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SINoALICE - Famitsu App Interview with Jino on Character Design

An interview with SINoALICE’s character designer, Jino

Published on August 25th 2017.

The untold story of the birth of the girls from the illustrator of “SINoALICE”, Jino! As well as info on a new character…..!?

Why are the girls so gorgeous?

“SINoALICE”, a mobile RPG that is the work of a collaboration between PokeLabo and Square Enix.

One of the reasons why this title became popular is because of its charming ‘character designs’. Jino, the illustrator who gave birth to the beautiful girls from the world of “SINoALICE”, of who you wouldn’t think at first glance that they would come from a dark tale spun by Yoko Taro.

▲ One of the concept art that Jino conceived. Jino possesses a rather unique touch which resonates well with the “NieR” series and the very essence of Yoko’s own world. This is truly ‘art’.

From the previous interview, we learned that Jino, with a professional mindset in place, visited a library and even looked up the story’s own setting of its era. Just how did he bring the 9 girls to life? We’ll unravel the truth!

The 9 girls brought to life by Jino

From here on, we will go through Jino’s creative process as well as some rough sketches. We hear the players asking questions about the design, such as “Why did you go with this design?” “Where is the point of focus?” and so on. Jino shares with us his comments regarding the matter.

Alice (CV: M.A.O)

Alice, you may call her the main character of SINoALICE. The keyword is “Restriction”, not to restrict someone in the game, rather, to restrict your own self. This trait of Alice’s shows one side of her largely mysterious character.

▲ Coupled with a large pocket watch and a distinctive sword, as well as an aura of blue, filled with valiant air. Completed with a frilly maid outfit, creating a gap that received much praise from the players.

Jino’s comment

The maid outfit was a proper request (from Yoko). There are gothic motifs in the sword as well, which was created faithfully to Yoko’s orders…. That’s my intention!

“In a scenario where her original flange broke off in a fierce battle and she fled off to somewhere, what weapon would she use as a substitute?”, which was the delusion I had which lead to me to the idea that she’d use a circular-shaped weapon. So I thought, slap a pocket watch on it! And so, that was the conclusion I arrived at.

There was also the “If the apron shoulder straps come off then I’ll fool em by wrapping it around” and “The scabbard was quickly lost so in order to put back the sword, I’ll give Alice a harness”, as well as “The knee socks look like it’ll tear apart so I’ll add in something simple instead” and etc, in addition with that sort of behaviour and combat style (which I simply made up myself) I imagined and I designed it from there.

▲ Underneath the maid outfit are the harness and its belt and even a ton of pocket watches. These are details you won’t be able to notice in the game, all mixed in with my tastes.

Snow White (CV: Ueda Reina)

The keyword for the titular character of her own story, ‘Snow White’, is “Justice”. In the story, she’s easily taken as self-centered, however, she strongly enforces her own twisted form of ‘Justice’.

Jino’s comment

Actually, her hair and clothes and all give off a very general looking silhouette, as per request. There’s a contrast between a katana and a greatsword, so I designed it in a way that would have the same difference between a samurai and a knight.

If you give her some clunky armor… Well, you wouldn’t be happy with it, would you? (darkly smirks) Which was what I thought, so I gave her a great sword that’s easy to wield, coupled with a light outfit. I tried to make it so that the armor would assemble as much as possible on the front part of the design.

▲ Adorned with a pure white dress, decorated with a bouquet of blood-smeared roses leaves quite the impression. She seems to have settled in with the dirt sullying the end of her dress.

Hansel and Gretel (CV: Uchida Maaya)

Gretel, a girl with a few screws loose who has a relentless obsession with her older brother. I’ve gotten a snippet that she has already laid her hands on him…… The keyword for her is “Delusion”.

Jino’s comment

I’ve gotten a request to implement a robe but that would’ve made Gretel’s silhouette to be similar to Red Riding Hood’s. I was troubled on how to make Gretel more distinct. I felt that I made a pretty good impression with it.

