m02t2

No. 186 "Deep Sea Currents," the second film

　The second "Pokémon" movie is an adventure action movie.
　Despite the Pika Pika incident, the ratings after its resumption were not too bad, and there was a high expectation that Mewtwo's Counterattack, whatever its content, would be a hit.
　But the reality is that it's a huge hit that far exceeded expectations.
　Some people said it was unexpected and would have been a bigger hit if it had been an exhilarating adventure action movie like Pokémon's original story, while others said the so-called "tear-jerking" was the reason for the hit.
　There was little to no interpretation of why it was a hit, such as because it was about "self-existence.
　I myself, who brought up the theme of "questioning the existence of the self" as a theme for anime to show the world, never thought it would become such a hit in the West.
　In the first place, an anime script as heavy, dark, and uninspiring as Mewtwo's Counterattack would have been met with a barrage of complaints from upper management if not for the Pika Pika incident.
　That's why I ended up aiming for the exhilaration of the original adventure action drama in the second film.
　Even for me, the next episode of Mewtwo's Counterattack, which is an extension of the theme of "Questioning Self Existence," which is heavy on me, was too heavy or too much trouble... At least, I had to drink thirty bottles of alcohol and dozens of boxes of tranquilizers (commercially available) to bear the weight of the theme of Mewtwo's Counterattack, which was stopped by the doctor.
　As an afterthought, at the time I was able to adjust my drinking and medication, so I was using the script as a way to put together my cluttered thoughts on how to do this and that and how to do that, so I wasn't drunk to the point of being unable to reason.
　I'm still being told by psychiatrists who specialize in alcohol that I'm not sure if I'm a real alcoholic, a drug addict, or just pretending to be one.
　No matter how much he drinks, he's a bit chatty, but he's never come up with too many strange ideas.
　I don't fight, I don't drink with women, I don't have any so-called guilty thoughts, and I don't use the power of alcohol to woo them.
　When you hit on a woman, you are usually sober, even if there is a little alcohol in the atmosphere.
　When I am aware that I am in danger, I can stop drinking and taking drugs. There are also no withdrawal symptoms that occur when the so-called drug runs out.
　Usually, an addict can't stop drinking or taking drugs on their own, even if they want to. There are many people who commit suicide because they are so despairing of themselves, or are truly insane.
　The average life expectancy of an alcoholic is said to be 52 years. People with alcoholism anxiety should beware.
　Alcohol is one of the worst and most approved poisons compared to banned drugs.
　Another approved poison is tobacco, but no matter how much I try to stop it, I can't.
　So, being a tobacco addict is a sure thing.
　I digress, but even if I'm not an addict, I have trouble losing my appetite when I drink alcohol or stabilizers (over-the-counter).
　Occasionally I take nutritional supplements, but sometimes when I'm researching material, thinking about things, or writing out a manuscript, I'll just settle for Pocari Sweat for a day or two.
　Add to that alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, and you can't have sustained physical strength.
　If he wrote two scripts like Mewtwo Strikes Back, he would starve to death in this age of insatiability.
　So I thought it would be hard to get world-class adventure action, but I thought it would be a nice change of pace.
　However, this is the second of his works on the theme of "questioning self-existence.
　I don't feel at ease unless there's a proper theme.
　The theme was ready to go.
　After "self-existence," it is "the coexistence of each self-existence.
　But how do you turn it into an adventure action movie?　Moreover, the main stage this time was the sea.
　What immediately popped into my mind was "deep ocean currents".
　Deep ocean currents will circumnavigate the world in 2,000 years (?) This is the ocean current flowing in the deep sea, and I can write about this current in a new book, so I won't explain it here.
　If you are interested, please search the Internet.
　If you want to know more, I'm sure a top-notch library will have specialized books.
　Roughly speaking, it is said that the ocean currents control the world's weather, are rich in nutrients, and have become the source of life on Earth.
　The reason why I know this current is because it took me almost ten years to write a novel called "Eternal Filena" about a girl who is a descendant of a destroyed marine royal family... It wasn't a big hit, but one of the nine volumes was serialized in Animage, and it was published in paperback, which lasted for ten years to nine volumes, and then it became a video anime and NES game.
　The maritime nation was conscious of Carthage in Roman times. The country was also a trading power, so it goes without saying that it had Japan in mind. It is a nation that will eventually die.
　She was raised as a man and raised as a gladiator in order to hide her royal identity.
　At the time of Carthage's demise, most of its people were slaughtered. Women and children, too.
　If he was to survive, he had to be raised as a strong boy, a slave gladiator, and put on a killing show as a spectacle.
　Her life and death were always on her back, and she herself thought that she could die at any moment, or even better, die.
　But somehow the people dying around her say to her as if it were a will, "You will live.
　Those who are dying feel a life force within her that is inexpressible.
　However, he thinks that he can die at any time.
　However, the image of the sea that she had seen and felt as a toddler remained vividly in her mind. The sea gave birth to life. Although she didn't realize it, there was a life force breathing inside her.
　The novel ends where she decides to "go on with her life".
　Needless to say, the theme of this novel is "Live it! It is the "life force of the sea".
　Then "Live! was used as a catchphrase for an animated film. The theme of that anime is "Live! I was a little bothered, though, because I wasn't.
　In order to write this novel, I moved from Shibuya, Tokyo to Hayakawa, the nearest JR station to the sea in Japan, where Odawara Port is located, and ended up living there for 20 years.
　This novel went on for nine volumes, so a variety of themes come into play.
　However, it is basically a story of the power that gave birth to the life of the oceans that made Earth a star full of life, and of a woman who decides to "live" on that irreplaceable planet.
　There was a criticism that this novel, "Knight of Ribbons" and "Belvara" are not the same, and that it is impossible for a girl to be raised and live as a man.
　But the determination to live and the ability to produce life (?) I wanted the main character to be a woman, even though I knew it was unreasonable.
　The sea I see is a woman. No matter how stormy and stormy, the sea, in this novel, had to be a life-bearing motherhood.
　However, the main character doesn't say a single word, "I want to have a baby because I'm a woman.
　'I'll live', she says, those are the only words she says.
　In order to write such a novel, I looked at the sea of Hayakawa every day and did quite a bit of research on "the sea".
　From the imagined primordial sea to the current state of the sea.....
　So I was also aware of the existence of "deep ocean currents" as an important element of the novel.
　However, the term "deep ocean currents" does not appear in the novel.
　There is no way that the characters in this novel would know about the "deep ocean current". One can only feel that there is a mysterious force deep within the ocean that gives rise to life.
　But as a writer, I kept thinking about the existence of "deep ocean currents" as I wrote my novels.
　So, with the second Pokémon movie set in the ocean, the opportunity to depict the "Deep Sea Current" itself has come.
　Luckily, at that time, deep-sea water as drinking water was beginning to be talked about.
　At the time, Kochi Prefecture was the only place in Japan where deep sea water could be pumped up.
　By the way, Kochi was my wife's hometown.

