April 2020 Shiny Colors Dengeki Online interview

"Shinymas' 2nd Anniversary Commemoration" Producer Yusuke Takayama looks back on the previous year, and comments on "noctchill".


The work "The iDOLM@STER Shiny Colors is currently in deployment on enza, PC browsers and iOS/Android. Today, we will be interviewing the Producer of this particular work, Yusuke Takayama.

In this interview, Takayama-san answered a number of questions that were sent to him as part of a questionnaire this March 2020. Dengeki Online participated in this as the part of the questioner. For everyone who sent in your questions, thank you very much.

Also, in the second half of the interview, we also commented on the results of the "Most Favorite Commu" in the questionnaire, and also talked about the new unit "noctchill" that just debuted the other day. Please read until the end.
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- For the in-game Producer's outward appearance and personality, is there anything set in stone for his own development? As the protagonist of this kind of game, I felt it was important to establish the character's importance, so I was a little curious. (Fafu-san)

Takayama: There are some settings, but not to the same steady degree of the idols. "Shinymas" has a number of scenario writers, so the fundamental parts of the Producer are not blurred.

As for the character's importance and independence, we thought that it was necessary to depict the idols. In Shinymas, we decided that by doing so, it would give you a deeper portrayal of the idols. As the Producer moves, the idols will experience drama.


- As you just stated, I think there are many scenarios where the Producer is key or at least related. What do you think about the volume of the Producer's dialogue?

Takayama: I don't want to increase the Producer's lines, but as someone who's producing the idols, I believe that depiction is important. For example, let's say Mano is having worries about being the center. In the position of one who produces idols, he has to face her, and solve that from that position.

The Producer has to go through such struggles often, so after reading the scenarios, it might easily leave an impression.


- For the Scenario Event "On This Pure Night, Present ・ For ・ You!", what was the basis by which the 6 teams' members were selected? I'd like to know. (Warawara-san)

Takayama: There wasn't really a definitive reason, but we felt that simply putting members of the same unit into a team was a waste, so we felt it was good to separate them. Also, we wanted members who had never really interacted to think "So this is how we're interacting". We based it around those things.

For example, Mamimi is surprisingly concerned about Rinze and Asahi, Juri is worried about Fuyuko, and it's those kinds of scenarios that lead to the idols showing new sides of themselves, which is why I feel that we should try out more new combinations.


- Are there any more plans for events where the units shuffle around like that?

Takayama: Still to be determined, but I'd like to do it.


- Even until now, the most important things about Yuika Mitsumine, the core of her character is still too complex to put into words. What kind of girl is she? (Massa-san)

Takayama: I think that this question can be answered by the commus of "NOT≠EQUAL" Yuika Mitsumine.


- I see. Via "NOT≠EQUAL", what kind of girl is Mitsumine? I received a number of questions that were similar, so I'd like to to know myself.

Takayama: Basically, Mitsumine is the kind of girl who cares about the sense of distance from others, and the way she herself is viewed. That kind of reality is from what came "NOT≠EQUAL", I feel.

The part where she "cares about the sense of distance" basically means that she doesn't want to step too far into someone's personal space, nor does she want the same for herself. I believe this is the biggest principle for her behavior.


- Over the past year, the limited SSRs' card power have been overwhelmingly stronger than previously, and I feel the recommended P-SSRs and S-SSRs for new players have been decreasing. Please tell me what points do you pay attention to when releasing a new idol. (Toneriko-san)

Takayama: In terms of their ability, basically the idol who has the newest card, when used together with the idols in their unit, we make it so that it's easier to combine them so as to better demonstrate their abilities' flow.

For example, take Houkago Climax Girls (henceforth Houkura); ideally, since Kaho's P-SSR was the 1st to come out, the other 4 members would revolve around her abilities, and when Kaho's 2nd P-SSR came out, it would replace that... I think having this kind of circulation within the unit is good. At least, basically.

After that, we needed to consider the balance between the units; last time L'Antica was the strongest, then Houkura, then at one point for Link Appeal Alstromeria was at the top; we needed to keep circulating the units like that so one unit wouldn't be stronger than the other.


- I see. So that's the thought process that goes into the release of P-SSRs. By the way, what about S-SSRs? For example, the S-SSR "Daily Life on the Station Line" Mano Sakuragi that came out during the 1st Anniversary, I have the impression that it's used quite often.

Takayama: Honestly, there are many things I have to consider about Support balancing. The Mano you mentioned earlier is a card that incorporates Unit Mastery as soon as possible, and like you said, is still used in training runs for Illumination Stars (henceforth Irumine).

