#jinzou enemy
Act 1–Jinzou Enemy
Translation of the audio commentary that comes with the DVD/Blu-ray of Mekakucity Actors, episode 1. You can listen to the raw version here. Please consider purchasing the original copies and feel free to message me about possible corrections. If there happens to be any issues with the link, please contact me on my main blog!
[Episode 1 starts playing in the background]
Jin: Mekakucity Actors, Act 1. To everyone listening to this audio commentary, hello! I’m the creator and screenplay writer, Jin.
Asumin:*giggles*
Jin:Uh?
Asumin: Hello! I’m Asumi Kana, the voice of Ene!
Jin:*giggles*
Suzuki: Eeeh, and I’m the one who’s going to supervise the course of this commentary. I’m from Aniplex Ltd. Eh, my name is Suzuki Kenta. It’s a pleasure.
Jin: *chuckles* It’s a pleasure.
Asumin: It’s a pleasure! *laughs*
Suzuki: Now, this means a salary-man is going to be adding comments along the process—
Asumin: What a joke! Aaah!
Jin:*laughs*
Asumin: *giggling* What kind of commentary is this? It’s giving me chills!
Suzuki: —so it’s going to be a commentary that represents all of Japan.
Asumin:Yes!
Suzuki: Let’s see, this thing that’s showing on the venue’s screen, this *laughs* shaky thing. What do you call it? This indescribable—
Asumin: What would it be? It’s kinda—
Jin: What’s most amazing is that each of us is holding a single sheet of paper with not much written on it.
Asumin:Thereisstuff written on them!
All: *burst into laughter*
Asumin: We just can’t see anything!
Suzuki: Yes, our agenda is written on it!
Asumin:Hahaha!
Jin: All this cross-talking keeps going over the main story!
Suzuki: Oh, we’re talking over each other…
Asumin: That’s true…
Suzuki: Now, it’s begun. Jinzou Enemy, the first episode.
Asumin: First episode!
Jin: Episode 1, Jinzou Enemy.
Suzuki: The outset is this… mysterious place.
Asumin:Yep.
Jin: That’s right.
Suzuki: This is where it starts.
Jin: It’s where we throw in Shintarou-kun’s story.
Suzuki: Well, Jin-san, how do I put it?
Jin:Yes?
Suzuki: You’ve made a lot of things for your Kagerou Project.
Jin:Yes!
Suzuki: And this is the anime series, Mekakucity Actors.
Jin: Yes. Yes!
Suzuki: In which it was adapted into animation.
Asumin:Yeeep.
Jin:Yes!!
Suzuki: How is it, seeing this sudden start?
Jin: Well, a-at the beginning, hum… when I saw it for the first time, it was from this point, and I was like, “Whoooaa, it really became an anime!”
Asumin:*giggles*
Suzuki:Hmmm.
Jin: I felt this very keenly. And I was really jumping at shadows.
Suzuki:*laughs*
Asumin:Aaah…
Suzuki: So you were like, “To think this is really happening”?
Jin: I still don’t get what’s going on!
Suzuki: You still can’t believe it?
Jin: I can’t!
Asumin: When it comes to this kind of thing, we don’t believe it till we’ve seen it ourselves, right?
Jin: True. It’s really just like that.
Suzuki: It’s like, what if someone shows up with a “gotcha” banner or something?
Asumin:*laughs*
Jin: I was all the while wondering if someone wouldn’t just do that! After going through all of this, no less!
Suzuki: Indeed! That would’ve been one hell of a prank!
Jin: I’d be like, “Let’s do this, then!”
Suzuki: That’d be an amazing act to put up, wouldn’t it? For sure.
Jin: Or else everything would go to waste.
Suzuki: We could have Asumi-san participate too!
Asumin: *laughs* I’d just pop up out of nowhere.
Jin: And I’d just go, “Welp, let’s go with that!”
Suzuki:Hahaha!
Asumin: I mean, you’re in charge of the anime’s screenplay, right?
Suzuki: Yes, the one who did it was Jin-san.
Jin: Yes, I was in charge, in a way.
