[KleenexGhost]

Originally Posted by Shikijin

Spoiler for interview to Kawamori part 2:

-I forgot to say it the other time, the robot Aquarion was meant to look like a Buddhist statue.

-Okada wanted to do a funeral for Jin, Kawamori always wanted to do a "special training in a grave". Since Aquarion wasn't meant to have a gloomy spirit, he changed it in a story meant to restore the power to live in the future. Kawamori says that in many countries there are rites of passage centered on accepting death. There are not many chances to do something like that in a anime, so Kawamori chose to do it, trusting Okada to make it entertaining.

-At first authors meant to depict Mykage as if he was Toma, but it seems for the audience he was too ominous. Even Kawamori remembered Toma differently. Mykage was not simply a reincarnation though, he had some individual feel. For example his humming in episode 25 had an eerie impact on Kawamori. Kawamori says the real pleasure of anime is that you don't know how it will feel until you hear the character talk.

-Aquarion had as three axes: love, myth and absurd special training.

-I cut the part where the interviewer makes Kawamori talk about his other anime.

-Kawamori thought Western culture was too much human centric. In the ancient times there was the belief even animals, plants and inorganic things were alive. Aquarion was conceived from that thought.

Spoiler for interview with director Yamamoto:

-There are a lot of things Yamamoto wished he could have done in the series. The last episode, directed by him and Kawamori, would have been 1,5 bigger than a normal episode, so they had to cut a lot of things, despite they absolutely wanted a cameo of Jin.

-Yamamoto feels particular emotional attachment for the scene where Andy makes MIX regain her memories, although he was unsure they would turn out well for those two after that.

-The original work tried but failed to suggest Fudo was Apollonius, on the other hand Fudo may be only a part of Apollonius, or maybe he was splitted.

-Yamamoto noticed Fudo could be considered the culprit of everything that happened.

-The interviewer was impressed when at last Amata managed to look like a main character in the last episode. Yamamoto replied that EVOL was meant to be a work about a group of people, so of course Amata was the main character, but Yamamoto didn't went at length to make him stand out as a main character, he just expected him to look like a main character over time, piling up his rage, sadness and love for Mikono. He thought something like that was just right for that kind of main character.

-Yamamoto thought Izumo began as a dark character, then in the end, with Kagura and Mykage not listening to his orders, he looked pitiful and human.

-The interviewer noticed Kagura, though not of his will, had killed his own father, yet he didn't grieve over it. Yamamoto said that being brought up by Mykage twisted Kagura.

-When deciding for a title, rather than "XX no Aquarion" they were searching for a word to add to Aquarion, then Kawamori came up with the name EVOL, the moment he explained that if you reverse it it becomes LOVE everyone went "whoa". Yamamoto thought Kawamori was really amazing. When that was decided, EVOL became easy for Yamamoto. The previous work used deep themes, but this work was all about love: between man and woman, between parent and child, between siblings, between friends... Yamamoto was a bit embarassed by this, but it was a universal theme easy to understand. And in the end there was "lifting the ban on love" (love was banned on the 4th episode).

-The interviewer was surprised in the last episode there were so many new melodies. Yamamoto said a bit of Zero was used when Shrade died. Yamamoto liked that part. He didn't think much of Shrade, but that music made him like Shrade for the first time. He thought he was funny, but he never saw him as someone cool until that moment. Still, all the staff, he included, laughed when Shrade's glasses broke, despite the part before was so solemn.

-In the initial scenario Amata and Mikono's return was not supposed to be shown clearly, but following EVOL's style it became like that. The scene with Zessica and Kagura was an afterthought, it was added to the storyboard after talking with Kawamori.

-Yamamoto doesn't know if Kagura became affiliated to Neo-Deava, but it is possible he just lived in the area, eating things like fishes or rats.

-Yamamoto thinks he managed to mantain for EVOL the "taste" he wanted it to have, but Kawamori and Mari (not to mention Yamamoto himself) were willing to change the story to make it more fun, so the story in itself changed a lot. Still, he thinks he changed the story smoothly, in a way the writers and the staff could agree.

-Yamamoto mentions one of the male characters was supposed to be revealed to be a girl, but the women in the staff didn't like "such savage girl" {from the way it was worded, he seems to imply it was Kagura!}, so he remained a boy. Kawamori liked that gag very much, so he grumbled when he couldn't get things his way.

-Yamamoto says he would like to complement what he couldn't depict in the series with drama CDs or with the director's cut.

I have to disagree that the story flowed smoothly. I kinda buy the group effort thing. At least Yamamoto acknowledges that Amata wasn't properly developed as a character, let alone a main character. Zessica and Kagura pairing being an afterthought? Yeah, it felt like a last minute thing.

Another interesting interview. Okada's interview felt the most genuine in a sense. If anyone hasn't read the excerpts from her interview already she talked about the writing process for the show and it revealed some of the problems with the writing. Kawamori's interview rubbed me the wrong way. He sounded like he was trying to make the show seem deeper and smarter than it actually is. Yamamoto's interview seems like it's trying to make excuses for the show, like Amata's poor development.

What do you guys think?