『鋼の錬金術師』

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[Translation] Special Interview with Hiromu Arakawa

Source: http://natalie.mu/comic/pp/hagarenmovie02

“Fullmetal Alchemist” [Hagane no Renkinjusushi, or “Hagane”] is premiering on December 1st.  So, whose heart was beating faster than anyone else and called the movie “a celebration”? It was Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of the manga.  Previously, “Fullmetal Alchemist” had been adapted into other media formats such as anime and games, and to Arakawa, who seemed to be enjoying the “celebration” more than others, said “I can see a new [incarnation] of the work again!” As part of Comic Natalie’s special celebration with the release of [“Fullmetal Alchemist”], we interviewed this Arakawa. In addition to getting the scoop on the highlights of the movie, [she also had] a message for the passionate fans of the original work.

Yamada-san did a really good job bringing the comical action scenes from the manga to life

── Could you tell us your frank impression of the time when you know about the decision to adapt [your work] into live action? At the end of volume 15 of “Fullmetal Alchemist” released in 2006, there was a panel where everyone was speculating “What if [FMA] is made into a live action adaptation?”

When I heard about the live action adaptation, the first voice I made was “Hoo!” (laughs). When we were drawing the panel, I remember everyone was [just] noisily blurting out [whatever came to mind].  Although it had already been made into anime, games, etc, when I heard that it will be adapted to yet another medium, as the creator, I felt a wave of excitement that “I can see something new again!” I was looking forward to the completion of the film.

^{[T/N: I was hoping she would talk about the fantasy casting of Ed, but yeah, based on the published date, she / staff were thinking about a different Yamada.]}

──The protagonist, Ed, is played by Ryosuke Yamada, a member of Hey! Say! JUMP.

Didn’t Yamada-san appear in “Grasshopper” (the movie was released in 2015)? So when Director Sori (Fumihiko) told me, “I want to cast Yamada-kun as Ed”, my first thought was, “Oh, that killer!” (laughs).

── (Laughs) Yamada-san was playing the role of a knife wielding killer in “Grasshopper.”

I thought Yamada-san’s movements in that movie were amazing. At his opening scene he was getting rid of a gang of thugs, the way he killed them was like a dance. Since [watching that movie], I absolutely think that he will be great with action scenes. The director also mentioned that, and actually, when I saw the [finished “Fullmetal Alchemist” movie], Yamada-san was even able to perform the action scenes in a comical way like they were in the manga. Ed in the manga rarely runs in a cool way (laughs). Yamada-san even conveyed that [detailed] movement strongly.

See the scene from Grasshopper here:

── Certainly, in the [early] scene where Ed was running, I thought “Oh, that’s how Ed runs!” Yamada-san himself seemed to be committed to [this style of] running; he said he was influenced by the manga.

There was a hasty desperation in the running, and he did it in a comical way just like the manga. Ed’s comical but great physicality was on full display in the opening action scene, and I thought, "He is as good as I expected, this guy!”

The “Leaving the job to the Specialists” Stance

── By the way, like Yamada-san, Tsubasa Honda-san who plays Winry and Hongo Kanata-san who plays Envy are also long-time fans of “Fullmetal Alchemist”.

Looks like it. That said, I feel bad that they might feel bound by the image from reading the manga.  Because I don’t not mind having them perform with their own interpretation [of their respective characters].

── Didn’t Arakawa-san give any orders to the cast or the director?

I checked the script that was submitted, but basically, I left [the making of the film] to the director. It’s just not how I do things, I think believe in “leaving the job to the specialists”. So I simply think, "I’m looking forward to the finished work.”  That was the case with the anime as well, but I feel that I should “apologize for being an author who does not work" (laughs).

── So it is best to leave the animation to the anime producers and the filming to live action producers.

Yes. I think that there is no need [for them] to worry about the original work separately.  So I said, “please do whatever you want.” I am the type that do not care about how the character looks visually as long as the [essence of the] character is expressed, so when I first saw Winry, who is originally blonde, I asked myself, "does Winry have to be blonde?”  Actually, when Winry’s blonde hair became brunette, it matched the background colour in the train scene, it looked like it fit right in!  If a character stands up [to the original] in a live action adaptation, I think that it is perfectly fine even if there are changes from the original.  That’s why Tucker-san (played by Yo Oizumi) who has a lot of hair also exists (laughs).  

