#MAPPA… sleep with both eyes open

[princesstrunkss]

I’m very upset.

[makkasbuns]

no ice ado news?

mappa better sleep with both eyes open

[marythegizka]

Bodyswap AU - Part 8 (here are the links to: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7)

The Ark Angel took off and dashed over the valley, piercing through clouds of ash as it made its way up. Aphra punched the coordinates into the computer. In a matter of hours, she would be home. A mental scoff followed. 'Home'. It wasn't home, really. Never had been. Just a bed and a roof. And if there was one thing she hadn't planned on doing with Vader, it was bringing him along to pay her father a visit. But there was little choice in the matter. Aphra sighed, a slightly louder wheeze, casting Vader a brief glance. Maybe she should give him a heads up, just in case. Or maybe not. It had been such a long time since she'd last seen her father, he would hardly notice the change. She'd blame suspicious behavior on 'the booze'. At least that he would believe, with all the credit he gave her. All they had to do was show up and mention the Ordu Aspectu, and he'd just roll with it. Things would be fine. Probably.

She turned towards Vader, then towards Ahsoka, and towards Vader again. None of them had spoken since they had taken off. The hyperdrive whirred and hummed, filling the gaps between her breaths, and a sense of discomfort hung around like stale air, making her throat clench a bit. Subtle wafts of emotions flowed her way, spikes of anger and dips of guilt, surges of hope followed by dread. Although she knew they came from them, she couldn't pinpoint which was whose. It was like bathing in feeling-soup. She didn't like it.

Ahsoka made an attempt to break the silence.

"So... do you intend to spend the whole trip pouting?"

Vader didn't bat an eye.

"Why not."

Oh, Aphra fully believed that. Vader had never struck her as the most cheerful person to be around, and she'd gotten used to his 'moods', as Triple-Zero called them. Even so, the atmosphere was a little tense for her taste.

"Hey, not that this is any of my business," she said, "but why all the drama? I'm... picking up bad vibes. Literally. I think."

"I do not routinely engage in conversation with traitors." Vader snapped. "Forgive my lack of practice in the matter."

"Traitors?!" the girl blurted out. "You tried to murder me but go off I guess."

"That makes two of us."

Ahsoka fell silent, and the air grew heavier. Her eyes were glistening, Aphra noticed. She shifted in her seat, unsure of what to say.

"Oookay... How about music then? I have Jatz, Quenk Jazz, some old Rodian Rock... any preference? "

Her hand hovered over the dashboard, waiting for an answer she half-suspected wouldn't come. It didn't. She sighed, and pressed "on". An engaging Zeltron dancer began jiggling over the holo-player, casting the camera sultry looks. Vader gave her a side look.

"Stop judging," she said, opening the food-safe.

"I'm not judging."

"Right," she said, handing him a can of cheap blue mappa. He eyed it with suspicion.

"You won't get drunk on that," she reassured. "Trust me, you've got training."

He grabbed the can, took a sip and coughed. Oh dear. And after all those years on vitapaste he wouldn't call himself picky.

"I will pass."

"Snob."

"What?" He knew what she had said - the vocoder was more suited to barking orders than mumbling - but the word took him by surprise. He wasn't snobbish, really. Just... direct.

"Nothing," she said, turning towards Ahsoka. "Ahsoka, would you like a drink? You look beat."

The girl snapped out of her stupor and looked at them numbly, her eyes moist with silent tears.

"I'm fine," she said feebly. "Thank you."

There was a time he would have attempted to comfort her. Now she was a traitor. She could have joined him, become an inquisitor, a Sith apprentice maybe. She chose the Rebellion. Perhaps it was a good thing then, that this time was long gone. His throat clenched. Perhaps.

Aphra shrugged.

"Hm. Well if you change your mind... you know where the hooch is. There's food too."

Ahsoka tried to smile.

"How about you?"

"I uh... I just drank weird stuff from a straw. I'm good. Sort of good."

Vader snorted. Weird stuff from a straw. That was one way to put it.

The music switched to dissonant Leap-jump.

"They used to play this at Dexe's", Ahsoka said.

"Dex. It's called Dex."

Ahsoka sat upright, pointing her chin up.

"Dex. It's called Dex," she parroted.

"Quit it, Snips."

This time, Ahsoka actually smiled.

"You just called me Snips."

"I thought you hated it, Snips."

"Not anymore, Skyguy."

"Don't. Call me. Skyguy."

"Or what?"

"Permission to intervene, Masters?" Triple-Zero chimed in.

"Denied," came their joint reply.

The droid left the cockpit.

"No Beetee, this doesn't look promising. Humans these days."

Aphra looked at the navicomputer. Two hours left. And the ambient tension lingered.