Asumin:Right~?
Jin: Well, I was like, “Is it really okay for it to be me?”
Suzuki: No, no, no!
Asumin: No, no.
Jin: That’s what I felt while writing the screenplay.
Suzuki: I see. But you also developed the music, novel and manga, and then they evolved into animation.
Jin:Yes.
Suzuki: In the end, Jin-san, you’re the source of all the other medias’ development, right?
Asumin: Yep, yep, yep.
Suzuki: So if you didn’t write the anime, it probably wouldn’t be Kagerou Project anymore. Therefore, I think having Jin-san write the anime was the right choice.
Jin: Ah, I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful. At first, Shinbou-san told me, “How about you try doing it yourself?”
Suzuki: That’s right.
Jin: And I was like, “Ha-a-ah, I’ll do my best! Eeeh, I’m so sorry!”
Asumin/Suzuki:*laughs*
Jin: This is what I remember.
Suzuki: That’s awesome.
Jin: But the most—Ah, Ene-chan showed up.
Asumin: She’s there! Aaah!
Suzuki: It’s Ene-sama, voiced by Asumi-san.
Jin:Ene-sama.
Asumin:Yes!The Super Pretty…
All three: …Dennou Girl…
Asumin/Suzuki:…Ene-chan.
Suzuki: *chuckles* By the way, Asumi-san, you were actually already involved with KagePro for a long time, right?
Asumin: Yes, yes, yes. That’s right. For about two or three years.
Suzuki: From the first album?
Jin: About this first album… Hum, by the time that the DVD that has this audio commentary in it comes out through Kadokawa—
Suzuki: How long would it have been since its release?
Jin: About two years. Almost two years ago, we released the first album, Mekakucity Days.
Asumin:Yes.
Suzuki:Hm-hm.
Jin: When we released it, she participated as the narrator. That was the first time.
Asumin: Back then, I was told that he wanted it to be an anime one day.
Suzuki: At the time when you were working as the narrator?
Asumin: Yes, yes. Back when I did the narration. And when I heard this information, I was like, “Yeah, that’d be amazing”, as if it had nothing to do with me! *laughs*
Suzuki/Jin:*laugh*
Suzuki: Like, “It’d be great if that happened”?
Asumin: Yeah. I took it as if it were someone else’s business entirely. Afterward, the process of adapting it to animation went on properly and the announcement was published, but I was like, “Well, I might end up not being in the cast, though…”
All three: *laugh*
Suzuki: Ah, I see, so that’s what you were thinking!
Jin: And when it happened, you were like, “How?!”
Asumin: For a while, I made sure not to let my hopes up at all *laughs* and did my waiting.
Suzuki: Eeeeeh… Is that so?
Asumin: Yeah. That’s why I was so happy about it.
Jin: Thank you very much.
Asumin: No, me too, thank you so much.
Suzuki: Indeed, from the start, Jin-san wanted Ene to be voiced by…
Jin: Yes, by Asumi-san.
Asumin:Eeeh~?
Jin: It was kind of a dream to me.
Asumin:Aaah…
Jin: When it comes to anime, back in my student years, one of my first experiences with it was Hidamari Sketch.
Asumin: Ah, is that so?
Suzuki:Hmmm…!
Jin: Nowadays, it’s totally one of those top-something animes to me.
Suzuki: And it’s by Shaft-san too, right?
Jin:Yes.
Suzuki: Both are Shaft works.
Asumin: Yeah, yeah. That’s why, when I heard that KagePro would be animated and that was going to be made by Shaft-san, I was like, “A-Ah, is that so??”
Jin:Really?
Asumin: I was surprised.
Jin: I see. I’m simply a huge fan of Hidamari Sketch, so I had this dream that when it became an anime, I wanted to leave it to Shaft-san.
Asumin:Amazing!
Jin: And I hoped the heroine would be voiced by Asumi-san.
Asumin: For real??
Jin: It’s awesome that so many of my wishes came true.
Suzuki: Well, in Hidamari Sketch, Asumi-san voices Yuno, the heroine, right?
