✳

Takayama & Ginger Root

on Sparks

of Tomorrow

Sparks of Tomorrow key visual. Credit: ©Hiro Yuki, Kyoto Animation/Sparks of Tomorrow Production Committee

Interview: Art Director Mao Takayama & Ginger Root on Sparks of Tomorrow

By Nir Regev · The Natural Aristocrat®

Published on September 1, 2026

DirectorMinoru Ota★

Art DirectorMao Takayama★

AnimationKyoto Animation★

From the novel byHiro Yuki★

Ending theme“Soarin’” · Ginger Root★

Opening“Eureka Evrika” · Luna Goami★

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV)

In your view, which scene best represents the visual style of the series? What part of the world required the most research visually?

MAO TAKAYAMA

I’ll take that one. The scene that most expresses the work is a scene in among the streets of Kyoto, I think. That is what most expresses the world of the series.

Pipes strung all through the old streets of Kyoto, the ground churned to mud, a world that is permanently overcast. That is what we are depicting, so I think that is the part that expresses this work best, visually as well.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

For Takayama: What’s the biggest change for you moving from background artist on 2020’s Violet Evergarden: The Movie to Art Director on Sparks of Tomorrow?

MAO TAKAYAMA

That would be the Violet Evergarden period. Back then I was still in about my second year, a genuine newcomer, so my seniors taught me a great deal and corrected my work for me.

Now the positions have reversed, you could say. Building on what they taught me then, now I am the one teaching the juniors under me, or making the corrections at my end. The position has flipped completely, I think.

ADULT SWIM CENTRAL (AVRAHAM IZZAT)

The background art is incredibly unusual for an anime. Could you talk about how you and the team created the show’s art style?

MAO TAKAYAMA

This is a very distinctive work, so what we were aiming for was image-making that looks like an oil painting. In building it we made brushes, brushes that would produce that look.

It is not something one person makes; it is made as a team, so we kept communicating. When a piece of art came back we would say, this one is fine, this part would be better handled this way, and we built it up gradually that way.

YATTA-TACHI (ADAM WESCOTT)

Sparks of Tomorrow brings together a highly distinct visual identity and a very unique musical soundscape. When constructing the ending sequence and the overall atmosphere of the anime, in what ways did the art and music complement or connect with each other?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

I wrote the song without seeing any visuals of the ending animation. I was just given a painting done by the director, as well as a piece of writing about what he wanted.

I also met with him online and saw what he wanted and all that, but I didn’t have any real actual visuals to go off of, except for that one piece that he gave me, and obviously some directions from him.

And I purposely wrote things in the song that could complement opportunities for the animation to do something special. Like the breaks, or like the drums, or the interludes and the choruses and all that. So I was very excited to see the finished result, and I think it matches very well. I wish there was animation for the whole song, but it was still in the works, and they actually animated to what I wrote, which is very special to me. So that’s my side of the story.

MAO TAKAYAMA

On the ending, almost all of it was 3D and the photography team’s work. On the background side it was only three cuts.

But we were let hear the ending song, and whether it was the make-up of that world, something like a pipe organ, I am not sure what was used, but that kind of unusual music, music using really unique sounds, we were let hear it, and I thought it matched the art of the work extremely well.

IN ASIAN SPACES (SHANNON)

The background art for Sparks of Tomorrow captures the atmospheric transition of 1906 Kyoto beautifully, particularly the contrast between traditional wood-structure townhouses and the emerging glow of electrical innovation. How did the production team approach balancing historical Meiji era accuracy with a distinct visual style?

MAO TAKAYAMA

On this work we used a way of drawing that leaves the touch of the brush visible, and an Impressionist-painting sort of treatment that blurs the outlines a little. But the traditional buildings and so on, this is a world none of you know, so we had to explain it properly. The parts that needed that explanation, and the parts where the characters sit, we drew very precisely.

Everything else, the edges of the frame, or scenes with movement, we made those the places to leave big brush strokes. And that balance, we worked it out cut by cut.

ANIME CORNER (J.J. GIBSON)

A somewhat related question for Takayama. To what extent did you make use of historical reference material when creating the physical world of the series? What are some real-life elements you wanted kept in, and where are the places where you intentionally deviated from the real world?

MAO TAKAYAMA

What I heard from the director was that, fundamentally, he did not want to tell any lie that wasn’t necessary. So the traditional Kyoto buildings, the streets, the locations, those we reproduce faithfully as they are.

The part we change is the steampunk, because that is the fantasy part, so we string the pipes around and make the world overcast. Then there is the distinctive fabric. We hang bolts of cloth under the pipes that are strung overhead. That sort of thing did exist in the Meiji era, but it was originally a sun-shading measure, hung so as to block the sun.

Here we use it to hide the pipes, and because it is a world where you cannot really see the sky, the patterns on the cloth stand in for the sky and give it a colourful impression.

ANIME TRENDING

A question for Takayama-san. Many animation studios don’t have an in-house background art department like this one and have to rely on external specialist studios. From your experience so far, how does the in-house background team contribute to the studio’s culture and expertise?

MAO TAKAYAMA

The single biggest benefit is that communication is easy. For the parts you cannot explain in words, we can have someone come and look at what is actually being drawn, and we can answer a question on the spot, and that is enormously strong.

Beyond the background section, we can stay in very close contact with photography, with key animation and finishing, with the other sections, so we can put a proposal like “how should we handle this one” straight to them.

I thought that was very big. And this time the art was quite unusual, so all the more, I find myself thinking it could not have been done anywhere but our own company.

YATTA-TACHI (ADAM WESCOTT)

This is a question for Ginger Root. On your past work you found creative ways to make music, like performing using an old rotary phone as a microphone and filming on tape recorders. What unconventional instrument did you make use of on recording “Soarin’”?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

When I made “Soarin’” I did it completely in a bedroom. I didn’t run any studio time for it, so it does have that kind of lo-fi sheen that a lot of my other songs have. I used a little bit of the same telephone that you talked about, recording some of the vocals on there.

And the thing with writing for TV and anime is my anxiousness of having to change things all the time. So when I did stuff, for example, with NHK earlier this year, I used that as a learning experience to not actually record a lot of real sounds, instead using soft synthesizers and VSTs and all of that. So it was a good exercise.

With a lot of my other songs, recording things with actual microphones, instead of like this. For this song in particular, recording things directly that were easily editable in case I had to make changes.

Especially because there’s two versions, there’s the short version and this long version I made. The short version got the okay, and then I had to figure out how to recreate the sounds I made for the short version to duplicate them for the long version. But thankfully I didn’t have to change anything after the first draft, so I worried for nothing. But that was probably kind of how the song was recorded, in that way.

ADULT SWIM CENTRAL (AVRAHAM IZZAT)

This time my question is for Ginger Root. What conversations or discussions led to this song becoming the ending theme?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

I got a proposal to do it. I thought it was fake. I was really excited. I’m a big anime fan, and so I took it.

One story I will tell is, I had one meeting with the whole team, including the director, Minoru Ota, and we bonded over the fact that he really likes Lady Gaga. I don’t know why, but weirdly I think that subconsciously influenced how I wrote the song. Not like I’m saying “Soarin’” sounds like any Lady Gaga song to begin with, but the back and forth that he had was, like I said earlier, that he gave me that painting and he gave me that piece of writing.

He also said something differentiating from the opening theme, where he didn’t want any eastern-sounding instruments, because the opening is acting like, here’s the Meiji era, here is stuck in time, very traditional, a sense of adventure. But then with an ending theme, he wanted it to actually sound electronic. What would the future that all the characters, what the Electricity Catalog is, what those ideas may offer.

So that was a big thing that we went back and forth on. He gave me those notes, I made something that I thought would probably fit well, and it sat with the team very well. And that’s kind of the back and forth that we had.

ADULT SWIM CENTRAL (AVRAHAM IZZAT)

This question is for both of you, and you kind of hinted a little bit at it already. But the ending of an anime is crucial, because it dictates the emotional aftertaste the audience is left with for an entire week. What is the exact feeling or lingering thought you want the viewers to walk away with?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

That’s a good question. For me, on the music side, I know specifically they gave me a reference to City Hunter, where the theme song would start while the ending scene is going, there’s a little bit of dialogue left, and then the beat drops. “Get Wild.” I think that song is the one.