"By the way Ahsoka, why don't you grab some sleep? You look exhausted. My bunk is..." she paused, remembering the girl's confusion upon finding them there. "You know where it is. Make yourself at home."

"You're right. I am exhausted."

Ahsoka stood up.

"Thank you," she said, bowing her head slightly before leaving the room.

The tension eased a little. Now Aphra had two whole hours to ruminate about her boss meeting her dad. And the longer she dwelt on it, the more the thought worried her.

Ahsoka jerked awake as he ship hit the ground, bouncing like a spring on its landing gear. She had feared the nightmares, but her sleep turned out dreamless. Yet she remained exhausted. But she had been prepared. Her last encounter with Anakin had left scars on both of them, and as much as she hoped, as desperate as she was for another glimpse of that faint flicker of light, she knew nothing would ever be the same. And it hurt. Malachor had hurt them. And it had changed her. With nothing but Sith artifacts to engineer her escape, she had delved into their secrets, tapped into their power... and made it hers. She had found it, in the end, her one and only way out: one last portal through the Force. She had found it, used it, destroyed it. But for that to happen... A sob escaped her. She had to. It wasn't really falling if you didn't lose it, right? Not if you could claw your back to the Light. It couldn't be. It mustn't be. And now that she was free, she would help Anakin break out. She had to. For the Rebellion. And for her friend.

Aphra leaned back in her seat, not quite succeeding to stretch in the cramped space, and switched the engines off. A red light remained on at the bottom of the dashboard, signalling a leak in the secondary fuel tank. Aphra stood up.

"See? This ship is a keeper. Told you the leak wasn't that big. We still have quite a bit," she said pointing at the fuel gauge. "I'll check it up in a minute."

Vader shook his head. Her faith in that piece of junk would be the death of her. She stood there and stared at him, hands firmly planted on her hips. She must have picked up on his exasperation.

"Say it."

"Say what?"

"What you've just been thinking," she said.

Vader gave her a wry look.

"Doctor, what makes you think you're allowed in my head?"

In truth, it was unlikely she had sensed a clear, fully-formed thought. The occurrence was rare, even for him. A general feeling of aggravation? Definitely. But thoughts were another matter. A delicate matter, one that required control.

"I didn't..." She paused. "You can read thoughts?" she asked, which such incredulity Vader could almost hear her popping round eyes at him.

"It's not that easy."

And it was lucky, really. He remembered one time, walking through a busy street, when the minds of passers-by had suddenly become as clear as pure water. It had felt like an assault. "If I don't pay Black Sun..." - "Senator Mothma said..." - "So if that's ten credits..." - "Who's that?" - "Monster" - "Freak" - "Don't come near"... The incident had barely lasted a minute, and had left him exhausted, his blood pulsing in his hears, physically struggling not to slash through the crowd. He'd stood there paralyzed, feeling like a proton torpedo ready to explode. "Are you alright, sir?" "Get away from me!" He hadn't told his master. There was no point.

"Is that a challenge?" Aphra asked.

"No," he snapped, pointing a finger at her. "Do not try it."

Vader heard steps behind him.

"Hi!" came Ahsoka's voice.

Aphra greeted her with her usual enthusiasm.

"Good morning," he said reluctantly. "Why don't you join Doctor Aphra? She's got a leak to fix."

"It's no big deal, really, I can do that on my own."

Vader shot her an icy look.

"On second thought, maybe I could use a hand. After that we'll go meet my... contact."

"Sure."

Ahsoka followed her into the engine room.

"You don't really need a hand do you?"

"Nope. I've got two," she said, wiggling both arms. "Kidding. Really."

Ahsoka shook her head.

"Would I be wrong to assume he's always like that?"

Aphra chuckled, lifting a panel behind the tank. There was a thin drip on the side on the container, but that was nothing she couldn't manage.

"What did you expect?"

"Honestly? I don't know. A lightsaber in the heart was always a possibility."

Aphra nodded.

"I know the feeling."

Ahsoka gave her a wan smile.

"Yet you're staying."

"Yes." Aphra bit her tongue. Things were getting awkward. "Right. There's a plasma welder right under your left foot."

Ahsoka handed it to her.

"Thanks. Aaaand there we go," she said, sealing the breach. "Easy. Now if you could keep an eye on the kids?"

"Kids?"

"Droids. Just in case. We'll be back in a bit."

"Okay but..."

Aphra waved a hand.

"You'll do great!"

She could still feel Ahsoka's stupefied look as she left the engine room, heading straight for the cockpit.

"There, patched it", she said.

"Then let us not delay."

Vader followed her outside.

They had landed at the foot of a grassy, stony hillock, the top of which was crowned by a small, hive-shaped mud house.

