#Nobita's Treasure Island

[albertonykus]

Doraemon Movie Review: Nobita's Treasure Island (2018)

What is Doraemon? The title character of the Doraemon manga and anime is a blue robotic cat from the 22nd Century who keeps an array of high-tech gadgets in a portable pocket dimension on his belly, and has traveled from the future to improve the fortunes of a hapless schoolboy named Nobita. Although relatively obscure in the English-speaking world, Doraemon is a Mickey-Mouse-level cultural icon in East Asia (and some other regions, too). The Doraemon franchise was a big part of my childhood, and there are still elements of it that I enjoy now.

Doraemon has released theatrical films almost annually since 1980, most of which involve Nobita and his friends (kind Shizuka, brash Gian, and crafty Suneo) getting swept into adventures thanks to Doraemon's gadgets. Despite being of potentially broad appeal to fans of science fiction and animated films, there are very few English reviews of the Doraemon movies, so I'm embarking on a project to write about all the films that have come out so far. Good luck to me…

Movie premise: Nobita and his friends encounter pirates while searching for treasure out at sea... no, not the other time they did that.

My spoiler-free take: Enjoyable overall, but I have many complaints about a certain major subplot...

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

Review: In general, I think this one is pretty good. Gian and Suneo get to do something cool. The Mini Doras have a lot of screentime, which is usually a plus. Quiz the robot parrot, who speaks in riddles, is a fun character.

However, I have one major issue with this movie: the fact that about half of it is taken up by a goddamn “Shizuka gets kidnapped” subplot. Not only that, but relative to the amount of time spent on it, this may be the most poorly executed arc of its kind in the Doraemon movies so far. First of all, the reason given for why Shizuka gets kidnapped is frankly very silly. It’s because the pirates mistake her for their captain’s daughter, Sarah, who supposedly looks a lot like Shizuka... except the two of them have completely different hair and eye colors. Both this and the fact that Shizuka doesn’t seem to know any of her kidnappers should have tipped the pirates off to their mistake, but they never properly catch on. Furthermore, when we meet Sarah herself, there’s absolutely no indication that she has a history of getting lost or running away, making it even more of a stretch for these pirates to immediately assume that she was the same person as this frightened, dark-haired girl that they encountered on a random ship.

(One pirate does point out the hair color discrepancy, only to be hastily brushed aside.)

In addition, to facilitate this kidnapping, the filmmakers once again invoke Shizuka’s disappearing weapon. Right before she is captured, the protagonists are engaged in heated combat against the pirates that have boarded their ship, during which everyone, including Shizuka, is clearly wielding a weapon. We even see Shizuka use hers (the Reversal Cape, to be specific). Yet in the scene where she gets kidnapped, she is suddenly left defenseless on the deck, with no explanation for what happened to her gadget.

Okay, let’s pretend that the reasoning for and circumstances around the kidnapping do make sense. It could at least serve an important narrative purpose, right? Maybe it motivates the other main characters to go after the pirates, starting a new chapter in their adventure... Well, it does, but this turns out to be unnecessary. Shortly after Shizuka is kidnapped, the protagonists rescue a boy lost at sea, who turns out to be Sarah’s brother, Flock. Having left the pirate crew himself, Flock also hopes to give his sister a chance to escape. That alone probably would have provided more than enough reason for the main characters to help track down the pirates, as it’s unlikely (at least in the movies) that Nobita and his friends would turn down the chance to help another kid who is in need.

All right, but maybe Shizuka could make some valuable contributions by being among the pirates. Perhaps her bonding with Sarah becomes significant— Hmm, not really. Sarah is pretty much on the same page as her brother from the beginning. Well then, maybe Shizuka can use an outsider’s perspective to help convince the main antagonist not to follow through with his plan— Uh, nope, that doesn’t happen either. There’s even a scene where she is the only one present in the same room as the main antagonist, but nothing of that sort plays out. The most plot-relevant thing Shizuka does in this movie (helping Nobita save Doraemon from being trapped inside an energy ball) occurs after she is already reunited with the others, so I am really struggling to see the point of the kidnapping subplot here.

I’ve got it; clearly, it was a setup so they could feature a bunch of extinct animal cameos while Sarah was showing Shizuka around the pirate ship! ... That still could have been done without the kidnapping though.

