Febri Vol.5
Translated by symbv on evageeks forum.
This section's source scan.
FROM MADOKA TO FATE/ZERO
Gen Urobuchi (UG) - As I did not think about the feelings of watchers when I wrote this, I could not foresee what kind of feedback will come back. Perhaps I should just apologize first? (lol) First of all I would like to say thank you to those who stick with us till the seasos's end. Although I could only say the story ended like this only because it was me who wrote all these, it would be nice if it could be something that left an impression. I thought about the time of Blassreiter. Instead of ending a story with a nice ending that feels good, a story that is a bit twisted will sit in your mind longer and make more lasting memory, I think. I had kept thinking how to wrap the whole cloth of story nicely, but there was nothing more you could do with a nice piece of cloth except appreciating it a bit and then leaving it inside the closet. That may make you feel better, but when you come to think that this is something one has to follow for 3 months to half a year, do we really need that amount of build up just to give you a good feeling only?
So for an ending it is better to have some kind of struggle in a dilemma. It is not only to finish the story neatly, but at the end it is to get people to keep thinking what kind of story it is about. And for this it is better to have certain amount of twistedness I think. And this is something that could not be achieved if it is done only from the standpoint of a writer. As a writer, the wish to wrap up the story well is first and foremost. After that is done, one way to achieve that would be to also become a messenger, and you put all the thoughts of "please think about these once you finish watching it" into messages and use them to end the story. I do not know if Madoka can reach the level of Blassreiter, but one day I would like to reach beyond that level. That is the world of life experience and human power. From where I am the back of Itano-san is still far. With that in mind, anybody who took something to their heart from Madoka please also consider Fate/zero. (2011 Feb 08, at Nitroplus)
Various translations from this section's source scans.
UG - After I finished writing Madoka screenplay, I watched Heartcatch PreCure and then I just buried my head with my arms... lol.. saying to myself "My heart is so damned soiled..."
Interviewer - You mean if you had watched Heartcatch before you wrote the screenplay the story could have been different?
UG - Perhaps the screenplay could have had a little bit more of flowers of heart (lol) There would not have been that self-hatred I had then. "I should have done it this way, but... I, I...!!!" kind of feeling (lol)
UG - That's right. On that point Kuroda-san put a lot of attention on it, like how to make the first 3 episodes appealing. He said if one watches till ep.3 he will want to watch the rest.
Q - Did you consider that some may leave Madoka after they watched ep.3?
UG - I thought there are. Those who drop the show are not be able to bear the thought of the development after that (lol). As Kuroda-san said "People will keep on watching if ep.3 is good, so the composition of ep.1-3 is extremely important." He kept repeating these words later.
Takayama (T) - It is the same here. We carefully deployed topical scenes in the third episode of Amagami. I also thought that if the watchers did not bother watching until ep.3 then they did not matter.
From this source scan.
UG - When the storyboard of the OP was done everyone just burst out laughing, saying "Is it for real...?" (lol) I admit that that was a deceiving video, but somehow only I got the blame which I just can't accept (lol)
Takayama - Woah, I thought the black cat might be somehow related, no relationship you mean?
UG - No (lol)
Takayama - So it is just a wandering cat (lol)
UG - On the other hand, it will show up in the Drama CD that was made later as an extra to the BD/DVD special package. Since it had already been created, they asked me to use it (lol)
From this source scan.
UG - ...(at the time of) Brassreiter I was just like a secretary summing up what Itano-san spurted out and talked about. In Phantom sure I was credited as original author and I got concession here and there because of that, but then there were also scenes that Director Mashita wanted to put in throughout the series and there was little room out of that, so at the end I followed suit and went on to create a new “Phantom”. Compared with all these this time round you can call it a free-for-all to the extent of being scary....Director Shinbo was already totally satisfied with the ideas at the very initial stage, and there was almost no change even down to very small details in the story line. Even for those “re-take” bits they were not related to the central part of the story but because of the need to adjust to the length of the episodes. I don't think I had to do any fine-tuning to match what Shinbo wanted.
Q- You mean you were allowed almost all the freedom you wanted...?
UG – “Almost”, but it is like totally free for me. I could really do whatever I liked even to the extent that I did not think I could have written this screenplay in any other places.
Takayama – Were you asked with something like, there were so many action scenes that added to the cost of production so please cut down on those?
UG – On the contrary, I did not write any action scene. At the stage of screenplay there wasn't any monster design or background art, so all actions were only added after all the designs were completed. I wrote only the outline, like who talked to whom about what at where and had this battle, and I wrote down only the dialogues. So the action scenes I left everything to the storyboard-ists. At most I only came up with some ideas for the actions in the last 2 episodes. So when I finally saw the completed video I was also surprised – it had become this kind of action!! like that (lol) And let me put one thing straight, the fight scenes in Ep.11 was not from me. I did plan until the middle of it but I did not know it would end up that way. (symbv: now I really wonder what he means by this...)
Takahashi – What do you think when you compared the image in you when you handed the screenplay and the completed video?
UG – They are different things in a good sense. In Ep.1 and 2 there were talking scenes here and there but in the scene where Mami brought out a bunch of guns in the screenplay there was only one line “mass firing of musket guns” (lol). While there was not much conversation in the last battle, the final video was such a riot. Although I wrote it in parts following my design, they added double dose of explosives into each part (lol). On those places I was really helped by the anime staff.
Q – You said you did not define the contents of the battle scenes, but many watchers are saying “it is like this because it is from Urobuchi !!”
UG – I feel very ashamed whenever I heard that. (lol).... Perhaps the staff who drew the storyboard could actually read what I thought inside?! Like they thought “Make it like this and it will be very Urobuch-esque--” (lol)
Q – The battle scenes really got that “Urobuchi feel”...
UG – Well...Of course I am very happy to see that got done that way, but while I feel happy, I also got a feeling of being done in. Woah, they could really do me in this far, like that. And let me go back a bit, perhaps because I had already fulfilled everything that Shinbo asked for, the remaining concern was how to change it into video images. And if we talk about “being given a free hand” it seems it was not just me myself, when I asked around I found that Aoki-san also got a free hand, Inu-curry-san also seemed to have a free hand... It was like in a situation where you usually need to match the paces when you are going for a three-legged race but you suddenly find that you don't need to tie your leg with another person's. Cheating in a race (lol) Although everyone was running by themselves, somehow all the paces fit in well with each other...
Q – This sounds ideal. Usually things do not turn out like this.
UG – I really think that what kind of miracle had happened...