The animation studio Tonko House is known for its short featured “The Dam Keeper” that was nominated in the “Academy Awards 2015”. The latest original anime of the studio is “ONI” and it was revealed that the script will be handled by Okada Mari, known for “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day”, etc.

Tonko House is an animation studio founded by the ex-Pixar staff, Robert Kondo and Tsutsumi Dice, and it is situated at both California, America, and Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
The latest work “ONI” is an original work by director Tsutsumi Dice that is inspired by the world setting of Japan’s folktales. The story takes place in a world, where eccentric God and Youkai existed just like a Japanese myth. It depicts the tomboy, Onari, who is enjoying a life freely, training daily as she adored the great hero mentioned in the legend, but her father, Naridon didn’t inform her about anything as he is a weird God. Then, the threat of “ONI”, who was feared by the mountain Gods since ancient times, is approaching…

The script of this original work will be handled by Okada Mari, known for the scripts of “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day”, “The Anthem of the Heart”, A Whisker Away, etc., and she is also quite popular outside of Japan. As the main language during the production of “ONI” is English, the final script will be in English, and this shows the exceptional selection for a Japanese creator.

Currently, detailed information about “ONI” such as the release date, has yet to be announced.
Also, as the member limited project of Tonko House’s online community “Dirty Pals”, the conversation event between Tsutsumi and Okada will be held online at 1:00 PM, on October 23, 2021. Do check out the official website of “Dirty Pals” for more information.

＜Below are the full comments＞

Tsutsumi Dice

■ About the look
In order to look for a visual that is perfect for this unique story, we have tried various methods, including hand-drawn, photo-shooting, and CG, and the result of that is this look. There was fixation on the hand-made warmth aura just like the warmness from the creators of Japanese traditional folk crafts as well as the expression on the coloring and light that is important for Tonko House.

■ About working with Okada Mari
First, I would like to give my thanks to Netflix for their support to this unprecedented arrangement as this English work will start with a Japanese script.
I am a big fan of Okada Mari as a script writer regardless of the language barrier from a long time ago. She has written various fantastic works, but I adored how she has written the light and dark sides of the characters without hiding them as it is an important quality to me. During the actual discussion, we were able to create a wonderful script while giving out various opinions just like old friend in mutual understanding.

Okada Mari

After receiving the offer from Tonko House, I was looking forward to it while being nervous. That is because I was unsure whether I will be able to overcome the language barrier, the different production style between America and Japan, and other factors. However, all my nervousness disappeared when I read the proposal for “ONI”. Toward the story of director Tsutsumi that approaches the unique past without any affectation, there are various parts that overlap with me and I believe various people will feel “This is my own story”. So, I have determined to do it regardless of the complex problems.

Regarding the production venue, I was surprised at the exchange of the lively discussion between the staff regardless of their positions, as this is part of the production process. That is because in Japan, it is important for everyone to focus on their own specialty, so it is difficult for us to receive opinions from people of other specialty. As I received advices from others on my script and also asked for my opinions on the animation and art, this made me feel quite close to the team despite working at different locations. Regarding the language, as the director and Tonko House had prepared a proper order, I was able to focus on my script writing. On top of that, I believe the vital part that forms the core of the story is the same in each country. I am honored to be part of the team ONI.

“Article taken from Anime!Anime!Biz/ animeanime.biz”