So they wanted me to kind of create that same essence of, and here’s the ending. So with that involved, the adventure isn’t solved. There are a lot of things, the Electricity Catalog, there are so many mysteries in there. So in essence a cloudiness, just like the town is shrouded in steam and smoke, similarly having that feeling of uncertainty.

But there’s a lyric in the song, it’s like, but together we can go past the stars, we can get out of that steam together. And so that’s something that I wanted to portray, and kind of also with the animation team, give them an example. Like I said in my previous answer, so the characters could actually fly off the screen and give them a sense of soaring into the sky.

MAO TAKAYAMA

What Ginger said just now, I feel very much the same way about it.

And then, it depends on the episode, but I would like them to deepen their reading of the episode, and to predict what comes next. That sort of, how should I put it, it is very hard to express, but something that becomes that kind of time. Letting your thoughts wander. Yes. Thank you.

IN ASIAN SPACES (SHANNON)

This is for Ginger, and you kind of answered this a little bit. But your music frequently draws inspiration from Japanese city pop, Showa era television aesthetics, and vintage textures. In composing “Soarin’” for Sparks of Tomorrow, how did you approach matching your signature retro soundscape to the show’s 1900s Meiji era setting, and the sense of flight and wonder surrounding Kihachi and Inako?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

Sure. I do like vintage Japanese culture, but not that vintage, I would say. But it was a great opportunity to kind of stretch my palate and deviate from the things that I normally do.

When talking to the team, I asked, do you want me to write an anime song, I think, would sound like an anime song? Or did you want like a Ginger song? And they said, well, while we would like a Ginger song 110 percent, we probably can’t. So in my own head I decided, okay, let’s do a 70 percent Ginger song and a 30 percent anime song, and what would that sound like?

And it was a great exercise. It was a fun exercise to put on a new hat, trying a new set of clothes. I think they fit really well.

And ultimately, taking Ota’s writing and his painting, and also all the key artwork that I was able to see, all the character designs and stuff like that, they said that essentially Sparks of Tomorrow is a boy-meets-girl story, and that you can’t do it alone.

And so how the song starts off with a single instrument is, like, you start off alone, and then as you try to achieve something you want to do, you need help along the way to support that. And that’s why the song gets bigger and bigger, and in the chorus there’s a whole choir that sings the chorus. So it kind of heaves in towards that point. It was a really good challenge. It was really fun and I’d like to do it again.

ANIME CORNER (J.J. GIBSON)

This question is for Ginger Root. You mentioned the creation of the ending theme, and said that you were thinking about themes and emotions from the early parts of the series. Which characters in specific were top of mind for you, and what themes in the series struck you as best belonging to a song?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

I think in terms of themes specifically, I think it was a sense of wonder that this book has. It’s something so familiar, but something that hasn’t been delved into a lot. And I feel like in the song, choosing certain chords that evoke a sort of, we’re not at home yet, we’re not done yet, this series isn’t done yet, this song isn’t done yet.

In terms of the characters, I feel each character, and this I guess translates into more of a theme as well, everybody wants something. Whether it is to avenge their brother, whether it is to aspire like their mother, whether it is to just get what they want.

What I’m talking about is, I feel like that feeling is something that I wanted to bring a main focus of. Like, we all want something in life, we can’t do it alone. Some people will try to do it alone and fail. Some people try to do it together and succeed. And I feel like that was the core essence of what I took from the theme, the characters, the scripts, all the stuff that the team told me to implement into the ending theme.

PRESS

This question is for Takayama-san. What’s the best piece of advice, or the best lesson regarding creating background art, that you’ve acquired on the show or otherwise?

MAO TAKAYAMA

What my seniors taught me was, above all, to draw while thinking, at all times. It is background art, background for animation, so it has to be background that sets the characters off properly, and you think about guiding the viewer’s line of sight, there is an enormous amount to think about. And to keep the colours from going muddy. I think all of that connects to where I am now, so I think that is what matters.

YATTA-TACHI (ADAM WESCOTT)

This is for Takayama. How and when did you first start drawing, and what other artists would you say influenced you in your creative element?

MAO TAKAYAMA

I have liked drawing since I was small, really from about five years old. But what made me want to work on anime backgrounds properly was, at around fourteen, a gentleman named Yamamoto who works as an art director in anime.

On works like Princess Mononoke, or Laputa, I believe he was the art director. When I saw that person’s exhibition, it became the reason I wanted to do this job, so I think I am very much under his influence.

PRESS

I think this already got answered, but, Takayama-san, how does it feel being art director on an anime for the first time?

MAO TAKAYAMA

It was extremely difficult. Was it though [laughs]. Because you are not alone, after all. It is a work that a great many people are involved in.

And because it is animation, you have to mass-produce the artwork, so I felt the difficulty very much in that area. And not just drawing something, but communication skills, and leadership, and, yes, I felt that those things beyond drawing were necessary.

PRESS

Takayama-san, colour palettes are incredibly important for setting the psychological tone of the series. For Sparks of Tomorrow, did you establish a specific set of colour rules or lighting techniques to separate the moments of intense drama from the quieter, more intimate scenes of everyday life?

MAO TAKAYAMA

The question is whether we vary it between the intense scenes and the quiet ones. As for colour, both the intense scenes and the quiet ones are a clouded world either way, so what they have in common is that we built the colour of that world as a grey made out of many colours mixed together, colourful. What we did vary is the brush stroke. On the intense scenes we make it a little stronger, and on the calmer scenes we make it careful and precise.

IN ASIAN SPACES (SHANNON)

For Takayama. Some inventive scenes, the atmospheric smoke and electric lanterns within the city, the series features many memorable visual beats. Is there a specific scene or detail from the first three opening episodes that the staff found particularly rewarding or challenging to bring to life?

MAO TAKAYAMA

Not so much the one that stayed with me, more the one that was hard. There is a scene where Kihachi imagines the future, and the figures there, there are people moving with very realistic movement, and all of that had to be handled on the background side.

Drawing every moving part separately, and so on. It was an unbelievable amount of work, and it was hard.

ANIME CORNER (J.J. GIBSON)

This question is for Ginger. To what extent did the fact that you were working on a song for Sparks of Tomorrow affect your usual choices around instrumentation, structure, and the overall creative process for your music?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

I think, as I said in a previous answer, the director wanted specifically to have more electronics, bass sounds and stuff. And I think finding that medium between what I would personally put in as a synth sound that I would like, versus something that I think would fit the story, that was a fun challenge to incorporate.

And in terms of, like I said before, having the conscious decision of, I had to make the 82-second version first, because they needed that to animate, and then go back and kind of extend the song from there. That was a really interesting thing that I’ve never done before, because usually when I’m writing songs specifically just for Ginger, I write from the first beat to the last beat. But on this one I had to basically hit a checkpoint, and then get it approved, and then go on.

And like I said in another answer, having to replicate, I didn’t save the guitar sound, so I had to match by ear how much distortion I had on the first half, and stuff like that. So that was a really interesting challenge, that I would try to figure out a way how to not do that again.

PRESS

My question is also to both. Your creative elements, such as music video and visuals, and the story of Sparks of Tomorrow, explore themes of creative passion and perseverance. Have you ever felt burnt out, or had a creative block, and how do you keep up your motivation and maintain momentum juggling different roles?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

Yeah, I was burnt out last year, definitely. In the midst of getting burnt out, I had to remember, and I’m still trying to remember, why I started doing music in the first place. And it was for fun, and because I enjoyed doing it. And I never thought I’d get this far doing music. I never thought I’d be sitting in a room at an anime convention talking about my song credits.

And I’m very excited that I have the opportunity to do that. So I’m trying to learn to be more mindful of taking a step back and really being thankful for what I’m able to do with all these music opportunities.

In terms of creative block, man, just going for a walk does wonders. And also, I used to have the thing where, if I can’t do it in one go, or I can’t finish a song in one night, then it’s a bad song. And I’ve started to be a little more lenient and be like, it’s okay to take a step back, take a day, take two days, don’t even think about them, come back with a fresh perspective.

Because there’ll be a bunch of times where I’ll make something and I think it sounds like garbage, and I’ll wake up next morning with a fresh mind and I’m like, this is not bad. So I think, take it easy on yourself. If you have a creative block, motivation comes and goes. But creative burnout, it’s hard. But if you remember why you started doing something in the first place, it’ll come back when it’s ready.

PRESS

A question for Ginger. What does your past experience with Kyoto Animation’s works look like, and do you have specific feelings about being able to collaborate with a studio like this?