In the game, Gretel is shown to be messed-up so her clothes mimic that trait of hers. Her exposure is also sort of mismatched. The mismatch is a specialty of Gretel’s, I wonder if I conveyed that correctly, even my comment became mismatched.

▲ The cage that Gretel carries is her feature. This cage has a motif of teeth and gums.

Pinocchio (CV: Sanpei Yuuko)

Due to not knowing what to do on his own, Pinocchio sets out to revive his Author. In contrast, I didn’t think much about the verbally abusive staff-Pinocchio. His keyword is “Dependency”.

Jino’s comment

The request was to make him look like he was brought up with proper manners. The head that’s attached to the weapon was originally supposed to be eerie-looking, as if it’s cursed, there’s also the setting where it’s able to talk and the result of focusing on that gave birth to a rather charming chap.

My favourite is this mysterious flapping open bag. I think it’s actually hard to use but I wonder if that’s alright��..

▲ Pinocchio’s staff is able to grow limbs and is able to move freely. With the upcoming Job designs for Pinocchio, I’d like to fully utilize that setting.

Little Mermaid (CV: Noto Mamiko)

The Little Mermaid, a girl who expresses her own story as a ‘Tragedy’. She holds a twisted ideology where “Tragedy is Beauty”. Her keyword is “Sorrow”.

Jino’s comment

It was a setting where her hair would have fish fins protruding out, but, there wasn’t any twin-tailed character so far so. “The tail end will have fins then!” was what I went with and so she has an extremely thick tail fin extending from her head.

I tried reading the setting book again, but I have a feeling I’ve made a mistake. I think there was a request to make her look like Medusa…… N-nah, I’m able to present the final design like so, so that means I did the job! Yes I did!

▲ Her weapon has ocean motifs embroidered on it. “You can break coconuts with it”, according to Jino’s comment.

Princess Kaguya (CV: Itou Shizuka)

Princess Kaguya, she has the most mature physique amongst the 9 girls. In the game, she stands out with her masochistic trait where she seeks out a companion who will torment her. Her keyword is “Suffering”.

Jino’s comment

Her outfit originally was supposed to be that of a courtesan’s, but, when I looked up the fashion in the Heian-period to see how it looks like, I decided to go against the request. (What) Or so I thought, I had to implement her twelve-layered ceremonial kimono no matter what so I was put in a really tough spot. As a result of trying to find a solution, “A person who returns to the Moon is an Alien!” and with that, I mixed in Alien-like elements into a courtesan. (What)

It all looks pretty messy to me but, I’m truly grateful to Yoko’s big heart!

▲ The skull ornaments on the weapon and her clothes give out quite the impression. Her characteristic is her bewitching aura.

Briar Rose (CV: Hondo Kaede)

“Briar Rose”, a girl who wishes for a world of everlasting slumber. One who disturbs her from her sleep will be torn apart by her cage of thorns. Her keyword is “Slumber”.

Jino’s comment

The request what that for her to be sleeping in an encasement of thorns but, in terms of the game system, how is her sprite going to be animated was a problem. So, the Art Director and I pondered about it together. In the middle of all that, somehow, a certain famed post-apocalyptic game’s “that vehicle” popped into my head.

Thanks to that, we now have a bit of a firmly established character. And also thanks to having settled on the character, I was able to make the weapon more flashy, it was like killing two birds with one stone. Wasn’t she supposed to be a much more docile character? Uhh…...

▲ The doll that Briar holds in her hands can be associated with her “childishness”. But, the thorns surrounding her give off a sinister impression.

Red Riding Hood (CV: Imamura Ayaka)

“Red Riding Hood’, a girl who holds a psychopathic line of thinking no matter how much she kills, kills, and kills, will never be enough. In accordance with her keyword; “Violence”, she holds her greatest desire of slaughter with pride.

