‘Dan Da Dan’ Co-Director on Hideaki Anno’s Impression and Upping the Ante for Season 2

Dan Da Dan is poised to make its extremely anticipated return to streaming platforms this July. Forward of the yokai-meets-sci-fi anime collection’ second season, studio Science Saru and GKids have joined forces as soon as extra with Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, a theatrical premiere that includes the primary three episodes of its forthcoming season. They decide up proper the place the season one cliffhanger left off adapting creator Yukinobu Tatsu’s ongoing manga.

Whereas the theatrical occasion contains an insightful interview video with its administrators, io9 pierced the veil even additional, chatting with Abel Gongora, the opening theme director of Dan Da Dan‘s first season and co-director for its upcoming season. Throughout our dialog, Gongora mirrored on the popular culture influences that impressed his inventive course of and his evolving function co-directing alongside longtime collaborator Fuga Yamashiro—and the way their shared inventive imaginative and prescient and occasional creative disagreements contributed to the tag-team ebb and move of Dan Da Dan season two’s early manufacturing.

This interview has been edited for readability. 

Isaiah Colbert, io9: Season one ended on a suspenseful cliffhanger that left followers looking forward to extra. Was that all the time the plan from the beginning, or did the choice evolve throughout manufacturing to construct anticipation for season two?

Abel Gongora: That was determined on the very starting—that’s extra like a script resolution. They’ve the manga already, to allow them to see the place they wish to lower, and that was carried out very early within the manufacturing.

io9: This time round, you’re stepping right into a co-director function as an alternative of simply dealing with the present’s opening, which featured shadowy silhouettes and daring, Kon Ichikawa-styled typography. What led to that shift from being the opening director to the co-director for season two?

Gongara: After the opening, I began to help [Yamashiro] additionally. I received concerned within the challenge, after which I received to grasp necessary issues to know, just like the characters’ story. It went sort of clean as a result of I used to be already in season [one] just a little bit. The manufacturing is actually tough—it’s numerous work to do one season. Manufacturing thought it might be good to have two administrators so the work just isn’t too exhausting on the season one director. I began with all of the setting designs that we had on the finish of season one, then it was already determined, so I sort of slowly began [directing] in season two.

io9: Dan Da Dan’s opening theme by Creepy Nuts turned an instantaneous fan favourite and even received a few anime awards. The sequence options clear nods to popular culture iconography, resembling Ultraman, mixing daring stylistic decisions with the present’s distinctive vitality. What impressed that inventive path, and do you will have a private favourite second from its opening sequence?

Gongara: At the moment, I talked with the director of season one [and] he gave me whole freedom as a result of we have now labored collectively for a very long time. He is aware of, roughly, my model. He simply requested me to make use of Ultraman as a reference—these silhouette photos. He’d say, “So long as you utilize that, it’s okay. You are able to do no matter you need.” So I began watching Ultraman and I began to seek out some concepts on how you can use it, and I additionally added one thing further to make one other sort of scenes within the opening. We agreed we didn’t wish to have the conventional look of the present, so it seems just a little bit extra like shiny fancy colours—just a little bit extra particular.

I confirmed all of the concepts and ideas to the director. He preferred it. Then I began I began the storyboard after I received the track. I assumed the track was actually cool, so it was thrilling to do the storyboard, as a result of you must really feel the rhythm and discover concepts based on the rhythm of the track. Yamashiro was actually open to all the pieces. It was tough, however it was enjoyable.

My favourite half is the silhouette that I did myself. After which a few of the tough animation cuts that have been carried out by one man on the crew, who’s a very superb animator. I used to be very completely satisfied as a result of I requested him if he may do it on paper and pencil. The image, just like the grain of the paper, is on the display screen. In case you cease the body, it has the true grain of the paper, after which the true pencil. That’s one thing we don’t do any extra in animation. It’s sort of like numerous work, and I’m very completely satisfied this animator did it. It turned out to be very lovely. Additionally, I did the compositing on the finish as a result of I needed to push that tough model. Yeah, these components are my favourite within the opening.

io9: Will season two’s opening, “On My Method” by AiNA THE END, comply with the same strategy to utilizing silhouettes like the primary season did, or can audiences count on one thing totally new meshing with the poppy sound of AiNA’s track?

