Ninja Scroll Director Explains Why He Hasn’t Made a New Movie in Almost 20 Years

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.

سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/ninja-scroll-director-explains-why-he-hasnt-made-a-new-movie-in-almost-20-years