"Is this where your contact lives?"

"Yes, but he..."

Before she could finish, Vader was leaping up the dirt stairs. There was no point in delaying. The door had been left ajar. He knocked and pushed it.

"Hello?"

The place was, to put it simply, an absolute junkyard. Stone tablets lay scattered all over the clay floor, amidst heaps of old books and worn-out artifacts - there was even a kyber on top of the fireplace. The stew that simmered over the hearth gave off a musty smell, like the underside of a sun-beaten evaporator. At the center of the room, half-hidden by a pile of books, an oldish man was bending over a manuscript, mumbling in... was that Proto-Basic?

The man hardly noticed him. Vader stepped inside.

"Sir, we have need of you."

The man looked up from his work, his eyes popping round.

"Sir?"

"What else should I address you as?"

The man flinched as Aphra entered the room as well. His mouth fell open, but no sound came out.

Aphra sighed, pinching the nose of her mask.

"Oh kriff... try 'Dad'."

>Part 9

[nebulous-wanderings]

Yuri!!! on Ice Animation with MAPPA panel report

I had the chance to go to the MAPPA panel on Sunday at AnimeNEXT where they discussed some aspects of the production of Yuri!!! on Ice. In attendance were Junpei Tatenaka (lead figure skating animator), Noriko Ito (prop designer, lead animation supervisor), Takahiro Ogawa (animation producer), and Izumi Hirose (color designer). 

The panel was about an hour long and they brought actual (paper!) production drafts which they showed via a desk camera as well as reference pages and files which they showed via their laptop. Note that no pictures or recordings were allowed during the panel, but I took notes on what they presented and added some screenshots of my own to reference what they showed us. (There’s a lot to write about so sorry if transitions are too abrupt or non-existent between topics)

If you’re interested, read below the cut!

The panel started off by playing the History Maker OP animation (everyone was of course singing along) and then the four staff members were introduced. Ogawa said some opening statements about Yuri on Ice then handed it over to the other three staff members to present.

Noriko Ito - Prop Designer, Lead Animation Supervisor

Ito was the first person to present. She started by showing us pictures of the ice skates she designed. They used a real Japanese company’s ice skates (I forget the exact name of the company) as reference. She mentioned how the team had researched where certain scuff marks tend to appear on real figure skaters’ skates in order for the look of the characters’ skates to be as close to real life as possible. 

Next, Ito showed showed us drafts and final designs of Yuuri, Yurio, Viktor, Phichit, and the triplet’s phone cases. It was really cool to meet the woman who designed the iconic phone cases! One thing I didn’t know was that Yuuri’s phone case actually depicts his late dog, Vicchan, and not Viktor’s dog, Makkachin. The drafts were for Yuuri’s case had Vicchan in other poses, one with just his head as the icon, etc. Ito held up her own phone and showed us she had Yuuri’s phone case on when she showed us the final design. Ito said that she designed Yurio’s phone case with “yankee” in mind (of course). Viktor’s phone case was always planned to be his previous year’s FS costume but they had changed the costume design during production and she had to change her phone case design accordingly. For Phichit’s case, Ito said the only advice she got from the director of YOI, Yamamoto, was that he likes hamsters. The triplet’s phone case has the colors of the Russian flag and a posing Viktor on it.

Ito was also in charge of designing the infamous katsudon (I mean, I guess it is a prop after all lol). There were a lot of drafts for the katsudon, and the director had told her to “add more eros” into it as well as make the eggs “fluid like lava.” Various coloring techniques were used to make sure the eggs didn’t appear too under/overcooked. Ito said one time the office ordered delivery together for lunch and everyone ordered a katsudon - they couldn’t hold back after drawing so many delicious katsudons (lol).

Ito then showed us the design document for the Makkchin tissue box cover. She also brought the actual product with her and held it up - everyone simultaneously went “awwwww.” Next was the “Phichit on Ice” scene which Ito herself was solely in charge of. They played a clip of that scene from the bd/dvd version of the anime and Ito noted that what they changed from the TV airing was adding more glitter to everyone’s hats and that the elephant in the background now had sparkly eyes (lol). Director Yamamoto told her that Phichit likes Harajuku and to include hamster hats, so Ito kept that in mind. The front of Phichit’s costume in that scene says “Harajuku kawaii.” An earlier design of Phichit’s hat looked like an ice cream sundae but Yamamoto said to make it look more Thai instead. Lastly, Ito pulled up the magazine design that JJ holds in one of the episodes:

She confirmed that the other skater is indeed Yuzuru Hanyu and the director had chosen what his costume on the cover should look like. However, Ito had forgotten to draw it until the day of and so she rushed the design in order to finish. 