CAMERON LEW (GINGER ROOT)

I love Kyoto Animation. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say all the other shows that I like or whatever, but K-On! and Clannad and Violet Evergarden. I watched Violet Evergarden like, mom, she cried. It’s great.

One thing I will say, and I said this at LA Anime Expo, is that I was learning Japanese during Covid, and the first book that I was able to read in Japanese was Hibike! Euphonium, or Sound! Euphonium. And so I read that book, realized that Kyoto Animation made that, and I watched that. And that’s like a super crazy connected story. Well, now I’m working with the same studio that made that work.

So it’s really special. I’d love to do something again. Maybe an opening theme one time would be awesome. And yeah, I don’t know, just as a fan, awesome. It’s really cool. And I’m really happy that I had this opportunity and hope to do more in the future.

And who knows, if I get better at drawing, or maybe take a lesson from Takayama, I could maybe draw better and maybe make my own anime one day. But that’s like, maybe, I don’t know, 15 years from now.

✳

The cloth

stands in

for the sky

Takayama’s Kyoto hangs bolts of cloth beneath the pipes — a Meiji-era sun shade, repurposed. The patterns give a skyless world its colour.

Watch the official trailer

“Because it is a world where you cannot really see the sky, the patterns on the cloth stand in for the sky.”

Mao Takayama · Art Director

© Hiro Yuki, Kyoto Animation/Sparks of Tomorrow Production Committee

The PV in 30 Frames

All frames from the third promotional video, provided for press by the production. ©Hiro Yuki, Kyoto Animation/Sparks of Tomorrow Production Committee

The Makers

×

Art Director

Mao Takayama

her first series as art directorbackground artist on Violet Evergarden: The Moviepainted the overcast Kyoto

Ending Theme

Ginger Root

Cameron Lew wrote “Soarin’” alonerecorded it in a bedroomhis first anime theme

Voice Cast

Yuma Uchida as KihachiSora Amamiya as Inako

MusicEnding Theme “Soarin’” · Ginger RootOpening Theme “Eureka Evrika” · Luna Goami

Sparks of Tomorrow

Kihachi Sakamoto: Yuma Uchida
Inako Momokawa: Sora Amamiya

Japanese cast. Streaming worldwide on Netflix, 13 episodes.

Art & Guests

Key Visual

Sparks of Tomorrow

Key Visual 2

Chasing an Unseen Light

Teaser Visual

1906 Kyoto

The Guest’s Avatar

Mao Takayama

The Guest

Ginger Root

All stills and key art provided by the production. ©Hiro Yuki, Kyoto Animation/Sparks of Tomorrow Production Committee

Read Next

More from The Natural Aristocrat– Fantasia 2026: ‘Wind Breaker’ Movie ReviewRead it ★More from The Natural Aristocrat– Fantasia 2026 Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori on GrotesqqqueRead it ★More from The Natural Aristocrat– Interview: Yukimitsu Ina & Hitomi Tateno on Cocoon – One Summer of GirlhoodRead it ★

The post Sparks of Tomorrow Interview: Art director Mao Takayama & musician Ginger Root appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

✳

Ina & Tateno

on Cocoon — one

summer of girlhood

Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood. Credit: ©Machiko Kyo (Akita Shoten) / NHK, NEP

Interview: Director Yukimitsu Ina & Animation Producer Hitomi Tateno on Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood

By Nir Regev · The Natural Aristocrat®

Published on August 25, 2026 · Cocoon opens in U.S. theaters September 4

DirectorYukimitsu Ina★

Animation ProducerHitomi Tateno★

AnimationStudio Sasayuri★

From the manga byMachiko Kyo★

In theatersSeptember 4 · GKIDS★

HITOMI TATENO

It’s the gore, really. I had a strong desire to soften it. But what could we do? Putting a blur over it would have felt flavorless. We wanted to make this for young people in their teens, and it was going to be broadcast on television first, so we needed a softer expression, something children could watch without averting their eyes.

I’m sure we weren’t the first ones to ever express it this way, but with flowers… girls tend to love flowers. Well, there may occasionally be one who doesn’t! By expressing those moments through flowers, I think we managed to create a kind of symbol of escape from the painful part of the scene.

✳

A war you can

receive as

your own

Ina kept the film deliberately unplaceable: the buildings blend countries, the vegetation blends regions, and even the soldiers are a collage of period equipment, so no single nation owns the story.

The trailer · plays right here

“Whether you’re in America, or Europe, or anywhere else in the world, it’s a war you can receive as your own.”

Yukimitsu Ina · Director

© Machiko Kyo (Akita Shoten) / NHK, NEP

The Stills

Art, Chapter 01

Flowers Instead of Blood

Art, The Wreath

San & Classmates

Art, Chapter 02

Hand in Hand

Art, Chapter 03

The Birthday Bookmark

All stills © Machiko Kyo (Akita Shoten) / NHK, NEP

Read Next

More from The Natural Aristocrat– Fantasia 2026: ‘Wind Breaker’ Movie ReviewRead it ★More from The Natural Aristocrat– Fantasia 2026 Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori on GrotesqqqueRead it ★

The post Cocoon Anime Interview: Yukimitsu Ina & Hitomi Tateno appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

Warning: This review contains spoilers. Suzuki=Bakudan was screened for review at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Suzuki=Bakudan is a multi-layered movie, rich in its analysis of human nature. Picture unreliable homeless vagabond Tagosaku Suzuki played brilliantly by actor Jiro Sato, stumbling into a police station, saying he has premonitions of bombings before they happen.

Police department heads dismissive of evacuation, lest they take responsibility for delayed commutes. Preschool perimeters secured while homeless encampments are fully ignored and vulnerable… Proving Suzuki’s thesis of the public not valuing “freeloaders”.

Jiro Sato as Tagosaku Suzuki on the Suzuki=Bakudan character poster. ©Katsuhiro Go/KODANSHA Ltd. ©2025 BAKUDAN Film Partners.

Perhaps, most engrossing is Suzuki promising to show older detective Yuko Hasebe (Masaya Kato) the shape of his heart. When Hasebe fails to figure out Suzuki’s next target, he breaks Suzuki’s finger, leading Suzuki to laugh and show his mangled finger as the shape of Hasebe’s heart.

But no scene is stronger than police being unable to locate Suzuki’s promise on the subway platforms, calling it a bluff out of commuter pressure more than an in-depth sweep.

Yuki Yamada as Detective Ruike on the Suzuki=Bakudan character poster. ©Katsuhiro Go/KODANSHA Ltd. ©2025 BAKUDAN Film Partners.

As a result, helpless commuters press the vending machine button to meet their ends. It’s a scene that will stay with you forever. Authority figures shepherding thousands of victims to total unrealized danger under the veneer of full security.

The only flaw of this film is it’s too realistic in its execution. From the opening tragedy in Akihabara all the way to the subway platform chaos… Some ideas make incredible films but introduce dangerous concepts that might be best locked away from society for its own good. You’ll think twice the next time you click a vending machine button for a soda, that’s for sure. But as a film, it’s a must watch.

The Suzuki=Bakudan theatrical poster. ©Katsuhiro Go/KODANSHA Ltd. ©2025 BAKUDAN Film Partners.

More Fantasia 2026 Coverage:

Be sure to check out

– Fantasia 2026: Wind Breaker Live-Action Movie Review

– Fantasia 2026 Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori on Grotesqqque

– Fantasia Festival 2026: Our 5 Most Anticipated Films

Visit the Fantasia International Film Festival section for more reviews, interviews, and preview from 2026 and many years past!

Article Copyright:

– All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL text in this article.

The post Suzuki=Bakudan is our pick for best film of Fantasia 2026 appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

Wind Breaker’s ultimate message in this live-action adaptation is that a solo hero cannot beat volume with sheer brute force. Frequently in this film, we see rebel Haruka Sakura try to take on the world to a high degree of success at first impression… Only to lose. Despite being a powerful fighter, Sakura can only punch his way through so many adversaries before succumbing to numbers.

It’s a lesson we rarely see in western style superhero films where one Superman is enough to take on the universe. Instead in Wind Breaker we see having ‘determination’ and ‘will’ helps but it cannot stop a swarm. The tide of numbers hits and without backup, even the greatest of fighters drowns in a measured volume attack. 

