Q: How do you feel about the production of Darling in the Franxx up to this point?

A: As an anime original work, I created it from scratch, but the cast and staff understood what I was trying to do, so there are parts that expanded and grew beyond what I had originally envisioned. It’s a refreshing experience to look forward with excitement to the finished film each time.

Q: Which parts of the work remained largely unchanged between the original planning stage and the present?

A: There are also parts related to “what I wanted to do with this work” and its themes, but it’s “the human elements” that manifested when I finished creating the relationships between the characters. As far as these are concerned, anything goes. „A desire to be recognized“, „an interest in the other sex”, “a healthy appetite”, all of these are fine. I wanted to depict things like the vitality that young people have. I feel that I was able to include this properly.

Q: On the other hand, are there any parts that deviated from the original plans?

A: Regarding the developments in the latter half, I decided to keep my options open. This work consists of four separate parts. I had already made up my mind about the first half, consisting of part 1 (episodes 1-6) and part 2 (ep 7-15), but for the second half I just let things take their course. I believe that if you make up your mind about the first half, then in response to the tension of the staff and the cast, the story in the second half will unfold naturally. I believe this momentum at the workplace is one of the pleasures of creating an anime original work.

Q: So as the story changed, what was the moment where you had worked out the protagonist, Hiro?

A: To be honest, I purposefully left some parts of him difficult to understand. He isn’t the kind of person who becomes a protagonist out of his own volition. He’s at the center of the world, but he’s not the type to set the story into motion in a shounen manga fashion. I think you will come to understand him if you watch DarliFra until the very end.

Q: You see Hiro through the eyes of the children and Zero Two.

A: He is Hiro, and he is the protagonist of DarliFra. In making DarliFra up to this point, I talked with everyone from the staff, and there were also parts where I was persuaded by Uemura-san’s voice. The “self” that he put into his acting and screaming made me think “This is probably Hiro”. Because this is also the story of a boy who screams “I am here” and is looking for a place where he belongs. I think it’d be nice if I could depict him and Zero Two, who each lost one of their wings, finding a place where they belong together 1Убийца Ити: Приквел.
>1Убийца Ити: Приквел I will never not be mad.

Q: What can you tell us about the portrayal of Zero Two until now?

A: She’s an interesting character to write. Zero Two is also a character that wasn’t really cast in stone, but based on Tomatsu-san‘s acting and the staff’s depictions of her, I decided to make her captivatingly free-spirited and wild. For example, in episode 3 Ootsuka (Masahiko)-san wrote the line “Just kidding” into the script. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but when I heard Tomatsu-san saying it in a cute voice, I thought “I wonder, is she really?” and couldn’t bring myself to change it anymore. Another thing, in episode 5 Takao (Noriko)-san (Storyboard & Screenplay) gave Zero Two some really creepy vibes when she draws in Hiro. So each of them freely worked out Zero Two’s appeal. With Zero Two, we followed the approach that if it was interesting, we included it.

Q: Episode 13 is about Hiro’s and Zero Two’s childhood and their encounter. How did you feel after you finished writing this important episode?

A: It might be an overstatement to say that I created DarliFra because I wanted to write episode 13, but that’s basically how significant this episode was from the very beginning. When you write stories like this, you often hear “these poor children” from the other staff, but this time I wanted to write about the joy and emotions that blossom in such a dystopia. Things like Nojima Shinji-san’s dramas 2Два gave me a much more painful impression when I watched them in my youth. Because in “Miseinen” 3 or “Seija no koushin” [4] for example, amidst all of the suffering, there were also charming parts. Things like “the world of the adults” and “the potential of the children” in DarliFra might have a touch of the dramas from that time. I followed the approach that I would be satisfied if DarliFra itself could provide a stimulus for the ever more scrupulous present age.
>2Два In a different interview, Hayashi also mentions these dramas, saying that Nishigori told his staff to familiarize themselves with them.
>3 A 1995 television drama about a group of high schoolers. The protagonist is nicknamed Hiro, written in Katakana just like DarliFra’s Hiro. Another character’s first mame is Goro.
>[4] A 1998 television drama about mentally impaired factory workers who are treated inhumanely.

Q: I want to ask you about the children, what can you tell us about Ichigo and Goro?

A: In this world, their characters are absolutely necessary. They’re honor students who are in a somewhat unfavorable position. I have a bit of a weakness for characters in thankless roles who make you feel sorry for them. In this world where children don’t show any emotion, Ichigo in particular acts very human and rushes headlong into things, yet she also has a delicate side, so the staff are hoping that she will get rewarded. I am happy that everyone became so attached to my characters and puts so much care into how to depict them.

Q: It seems Zorome and Miku are also popular with the staff, aren’t they?

A: (Laughs) Because those two are the only ones who are easy to understand, carefree and composed. Episodes 8 and 10 are Miku’s and Zorome’s episodes respectively and while it’s fine if they’re cheerful and make a ruckus, it’s precisely because they act like this that I can use them to depict the children’s weaknesses. Because it’s revealed that usually, they’re just acting tough. In Idolmaster as well, Makoto, who’s boyish at first glance, was interested in things like dates. I like showing that kind of gap.

Q: The relationships between Futoshi, Mitsuru, Kokoro and Ikuno changed, didn’t they?

A: Kokoro picking up a book called “My first childbirth” in episode seven is essential to the story and marks a big turning point. Some elements of the adults enter the world of the boys and girls. However, there are no adults around them that they could go to for advice. Kokoro is a gentle and agreeable character, but we come to see her motherly and obstinate side. At around this point, Hayami (Saori)-san had apparently come to understand her role in the story as well.