Aniplex of America recently wowed audiences by hosting the new and exciting anime feature film, Expelled from Paradise. The producer of the film, Mr. Koichi Noguchi, was able to attend the Los Angeles premiere and I was able to interview him (via a translator) to get the inside perspective on this new feature! My review of the film is below following the interview.
ⓒ TOEI ANIMATION, Nitroplus / EFP Society
Q: First of all, congrats on the screening being sold out and being here. How do you think an American audience will respond to the film and are you nervous about the screening?
A: He’s really happy that there are actually people here to watch the film because that was something, of course, that he was worried about. You know, if American audiences would be interested in the film and even come to watch it. But he is very glad to see a lot of people coming today. Another thing is that another big theme about this movie is science fiction. So science fiction, of course, is something that came out of Western culture and not, it’s not something only in Japan, so he’s… he’s pretty positive about how American fans would receive this science fiction themed movie.
Q: Any special message that you want to tell fans?
A: He’s been getting this question all day. There are three main characters in the film and they’re all different actually. They’re actually representing the three different perspectives on humanity. So, the first character is a total… he’s human, he’s a normal human – totally with a physical body. Another character, she has a body, but her main part is actually digital, so her body is not really real. It’s a cyborg body, cyber-body. And the third person, third character in the film is a total A.I. So coming from those three different perspectives, the film is going to be describing where is humanity going from here, from now, and the existence of humanity and what it means.
Q: What was the most challenging thing working on this project?
A: The most challenging thing is to create CG animation – a CG animated theatrical feature. The two main challenges coming… branching off from that main challenge are that Japanese audiences or Japanese fans are not really familiar with CG animation and a lot of times they usually don’t receive it positively when it comes to CG animation. And the other thing is the budget because CG animation is usually very expensive to create. So those are the two main things.
Q: What do you like most about the film, either the process or the film itself?
A: This specific film?
Q: Yes.
A: He really enjoyed working as a team, working with a creative facet and creating something from scratch, working together with the team members and producing a film. This is his first time producing a film, so that was a very rewarding experience for him. And to create something with such a strong message was a great project.
Q: What is it like watching a project you worked on with a full theater audience?
A: It is very difficult. So, I mean, of course, in the beginning he was very afraid of what the reaction of fans would be and he has already done several screenings in Japan with the fans and, as you know, it has been received very well in Japan. Fans love it. So, he has seen that already, so now he is comfortable, feeling confident about how the film has been received by Japanese fans and so today he is hoping that he will feel the same way, and just enjoy the film with the fans and relax.
Q: How did you get involved with this particular film?
A: [Mr. Kochi laughs] He is not really sure. Well, he is talking about how his main goal was to spread his passion for 3D CG in Japan. He really wanted people to see it more and have more people understand and see 3D CG animation in Japan. So that’s where he started to work with Gen Urobuchi (Nitroplus) and director Mizushima and together they wanted to create something that would become a catalyst for 3D CG in Japan.
Q: Okay, a more fun one… What are some of his favorite anime titles?
A: Because of his background in digital effects and CG, he is actually a fan more of live action films. He loves Interstellar. So, do you know Perfect Blue, by director Kon?
Q: Yes.
A: That’s something that he really looked into when creating this project and he saw all the aspects of that film, how it was received and how it became, what the process was in creating that film. He really liked Satoshi’s film and then Perfect Blue is actually one of his first films that he worked on so that was something that really interested him as something to look into when was starting to work on this project also. Also, you know because it also included CG animation in that film and so it was very similar for what they were trying to go for and budget-wise he thought it was something they could look into.
Q: Okay, great. Arigato gozaimasu (Thank you)!
Here is a synopsis of the film:
With Earth now left in ruins following the “Nano Hazard,” most of humanity has abandoned the planet they once called home along with their physical bodies and rebuilt their digitalized minds into a society within the cyber universe of “DEVA.” A.D. 2400, DEVA’s central council detects an incident of unauthorized access into their mainframe. Someone on Earth was trying to hack into the system. The only information DEVA was able to retrieve was that the hacker referred to themselves as “Frontier Setter.” To investigate the mysterious hacker’s motives, the high officials of DEVA dispatch System Security Third Officer Angela Balzac to the Earth’s surface. Equipped with a prosthetic “material body,” Angela attempts to make contact with a local agent Dingo. Will Angela and Dingo be able to find Frontier Setter on this devastated planet? Their journey to explore the secrets of the world will begin now…!
I thought Expelled from Paradise was awesome! There is action, lots of humor, and enough Mecha (robots manned by humans) for the fans that enjoy that genre but not too much to lose those that do not care much about it. Oh, and let’s not forget sexy characters with fun fan service shots. The main two characters, Dingo and Angela have hilarious banter that is extremely entertaining with moments of sweet compassion. The film also has fantastic deep commentary on what it means to be human. Is a body that important? Are you still human if your mind is just digital material on a server? What defines being human? It is visually beautiful! The 3D CG gave it a cool new style that was smooth and had a look all its own. You really felt like you were in these environments. Overall, if you like science fiction, anime, or thought provoking material, you need to check out Expelled from Paradise!