── Ahaha (laughs).

I am interested in Oizumi-san because he is also from Hokkaido.  He is the star of Hokkaido (laughs).  In the movie, there were a lot of Tucker, when I saw it, I thought “Ooh, you have come out here.” It was also a highlight.

── How about the other cast?

I was shaken by Colonel Mustang’s (played by Dean Fujioka) coolness.  Hughes-san (played by Ryuta Sato) was still Hughes (laughs).  For Ed and Winry, it seemed that Yamada-san and Honda-san were already on good terms, so it was very good that they were able to make use of this delicious feeling. And as expected, the Homunculus group was amazing ….

── The degree of realization of the Homunculus group of Lust, Envy, and Gluttony was especially high.  When the visuals were revealed at the fan event, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd.

I never thought Matsuyuki (Yasuko)-san would accept [the offer] to play the role (of Lust) (laughs). Uchiyama (Shinji)-san conveyed the bad feelings of Gluttony, right? Hongo (Kanata)-san’s Envy also felt very cocky.  Jun Kunimura-san who played Marcoh did not appear a lot, but he attracted me with his subtle eye acting, which I thought was truly amazing. There were many cast members who usually played as a leading role portrays great supporting roles in this movie, it was truly a magnificent cast.

I purely thought “I want to see it”

── Although you said you basically left the live action adaptation to the director, how did the “Fullmetal Alchemist” that was shot from Director Sori’s point-of-view look through Arakawa-san’s eyes?

Even though I am familiar with the original work, [familiar] scenes were combined with original material for the movie, which gave me a sense of excitement like “what will happen next?”  The main story-line was the same as the manga, and the curve-balls they threw [at us within the movie] were interesting. Even though I know the [story] developments, I held my breath in spite of myself when there was a good scene coming up.

── The use of CG for the alchemy scenes was also impressive.

When the movie was in the planning stages, Director Sori said in his meeting with Square Enix, “I could not have done it with the CG technology years ago, but now I can make "Fullmetal Alchemist”.  Please let me do it.“  Upon hearing that, I purely thought, "Oh, I’d like to see it.”

I am talking about how the presentation of manga will be fused with reality.  Even when I look at “Ping Pong” [T/N: a 2002 film directed by Sori], I thought Director Sori was able to effectively use the CG to bring the manga to life, so I was looking forward to seeing [what he did] with “Hagane”.

── In this movie, Al was entirely made with CG. In the scene where Ed and Al were fighting, I heard that Yamada-san, who played Ed, had to shoot the [fight] scene hitting at nothing [in real life].

Yes, yes. They made the scene by adding Alphonse’s CG to Yamada-san’s acting. When I watched the movie, it seemed like Al was really there and was the one who was beaten.  At that time, I kept thinking with my head down about how much time and effort was spent to make this scene. I was surprised at the pace at which Japanese CG is evolving.

Hiromu Arakawa looking back at the manga “Fullmetal Alchemist”

── Even though it has been 7 years after the completion of “Fullmetal Alchemist”, it is still beloved by fans all over the world, and there were great reactions when the live action adaptation was announced. What was the reason that drew Arakawa-sensei to draw “Hagane” in the first place?

I enjoyed sketching on my bed, floor, or wherever, so in the beginning, I thought it would be fun to put my work into manga-form. From there, [I did] research on various things like “alchemy” and “philosopher’s stone”. Although there are occult elements, I am someone who has always grown up with “moo” beside me (laughs). As I was looking into this further, I thought "alchemy is interesting”, so I added these elements into the story. After that, I felt that the elements related to life such as homonculus cannot be overlooked, so I should include them as well.  I was inundated with thoughts about life, so the philosophical question, “what does it mean to be living?”, became the central pillar that filled the pages of the story.

── I think the heavy human drama is the charm of “Fullmetal Alchemist”.

