Turning the ‘Trailer Anime’ Created as a University Graduation Project into a Full Movie: Why ‘Maidens of the Ripples’ Could Only Be Made ‘Now’ [Part 1]

A trailer created by an art student studying oil painting is actually being made into a film. This is the unique origin of the short animated film ‘Maidens of the Ripples.’

The director is Michiko Souma, who works as an illustrator under the name toubou. With full support from the animation studio Scooter Films, she undertook the original work, script, character design, and background art herself.

Why was an independent creator with no prior achievements in the anime industry suddenly entrusted with the major task of making a full-length film? We spoke with toubou. and Scooter Films to find out.”

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A sudden surge of passion for ‘anime’ in the oil painting department: ‘This is what I want to become, there’s nothing else.

Interviewer: “Maidens of the Ripples” was originally an anime that you, toubou., created as your university graduation project, right?

Michiko Souma / toubou.: Yes, that’s correct. I was studying oil painting in the Western Painting Course of the Faculty of Arts at Tohoku University of Art and Design, but I was a bit of an unusual student who wanted to create anime from the beginning.

Interviewer: Why did you decide to pursue anime in an oil painting department?

toubou.: Since I had been studying oil painting since high school, I initially had the mindset of “I’m going to make it big with oil painting!” However, just before the entrance ceremony, I went to see the anime film “Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms” directed by Mari Okada with a friend, and it left a profound impact on me. I realized, “This is what I want to do; this is the only thing for me.” And that happened just a week before starting university (laughs).

Interviewer: That’s quite a timing (laughs).

toubou.: So, at university, I painted with oil, and at home, I created my favorite anime and illustrations. Within the department, I was treated like, “What is this guy doing?” (laughs).

Interviewer: Did you showcase your work anywhere?

toubou.: I posted illustrations I drew since high school on Twitter. At first, it was just a way to show my friends, but eventually, I started getting reactions from people overseas. Also, when I was in college, there was a “animated music video (MV) boom.”

Interviewer: Yes, I remember. Individual illustrators would create animations for artists’ songs…

toubou.: In that context, I wanted to animate my drawings, so I posted my work on YouTube and other platforms. Then, people who found my work started asking me to create MV for them.

Interviewer: Oh, so you had some experience working on anime projects even while you were a student!

toubou.: I think the timing, during the COVID-19 pandemic, played a significant role. It was becoming evident that such productions could be done entirely online, creating an environment where it was easier for people to find and commission someone like me over the internet.

Interviewer: I see, so the influence of remote work extended to individual creators as well…

toubou.: Yes, videos I made in my small apartment in Yamagata were played as backdrops during artists’ live performances, and I watched them online… It was a surreal experience.

Interviewer: Wow, that’s quite touching. How did you learn to create anime and videos?

toubou.: Initially, I was completely self-taught. However, it was beneficial that the university required us to purchase a PC and the full Adobe suite right at the start, so I had the environment to begin immediately. In that regard, I’m glad I attended an arts university.

Interviewer: It’s amazing that you were self-taught despite all that.

toubou.: At the same time, for learning purposes, I applied to an animation production company called Pancake, which was recruiting staff at the time. There, I met Yuki Sakoda, the CEO (at that time), who advised me, “Why not make an anime as your graduation project?”

Interviewer: You’re really moving away from oil painting now (laughs). What impression did you have of toubou. at that time, Mr. Sakoda?

Yuki Sakoda (hereafter, Sakoda): Pancake was a company with a somewhat creator-centric or flexible atmosphere compared to typical animation studios, producing anime films by directors who didn’t work much on commercial projects. As a result, we received quite a few inquiries from aspiring creators, but among them, toubou. stood out as someone who had a clear vision of what they wanted to do.

Interviewer: I thought all aspiring creators had an ideal of “I want to become this!” Is that not usually the case?

Sakoda: In typical animation companies, about 90% join as animators and diligently complete the assigned tasks. There’s nothing wrong with that, but at the time, with platforms like Niconico Douga and YouTube, it was a period when individuals could easily publish their self-made videos. I felt that the pace of such traditional companies might not suit those who were actively sharing their creations.