Also, that Mano came out a year ago, and its Special Training skills are very strong as you progress. However, I've implemented Unit Mastery skills in other units, and I would like to raise the standard of other Support skills.


- Earlier, I heard you were considering monthly packages and so on, what happened to those? (Daichan-san)

- I believe you mentioned this specific question during an earlier Dengeki interview.

Takayama: I'd like to humbly apologize about that part. Truth is, we had planned to implement it as part of the 2nd Anniversary, but now we need to give priority to other parts. However, that doesn't mean we're not thinking about it, and we might be able to make something happen for all the Producers as early as May.


- After the dropper was implemented, why didn't you sell it? (Arumu-san)

Takayama: I'm so sorry about that! Originally, I felt that an environment where you could easily put on and remove EX skills at will would be ideal, but as of right now that just isn't possible. Since this is a good opportunity, is there really a drastic need to re-look at the position of your EX skills? That's how I feel.

On the game side, ideally it would be best to play with the impression that "it's wasteful to have so many EX skills and not enough spots to put them". But, is it good that for example, all the same idols have EX skills divided among themselves? Do we need any special conditions or items to remove EX skills? I think that it's good to look at that again. Due to that, for things related to the dropper, we have postponed it to another time.

However, there are some users using the current specifications who want there to be a removal function, so I will respond to those concerns.


- From August to December 2019, Mamimi Tanaka and Yuika Mitsumine's limited SSRs were released at a bimonthly pace, leading Producers of those 2 to have a lot of trouble; How do you decide the order of how you implement the idols? (MittoP-san)

Takayama: When it comes to implementation, there are a variety of factors that go into it. First, when a Scenario Event is at the beginning of the month, we choose the idol of that unit to be the Event reward, so when selecting an idol for the Gacha, we make sure that the Event idol is excluded from that choice. Then, when we decide who not to select from that unit, for example if it's an idol who hasn't appeared in the 4th cour, preferably it'd be an idol who hasn't ever appeared on the 4th cour.

Essentially, I want to avoid placing the n+1th cour's P-SSR before the nth cour P-SSR. Ideally that'd be the case, but due to production conditions, there are times where we can't do that. The final lineup is decided after taking into consideration the production lines of the scenario and art sides.

Although I'd like them to not overlap too much, having to juggle the schedule, which may not go well, is a challenge.


- I feel that the scenarios are really carefully crafted, but I would like to know a bit about the scenario production system, like making checks or having meetings. (Hashio-san)

Takayama: For the writers, each idol is assigned them, so that their appearance as both idols and characters don't blur. After that, to bring everything together, there is a Scenario Leader who makes all the checks.

The Scenario Leader has to check through all the scenarios, and it's hard to truly understand unless you look at its entirety; for example, is the Producer's character deviating, is this idol a bit too close to them - those kinds of checks. Finally, me and the Scenario Leader perform checks on it in its final state.


- In the past year, when the "Star n dew by me" Scenario started, it was precisely based on the cards and the Event Commus that had come out so far. Since each idol has someone in charge......if that's the case, how do you handle scenarios where all the unit's members appear?

Takayama: In a scenario with many unit members, multiple writers are involved, so in that case we have the Scenario Leader to supervise everything, and the writers come to a mutual understanding, by carefully considering what elements need to be included. This is to ensure characters don't deviate as well.


- During the arrival of the 1st Anniversary, the goal adopted was "To challenge", but from the user's point of view, the way you challenged seemed really aggressive. Takayama-san, please tell us, what exactly is this "challenge" that you responded to. (Massu-san)

Takayama: The most striking thing was the introduction of Straylight. Getting Straylight into existence and their concept, in hindsight it was definitely a challenge.

Straylight's theme is "pros and cons", and even in the scenarios, the "for-and-against" in their worldview develops. For example, in an event they mimic the choreography of another idol. Those girls behave in ways unlike "kids easy to understand", so when we compared them to the original 16, I wanted them to be removed from the status quo, so it happened. I think those girls were the biggest challenge of that year.


- Fuyuko's introduction on the official site changed on the day it was released.

Takayama: The announcement during 1st Live was on March 10th, and her debut was in April, so during that time I gradually revealed her profile, until she was available for production in April, where we updated her introduction as per that timing. It may have been something small, but it was a fun little trick (laughs).


- Were you nervous at all when Straylight was announced?

