Interview with Takaki Kosaka (Nitroplus), Producer of “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet” [4/4]

Until arriving to Nitroplus

Ishikawa: Through what process did you start up the company Nitroplus?

Kosaka: Since I couldn’t really make a living being a mecha designer, I worked as the editor of anime magazines such as Newtype. After that, I got an offer for an art job, so I started working as a toy designer, doing the plan, design, world settings, and original work for plastic model robots. I did various other jobs after that, like designing plush toys and sundries, or prizes inside UFO catchers. Since it was the boom period, I also participated in developing Nintendo games. I made dot pictures, map screens, characters, scenarios, anything. Then, when I finished my UFO catcher work, I thought about making a company, and so I did when I was 27.

Ishikawa: Since you are 47 now, this is your 20th anniversary.

Kosaka: There were some complications until it became Nitroplus. I wasn’t interested in business and management at all, so I didn’t want to be the company president. I only wanted to draw pictures, to plan things, to create, and in order to devote myself to that, I left management to an acquaintance. But then, we ran out of money...

Ishikawa: That’s awful.

Kosaka: It is, it was very unfortunate. Before we knew it, we made a debt of more than 100 million yen, thus the first company went bankrupt. I felt really down at that time, but some of the staff still remained, and we decided to give it one more try. Urobuchi was one of the remaining staff.

Ishikawa: So you’ve been working together ever since the start-up of the company.

Kosaka: The second company was DigiTurbo, which can be perceived as an associated company of Nitroplus. We focused our work on developing a learning games we started at the previous company. When I was an editor, I worked for Shogakukan’s CoroCoro Comic and school grade magazines, so a client asked if I could make a learning game using my know-how. We accepted the order and created Kenchako Daibouken. Urobuchi entered the company as the authoring programmer of that game.

Ishikawa: Urobuchi also mentioned that he wasn’t originally a writer.

Kosaka: Once, some people started saying, “Children-oriented work is fine too, but we want to make adult-oriented stuff as well.” We started from the point that, “We want to make merchandise we ourselves would want to buy,” and that’s when the idea of Phantom of Inferno, Nitroplus’ first piece of work, was born. You should really try it out. It also has an anime adaptation.

Intuition decides

Ishikawa: You have worked together with Urobuchi from the beginning. What kind of person would you like if you had a new job?

Kosaka: If I had to choose, I’m an inspirationist. Among artists, there are a lot of intuitive people. If it looks like as if his pen was running on the paper with instinct, I tend to think that this person might be able to do it.

Ishikawa: A company entrance test also includes an interview. Are you also present at those, Kosaka?

Kosaka: Of course. Now, our company has advanced toward having a division of labor, I’m not present in the first round of the interviews, but I am in the second. About until five years ago, I did the whole thing alone starting from the first document screening.

Ishikawa: That must be very difficult. At that time, did you find someone who made you think, “Yes, this is the one!”?

Kosaka: People are the most important. It is only now that our company resides in an elegant building, but we didn’t use to have money nor any appeal points. Lately, our company has gradually become more known, but not long ago no one knew about it, and there were very few applicants. For that reason, it is much harder to gather outstanding talent compared to a major company.

Ishikawa: Yes. Having more denominators increases the probability.

Kosaka: Although there are people in our company who come here by first choice, there were quite a few people who came here after being rejected from major companies. It is important to find the talented ones among those people. We can’t know if in the end we will be working together, but I use my intuition. “This part of this person seems promising.” If it’s an artist, I can see right away, since I draw pictures myself. Even if what the candidate draws is not the image that sells well nowadays, I try to find the bright parts, for example, the basics are solid, or he has a good sense for clothing. I also take into account if he is enthusiastic, or if he doesn’t give up easily and has the strength to go on, and make my final decision.

Ishikawa: If I applied to Nitroplus, would you employ me?

Kosaka: Yes, of course (laughs).

Ishikawa: My arts teacher told me straight that I had no talent for drawing. Despite such a thing, would it still be okay to employ me?

Kosaka: I can’t judge your pictures without seeing them, but you are very humane, and you have something brightly shining about you as a voice actor. That’s why at the audition we made a unanimous decision.

Ishikawa: Oh, I’m so happy. I might get conceited (laughs).

Kosaka: Conceited, that’s not good (laughs).

Hirasawa: It’s okay, the manager will tell him to watch his manners (laughs).

Gargantia, a useful anime

Ishikawa: Lastly, I would like to ask you about the highlights of Gargantia.

Kosaka: I think that there is a miniature copy of our social life in Gargantia. Our world is so vast, it feels somewhat vague, and I think Gargantia has a useful aspect that by watching a microcosm of the world, we can gets hints for our actual lives, and go toward a better direction. I’d really like people to feel that. Of course, Gargantia is for all age groups, but I think people like you, who just entered society, can really sympathize with it, and there might also be people who entered society in April and fought an illness in May. I would like people to watch Gargantia at such difficult times and overcome their hardships.

Ishikawa: Gargantia shows a microcosm of one society, so I’d be happy if the viewers understood how society works.

Kosaka: Isn’t it interesting to be able to send feedback to our own reality, grasping it with intuition? Be sure to try Gargantia, an anime with practical use that can do good for you! Please consider purchasing the BD Box, too (laughs).

Ishikawa: Yes! Please, consider it! Thank you very much.

Gargantia x Tokyo Otaku Mode Special Site:
http://otakumode.com/sp/gargantia

Source:
http://gargantia.jp/#kaito_4 (Japanese)

© Oceanus / Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet Production Committee