Making its debut in 1999, the One Piece anime series is one of Japan’s most-watched animes. With 978 episodes released so far, several video games, and so much more, One Piece has climbed into the conversation for highest-grossing media franchise of all time. The story follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, who is on a mission to become the King of the Pirates, and the Straw Hat crew, who along with Luffy, are striving to make their dreams come true. With a constant expression of freedom, friendship, and perseverance, the success of the series is hardly surprising, as it dives deeply into each character’s arc and allows viewers to connect with villains and heroes equally, picking up valuable lessons along the way.

As we hold onto the edge of our seats, eager to discover what’s coming next in the epic saga, One Piece fans are always honored to have what the series has given us so far. Recently, The Hundreds was granted some very rare access to One Piece anime director Tatsuya Nagamine.

Nagamine has been working for Toei Animation since 1995, but it actually took him a decade to touch the One Piece series itself. “In the end, I didn’t get involved in the production of One Piece for up to 10 years. But during that time, I trained and developed my skills, thinking that one day I would be able to work on One Piece. And finally, that day came and I was able to work on the One Piece Film Z movie,” Nagamine told me. His story reminds me a lot of a certain personality that boasts around the ship with a Straw Hat.

Now, Nagamine is highly celebrated for his role in directing Dragon Ball Super: Broly and One Piece Film Z, but just like the rest of us, he tunes into Shonen Jump every week to find out what the Straw Hat crew is up to. As we gear up to release the highly-anticipated The Hundreds X One Piece collaboration, we caught up with Nagamine to understand the inner workings of one of the most popular anime series of all time, learn the process of creating an anime episode from its manga source, and his super top secret methods for finding the best staff. 

How did your career as an animator begin and how did you get involved in the production of One Piece?

I was a member of the Cinematography Course at Nihon University College of Art, and I was thinking of becoming a commercial cameraman, but I couldn’t find a job at all even though I was just about to graduate. In the midst of this, I started to realize that I didn’t really have the physical strength to be running around with a heavy camera in a tough shooting site, and I started to feel despair. But then I saw the job offer for a desk job with a monthly salary of 180,000 yen from Toei Animation on the school’s job hunting board. So I applied for the job offer and I managed to get it, and my career as an anime director began. It took me 7 years to become an independent sequence director since I didn’t really have talent. 

Around that time, Toei started to produce the anime adaptation of One Piece. In the end, I didn’t get involved in the production of One Piece for up to 10 years, but during that time I trained and developed my skills, thinking that one day I would be able to work on One Piece, and finally, that day came and I was able to work on the One Piece Film Z movie.

アニメーターとしてのキャリアはどのように始まり、そしてワンピースの制作に関わったきっかけを教えて下さい。

日大芸術学部の映画学科撮影コースに所属していて、CMのカメラマンにでもなろうと思ってたのですが、卒業の年ギリギリになっても、全然就職が決まらない。よく考えたら重いカメラ持って厳しい撮影現場を走り回る体力がなかったと気づいたりして絶望していたら、学校の就職掲示板に東映アニメーションの求人票があり、１８万、座ってできる仕事！！ということで受けたらなんとか引っかかって、アニメ演出のキャリアが始まりました。まあ、そんな感じなので才能なんてないから、演出として独り立ちするまで７年かかりました。

その頃、東映でワンピースのアニメの制作が始まりました。ワンピースの制作に関わるのはそのあと10年以上後だったのですが、

その間、いつかはワンピースやるだろうからと意識して修行して力をつけて、劇場ワンピースフィルムZでようやく関わることができました。

Were you a fan of One Piece before working on it? Did you learn anything after being involved in the production?

I love the manga, I have been reading it since its release. Of course, I enjoyed reading it, but while I was directing One Piece Film Z, I started re-reading about the 60 volumes that were already published at the time as part of my job. I realized that it was going to be quite a challenge. I was overwhelmed by the hard work and talent of the author, which I wasn’t able to feel when I was just reading the books as a fan. There I fell into despair with the pressure of making the film, that I became bedridden.

During the making of the One Piece Film Z, I thought to myself that I’m going to do it on my own! But while working on the Wano Country Arc for the One Piece TV series it reaffirmed the importance of friendship, thanks to the excellent staff that helped me make it possible.  

制作前からワンピースのファンでしたか。実際に製作に関わり、現場から習得されたことはありますか。

原作は好きで最初から読んでました。楽しんで読んでましたが、フィルムZを監督するときに当時既刊６０数巻を仕事として読み始めたらかなりしんどいものがありました。一読者として楽しんでるときには感じられない、原作者の苦労と才能に圧倒されてワンピースの映画を作るのを絶望して寝込みました。

ワンピースフィルムZの時は俺がやってやるぜ！！と一人で作ってる気で思い上がっていましたが、ワの国編ではTVワンピースの優秀なスタッフと協力して、いいものを作ってもらって「やっぱり仲間っていい！！」というものを改めて噛みしめることができました。

How many animators are working on the production at once? How difficult is it to connect and match the different scenes?

