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Inside the music of the DAN DA DAN anime movie First Encounter with composer Kensuke Ushio and producer Aoi Hiroyuki

Speaking to Hiroyuki and Ushio at Anime NYC 2024, Popverse got a behind-the-scenes window into the making of the ghosts vs. anime film that predates the anime of the same name coming to Crunchyroll and Netflix

Features by Veronica Valencia, Popverse Senior Video Producer

Additional contributions by Grant DeArmitt

Published on Fri Sep 13 2024

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If you're a horror fan with trouble deciding between ghosts or aliens, boy do we have exciting news for you. DAN DA DAN: First Encounter, a compilation film consisting of the first three episodes of the anime of the same name, gives fright fans the opportunity to get two for the price of one, as the horrors faced by its plucky teenage protagonists are both out of this world and beyond this mortal plane. And as of Friday, September 13 (spooky, yeah?) the film is in select theaters across the US.

Dan Da Dan is the story of Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura, firm believers in different sides of the unexplainable. Momo bets Ken that ghosts are real and aliens are not, to which Ken responds by betting the opposite, and their wager turns into an adventure into the supernatural that shakes even their most extreme ideas of what reality can be.

Helping to bring Dan Da Dan to life were producer Aoi Hiroyuki and Kensuke Ushio, who created the series's music. Both of the creatives were at this year's Anime NYC promoting the upcoming series, and Popverse's own video producer Veronica Valencia was there to chat with them. Join her in getting a sneak preview into what promises to be one of the biggest animes this year as she hears how Hiroyuki and Ushio crafted the series.

Popverse: Hiroyuki-san, at what point do you begin working on the music for this series?

Aoi Hiroyuki: It really depends on the project. So if in a certain project, the creator or the staff say, 'This is who I want the composer to be,' then they have to offer really early, so that they could book the composer. Or else, you know, he or she wouldn't be available.

Sometimes there's a different project, where we would have to wait to decide until the script is done at least. Then we find a composer that would match the style of the project. So it really depends.

Luckily, I do get offers very early in the project sometimes. Like, there's a time when, like, the manga artist, who did the original story that the anime is based on, would say like, 'Oh, actually, I do prefer Mr. Ushio, so if you could get him?' Then I'm really lucky. They do call me in early then.

With Hakan Monogatari, I was called really early on. So while the script was being done, the music was also being done almost simultaneously. And that's a really nice experience, because then I get to really be involved in the whole animation creation process.

Ushio-san, what types of conversations would you have when it comes to creating the music for a series, or even music for specific characters?

Kensuke Ushio: I'm a little unique as a composer because when I get an offer for a project, I come up with a concept, then I create an image album, then I present it to the staff or the director of the project to say, 'This is what I'm thinking, how do you feel?' And then I talk with the director, I talk to the staff and then try to figure out where we go from there.

So it really depends on the project. Sometimes I'll be like, 'Should we make it like there's a theme of different characters?' Or if it's like a situational thing, like, 'OK, so do you want this kind of music when it's sad? This kind of music when it's happy?' So it really varies.

Hiroyuki: In usual meetings, this is how it goes. It's similar to what Ushio-San had said. Based on the sound director and then the director, the staff would really be like, 'OK, this is the kind of music that we're looking for,' and then we would ask of the composer to create in this direction. So it really shows like he's unique, but it shows that he's really passionate about each project.

Dan Da Dan has many genres. It's action, has some romance, it's also supernatural; that's a lot of different feelings. How do you approach composing pieces that's able to capture all of that, maybe in a single episode?

Ushio: The word 'capture' is really important. I really try to capture various genres of music because, you know, something from the occult or something like alien or UFO-related, they should have different sounds. I try to capture all the different genres and mix it up. Then I come up with something new.

I want to go back to the idea of the music being written at the same time as the script. Is it challenging if there's no picture? Do you reference the manga to see what that scene looks like?

Ushio: Actually, when I work on an anime series, there's almost always no art to reference. But, there are color settings; there's this whole color palette of the series. Or storyboards will be available. Personally, I like the color settings because then I create the music based on the colors that they're going to use. So that helps.

For film, yeah there is art ready. So then I can compose the art. But when it's a series, I like to say like, you know, film and series like creating music, right? It's very like ready to wear versus or couture, like, you know, it's just a completely different style of how I compose the music for.

I know you can't share many details, but is there a particular episode of Dan Da Dan you are most excited for fans to see?

Ushio: It's hard to answer. There's one scene where I worked with the orchestra people. It was really like film scoring. We were able to compose with the art available, so that's something.

In episode four, the battle scene is very energetic, classical; there's a lot of sampling of classic music. It's crazy and it's interesting. But then there's also party music here and there. For the classical one, like, if you're able to hold back your tears, please let me know. I watch it and I cry. It's very emotional.

Would you rather search for aliens or hunt for ghosts?

Ushio: Have you read Three-Body Problem novel? It's about aliens, and it's a pretty scary alien novel. But I'm also scared of ghosts. I don't watch any horror or anything. I was okay with aliens before Three-Body Problem, but now I'm scared of both. Instead of going to hunting or searching, I'll just stay home.

[Laughs]

So scared. When I get invited to, like, horror movie screenings, I say no.

DAN DA DAN: First Encounter is in select theaters now. The DAN DA DAN anime streams on Crunchyroll and Netflix October 3, 2024.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included...

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Veronica Valencia: Veronica Valencia is Popverse's Senior Video Producer. She has written for Crunchyroll, hosted the Anime Expo live stream, managed the English dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, and appeared on Maria Menounos’s Afterbuzz TV, where she hosted and produced multiple after-show discussion panels.