Kazuya Murata and Masahiko Minami interview

Written by A. H. on 11 Jun 2012

On a bright and early London morning (well, early at least, there was little bright about this London day), we found ourselves in the company of two very special guests as part of the BFI's biennial weekend of anime festivities.  More specifically, and to tie-in with the UK premiere of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood movie, The Sacred Star of Milos, we were granted the opportunity to talk to two important members of the film's production staff - the movie's director, Kazuya Murata, and the producer (and president of Studio Bones) Masahiko Minami.

In a round-table interview alongside other members of the press from Anime UK News, Otaku News and Japan Cinema, we managed to enjoy half an hour of probing questions with the quietly genial Mr. Murata and the relaxed yet sharp Mr. Minami.  What did we ask them, and how did the game of kendama become a major part of The Sacred Star of Milos' production experience?  Read on to find out!

After introducing ourselves to our guests, and before ploughing into our questioning, these two stars of anime production responded in kind.

Kazuya Murata: I'm the director of The Sacred Star of Milos, Kazuya Murata.

Masahiko Minami: Representing Studio Bones, I'm the film's producer, Mr. Minami.

Creatively speaking, what was the best thing about working in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist?

Murata: It's a difficult question... the original manga touches on the serious topic of life and death, so this was an opportunity to think afresh about that.  Also, from the point of view of creating this particular animation, it was a chance to experience the opportunity to use alchemy to create all sorts of interesting visuals.

The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is really rich in detail, and all of the characters have got a strong place in most viewers hearts - were you quite cautious when you approached the task of working on this movie?

Murata: Because this film takes place half-way through the manga's story, it was important for us to keep the continuity of its world, so the characters from the manga are also in the film and it was important for viewers watching the film to recognise them as the same people.  This was something which we had to be very careful of.

One striking thing that we noticed from watching the film is that it has a far more fluid and "loose" style of animation compared to the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood TV series, particularly during action scenes - was this a deliberate decision, and what influenced the film's animation style?

Murata: I don't think it was deliberate in that sense; I just wanted to create something that looked good to me, so whether it's the action scenes or the dialogue I wanted something that I would look at and think "Yes, this looks good".  In that sense, I wasn't particularly aware of the style of previous incarnations of the series.

We noticed that this is your first feature-film as an anime director - how does it compare to directing a TV series or OVA (Original Video Animation)?

Murata: I haven't directed a whole TV series before, so it's hard to pinpoint the difference there. I'm working on a TV series at the moment and the difference between that and working on a film is that with a movie, you have the advantage that the staff are very "compact" and you're working with the same people who you have to work together with very closely.

If you could wield any alchemical powers, what ability would you like to have?

Murata:  Hmm... (Laughs)... another difficult question!  Well, it's quite different from the alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist, but I'd quite like a power that would allow me to draw storyboards really quickly!

Minami: I'd like him to have that power as well!