NeoArkadiaKataoka Yoshiro
片岡義朗 (Kataoka Yoshiro) was a producer involved with producing Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. He discusses how Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters came to be.Asatsu DK
-- The more I learn, the more it seems the approach to making a TV anime became quite diverse in the 1990s.Kataoka: I think it's something only Asatsu could have pulled off. As I said earlier, they had overwhelming dominance in the industry at the time. Our Sponsors included Bandai, Namco and Sega (our regular clients) as well as Takara and Tomy. It turned out that every company that made products for children had to use Asatsu as their advertising agency. Of course, there were people who preferred Dentsu, and it definitely had the clout of the industry leader, but when it came to the children's market, Asatsu was by far the strongest player. A really good example of this was "Yu-Gi-Oh!". It first aired on TV Asashi for six months starting in Paril 1998.
(T/L Note: Children's Market: 子どもマーケット, think stuff like Pokemon and Super Sentai)
Toei's Yu-Gi-Oh!
-- That's the Toei Animation version, right?Kataoka: Yes. It was handled by Dentsu, and they canceled the broadcast because they said it wasn't getting good viewership ratings. Torishima Kazuhiko-san, who was the editor-in-chief of "Jump" at the time, came to talk to me. That was actually the first time Torishima-san had ever visited Asatsu's office building. So, even though it looked like the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" anime was going to end, the reader surveys in "Jump" were doing incredibly at the time, so it was ludicrous for the anime to stop airing at a time like that.
So, he asked me "Please turn this into an anime and get someone to air it, no matter what". But, this was basically impossible under the rules of the broadcasting industry. Even if the broadcast ended, the general rule at the time was that TV Asashi would have the rights to rerun the 27 episodes produced by Toei for 2 and a half years. During that time, decisions regarding merchandising and all other forms of secondary use will be made by Toei Animation, so essentially, the basic rule was that other production companies or entities could not use the same title as "Yu-Gi-Oh!".
So when Torishima-san came to ask me for a favor, I told him "If Asatsu pulls some strings, I think we could get TV Tokyo to give us a time slot. Asatsu also did business with Konami and Bandai. So, finding sponsors wouldn't be a problem, but if we did the show on TV Tokyo, TV Asashi would get mad, right?"
That would just end up with us shooting ourselves in the foot, wouldn't it. I told him "There's no way Toei Animation or TV Asashi would ever approve of something like this", and Torishima-san told me "Just leave that to me." He told me "Kataoka-san, just focus securing a time slot on TV Tokyo and getting the show on air as soon as possible". So when Torishima-san went to Toei Animation, he was told "No way, don't be absurd". He told them "Are you sure you want to say that? If that's how you want to play ball, then here's my trump card: "I'll revoke all secondary usage rights for "Dragon Ball"."
He even told TV Asashi, who was airing a bunch of shows at the time like "Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube", that he was going to pull them all off the air and used the full force and clout of Shueisha's "Shonen Jump" to make them back down. I found about this later, I wasn't in the know at the time.
Dragon Ball
I actually watched all 27 episodes of the Toei Animation version. It's really well done. The reason the show(s) didn't get high ratings is Toei and Asashi would plan and produce these shows based on "Jump" manga before they really took off, so they weren't made with the assumption that they'd ever become popular. However, the Toei Animation version was crafted with incredible care and attention to detail. It carefully explains things like the Muto Yugi (the hero), his family background and his school friends, in the style of "The Seven Samurai", detailing exactly what happened with each of them and how they became friends, as well as how Muto Yugi got into card games. It's all presented in a very easy to understand, digestible manner.I made the new show with the old show in mind. I told the staff I assembled "If kids watch this "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters" animated TV show, they should be able to win at the card game." I told them "Let's make it an anime that teaches viewers how to win" so we brought in people who knew a lot about how card games. They taught us things like "In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game, you can win with this kind of combination", and when we made the show how they advised, it ended up being a massive hit.
Johnny Kitagawa
Another thing was that I asked for Kazama Shunsuke-san, a member of Johnny & Associates to be the voice of Muto Yugi. There were several adult female voice actors who can play the voices of young boys such as Nozawa Masako-san, Tanaka Mayumi-san and Sakamoto Chika-san, no? Well, I decided against hiring one of them. If you've read the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" manga, you'll know that the main character, Muto Yugi, is usually something of a wimp, sort of like Nobita. The moment he picks up the card game, he turns into a hero. In a show that requires such a wide range and dramatic contrast, Nozawa-san or Tanaka-san would easily do that job. But I thought there would be an air of insincerity mixed in by having them try to do the role of an ordinary 8th grader in Junior High School, so I asked "Please introduce me to an actual 14-year old who's good at acting. I'd like to ask them to do the role of Muto Yugi.", so I went to Johnny Kitagawa for help. He said "I think Kazama Shunsuke would be good" and recommended him, but when I submitted the casting list, Takahashi Kazuki-Sensei got really angry and said "What the heck is this? This is no good."I told him "Why? The contrast of a wimpy middle schooler, someone with a normal everyday life-- becomes a hero the moment he enters the world of the card game. You probably realize this as the story's creator, but Yugi's 'public' and 'private' face is completely different, no? A real second-year Junior High Student would be perfect for bringing aspect out to the forefront."
Sensei responded with "I can't trust someone who's never done voice acting to do this job."
It's true a professional voice actor can instantly start speaking like the role they'll be performing the moment they're handed a script. Being able to use your voice to suit what's on the screen rather than your actual feelings is a rather special skill, no? However, I told him "It's just like riding a bike, once you do it five or six times, you get the hang of it, and you never forget it" But Sensei wasn't convinced.
He said "It won't pan out, but please send me a copy of the audition tape." I though "This isn't good. I can't let things continue like this."
I very well couldn't tell Johnny he got turned down, right? So I told the author "Sensei, please just come to the voice recording session for Episode 1. Listen in the studio and have Kazama-kun keep trying until you think it's okay. If his performance is absolutely a disaster by the end, we'll replace him. But please stay until the very end, and I'm sure he'll be able to deliver a performance you'll be satisfied with."
He then said "So you'll definitely change it if I don't agree, right? In that case, I'll go check it out.".
Kazama Shunsuke
So when he came, Kazama-kjun was there. Kazama-kun was a real second-year middle schooler, not exactly a heartthrob yet but he had a cuteness to him. This kid was giving his all, working his hardest to do the job, and when the sound director told him "Do the part like this", he'd follow orders to the letter. That's what made Kazama-kun such a talented voice actor. People who aren't very smart can't really do the work. After all, you have to listen to what others say, ruminate upon it, and then move your body and muscles according to the role you've been hired to do. In other words, he had the good sense to listen carefully to instructions, think through what he's being told, and use his body, vocal cords and emotions exactly as needed.So, a typical voice recording session for an episode usually takes about 4 to 5 hours, right? This one took 5 to 6 instead, and at some point, even Takahashi-Sensei started thinking "This kid's not half bad..." From a grown man's perspective, seeing a kid who looks like a second-year middle-schooler working so hard and clinging for dear life for the sake of his role... That's bound to move you. Which led to Kazama-kun becoming close friends with Takahashi Kazuki-Sensei.
Thus, whenever Kazama-kun sees me, he runs up to me, saying "Kataoka-san, Kataoka-san, Kataoka-san, you're my savior.". I was the one helped produce "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters". But I since I didn't need to tell people that, I didn't take credit. That's why I'm grateful for this interview, as it's a chance to finally bring stories like this to light.
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