Shinji Aramaki PR Interview for Halo Legends

Warner Bros. has sent out a press release detailing the forthcoming Halo Legends anthology and it includes an interview with Appleseed director Shinji Aramaki, who also directed “The Package” in the anthology. Halo Legends will be released on February 16th on Download to Own services, DVD and Blu-Ray.

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Continue Reading for the interview, conducted by Warner Bros. PR

Question:
How does Halo lend itself to anime/animation?

Aramaki:
Halo belongs to the battle-action genre as well as to Sci-Fi and most of its visual scenes look as exciting as the images from Sci-Fi illustration library. This makes the property suit to Anime/animation quite well. One more point why I think Halo suits Anime is that it is a story of a super hero named Master Chief in a vast background of Galaxy Wars which seems to be a grand epic.

Question:
What was the inspiration for your artistic vision in your episode of Halo legends?

Aramaki:
Master Chief is a super hero who is invincible on the ground battle. My utmost motivation in creating my episode is to see Master Chief also invincible in the aerospace.

Question:
Were there any particular images within the Halo realm that helped shape or drive your creative vision?

Aramaki:
The design of Master Chief itself inspires me the most.

Question:
Who were the other key individuals that brought this episode to life?

Aramaki:
Mr. Dai Sato, the script writer of The Package, is a guy who has a vast knowledge about Sci-Fi and videogames and also has an edgy creativity. I have wanted to have an opportunity to work with him for a long time.

Mr. Atsushi Takeuchi, who has designed the ONI stealth ship, is the only mecha designer whom I can rely on to ask to design things which I cannot design. When I am in a trouble, he can always help me and the result is more than I expect.

Question:
What did you set out to accomplish in this episode, and why do you think you achieved or exceeded your goals?

Aramaki:
I always wanted to make my own episode a non-stop action movie with a considerable density. For this purpose, Master Chief and his several colleagues are the most suitable heroes/heroin.

I owe the complete realization of my visions to the continuous efforts and the wonderful talent of the creative staff at Casio Entertainment, Inc. – and especially to Mr.Teruaki Shiraishi, CG Director of the episode. He is quite an enthusiast of Halo games and contributed a lot in increasing the quality of the episode especially in recreating the scenes from the videogames.

Question:
How important was having Halo gaming experience
to bringing the world to life in anime?

Aramaki:
Since a long time before I became involved in this project, I have been a Halo player. After I got involved, I have played all versions many times for the purpose of knowing the details of which I was not sure, and I have noticed that there have been so many discoveries even in the replay.

Question:
Did you include any hidden images or behind-the-scenes “Easter eggs” within your episode for the devout Halo fans?

Aramaki:
The viewers will see other Spartans than Master Chief and a certain important character (you’ll have to watch and see). The viewers will find out that a machine gun turret can come out from a very unexpected place. I hope that everyone will enjoy it.