Jino’s comment

I had torture tools as the first image in mind but at the same time, her violent personality gives me the impression of “I don’t feel any sort of attachment to the tools themselves”, with that, I shifted the outfit and weapon design into a dicey manner.

Just like Jac◯y Chan where he picks up things that are around him and use it, if he likes it, he takes it home. I feel like I’m wrong about the comparison.

▲ The huge gap between a pure and innocent smile and a ferocious-looking weapon. It truly compliments the aspect of a psychopath.

Cinderella (CV: Kitamura Eri)

“Cinderella”, a strong-willed character. Her personality is rotten to the point that it feels good, you often see her being gleeful in-game when she sees others suffer. Her keyword is “Depravity”.

Jino’s comment

Truth is, the final design is radically different from the initial request. It seems I’ve added a lot of my tastes into it…..

I had a hunch where Cinderella’s colour palate and silhouette would look similar with the other characters, so I pretty much went with a discriminative approach, Cinderella is designed in a way when someone looks at her, they’ll go “Huh?”.

Small arms aren’t my specialty, so I had a quite a tough time.

▲ The combination of a rotten facial expression and a gun as a weapon goes hand in hand. Inside her skirt is another weapon cramped inside of it.

Jino’s Untold Story of Development

After the game launched, “SINoALICE” has gained a lot of responses of the players, I would like to hear your current impression of the game.

Jino: I’ve never had a career before this, I’m just but an inexperienced illustrator, so reality hasn’t quite set inside me just yet. This was the kind of work where I kept pondering on whether “Was this right?” during the long period of time before the game launched, but no matter how much I ponder, it’s tough to answer it. Honestly speaking, I feel quite relieved to see the huge reception for the designs. Thank you very much.

In addition to be the one to supervise the designs, what was the hardest thing about it? And also, what was it that bore in mind during the process?

Jino: The question was how to shape up Yoko’s worldview, which left me exhausted. The designs I made for the characters must match up entirely with the theme of the game or else we would’ve failed our goal. Characters are often regarded as the face of the game, likewise, I kept in mind that they are one part of the game. With regards to the comment from above, isn’t it absurd……? That was the impression I had but, I’m doing a proper job! A proper…. Job…. Especially receiving a piece of advice of having a consistent coloring style. If I’m not aware of what I’m doing, then there will be messy areas so this has been quite the learning experience for me.

We’d like to hear who your favourite character is and the reason for it.

Jino: It’s a bit of an unfair response but “Everyone!” is what I’d like to say. I did have a go at the game, saw some fan art and that’s when it came to me, the aspect I never thought possible and all the pairings, that’s when my indecisiveness struck. But of course, my impression might change along the course of development…..?

Could you spare us some details about the currently-under-development character?

Jino: It’s definitely a fairytale character! Even though it’s a fairytale character, it’s an old story yet also relatively new, the next character is quite new! I’m beating around the bush but I have a feeling people will quuuuickly figure it out! Yeah?

▲ A special acquisition of the silhouette of the 10th character! Of what seems to be hair braided into three and a coat that extends down to the knees…..!?

And finally, a word you’d like to say to the players?

Jino: Thank you very much for playing SINoALICE! We’ve only just begun so I’d like to give it my all for the road ahead. I’ll also beat the producer’s butt! To the people who are interested in this article, please give the game a try. Thank you!

Source: Famitsu App

#sinoalice #シノアリス #jino #ジノ #interview #translation #yoko taro

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amahontl · 7 years

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NieR:Automata - Dengeki Playstation vol.638 Interview [Ending E spoilers]

WARNING! This interview contains spoilers up to Ending E.

Published on May 11th 2017.

Inquiring the key development staff of the abyss of “Project YoRHa”

NieR:Automata breaks past 1 million copies in sales and continues to be a hot selling hit. A direct interview with the 4 main staff immediately after the concert event! We enquire about the mysteries unraveled in the concert’s Recital Play and the world guide book. We’ll also ask about future grave visitings.

