Sunday Cinema: Interview with Chika Nagaoka director of Detective Conan: Million Dollar Pentagram

Hey all, Sakaki here! To commemorate Detective Conan: Millon Dollar Pentagram's success, We're giving you an insight into the director of the film, Chika Nagaoka! This interview was recently posted on the Conan movie twitter, so it's pretty good timing, no? As always the same rules stand: I, Sakaki am not a professional translator, so there may be little errors, and no one should post this anywhere else without our permission. Okay, now let's make movie magic.

It should go without saying but I'll say it anyway Heavy spoilers for the movie ahead. You have been warned.

Interview found here

The concept of Heiji Hattori VS Kaito Kid was the first thing we decided on.

-----: First off, tell us how this exciting idea was born.

Chika Nagaoka (To be just C from here on in.): Heiji Hattori vs Kaito Kid was the very first thing we decided on. After that, everything else fell into place --the setting being Hakodate, and the pentagram that is associated to it, Toshizo Hijikata's involvement, etc. The highlight scene of Heiji's confession --the million dollar night scenery on Hakodate mountain was something we came up with later on. Due to that we also wanted to have Heiji and Kid's "night backdrop battle" there as well. It was an impression left upon us by a Taxi driver who told us about the location when we took a private trip to Hakodate.

-----Being on location, observing every part of Hakodate was essential in creating an impression in this movie that they're on the scene with the characters. It's been about 5 years since you teamed up with (Takahiro) Okura --what was your first impression upon seeing the script?

C: First, I was amazed at how many swords were involved (laughs). I mean, it's a treasure hunt so that comes with the territory, but when I read the scenario I was like "Wait, how many of these are there?" We had to make sure there was a distinction between them all to keep things from getting confusing. What was most essential to convey is "What are Conan and the others thinking, and what mystery are they solving?" There are many moving parts in the mystery this time around, and while Conan is a detective and can deduce them immediately, there's a chance others may not be able to. For the swords, clues based on just the guard might be hard to understand, so we strived to make them unique in various ways so that anyone who has them can quickly understand what is different about them. As such the six guardian swords of the Higashiku Boeitatsu were designed based on ideas from Yuto Hama, and when all the swords are gathered they make a fortified five sided shape. Due to leaving it to the pros, I think the swords looked really cool.

----Did any of (Gosho) Aoyama's ideas leave an impression on you?

C: He said, "I want them to fight atop a Cessna airplane." It was clear from that sentiment that he likes the kind of reality defying action scenes that you'd get from a Hollywood blockbuster. It was also his idea to have the villain's motivation be something like a mysterious warship. Otherwise, Brian D Kadokura's actions would have seemed small in scale --so it made sense to have an even bigger presence looming over them. Since he had said that much, I made it my job to serve up the entertainment.

-----Mr. Aoyama has an impressive way of weaving in an entertaining scenario along with human drama. It surprised me how much I was able to enjoy the movie as a whole. As a director, were there any parts you absolutely wouldn't negotiate on?

C: I suppose how the characters emotions are portrayed? On my first pass on the script, I thought the treasure hunt part of it was heartwarming, but it lacked a sense of urgency. So i suggested to Okura, "Why not have someone get shot?" By having someone get shot, then the situation becomes more tense, and continuing the treasure hunt has a sense of "seriousness" and "conflict." On the second pass through, It was Officer Nishimura who got shot. Mr. Aoyama spoke up and said "Kaito Kid wouldn't help Nishimura, so why not make it Nakamori instead?" When he said that it clicked. "Oh, yeah, if it's Nakamori, then Kid would get involved." Due to that, we also had a reason to bring in his daughter, Aoko. In truth I hadn't considered Aoko to be part of this movie until the end, but in one of our last meetings Mr. Aoyama said "If Nakamori gets shot, then it's likely Aoko would come to help him, so please include her." 

----- Amazing. By having the characters emotions confront one another, new dramatics are born.

C: Exactly. Since the movie wasn't spicy without enough of a sense of tension, the idea to have someone get shot came up, and through the relations with the cast, we came to decide it should be Nakamori --and from there the request to have Aoko appear caused us to revise the script which in conclusion gave us a much more interesting movie. I'm glad I was particular about this. 

It's because of Heiji that we were able to bring about the feel of a High School boy.

-----The worlds of "Detective Conan" and "Magic Kaito" crossing over in this work are charming in their own way, but who is Kaito Kid to you?

C: I admire him. Flying in the air looks like so much fun --I wish I could fly on my own. That's something I thought whenever I drew him. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't thought to themselves that they'd want to be able to fly, and Kid is that sense of longing materialized. To me, Kaito Kid is the concept of fantastic things people can't do taken form.

----- I see. So to the other protagonist of this movie, What do you think of Heiji?

C: He's life-sized --or to put another way, he's realistic. Whereas Kid when he's not Kaito Kuroba is an unrealistic concept, Heiji is the complete opposite. Kid comes off as idol-like and a bit pompous, Heiji is a high school student. He gets flustered around Kazuha, and is straightforward in his jealousy --he can't be honest with himself. Add in his rivalry with Shinichi Kudo, and his reaction to that, and it's all just so refreshingly realistic. 

----- It's true he's the loveable sort. When the talented trio --Conan, Heiji, and Kid come together they really do come off as high school boys.

C: Though really, in the scene with the three of them talking in the train, only one of them actually comes off like a proper highschooler --Heiji. Conan is tiny, and Kid is well, himself. Although it doesn't look like it, they're all the same age. So what I wanted to depict in the train car is that they're all high school boys. Though, the reason that atmosphere can exist in the first place is probably because of Heiji. If he weren't there, there would be a slight sense of apprehension, and the realistic portrayal of high school boys would have gone out of the window. So really it's thanks to Heiji that we're able to bring about the feel of a High School boy. In the train scene at least they're able to exist temporarily as their true selves --Conan as Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid ad Kaito Kuroba. In this movie overall they talk about the girls they like, as well as have a lively conversation in the train. I can't help but think about what kind of conversations they'd have.