Takayama: Of course I was! When Straylight was revealed, it was in a video to everyone who attended 1st Live, so their reactions were directly transmitted to me, and not to mention, it was our 1st unit addition, so I was really nervous. Since everyone got excited for it, I'm glad.


- In terms of the challenges, other questions were sent in.

- TakayamaP, when you said you wanted "the 2nd year to be a year of challenge", and the card expressing that, "NOT≠EQUAL" Yuika Mitsumine, and her commus were a strong topic even on SNS, were you planning to implement the commu from the beginning? Also, with regards to "Windowside ・ Silent Time" Kaho Komiya and "Dream-chasing Runabout" Natsuha Arisugawa, they come up with what kind of idol they want to be in the future; are there any plans to implement commus discussing older versions of them? (Aizen-san)

Takayama: Basically, from the beginning, idols who we decided "Let's have this development!" were low. After the game's release, as the Producer and idol become closer, then we discuss "For the next scenario and card, what should we depict?"; since we talk about this every time, this kind of development isn't really something that we plan for.


- So once a card comes out, and you see the reaction, then you make changes to their development?

Takayama: Everyone's reaction don't really change a whole lot, but the way it's told does change. A little lack of explanations, or they get too close emotionally, this is a little of what's been said. Those reactions, we've seen a lot of those on SNS.


- I see. So, are there any idols that have you've changed the way you convey them?

Takayama: If I have to speak about something unexpected, then Meguru. When I considered the proportions of her scenario, and from the production side, I got the impression that not only is she an energetic one, but Meguru's behavior also influenced her personal side, so in that way it really influenced her actions.

But, some people questioned that part; "Why did Meguru do that?" So, the production side thought about the information regarding Meguru despite the suggestions not really getting to the bottom of it, and reflected on the scenarios that were released. Thus, "Star n dew by me" depicted Meguru's true feelings, corrected her character's trajectory, and gave out a lot of information.

The reason it's so hard is due to faulty expression, but by no means is Meguru not a simple child; she's a so-called energetic child, but not to that extent either. Your impressions from seeing her from the outside, and when we depict her feelings are quite different......she's the kind of kid where things like that may not be known.


- Wasn't Meguru crying during 4-koma #55? At first, like Hiori I was thinking "Is that all!?", that kind of gag-like exaggeration, but after reading "Star n dew by me", I realized that it wasn't actually a gag.

Takayama: The basic settings are already firmly established in the game. Of course the 4-koma do deform these parts a bit, but there are no erroneous parts in the actions the idols take.


- If you look at it that way, then the reason why Meguru stood by Hiori does become somewhat different.

Takayama: The inclusion of Meguru being able to feel "loneliness" was something that was decided from the beginning.


- How about the other question: "Do you have any plans to implement commus where the idols are older?"

Takayama: It was really special for Kaho's case, since it was an extreme wish of mine for Kaho to wear a uniform (laughs). Since Shinymas is set in the present time, even though Kaho moved up some grades her age didn't change despite time having passed. Thus, that was the only way to see her wear a uniform.

As for Natsuha, it was never the intention to depict her aging. For her development, if you want to depict her attractively, those are fun and interesting means of motivation; those are our basic weapons.


- For the idols, which was the most difficult to characterize during the planning phase? Please discuss the contents of that. (Tiramisu-san)

Takayama: There weren't that many idols that were hard to characterize. If anything, as the number of scenarios increases, the consistency, the "why does this character do that?" parts are harder to combine.


- I think that the biggest thing last year was the debut of Straylight, but at the end of last year, the Scenario Event "Caught Up in the Pale Pink" involving Alstromeria was some development that I was very impressed by. Was this the intention for the 2nd year of development of this game? (Ugumi-san)

Takayama: For the timing where we implement Scenario Events for each unit, it's not something that we decide upon until about one year before. Not to mention, the things are fairly vague, and the content that was planned one year ago, it wasn't something that was solidly decided upon.

Regarding comments about "Caught Up in the Pale Pink", Alstroemeria isn't really a "parliament-like" unit, but it was the type of unit where the 3 members discussed and decided things together, so it was quite difficult to move them forward in a big way. But, one day I decided that I wanted them to make a huge development. Before that event, there weren't many scenes where the 3 of them really butted heads, but when we raised it to a higher stage, we felt that kind of drama, those episodes, were necessary, which is why "Caught Up in the Pale Pink" took such a form.