　I decided to pick up some bottled deep sea water.
　Odawara is close to Hakone, so the water is not bad.
　The family that went to the trouble of getting water from Kochi may have seemed quite extravagant.
　However, I wanted to keep drinking deep-sea water for at least a year, not river or reservoir water.
　Taste?　To my taste, it wasn't much different from the tap water in Odawara.
　What was even luckier was that around that time, NHK broadcast a documentary on the theme of the "Deep Sea Currents".
　A bigwig from the makers of the "Pokemon" game happened to see it and was very interested in it.
　A story about Pokémon in action based on the theme of "deep ocean currents"... and so we got the go-ahead for a second Pokémon movie.
　But what's a deep ocean current?　was the way the main staff received it.
　I couldn't help it, so I took a bottle of "Deep Sea Water" and said, "This is the water, so please try it. I remember that I felt like I was selling "deep sea water".
　But at that point, I hadn't decided what kind of adventure-activity it was going to be.
　If I said that I wanted to make "coexistence" the main theme, I might be told not to put anything difficult into it, and if I tried to say that "coexistence" means "friends", I might be told that there is no way it would be an interesting adventure action drama because everyone is friends.
　On top of that, there's no new Pokémon game out, so no new Pokémon are going to appear.
　The phantom Pokémon, Mew and Mewtwo, came out in the first movie.
　Furthermore, a phantom Pokémon called Houou appears briefly in the first episode of the TV version, but in the game being produced, he has fallen in love with a sober Pokémon that lives in a temple somewhere. It seems to be there.
　It's not a Pokémon that can be used as a main character.
　However, there were three second-class Pokémon left, though not as many as Mew and Mewtwo.
　Compared to the other Pokémon, it was a little too strong to be used by Pokémon Trainers to get it or make them battle with it, so it was left with no use.
　It is the Fire, Thunder and Freezer.
　They all seem to be fierce, and it's going to be like a clash of three major monsters.
　As you can see from the examples of previous monster movies, when a strong monster comes out and starts fighting, there's no place for humans and it becomes a pro-kaiju wrestling movie.
　Even if the Self-Defense Forces or others were to come out on their own accord, it would be of no use.
　I believe that adventure movies are interesting because they involve full-blooded people having adventures.
　Kaneko's version of "Gamera" seems to have handled this well, but I don't feel that the cuteness of the beautiful girls who appear in the film is a cheat.
　Even if Pikachu plays an active role in the second "Pokemon" movie, it's too much for the three major monsters, and Pikachu's role is so familiar from the TV version that it doesn't have any new flavor.
　In order to do so, I thought I needed a Pokémon with a completely different personality other than the Three Great Monsters, but not comparable to the Three Great Monsters.
　It must be able to relate to humans to some extent, unlike the other three major Pokémon.
　If we can have a relationship, we can have a place where people can flourish.
　I thought the existence of such a Pokémon was necessary...or rather, I had thought of it from the beginning.
　It is a Pokémon that symbolizes the "deep ocean current" that is the source of life, including humans.
　In "Deep Sea Currents," it's not a picture because it's a water flow.
　Even if the current has some kind of will, it is difficult to express it in motion.
　After all, you need a Pokémon that can be the symbol of the Deep Sea Current.
　But, however. Until now, no Pokémon has appeared in the game that didn't appear in the game.
　In other words, it is an original Pokémon exclusive to the movie.
　Is that acceptable or not?
　For this movie, I want to create an original Pokémon that lives in the deep ocean current.
　I thought there would be a lot of opposition, but it was easily approved.
　It seems that the crew and production executives were concerned about the lack of Pokémon that could withstand a second movie.
　And maybe I didn't have the meaning of the deep ocean current in the script I was trying to write, either.
　Maybe that's why they felt the need for a flashy, original Pokémon.
　I think that was the first time that Gamae didn't argue with my opinion.
　The screenwriter, who was planning to write a short film, seemed to be surprised that the original Pokémon appeared so easily, saying, "I'm glad. He said, "It's like you've made a second film." "It's not so easy," he said. We'll see what the problem is," he responded.
　I had no intention of making a pro wrestling movie about the Four Great Monsters Pokémon.
　The original Pokémon, which had neither a design nor a name, was called "X" for now.
　Therefore, the title of the poster was "The Birth of X" for a while.

