Google doc link with actual pictures because I am very bad at reddit formatting!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cxGQOnQmYYKDWhsILA6_x43YV2w_SBXQPoMQnzaYAX0/edit?usp=sharing
(probably butchered) text version below:
Vol. 1
Characters
A word from the character designer Kameda Yoshimichi
Shinra Banshomaru: My favorite character from season 2, Shinrin Maruo!! ...I mean, Shinra Banshomaru!! My love for him cannot be contained in words, so I drew him in a certain scene in season 1!!! Can you find him? I observed a concerning lack of lovable plump characters in recent anime, so I thought he could be the perfect fit!!! ...I might have gone a little bit overboard with his body proportions during the rough draft, so the director scolded me and told me to redraw his design. Impossible!!! I pushed back as hard as I can, and as a result managed to preserve this Nice Body! (lol)
He doesn’t really show up much after episode 2, but please shower Shinrin with lots of love!!! Can he get his own spinoff?! Like Shinrin Psycho 100 or something?? Oh wait, it’s Shinra. Sorry.
Emi: Can you imagine how many people wanted to see this part animated!?!?! Mob Psycho 100 II kicks off in high gear with one of the most popular chapters in the original manga, so I guess it’s time for me to take the helms as art supervisor! But say what? Shinra Banshomaru shows up in episode 2? Okay, I’ll do episode 2 instead! I’ll leave episode 1 to Yoshida-san!!! It’s an episode filled with emotional drama, so I’m happy that Yoshida-san, who’s great at that sort of thing, is taking charge here!!! I really like the color of Emi-chan’s hair. I made it a caramel pink-ish sort of shade. 100% my type.
Story
Director Tachikawa Yuzuru’s favorite cuts
Episode 1: I debated between this and the cut with the scattered novel pieces flying back, but decided that this cut with Mob choosing to value his feelings was my personal favorite! It’s an important cut showing that his words definitely reached deep into Emi-chan’s heart, conveying the theme of ‘people can change’. Setsuo-kun’s voice acting here was excellent; his first take of this line was already spot on. By the way, there’s an anagram of sorts hidden in the top row of the novel that Mob returns to Emi-chan. :) Please give it a read. It’s what I thought when I read the original chapter.
(TN: The top row of the novel reads ツボミいつからそこに, “How long has Tsubomi been there?”)
Episode 2: I tried to make episode 2 into a juxtaposition of comedy and horror! The Dragger is an anime original creation, and we spiced it up a little bit with some action. My personal favorite cut is the one where Reigen is covered in mud, with his body bent into a V shape. The voice recording is done before the frames are colored, so Sakurai-san successfully expressing Reigen’s face being sunk in mud at the beginning of his dialogue here is a true testament to his skills as an actor. I also really love the stupidly flashy homepage of the Spirits and Such Consultation Office, it just screams suspicious. We based the design on the website of the Fairy of L*ve Pr*t*n. (lol)
Episode 3: Emotional turmoil is what makes up a big part of episode 3. My personal favorite cut is the one where the father’s spirit, being spurred on by Ekubo, starts to grow larger with a suffering expression. The dialogue here is very limited, with the end result being closer to something you’d see in a theatrical production. Reigen is really cool for catching onto something that only Mob can see. The visual direction of episode 3 as a whole tends to lean more towards that of a film, with quite a few scenes that felt quite raw, so to speak. I was once again impressed by how much variety there is in Mob Psycho - to think that something with Mob Psycho 100’s design aesthetic could be made to feel so real.
Extra
Mini interview with Mob’s voice actor, Itou Setsuo on AnimeNYC
-What’s the first thing that came to mind when you found out that season 2 was in the works?Overjoyed that I get to be Mob again! I haven’t really had a chance to play the same character for so long - first an anime, then stage plays, then anime again, so I’m glad to keep that connection going. I kept thinking stuff like “Oh, are they gonna do that chapter?” or “How should I do that part?”, haha.
- Both episode 1 and 2 were screened at the convention. How was the reaction of the crowd?Woo! Foo! Thunderous applause! Haha. They pretty much laughed at the same things that Japanese people did, so I felt a sense of connection there. The craziest part was when we announced that we’re showing episode 2 as well. The audience was so surprised that I felt more shocked about their reaction!!
-Having felt the passion of international fans at AnimeNYC, what was the thing that left the most impression on you?
The show’s fun parts really do transcend the border of language and race. I really felt their passion towards the show, and how we as people on the creator’s side were able to successfully deliver that to them.
