Sentenced to Be a Hero Interview: Yoshiki Nakakouji, Takeru Noda, and Yasutaka Kimura

Sentenced to Be a Hero was one of the most anticipated titles of last year, and during its 12-episode run, it managed to win the hearts of many viewers. Anime Atelier had a chance to interview some of the creative team behind this adaptation, namely assistant director Yoshiki Nakakouji (中小路佳毅), character designer Takeru Noda (野田猛), and chief animation director Yasutaka Kimura (木村和貴).

The trio discussed the production process of the first season of Sentenced to Be a Hero anime and shared some fun facts and details.

Q: Thank you for meeting with Anime Atelier. Nakakouji-san, you were Sentenced to Be a Hero's assistant director. In the first season, how did you split the work with Director Takashima?

Nakakouji: I mainly handled the animation side, and I also gave advice on the pre-production side for the screenplay and settings, while Director Takashima focused on aspects like the storyboards and stage direction.

Q: Kimura-san, to my understanding, Sentenced to Be a Hero is your debut as a "chief animation director." Though you shared the role with others depending on the episode, are there any kinds of cuts that you were specifically asked to do?

Kimura: I paid a lot of attention to the facial expressions of the characters, as there are a lot of moving elements and complex emotions expressed by the heroes, so I worked closely with the team to ensure that the expressions matched the contexts of the scenes.

Q: Noda-san, likewise, are there any cuts that you tended to focus on?

Noda: As the character designer, I had to make sure that the characters and the designs for them fit properly in the environments, as well as matching their facial expressions according to their unique personalities. In the character design materials, there are character sheets with already-approved expressions, but there are times when there are expressions that don't exist or weren't planned for, so the director would approach me for adjustments and to create those expressions.

[Note: Noda uses Xylo's expression at the end of episode 1, and Kivia's expression in episode 12, as examples.]

Q: Nakakouji-san, the creature designs are all very impressive. Of course, you have the original text to use as reference for the development of the designs, but were there any creatures or ideas that were particularly hard to finalize the designs for?

Nakakouji: The first episode has Awd Goggie. At the beginning of the design process, the director told me that it wasn't supposed to look so cool and that it should be more grotesque, so I had to go back and revise it.

Q: What do the three of you think is the biggest challenge that the team collectively faced?

Noda: As the character designer, I worked closely with the entire art team, and it was the first time that I had worked and communicated with so many people. Working to get my ideas across in a large setting was a new experience, and it was quite challenging.

Kimura: Overall, the production was quite different in various ways as we wanted to ensure that we were able to sustain a certain level of quality under little time and with many people doing multiple jobs. The communication between each other and acting on the ideas that were brought up during meetings was quite difficult because everyone was doing their own thing at different times, so the timing between individuals wasn't quite the same.

Nakakouji: The director and I have a similar way of thinking, so when there are amazing staff who can do their job well, we feel the need to be just as great. There's a bit of competitiveness, but it's a matter of matching their level, so there was always an invisible race that was happening, especially in the animation department.

Q: As the three of you all worked as animators on the series, are there any characters or creatures that you're fond of drawing?

Noda: Xylo. Not only is he cool on the outside, but he also has complex emotions and carries emotional baggage, and I think he has particular expressions that fit those elements that gave me a challenge when working.

Kimura: For myself, Tatsuya. While a lot of the heroes hold those complex emotions, Tatsuya has a gap where he's either fighting or not fighting, and he's distinct about which mode he's in, which makes him endearing as a character, fun to draw, and easy to understand and be creative with when drawing.

Nakakouji: There are quite a few characters like that in the team—like the old man background characters*. (Everyone laughs)
[*Note: He literally says, "mob no ojii-san."]
Kimura: Certainly...
Nishikouji: Yes, yes, yes... the people from the Holy Knights, the old guys from the guild.
Kimura: It's always fun to draw an old man.

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

Nakakouji: Episode 5. It's dark, but it's an important moment in the story where new members are added at the fortress.

Kimura: My favorite is the same, episode 5, for the same reasons that Nakakouji-san gave, but also because in production, we didn't start with the first episode. We did episode 5 first. There were a lot of challenges that were brought up that we were able to overcome as a team.

Noda: From my memories as chief animation director, well... episode 12. I think it was easy for me to control in the sense that I already knew what viewers were saying about the previous episodes that had already aired through social media, so I was satisfied with my work, and it was fun to close out a season. Well, either episode 1 or episode 12.

We'd like to thank the Sentenced to Be a Hero team for taking the time to answer our questions. We look forward to seeing more of their work!

Sentenced to Be a Hero anime is returning with the second season. You can watch the anime on Crunchyroll.

Credits:
Interviewer: Sarca
Assistance: Demelza
Interpreter: Kanoa Sugimoto
Editor: Tamara Lazic
Special Thanks: Blake Shuster (Crunchyroll)