Oh, I do like this movie’s ending song. It has an unusual style for a Doraemon song, but it’s got character. I actually don’t hate that it’s become the current opening theme for the regular anime series, though I’m still scratching my head over why they ever decided to replace one of the most iconic anime opening songs of all time* in the first place.

*If you’ve never lived in a region where Doraemon is popular, you might think I’m exaggerating here. I’m not.

Star rating: ★★★☆☆

[doraemon-facts]

Is Doraemon's head soft or hard?

Many times Doraemon's head changes shape when it gets hit, making it seem soft.

Source: ペコペコバッタ, 1970 (manga)

Source: 人間製造機, 1974 (manga)

Source: 機械化機, 1982 (manga)

Source: あいつを固めちゃえ, 1982 (manga)

His head was once run through by an arrow. (But he didn't seem hurt by this.)

Source: ご先祖さまがんばれ, 1970 (manga)

Gian and Shizuka have hit him without hurting themselves.

Source: Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs, 1987 (manga, Doraemon Long Stories)

Source: あとからアルバム, 1983 (manga)

But other times when Doraemon is hit, his head stays rigid.

Source: エスパーぼうし, 1970 (manga)

Source: しんじゅせいぞうロボット, 1974 (manga)

He once battered down a prison door with his head, saying his hard head was his ultimate weapon.

Source: Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds, 1992 (manga, Doraemon Long Stories)

After this, Doraemon uses his "ultimate weapon" many times, especially in movies and special episodes.

Source: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom, 2002

Source: 決戦！ネコ型ロボットvsイヌ型ロボット, 2010 (episode from 2005 anime)

Source: Nobita's Treasure Island, 2018

So what is the answer? The official statement right now is that Doraemon's head might be soft most of the time, but can be hardened when he is tense!

[silvanaolivares]

Nobita's Treasure Island ⛵🌠

[filmfactors]

favorite doraemon villain?

Man, is my obvious favoritism for Suneo not enough for you guys? [I'm joking...]

Very good question though, and one that really made me take a bit to think on it. The issue with this question is that my relationship with this series solely hinges on my care for the main group, and rarely does my love extend to those outside of them. Piisuke, Fuuko, Riruru and Kebo are my exceptions but I still don't love, love them.

I feel maybe the answer should be obvious, Windmasters is my favorite of the movies so clearly Uranda [or 'evil Suneo'] has to be it right? Not really. The villains often don't matter to me, because their writing is not what I'm here for.

I mean it doesn't hurt when their actually interesting. Professor Storm, for example, isn't much but I at least can enjoy his motives. When it comes to ones like the father in Treasure Island, they often lower my opinion of the film if they are super involved.

So who is my favorite? I think I'll actually have to give it to the men in 'Nobita's Dinosaur 2006.' I do not love them as characters, I'm not searching for fanart of them but I love what they make the movie. They play a huge role in why this movie scores so high for me overall!

It's the aesthetic, the visuals, the tone. It's very different for a Doraemon movie, even among the darker ones. I think that can really make or break someones opinion of it.

It's my favorite in terms of artwork for a Doraemon movie, no current modern movie can compare to the energy it brought. Thanks to the villains, we are granted some creepy visuals which I'm always a sucker for.

It's not just what they bringing to the vibe of the movie artistically, but I enjoy their motives and why they do the things they do. They are different from many of the other villains, I feel many of them are a sort of one-note evil. Often I feel they don't even have a reason to explain their cases to the group, exceptions aside.

These guys, well they are certainly very evil people, but it's not like the man in 'South Sea Adventure.' Who shares a similar goal as an animal trafficker in the future world. They aren't boring and drop exposition like their desperate for someone to talk to... they are genuinely slimy, and say their piece often with the intent to hurt or manipulate.

They are dinosaur hunters and traffickers who are tired of the same old hunt and ending up wanting to do something new. Which was hunt and torment children... it's a low bar, but hey they do say the most dangerous hunt of all is man.

I do often say the darkest doesn't equal better, which is true, but it feels like the right amount of evil. That their logic of 'hunting dinosaurs to children' pipeline isn't that much of a leap.

Though, if I were to pick a more traditional Doraemon villain? It's Gigazombie... uh specifically the 2016 version.

This guy rules, and the movie is in my top five at least.