Quite analogous to sports, Sakura believes as a star fighter he can take on the entirety of ‘team’ Shishitoren alone, he doesn’t need the rest of his ‘team’ Bofurin. And much like in basketball, this approach fails repeatedly. Except with high school street ‘gangs’ in this case. When Sakura takes on low level fighters, he powers through with ease but when facing an equivalent foe in Jo Togame, suddenly backup counts. Ambushes are meaningful and effective.

On the opposite side, his would-be sidekick Akihiko believes that by joining Bofurin, he can now be individually courageous and we see him beat up throughout Wind Breaker. Which all builds up to Wind Breaker’s main theme as a film. A unifying cause vs Darwinian hierarchies, which we’ll cover in Chapter 2.

Unifying Cause vs Darwinian Hierarchies

Collectivism triumphing over the individual is the not so subtle allegory of this film. The Darwinian Shishitoren believe in power and dominance, they evict the weak. Defeats are met by beatings and the Shishitoren member jacket. 

Meanwhile,  Hajime Umemiya’s Bofurin assist the elderly town people. The Bofurin help the weak and the bullied back to their feet. They even take bullied youth like Akihiko and put them on the front lines as equals. Choji Tomiyama, the leader of the Shishitoren, believes in punishing the weak. Umemiya uplifts them. 

Choji’s power is his own ability to fight, Umemiya’s true power is a unifying message. The message will outlive Umemiya and Choji’s own time at the top. Which is why Umemiya in the film can never truly be toppled, he’s a figure representing a deeper message than being at the top at one point in time.  

Lone wolf  Sakura or ‘Othello’ as rival Jo Togame nicknames him for his split hair color, is initially intrigued by the powerful Shishitoren until he sees them preying on the weak. A potential new recruit lost by the message not fighting ability. 

The Best Fight Scene

Wind Breaker is action-packed all throughout but one scene stands above the fold. An ambush fight between Sakura and Togame where Akihiko’s lack of fighting strength brings down Sakura when he meets an equal opponent. Till this moment, Sakura truly believed drive and determination and his innate talents were enough to overcome any obstacle. Then Sakura faces Togame who he’d previously called ‘boring’. Togame wipes the floor with Sakura, handing him a seriously humiliating beating. Sakura is unable to either rescue Akihiko or escape.

Not having backup, not trusting others, bites in the long run. And it bites hard when one least expects it. Sakura would later receive a similar lesson when trying to rescue the town from Shishitoren’s wrath on his own but there it’s a viable, honorable defeat. 

Here Togame literally steps on a helpless Sakura’s arm and the only one who can put an end to the pain is Togame himself. Who tells Sakura coldly to take a bloodied Akihiko to the hospital. 

A counterweight to a unifying message, the idea that ‘might makes right’. A unifying message is only as strong as those defending it. The difference is the Bofurin’s ability to recruit does not discriminate in the film.

If you’re an anime, Wind Breaker, or martial arts fan, you’ll have a good time watching the brawls and choreography. Entertaining fight scenes are in abundance in this film, it’s practically a naturally occurring phenomenon. 

– Check out our Fantasia 2026 Interview with Director Atsushi Nishigori on Grotesqqque

The post Fantasia 2026: ‘Wind Breaker’ Movie Review appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI × The Natural Aristocrat®

Interview

GROTESQQQUE. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ© Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

Fantasia 2026 Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori on Grotesqqque

By Nir Regev

Published on July 31, 2026

Three Works × One Film

01 — A(E)LIENS

02 — YOROSHIKU★Girl

03 — NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What part of the film was the most challenging to animate?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

In the second work, YOROSHIKU Girl, there was a lot of action. It’s a really action-packed part of the movie, so how were we going to manage that? That was one of the difficulties I experienced.

However, in the third work, Nocturne, towards the end there was a very important scene where they were showing the sky.

One of the things I really wanted to figure out was how I’m going to create a scene with the scenery of a sky that was going to leave a strong impression on everyone watching it. That was definitely one of the challenges I had in the third one.

Advertisement

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Can you describe your day to day approach to writing and directing?Can you describe your day to day approach to writing and directing?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

As an animator, I always had to think about how I’m going to put up the drawing I have in front of me. Obviously, the text helps me get proper context, or give a bit more structure to the character.

However, it’s always my part of the work to think, okay, how am I going to put this into a drawing? How am I going to give it a proper rhythm in the animation?

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

How long have you wanted to make this film?

NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

I looked it up — I started this project in 2020, after I finished Evangelion.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

How do you make unusual characters feel human?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

One of the things I do is put in a bit more of an anime personality, and then on top of that, I include some more human-like emotions.

Having that proper balance, or that switch between the more anime-like and the more human-like, I feel is one of the fun parts of making anime and creating these kinds of characters.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Was there anything you removed from the final film?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

In terms of what we cut, in the second part of the movie, as I said a bit earlier, it’s a very action-packed part of the movie. We felt that if we put in too much, that part was going to be a bit too tiring, too heavy to digest.

However, one of the things about this project is that I had a lot of freedom in terms of how long the movie could be. So whatever I wanted to put in, I could put in. But one thing I had to pay attention to was that I didn’t want to have it too long and drag it out, so that the audience would get bored of too much of the same thing. I really wanted to try and adjust according to how much the audience would like it.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What detail should viewers watch for in GROTESQQQUE?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

I would say this is a bit of a secret. If there is any kind of special Easter egg, I’m not going to say it. I have to be careful here, because I don’t want to say this is how you should interpret the character, or, if there’s a special Easter egg, oh, this is a reference to that.

I really want the audience to discover and interpret it the way they want, because if I give out a certain thought process of how I wanted to do it, I don’t want the audience to be forced to think in a certain way. I really want the audience to be free to think and interpret the movie the way they want.

Advertisement

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Do fan reactions change the way you write or create in any way?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

I didn’t have that kind of experience in the past. However, by attending this festival and watching the movie with the audience, I could see how the audience reacted to each specific scene, and that gave me immediate feedback.

It did influence me in a way. I might include that, or think about it, when I work on future projects, thinking about how I could make certain scenes make the audience laugh in a certain way. I feel this is one of the pleasures of being an anime creator: thinking about how to make the audience laugh and how to make the audience enjoy it.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What does it mean to you to be part of the Fantasia Film Festival?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

This was my first time attending or experiencing a movie at a film festival with the audience, so this was definitely a new experience for me. In the festival experience, I felt right at home. I found the audience very charming, very welcoming.

It was almost like an event, it was a festival, and it kind of reminded me of the days when I loved and enjoyed anime. It also gave me an important experience of how audiences outside of Japan experience anime.

I really feel like, when I’m working in the future, I will have to think about how audiences in Japan experience anime and how audiences outside of Japan experience anime, and maybe I’ll have to think about how I should adapt my future works.

Stills

GROTESQQQUE Movie Stills. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ© Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

The post Fantasia 2026 Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori on Grotesqqque appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

1) Nameless

Nameless Movie Still. Credit: Fantasia 2026 Film Festival

A mystery suspense thriller about a man who can eliminate people with no weapon in sight, just the motion of his hand. The police are baffled, questioning what they’re missing in the case. The occult? An invisible weapon not captured on camera? Nevertheless, they’ll have to figure out the secret to his vile power quickly before the next tragedy.

Why you should watch it: The mystery is the irresistible draw, just how is this man going on his evil sprees in broad daylight?

2) GROTESQQQUE

‘Grotesqqque’ Movie Still. Credit: Fantasia 2026 Film Festival

‘GROTESQQQUE’ is an anime feature film directed and written by Darling in the Franxx Director Atsushi Nishigori. Readers of The Natural Aristocrat® know its founder holds Darling in the Franxx as one of its favorites, a quintessential romance drama, sci-fi mecha anime. An unusual combo, which is why we’re intrigued to what Astsushi has in mind with aliens, gals, and vampires in ‘GROTESQQQUE’… Another unusual combo.

Why you should watch it: Because the Director of Darling in the Franxx, Atsushi Nishigori, directed & wrote it. We’ll honestly give any anime he’s involved in a chance because of Zero Two.

3) Captured

‘Captured’ Movie Still. Credit: Fantasia 2026 Film Festival

High school girl Misaki’s video channel experiences growth when she produces fake horror style footage to gain subscribers and views… Only to attract a masked entity who begins following her for real everywhere she goes. The epitome of be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. A ‘monkey paw’s style wish if there ever was one.

Why You Should Watch It: The film trailer gives off some The Ring style vibes, should be a classic Japanese horror film.

