Director Goro Taniguchi Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Struggles of His Latest Film! Haraichi Iwai Deeply Relates to Shotaro Morikubo's "Zero Work in His 30s" Era, Saying "10 Years Too Late"

On Friday, March 6th, from 9 PM to 10 PM, SHIBUYA ANIME BASE (#ShibuAni) #78 was broadcast live on ABEMA's anime channel. This episode welcomed as guests Director Goro Taniguchi, known for works such as Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and ONE PIECE FILM RED, along with Kotori Ayase from Rain Tree. The program featured a special segment on the film Paris ni Saku Étoile, as well as the latest information on the Doraemon movie.

In the main corner of the program, Director Taniguchi's latest work, the film Paris ni Saku Étoile, was featured. Set in Paris in 1912, the film depicts the story of young girls dreaming of becoming painters and ballerinas. After watching the promotional video, Kotori Ayase commented, "The animation quality was so beautiful that I was completely drawn in." The film reportedly took approximately eight years to complete, and regarding the reasons for this, Director Taniguchi confessed that "the production studios willing to take on the project were small, so we could only work on it in the gaps between regular jobs, and communication with the French team completely stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic." Reflecting on the harsh circumstances, he said, "There were multiple times when I thought, 'Maybe we won't be able to finish this,'" and half-jokingly added, "As the timeline extends, costs increase. I kept wondering when the producer would flee in the night (lol)," while candidly revealing past struggles: "I've had experiences in the past where I wasn't paid my fees."

Furthermore, behind-the-scenes stories of the production were revealed. Regarding the designs by Katsuya Kondo, who served as the original character designer, Taniguchi passionately explained, "Kondo-san's drawings are so skilled that they use very few lines. Within those designs, there are hidden three-dimensional forms and surfaces." The production process was disclosed, explaining how Chief Animation Director Yamashita reorganized these into character designs that other animators could more easily work with. Additionally, the backgrounds were deliberately hand-drawn. "With digital, straight lines are too clean and everything becomes too crisp. I wanted slightly fuzzy lines," he explained, discussing the adjustment of atmosphere and information density unique to hand-drawn work.