Interview With Clevatess' Kiyotaka Taguchi, Seiichirou Kuriyama, and Kousuke Arai

Anime Atelier interviewed Clevatess director Kiyotaka Taguchi (田口清隆), Lay-duce animation producer Seiichirou Kuriyama (栗山政一郎), and Kadokawa producer Koske Arai (新井孝介) at thisyear's Anime Expo.

The Clevatess team discussed some of the behind-the-scenes processes, their roles, and more.

This interview was transcribed from an audio recording and has been edited for clarity.

Q: Where did the idea to adapt Clevatess come from?

Arai: Well, first of all, it started when I was reading the original Clevatess manga. I thought it was very interesting, especially at the beginning, where the hero, who seemed destined for greatness, is killed right away. Beyond that, I saw a fascinating future for the three main characters—Alicia, Klen, and Luna—and I felt a strong desire to adapt the series for the screen and share it with the world. I reached out to [Noritomo] Yonai-san, the president of Lay-duce, and asked if we could make it.

[Arai gestures to Yonai, who is napping in another part of the room, and everyone laughs.]

Q: When did the series start production?

Kuriyama: Probably 2023, isn't it..?

[Kuriyama and Arai discuss and agree on 2023.]

Q: Director Taguchi has a background in live-action and special effects. How were you chosen to direct the series?

Taguchi: I was working with scriptwriter Keigo Koyanagi-san on a different work at the time when I was approached by Yonai-san, who was looking for an interesting director for Clevatess. I was a live-action director, but I wanted to direct an anime. So, when I was asked if I'd like to direct Clevatess, I thought the source material was intriguing, and I happily joined the project.

Q: What is Taguchi-san's day-to-day role as "director"?

Taguchi: I spent a lot of time hammering out the various settings and making decisions through the relentless cycle of reviews and meetings covering everything from the background art to the [other] elements that appear on the screen. Usually, I imagine that an anime director does corrections directly on the art itself, but I'm not particularly strong at drawing, so I worked with the [technical] animation director, [Takurou] Tsukada-san. Tsukada-san drew the specific corrections while I provided direction, explaining what I wanted changed via email and having him implement those revisions during the animation production phase. who was doing those edits in the drawings, and I would email him what to do. After the animation work, I also took on the role of sound director, where I handled the tasks of directing during recording sessions and selecting the songs and music. I also supervised the final audio mixing and sound finishing stages; that was a major part of the job. Aside from that, my daily routine consisted of checking the artwork that had been produced and giving my feedback every night.

Q: The series has a cel-like aesthetic with some drop-shadows that seem to mimic shadows found on cels. Where did this aesthetic idea come from?

Kuriyama: Regarding the 80s- or 90-style film look, Director Taguchi mentioned beforehand that he wanted to aim for something along those lines. I remember that the director of photography, Asakawa-san, whom I'd worked with previously, suggested a few variations of that look in the past, and one of them was quite similar to what we were after. Although we ended up doing something different for that earlier project, I thought it might be an interesting fit for Clevatess. It also seemed to align with the creative vision that the director and key staff members were pursuing. We took that previous proposal and used it as a starting point, fine-tuned it specifically for Clevatess, and went through a trial-and-error process as we discussed to get it just right.

Q: Ah, [you're referring to] Shigeki Asakawa?

Kuriyama: [in English] Yes, yes.

Q: Kuriyama-san, what do you think has been the biggest challenge while working on the anime so far?

Kuriyama: With Clevatess, there were lots of challenges and issues throughout the process, but for me, the biggest challenge was from the first episode of season 1: the tokusatsu [special effects] sequence. Taguchi-san gave us this idea saying, "I'd like to try this", and I agreed, saying, "That sounds interesting, let's do it." Even though I gave the green light, I couldn't quite visualize how it would actually work. I knew that if I just went along with Taguchi-san, it would end up getting done, but I ended up leaving a lot of it entirely in his hands. I felt quite anxious the whole time until it started taking shape.

Q: Do you have a favorite scene from the first season?

Taguchi: I tend to typically request special music for the last episode, regardless of the project that I'm working on, so I requested a piece of music for the opening battle of the final episode [episode 12]. Then, during the editing process, I tweaked it to match the flow perfectly. It feels incredibly satisfying when it all clicks into place. The cuts lined up so perfectly with the footage created beforehand, and the music matched the intensity of the action so well. When I saw the finished video, it truly gave me goosebumps [laughs]. I think it turned out incredibly well. That opening scene of the final episode is a personal favorite.

Kuriyama: In episode 12, there's a scene where Luna, specifically the infant version of her, walks to her mom, Toara. That moment was incredibly memorable in the original work, and seeing it brought to life in animation moved me. It's my favorite scene from the first season

Arai: One of my favorite characters in the series is named Naie, and every scene that she's in, I feel, is a very good scene. She has a cuteness to herself, even in her original design, and I think her voice actor, [Tomoya] Kurosawa-san, was able to deliver a natural performance that elevates Neia's charm, so I'd be happy if people appreciated that aspect of her. If people are watching the English dub on Crunchyroll, I'd like you to check out the Japanese voice acting as well.

Big thanks to the team for taking the time to chat with us! Clevatess Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Credits:
Interviewer, Photographer: Sarca
Assistance: DoubtGin, ftLoic
Interpreter: Tomo Tran
Editor: Tamara Lazic
Special Thanks: Crunchyroll Team