　　　go on and on

Yesterday's me (not a status report, but a playwright who can do it)

　The mistake in my name's title was not due to anyone's malice being present.
　It was a malicious careless mistake by the title bearer, but it ended up being broadcast nationally.
　Even if the person in charge apologized to me, it didn't make me feel any better.
　What is aired is taken by the public as fact.
　The apology of the producer in charge of the program is not enough if the TV station, which is not supposed to broadcast the lie, apologizes.
　The chief executive, that is, the president of the TV station, should apologize.
　There's no way that's possible.
　I didn't really want to be a screenwriter.
　However, I'm sure the one that got it wrong was a head-scratcher, as I wrote it with the intention of becoming a screenwriter with this one.
　At that time, I was young and in a hot mood.
　I'm going to sue everyone from TV stations to production companies.
　As a matter of fact, when I was in elementary school, my name was once published in a large newspaper for an essay that was shortlisted, and what I called my writing was published.
　However, it was a sentence from a junior high school student who won the prize.
　I called in a protest.
　I'm sorry about that. I'll put up a corrected article tomorrow, so give me a break.
　The person in charge of the newspaper replied, just like a child would.
　However, no corrective article appeared.
　At the award ceremony, everyone around me was happy.
　However, there was a girl who looked like she was going to cry.
　He was a junior high division finalist.
　A middle schooler's essay was mistaken for an elementary schooler's essay.
　As an elementary school student, I don't feel good because I was mistaken for a junior high school student's essay, but I guess it can't be helped.
　But a junior high school student, a multi-sensory girl who is good at writing, had her own essay misspelled by a youngster's essay.
　It's not a good thing that he won a prize.
　More than 40 years later, I still can't get that girl's face out of my mind.
　If I was that girl, I would never write an essay again.
　The big newspapers ignored the copyright and human rights of junior high school girls and elementary school boys, and ignored their mistakes.
　As for my aftereffects, I only read the TV section of the newspaper.
　I'm a Hanshin fan, so I only buy Daily Sports when I buy Hanshin.
　I watch TV news with half a doubt when the announcer gives a factual statement.
　I don't believe in the opinions of commenters.

　No one holds a grudge about the mistake in the title name.
　I don't think we're going to hold anyone accountable.
　However, I couldn't forgive the irresponsible nature of the media.
　However, there was one person who moved more quickly to solve the problem than me who was mistaken.
　He's faster than me, so he has a lot of temper.
　He was the senior who introduced me to the animation production company.

　　　× × × ×.

　By the way, a member of the League of Japanese Screenwriters pointed out to me the other day that there was a mistake in my description of copyright.
　A few times ago, I wrote about the fact that it's up to you to make a contract to buy a screenplay, but it may be a loss.....
　To begin with, members of the Japan Federation of Playwrights are not allowed to make a purchase agreement. You can't have your own way of making a buyout contract.
　I've never seen a screenplay buyout agreement before...it seems like a long time ago...but it's so much stricter now. Maybe it's been that way for a long time, but.....
　In other words, people who make contracts to buy scripts are not eligible to be members of the Japan Federation of Playwrights.
　Come to think of it, if a member of an organization that collects copyright fees is signing a buyout agreement, you certainly don't need to be a member. The annual membership fee for the Japan Screenwriters Association is not cheap either...
　Anyway, members should not make a purchase contract on their own.
　I apologize for the error in my column a few times ago.

　　　go on and on