-What are some similarities and differences between international fans and Japanese fans?International fans tend to show their reactions right away! It’s like a live showing with a cheering squad! I keep hearing “Wow!”s every now and then. During the premier showings in Japan everyone was more focused on not missing anything during the showing, only discussing their reactions to the show afterwards, right? Or at least, that’s how it is for me personally, haha. The similarity would be their shared passion for the show.
-What was the most impressive scene during the showing?During the scene where Emi-chan’s scattered novel pieces fly back into place, I could feel the audience collectively taking a deep breath. It was also really nice to hear them gradually raising their voices afterwards, almost like everyone became one while watching the show!
-Please leave a message for fans enjoying season 2.Thank you for watching Mob Psycho II. There are so many highlights in season 2 with barely any breathing room! If you’ve watched the episodes while they aired TV, take this as a chance to revisit them. If you this is your first time, then you’re in for a ride!!
Vol. 2
Characters
A word from the character designer Kameda Yoshimichi
Mogami Keiji: The production of Mob Psycho 100 season 2 actually began with episode 5, so the first new character I drew the design for was Mogami. Previously I had been working on shows with smaller body proportions, so I might’ve been a bit too conscious of not drawing him too short. As a result my first draft had a really tall Mogami with...considerable amounts of shoulder padding, almost like a certain S*eba Ry*u (lol). Okay maybe that was an exaggeration. And as expected, when the director looked at it he was like “Those are not the proportions of Mob Psycho!”, so I revised it to the current design. But you know, maybe he could’ve done with a bit of shoulder padding after all?? No?? He’s supposed to be a pretty hot guy in the original manga, so I kind of regret not making him quite as hot in my design…
Jodo Kirin: I made Jodo-sensei wear a proper Buddhist robe in the anime, isn’t he kind of adorable like this? Especially the way his feet extend from the edge of his robes! He appears in episodes 4-7 with more screentime than Mogami, and he’s quite a fun character to draw. I especially loved his deformed version in episode 4 - really would’ve loved to do more of that (lol). But he’s actually a character with a lot of lines - like the wrinkles on his face, his complicated hairline, the three necklaces, and even the stripes on his robe - and so takes a lot of delicate work to actually animate. But his eyes are really big. Seems like he’d have a hard time with dry eyes.
Asagiri Minori: I drew three versions of her - the bedridden one in PJs, the one possessed by Mogami, and the one wearing Salt Middle School’s uniform. I added an anime only detail to her design, which was that her nails would be chipped in her bedridden form. I wanted to add something unbefitting of her cute face - but enough of serious talk, I want you to pay attention to her hair color!!! She ended up having purple hair, but I initially imagined her with adorable pink hair much like a certain M*nky M*mo. But that color clashed with the unhealthy shade of her skin in her possession mode, so I adjusted it to be purple in the final version. Well...it’s still cute, but the pink haired version was even cuter! The original manga didn’t have many colored pages, so it was fun to pick out colors for all these characters!
Story
Director Tachikawa Yuzuru’s favorite cuts
Episode 4: The first part of the Mogami arc, I remember this being a difficult episode due to the visual direction transitioning to something more serious in preparation for episode 5. We started to really feel the lack of screentime around here (lol). Since Dimple possessed Mob, I was able to draw some action scenes that would be impossible for Mob normally. It ended up looking really cool and is definitely my personal favorite cut of the episode. It also served as a testament of how much Mob trusts Dimple now, making it overall a very powerful sequence. I made the offer to Ishida-san to voice Mogami. There’s really a lot of weight to his voice, really impressive!!
Episode 5: Part two of the Mogami arc. An episode full of action (lol). My favorite cut is definitely the one where Mob releases himself from the depressing parallel world and transforms into a bishounen! The part where Mob decides to save someone with his power that he thought to be useless was so impactful when paired with visuals, I got goosebumps all over from watching it. Most of the episode has a visual direction very different from the norm in Mob Psycho, but since it’s happening in a parallel world, I felt comfortable giving it the go ahead. There’s a lot of content packed in this episode that you’re bound to miss upon first viewing, so I’d really love for you to watch it multiple times!
Extra
Behind the making of the opening
-Season 1’s opening became a hot topic of discussion when it was released, and Mob Psycho 100’s 2nd opening contained some equally powerful visuals.
Tachikawa: I really wanted to avoid making a worse version of season 1’s opening. But how to go about achieving that is a different story altogether...I find it easier to come up with ideas if I set up some guidelines for myself, so after a whole lot of thinking, I decided on the motif of optical illusions. The first season’s concept was that of a toy box being turned upside down, so I simply added the idea of optical illusions to that.