Asumin: That’s right, I voiced Yuno. Haaah! But that was seven years ago!
Jin: “Seven years ago”?!
Asumin: That’s right!
Jin:Eeeeeh???
Asumin: Therefore, it’s no surprise that people like you might exist, right? *laughs*
Suzuki: So when you saw that this had happened…
Asumin: I was really in shock!
Jin: It’s such a legendary show.
Asumin:Yeaaah!
Suzuki: True that. Well, there was this connection, so it really was like fate. He saw Shaft and Asumi-san through Hidamari Sketch, and then, after some time passed, he earned an anime adaptation with both. That’s quite dramatic, isn’t it?
Asumin: Unbelievable, huh?
Jin: Yes, fortunately, my dream was realized.
Asumin: Then again, voicing Yunocchi was pretty different from doing this.
Jin: You were totally different as Yunocchi! When I watched it for the first time, I was like, “This person sure can talk a lot!”
Asumin: Yunocchi really…
Jin: Talked a lot, didn’t she?
Asumin: She sure did.
Suzuki: Right now, we’re in a new appearance scene in the anime.
Asumin: Yes, their meeting.
Suzuki: Their first encounter, right? Shintarou-kun and Ene’s.
Jin: Honestly, Shintarou-kun’s room is so huge!
Asumin:*laughs*
Suzuki: I know, right?? That’s true!
Jin: I was like, “How big!”
Asumin: Yeah, it’s too stylish!
Jin: “His room is so sophisticated!”
Asumin:Riiight?
Suzuki: Haha! You can’t tell if that’s his own house or if it’s rented.
Jin: No idea if it’s rented, but…
Suzuki: But it seems like the fees would be outrageous!
Jin: They’d be absurd!
Asumin: He lives in such a cool room, doesn’t he?
Suzuki: Stylish as heck.
Asumin:Yeaaah…
Suzuki: Hum, one thing I thought to be really good is that… All the walls of the room are monitors, aren’t they?
Jin:Yes.
Asumin: Yep, yep, yep.
Suzuki: That way, Ene looks huge when she comes up. So he can talk to a big Ene not just when she’s in his phone or computer. The staging seemed really good in that aspect.
Jin:True.
Asumin: Her movements are extremely detailed, which I was happy about.
Suzuki:Hmmm.
Jin: They sure were.
Asumin: She’s like an old man, though.
Suzuki:*laughs*
Jin: The duality is just incredible, isn’t it?
Asumin: That’s true!
Jin: She was cute when they first met, but…
Suzuki: I wonder how Ene would be like if she actually existed. She’d be…
Asumin: So loooud…
Jin: Aaah, I’d rather not have that!
Suzuki/Asumin:*laugh*
Suzuki: But you were the one who created her, Jin-san!
Jin: When I said that I wanted Asumi-san to voice her, I did mention that I’d be glad if she made her cute, but…!
Asumin: Well, I mean, it might actually depend on the dynamics of her relationships.
Suzuki: I see, I see.
Jin: True, true.
Asumin: She totally makes fun of Shintarou and is all pranks with him.
Jin: Like a toy in her hands.
Suzuki:Ahaha!
Asumin: Hehe! If it were someone that she gets along with a little better, it might be fun.
Suzuki: Indeed, that’s true. Like…
Asumin: If the relationship is compatible…
Suzuki:*laughs*
Jin: She’d talk normally, huh!
Asumin/Suzuki:*laugh*
Asumin:Right.
Jin: Ah, the staging is so incredible.
Asumin:Yeeeah…
Jin:He lives in such a good house.
Suzuki: Yeah, seriously. This room is so…
Jin: You’d think even the CEO of a company would have a bit more restraint than this!
Suzuki: My, that’s so true.
Asumin: Right? But Shintarou is like that. Hum… he’s a shut-in and you can definitely tell from the first episode that his lame side is always showing.
Jin: That’s true, yes.
Suzuki:Hmmm.
Asumin: But even while being like that, isn’t he always at his wit’s end and accomplishing quite a lot?
