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We got the chance to speak with Yoshiaki Kawajiri, director of the cult-classic anime film Ninja Scroll, who opened up about his creative process and explained why he hasn’t made a new movie in nearly two decades as Ninja Scroll prepares for its 4K theatrical re-release.
Yoshiaki Kawajiri is a legend in the anime industry. Fans might know him best from Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but he’s also the mind behind other genre-defining works like Goku: Midnight Eye, Wicked City, and Demon City Shinjuku, to name just a few.
However, he hasn’t taken the helm on a project in almost 20 years. With Ninja Scroll getting a 4K theatrical re-release in October, we had to ask him why he hasn’t brought his iconic art style and signature pulpy flair to a new film in some time.
His answer likely isn’t all that surprising; at 75 years old, Kawajiri isn’t the spring chicken he used to be. He’s also pretty particular about his creative vision, so managing a film or series and making sure it would stay faithful to his overall goal would take too much out of him.
“I am the type of person who cannot leave a work entirely in someone else's hands, so at my age, and given my physical stamina, directing is no longer possible for me,” he told us.
Nowadays, Kawajiri is focused on supporting roles, boasting oodles of credits for storyboarding standout anime series like Beastars, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and Jujutsu Kaisen. For Kawajiri, the process of storyboarding hinges on a very specific requirement: it must be interesting to him.
“I approach the script and storyboards with the understanding that the most important point is how to keep the audience interested. I cannot work on storyboards unless I find the work interesting. In other words, my curiosity is my greatest weapon. More recently, Frieren and Beastars were projects that I really enjoyed working on,” he said.
There’s been a massive shift in the anime industry between Kawajiri’s heyday and now. A quick look on social media will reveal scores of fans bemoaning the quality of modern animation and yearning for the high-detail fluidity of older works. Kawajiri, however, doesn’t believe nostalgia is a driving factor in this sentiment; instead, he believes fans want high-quality anime, regardless of what era it comes from.
“I don't think it is nostalgia. Truly excellent and entertaining works never lose their appeal, no matter how many years pass! And creators who make such works will certainly continue to emerge in the future,” he said.
“Personally, I believe the biggest change [in the industry] was the emergence of original video animation in the 1980s, which expanded the diversity of works while creating an environment where creators could express their individuality. There is no doubt that this became one of the factors that helped Japanese anime grow into compelling content that spread around the world. …The history of Japanese manga and anime is unique, and that long history has produced countless outstanding works. I am very proud that those works are now being embraced around the world.”
Kawajiri has no doubt created, or helped create, many of those works, and one of them is making its way back to theaters this fall. Ninja Scroll got a major facelift thanks and was restored to 4K thanks to hours of painstaking work from dedicated staff members and oversight from Kawjiri.
“By focusing on reproducing the original beauty and richness of the cels and background artwork, without compromising the atmosphere of the work or the texture of the film grain, I believe the result has an even more powerful look and feel. However, since this was an analog production filmed 30 years ago, there is no doubt that the process of removing scratches, dirt, and dust from the cels was an extremely painstaking task for the staff,” he said.
“I hope longtime fans will enjoy the even more powerful visuals brought to life by the 4K remaster, and I promise that those seeing it for the first time will say, ‘A great work is still great, even after 30 years!’ I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for loving Ninja Scroll!”
Iconic Events Releasing and AMC Global Media's HDIVE are bringing Ninja Scroll to select theaters across the United States and Canada for a limited release on October 4, 5, and 7. You can purchase tickets at participating theaters on the Iconic Releasing website linked here.
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