[codedmovies]

Doraemon Nobita’s Treasure Island 2018 Hindi Dubbed BluRay 1080p 720p 480p

[clover-face]

It too cute😆🌸😆🌸😆🌸

[furifuridoodles]

John Harbor <3 

[mapsontheweb]

Countries and territories the Doraemon franchise has visited through >70 movies.

UnadamantlySmall:

The Doraemon franchise takes place somewhere in suburban Tokyo, Japan. While some of its movie sets take place in another planet/world (2019 takes place on the Moon), they have also travelled throughout the world through its numerous movies. In order of mainline appearance, the list of places include:

1980: Nobita's Dinosaur in USA and Canada (remade in 2006)

1982: Nobita and the Haunts of Evil in Democratic Republic of Congo (remade in 2014, my personal favorite movie)

1984: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld in Croatia (remade in 2007)

1988: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West in People's Republic of China (also featured in 1989's Nobita and the Birth of Japan that would be remade in 2016. Xinjiang and Tibet were also featured in 2003's Nobita and the Windmasters)

1991: Nobita's Dorabian Nights in Iraq

1992: Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds in Germany (also featured in 2001's Nobita and the Winged Braves)

1993: Nobita and the Tin Labyrinth in Italy

1994: Nobita's Three Visionary Swordsmen in France

1997: Nobita and the Spiral City in Slovenia

1998: Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas in Oceania (country not specified)

2000: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King in Mexico (shut-out to Austria's Wiener Sängerknaben (GER: Vienna Boys' Choir) for providing the opening track for this movie)

2002: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom in Ukraine

2003: Nobita and the Windmasters in Mongolia

2004: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey in New Zealand

2010: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King in Palau

2012: Nobita and the Island of Miracles—Animal Adventure in Fiji

2013: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum in United Kingdom

2017: Nobita's Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi

2018: Nobita's Treasure Island in The Carribean (country not specified)

Edit: 1983's Nobita and the Castle of Undersea Devil took place somewhere in The Atlantic Ocean. While not part of the mainline movies, the Doraemon franchise has also visited The Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland in 藤子不二雄スペシャル ドラえもん・ヨーロッパ鉄道の旅 (JP: Fujiko Fujio Special Doraemon: Europe Rail Travel). The Doraemons spin-off includes characters from Spain, Russia, and Brazil.

[albertonykus]

Over on Twitter, @elijahdmgz reminded me that it's been five years since Gen Hoshino's "Doraemon" (originally the ending song to Nobita's Treasure Island) was instated as the new theme song for the Doraemon TV series.

I grew up on "Doraemon no Uta", so that will always be "the" Doraemon song to me, but Hoshino's "Doraemon" is tremendously catchy and a brilliant tribute to the franchise, so I'm not at all mad that it's become the new theme tune for it.

(I apologize in advance for any mistakes in the explanations here; I know a small amount of Japanese but I'm not fluent by any stretch.)

In the opening line, 少しだけ不思議 (sukoshi dake fushigi) is a reference to how Fujiko F. Fujio described his own works as "sukoshi fushigi" ("a little mysterious").

The song cleverly references all the main human characters without directly name-dropping them:

落ちこぼれた君 (you who's at the bottom of the class) = Nobita

出来すぎあの子 (the overachieving kid) = Dekisugi

拗ねた君 (you who is sulking) = Suneo

静かなあの子 (the quiet kid) = Shizuka

彼の歌 (his song) = Gian

There are also some probable references to well-known guest characters:

機械だって 涙を流して (even machines shed tears) = possibly a reference to the android Riruru, who surprised herself when she cried at the end of Nobita and the Steel Troops.

台風だって 心を痛めて (even a typhoon can hurt your heart) = probably a reference to Fuuko the typhoon, originally from the short story "Fuuko the Typhoon", later adapted into the movie Nobita and the Windmasters.

Not to mention the tune of "Boku Doraemon" as the bridge! So good.

There's probably more that could be said, but I'll leave it there for now. By the way, at the Doraemon Times Square in Tokyo, an instrumental version of the song plays at the top of each hour between 10:00 AM and 11:00 PM.

[fairyetc]

[doraemon-facts]

Shizuka may be nice, but she’s not a pushover. The boys, especially Nobita, often learn this the hard way when when she catches them being perverts towards her (or thinks they are behaving that way).