Jin/Suzuki:*laugh*
Asumin: So we speak till we pass out.
Suzuki: That’s the deal. You’re talking the whooole time in this exchange between Shintarou and Ene.
Asumin: Yeah, the first episode was like that.
Suzuki: Yup, yup, yup.
Jin: They were having a conversation all the while.
Suzuki: And so, the shut-in has to go outside.
Jin:Right.
Asumin: Ah, that’s right, he’s already going.
Jin: The NEET is going to stand on top.
Asumin:*laughs*
Jin: Also, Terashima-san is amazing too.
Asumin:Yep!
Jin: He managed to perform the twitchy and cowardly Shintarou so well.
Asumin: Ah, yeah, yeah.
Suzuki:Indeed.
Jin: On the other hand, as expected, Ene-chan contrasts with him.
Suzuki/Asumin:*laugh*
Jin: She’s so mean! Like…
Suzuki: That sure is great.
Jin: It’s pretty raw…
Suzuki: Like she comes in to spice things up!
Asumin: It’s easy to get into it. Like, she’s easy to talk to.
Suzuki: Asumi-san, I might be backtracking on the topic a bit, but…
Asumin:Yes?
Suzuki: KagePro has music, novels and manga.
Asumin: Yes, yes.
Suzuki: And I believe you have come in contact with them.
Asumin:Yes!
Suzuki: So, when you did, what did you think of it and how did it make you feel?
Asumin: Aaah… If I’m not mistaken, I was shown the song “Kagerou Days” first of all.
Jin:Ah…
Suzuki:Hmmm…
Asumin: That… music video? I received it as material.
Suzuki:Oh.
Asumin: And then… ah, w-what was it again? How should I put it…? A part of me really thought that just that one song was enough to get someone hooked into this project series. Like, it draws you in.
Suzuki:Hmmm…
Asumin: Yep, that’s right. And amongst the people who are watching it, it keeps growing more and more.
Suzuki: That’s true.
Asumin: Yep, yep.
Jin: I wonder about that…
Suzuki: Indeed, it started with the songs that Jin-san created, then Sidu-san’s illustrations became part of it, and so it gradually evolved into all sorts of media, still spreading out amongst the fans of KagePro.
Asumin: Yeah! How should I put it? Normally, when it comes to official releases, we often have this pattern where the anime comes first, then we get music and a lot of other stuff with the characters in them, and then it gets turned into a manga, right? So isn’t this the complete opposite?
Suzuki:True.
Asumin: Right? This way of doing things is really…
Suzuki: If we were to pinpoint it, the music is the source material, isn’t it?
Jin: That’s right, if we go by order, the music came first.
Suzuki:Hmmm.
Asumin: That’s true…
Suzuki: I wonder if there’s been anything like this until now. It’s not coming to my mind at the moment, but maybe there hasn’t. An anime adaptation like this, I mean. In this multi-media form.
Jin: To be honest, while I was making Kagerou Days…
Asumin:Yes?
Jin: …I was also working at an ordinary job.
Asumin:Aaaah…!
Jin: I was doing that and writing the songs.
Asumin: Ah, so, how should I say it? They were a hobby for you.
Jin: A hobby, totally. I didn’t particularly think, “I’ll definitely make these songs into an anime in the future!” or anything like that.
Asumin:Figures~!
Jin: It’s just that there was a time when I wanted to take the songs I had created and make them into animated videos.
Asumin: And in just a few years, it turned into something like this!
Suzuki: Right~? That’s amazing!
Jin: It sure is, huh?! I was also surprised!
Asumin:*laughs*
Suzuki: No, no, no!
Jin: This kind of thing is really possible!
Asumin: W-Well, it is!
Jin: Like, “They sure gave me good times, huh!”
Suzuki:*laughs*
Jin: That’s what I think when watching them nowadays.
Asumin: Oh, my…
Suzuki: And now, the NEET has arrived at the department store.
Jin: Ah, he has.
Asumin: He did his best to get there!
Suzuki: To buy a keyboard or something…
Jin: To buy a keyboard.
Asumin: He really went there just for that!