Izumi Hirose - Color Designer

Hirose mentioned how real skaters have the option of customizing what bolts to use on their skates (see example picture below).

You can see how some bolts are put in while other holes are empty depending on how the skater wants it to feel when they skate. Hirose showed us some reference sheets on the computer that showed each characters’ skates, and they all had different bolt patterns. (The bolt circles are either light or dark-colored to indicate that a bolt is or isn’t in). The reference sheet would be used by the animators so that whenever the bottom of a skate was shown, they would know which bolts would be in for each character and which would be out. Ogawa interjected and said that he had told director Yamamoto that he thought the customized bolt patterns were a bit too much (lol).

Hirose then showed us how the “blue and white” scenes were colored (that’s what the staff refer to these scenes as, “blue and whites”).

She flipped back and forth between shots of the regularly-colored scene and the blue and white scene to compare and contrast them. Director Yamamoto told her to make these scenes “milky,” and while the other designers were confused by what she meant by this because Hirose has worked with Yamamoto many times in the past, she knew exactly what she meant - this would happen on a number of other occasions too, according to Hirose (lol). Hirose also compared color options of Guang Hong and Georgi’s FS fantasy scenes.

For Guang Hong’s scene, they wanted it to look like a dark action movie with minimal colors.

For this shot of Georgi’s FS scene, Hirose showed us different color options for the girl’s lips and different levels of shading for Georgi’s face - they played around with how much of his face should be visible. Ogawa said his favorite character is Georgi (lol). There were like 5+ different color options for each scene Hirose showed us, and she mentioned that in Episode 1 there were over 140 color options in total for the ~40ish scenes in it. Because the director is the one that chooses the final design and colors for everything, Hirose asked Yamamoto if she could do less options but she said no.

For Yuuri’s exhibition skate, they were deciding between using a white undershirt (like Viktor originally had) or black undershirt and went with black.

Hirose then pulled up reference sheets for different characters’ outfits. She also said that outfits would change colors between episodes, even though the clothing design itself wouldn’t change, to make it seem like characters were wearing different clothes each day. Ogawa added that he once wore the same clothes for three days straight though since he was working in the office for that long and didn’t go home.

Hirose also showed us different shading options for Stéphane Lambiel’s ever-so-slight beard and mustache.

To make the main characters’ eyes stand out more, Hirose said they made the iris’ undertone the normal tone instead and used gradients in order to achieve that special effect. Yuuri has a brown-grey gradient, Yurio has a sky blue-green gradient, and Viktor has a two-toned blue gradient.

Junpei Tatenaka - Lead Figure Skating Animator

Last, but not least, was Tatenaka who started off by saying he was jetlagged and woke up at 3am that morning, and because he couldn’t sleep he just drew some stuff to present. (His 3am rough sketches shouldn’t even be called rough sketches, they were so good!) He drew ~10-15 frames of Yurio’s Welcome to the Madness exhibition program from a different angle (than what the actual BD/DVD animation has) and showed it to us flipbook-style - it was really cool!! Tatenaka then talked a bit about his background - he started out at Disney Japan doing TV programs.

Then, he emphasized the importance of hair and clothing flow during skating animations. He actually took his 3am rough sketches of WTTM and added more clothing detail to some of the frames right in front of us with a pencil and did a flipbook again to show the fluidity (this guy’s amazing). When he was done sketching, he said he never thought he’d be giving this kind of talk in America and that he might cry on the plane ride home (too pure T_T).

On the computer, he showed us the entire draft video of WTTM which was all of his hand-drawn keyframes timed correctly and with the background music. There was probably over 200 frames in total for the whole scene. Then they played the full, final version that came with the BD/DVD release (everyone “woo-ed” at the Otebek+glove part lol).

Closing Remarks

At this point, after all of the applause and positive reactions from the audience, Tatenaka was actually tearing up but managed to say a brief “thank you” message to everyone. Ito said she was initially worried about the number of people who would attend the panel since it’s an overseas audience, but was surprised at how packed it was and was really happy. Hirose commented that she loved seeing people’s YOI cosplays and will work hard on the upcoming movie. Ogawa ended by saying it was a tough series to work on during production, but after seeing both local and international responses and support, he and the rest of the staff - including everyone else at MAPPA - are glad that they were able to make this show.

All four of them stood up and bowed and the applause lasted a long while. I wish I was able to attend their Q&A and autograph session on Saturday but I was on duty at the Artist Alley. I did manage to get them to sign my program guide though, plus they slipped in some extra stuff. (See a pic here) I hope not just MAPPA and the YOI team specifically, but anime production staff in general, travel to more countries to spread their hard work and so they know the full extent of their show’s impact.