Source: お医者さんカバン, 1979 (manga)

Source: いつでもどこでもスケッチセット, 1989 (manga)

Source: 人間製造機, 1974 (manga)

Source: あとからアルバム, 1983 (manga)

Source: イージー特撮カメラ, 1979 (manga)

Even Dekisugi was hit by her once, out of a misunderstanding caused by Nobita using the “Transparent Hand” (とうめいハンド).

Source: とうめいハンド, 1984 (manga) [recolored version shown]

Shizuka has turned to violence over some other reasons, too. She lets Nobita have it for losing one of her dolls.

Source: ジャックとベティとジャニー, 1990 (manga)

She punishes Suneo alongside Gian when they find out that he peed in the river they washed their rice in.

Source: サウンドカメラ, 1978 (manga) [recolored version shown]

She fights the others over gadgets a few times.

Source: 未来からの買いもの, 1973 (manga)

Source: 未来からの買いもの, 1979 (episode from 1979 anime, adaptation of previous)

Source: ほんもの図鑑, 1979 (episode from 1979 anime)

She beats up Gian and Suneo to protect Nobita, using the “Elephant Lipstick” (ゾウ印口べに).

Source: ゾウ印口べに, 1975 (manga)

And a moment of silence for the many villains she’s taken down in Doraemon Long Stories/movies.

Source: Nobita's Little Star Wars, 1985 (manga, Doraemon Long Stories)

Source: Nobita and the Animal Planet, 1990 (manga, Doraemon Long Stories)

Source: Nobita's Three Visionary Swordsmen, 1994 (manga, Doraemon Long Stories)

Source: New Nobita's Great Demon—Peko and the Exploration Party of Five, 2014

Source: Nobita's Space Heroes, 2015

Source: Nobita's Treasure Island, 2018

[otakunews01]

Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island PV  

[filmfactors]

Val Watches: South Sea Adventure

Decided, you know, keeping a live blog of whatever Doraemon movie I watch would be fun! I’ll keep it all in one post though, for the sake of things.

This movie is actually starting off pretty interesting, the pirates at the beginning are speaking english and Nobita and co are actually doing school work! Sometimes you forget these guys are in school, I swear.

---

Okay I can’t lie, this is actually very cute. I love the intros to the movies so much! Didn’t expect the gambling theme, but I like it.

---

Love the bit of Nobita being like ‘Just using the Anywhere Door would be boring!’ and Doraemon being like ‘Yeah anyways, I’m pulling out the Anywhere Door.’

Aside from that, immediately reminding me of the Treasure Island movie. The set up, what Nobita wants to do, etc - so far is very similar.

---

Cute that instead of asking Gian and Suneo if they wanna be pirates in his little adventure, he just sets up signs and expects them to follow it and listen to them and he was right.

It’s also cute to me that they were just having a conversation about what fish dish is the best, or at least Gian was.

---

Counting this as a friendship win, for myself, I’ll take any moment of them being pals I can grab.

---

Also enjoying the little bits of Gian caring about Nobita, I don’t talk about that aspect of the series but it is one I actually really love.

---

Gian protecting Suneo moment yippee!

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Everyone thinking Nobita is dead moment :[

---

Okay, genuinely really cute moment of Nobita teaching this kid Jack his language and vice versa. I mean, mostly at least.

---

Hooray once again the villains are time criminals, the future police are awful at their jobs. Unsurprising!

Classic villain monologue also, this guy is desperate for someone to talk about how he’s going to illegally sell fucked up animals.

---

I think it’d be funny if one of these days Nobita shot a villain with a real gun, I think he’s earned it.

---

The good thing about this movie is that all the kids get to do something in it, and certain ones aren’t just there for set decoration. Always a pleasant surprise!

---

Suneo being commanded by a telepathic dolphin how to control a future ship.... whos apart of the time police apparently... strange stuff.

---

WELL I finished it! It certainly was a movie, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. There’s other movies that does what it does better.

Also I have learned that yes, Betty has a crush on Gian [vaguely] but her age is uncertain outside of being an older sister. However her design is similar to Riruru and any other older girl in the series so I’m not sure about this one folks!

It is also very similar to Treasure Island, as I suspected before, maybe one day I’ll do a comparison post.

