Focus on ... Little Witch Academia
Fascinated as a child by a magic show, Akko joins the great Academy of Witches. Contrary to her expectations, the classes turn out to be extremely boring... so she puts all her energy into breaking the surrounding austerity, which is not to everyone's taste. Her only two allies are Lotte and Sucy, her roommates and loyal friends. But then a terrible event occurs, and Akko realizes that she unwittingly holds the key to saving her school from destruction.

Produced by Naoko TSUTSUMI (堤尚子), Little Witch Academia (リトル・ウィッチ・アカデミア), is a short film directed by Yō YOSHINARI (吉成曜) - who starred on Gurren Lagann as a mecha designer - for the Anime Mirai program (アニメミライ).

Among the eighteen proposals for the 2013 session, the committee of JAniCA (Japan Animation Creators Association) - created in October 2007 to denounce the difficult living conditions of the Japanese animation industry, and founder of the Anime Mirai project - selected only four. After studios Shirogumi, Telecom Animation Film, Answer Studio and Production I.G. in 2012, projects from Gonzo, Trigger, Pierrot and Madhouse have been selected.

From the fluidity of the animation to the excellent music provided by composer Michiru ŌSHIMA (大島ミチル) - who in the past worked on the first adaptation of the Fullmetal Alchmist manga - supported by a simple but effective script by Masahiko ŌTSUKA (大塚雅彦), this animation also amazes us with its expressive and touching characters. A real work of art! The director's touch can be felt in every detail, giving this work a depth rarely equaled. In fact, he first had the opportunity to occupy this position when he was still a member of the Gainax studio, on one of Gurren Lagann's clips (All You Bastards, Get Fired Up!!!).

By joining the Anime Mirai project, studio Trigger - which had not really had the opportunity to prove its skills - offers us an anime that lives up to our expectations. A real treat to be savored with pleasure, Little Witch Academia's only flaw is perhaps its too-short duration. Will the success of this opus allow studio Trigger to embark on a TV series adaptation? Only time will tell.

Last February, we took advantage of a visit by some of the members of Studio Trigger in France to meet them and ask them questions about Little Witch Academia.

1. Why did you decide to come to France, and why did you choose this country after all?
   N. Tsutsumi: French animation is attracting a lot of attention in Japan, and we were particularly taken by works such as L'illusionniste and Ernest et Célestine. It was in the context of the release of such works and by the greatest of coincidences that we were introduced to Ms. Oshima for the music, and to the people at Wayô Records and Ink Production. That's why we chose France.
2. What does the Franco-British animated film The Illusionist mean to you?
   N. Tsutsumi: It's a work by Sylvain Chomet that has been very well received in Japan. We had the opportunity to make Little Witch Academia with the same people from this studio who did the music for L'Illusionniste.
3. What about your plans to present Little Witch Academia at the Annecy Festival?
   N. Tsutsumi: We're working on it.
4. M. Yoshinari, can you tell us about your career path?
   Y. Yoshinari: I'm an animator, illustrator and director. My main works are the anime series and the Evangelion films, Gurren Lagann, on which I was in charge of mecha design; Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt as head of concept art elements and as director on Little Witch Academia.
5. How did you come to work on Little Witch Academia?
   Y. Yoshinari: The reason I ended up in this position is simple: I was free and immediately available when the roles were assigned. Furthermore, the fact that Little Witch Academia was integrated into the Anime Mirai process was something I liked, as the production schedule was much more flexible than a project destined for TV broadcast.
6. How did the "Little Witch Academia" project happen?
   N. Tsutsumi: We had to think urgently about a project that would enable us to gain the support of Anime Mirai, a state-owned company. As Anime Mirai's main activity is the training of young recruits, we wondered whether it wouldn't be better to change the story of the apprentice animator. That's how we came up with the idea of giving the lead role to an apprentice witch.
7. What was the budget allocated by the Anime Mirai project for this production?
   N. Tsutsumi: We made this project with a total of 38 million yen (around 310,000 euros). We used the entire amount.
8. Could you briefly describe each of the production stages and their duration?
   N.Tsutsumi: Almost all the production time was spent on the drawings. As the training of young animators was the main purpose of this project, all this time was used for them. As for the animation, finishing touches and filming, each of these stages took a good two months to complete, which is longer than for an anime broadcast on TV.
9. Will the final rendering have the same graphic look as the imageboards?
   Y. Yoshinari: Actually, what you see here are almost the final images. However, we will be modifying them to give them a final touch.
10. How did you approach creating the character design?
    Y. Yoshinari: We had to give the characters distinctive features, so as to maintain their unity despite the diversity of their expressions. Initially, we planned for a large number of characters, but we had to reduce this for convenience reasons.
11. What kind of care went into designing the scenery?

Y. Yoshinari: In terms of aesthetics, we focused more on the general shape and colors than on the details. I had in mind a giant underground labyrinth set, built so that the space stretches vertically, which coincides with the passage where the story really takes off.

12. Did you use 3D images in the animation process?
    Y. Yoshinari: No, we didn't insert any 3D images.
13. During our visit to your premises, we noticed some messages written by Tadashi Hiramatsu (Kare Kano, Abenosbashi). Could you shed some light on this?
    N.Tsutsumi: At the time, Mr. Hiramatsu was working on the Evangelion 3.0 movie. However, he sometimes took the time to give us some advice on the production of Little Witch Academia.
14. Do you think this title could be adapted into a TV series, OVA or manga?
    N.Tsutsumi: Of course we'd like to see that happen, but it all depends on how our work is received by the public. Please support us!
15. What do you think of the idea of producing an Artbook in three languages (Japanese, French and English)?
    N.Tsutsumi: Regarding an artbook, we're currently studying what format to use to publish our work. We also think it would be a good idea to publish it in three languages.
    29 avril 2013