The people we’ll be interviewing

Director, Yoko Taro

From Bukkoro (ブッコロ). Responsible for directing NieR:Automata. Who is finally released from the deadlines for submitting the concert’s Recital Drama script and the world guide book.

Game Designer, Taura Takahisa

From Platinum Games. Responsible for the game design of NieR:Automata. Lately Yoko has been teasing him for his growing accustomization to the media.

Producer, Yosuke Saito

From Square Enix. Responsible for producing NieR:Automata. Kindly watches attentively over Yoko’s recklessness, when he’s gotta do it, he’ll do it.

Composer, Keiichi Okabe

From MONACA. Responsible for the sound production of NieR:Automata. In order to make the Osaka and Tokyo concerts a success, he goes all out with the MONACA staff.

The concert’s existence is thanks to the fans and as the best reward for the developers

Now that a bit of time has passed since the release of the game, I’d like to take this chance to ask you of various spoilers… Since time is restricted today, I’ll have Yoko give his comments on the next day to supplement your impressions of today’s very first NieR:Automata concert, as well as future plans for the game.

Yoko: I see, acknowledged.

With that said, I’d like to truly congratulate you on the realization of today’s concert. What are your impressions now that the first performance, the Osaka performance has ended?

Okabe: Speechless. The progress for the concert this time was really cutting it close, we were doing various adjustments right up to before the concert started. To get it all over with, we had to do our first rehearsal on the day before, let alone the day of the concert. I hope the fans will be satisfied with what we have to offer.

The concert was amazing! I was watching from the audience seat and I could hear a lot of people crying within the seats around me, I was crying too of course.

Saito: I was crying the entire time. To the point that my tear glands are possibly destroyed. Yoko did cry too, right?

Yoko: Yes. I cried without realizing it.

Taura: I was wailing as well. To the point that I ran out of tissue. It was tough from the very beginning, the part I really cried at was the part with Beauvoir. I personally like fast pace music but, the memories of mid-production revived and I couldn’t bear it.

Yoko: You sure those tears were only meant for those hard times? (weakly laughs)

Taura: Not at all… It was definitely a hard time, but in turn it meant that it was memorable. Other than that, the “Song of the Ancients” coupled with the NieR:Automata and NieR Replicant/Gestalt footage of Devola and Popola went really well together.

I’m sure this goes the same for the fans as well, that this concert is the greatest reward for the developers.

Okabe: There’s the Tokyo performance after this and we’d like to show the audience an enhanced performance.

By the way, who coordinated the footage played at the back of the stage?

Okabe: We’ve gotten a vendor this time to coordinate the footage and we’ve made the one in charge have a proper understanding of NieR. The finished product was immensely satisfactory. But of course, Yoko was supervising it all.

Yoko: I only supervised it. I felt that this time, the significance of the Recital Drama was very, very severe. I don’t ever want to put myself in such mayhem ever again.

Saito: Since the limited tickets came with the Recital Drama script, we did intend on sending it out to the customers, “We have till the day itself for the script, so whatever”, is what we’d like to say. Our very own publication department had the color drained from their faces.

Yoko: Saito made the rash decision of making different scripts for each performance….

Saito: What! It was Yoko who said he wanted to do a Recital Drama. (laughs)

Yoko: Well, that’s true but, I didn’t say I’d write a new script for each and every 5 performances you know.

Saito: Well that can’t be helped. It’s tough getting all 5 of the voice actors to come in on the same day, it’s something that needed to be arranged pretty early on. They’re all such busy people you know?

I see, that’s a valid reason.

Saito: At first Yoko wanted to get a boys’ choir in but that was obviously impossible. Even then, we made a move to somehow get a hold of the venue for the concert, as well as sending out offers to the voice actors….. It was a lot of work. Especially for today’s Osaka performance, we were fortunate enough to have 9S’ voice actor, Hanae Natsuki, present. Hanae had “Oha Suta” to attend to early in the morning on the following day, so I thought he’d turn down the offer. But, Hanae himself said he would definitely attend and with that, we got 2B’s voice actor, Ishikawa Yui, and Pod 153’s voice actor, Akiyama Kaoru, together and brought their collaboration to life.