[doraemonfanclub]

🧐 Countries Doraemon visited in the movies

👉 https://www.reddit.com/r/Doraemon/comments/vn7m35/countries_and_territories_the_doraemon_franchise/ 🙏 u/UnadamantlySmall

👉 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doraemon_films/

The Doraemon franchise takes place somewhere in suburban Tokyo, Japan. While some of its movie sets take place in another planet/world (2019 takes place on the Moon), they have also travelled throughout the world through its numerous movies. In order of mainline appearance, the list of places include:

1980: Nobita's Dinosaur in USA and Canada (remade in 2006)

1982: Nobita and the Haunts of Evil in Democratic Republic of Congo (remade in 2014, my personal favorite movie)

1984: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld in Croatia (remade in 2007)

1988: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West in People's Republic of China (also featured in 1989's Nobita and the Birth of Japan that would be remade in 2016. Xinjiang and Tibet were also featured in 2003's Nobita and the Windmasters)

1991: Nobita's Dorabian Nights in Iraq

1992: Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds in Germany (also featured in 2001's Nobita and the Winged Braves)

1993: Nobita and the Tin Labyrinth in Italy

1994: Nobita's Three Visionary Swordsmen in France

1997: Nobita and the Spiral City in Slovenia

1998: Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas in Oceania (country not specified)

2000: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King in Mexico (shut-out to Austria's Wiener Sängerknaben (GER: Vienna Boys' Choir) for providing the opening track for this movie)

2002: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom in Ukraine

2003: Nobita and the Windmasters in Mongolia

2004: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey in New Zealand

2010: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King in Palau2012: Nobita and the Island of Miracles—Animal Adventure in Fiji

2013: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum in United Kingdom

2017: Nobita's Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi

2018: Nobita's Treasure Island in The Carribean (country not specified)

Adapted from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Countries_where_Doraemon_visited_in_the_movies.svg#/media/File:Countries_where_Doraemon_visited_in_the_movies.svg

Note: 1983's Nobita and the Castle of Undersea Devil took place somewhere in The Atlantic Ocean. While not part of the mainline movies, the Doraemon franchise has also visited The Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland in 藤子不二雄スペシャル ドラえもん・ヨーロッパ鉄道の旅 (JP: Fujiko Fujio Special Doraemon: Europe Rail Travel). The Doraemons spin-off also includes characters from Spain, Russia, and Brazil. Feel free to add to this comment if there are anything else incorrect and/or missing.

[katyatalks]

Otomedia April 2019 - Character Designer Kameda, Eyecatch Team Kenja, Series Co-ordinator Seko & Director Tachikawa - Interview Translation

Here’s Character Designer Kameda, Eye-catch Team Kenja, Series Co-ordinator Seko & Director Tachikawa’s interviews from April 2019’s Otomedia! Semi-summary style as there’s a lot to get through - naturally, this is a long one, but there’s plenty of cool stuff in here that makes for a good read. Includes stuff like why certain scenes were cut from the anime (boxcutter Minori, the cat, etc.), Joseph’s original character design, where Reigen got some of his ‘wise sayings’ from, the reason behind the kaleidoscope imagery in the S2 intro and outro, and plenty more!

KAMEDA YOSHIMICHI Character Designer

Asked how the production environment was for season 2, he says that it was “strangely pretty hectic - lots of stuff going on (laughs)”. States that with season 2 they understood the direction that MP100 would take more than they did with season 1. Something he and Director Tachikawa struggled with in season 1 was what kind of anime style would be best for the manga.

For season 2 the majority of the staff working on it had seen season 1, so production was steady.

He says that before season 2 he’d been working on “Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island”, but work for season 2 began before he was finished with that film.

Just before working on season 1 of MP100 he’d worked on One Punch Man, “and it’s thanks to that that I was able to snap into work on Mob Psycho 100, but this time around it was a bit of a hard fight.” While drawing the designs for the new characters who’d appear in season 2 he eventually found himself readjusting to the proportions of MP100 (vs. Doraemon’s style)

Mentions how Tachikawa has been working on the MP100 OVA previously so getting back into work on Mob Psycho didn’t seem to be that strange for him, but for Kameda personally it took a bit of getting used to.

He’s asked if there’s anything regarding Mob’s character design that is essential to maintain a certain ‘Mob’-ness about him, to which Kameda replies; “The length of his fringe/bangs, ie. whether or not you can see his eyebrows.” Discusses how there’s only a certain amount of space between where his hair ends and his eyelids start to give an expression, and the depth of his expression varies greatly depending on if he has eyebrows or not.