There are about a dozen sequence directors and assistant sequence directors who help them in the One Piece staff room. There are about 10 animation directors for One Piece. Then there are 10 to 20 key animators for each TV episode. For art, there is a general art director, a setting director; there is also an art director for each episode and a color setter for the celluloid pictures. These are the main people who are devoted to One Piece.

On top of this, on a monthly basis, there are about 2,000 people, including non-full-time staff, working on the project. There are more than 5,000 pictures for each episode, and we have a lot of people working on it every week. We have six scenario writers, led by Yonemura-san, who is the main writer, and we have scenario meetings with those six writers, three producers, three series directors, other directors, and the production manager to check the content. After that, we check the storyboard, discuss with the director when we notice something, check during editing, check during post-recording, check during dubbing, check each of the pieces of the video that becomes ready, check by the series director together with the director, check during online editing, and check before delivery. Basically, since we have a team of excellent directors, we ask them to independently check if there are any discrepancies with the original story, the previous or following episodes, or the whole story.

製作現場では何人程度のアニメーターが取り組んでいますか。　各シーンを繋げて一致させることは、どのように難しいでしょうか。

会社のワンピースタッフルームに演出家とそれを補佐する演出助手が十数人います。ワンピースの作画監督が１０人くらい。それからテレビの一つの話数に原画マンが10～20人。美術が美術総監督と設定担当がいて、さらに話数ごとの美術監督。セル画の色彩設定。ワンピース専任しているメインがこんなところで。

1ヶ月単位にすると専任以外も含め、約2,000人が動く計算になります。1話に対して5,000枚以上の画を描いていて、それを毎週続けるため、すごい人数に携わってもらっています。シナリオライターは、メインライターを務める米村さん率いる６人、シナリオ打ち合わせにはその６人とプロデューサー三人、シリーズディレクター三人、そのほかディレクター、制作デスクなどが参加して内容をチェックしています。その後、コンテチェック、気が付いたときにディレクターとディスカッション、編集時にチェック、アフレコ時にもチェック、ダビング時にもッチェック、映像がバラバラに上がってきたときも、ディレクターとともにシリーズディレクターがチェック、オンライン編集時にチェック、そして納品前にチェックしてます。基本的に優秀なディレクターが揃っているので、自主的にも原作や前後の話数や全体と齟齬がないかもチェックしてもらってます。

Can you tell us what the daily work atmosphere is like?

We check and correct scripts and storyboards. I also attend post-recording dubbing sessions, decide on the direction of the production, deal with any problems that may arise, and train staff to improve quality. I believe it’s very important to create a system that allows staff to make the most of their individuality and abilities.

Sometimes I also buy sweets and put them on trays. There are a lot of people who want something sweet because they have to use their brains a lot during the day. With sweets, we get the best staff. Also, in the One Piece team, we have three series directors at the helm, including myself, to make sure we produce a high-quality product every week. We work very well together.

 毎日の仕事はどのような雰囲気か少し教えていただけますか。

脚本や絵コンテのチェック及び修正をしています。ほかにもアフレコダビングの立ち合いや演出の方向性を決めたりトラブルが起きたときの対応をしたり、クオリティアップのための人材育成も行います。スタッフの個性や能力を活かせるような体制作りも大事な仕事ですね。

たまにお菓子を買い込んできて、お盆にそれを盛っておくのも仕事ですね。頭使う仕事が多いので甘いものが欲しい人がいっぱいいます。お菓子で優秀なスタッフを確保するのです。また、『OP』チームでは毎週クオリティの高い作品を作るために、私を含めて３人のシリーズディレクターで舵をきっています。お互いに協力しながら作業をしていますよ。

Who is your favorite hero and villain, and why?

Hands down it is Luffy!! In order to live well in reality, you have to go along with the rules that protect you and you have to get along with people who are incompatible with you. But Luffy wants to live the way he wants. He breaks the rules and the inconveniences of life! If he loses, he dies, but Luffy is okay with that, and if he dies as a result of doing what he loves, he laughs at that moment, too. That is so cool. I wish I could have that kind of spirit and ability, and that is why I admire Luffy. 

For the bad guy, I choose the enemy boss “Z” from the One Piece Film Z movie. He is the character that I decided to be the antagonist of Luffy. Unlike Luffy, who has friends, strong luck and nice people to guide him, Z has bad luck, lost his friends, and has few people to guide him.

I can relate to him because he has lost many things, but he fights through his life with what little he has left. If I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose in style because in the end I will grow old and I will lose.