4) Face Thief

‘Face Thief’ Movie Still. Credit: Fantasia 2026 Film Festival

Two identical twins move into town and one, Kamei, begs high school girl Machida to be her friend. But Kamei is after something more than time, friendship or affection, she’s after Machida’s appearance! Based on Junji Ito’s work, Face Thief is the story of Kamei, a girl who can match anyone’s face in order to attract the boy she likes.

Why you should watch it: Sounds like a classic fairy horror tale. Junji Ito’s works have continued to be expanded to a mass audience recently following the success of 2024 series Uzumaki.

5) AnyMart

AnyMart Movie Still. Credit: Fantasia 2026 Film Festival

A horror comedy film about a Japanese konbini (convience store). The convenience stores in Japan have become a staple in their film & anime in recent years, almost as well known as their coffee vending machines.

There’s something intriguing about watching the almost round the clock dystopian lifestyle of a convenience store employee navigating shoplifting, the anger of his superiors, and the general dull existence of an employee taken for granted as a human being via none ‘prestigious status’.

Why you should watch it: To discover its dark satire. AnyMart in itself is a great name, a faceless konbini that can be anywhere at any time.

Fantasia Film Festival 2026 runs from July 16 through August 2, 2026.

Article Copyright:

– All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL text in this article.

The post Fantasia Festival 2026: Our 5 Most Anticipated Films appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

Spoiler Warning: This interview contains spoilers for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV): How are you getting the word out about the post-credit scene in ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea’? I didn’t realize there was going to be one and almost stopped watching the credits just prior. Then suddenly there was more.

ALLEGRA CLARK: Thank you for reminding me! So now I can just be like, everyone stay until there’s a post-credits scene! Ryan did you even know there’s a post-credit scene?

RYAN REYNOLDS: I don’t think so! (laughs) I mean, I know what I recorded, but I don’t know where everything shows up.

ALLEGRA CLARK: You got to stay until the end!

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: There’s a quote in the movie that really stayed with me by the Great Empress, that there’s “Nothing more expensive than something given for free.” I was wondering your thoughts on that quote?

ALLEGRA CLARK: I mean it’a definitely true. You know, something that is given to you is sometimes a lot of work to maintain. And just because something comes easily doesn’t make it easy. Everything requires work, whether it’s a relationship, a career, everything. And so you will always get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

RYAN REYNOLDS: Yeah, it’s a real double edged sword there too. I think sometimes when things are given to us, we don’t appreciate them as much. So I think part of that too is, understanding that, appreciating what you’ve been given and treating it as such. So I think yeah, absolutely what you said Allegra. But just as a little follow up.

ALLEGRA CLARK: Yeah, I like that follow up!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: You have quite a bit of humming Allegra as Yura in the film. I was wondering if that was caught in the first take? Or if you did kind of any kind of research beforehand?

ALLEGRA CLARK: I do, I have a lot of humming! (laughs) I did a different hum for every single one, every single time was a fresh take.

I specifically wanted to make sure that Yura’s mindset and why she’s choosing to hum felt organic to the moment itself. So the performance was always in knowing like, okay, she’s very nostalgic right now or she’s feeling guilty or any number of things.

So there’s always a reason behind it. The way it worked from a recording standpoint is, Austin (Sisk) played the song for me and I listened to it a couple of times until I had it, and then I just went in and jumped around.

We did all of the humming kind of in one shot in the sense that we did the first time. And then we went to the next instance of humming, just so that we were always in that space. And I knew that I was vocally warm and everything, so it would sound nice.

So I got a weird little preview of the of the entire movie, just from all the times I was like, “Okay, we’re jumping to the next humming! Oh God, what’s going on here?” Like, like some of the more dire moments where she’s humming, I was like, “Oh, God, what what happened? How did we get to this place?”

It was very exciting! So I got a little preview of everything and then got to go back and experience it all in real time.

RYAN REYNOLDS: I had a similar experience with yelling and screaming because we tried to kind of put those in a little bit at a time. So I wouldn’t damage anything.

And so, yeah, we kind of went in a non-linear fashion as well, just to scream a little bit here. Power up a little bit here.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

ALLEGRA CLARK: Yeah. It’s like, “Oh, it’s the end of the session. But I know you have a big scream coming up in a scene that you haven’t done yet. So do you want to just get that out of the way because it’s a Friday?” (laughs)

Sometimes those decisions are made specifically with the purpose of maintaining vocal health.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: When you were approached about this film, did you know it was pretty much going to be Yura and Gobta’s story at the forefront?

ALLEGRA CLARK: I had no idea when I auditioned for it. Because I got the audition and I thought, she seemed really cool. And I was like, “Yeah, I’ll give it a shot.”

I saw from the sides that Yura was definitely chatting with Gobta a lot… But I had no idea that the film was going to focus on him to that extent until I got into the booth and I was told for the first time. I was like, “This is actually like, Gobta is the hero of the movie.”

And I was like, interesting, let’s go~ Like, I love the little guy as the hero.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: How about you, Ryan? Did you see this prominent leading role for Gobta and potential romance elements for him?

RYAN REYNOLDS: I was kind of told that he was going to have a more prominent role. But I did not know about the relationship element. So there were certain points in the movie where I was like, “Oh my God. Like really?!” So that was great. I’m really glad actually that element of it was kept from me.

I just thought, you know, I’d be fighting a lot. So I didn’t know.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

ALLEGRA CLARK: With anime and games and a lot of things like that, we don’t really get the scripts ahead of time. Very rarely in games. And definitely in anime, I never see the script ahead of time. And since there was no direct source material for this story, it’s a completely original story for the anime. There was nothing for me to look up and be like, “So okay, so what’s going to happen here?”

Everything that happened, I was kind of experiencing it for the first time and I had no idea anything was going to happen until we got to that moment, which was a little stressful.

Sometimes I like being spoiled. I like being spoiled on things. It soothes my anxiety! But as an actor, it was a very thrilling recording session for that reason.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: What were the recording sessions like with Austin (Sisk)? Did he provide you particular tips or did you have your own characterizations of Yura and Gobta envisioned in your minds?

RYAN REYNOLDS: Austin is an incredible director! He’s wonderful to work with. He keeps things really light and he knows the story so, so, so well! He knows his characters really well.

For me, yes, I’ve been doing Gobta for a really long time, but Gobta has kind of been in and out of the show. He kind of flips in for a little while, does something funny, you know, has an action scene, kind of flips back out of the picture again.

And so there was a lot of like working to figure out: Who is Gobta when he’s not just straight up comic relief? Who is Gobta in a serious situation and what is he like?

What is quiet Gobta like? That’s a really big challenge for me, not only from a perspective of like, where do I put myself mentally, but how do I actually achieve this vocally? Where does he set, how do I do this?

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

And my voice has has gone through a lot of changes. Just from when I first started the role, my voice was was much, much higher. So a lot of it too has been like, “How do I do this with with a voice that sounds different and feels different than whenever I first started?”

ALLEGRA CLARK: With Yura, I was obviously developing the character for the first time, but I had Austin there to give me the full context and let me know who who Gobta was so that I could really, truly play off of Gobta.

I recorded first, so I didn’t have Ryan in my ear. I didn’t get to hear Ryan until the very, very end of the movie when they caught up with me and passed me in terms of a having recorded through everything.

But with Yura again, it was just having Austin’s guidance and letting me know from a narrative standpoint what hole they were trying to thread? Where do I put the thread through the needle? Like what were they trying to accomplish with it so that I could always be thinking in service of that story?

What is Yura doing to change Gobta in that moment? What do I need to do to motivate that change? What is Yura doing to make Gobta to look back on what he had said and go, “Oh, I did do that. Or oh, that’s how you see things?” or anything along those lines.

So Austin was definitely very helpful and really helped introduce me to the world as well, because this was my first experience with the with the Slime franchise.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Allegra you’re very popular now after you voiced Mitsuru Kirijo in Persona 3 Reload and Ryan I remember you from Darling in the Franxx as Zorome. What does it mean to you both to essentially be the lead roles in ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea’? On the rise so to speak.

ALLEGRA CLARK: I think it’s an honor! You always gotta love the movies. They have very compact storytelling and the way that there’s a very, very clear and defined beginning, middle and end. You know, that and like a shorter series that don’t have multiple seasons, sometimes the storytelling is very specific.