Jin: Just for that.
Asumin: That’s truly his only driving force.
Jin: The only one.
Asumin: He wants to use the computer at home.
Jin:Just because he wants to use the computer at home.
Suzuki: Honestly… he’ll die if he can’t type!
Jin: He will!
Asumin: Yeah. He has to do his best, then.
Suzuki: “I can’t do without this,” he says!
Asumin:Hoooh…
Jin: If I’m not wrong, this was also written in the novel.
Asumin:Yes.
Jin: Like, if I were to talk about Ene-chan, for example…
Asumin:Yes?
Jin: She can operate electronic devices and stuff like that by voice command. Didn’t this happen just now?
Asumin:Yes!
Jin: In many moments.
Suzuki: Yes, yes, yes.
Jin: That being said, hum, you might think it’d be best if he asked Ene to take care of this for him, but he most certainly can’t.
Asumin:Ah…!
Suzuki: I-It wouldn’t go as he wanted…
Jin: After thinking about all sorts of possibilities, he decided to go shopping for it.
Asumin:Uh-huh.
Suzuki: Judging by his face, he’s pretty bad at dealing with the outdoors.
Jin: He’s no good.
Asumin:Yeah.
Jin: Here, it’s happening again.
Suzuki:Wooow…
Jin:Aaah…
Suzuki: But I guess that’s just how it is. If someone who always stays at home suddenly goes outside, they do get concerned about being stared at, just like this.
Jin: No, but even then… Looking at it from the sidelines, Terashima-san’s voice can be heard, but you can only listen to Ene’s voice through the earphones.
Asumin:*laughs*
Suzuki: That’s right.
Jin: So if you mumble so much while you walk, of course people are gonna stare a lot!
Suzuki:*laughs* Indeed!
Asumin: True! The people around you might think that it’s best not to get too close to you.
Suzuki: Like, they look at you just a little bit.
Jin: Just a tiny little bit!
Suzuki: And then avert their eyes, as expected.
Asumin:*laughs*
Suzuki: It incites stares.
Jin: Ah, there it is, right here.
Suzuki: So cool…
Asumin: Ah, their first meeting.
Suzuki:Danchou…
Jin: Danchou-san makes her appearance.
Asumin: Anyone would get startled by that, even if it weren’t Shintarou.
Suzuki:Pfft…!
Asumin: The look in this person’s eyes is a bit…
Jin: Intimidating, wouldn’t you say?
Suzuki: Indeed. Cool as heck…
Jin: Cool, isn’t she~?
Asumin: She is. *laughs*
Jin: And then she’s gone.
Suzuki:*chuckles*
Jin: I-It’s been going downhill all this time. But, well, Ene was like that too just now. This is what makes me go, “Animation is truly incredible”…
Suzuki: Oh, oh, oh.
Jin: Hum, when it’s in the novel, I just write a bunch of stuff, comma after comma.
Asumin: *laughs* Figures.
Suzuki: Aah, I see.
Jin: So there isn’t anything as stylish as this in it.
Asumin:Aah, I get it. There isn’t any way to portray something instantaneously like this.
Suzuki: Indeed, when it’s through a lot of different medias, even if they’re depicting the same scene, there are differences between them, as you’d expect.
Jin: It’s completely different.
Asumin: By the way, is there any reason for you to have named the anime anew like this?
Jin: As “Mekakucity Actors”?
Asumin: Yes, yes.
Jin: It’s nothing much, but that’s something I can talk about.
Asumin:Hoh?
Jin: Hum, back then, erm… at first, hum… I had said that I was going to keep it as “Kagerou Project”, since everyone was calling it that.
Asumin:Hm.
Jin: But before I started it, I had no title for it. For the project itself, that is.
Asumin: I see, I see.
Jin: And, in a broad sense, I just wanted to create that kind of story with that kind of worldview, without thinking much about anything in particular. Even if just through music, for instance. Well, there was, of course, no proposal to publish a novel at the time. But, hum, don’t we have things like blogs on the internet nowadays?
Asumin:Yes.