- In the 2019 commus, there were multiple depictions of how Mamimi's companions interacted with their surroundings, and the change to her cards parallel to her change left a deep impression on me. ("I ・ Feel ・ You ・ Feel" Kiriko's commu and "Whimsical Grace", "Fiddle Fuddle" Mamimi Tanaka's commus) With regards to such character changes, at what step of the planning and to what degree are you conscious of them? (Karasumugi-san)

Takayama: With regards to Mamimi, to be honest, I didn't think about her "far-into-the future" changes. For the Producer and Mamimi, I thought about the changes in the Produce Scenario, but for example, the relationship between Mamimi and Asahi, those all came out later, in the form of "If it's Mamimi she'd do it like this". In that sense, it can be said that it was assumed to that degree, and as I said earlier, it wasn't something that was solidly decided.


- For the scenario writers (like Carmen, Olive, Tin Pan Alley), is the knowledge spread based on determining the card concept first and following-up on it, or letting the knowledge part come first and then the card concept part? (Tenka-chan wa Gun ni kiku-san)

Takayama: I feel that there's a bit of both; when creating cards, some of them come from the type of scenario we want to depict, and the other pattern comes from the artwork - there are 2 types of patterns. If it's the pattern that comes from the artwork, then these are the things that need to be included in the scenario, so these elements are things we need to examine.

Sometimes, we can respond with the knowledge that we already have, but there is also knowledge that you'll learn about later; on the contrary, there are some elements that absolutely need to be included, parts that are depicted in the knowledge base.


- Is there a representative card that demonstrates the "illustration precedes the scenario" example?

Takayama: For example, for "Light Blue Emotion" Rinze Morino, the proportions and the story mostly came through via the essence of the record player; the card visuals depict Rinze in a coffee shop, and there was an old-fashioned gramophone there......so if that's there, then that can apply......that was how we made it. Of course, there are other things as well.


- So on the flip-side, what cards demonstrate the "scenario first then illustration" example?

Takayama: For Scenario Events, the situations that precede scenarios are numerous. For example, "Do Whatcha Love!" Chiyuki Kuwayama, "what scene, when removed, would leave an impression?", that was the form of thought that gave birth to that illustration.


- Are there any idols that have grown beyond Takayama-san's imagination via commus and illustrations? (Mizuki-san)

Takayama: In terms of growth, Rinze. At the beginning, when I imagined Rinze I had very few words; she was reserved, that kind of kid, but now she's gone over the border of being a "boke", and entered into becoming a kinda slow-tempo "tsukkomi", something which I've followed. In that sense, you could say that her growth is in an interpersonal way; by that mark, I can also say that Hiori has changed a lot too.


- For the P-SR idol "White ・ White ・ White ・ Prayer" Kiriko Yukoku's commu, I'd like to hear about how you conceptualized the part about the shrimp. (Kiriko ga Ohimesama Nanda-san)

- For this card, I remember Akemiya-san asked me "I don't know how to read this". First of all, how do you actually read it?

Takayama: Truth is for this card, you can read it however you'd like. Personally I read it as "Haku Haku Hakuki" but it really doesn't matter how you read it.


- Is that so!

Takayama: With regards to the shrimp, truthfully it didn't really have a deep meaning; for Kiriko's Commu 1 and 2, we depicted a scenario where Kiriko and the Producer were engaged with each other but in an air of them being unengaged. So, it doesn't really mean that the shrimp was some sort of meaningful depiction. She just has a very unique worldview.


- The Twitter Project on Golden Week, "Tenka's Holiday", was enjoyed very much by TenkaPs. My question is, how was this project decided upon? In addition, how were the contents of the tweet decided? (Chiny Colors-san)

Takayama: The Golden Week project just happened to be around the 1st Anniversary, so you could all enjoy something during the holidays......that was the idea. In addition, Twitter was chosen because, we tend to send out a lot of information about this work on Twitter. From there, we thought, what idols are compatible with Twitter......? That's what we thought, so we went with Tenka.

As for the content, how to show it off, we decided on 2 patterns after discussion with the Scenario team. For the pattern we didn't adopt, it involved a lot of Tenka's usual expression, her "Nihehe......" However, that time Tenka wanted to stress "Mutterings while operating Twitter", so she wouldn't really type her "Nihehe......" unless there was a typing mistake; that was the idea we went with.


- I understand not saying her favorite phrase without intentionally typing, but to think she would be so calculative to not make a typing error...... With regards to the Twitter projects, we have more questions.