[1] Oha Suta (おはスタ Oha Suta) is a children's TV show which airs in Japan in the morning on Monday to Friday, and it is produced by TV Tokyo.

All that trouble was worth it, the Recital Drama was amazing. 9S kept dying as usual, Hanae seemed a bit pitiful. (weakly laughs)

Saito: I was able to watch the rehearsals on the day of the concert, my first at that. When it comes down to the real thing, they perform amazingly.

I took a look at the scripts for all 5 performances and it was shocking.

Yoko: Was it?

It was full of content that could’ve been put into the game itself. It wasn’t something that you could classify as side story content.

Taura: I know what you mean. Without much thought, I wanted to make a certain scene like this(within the game)….. It came spontaneously to mind.

Right. I wish you guys included it in the game.

Taura: Included in the game, huh.

Yoko: No way, that’s out of the question! (weakly laughs)

Saito: Well, you could say that it’s a concert-only special content. We have a super big surprise prepared for the last day as well. I’m looking forward to seeing the fan’s reactions.

I’m sure the fans are rather delighted with the Recital Drama itself, as well as the supplementary footage.

Saito: Actually, we have made plans to record the audio of the Recital Drama, we might want to release it in some sort of medium.

[2] All the performances’ play audio have been recorded and added to the Blu-ray release of “The Memories of the Puppets”.

It would’ve been ideal to have new in-game footage for the concert.... I think.

Yoko: I see. If Square Enix funds us then, Platinum Games would, well, right?

Taura: Right. If something is given, I can do as much.

Yoko, Taura, you two are making a totally sleazy look. (laughs)

10th anniversary, the next project? Juicy details about the next project’s plans

At any rate, a million copies sold across the world is quite amazing.

Saito: 1 million copies. It’d be nice if it happened but to think that it actually did happen. As for me, I had a secret goal of “pushing Yoko Taro up to the next level”, and I think I’ve managed to accomplish it. With that, the “World of Yoko Taro” is widely spread.

Yoko: But to be rather honest, I think that the hit (NieR:Automata) is a fluke. Even all the staff involved thinks so too.

Saito: A fluke eh… Well, even if we do make another game, it might not sell as well as Automata did.

Have you managed to investigate as to why Automata achieved a million copies?

Yoko: I have already said this several times, it’s all because of Platinum Games’ strength.

Taura: Oh no, no, no, there are a lot of portions that I thought were good though. Character design by Yoshida Akihiko, music done by MONACA that was newly established by Okabe, Yoko’s leadership power and Saito who produced everything with his power, it’s all filled with great things.

Yoko: What’s wrong, Taura? Ever since I pulled you out into the media, since when were you able to make such a counterattack?

Taura: It’s all thanks to Yoko’s direction. You have my gratitude. (grins)

Yoko: That reply, what are you, a monster?! Your training was a total blunder~ (laughs)

But, making such a high quality game with such little resources is truly amazing to be rather honest.

Taura: It’s because the staff all love “NieR” and due to that, we had an unbelieveable amount of horsepower going on. It was truly the fruit of our labour, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to make such a thing ever again. (weakly laughs)

Saito: Probably not. (laughs) To be able to make something that’s so chock full of content is not easy. I was truly grateful for that.

But, with all the new details revealed in the Recital Play and the World Guide Book, having all that plot assembled together, wouldn’t it be possible to make a sequel or a spin-off? For example, the “The Country of Dawn” or “The Dragoon”, you can expand so much on.

Saito: Hold on a minute there. A spinoff? Who’s gonna be the protagonist? Pascal maybe?

Yoko: Well, I can probably make a 2 hour long story for Pascal. I don’t know if there even is demand for it though.