Gongara: It’s gonna be fully completely different. I can’t say a lot, however it’s gonna be actually completely different and I’m completely satisfied about it. I feel it’s superb. I needed one thing completely different, as a result of in any other case it’d appear to be attempting to redo one thing that was good, and I assumed that wouldn’t be fascinating. However yeah, you will notice.

io9: Within the Evil Eye director interview, you talked about watching and drawing heavy inspiration from horror movies and Hong Kong cinema to assist form your strategy to the Evil Eye arc. What movies helped you nail Dan Da Dan’s action-meets-horror environment in season two? 

Gongara: The primary reference for Dan Da Dan can be Ultraman, after all. I actually preferred the way in which Hideaki Anno did the brand new model of Ultraman, Shin Ultraman. We even have kaiju and issues like that, so I actually preferred Shin Godzilla and Shin Kamen Rider. There’s additionally some frequent factors with Kung Fu motion pictures. They generally share comparable storytelling, with one influencing the opposite. For instance, like a crush-zoom on the face of a personality, issues like which might be used loads in each media. We attempt to analyze these issues.

I’m additionally very influenced by the Alien motion pictures. That additionally matches Dan Da Dan‘s science fiction half, and it’s very scary. I feel the unique Alien is a very superb movie. I don’t suppose there’s actually a film that mixes all this, however we attempt to get the concepts and normal affect by watching numerous movies. I feel Yamashiro-san would do this, too.

io9: The primary season was an enormous visible spectacle, effortlessly shifting between horror, motion, and romance with expressive animation that heightened each second. Have been there any particular scenes from the manga that pushed the studio creatively in season two? Moments the place animation allowed the collection to take issues to a different degree, however proved to be a problem to recover from the end line?

Gongara: (laughs) We’re in the midst of [production] at this time. We are attempting new issues like mixing 3D generally to assist the animators. Typically, we have now concepts that can not be carried out by conventional animation, or it might be loopy to do. We’re looking for how you can use 3D in a extra inventive method. There’s just a little bit in Evil Eye, too. We’re experimenting just a little bit with the 3D. We even have numerous new music within the season, and we’re experimenting just a little bit with the way in which we use it.

io9: You’ve talked about that you simply and Yamashiro have labored collectively earlier than, in a collaborative setting. How has the meshing of each your kinds to create Dan Da Dan season two been? Has it proved to be a tough feeling-out course of working by the place you guys disagree creatively, or has it been a seamless transition for the 2 of you?

Gongara: I feel, after all, [Yamashiro] has extra heavy involvement as a result of he determined all of the issues you’ll be able to see in season one, and I attempted to comply with his path. In fact, we don’t agree on all the pieces. However we have now half of the season divided. It’s not precisely like half-and-half. It’s like I’ve received the primary arc, then he will get the second arc, after which I am going again for the third arc, after which he’s additionally doing one thing later. We share like that, however nonetheless, we’re concerned in each. Typically, he’s helped me including some storyboard components or some concepts he had, and I’d additionally verify with him [on] colours. Issues like that we have to resolve as a result of some designs would possibly seem in each my episode and his episode. We’re working on a regular basis collectively.

We’ve got this background the place we used to work in lots of initiatives collectively. [We’ve worked] with Masaki Yuuasa earlier than, and we realized loads from him. So we have now comparable imaginative and prescient. We agree on many issues and our view on animation and cinema is comparable. We wish to push perspective and we wish to push the expression of the characters, possibly greater than different administrators. It’s sort of not too exhausting for each [of us], I hope. I can’t discuss for him, however I feel it’s clean normally.

Dan Da Dan season two premieres this July on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu. Evil Eye hits theaters throughout the U.S. June 6.

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