Have you already seen it? The Hobonichi Techo Day-Free has a cute flipbook comic featuring a ghost. dwarf, known for creating characters such as NHK's Domo-kun, made this flipbook and short video for us. The Hobonichi Techo team worked with them for the first time and felt their energy in enjoying everything they work on. We visited their filming studio in Tokyo to see how their cute and eye-catching characters are created.
- Hobonichi
- We asked if you’d be able to create a flipbook for us this time, but I’m guessing you don’t get asked to make flipbooks often.
- Matsumoto
- No, it was a unique offer. (Laughs) But because flipbooks are a primitive form of animation, it was something I wanted to do if I got the chance.
- Goda
- It was a fun process.
- Matsumoto
- When I first heard your request, I thought it was going to be a one-person job. Since we normally work in groups at dwarf, I knew that everyone will enjoy doing things independently for a change.
- Hobonichi
- Initially, the directors at dwarf showed us lots of rough sketches of their ideas. Out of those, we chose the manga that we used this time.
- Matsumoto
- When I brought your request to the studio, everyone was so eager to do it.
- Goda
- Everyone’s eyes were sparkling at the prospect. (Laughs)
- Matsumoto
- Everyone raised their hands saying they wanted to do it. Out of them, Goda’s eyes were the most passionate.
- Hobonichi
- We were so chuffed by all the ideas everyone came up with.
- Goda
- It’s really a rare occasion where we’re able to complete a job independently. So everyone had the motivation to simply enjoy the process. Itoi also told us that these kind of jobs are more fun if you do it freely, so we were determined to do it however we like. (Laughs)
- Matsumoto
- We were like “we will take your words seriously then”. (Laughs) But, I thought it was important that the piece conveyed how much we enjoyed working on it.
- Hobonichi
- Yes, we felt that a lot when we looked at all the ideas. We were happy but at the same time felt a little bit jealous. How did the ghost character come about?
Goda：
Isn’t there a neutral image to ghosts? It’s not a boy, nor it’s a girl…
- Hobonichi
- You’re right. It’s not a child but not a grown-up either.
- Goda
- The video we made this time also doesn’t show the actual person going on the trip, but the ghost appears as an avatar. We hope this ghost will act as an avatar to many people.
- Hobonichi
- The situation can fit into anyone. It’s easy to say “If it were me, I’d go to Hawaii instead of Iceland.”
- Goda
- It helps that it’s a simple shape too.
- Matsumoto
- If this video only featured a protagonist with a detailed background, it will be a story of someone else. By the ghost being here, it’s easy to project yourself and for it to become your own story.
- Hobonichi
- The same can be said for this ghost and Domo-kun, but all the characters Goda creates isn’t too smiley and appeals its cuteness too much. It’s up to who sees it to determine the mood of the character.
- Goda
- Yes.
- Hobonichi
- I think this is similar to the feeling when people use the Hobonichi Techo. There are days where you’d write “I had a lot of fun today” and days where you’d write “Today was a hard.” The expression of the ghost at the bottom corner of the Day-Free might change depending on your mood, too.
The picture of the northern lights that appear at the end of the Day-Free video. Goda drew this using watercolor paint.
- Matsumoto
- I guess the ghost and the techo both leave some room to leave it up to the interpreter’s imagination. They don’t strongly appeal their character and in what ways they are cute. Some might even feel that something is missing...
- Goda
- This might be something I idealize. Depending on who sees it, the character might seem smiling, be right beside you, slightly scolding you… this is something I aim to achieve. For this reason I admire Miffy.
- Hobonichi
- Even if Miffy’s mouth isn’t smiling, you can imagine all sorts of emotions. ...So the ghost isn’t just there for cuteness. (Laughs)
- Matsumoto
- It plays an important role. (Laughs)
- Hobonichi
- This makes it all the more exciting to use the Dy-Free. Thank you so much for your time today. We’d be happy if we could work together again.
- Goda
- Thanks to you too. We’d love to as well!
（End）
- Director, Character designer, Animator
- Tsuneo Goda
- Producer
- Noriko Matsumoto
- Text designer & Animatior
- Tomomi Komazaki
- Director of photography, Editor
- Kan Sugiki
- Music
- Masashi Iino
- Production manager
- Momo Hiramatsu