Platinum Games sure has it rough huh.

Taura: Totally… Especially since we’ve canceled a project. Not to mention the DLC we released on May 2nd, the development on the game itself had already wrapped up, so we’ve only had a few staff to help out with the DLC. It was tougher than I expected.

And with the Square Enix’s and Platinum Game’s CEO making an appearance in the game, surely must’ve gathered controversy. (laughs)

Yoko: That was only but a factor. At first the additional costumes were gonna be about 1800 yen, but that was way too expensive for what it was so, adding in a simple side story and a colosseum, with the addition of a lower price of 1500 yen, as well as adding another extra of the CEO fight… Well, I think it’s all satisfactory content.

With the concert ended and the DLC already released, has “NieR:Automata” reached it’s end?

Saito: I wonder. The next thing would probably be, for example, in 3 years time, the “NieR” 10th year anniversary. I daydream about what we should do for it. By then, I have no idea what we’d (the team) all be doing. My liver has been in quite bad shape after all...

Yoko: Me too. We’ll just leave the rest to the next generation. All I’ve been thinking is how I’m gonna die.

Please don’t say that. (weakly laughs) A 10th year anniversary is splendid isn’t it? I have great expectations for it.

Saito: This is all still some far ways off but, as long as the fans love the “NieR” title, we will somehow push something out. And with that, everyone, please continue to forever support the “NieR” series.

Thank you very much for today!

Additional questions for Yoko Taro

On the following day, we asked the Director, Yoko Taro, some questions about his worldview of the story of NieR:Automata (in a super rushed fashion). This Q&A is completely non-edited so please read on. We will also ask questions to Yoko about the currently-on-sale Strategy Guide and the World Guide Book, so for those who are curious about the mysteries that lies within, please do check it out!

Q: In the game, we’ve seen Yorha units clash against each other, so if there ever was a scenario where 2B, 9S and A2 duke it out against each other, which model would be the absolute strongest?

Yoko: The E model is the strongest. Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: Even though A2 and 2B are the same “No. 2” types, are their “Self Data” the same? Also, is it possible to implant A2’s Memory Data into 2B?

Yoko: A2 and 2B both have different Self Data. It is possible to do the implant. Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: Despite being the same “No. 2” Type, when 9S first encountered A2, why did it feel like 9S had such a weak reaction in that encounter?

Yoko: It’s because he didn’t notice. Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: Despite 2B being killed right before 9S’ eyes, why did he harbor such strong hate towards A2?

Yoko: Did it look like he hated her? Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: In the World Guide Book as well as the Recital Drama’s script we saw the inclusion of the unsightly transcription of the “Country of Dawn” and the “Country of Night”. Could you give us some details about this?

Yoko: In the World of “NieR”, in the past, the Earth’s axis had been distorted, because of that, a perpetuity of a world of day and a world of night exists. I wrote this reply in a hurry so from here on out I will skip the details.

Q: From the Recital Drama, we now know that the one who conceived the “YoRHa Project” is Zinnia, as well as No.9 who knew of his plans. Is it safe to assume that No.9 and 9S are the exact same model?

Yoko: The names are different hence the model is different. Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: Of all things, why did No.9 decide to help Zinnia with the “YoRHa Project”, despite being full of spite against the Project?

Yoko: There has been a misunderstanding. No.9 did not resent the YoRHa Project, rather, at the design of YoRHa units (The Black Box). Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: Is there a reason as to why Zinnia and Pod042 share the same voice actor (Yasumoto)?

Yoko: It is because Zinnia is Pod042’s personal data prototype. Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

Q: In the Recital Drama, there was no passage pertaining A2’s awakening, is it safe to assume that she woke up somewhere?

Yoko: If anything, “to assume” is all up to you. Since this reply was written in a hurry, I will skip the details.

#nier #nier automata #translation #interview #yoko taro #ニーア #ニーアオートマタ #dengeki playstation

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