“Hagane” was quite hard[core] from the opening scene.  One person had parts of his body taken from him, and another had his whole body taken. I had to enter the story from this deeply emotional place.  As it was a departure from my favourite type of [positive energy filled] shonen manga, I continued drawing with the intention to not make it dull for the readers.  I added comical elements, or tried to put in scenes to give readers a break [from the tension].  Since I drew [the manga] with this balance in mind, the end result had that sort of [frenetic] energy.

── Within the serious developments [of the story], comical elements were inserted to lighten the heavy narrative; it is one of the reasons why “Fullmetal Alchemist” is loved by so many people. Previously, in a magazine interview that was published immediately after completion, someone asked you, “What does Arakawa-san think is the greatest appeal of the work?”, and Arakawa-san answered, “I do not quite understand.” 

Ahaha (laughs).

── Since seven years have passed, and having viewed the work [again] through a different medium like a live action movie, I think you would be able to view parts of it more objectively, so I ask again, why you do you think people love “Fullmetal Alchemist”?

Where to begin… Whether it is an anime, a game, or this movie, the story is filled with “brotherly love” and “brotherly bond”, so objectively speaking, I think that is it.

── Even for Arakawa-san, was there any part that you really cherish and felt really important to draw?

It was the sins and burdens that the brothers were carrying after committing the forbidden act of human transmutation. Since there were two people who had this awareness, I felt that it was important that they took care of each other.  As for me, Ed was Ed and Al was Al, and since I wanted each of them to be his own person, I drew Alphones as Alphonse, not the brothers of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Even in the manga, the brothers had been separated and faced different battles, like the scene where Alphonse said “I have to do it” and advanced steadily.  You also see Ed worrying a bit about his younger brother, so I really cherished the parts where Ed and Al respected each other.

Thank you for making this a celebration!

── The moviegoers will get a souvenir of a “Special edition comics” that includes new episodes specifically drawn for this film.

It was about seven years since I last drew the manga! In the beginning, I was worried [with things like] “can I still draw it”, “the pictures, did it change [from before]?” (laughs).  The feelings for the characters came back quickly, so I was OK, and [the thoughts] got changed into pictures one after another.  In between, I also drew a little bit for the “Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition” and I was relieved because [my drawing style] had not changed so much (laughs).

── In addition to the movie this year, there is also the “Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition”, since you have to draw the new episodes, your encounter with the work has increased again.  Compared to the serialization, has there been changes in how you approach the work?

At the time of serialization, I had to have an awareness of the various [responsible] parties, but now, there was an air of excitement surrounding me, so I felt like I was riding the wave and my concern for the various parties was unexpectedly low.  I saw it as, “It’s a celebration!  Wohoo!” (laughs).  "Thank you for making it a celebration! Let’s get excited together!“

── It seems that Arakawa-san yourself is enjoying this the most (laughs). After all, "Fullmetal Alchemist” is a very popular work, so I think a lot of people felt a bit uneasy when it comes to live action.

When I read hear that a manga I am reading is getting the live action treatment, I am the type who thinks “you can see a new ●●!”. Even though if I saw differences from the manga, I don’t think about things like, “Eh, that is not the image [of ●●]”, [rather,] I enjoyed the differences, like “oh, they did it this way!” I feel that it is fun to think about “How do they convey the intention of the creator in this scene?”

── I see. You are coming from the point of view of the creator a little bit here.

I maybe looking at this from the point of view from a creator. When [the film] contained elements different from the original, I felt that there is a spirit of trying something new.  An adaptation is a new challenge in the first place, so I felt that it is a kind of frontier spirit. “Hagane” had already been the animation and games treatment, in addition to the live action adaptation, will [it be adapted to yet another medium]? However, with each adaptation, I think I will look forward to it (laughs). But then, everyone had their own image of Ed and Al firmly planted in their heads, so [I understand why] people felt uneasy.

──I think that Arakawa-san’s Ed and Al have been around forever.

That means that everyone has been reading it.  Thankfully.  Manga is manga, anime is anime, so as long as [the story] is firmly in your mind, it will not be destroyed [by another work], so I think that it would be fun [when you watch the film] by not taking it so seriously, like, “Oh? A new challenger is coming?”

── In that sense, Arakawa-san is having fun at this “Celebration!”, and that it is good to go with the feeling of “Let’s all go celebrate together!”