“Mob is a character who isn’t really expressive, but regardless, it is important to be able to show his expressions. That’s something I told everyone to pay attention to.”

“In season 1 we avoided drawing Mob with eyebrows as much as possible, but in season 2 we see them again and again, and then we have the super handsome sparkly-eyed Mob that we see in S2E5! Since that episode, even in his normal state, it became fine to give him eyebrows (laughs).”

“This season, he’s had a lot of angry scenes. The start of episode 9 has him quite notably angry. For that, you’ve got to give him eyebrows.”

Q: “Would you say season 2 lifted the ban on eyebrows?” A: “Season 2 lifted the ban on eyebrows!” States he himself didn’t draw eyebrows much at all during season 1. “Right now, I’m doing work on the final episode, and I’m giving those eyebrows a certain plumpness (laughs).”

He is asked if there were any other changes made to the characters. “This is a very minute change, but for certain characters like Mob and Reigen I made a change to their silhouettes - beforehand, their hair had a rounder shape, but now their hair has become a little more playful.”

“I suppose rather than a choice I made on purpose, their hair ended up this way because it’s easier to draw. It’s probably the result of the great amount of advertisement art I drew after season 1 finished broadcasting.”

Asked what he thinks season 2’s “power-up” point is or where it’s changed compared to season 1, he says that they had a lot of young animators participate this season and the quality of their digital work was amazing.

Mentions how with digital animation the look of things like smoke and sparks, and spatial representation, improves.

“For example, in S2E3, when Reigen is looking through the window, the camera passes by him and while approaching the girl, the camera turns to the wall and enters it… the animator made the environment for that scene in 3D with a virtual camera.”

Q: ”A good amount of new characters show up this season - which of them is your favourite?” A: ”Shinra Banshoumaru! I made him chubbier than he is in the manga. His belly that sticks out, his short legs, his harem pants… I drew those, but Tachikawa-san told me I was going too far. But I persisted; ‘Tachikawa-san, we live in a time where there’s no chubby characters in anime! If there’s any anime that can challenge that it’s Mob Psycho 100!’ I was like a bulldozer with the things I said, and as a result I got him how I wanted him!... I say that, but Tachikawa-san also topped-up the amount of belly-sways Shinra has (laughs).”

He's asked about characters post S2E9, to which he mentions Joseph's clothes being different in the manga. "He wears a greyish suit in the manga, but I feel like Joseph has more of a white image. Plus, a grey suit would overlap with Reigen. At first I had Joseph wear a black leather jacket, but a few days later I reviewed that and went, 'nah, that's not right.' I had it changed to white."

He is asked about any scenes up until S2E9 that he particularly fussed over, or any that left an impression on him. “Episode 7. It’s a great Reigen story, and I had the privilege of being the animation director for it. I paid great attention to Reigen’s expressions. It’s an episode with a lot of good cuts, so I wanted to make sure they were all the best quality they could be.”

Q: “Of those cuts, which would you say is the best?” A: “It really leaves an impression on you in the manga - when Reigen says, ‘You’ve really grown up, haven’t you’, a message for beyond the camera. [...] Then, in the final part of the episode, when he talks to Mob on the bridge. Episode 7 truly has some great expressions; my favourite faces.”

He’s asked if there’s anything coming up that he’d like us to pay attention to & any highlights - mentions the battle between Shibata and Gouda. Says the anime brings action and originality that only anime can achieve.

His final message to readers is that if you haven’t read the manga yet, don’t go running to read it, wait for the anime first, so you can experience the tension of not knowing what happens next. “The quality of season 2 is insane, right up until the end.”

---

KENJA Eyecatches Kenja are described as a video production group, who have made promotional advertisements for MP100 (both for the manga and S1 of the anime), and were in charge of the eyecatches for season 2. The eyecatches were mainly made by koya, Takarai & 0gt. koya, their representative, has worked as ONE’s assistant, and Takarai participated as an animator this season.

Asked how they ended up doing the eyecatches for season 2, koya says that Satou Miyo (who was in charge of the season 1 ending) was a classmate of his when he was a graduate student. “We got back in touch and the message I got was, ‘I’m doing work on the ending of Mob Psycho 100, do you want to work on something too, koya-kun?’ (laughs).”

