Mangaka Inio Asano joined the cast and crew for the completion screening and stage greeting of the Dead Dead Demon’s De De De De Destruction anime film held on Feb 26, 2024, in Tokyo. During the event, Asano got candid on his involvement in every aspect of of the anime’s production.

He started off by revealing the details of when the discussion about anime adaptation came up. Asano felt that if he missed the opportunity of letting Dead Dead Demon’s De De De De Destruction get an anime adaptation, he would never be involved in an anime ever.

So the author said that he jumped at this opportunity.

“The proposal came about five or six years ago, maybe even earlier. I’ve been drawing manga for over 20 years, but I’m a twisted person, so many of my original works are niche. Among them, ‘De De De’ feels relatively mainstream, with straightforward content, so if I turned down the anime adaptation here, I thought I would never be involved in anime in my life. So I immediately replied, ‘Please.’“

One of the most significant aspects of Asano’s involvement in the anime adaptation was the casting process, including auditions for key roles.

Regarding the casting of Ano as Ouran, who is making her voice acting debut in this work, Asano described how her audition immediately stood out, transforming the atmosphere of the set and confirming her suitability for the role.

“The casting started from Ouran‘s auditions, and Ano-chan was one of the participants. When we tested Ano-chan, there was a feeling that the atmosphere on the set changed dramatically, so in my mind, it was confirmed.“

Additionally, Asano shared his decision-making process for casting Lilas Ikuta as Kadode Koyama, emphasizing the importance of finding a balance alongside Ano’s portrayal of Ouran. The producer suggested Ikuta’s name, which Asano initially hadn’t considered, but ultimately accepted as the ideal combination for the characters.

“Kadode is an ordinary girl, so at first, I didn’t think the selection would be that difficult, but I stumbled upon who would be a good balance alongside Ano-chan. Among them, the producer suggested Ikuta-san’s name. It was an idea that I never had, but when I was actually told it, I couldn’t think of a better combination. I offered it with the disclaimer that the original author is pleading, and she accepted it willingly.“

Asano also mentioned that he observed the dubbing sessions and checked all audio to maintain the integrity of the performances.

Over the span of 5 to 6 years, he has dedicated himself to the animation project, expecting a smooth transition from manga to screen. However, he quickly realized the intricate nature of the relationship between the original author and the visual adaptation.

Initially hoping for minimal involvement, Asano found himself immersed in various aspects of production, including concept development, scriptwriting, casting, dubbing, and music composition.

“I’ve been working on animation for five or six years now, but the relationship between the original author and the filmmakers is a difficult one. I thought it would be nice if I could do it without any contact, but when I opened the door, I found myself involved in everything from concept meetings, script meetings, casting meetings, dubbing, songs, and everything. In fact, it is the drawing part of the animation production that is worked on until the very end. It’s quite a tough situation, and since I’m also an illustrator, I had to think about how much involvement was appropriate.“

Another aspect Asano addressed was the extensive retake process involved in ensuring the anime’s quality. He disclosed that for the first chapter alone, he requested approximately 100 to 200 retakes.

Despite the completion screening, he revealed that the work is still ongoing, with the production team tirelessly striving for perfection.

“We’re still in production, but the production team has been working extremely hard. I’ve done everything I can. In fact, I’m still doing it. Please keep in mind this situation, and if you could watch it later, I would appreciate it.”

Furthermore, the author concluded with, “Just one more thing. Adapting a manga into visuals is really something. But this is a festival. So please, everyone, enjoy and go home. Thank you very much for today.“

The first part of Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction film will release on March 22, 2024, and the second part on April 19, 2024.

Cast includes:

• YOASOBI’s Lilas Ikuta as Kadode Koyama
• ano as Ouran Nakagawa
• Atsumi Tanezaki as Kiho Kurihara
• Miyuri Shimabukuro as Ai Demoto
• Saeko Ooki as Rin Hirama
• Azumi Waki as Futaba Takemoto
• Ryoko Shiraishi as Makoto Tainuma
• Miyu Irino as Keita Oba
• Kouki Uchiyama as Kenichi Kohiruimaki
• Taito Ban as Naoki Watarase
• Junichi Suwabe as Hiroshi Nakagawa
• Kenjiro Tsuda as Nobuo Koyama

Tomoyuki Kurokawa will be directing the films, with Reiko Yoshida in charge of scripts. Nobutake Ito will serve as character designer and chief animation director, and Mika Nishimura as the art director. Taro Umebayashi will compose music.

As previously revealed, Production +h. will be producing the anime films. This will be the first ever anime adaptation of Inio Asano’s works.

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Inio Asano. It was serialized in Shogakukan’s seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from April 2014 to February 2022, with its chapters collected in 12 tankōbon volumes. In North America, Viz Media licensed the manga for English release.

By March 2022, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction had over 3 million copies in circulation. In 2021, the manga won the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category, as well as the Excellence Award of the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2022.

Source: Comic Natalie