-There’s definitely a lot of that, starting with the zoetrope at the beginning.Kameda: When we were making the first season’s opening, I actually couldn’t grasp the whole picture until we were close to finishing, but this time I got a clear picture just from reading the storyboard. For example, I was supposed to just draw stills for Mob and Reigen for the initial cut with the rubik's cube, but since a cube has six sides, I decided to add Dimple, Ritsu and Teru.Tachikawa: I envisioned that cut as a logical continuation from the initial zoetrope. Starting from a 3D zoetrope, and using a rubik’s cube to bridge the gap between 3D and 2D, and then finally settling on a kinegram sequence, going back to the roots of animation itself. I guess it’s pretty hard to tell, huh?Yoda: Oh, that’s what it is? I thought you were just trying to pack a bunch of animation techniques from different eras (lol).
-Yoda-san, as part of the returning staff from season 1, what did you work on in the opening?
Yoda: On the aforementioned rubik’s cube, as well as the dominos cut. I also did the transition between cuts as well as the credit sequence. Just echoing what Kameda-san had said, I also got a clear picture of the opening just from reading the storyboard.
-When you say the dominos cut, what exactly did that entail?Tachikawa: All the characters in that cut were made separately at first, and he was supposed to layer them like actual dominos.Yoda: I was told to put those characters over each other using 3D layers and gradually move the camera forward...but it’s much harder than it sounds, haha. Think about it - wouldn’t it be weird if you couldn’t see the next domino when the current one topples over? But at the same time, if you see too far ahead into the domino sequence, it just becomes a visual clutter. So the approach I took in the finished product was to make the later domino pieces come up just as the camera panned over the fallen pieces.Tachikawa: We had time sheets for most big cuts like the one where Mob is launched with the speakers exploding, but there was nothing like that for the dominos. I just handed the materials over to Yoda-san and had him do all the adjustments.
- That sounds like a lot of work.Yoda: Indeed it is. But it’s just as difficult, if not moreso, to have an actual time sheet for that cut. How fast should the dominos topple over? What about the things in the background - how should we sync the dominos with the flying objects? We definitely had a lot of trial and error with that cut.Kameda: That domino cut was probably the one that took the most time.
-Kameda-san, you also contributed key frames to the opening as well, right? Which cut did you draw?Kameda: The pencilled cut after the explosion in the second part...it probably came off as an explosion happening, then the camera pans over to Mob with his barrier protecting everyone, right? But actually, the whole scene was played in reverse.Tachikawa: The actual scene with proper time progression would start with Mob erecting his barrier to protect everyone, while the camera pans out to show energies clashing with his barrier, leading to the final explosion. The final cut is that, but played backwards.Kameda: But I don’t think anyone saw it for what it was (lol).Yoda: I mean, it was a really fast cut. (lol)Tachikawa: Normally with these kinds of reverse cuts, you would draw the original scene in forwards time progression, add the finishing touches and then just reverse playback...but this time, we really wanted to reuse the pencilled graphics from season 1’s opening - the debris and ground and whatnot.Kameda: The corresponding cut in season 1 was that of Mob’s powers going wild and causing explosions, but this time it’s of him using his powers to protect everyone. I wanted to highlight the change in Mob himself with those very similar cuts, so I wanted to reuse whatever graphics we can. The only new piece of art in that scene is actually Mob & friends, but when I actually filled in the time sheet for that cut, I got everything really mixed up in my head (lol).Tachikawa: There’s a lot of mentally taxing stuff that goes into the making of these cuts, be it layout design or whatever, but Kameda-kun is actually really good at that sort of thing. This is the rare occurrence where he got confused (lol).Kameda: The final time sheet is such a huge mess, I couldn’t even tell what was happening anymore (lmao). I put so much effort into this cut, but nobody could tell that it was supposed to be a reverse playback cut.Tachikawa: You drew it as a reverse cut, but everyone sees it as a normal cut (lol). Maybe you can count that as a sort of optical illusion too?(bonus: the reverse cut in question played back: https://www.kapwing.com/videos/5cc4b205e9fa4900131ffef1)
-That’s kind of a stretch, haha. Lastly but not least, a few words from the director himself on the opening.Tachikawa: Well, I haven’t gotten any comments that it’s a worse version of season 1’s opening, so I’m relieved, haha. But if there were to be a season 3 - I’d really have to wrack my brains to come up with something different from season 1 and 2 (lol).
- End of translations
Please consider supporting franchise by purchasing the blu-rays! Amazon.co.jp ships to the US (and probably other countries as well) at a fairly reasonable cost (about 8USD per shipping). You can find the blu-rays here:Vol. 1Vol. 2
Both of the volumes released so far contain bonus videos showing off key frames from episodes 1-5 + the opening in a side-by-side comparison with the finished animation. Really nifty.
Submitted April 27, 2019 at 11:08PM by Merutan http://bit.ly/2UJNGV1
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