Article/Ask Oji Horoi

Originally posted here (archived via Wayback machine).

> Sakura Wars Kayo Show Teikoku Hanagumi 4th Hanagumi Special Performance "Arabian Rose" In the dressing room just before the performance, I visited Mr. Hiroi Oji, the original author and general producer, who is also involved in the production and direction of this stage. .
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> Q: A word about the animation of "Sakura Wars".
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> A: I've been obsessed with animation since game 1. If you want to see a character in motion, that's all. It's nice to see the Hanagumi in action for the full 30 minutes, including the staff and cast.
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> Q: I heard that "Sakura Wars" originally started with the desire to do a musical with Kohei Tanaka.
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> A: It was a dream to be on stage. When I was a child, I used to live in Asakusa and go to the International Theater, so I thought it would be great if I could do it myself someday.
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> By preparing and gaining experience for that, I was able to realize what I had done so far when playing games. I think that the success of the game is a reward for the accumulation. The encounters with Sakura and the people involved in it, and the encounters with the customers are all miracles.
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> Q: It must have been difficult to get here.
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> A: When I told him that I was going to do a stage play when I was making a game, 100 people said, 100 people, and they didn't believe me. But I always have a high goal and go for it. Think about what you can't do later. You have to be ambitious. That's why it took so long.
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> Q: What was the background of the Taisho era (Sakura is Taisho)?
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> A: I see the Meiji era as the era of civilization and enlightenment, and the Taisho era as the next step. both spiritually and artistically. Considering the history of liberation of women, it was feudal until the Meiji period. In the Taisho period, women started to enter society. I think it's time to change the times when it was tough to be a man alone.
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> Q: Do you have models for your characters?
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> A: I once said in an interview somewhere, "'Sakura Wars' is an I-novel," but Lee Koran is my cousin's name. her mother's older sister's daughter.
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> Her aunt was unable to come back from China due to the war, and her cousin came to Japan for the first time after diplomatic relations between Japan and China were restored (1972).
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> At that time, she showed me around Asakusa... "Tsubasa" sung by Lee Koran is a song that I wrote while remembering my cousin at that time. Besides, the Imperial Theater is the international theater in Asakusa, and my aunt is a first-year student of SKD. I decided from her memories of her own childhood. She was going to write about her surroundings. Isn't it the first time in game history that a game that incorporates a novel?
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> Q: What are the prospects and premonitions of the future "Sakura Wars"?
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> A: The style of Kayo show is not complete yet, it is still growing. I want to make it a good show. On the game side, "Sakura 3" will be released this fall, so after that, I'd like to combine CG and animation to make it more entertaining. TV anime has made it possible for small children to recognize it, and it would be great if they could come to the show with their mothers and enjoy it.
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> "Sakura Wars is fantasy literature," says Hiroi. He also talked about the backbone of "Sakura Wars".
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> “In Japan, another world has existed since ancient times. Only in such a place can culture develop, and cities will not develop. There is a barrier there, and it is protected by various things. Such a city is fine. Long ago, Ieyasu seriously tried to create a barrier for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. There is also a story that he went to kill the barbarians, and the name Seii Taishogun also means ``?? I think it would be more dangerous if there were no Jizo statues, sacred trees, or things that have been enshrined in the city since ancient times. Sakura Wars is like the Japanese version of "X-Files."
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> (August 1 at the Tokyo Welfare Pension Hall)
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