Jin: So I thought to myself, “I could make use of that stuff and write a little bit for the time being”.
Asumin:Aah…
Jin: I was like, “First things first, I wanna try making lots of characters for this story’s world-building!” and that was the beginning of it.
Suzuki:Hmm.
Asumin:Oooh…
Jin: And from there, I got some attention, and around the time when the novel was going to come out, I had to give a name to the series.
Asumin: Ah, right, the series had to have a name…
Jin: That’s right. So just when I was kinda like, “What should I do?”, there was this thing called “my list” on a site named NicoNico Douga.
Asumin:Yes.
Jin: It’s where I upload the songs.
Asumin: Yes, yes.
Jin: So it has this “my list” thing. It’s a playlist of all the videos that you post as a series.
Asumin: I see.
Jin: And you can give a title to this list yourself.
Asumin:Ooh…!
Jin: It had songs that I’d uploaded, like this one, Jinzou Enemy. Back then, I was at Souzou Forest.
Asumin:Yes.
Jin: When I was wondering what this series should be called, I decided to just use “Kagerou Project” as a temporary title and think seriously about it later.
Asumin:*laughs*
Jin: That’s what I thought, but then people were like “KagePro this”, “KagePro that”!
Asumin: Ah, so it was surprisingly catchy.
Jin: Hella catchy!
Suzuki: Like, it was impossible to turn back.
Jin: It was no use at that point! So I was like, “M’kay, this is Kagerou Project now”!
Asumin:Heeeh…
Suzuki/Asumin:*laugh*
Jin: But when the novel was released, to be honest, I actually wanted to name it “Mekakucity”. The novel was going to be “Mekakucity-something”, and, well, to tell the truth, the music series was also going to be “Mekakucity-something-else”. And the anime was going to be “Mekakucity Actors”. Therefore, I thought it’d be interesting if this were a series of several “Mekakucity-whatever’s” in all sorts of medias, and that’s what I had in mind back when there was the first proposal for it to be turned into novel and manga. But at that time, “Kagerou Days” was very popular, so I thought it’d be best to leave the title as that.
Asumin: To preserve everyone’s image of it…
Jin: Even the bookstores said, “Wouldn’t it be easier for the public to accept the title as ‘Kagerou Days’?”
Asumin: Aaah, I see.
Jin: I was like, “Dammit, I wasn’t strong enough…!!”
Asumin/Suzuki:*laugh*
Jin: So when the anime came around, I guess it was a chance for me to avenge this grudge.
Asumin: Yes, yes. So the “Mekakucity” was already a thing.
Jin: That’s right. I wanted to use the word “Mekakucity”.
Asumin: I see.
Suzuki: It was your long-time wish.
Jin: A long-time wish, yes. That’s “Mekakucity Actors”. Well, this “Actors” thing is from the first CD I released.
Asumin:Yes.
Jin: A CD with this title came out at the same time as the anime.
Asumin/Suzuki:Ooooh!!
Jin: This title has so many of my feelings in it. Since the anime is the grand stage, this title is the one that sounded best to me – the one I that made me think, “I’m gonna make this the title of the show” most strongly.
Asumin:Haaaah!!
Suzuki: How dramatic.
Jin:Haha!
Asumin: Amazing! There’s a lot of history to it.
Suzuki: Yes, truly.
Jin: That’s right. So I really ended up creating this difficult equation for everyone, where “Mekakucity Actors = Kagerou Project”, and I’m sorry about that, but…
Suzuki: But at the end of the day, Jin-san, you thought that this one was the best.
Asumin: Yep, yep, yep.
Suzuki: The title will properly get through to everyone.
Asumin: And there’s this big bundling that is “KagePro” in the minds of the fans, after all, so perhaps they do completely understand that “Mekakucity Actors” is included in it.
Jin: Indeed, there’s the novels, the music and whatnot other than the TV series, so it’s really like the anime is in the very middle of a huge bundle.
Asumin:Yeah!
Jin: So I’d be happy if everyone finds that out somehow.
Suzuki: There, there.
Jin: That’s what I think, kinda.
