Kill la Kill producer interview

Newtype X Producer Toba on KLK

Q: When did you start planning KLK?
Producer: Right about when TTGL's movie came out (2009), I was discussing our next project with Imaishi and Nakajima. Imaishi mentioned that he wanted to do something other than mecha after Gurren Lagann. Nakajima had just gotten comfortable with the production process and working with Imaishi too, and he wanted to create something with this more solid teamwork.

P: Ideas came popping up one after another during our meetings, and Imaishi would take them home and digest them. There were a lot of possibilities, including superheroes, but then Nakajima suggested doing something like Otokogumi. At first it was just a joke, but then Imaishi brought out concept art and we decided that the MC would be a high school girl. Eventually it became a very different work from Otokogumi (laughs), but everyone agreed that THIS could get very interesting.

Q: Otokugumi is a 70's manga. Did you experience any difficulties in the generation gap?
P: Otokogumi remains a very fun read even to this day, and ultimately the Imaishi-Nakajima team's "I think this is interesting" opinion matters more.

P: There would be no point if Nakajima (who had worked in Gekidan Shinkansen with Inoue Hidenori) and Imaishi (long-time collaborator with Gainax productions) pursued popularized, mainstream things. I wanted to see what they thought was interesting. By combining Nakajima's story-telling and Imaishi's visuals, we can surpass everyone's imaginations.



Q: One of your main themes is the "uniform". Where did this idea come from?
P: Nakajima and Imaishi wanted this work to be a battle action, even without the mechas. But just the old sword-fighting tricks wouldn't be enough, and we wanted to incorporate another idea there. Then Nakajima brought out the "uniform" idea, both as a theme and an action tool. KLK isn't just about physical meatbag brawling.


Q: So you've been working on a variety of works, like Idolm@ster and Love Lab. How would you like the average anime fan to receive KLK?
P: Nowadays, I feel that anime fans have a knack for identifying shows that "try too hard" to impress. Instead, they crave works that are genuinely fun and interesting in structure.


P: KLK's art and dialogue are cool and ironic, and it's really a work that can only be made by Imaishi and Nakajima. I think it's immensely fun, and I hope everybody will agree. As of now, what I'm looking forward to the most is the audiences' reaction to KLK. I really can't wait for Episode 1 to air.

Q: Finally, how would you like to "finish" (a pun; finish can also mean "to cut") KLK?
P: I would love to see KLK through to the end (another pun, don't bother puzzling over it).