- I enjoyed "Hiori's Divination Mansion", so I would like to know if there were any other project where Twitter and the Web were candidates. Also, I'd like to know the details on how the Hiori project was adopted. (Quincy Jones-san)

Takayama: In terms of candidates, there weren't any that we had to cancel. Speaking of which, when Hazuki left for her special training, President Amai was supposed to become more involved since he was left in the office, so he would publicize (tweet), but due to various circumstances that was omitted. Therefore, we delivered Hazuki's letter in that form to keep the stability.

For these projects, we feel that there are idols that match the content of the projects and some who don't, and in addition, the media and tools we use to show them are something I'm conscious about. For Shinymas' Valentine's Day, we wanted to use that timing to have a project showing Chiyoko's day-to-day activities, and for that project we focused on LINE and Twitter. During lessons, Chiyoko steals glances at LINE and sends...... that kind of imagery.


- I started the game about a month ago, but for the cards "Hoshiai Asterism" Hiori Kazano, "Mellow Beat Slowdown" Yuika Mitsumine, "Rinze's Evening Town Story" Rinze Morino, the main characters are subtly emphasized, all captured in a single, complete image. I thought that would be really difficult with an ordinary character game. Also, for the animation for the card "Strolling Sunlight" Amana Osaki, the character is placed near the end of it, almost expressing the emotions in the landscape. When I first saw that I unintentionally shouted "It's that kind of thing!", I was really moved. For this kind of character based game, I'd be very grateful to know what was difficult and what left a deep impression on you, having to prioritize a sense of unity when implementing illustrations and animations. (Mokuron-san)

Takayama: For "Strolling Sunlight" Amana Osaki, in order to preserve a sense of unity in the illustration and animation, the Scenario Team and the Art Team both had a leader, and it felt like was adjusted by the same person.

Also, the Scenario and Art Team leaders had detailed conversations, like "I want to draw this, or "I want to depict this scenario", and they came to a mutual understanding,  so I think that there was a sense of unity and coordination there.


- For the entire game, is there any part of the game that you're conscious of the sense of unity? I'd have thought that each unit would have its own image.

Takayama: Of course, depending on the individual characteristics of that unit, I think the way they're drawn and depicted will change. For example, L'Antica, in terms of speech and costume are really dark and calm, but when you pop-out the background it becomes quite cheerful. There aren't any clear rules, but those are what we decide it by, I feel.

But, for the entirety of Shinymas, when I looked at all the cards, I'm honestly not very conscious of this sense of unity. I don't think everything should be made with the same tone, but including in the composition, various different depictions and drawings are something more akin to Shinymas, I feel.


- The performance at "Bandai Namco Fes", after it ended I saw many good reviews about them on SNS. Even people who were sitting near me, non-Shinymas Ps, felt "overwhelmed", "really fun". As the Producer of this work, how do you feel about this reaction? (Uraken-san)

Takayama: When I saw it, for the Shinymas group Irumine was the top batter, and a large number of people were waving the yellow penlights; I was very moved. All the members worked very hard, and when I look back on it, a sea of yellow......I was very touched.

Not just the 3 members of Irumine, but it's no exaggeration to say that the other units performed the best they had ever performed in that point in time. With the reactions of everyone at that event, I feel that's the kind of impression that allowed them to accept the idols of Shinymas.


- For the cross-border event teams, although it wasn't really implemented, was there a plan for such teams? If there was something like that, please tell us. (aki-san)

Takayama: There is...... nothing that really comes to mind; there aren't that many cross-border events, and there would be a lot of considerations if we wanted to implement such a big thing. So, as of right now the answer is that there are no plans for such combinations.


- The number of songs that Shinymas provides is, compared to other series, quite few within a year. I'm grateful as to the high quality of these songs you provide, but what was the intention of that? I'm looking forward to more wonderful songs this year. (Ponkichi-san)

Takayama: That's right. Speaking about Shinymas, it had a fairly loose theme; the first year was them introducing themselves, with very unit-like songs. For the second year, they wanted to "challenge", so a song that expresses them broadening their horizons. And in the 3rd year, we're planning around the theme "parts which have changed, parts which haven't changed".

I feel that if you add too many songs per unit for each theme, you would distort the image for that unit. The same is true for all the songs; basically I think that there's no need to increase them. Without destroying this pace, each song is created with this important image in mind.


- I got into Shinymas after being caught in by Fuyuko-chan. At first, I felt her "royal road-like" tsundere nature was very honest. But recently, whenever I see her with the members of Straylight, she feels like a world-wise person struggling to be positive (laughs). I like the kind side of Fuyuko-chan, but did this "struggling to be positive" image come about in the beginning? Was it something influenced naturally by the members of Straylight? (Ramuda-san)

Takayama: If we're speaking about Fuyuko, when we saw the combination of unit members, I expected there to be some degree of difficulty. However, what I didn't expect was the direction which they took that difficulty. Looking at it now, she's like quite the mother. Specifically, like Asahi's mother, I feel.


