#INTERVIEW: Seasoned Anime Designer Shigeto Koyama and Manga Author Kakeru Kakemaru Dig into Ground Divers!
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“INTERVIEW: Seasoned Anime Designer Shigeto Koyama and Manga Author Kakeru Kakemaru Dig into Ground Divers!”
Ground Divers! is a new action-puzzler that brings fast-paced digging action to Nintendo Switch, and the designs that fuel Arc System Works’s latest effort come from none other than famed mecha designer Shigeto Koyama — known for work ranging from designs for the Evangelion films to Gunbuster 2: Diebuster, PROMARE, DARLING in the FRANXX and many more — and manga author Kakeru Kakemaru. While taking a break from digging our way through the game itself, we had an opportunity to speak with the artists that brought it to life to learn all about how they got involved, the collaborative process and more.
Shigeto Koyama worked on Ground Divers! as the design lead of main character Tsuruhashi and supervisor for overall character design, and Kakeru Kakemaru handled character designs. Read on to see what they had to say about the experience.
For Koyama-san and Kakemaru-san, can you tell us about how you got involved in the Ground Divers! project?
Shigeto Koyama: I was asked to join after I was contacted by Mr. Ryosuke Kodani (Ground Divers! producer) through Arc System Works’ Toshimichi Mori (producer/creator of the BlazBlue series). I was originally tasked with designing all the characters, but I was in charge of the protagonist robot Tsuruhashi, the mechas and the character concepts, so I asked my favorite manga author, Kakeru Kakemaru, to help design and illustrate the humanoid characters.
Kakeru Kakemaru: I joined after getting a call from Mr. Koyama. Mr. Koyama reads my manga and always talks with me on Twitter and at events, so that was how I was approached by him.
Tsuruhashi design concept by Shigeto Koyama
The designs for Tsuruhashi and the rest of the Ground Divers! cast are very unique. What were some of the inspirations behind them?
Shigeto Koyama: Since the Tsuruhashi character will be displayed on the Switch, I kept in mind that it needed to be an iconic design that is still recognizable when small. As for the look, it was based on the concept of "digging" like for civil engineering work, but for this project the word "DIVER" is meant for diving deep into the ground. That is to say, we were conscious of the ideas of "clean" and "cute" while creating the image of something white, round and smooth like a deep-sea submersible.
Kakeru Kakemaru: The simple, clean clothing comes from the look of divers' suits and space suits. The patterning is taken from hazard markings. This was all decided during a meeting with the design team. I tried to include parts of characters’ hairstyles and colors that were not very realistic, but gave a sense of outer space and other worlds. President Fujiyama’s appearance is inspired by the CEO of Arc System Works, Mr. Kidooka.
How did the collaboration process work between you and the rest of the development team?
Shigeto Koyama: Working with Mr. Kodani, Mr. Maeda (director of development), and everyone at Arc System Works, I worked to solidify the concept, and while Mr. Kakemaru designed the characters, I gave directions on the look, coloring, and other design aspects.
Kakeru Kakemaru: We had video chats a number of times, but our back-and-forth on the production and responses was basically done over text.
Character designs by Kakeru Kakemaru
How about yourselves? With Koyama-san on mecha designs and Kakemaru-san on character designs, did the two of you consult with one another closely on designs or were they mostly separate workflows?
Shigeto Koyama: Although we decided on the concept early on, I conferred with Mr. Kakemaru during the character design process, discussing in detail the various facial expressions and balance.
Kakeru Kakemaru: After the meeting with the design team, Mr. Koyama supervised me as I proceeded with the character designs. (Mr. Koyama is also in charge of supervising character designs). As for the mecha designs, I was not involved.
I believe Koyama-san previously did some designs for No More Heroes. Beyond that, what have your past experiences been in designing characters or mecha for games, and how do you find it differs, if at all, from your usual work in anime (Koyama-san) and manga (Kakemaru-san)?
Shigeto Koyama: In the case of animation, the design will change depending on whether the animation is hand-drawn or 3D animated, so the design for games with different outputs will change in the same way. This time, the design needed to be small enough to be displayed on the Switch screen, but also express the characters as illustrations, so I consciously changed this aspect of the design from previous works I’ve done.
Kakeru Kakemaru: Manga has a lot of close-ups, so the characterization of facial expressions is very important. In video games, however, the characters are expressed in smaller sizes or as dots, so we were conscious of giving a sense of character through silhouettes and color.
Are there any characters you created for the game that you're particularly fond of?
Shigeto Koyama: Naturally I'm fond of Tsuruhashi and the '60s-era space age design of Bipp, but Mr. Kakemaru's depiction of the doctor hits right to my heart.
Kakeru Kakemaru: Kadel. I was able to capture his look right from the start, and because I also think he best expresses my own characteristics. Also, Edge is a character type I don't usually draw, but I like him because he fits in surprisingly well.
In general, what is the aspect of designing characters and/or mecha that you enjoy the most?
Shigeto Koyama: All said and done, designs are based on a concept, so it’s fun working in a team to determine that concept. I think this is the best part of work as a group, where we all put out our ideas and give shape to our objectives.
Kakeru Kakemaru: This may seem like a contradiction to my previous answer, but the most fun part is changing the design to make it better and better. If there is room for refinement from the initial image, the character is gradually revealed in each pass, and it becomes fun like solving a puzzle where your prize is getting to meet somebody new.
Since we're on the topic of games, do either of you play games in your free time, and if so, do you have any personal favorites?
Shigeto Koyama: As for what I play on mobile, I play stuff like puzzle games every day to kind of turn my brain off (lol). After that… recently Fortnite has become a daily routine for me, playing with my friend's kids who are in elementary and junior high school. But I'm such an old man now that I can't keep up with these kids' gaming skills! (lol).
Kakeru Kakemaru: I haven't touched it much recently, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons was pretty fun. I play Apex Legends, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mahjong Soul with my friends. I also enjoy playing Ground Divers!.
Ground Divers! is now available digitally on Nintendo Switch.
Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine and the Editor-in-Chief of Sci Fi Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.
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