The storytelling in this one was very specific beginning to end. And yeah, I definitely I did not anticipate this. I didn’t anticipate the story being what it was. when I first got the audition. It was a really, really beautiful story! A beautiful film, both visually and emotionally. So it’s a real honor to help get to tell that story.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

RYAN REYNOLDS: Yeah, for me, I mean, it’s super special. When I first started playing Gobta, it’s always been like, ‘Is he going to come back? Will I get to do this again?’ And you know, sometimes there’s months. There may even be years. It feels like years often in between when I get to spend that time with Gobta.

So to get to do this and have such a concentrated amount of time to get to spend with Gobta… And to have him go from, you know, this powerless little hobgoblin to somebody that’s carrying so much of this film, it’s just– It’s really cool. It’s really special.

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Thank you both!

ALLEGRA CLARK, RYAN REYNOLDS: Thank you!

Editor’s Note: This interview is also available on The Natural Aristocrat’s YouTube Channel, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe!

-‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea’ opened in cinemas across the United States and Canada today (May 1, 2026).

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

Film Synopsis:

“After concluding the opening ceremony of the Demon Kingdom Federation Tempest, Rimuru and his companions are invited by the Celestial Emperor Elmesia of the great elven nation – the Magi Dynasty Thalion – to visit her private resort island.

As the group enjoys their brief vacation, a mysterious woman named Yura appears. A new incident unfolds against the backdrop of the boundless azure sea.”

English Dub Cast

Copyright: © Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

● Allegra Clark as Yura
● Ryan Reynolds as Gobta
● Brittney Karbowski as Rimuru Tempest
● Christopher Corey Smith as Zodon
● Yuri Lowenthal as Djeese
● Michelle Rojas as Shion
● Tia Ballard as Shuna
● Amber Lee Connors as Elmesia
● Lucien Dodge as Lete
● Jad Zaxton as Ramiris
● Chris Rager as Veldora
● Jill Harris as Luminus
● Natalie Van Sistine as Mio
● Marianne Bray as Yori

Anime Interviews:

Visit the Anime Interviews section for more exclusive chats with the top dub voice acting talent in anime & much more!

Follow Nir Regev

Follow Nir

– Follow The Natural Aristocrat® on YouTube, X, Facebook and on Instagram at @nirregev3 and @thenaturalaristocrat.

Article Copyright:

Article Copyright:

– All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL text, video, and audio in this article.

The post Interview: Allegra Clark, Ryan Reynolds on ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea’ appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV): Was song “Free Yourself” about finally letting go or admitting you weren’t ready to?

SKYE SWEETNAM: “Free Yourself”, I think is empowering yourself to take charge of your life. And I believe that song is about freeing yourself from expectations or any type of things that are holding you back from living your full potential. And for me, when I wrote that I was actually really inspired by our manager at the time who was going through a gender transition.

I just thought it was so powerful that he could be himself and I thought he’s really freeing himself in the world. To be who you want to be, you know?

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

MATT DRAKE: Oh, that’s cool! I didn’t know that. It’s also cool you brought up a deep cut like that, that’s probably like 10 years ago. One of our faves that we play live a lot.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Speaking of that, I noticed when you guys started you were more in standard D tuning and you’ve really transitioned to Drop C more or less ever since. I was wondering what brought on that change?

MATT DRAKE: (smiles) You’re a guitar player, aren’t you? Yeah, like every year, every album got lower. Like basically I think it was by Initiation we were down to the Drop C, which actually, it’s even lower now.

We’re playing in Drop A Sharp is where we’re at right now. I think every year, we were trying to make another record & Skye and I were always trying to find our sound. There’s times where I feel like I was trying to push Skye to be even more metal and heavy.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

Then I would try to push myself too and paying attention to newer music, I realized that bands were tuning lower and lower.

I like to stay on a six string. I don’t like to go to seven or eight. So I just started tuning everything a lot lower and then it pushes Skye into a lower register. I think her voice sounds fuller and meaner and that’s kind of what I was pushing for when I went that way.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah, I find my voice sits better in more of an Alto kind of vibe.

MATT DRAKE: Yeah, I mean it’s always been great but like over the years it’s an experiment. I don’t consider myself like a shredder of a guitar player but maybe innovative is the word.

I’m always trying to find some riffs and for me, because my hands aren’t really fast, I’ll change a lot of tunings to see what kind of riffs I can come up with.

So you’re playing in the same positions that you should on normal tunes but you get different notes. Right? So I just kind of play with tunings a lot and that’s kind of why I always experiment.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

SKYE SWEETNAM: Nice picking that one up!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Are there vocal techniques you learned in your pop days that you’ve had to unlearn from metal basically?

SKYE SWEETNAM: Oooh yeahhhh! I think that one of the things that really does not jive as well, but I do pull it out in select moments is like the musical theater voice.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

Like the very pronounced everything that feels so clean and doesn’t have that grit or texture or attitude that you really want to have in metal music.

And this guy will call me out a lot of the time with vocals when we’re in the studio. He’ll give me like a scenario or maybe another artist to try to emulate when I am recording a take. And it will push me kind of outside of my comfort zone enough that I’ll find kind of a new placement or a new tone.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

Then I can kind of use that in my toolbox in measured amounts. So it’s like, ‘Oh a little bit more grit but hold back a little bit here.’ You know? And so there’s lots of ways to play with vocals and I think that’s one thing we try to do.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

MATT DRAKE: Your question’s good though because her techniques really good. So the pop stuff gives her really good technique, she can learn new stuff easily. When an artist is singing, they can go sharp or flat sometimes by accident.

Skye’s one of those people because of her pop career working with a lot of people in a younger studio environment, learning how to sing properly. If it is starting to go flat or sharp or something like metal or punk or whatever, I can go, hey, like this is happening.

And she reverts back to the pop side of her training and goes ‘Cool. I know exactly how to make sure that note never goes flat anymore!’ And a lot of that kind of stuff is kind of neat as well.

SKYE SWEETNAM: I had some interesting vocal teachers along the way. One guy made me get down on all my hands and knees and bark like a dog. And I’m starting to question that in my later years!

MATT DRAKE: Are you kidding me?! Dude, that is not a vocal technique, just so you know!

SKYE SWEETNAM: That’s what I started to realize, now.

MATT DRAKE: I don’t know who the hell you’re talking about. Yeah, that’s f***ed!

SKYE SWEETNAM: (laughs)

MATT DRAKE: And we should talk about this after, when we’re off camera and find out who that was that did that. Because I’ve never heard of vocal training on your hands and knees barking like dogs.

SKYE SWEETNAM: I only went to him a couple times and then I was like, ‘This is is too weird for me!’

MATT DRAKE: Sounds kinky though, doesn’t it? In some weird way.

SKYE SWEETNAM: (laughs) Well that’s what I’m hoping, that I wasn’t. But my mind tells me it was.

MATT DRAKE: The things you learn! I’ve been working with you for how long now?

SKYE SWEETNAM: (laughs)

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: What’s the cruelest thing you’ve ever done to your voice? Where it felt like the next morning after a show you couldn’t even talk.

SKYE SWEETNAM: There is a specific moment. I actually remember this! We partied on Sunset Boulevard after our Whisky a Go Go show. We went to the Rainbow Room, we had a full night-

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

MATT DRAKE: Our drummer puked on the bar in the rainbow room while we carried him up the stairs and kept puking! You remember that? It was a really rough night.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yes, it was a really rough night. We were staying in our bus / RV that we had converted from like an old school bus, which had absolutely no air conditioning. So I had drank myself silly the night before-

MATT DRAKE: Which we don’t do anymore. We’re not those kind of people.

Photo Credit: © 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

SKYE SWEETNAM: Woke up in this tin can, I felt like I was literally cooking. My body was cooking like in an oven and I was so dry it felt like I could cough up sand.

Literally, I just felt like I was completely dehydrated. My entire body had no moisture left in it. And I remember being like, ‘That was not a smart idea,’ because we are now headed into the desert, to Vegas for our next show. It’s not gonna get better from here! (laughs)

© 2025 Nir Regev / TheNaturalAristocrat.com

MATT DRAKE: We’ve had to cancel shows when Skye’s voice gets too popped. It’s the only time we’ve ever canceled shows, really. And one time our drummer did the same thing. Whenever somebody gets sick.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah, sickness does really take a lot out of you unfortunately.