- Indeed! She's not only kind, but a steady, easy-to-anger type of mother. I can understand how the direction of her struggle didn't take the direction you anticipated.

Takayama: At the start, Fuyuko was basically strung along by Asahi, and became a tsukkomi......that was the direction I thought it was going, but not only is she not a tsukkomi, she gave some unexpected assistance along the way. "You'd better do it like this" or "Not like that!", I feel that it got big enough to where she could take care of them like that, I feel.

The original expectation was that Asahi would just do things like run about, so I think Fuyuko's reactions to that, trying to rein her in, was what led to this part of her coming out.


- For "Purple Mirage" Mamimi Tanaka, "Challenge the Climax!" Chiyoko Sonoda, and the "Caught in the Pale Pink" event, I felt there were many scenarios that revealed the past of the idols, and even the past of President Amai was revealed over the past year. Were the idols' and President Amai's backstories planned from the beginning? Also, I'd like to ask if there was any particular reason you wanted to reveal them this past year. (M.C.O-san)

Takayama: For Mamimi and Chiyoko, this was something planned from the beginning, so we were hoping we could depict it eventually. As for the President, it's not something we want to delve too deeply into, but rather introduce it gradually over the course of Shinymas' story.


- In relation to Event Commus, would it be possible to be able to see things not available at the current moment? It's been about half a year since I started playing, but it's a shame that I couldn't view the commu where the past year's trend, "Gyoza, I want it crispy", originated. (Avin-san)

Takayama: This part has been requested a lot, and there are some events that we have been able to re-run at irregular intervals, although we can't re-run all of them. However, if it's just the Scenario, we feel that it's a waste that you can't also get a reward card, so we'd like to provide you with some means of doing so.

Right now, we're considering various things, but honestly, having to preserve the game balance while dealing with high-rarity rewards like the Hazuki seals, is something we haven't been able to just decide upon. However, we sometimes allow for readings of the Event Scenarios to always be available, and we think that with that availability, you can use it to follow the various scenarios.


- I see. Let's talk about the "Gyoza, I want it crispy" topic; it was a very surprising topic at the time, was that what you were aiming for?

Takayama: No, it wasn't. I was very surprised. On the other hand, during last December's "Operation Santa! ~Siege on 283 Pro~" event, the burglar Kaho's letter to the Producer saying "Please repent", that was something I wanted to become trending. I do occasionally think of such things, but basically we don't write them while conscious of the trends.


- I don't really understand how Kiriko attaches "-san" to things, please tell me. Like the reason she doesn't attach it to snow. Like her line "Snow is very great", she thinks snow is very great and "personifies" it even though she doesn't attach the prefix to "snow". Why is that? (Ochi-san)

- At last year's 1.5 Anniversary Event in Matsudo, I remember Takayama-san was there, talking a bit on the stage with a certain standard, but I do...... recall saying something like that, and there were many questions with similar content.

Takayama: I want to say otherwise, but there are many people who are concerned about that. The way Kiriko attaches "-san" to things, is whether or not she feels that that part is something "story-like". Usually, it's whether or not Kiriko herself was the main target of the interaction.

To give a simple example, if there's an apple placed there, an apple brought by Kogane, a very shiny and polished apple, Kiriko would refer to it as "the apple-san that Kogane-chan brought with her".


- I see! Even if they're the same apple, she wouldn't attach "-san" to it all the time.

Takayama: Yes. It's not something that's very strictly decided. Kiriko is also human, so she judges things subjectively sometimes, and sometimes not. When she attaches "-san", it feels like she's the target of the conversation.

Returning to the example in the question, "Snow is very great", was a line in an interview. Normally she might have referred to it with "-san", but I think she didn't because it was an interview. It means that based on the situation, Kiriko's behavioral principles will be affected.


- What was the most unexpected thing that happened this past year? (Kawamaki-san)

Takayama: There are a lot of them, but in-game it'd be the one mentioned earlier, "Gyoza, I want it crispy", and others like "You, that face is......cheating", those kinds of buzzwords weren't actually meant to be trending, so it was the most surprising for me.

Also, and this is a personal thing, when we were invited to YOSHIKI-san's program (April 23rd, 2019 on the NND channel YOSHIKI CHANNEL). I was really nervous. The one sitting next to me, Sakagami-san (Youzo Sakagami, aka GamiP, iM@S Series General Producer) was also nervous...... For such a development to take place, I was really surprised.