  一番好きな、味方キャラクターと敵キャラクターは誰ですか。　理由を教えて下さい。

やっぱりルフィです！！現実にうまく生きていくためには、既存の自分を守ってくれるルールや自分とは相容れない人ともうまくやっていかなくちゃダメじゃないですか。でも、ルフィは好きに生きていきたい。ルールも不自由なめんどうなこともぶち破ってゆく！！

負けたら死んでしまうけど、ルフィはそれでもいいと思ってるし、好きにやった結果死んでしまうなら、その瞬間までも笑う男。かっこいいです。自分もその気概と実力を持てたらいいなってルフィに憧れてます。

敵はワンピースフィルムZの敵ボス「Z」ですね。ルフィのアンチとして自分の中で決めたキャラクターです。仲間と強運、導いてくれる素敵な大人を持っているルフィと違って、運が悪くて、仲間を奪われ、導いてくれる人も少ない。失うものが多い人生のその中で、わずかに残ったものを握りしめて人生を戦い抜いた男ってところが共感できます。負けるならかっこよく負けてやろうって思います。年を食うといつかは負ける時がくるので。

If you could eat a Devil Fruit, what power would you like?

For me would be the Barrier-Barrier Fruit!! When I was a child, I admired the cracking barrier of Mazinger Z’s photon power laboratory. To use a barrier to protect the girl you love when she’s in danger! Or using a barrier to protect everyone when criminals suddenly intrude your school! It’s the best. It gave us the image that we had the ability to become invincible by placing our middle finger over our index finger and declaring, “Barry!” This was a thing that a lot of Japanese primary school boys did. That’s the kind of culture we had. This is also what gave the inspiration for the “Barrier-Barrier Fruit.”

もし悪魔の実を食べられたら、何の能力を得たいですか

バリバリの身ですね！！幼少の頃、マジンガーZの光子力研究所の割れるバリアに憧れてました。

好きな女子を危ないときに守る！！学校にいきなり犯罪者が乗り込んできてもバリアで防御！！最高ですね。日本の小学生男子には標準装備されている人さし指に中指をかけて「バリー！！」と宣言することで無敵になれる能力です。（そういう文化があるのです。バリバリの実の元ネタなのです）

For those who don’t know the process of converting manga into animation, can you explain a little bit about it?

I think it’s all about bringing together all the different forces that you don’t get in a manga, such as movement, music and the actors’ performances. It also complements the events that take place between the panels of the manga. In a manga, you can read it carefully and understand it as much as you need to, but in an anime, you can’t really go back and carefully look at it. So when we translate the manga into anime, we try to show the episodes by capturing the moments of the character’s feelings and the flow of the action to make it easy to understand. Another thing, the One Piece manga has a nice tempo of the story so it’s a challenge to find a balance between the ease of understanding and how to complement the tempo of the manga.

漫画をアニメに変換するプロセスを知らない方々へ少し説明してもらえますか。

漫画にはない、動きや音楽、そして役者の演技など、様々な力を合わせて一つの作品に仕上げていくことに尽きると思います。それと漫画のコマとコマの間の出来事を補完していきます。漫画ならじっくり読んで、理解できることも、アニメはどんどん時間が

すぎて見返したりできません。なのでその瞬間瞬間にキャラクターの気持ちやアクションの流れやエピソードがわかるように漫画をアニメに変換します。

ワンピースの漫画はテンポが気持ちいいです。なので、そのように補完するとテンポが悪くなってしまうので、わかりやすさと漫画のテンポの気持ち良さをどう折り合いをつけるのかも課題になります。

Which island’s adventure in One Piece did you think was the most interesting?

It has to be the Land of Wano!! After the raid on Onigashima, one after another, lively characters are appearing on screen. The staff will do their best to bring the world of One Piece to life with the movements of the animation, the wonderful acting of the voice actors, the colors, the music, and the shocking sound effects! Even the staff of the anime are also excited and enjoy reading Shonen Jump every week to see what happens next.

We hope that the fans can feel the same feeling in the One Piece anime. We will produce the anime with our heart and soul in every episode, so we hope that you can enjoy it too. Let us all go on a journey to find ONE PIECE together!!!

ワンピースでどの島の冒険が1番面白いと思いましたか。

ワの国ですよ！！鬼ヶ島への討ち入り後も生き生きしたキャラクターが次々と登場します。アニメの動きや声をあてる役者さんの素晴らしい演技、色、音楽、衝撃的な効果音などスタッフも全力で『OP』の世界を盛り上げていきますよ！

作っているアニメワンピースのスタッフも毎週ジャンプを読んで、次どうなるかワクワクして楽しんでいます。その気持ちをアニメのワンピースでも感じてもらえるように、１話入魂でアニメを制作してゆくので、皆さんもたのしんでもらえたら嬉しいです。一緒にワンピースを探しましょう！！

*******************************************