MATT DRAKE: There was a time in England where your voice was popped. She’d sang fine one night and just went too hard partying, and the next day she couldn’t sing.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah, it’s usually the partying that gets me.

MATT DRAKE: But even with partying, if you’re doing vocal warmups and you know what you’re doing, you can still make it through usually.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Steamer! Use a steamer. That’s good.

MATT DRAKE: Yeah, best we can do.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Speaking of drummers, you might know that Kurt Cobain was always conflicted about his drummers before Dave Grohl. And even with Dave Grohl in the MTV Unplugged set during rehearsals.

For you guys, I’ve noticed you’ve switched up drummers quite a few times. So I was wondering what’s behind that?

SKYE SWEETNAM: There some long stories with these drummers!

MATT DRAKE: Woooh! We’re past four, we’re on five or six now. I think we’re on six right now. Well, okay, the truth is Skye and I write everything and create everything in our studio. So we don’t really need a drummer in the studio half the time when we’re writing.

When we first started there was, who was it? Ken (Corke) and Andy (Joseph) were our two main guys that started with us. Oh no, Legs (Ryan Leger) first started with us and our first drummer got taken from us and went to band “Every Time I Die”.

And then our second drummer didn’t like touring and stayed at home to become a music teacher. Our third drummer didn’t want to get the vaccine shot during pandemic, which we completely understand, everybody to each his own.

SKYE SWEETNAM: And we couldn’t tour with him.

MATT DRAKE: Yes, we couldn’t tour with him. So he decided that he was gonna stay home. And then our fourth drummer who really locked in with us for years, Joey (Muha), was killing it with us and was doing great. We love him. He’s still our family member. He got into a terrible car accident

SKYE SWEETNAM: In January.

MATT DRAKE: In January and it really, I wouldn’t say the word maim, but it screwed him up to the point where he can play drums but not perfect right now. He’s still healing probably a lot of physiotherapy, a lot of work.

He actually did come out and do one show with us ’cause we were in trouble and needed it. But it took a lot for him to get through that show. So Joey’s still part of the family but not playing with us right now.

And then we have a friend of ours through our bass player, we met this guy named Jeff who’s filling in for us right now. And so we haven’t really picked a full-time drummer, we’re just hiring somebody to work with us right now. Until we find out more about Joey too. ‘Cause we love our old drummer and he’s got a lot of healing to do.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: So he might return down the line?

MATT DRAKE: Well, I mean, I don’t wanna say that ’cause he’s had a lot of time off. People’s minds change as they’re working too. So I don’t want to speak for him, but we love him. I want him to get healthy! But he has a lot of healing to do.

That accident was bad. It was a bad accident. He was in a coma for a week. A lot of burns. It was rough for him. So he’s doing great now, but definitely not ready to go on the road. If we go on the road for 60 days, he’s not ready to do that.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Honorable mention to Sid who filled in for some music videos.

MATT DRAKE: Oh yeah! We have drummers that fill in for music videos in general. So we’ve got a lot of family members that fill in here and there. We are like the second Spinal Tap of drummers!

SKYE SWEETNAM: (laughs) Yeah!

MATT DRAKE: It’s just how it goes, you know? I mean, I play drums so I record a lot of it myself in the first place, when I’m recording. And then I’m hiring somebody to come and play with us half of the time.

And if I find somebody that I think is amazing and a family member, they stay with us until they don’t wanna be with us. So Joey, I hope you can get back here, but right now this guy Jeff that we barely know has filled in and he’s doing great. So we just roll like that, you know, whatever we have to do to get back into playing!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: How did you approach this latest album, NEON VOID, in comparison to your other ones?

SKYE SWEETNAM: This album was a completely different process. We wrote over 60 songs.

MATT DRAKE: That guy’s got a rad Daredevil costume, look at that! That is Daredevil! over there! Sorry, my bad.

SKYE SWEETNAM: (laughs) The pros and cons of being at New York Comic Con is the distractions!

MATT DRAKE: Yeah, I get so easily distracted from the all the cosplays. But yeah, about making the record-

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah, it was very different for us for the process because we wrote so many songs before we kind of narrowed down our final track listing. Which isn’t really like us because we usually like to release a lot of the material that we write.

And usually if we finish a song, we think it justifiably should be released. But this one, because we were encouraged by our team to kind of experiment a little bit more. And to be honest-

MATT DRAKE: Our management really wanted us to. It’s record #4, write as many songs as possible, throw us as many ideas as you can. Way different than the other three records.

The other three records are literally like we just wrote 12 songs that we liked or 11 songs and we just moved. This one was a lot of songs, a lot of ideas.

A lot of asking questions! (laughs)

SKYE SWEETNAM: I also wrote on the piano on this one, which was different for us.

MATT DRAKE: We’d never written songs on piano. Skye wrote three or four of them on piano.A bunch of ideas on piano.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Which I’d never done before. We’ve always started with guitar, so that was different.

MATT DRAKE: Yeah, we always started music first and vocals second. And this was vocals first for a bunch of songs and music second, which is kind of interesting. We’ve never done it that way.

SKYE SWEETNAM: And then we also had an outside producer come and help with the full record. So Sam Guaiana came to our home studio. We spent the whole month of February together.

Matt and Sam co-produced the record. But literally we had never been in a situation where we were working on the album every single day of the month. Usually because we have our home studio, we can come in, come out, you know?

MATT DRAKE: The first three records, we were writing around our own schedule where this one, because we hired somebody to come in and work with us, we had already done a lot of it ourselves.

We asked them to come in and kind of scrutinize and be like a fourth eye or a fly on the wall and tell us ‘What do you think?’, you know.

And so it was interesting watching him come in and we had to work every day for about 30 days straight with this guy and make decisions really on the fly. Which sometimes it would take us weeks to do so.

It was interesting. It’s definitely good. Sam’s done a lot of cool stuff. He’s a really good mixer and engineer. He’s done Silverstein, Neck Deep, a bunch of cool bands. So he’s been around and I think our record sounds better than we’ve ever done so far. So I’m excited about it.

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Did you stack your vocals for different takes and screams?

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah, for sure!

MATT DRAKE: Less stacking this record than any of the others though!

SKYE SWEETNAM: You would do more?

MATT DRAKE: Back in the day, the last three records, I feel like we stacked all our vocals more. This record, I feel like you’re stacking, but I felt like we were pulling back, like we’re trying to sound more like what we would do live.

Does that make sense to you?

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah. There’s a lot of harmonies in there that Sam encouraged as well and some background parts that normally I wouldn’t think of or do.

Because I’m always like Matt said, always trying to think of how I’m gonna do this live. So if there’s like two overlapping parts, I’m like, ‘Then how am I gonna sing these live?’ (laughs)

But sometimes, you gotta do what’s best for the song and the recording. I think we all argued and figured out what was best in the end.

MATT DRAKE: Right now we’re in the process of playing these songs live now. We just started moving into like getting them live. We really started to put them (in the setlist), and it’s interesting trying to see the difference of how it comes together.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: You mentioned playing piano before and you remind me of a poppier sounding Maria Brink, from In This Moment. I was curious if you’d ever do a cover of “The Fighter” (Black Widow) or “Let Your Gun Down” from their Ritual album?

SKYE SWEETNAM: You never know! We do covers very few and far between to be honest, in this band. Which is not like a lot of other artists. We’re very, very super selective.

MATT DRAKE: I’d be more of a fan of Maria Brink covering us!

SKYE SWEETNAM: (laughs) Or a duet! We could maybe come up with a song together! That would be sick.

MATT DRAKE: I think we could do some kind of thing together. That’d be fun!

SKYE SWEETNAM: Yeah, that’d be sick!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Awesome, thank you both!

MATT DRAKE: Thanks for having us!

SKYE SWEETNAM: Thank you!

– You can also watch this interview on our YouTube Channel. Be sure to Like, Comment, and Subcribe!

– Be sure to check out our exclusive
Skye Sweetnam NYCC Panel Photos!

More Music Interviews

More Interviews

Be sure to check out:

– Matt Walst Interview: Three Days Grace ‘Alienation’ Album & Tour

– Ben Nichols Interview: ‘The Last Pale Light in the West’ as The Governor’s Theme

– HANABIE. Interview: First NYC show, meeting Limp Bizkit, Reddit fans

– ‘Survive Said the Prophet’ Interview: Mukanjyo, Live Tour

– Cö Shu Nie Interview: ‘Burn The Fire’ Music Video

Visit the Music Interviews section for more exclusive chats with the top talents in the industry!