Takuro Harada (hereafter, Harada): Looking back, I realize that new trends have always emerged from individual creators. Before Niconico Douga, there was a surge of Flash and gif animations, for instance.

Interviewer: Indeed, people who have a passion for “wanting to do this” have always created and shared something on their own.

Sakoda: It’s challenging to work with people who vaguely think, “I want to do anime,” but aren’t clear on what they want to create. Conversely, if someone knows exactly what they want to do, we might be able to support them. So, with toubou., who had a clear vision, we talked about trying to do something together while maintaining communication.

Interviewer: And that led to the creation of the graduation project, the “Girls of the Ripples” trailer?

toubou.: Yes. Although it’s called a “trailer,” it wasn’t like I had decided to create the full movie at that time. It was more about making an animated digest of what I envisioned in my mind and packaging it as a “trailer.”

Interviewer: Did the trailer reflect your previous experience with MV and Sakoda’s advice?

toubou.: Of course, it was helpful, but I remember making the trailer quite freely (laughs).

There was a professor at the university whom I really liked, who told me, “Once you enter the professional world, you won’t be able to create what you like, so make a grand mess before you get there!”

Interviewer: That’s great advice (laughs).

toubou.: So for my graduation project, I made what I wanted to!

Sakoda: From my perspective, I didn’t interfere with the core content of “throwing out the gritty stuff inside toubou.” As a company, we focused on where we could provide the most performance boost, which was in the “sound” aspect, such as collaborating with voice actors and creating music.

Interviewer: How was the reception at the graduation exhibition?

toubou.: Out of curiosity, students from various departments came to see it in a rush. I’m really bad at speaking in front of people, so I sat at a distance, pretending it wasn’t my work, and just watched their reactions (laughs).

Interviewer: The one you uploaded to YouTube also received positive comments from overseas.

toubou.: I wonder why? About half of my social media followers are originally from overseas…

Interviewer: How did you become known to people overseas?

toubou.: I have no idea… But I think it might be because my illustrations aren’t typical of the usual two-dimensional anime style and incorporate a lot of painting elements. Also, since I mostly posted just the artwork without much verbal communication, like a bot, it might have been easier for people overseas to appreciate my work.

Interviewer: The painterly quality is a distinctive feature of your work, toubou. In “Girls of the Ripples,” you handled not only the characters but also the background art by yourself.

toubou.: From the beginning, I never felt a separation between characters and backgrounds in my drawings. This might be a painter’s perspective, but since they exist on the same layer for me, it’s natural that both characters and backgrounds are present when I draw. Rather than drawing people or backgrounds separately, I have the feeling of drawing a “world.”

‘If you don’t do it now, you never will’: Scooter Films wants to support passionate young creators.

Interviewer: How did the process evolve from the graduation project trailer to teaming up with Scooter Films to create the theatrical short anime “Girls of the Ripples”?

Harada: Scooter Films was originally founded with the desire to create original works centered around individual creators. At that time, I got to know Sakoda from Pancake, who introduced me to toubou. saying, “If that’s what you want, I know someone.”

Sakoda: Most people say, “I want to get involved in any kind of video production,” but toubou. insisted on “I want to make a theatrical anime,” and I found that intriguing.

Interviewer: And it wasn’t “I want to make someone else’s anime,” but “I want to make my own anime.”

Sakoda: The fact that toubou. had such a strong commitment meant there was a significant reason behind “I like this and want to do it this way.” This determination means she won’t give up halfway, and it justifies investing money into it. I thought they would be a good match with Scooter Films.

Akiko Ashizuka (hereafter, Ashizuka): As toubou. mentioned earlier, the people at Scooter Films also might not really like the culture of “having different people draw characters and backgrounds.” It’s a bit of an unusual stance for an anime studio (laughs).

Interviewer: Scooter Films has a strong creator spirit, it seems (laughs).