Takarai had his way in via already being an animator for the show, and koya discusses being ONE’s assistant. “ONE-san and I get along very well, so I’d tag along to anime events. I got talking to Director Tachikawa and now here we are.”

They were originally told that it’d be fine to have the same eyecatch for before and after the commercial pause, but they were worried that watching the same thing twice would be a bit unbearable, so they made two for each episode instead.

koya: “Ended up being tougher than I thought (laughs).”

Takarai: “Well, simply put, we doubled our work load (laughs).”

The eyecatch for episode 3 is brought up. Takarai; “Eyecatches have this image of being stand-alone things, but for this episode, it snuggles up to the plot. It was a choice that made me anxious, but looking at everyone’s reactions to it, I was relieved.”

Their final message to the readers comes from koya, who states that going on Twitter and seeing everyone react to mob psycho 100 stuff as it happens in real time is very encouraging. “Even just, ‘I wonder what the eyecatches will be today?’, makes me happy.”

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SEKO HIROSHI Series Co-ordinator

Asked where he thinks season 2 has powered up compared to season 1, he says that season 1 had to introduce all the characters - season 2 starts off with the characters introduced, so the action kicks off full-throttle.

He’s asked what his thought process was in choosing what parts of the manga to leave out of the anime. “My process is, I first write with absolutely everything from the manga in the script, then choose what to cut from there. The flow of the story as a whole is important - I keep that in the forefront of my mind, and choose to keep things that are vital to the story. Other than that, I try to keep scenes that show off the personalities of the characters. There’s been moments where I’ve had to cut scenes, even though I really like them, just because they wouldn’t fit into the length of the episode…! Other than episode length, there’s also parts of Mob Psycho 100 that we wouldn’t have been able to include due to broadcasting code.”

He’s asked which character he thinks grew the most, to which he says Mob. “What stuck with me was episode 3. ‘Mob’s been thinking about this kind of stuff’... I was like, ‘oh’. 

He’s asked if there’s any other character he feels has had a big change since season 1. “Naturally, Reigen. [...] I feel like Reigen has had a layer peeled back, after episodes 6 and 7. He’s an adult, and he does act that way sometimes, but there’s parts of him that haven’t matured… but I feel with the completion of that arc, he’s taken a step closer to becoming a fully-fledged adult.”

He’s asked if there’s been any part of the season up until episode 9 that’s particularly left an impression on him, to which he says episode 8. “The marathon. [...] That was a part that made me think, wow, this manga is amazing. You have a regular school marathon, and then come home to find your house on fire - not something you’d be quick to find anywhere else, huh. (Laughs)”

He discusses how originally season 2 was 12 episodes, and the house fire would’ve come at the end of Part A of the original episode 8, and Claw Arc would commence with the B part. It was with Warner Brother’s intervention that season 2 became 13 episodes, as an individual from Warner Bros. wanted to have the fire come at the end of episode 8.

He’s asked which of the new characters in season 2 has particularly been on his mind. “His entry is a little later on, but I love Serizawa from the Ultimate Five. How should I put it… it’s not surprising that he’s the way he is. He was a hikikomori, and he doesn’t know anything about society, so he believes in and follows his ‘boss’. I think this sort of situation can happen to anyone. He was brainwashed, so to say. But, what becomes of him? His story is one that I really love, so he’s definitely the character on my mind.”

He’s asked what it is about Mob Psycho 100 that makes it Mob-Psycho-100-ish, to which he says that the characters don’t feel like they’re just characters - they’re all a bit hopeless but that’s what makes them loveable. 

“The Telepathy Club guys, for example… if they were real they probably wouldn’t be able to become proper members of society, but we still think of them fondly. Perhaps we’re too harsh to people who we deem hopeless in this world of ours.”

“No matter who you are, ONE-san will be warm to you. I think the goodness in Mob Psycho 100 comes from ONE-san’s personality.”

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TACHIKAWA YUZURU Director

Says that the average age of people working on season 2 dropped slightly compared to season 1. “We had people who love the manga, people who had only seen season 1, and those who love both. So there was a harmonious atmosphere.”

States that there was a lot of creative freedom given to the staff. “We can play around. That’s a merit of a show of this calibre - you can do as you please.”

