During his visit to the French convention Japan Expo Paris, novelist and screenwriter Shoji Gatoh sat down with us to talk about the inspirations behind his two major light novel works, Amagi Brilliant Park and Full Metal Panic!, which received anime adaptations.
Gatoh-sensei, who also created the Cop Craft series and MOON FIGHTERS!, is currently working on the isekai web novel Reincarnated as a Giant-Mech, released in light novel format under KADOKAWA’s Fantasia Bunko label. With his unique sense of humor, the author continues to deliver engaging plots for the fans’ enjoyment.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity. This interview was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.
Q: Gatoh-sensei, if you could choose any real amusement attractions to be in, which one would you choose?
A: There’s an attraction in Tokyo Disneyland about Star Wars which I would like to be in. Or the Indiana Jones one. They give you a “wow” feeling.
Q: How did the idea of Amagi Brilliant Park come to be? Did you often visit theme parks?
A: I visited Tokyo Disneyland many times and even Disney World Florida. After I started Amagi Brilliant Park, I visited the one in California too. In Japan, we had an amusement park (that doesn’t exist anymore) called ‘Toshimaen’ that I liked to visit. It had a very old, classic style. Before the 90s, there were a lot of amusement parks in the Tokyo region, but most of them closed. I used this image for inspiration for Amagi Brilliant Park.
Q: Why did you pick famous American persons like Kanye West, 50 Cent, or Queen Latifah as references for the main characters’ names?
A: [laughs] My inspiration came from CDs I had at home. It was the kind of music I listened to every day, including James Brown and Ice Cube.
Q: There’s a character that references Ice Cube too, right? [Aisu Kyubu, the protagonist’s aunt]
A: Yes, I used it as inspiration, but it’s not exactly the same name. At that time I didn’t expect Amagi Brilliant Park to be read by people outside of Japan.
Q: What were your expectations for the anime adaptation? Did you have any special requirements for the studio Kyoto Animation?
A: I was a friend of the anime director, Takemoto-san, so I could ask him directly for any requirements or to give some advice. We were in friendly talks. I already knew how high Kyoto Animation’s quality was, so I didn’t really need to ask for anything special.
Q: The anime was beautiful, and they put a lot of care into the animation of the park. It also looks very fun.
A: I feel very thankful to hear that. This is what we wanted to achieve.
Q: When you were working on the light novels, did you have any part or character you enjoyed the most writing about?
A: The mascots Moffle, Macaron, and Tiramy. I loved them the most. In fact, they were the main reason for writing these books. Describing them was one of the biggest reasons I created Amagi Brilliant Park.
Q: Did you have any particular preference about romantic developments in the story?
A: I needed this kind of romantic story for the light novel because using solely the mascots as main characters wasn’t possible.
Q: Oh, as a fan, I thought romance was the main goal!
A: For me, the most important and fun thing was the mascots [laughs].
Q: Moving to other of your famous works, If you could choose any “Black Technology” to have under your control, which would you pick? Why?
A: I would choose camouflage [the Electronic Conceal System]. It would be very convenient.
Q: How did the concept of Black Technology occur to you? Did you expect it to become this popular?
A: There is a concept called “over-technology” that existed before I started the story, and I wanted to have a similar one for the series. But I didn’t expect it to become popular. I was the first one surprised.
Q: Are there any technologies you would like to research about?
A: It’s difficult to answer that since I don’t have the ideas right now. Maybe I should think about it.
Q: How did you balance the concept of “boys meet girl” and the romance comedy side, with the more realistic and sci-fi elements of the story? Which one did you enjoy writing more?
A: I’d say I preferred the action elements relatively more. But the most needed sometimes was the romantic side. Maybe you could say the most important thing is the story and the characters. I prefer to focus on both of them, rather than divide it between military or romantic.
Q: Did you have a character you enjoyed the most writing about?
A: Maybe Sosuke and Kaname [the protagonists].
Q: You recently released Full Metal Panic! Family that is set 20 years after the original ending of the series. Did you always want to tell this part of the story? How did the idea come to be?
A: The publisher Fantasia Bunko asked me to write a short story in celebration of Full Metal Panic!’s 25th anniversary. They liked what I wrote, so they asked me a bit more; they liked it again, and I wrote a bit more, and so on [laughs]. At some point I told them, ‘Now we should stop.’
Q: What is the difference between writing a light novel rather than a standard novel?
A: For me, the differences are the illustrations [included in the light novels]. Another difference is that light novels are normally set in the world of games and such. The reader of a light novel feels like reading a manga or being inside a video game.
Q: Is there anything in your writing process that you would advise a younger version of yourself? For example, anything you now think, “I should have done this in another way.”
A: It’s not really advice, but I would tell myself, ‘You’re doing pretty well.’ And that you must not drink too much [laughs].
Q: That’s good advice! Do you think it’s crucial to know the whole plot and ending of a light novel series before starting with the first volume?
A: It depends on the series. For example, for Full Metal Panic! it was supposed to be only one shot. Now I’m writing another series, Kidou Tensei [Reincarnated as a Giant-Mech], in which I’m focused on what I’m writing right now. I don’t know what I’ll write after that.
Q: In the past you mentioned you like the movies Die Hard and Deadpool. Are there any other recent movies, series, or anime that you like?
A: My favorite one of the recent anime is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Q: Were you inspired by any writer?
A: Stephen Hunter, who writes stories about snipers and wrote Point of Impact [adapted into a film titled Shooter]. I also like Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary. From Japan I like Chohei Kambayashi (sci-fi writer) and Daisuke Sato (writer of Highschool of the Dead).
We want to extend our thanks to Gatoh-sensei and Japan Expo Paris for the interview opportunity, where we discovered the author’s easygoing and fun personality.
We invite you to keep an eye on the author’s ongoing works and stay tuned for future news.
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