- Isn't the maximum Bond Level for each Support Idol 10, regardless of rarity? That would hinder the growth of the Thanksgiving Event Support Idols when distributed. (NoisuP-san)

Takayama: The logic for selecting a helper idol, originally their inclusion was random, but from all the ideas now 1 is selected, and who comes out of it is something you can't choose. In our current situation, the ideas that you need are prioritized, but we also need to think about how far we can leave that to the users. We can entrust it within the game, but there are a variety of reasons why we couldn't do that, so that's why it's selected randomly based on the Bond Level.

Of the various reasons, one which I can mention is that if the system doesn't support it to a certain extent, it would be very difficult to fully think about. This kind of situation would leave beginners easily frustrated.

Put another way, "After this idol, I'll select this idol......" If you can choose the optimal solution like that, it would become really simple to perform. For both W.I.N.G. and Fan Thanksgiving, the basic intent is to see "How would you Produce in a scenario where the number of actions you have is limited, and the situation changes every time?" that kind of game. "This time went really well", "If I did it like this, it would have been better", those are the kinds of ways that we hope we provided to enjoy the game.


- Indeed, for me the first Fes Idol that I got a True End with, though I don't use her now, I still keep her without transferring it.

Takayama: However, I do understand what NoisuP is saying, and it's something that will need to be adjusted in the future.

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The Top 5 Most Popular Commus

- This time, when we asked questions on the Dengeki Online survey, we asked for your opinions on everyone's "Most Favorite Commus". From here, I would like Takayama-san to comment on the top 5 most popular Commus. Here are the results:

10: Summer Meets Wonderland (13 votes)
10: "A Daydream on a Small Night" Meguru Hachimiya (13)
9: Five-Colored Explosion! Training Camp Climax! (14)
9: To the You At the End of the Stairs (14)
8: "Arc-en-Ciel is the Meteor" Meguru Hachimiya (16)
7: "Stirred-up * Milk" Chiyoko Sonoda (17)
7: "Ultimate Mermaid" Natsuha Arisugawa (17)
6: Catch the shiny tail (22)

5: "NOT≠EQUAL" Yuika Mitsumine (23)
4: "Light Blue Emotion" Rinze Morino (25)
3: Star n dew by me (36)
2: Straylight.run() (38)
1: Caught In The Pale Pink (55)

As follows.

(Editors note: In the regulation "Please vote for only one Commu", some people voted for more than one Commu. The results here are of us counting the votes. Please understand.)


Number 5: "NOT≠EQUAL" Yuika Mitsumine

Takayama: As was stated at the beginning of the interview, Mitsumine is the kind of kid who cares about the sense of distance from others, and how she is seen. For "NOT≠EQUAL", in the Producer's words "......Huh, it's not like Yuika", and "I'm a Producer, but are we really in the category of idol and Producer?", that's something we'd like you to be conscious of.


- The people who liked the Commu , some of them enjoyed it as an episode exploring the romantic feelings between Mitsumine and the Producer, what do you have to say about that point?

Takayama: My impression, is that it's not a scenario that depicts either romance or an unrequited love, but rather that you are free to have your own interpretation, and that there isn't really a correct answer. I think this card is what really shows the relationship between "Idol and Producer", and the way Mitsumine thinks at this point in time.


4: "Light Blue Emotion" Rinze Morino

Takayama: For "Light Blue Emotion" Rinze Morino's commu, it left an impression that not Rinze, but Producer's way of thinking had changed slightly. As the Producer sees Rinze, he saw a proud idol who he felt wouldn't be embarrassed at all where they appeared, and a staff member told him that "She has a very adult-like expression", and for him to begin to realize a place where a side of Rinze which he's never seen before has appeared, this scenario strongly captures a look into the Producer's state of mind.

With regards to Rinze, the moment Producer says "Rinze, she's a proud idol!", the scene will leave you such a deep impression that you can't help but go "Woooooooow...".


3: Star n dew by me

Takayama: With regards to Mano, the commu where she broke out of her shell was depicted in the 6th place "Catch the shiny tail", and the relationship  between those 3 has advanced. The same can be said for "Arc-en-Ciel is the Meteor" and Meguru, where we depicted a more personal aspect to her, and we felt that the scenario that Irumine needed to go one step further was "Star n dew by me".