States that Season 2 powered up compared to season 1 when it comes to emotions. Says that even in fight scenes, the personalities of the characters and their relationships shine through, which is something he wanted to maintain when shifting the MP100 manga into anime form.

“There’s quite an oscillation when it comes to emotions in the first half of the season. Episode 1 is warm and fluffy; episode 2 has a mix of laughs and horror; episode 3 impacts you… as do 4 and 5 (laughs). Then, episodes 6 and 7 moved plenty of our staff to tears. They’re full of heart.”

States that within all this oscillation, “from the start to the end, something we paid attention to was making sure the theme of ‘Mob’s ongoing growth’ was present. That ‘he is able to change himself’.”

“He’s able to change because he has everyone, and everyone around him is able to change, too.”

Discussion of season 2’s ED. “The emotional intensity of season 2 shifts a lot, and when the show makes you feel down it makes you feel /down/. So, I asked for an ending that’s warm and fluffy - something that calms you when you watch it. The illustrations are incredibly cute, but actually, the ending is not just cute - there’s stuff depicted that holds a deeper meaning.”

He’s asked about the kaleidoscope imagery present in the intro. “Originally the S2 outro didn’t have any kaleidoscope imagery, but I wanted to add it in, so now there’s that link between the intro and the outro. Mob continuously changes as a result of the people he meets… that’s a theme of the outro, but it’s also a theme of Mob Psycho 100 in general. There’s several parts within a kaleidoscope, but put the parts together and they create something new and charming. Mob gains friends, and as a result of all these different friends, he’s able to grow… that’s the meaning behind the kaleidoscope, and why it’s present in both the intro and outro.”

Interviewer brings up that Tachikawa previously said that season 1 was written with Reigen & Mob’s shishou-deshi relationship at its core, and asks what is at the core of season 2. “Reigen is also a protagonist-type character in Mob Psycho 100, but this time around we focused on Mob… season 2 has ‘The people surrounding Mob and his relationships with them’ at its core. Episodes 6 and 7 are pretty firmly about Reigen in that ‘people surrounding Mob’ role. Then there’s Mogami, and Serizawa later on. But, even deeper at its core season 2 focuses on how Mob grows as a result of the people he meets.”

Interviewer brings up that Tachikawa previously said he wanted to animate Reigen’s press conference, and asks how it was having that wish become reality. “We have it in season 1, that scene where Mob meets Reigen for the first time. When we put that in season 1, we thought if we’d ever get to animate the press conference, we’d use that scene again but have Reigen’s monologue from the manga this time around. I’m glad we were able to do that.”

Reigen’s past not being in the manga is brought up. “With the anime, I wanted to show a bit of how Reigen ended up where he is now. We don’t see the company Reigen used to work for in the manga. Occasionally, Reigen will come out with some ‘wise sayings’, such as ‘the secret behind business success lies in your smile’, so we thought it would be good to have those words come from where he used to work. We struggled deciding whether Reigen’s past should be as a water filter salesman, or as an insurance salesman. Ultimately, we asked ONE-sensei, who decided for us: ‘I like the idea of him selling water.’”

Discussion of Tsubomi coming to S&S as not being in the manga. Tachikawa wanted a scene in which Reigen, Ritsu, Teru do something for Mob - “something that sets things back to normal, after Whitey Arc.” ONE gave the idea, then published it as an omake manga.

He is asked what he’d like us to pay attention to with the final episodes. “Each character has their own motivation, but at the end of the day those motivations all add up to  ‘defeat claw’.” Mentions a bunch of new characters making their entrance.

His final message to readers is that a lot of work went into the final episodes and attention was paid to detail, so please enjoy.

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Original twitter thread has a few more pictures in it, link to that is here.

Otomedia April 2019;

ONE’s special interview here.

Sakurai Takahiro [Reigen VA] & Itou Setsuo [Mob VA] joint interview here.

Kokuryuu Sachi [Shou VA] interview here.

Itou Setsuo [Mob VA] & Irino Miyu [Ritsu VA] interview here.

Character Designer Kameda, Eye-catch Team Kenja, Series Co-ordinator Seko & Director Tachikawa's interview here.

[clover-face]

I really love nobita's treasure island, it's one of my favorite Doraemon movies because of emotion between nobita and shizuka