-----Lastly, the scene with Kazuha and Heiji was pretty exciting too.

C: I had a ton of fun with that. (laughs) I think Heiji will probably never be able to say the lines he said during his confession ever again, so now the hurdle for his future confessions has risen significantly. Good Luck Heiji! I'll always support you.  

The Great Thief and Great Detective have mutual respect for each other, which is why they say that line.

-----You said before that Heiji has the feel of a realistic high school boy, but in this movie he's got many expressions straight out of a romcom. From his rival Conan snickering at him, to Ran's tears right before the last scene....it was all memorable.

C: I used my intuition at the storyboard stage to distinguish between whether a scene should be lighthearted or serious. When Conan said "Let me see Hattori" the face he made there was hilarious. (laughs) Beyond that the scene when Ran cried, Mr. Aoyama had a request. At first I thought it wouldn't be good for her to have the expression she did so I drew it normally, but then Aoyama asked that I use the other one.

-----So it was his request! I could feel the touch of a real girl in Ran throughout the movie, and even Sonoko who was remote in the movie was still very cutely drawn.

C: In regard to Sonoko, I wanted her presence to be felt even if her scenes in the movie weren't long. Sonoko's VA (Naoko) Matsui even thanked me for drawing her so cutely, which made me happy. As for Ran, I wanted her to look a little scarier than usual during the scene when she's talking to Heiji at the clock tower. I think she unconsciously says to herself "Dude, just confess to Kazuha" due to them being friends. Something like that. It's that kind of relationship that gets Heiji fired up and convinces him he can't let (Shinichi) Kudo show him up.

-----There truly isn't anyone better to get the Shinchi/Heiji rivalry going than Ran. What did you keep in mind when drawing scenes with Conan, Heiji and Kid?

C: First, Mr. Aoyama made it clear that they shouldn't get along. It's why Detective Conan: Fist of Blue Sapphire got me slightly hyped, (laughs). Detectives are Detectives, and thieves are thieves. They might exchange information when necessary, but they'll never see eye to eye. Which is why I really enjoyed one part of the train scene, because when Conan calls kid "great thief" he responds with "Great detective." They'll never like each other, but there's a begrudging respect between them. By the way, that line was added by Mr. Aoyama in the storyboard stage, but I personally like it a lot since it sums them up well.

-----How'd you feel the first time you heard Kaito Kid's secret?

Q: To be fair, the readers had been speculating about this for ages, so I was mostly just glad that there's now an official confirmation. Also, I'm personally overjoyed that I was the director for the movie where it was revealed.

----The foreshadoing leading to the ending was expertly handled so it felt natural.

C: The events leading to the reveal of Kid's secret started at the beginning of the movie when Heiji saw Kid's face and remarked "You not only sound like---but look the same as Kudo." Then when he was on the doc, he glanced at Conan and muttered "hmm" to himself as his suspicion started building. Then after the train scene when he asks Conan himself about it, and he shrugs it off as a conicidence, and Heiji figures that's good enough. It was over with in a moment, and there wasn't anything else until the end so I wanted to find a way to sneak in some foreshadowing in the middle of the movie --and Aoko fit the bill nicely. She approached Conan in a similar while opposing way to Heiji at the port, and mentioned that he looks like her childhood friend when he was younger. Hopefully that would jog the memory of the viewer to be like "Oh right, that is the theme of this movie!" Kid's secret has nothing to do with the main plot of the movie, so think of it as a secondary secret thing, the movie reminding the viewer "Hey don't forget, this is Kid's secret."

The Movie's major theme is succession --passing one's will onto others.

----- I think the theme of surface and undersurface is similar.

C: I agree. The movie's major theme is succession --passing one's will onto others. In truth, when the voice actors asked "how should I do this" I found myself answering "how about like this" without even thinking about it. In the past, when people would ask for my advice, I'd find it hard to talk to them, but working with younger staff has made me realize how much I want to pass things down to them. Somewhat like how Kid has inherited his father's feelings. As I've gotten older I see the generational shift in Anime production, and thus the importance of passing things to others.

-----It's wonderful when the world of the movie and the real world are linked. Are there any characters or ideas you want to include in future Detective Conan movies?

C: While working on this film I came to appreciate how interesting Momiji and Iori are. They have a proper lady and her butler relationship, which is to say as master and servant. Due to this their worldviews are slightly different and I had fun depicting that. (laughts) Due to the movie having a specific runtime we had to omit some of their scenes, but I would have personally liked to have more of them. I think they're a wonderful pair, and wonder if they couldn't have a story to themselves. They debutted in Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter, but they didn't do much at the time. Since then they've appeared in the manga, and a few years have passed since then so it feels like their characters have solidified now. I'd love the opportunity do more with them. 

----- Iori's character has been explored a bit more in the manga. Though I can't wait to see what stories you'll come up with in the future.

C: Right --I want to keep on fighting in various ways (laughs)

Chika Nagaoka

Chika Nagaoka was born in 1983 in Gunma Prefecture. After gaining production experience at the anime production company JC Staff, she served as episode director on anime such as `Kamisama Hajimemashita'' and `Gintama.' She also worked as an assistant director on the 21st movie, Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter. She then directed the 23rd film, Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire and the 24th film, Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet. Her other feature length directorial works include `Uta no Prince-sama the Movie: Maji LOVE Kingdom'' and ``Uta no Prince-sama the Movie: Maji LOVE Starish Tours''.