Follow Nir Regev

Follow Nir

– Follow The Natural Aristocrat® on YouTube, X, Facebook and Instagram and our new Instagram account for Natural Aristocrat exclusives!

– Visit the Interviews section for more exclusive chats with the top talent in the industry from New York Comic Con and beyond!

Article Copyright:

Article Copyright:<

– All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL Photos, Videos, Audio and Text in this article.

The post Sumo Cyco Interview: Skye Sweetnam, Matt Drake on NEON VOID appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

This interview by The Natural Aristocrat® took place at New York Comic Con on Saturday, October 11, 2025.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV): When fans call Trigun Stargaze the “final phase,” do you feel closure or a challenge to outdo your younger self?

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW: Whenever I create something, I don’t really try to look at myself from a third person view. I really focus on doing the best, what I can do right at that moment.

And regarding Stargaze, even though it says final chapter, it’s right at this moment. Everyone is really doing their best to advance the story.

Art Credit: © 2026 Yasuhiro Nightow, SHONENGAHOSHA / TRIGUN STARGAZE Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: When fans cheered at New York Comic Con, did you hear absolution or hunger to do more?

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW: I felt relieved seeing people’s reaction! But at the same time, I feel it makes us motivated to continue on with our story, our storytelling.

Art Credit: © 2026 Yasuhiro Nightow, SHONENGAHOSHA / TRIGUN STARGAZE Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: To clarify, might you want to do more Trigun after Stargaze or is this really the final chapter for sure?

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW: This is the final chapter.

Art Credit: © 2026 Yasuhiro Nightow, SHONENGAHOSHA / TRIGUN STARGAZE Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: The show appears to turn restraint into an art form, hands holster more often than they fire. Is that morality, style, or philosophy?

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW: To me, I understand it as a character style. For example, Vash the Stampede is a character who does not want conflict and wants to resolve a situation with as little minimum hurt as he can to hurt people.

That’s why the gun is in the holster more than being pulled out.

Art Credit: © 2026 Yasuhiro Nightow, SHONENGAHOSHA / TRIGUN STARGAZE Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: What fan rumor about Stargaze and Stampede made you smile? Because it was accidentally close to the truth.

MASAKO SATO: We don’t really pay attention too much to the rumors, so we don’t really have a comment to that one.

Art Credit: © 2026 Yasuhiro Nightow, SHONENGAHOSHA / TRIGUN STARGAZE Project

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: What’s one habit Vash picked up in the time skip between Stampede and Stargaze that fans will notice if they look closely?

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW: (smiles) Sorry, I can’t answer this question. It’s too difficult to answer.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Which elements of Stargaze do you see as signature Orange, and which are legacy Trigun?

MASAKO SATO: We feel that at every moment of production, Trigun is a story that we want to tell. So that’s why we are telling the story right now.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Thank you everyone!

YASUHIRO NIGHTOW, MASAKO SATO, YOTA SHIRASU: Thank you!

– Prior Trigun Stampede comments by Yasuhiro Nightow from Anime Expo.

Trigun Stargaze Trailer

Stargaze Trailer

More Anime Interviews:

More Interviews:

Enjoyed this Trigun interview? Be sure to check out more exclusives:

– Video Interview: ‘SPY x FAMILY’ Movie English Dub Cast

– Call of the Night Season 2 English Dub Cast Interview

– Yoko Takahashi Anime NYC Interview: Neon Genesis Evangelion

– Shou Komura, Kikunosuke Toya Interview at Anime NYC: The Seven Deadly Sins

– Ricco Fajardo Interview: Uzaki-chan Dub @ Anime NYC

Visit The Natural Aristocrat®’s Anime Interviews section for more exclusive chats with the top industry players in the animation world!

Follow Nir Regev

Follow Nir

– Follow The Natural Aristocrat® on YouTube, X, Facebook and Instagram and our new Instagram account for Natural Aristocrat exclusives!

– Visit the Interviews section for more exclusive chats with the top talent in the industry from New York Comic Con and beyond!

Article Copyright:

Article Copyright:

– All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL Text in this article.

The post Trigun Creator Yasuhiro Nightow Interview: Stargaze is Final appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.

Daryl wears a mask as ‘hired help’ cannot show their faces, lest the elite have to look at them. Which works to his advantage…

Warning: This Daryl Dixon Season 3 Finale review and recap contains spoilers for episode 307, “Solaz del Mar”.

Walker Oppression

Greta Fernández as Elena, Gonzalo Bouza as Guillermo – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Jorge Alvariño/AMC

The King and Queen of post-apocalyptic Spain clap and laugh heartily in joy at the dead being puppetereed on stage in front of them from ropes above.

The show achieved a great milestone in this scene, as it’s one of the rare times you feel genuine sympathy for the walkers on The Walking Dead. They were people once too… And now have their bodies contorted and toyed with against their will in death. Undead Marionettes.

We’re miles away, if not a galaxy removed from The Governor’s Milton Mamet trying to find signs of humanity left in the walkers. Or Lizzy looking at the flowers for that matter.

Greta Fernández as Elena – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Jorge Alvariño/AMC

Daryl unleashing the walkers to feast on the nobility was the natural evolution of the scene. The barons of the new world order having their opulence flipped topsy-turvy.

Just prior, we were witnesses to polite aggression on part of Elena’s husband Guillermo whispering his true feelings beneath public smiles. Finally, the masks all came off, including Daryl’s actual mask, with the walkers freed.

Daryl’s Old Western Era

You can tell “Solaz del Mar” is heavily influenced by the spaghetti westerns of Clint Eastwood past. Absolutely beautiful cinematography, particularly when overhead drone shots of Daryl on the motorcycle. And if we’re talking inspiration, Daryl practically goes John Wick out there.

Irina Björklund as Valentina, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Carla Oset/AMC

Daryl’s shooting first and asking questions never, all episode. The action is just plain fun to watch unfold on screen.

Meanwhile, Carol flees sniper fire in the dead of night while saving an injured Antonio almost on death’s door.

Pedro Bachura as Gustavo – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Carla Oset/AMC

It’s then Carol and Antonio are betrayed by Gustavo that the true high stakes are introduced.

– Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Eduardo Noriega as Antonio Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Carla Oset/AMC

Carol and Antonio are free to leave Solaz…

Óscar Jaenada as Fede – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Carla Oset/AMC

But Antonio’s son is under imminent threat from advancing walkers in the public square. They have no choice but to stay behind and fight them off, unarmed. Despite Antonio’s son yelling at his dad to save himself. Reminded me of Carl Grimes telling Rick “Just do it. Dad just do it,” in the infamous Negan 701 scene.

“Maybe when we finally get to home, I’ll want to run again”

Irina Björklund as Valentina, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Carla Oset/AMC

Daryl has a realization to close the episode, maybe he doesn’t really want to go home. It’s the chase he lives for, the fight. In a self aware moment, Daryl admits to Carol when they finally get back, he might just not want to stay back and play house so to speak.

Carol looks to shed a tear as she sheepishly tells Daryl maybe this time he’ll want to stay in one place before hugging him.

In true Walking Dead fashion though, we never get to see what would happen because Season 3 ends on a cliffhanger. Daryl and Carol’s boat to freedom is set on fire. Dreams of a normal life are set ablaze with it in a fiery inferno.

Review Score: 8.5

The puppeteered walkers was the standout scene of the Season 3 Finale, a true horror work of art. We’ll see where next season takes us.

– Be sure to see our exclusive Norman Reedus Photos from the Daryl Dixon Season 3 Press Conference at New York Comic Con 2025.

More Daryl Dixon Reviews and Recaps:

– Daryl Dixon Season 3 Episode 2 Review, Recap: Hushed Harbors

– Daryl Dixon Season 3 Episode 1 Review: Siren’s call, widow’s cove

– Interview: Norman Reedus on Daryl Dixon, Beta fight scene evolving his screen combat

Visit The Walking Dead section for more exclusive interviews, photos, reviews, recaps, previews, and event coverage you won’t get anywhere else!

Follow Nir Regev

Follow Nir

– Follow The Natural Aristocrat® on YouTube, X, Facebook and Instagram.

Article Copyright:

Article Copyright:<

– All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL text in this article.

The post Daryl Dixon Season 3 Finale Review, Recap: A Grand Spectacle appeared first on The Natural Aristocrat.