Suzuki: Already showing up from behind.
Asumin: He’s already here?!
Suzuki: Kano-kun makes his appearance.
Jin: The terrorists came before we realized.
Suzuki: The terrorists have arrived.
Asumin:Yeah!
Suzuki:They’ve infiltrated, huh.
Jin:They have. Ah, s… so cool…
Asumin: This exchange was kinda funny too.
Jin: Enter the punchline!
Suzuki: I was just thinking that too! *laughs* Makes the background pique your interest, doesn’t it?
Asumin: Haaah! Eh, what kind of idiom is that?
Jin: It’s an abbreviation for “video”.
Suzuki: Like “CEO”. But this one refers to television.
Jin: It’s as if it’s saying, “You can watch TV here”.
Asumin: Oh! I-Is that machine jargon?
Suzuki: It is. It’s got nothing to do with the main story, though!
Asumin:*laughs*
Jin: Absolutely nothing!
Asumin: I see, I see.
Jin: It really has nothing to do with it.
Suzuki: H-Hum, it’s like a corner that you’re watching from the TV appearing in this scene.
Jin: Yeah, a corner!
Asumin: Ah, is that what it is…?
Suzuki/Jin:*laugh*
Jin: That’s right. *giggles*
Suzuki:Around this part, too.
Asumin: Yeah. It showed someone’s feet a little, right?
Jin: Yeah. It was Mary’s. From the first to the third episode, it’s all three sides of one story.
Asumin:Right.
Suzuki:Yeah!
Jin: That’s how we structured the plot. I hope people can see that it was like this from one point of view, and from another, it was like that.
Suzuki:But, well, this is what people see first, so when episodes 2 and 3 come up, it will be like, “This is what was actually going on in that part”.
Jin: Everyone will know why this and that happened. The mystery will be revealed, and they’ll be able to figure it out little by little.
Suzuki: So we’d like everyone to keep watching from now on.
Jin: By all means.
Asumin: Yeah! We’d like everyone to take their time to watch and have fun while thinking things like, “Oh, so this is what was happening”.
Suzuki: Wow, Shintarou. Uwah.
Asumin: Well, Ene sure isn’t playing around, is she?
Suzuki:Indeed.
Asumin:*laughs*
Jin: I’m truly sorry for this, seriously.
Suzuki:This part makes you restless, doesn’t it?
Asumin: It does, it does!
Jin:Really makes you go, “So that’s what she was doing in the first half of this scene!”
Suzuki: She’s gone and done it!
Asumin: That’s right! She was really showing off, huuuh. Ah, he yelled. Shintarou yelled.
Jin: Oh, this is where it begins.
Asumin: But we were told that he wasn’t supposed to look cool here.
Jin: That’s right.
Suzuki: *laughs* I see.
Asumin: “Please shout without making him seem like a hero” was the request.
Suzuki: I see, I see. But that’s more “Shintarou-like”, so to say. It was as if… he were mustering up all his courage.
Asumin: Yes, squeezing it out of himself.
Suzuki: Yep. Squeezing it out.
Jin: Also, it’s not like this scene is about Shintarou-kun doing his best and looking cool.
Asumin: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Suzuki: Hm, hm, hm.
Jin: Hum, it’s more like him taking a little step forward.
Suzuki: Ah, that’s right.
Jin: Rather than him “doing a transformation and taking out the enemies”, he just managed to plant a step on the ground. It was just the equivalent of a shut-in going out of his room for a bit. Something like that.
Suzuki:Indeed.
Jin: He doesn’t look particularly cool.
Suzuki:Hmmm.
[Sounds of Shintarou panting hard]
Jin: He sure can run.
Suzuki: He’s running a lot.
Asumin: Hm, the colors here are quite like Shaft-san.
Suzuki: Right? It’s like – how can I put it? These are Shaft-san’s “studio colors”.
Asumin: Yep, yep, yep.
Jin:True.
Suzuki: It’s part of the staging.
Jin: Ah, Ene.
Asumin: There she is.
Suzuki: Ene’s come up.
