we were going for, I also asked our character designer Kawakami to take the characters' silhouettes into consideration in advance when working on them. Additionally, I requested that he not change much from their original designs in order to keep the viewer's first impressions in line with Imigimuru's illustrations, as well as that he make sure their designs work both for comedy and drama. In terms of production, the three main animators oversaw the heavier cuts — Takumitsu Miura, adept at crafting interesting movements; Akane Takeda, who showed great passion for the characters; and Mirai Harashima, our jack-of-all-trades who put a lot of work into the family restaurant scene in episode one. Everyone was fully engaged in bringing this project to life.

──What would you say was particularly difficult about production?

Kitamura: I'd say it was portraying Kazuhiko Nukumizu. Generally, the protagonist of a romantic comedy ends up with one of the heroines, but that's not the case with him, since he's merely an observer of losing heroines. I believe I really took that to heart while creating the storyboards for episode one, as I feel the show's intrigue would've been cut in half had that not been made clear from the outset.

──Nukumizu and Yanami's relationship developed a little further in episode four.

Kitamura: Up until now, Nukumizu had been on the outside, but there was a scene with him receiving something from one of the heroines. I constructed those storyboards with the idea that the viewer would be able to empathize with him, while also seeing the charm in Yanami.

──What scene do you most want viewers to rewatch?

Kitamura: It would have to be the sparklers scene in episode four. Yohei Miyawaki, our Director of Photography, helped create this scene, which I believe truly highlights the beauty of the effects used in this project. The backgrounds in that episode were gorgeous as well, so I'd like fans to watch it over and over again!

──From episode five onwards, is there anything you'd like viewers to pay special attention to?

Kitamura: Each heroine will be explored more in depth, taking into consideration their relationships with Nukumizu thus far. The story will continue to unfold in an impactful way, so it may be fun to revisit everything from the first episode, putting yourself in Nukumizu's shoes! Furthermore, I hope that you all will continue to support the heroines of this story!

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!
WEB https://makeine-anime.com/
X @makeine_anime

This interview was originally published in Newtype's September 2024 issue.

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