Ashizuka: We haven’t created works by distributing resources such that different people draw backgrounds and characters. We tend to think, “If you want to draw something, wouldn’t you want to draw everything?” So we like people who have that desire to do both, which makes them a good fit with Scooter Films.

Interviewer: I see. But from an industry perspective, it’s quite a decision to let an individual creator with no track record make a “main film,” even if it’s a short one.

Sakoda: Normally, decisions are based on whether someone has worked on famous projects before or can deliver impressive numbers. In typical animation companies, the environment isn’t set up for individual creators to perform well. Scooter Films is one of the few studios that can run alongside such creators.

Harada: For independent filmmakers, it’s common to first make a trailer if they can’t create a full movie. There are a lot of subpar examples too (laughs).

Interviewer: Oh, that’s a common scenario.

Harada: However, with toubou., I sensed a genuine enthusiasm that “there’s more I want to show beyond this.”

Even though toubou. said they hadn’t thought that far ahead when making the trailer, there must have been some kind of intention. That “something” would probably disappear if left unattended. Since it wasn’t a seasoned director’s idea, it could only be made while the passion was still there, and creating it might bring out something powerful.

Ashizuka: We talked with Sakoda and Harada, saying, “If you don’t do it now, you never will.” If toubou. ended up as an animator, they probably wouldn’t create it anymore. We felt it was important to express it while the passion was still there.

Interviewer: That’s a wonderful story. Adults supporting the passion of a young individual creator…

Harada: It might sound like we’re trying to look good, but it’s because we felt that passion from toubou. We could sense that energy even from a single drawing. It would be troublesome if everyone came to us saying, “I want to do this!” (laughs).

toubou.: From my perspective, I still feel like, “Why am I here?” I’m grateful for the various miracles that happen every day.

The recurring themes of toubou., seem to be “my life up until now has been about girls and adolescence.

Interviewer: Where does your strong desire to create theatrical anime come from, toubou.?

toubou.: Since elementary school, I’ve always been a bookworm who spent time in the library. Before realizing I liked drawing, I loved “stories.” I enjoyed imagining how the characters felt and moved while reading books.

I started drawing because of my sister’s influence, but when I thought about what I wanted to do, given my love for both drawing and stories, I realized I liked animated films.

Interviewer: So, rather than liking anime works in general, animation was a means to express stories through images.

toubou.: Yes, especially original animated films. With adaptations, you might not fully enjoy them without knowing the original work, but with original works, you can immerse yourself in the world for two hours in the theater without prior knowledge. I like that, as I tend to get bored easily.

Interviewer: That certainly makes it clear why you wanted to create original theatrical anime rather than just becoming an animator.

toubou.: In high school, I loved Makoto Shinkai’s “The Garden of Words” and watched it repeatedly. I learned that Shinkai also started by making anime films on his own. I felt that if I were to tell stories with my drawings, theatrical anime would be the closest fit.

Interviewer: Not limited to “Maidens of the Ripples,” your works seem to have themes of “adolescence” and “girls.” Is this something you consciously focus on?

toubou.: It’s more that my life until now has been about girls and adolescence, so those motifs naturally appear in my work.

Interviewer: You want to express your experiences and feelings from that time.

toubou.: Yes, I think my illustrations and characters reflect my dedication to my feelings from back then and the need to express them to survive. It’s not about drawing beautiful girls or handsome boys; it’s like a presentation of my emotions.

Harada: The idea that “my life has been about girls and adolescence” is very interesting. Looking back, I realize that’s the essence of your works.

Interviewer: I can see that. It’s challenging for people in our middle-aged generation to create energetic works about adolescence.

Harada: Even those who have long careers in shonen manga often started drawing when they were still close to their youth. If someone manages to create such works once, like Mitsuru Adachi, they might continue depicting youth even into their 70s. But it’s impossible for someone who has never created anything to suddenly start doing it in their 70s.

Interviewer: I see. That’s why there’s a desire to work with young creators who have the energy, like toubou.

Harada: Yes. We believe there are works that have meaning if created now and that can’t be made at any other time.

(Continued in the second half)