Asumin: Ene does a lot here, doesn’t she? *giggles*
Jin: She kind of can do anything.
Suzuki: And then, Shintarou…
Jin:Collapses.
Suzuki: He gets shot.
Jin: And immediately falls down.
Suzuki: I watched this one alone at home, and during this scene, hum, when I saw that there was a bullet mark across the monitor, I whispered to myself, “How stylish…”
Asumin: *laughs* “Stylish”!
Jin: It’s sooo stylish!
Suzuki: So much style even in the way he falls! And now…
Jin: There we go.
Suzuki:The location has changed again.
Jin: It has. And it’s still like, “Where’s this?!”
Suzuki: “What is this place?!”
Jin: Like, “Where am I?!”
Asumin: “Huh, wasn’t this a classroom?”
Jin: A classroom. It was made to look like one, but…
Asumin: This is so incredibly artistic…
Jin: It sure is…
Suzuki: And then time winds back. In the end, everything here has a meaning.
[Daze starts playing]
Asumin:Ah!
Suzuki: And here it is!
Asumin: It’s playing.
Suzuki: It was placed at the end this time, but that’s actually the opening theme.
Asumin:Right!
Suzuki: Jin-san, please introduce the song.
Jin: Ah, the song? Hum, this is the opening of episode 1. The title of this theme song is “Daze”.
Suzuki: Ah, it’s so sick…
Asumin: It sure is! The first time I listened to it, I was like, “Huhu~!”
Jin: Ah, thank you!
Suzuki/Asumin:*laugh*
Jin: Thank you very much.
Asumin: Each one of them shows up very prominently here, one after another.
Jin: Yes, like an ABC, in other words.
Asumin:Yeah!
Suzuki: Even just the image of it is opening theme-like.
Jin: That’s right! The song itself was made so that you can really boast to other people about how awesome it is. I tried my hand at making a cool song with my guitar and a band unit. As for the animation, the storyboard of this opening video was made by Sidu-san, who always makes the music videos, and the production was carried out by Shaft-san.
Asumin: Ah, hm, it was kinda like a collab!
Jin: Yes, yes, yes.
Asumin: The collab of your dreams.
Suzuki:Yep.
Asumin: So I’m sure that everyone will always be cheering for you. And for KagePro. I mean, I’m sure they’ll always be thinking, “This is it!”
Suzuki: It’s like each and every cut of this opening actually has a meaning of its own.
Asumin: Right?! Makes your heart race a bit, doesn’t it?
Suzuki:If anyone happens to think, “What’s this?!”
Jin: Like, “What’s going on in this thing?”
Suzuki: We’d like them to use all sorts of means to look it up.
Jin: Please, please! Do some research on it!
Asumin:Yeah~!
Suzuki: Now that all’s been said and done…
Asumin:Yes?
Suzuki: …we’re getting to the ending soon.
Asumin:Yes!
Suzuki: The time to bring this audio commentary to a close is approaching.
Jin: Time to end it, huh?
Asumin: This was surprisingly quick, wasn’t it?
Suzuki: That’s right!
Jin:True!
Asumin/Suzuki:*laugh*
Suzuki: I’d like each of us to do a simple outro. Well, next is Asumi-san.
Asumin:Yes!
Suzuki: Please go ahead.
Asumin: I kinda… think that this was a funny audio commentary.
Suzuki/Jin:*laugh*
Asumin: We had members that you don’t see together at all.
Suzuki: True, that.
Asumin: Please look forward to the commentaries to come, as well as to what’s going to happen from now on. Thank you very much.
Jin: Thank you very much.
Suzuki: Now, Jin-san.
Jin: Yes! Erm, anyway, this has been the first episode. Hum, my wish has come true, the story that I’ve been working on was adapted into an anime, which has just started. So I’d be happy if it piques everyone’s interest a little bit. We’re counting with your support.
Suzuki: Thank you very much.
Jin: Sure thing.
Suzuki: Well, this will now connect with the second episode, “Kisaragi Attention”, so let’s meet over there.
All three: Thank you very much!
new cover! check it outt