The relationship between the 3 of them doesn't really change visibly, but the reason why Mano likes Meguru isn't because she's "the amazing Meguru-chan" but simply "Meguru-chan". Meguru thought that she wasn't really that great, and she was dragging them down, and that she shouldn't be with the other 2 even if she didn't state it explicitly. It's a scenario where both Meguru and Irumine both move one step forward.



- The way Meguru tries to approach them, I felt it was a scenario where we could really understand the way that Hiori and Mano "empathize" with her. Hiori wanted to respect Meguru's will to persist in being the Oni, while Mano was, above all, wanting to apologize to Meguru and to return her back from being the Oni to their team again.

Takayama: For those 3, the truth is that they can be depicted very deeply. There are multiple parts needed to move the story forward; the driving force, having a bird's-eye view, the part of causing trouble, all these various parts. The 3 members of Irumine can play it by ear and respond as needed.


2: Straylight.run()

Takayama: Straylight.run(), as Straylight's first Scenario Event, helped leave a deep impression. The point where Asahi and Fuyuko were grouped together, we predicted the 2 of them would come into conflict, and we felt that we should depict the differences in their values. This is the scenario that depicts that.


- Since the Commu was 2nd place despite being for a new unit, I feel that it left an impression for the Producers.

Takayama: Exactly. I feel it was definitely a good topic. I felt that this was a very Straylight-esque scenario that we sent out to the world, so to receive this kind of evaluation makes me very happy.


1: Caught In The Pale Pink

- This commu took the 1st place in our poll, partially due to the timing of it being around when this Commu was released. Is there anything you can comment on besides the ones raised earlier?

Takayama: What was most unexpected about everyone's feeling about it, was between Hazuki and Chiyuki. Those 2, they seemed to get closer during the "Summer Meets Wonderland" event, but we didn't depict them anywhere else, and so when we were presented with an opportunity for them to go out and have drinks together, we took it.

Also, from Hazuki's point of view, she wanted to support her as a friend, but due to her position as the idol office clerk, she was put into a difficult position. Hazuki said "Do your best, Chiyuki", but that was something she said to her as a friend while still being the office clerk.

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Regarding the new unit, "noctchill"

- From here, the timing of the questionnaire and the next things we're about to discuss no longer match, but I'd like to ask a number of question on the newly-revealed unit, "noctchill". Firstly, the members are all childhood friends, but please tell us how you differentiated them from the other units.

Takayama: At this point for Shinymas, each of the idols came together when they formed a unit, and their relationship progressed from 0 to 1 while in those units, so we thought we should try a different approach for "noctchill"; that is, what if they were already friends before they became idols? That's the part I feel we portrayed differently. This is where there's a clear differentiation.

Are they not good as idols? What will their relationship as childhood friends become? Or is their bond growing more stable and strong...... These are the kinds of things we can depict that can't be depicted via other units.


- It's the first time in Shinymas that the number of members in the unit is an even one. Please tell us the intention of having 4 people.

Takayama: Having an even number wasn't something that we were particular about, but we thought about it and said "4 people is good". This means that we can also depict "groups of 2 people" as well.

To everyone reading this interview, you may not be able to see that much right now, but for example, Hinana yearning for Toru, Madoka giving Koito some sweets as a form of placation, those kinds of settings. Also, Toru and Madoka being 2nd years, while Koito and Hinana are 1st years. Essentially, we want you to pay close attention to the relationship between "groups of 2 people".

When we announced it, we had a lot of reactions from the Producers. There are a lot of voices, for those looking forward to them, for those predicting what kinds of people they are. We will do our best to meet those expectations, but if you can say that adding 4 more people to Shinymas for a group of 23 is considered an improvement, then I'll be really happy.


- Finally, I'd like to conclude with this question.

- Takayama-san, right now at this moment, is Shinymas moving in the direction that you were aiming for? Also, how do you feel abut that? (Brau-san)

Takayama: I'm grateful that Shinymas is reaching its 2nd Anniversary, and for all the Producers who took the trouble to help evaluate the large number of our Scenario Commus and Event Commus, for that I am very happy.

However, there are some essential parts of the game where the implementation has not yet been realized, and numerous parts which still need to be adjusted. There are many things that we want to do, and we recognize that while we implement these elements, we also need to make the existing elements easier to play, more fun and more comfortable and pleasant.

I can say with confidence, that there are definitely some parts which are moving in the direction I was aiming for, and some parts that are still imperfect and insufficient. After the 2nd Anniversary, I want to keep working hard, with a strong fighting spirit. To all the Producers, please keep continuing on, and produce. Thank you very much.