Q&A with Goodbye, Don Glees’ Atsuko Ishizuka

Since joining Madhouse in 2004, Atsuko Ishizuka has served as animator, storyboard artist, and director for notable works such as No Game No Life, A Place Further than the Universe. With the release of Goodbye, Don Glees! (available on stream video now and on physical media on December 27^th, 2022) Ishizuka directs her first original anime film. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Ishikuza about the process.

Tech-Gaming: Madhouse has a loyal following, with many fans appreciating the studio’s meticulous attention to detail. What are some aspects of working at the studio that might be remarkable or surprising to fans who might not hear much about the internal processes?

Atsuko Ishizuka: Even after the digitalization of animation, the process of drawing each frame by hand one by one hasn’t changed. We are continuing this endless work everyday. This is why the support from our fans truly encourages us.

T-G: Not only did you direct Goodbye, Don Glees! but you also wrote the screenplay. How did the concept for the film come about?

Ishizuka: I wanted to do a coming-of-age piece from the beginning when we started this original animation project. We have a lot of young audiences, and this theme was also something I was expected to deliver. Youth growing up is one of my favorite genres, it was rather naturally and organically decided.

T-G: You also directed A Place Further than the Universe, which also touches on some similar themes. The road trip seems to be a great plot for exploring friendship and even some existential issues, isn’t it?

Ishizuka: Road trips might not be what is necessary for our real lives in order to gain identity or friendship. However, when we create a story of a group of youth growing up by experiencing encounters and discoveries and try to show it within a limited amount of time, a road trip was what was chosen. A trip to an unknown destination sounds very romantic too. People usually tend to fear the unknown. But strangely, at the same time, we want to see what scares us too. I think that might be what we call curiosity. When you feel scared of an unknown world, please consider it as your curiosity. That might make you feel like making a fresh start and taking a new step forward.

T-G: Toto’s ambitions push him toward new experiences in the city, while Roma is chastised by his peers for his connection to the land and tradition. What makes tensions between the urban and the agrarian so stimulating?

Ishizuka: I think there actually isn’t any tension between metropolitan and agrarian areas. Agrarian people support the lives of metropolitan cities. But at the same time, city people also support agrarian people’s lives. They support each other and I think that’s admirable. However, then why does Roma get humiliated by his classmates? The cities where a lot of people gather, and different cultures meet are unknown worlds for kids who only know a small world consisting of only family members. Longing for new worlds but having no courage to go to one. Just wanting to hold on to the everyday life that they already know. Many of us just focus on the courage not being enough and mock, I think.

T-G: In the film, photography brings people together, whether it’s the Don Glees collaborating to capture the beauty of fireworks or Roma and Tivoli’s snapshots. In what ways does animation unite us?

Ishizuka: People have the ability to be moved (inspired) by what they feel by using our 5 senses. We can also share that excitement with someone else by relating to the person. By looking at a beautiful picture, by knowing a touching story, and sharing the excitement with others. Animation is one of the things that gives amazing experiences like that.

T-G: Goodbye, Don Glees! is quite an achievement, both technically and emotionally. What was the most difficult part of the entire filmmaking process?

Ishizuka: All of them! Coming up with the story, making it into pictures, then making them into visuals, then creating sound… It’s truly creating something out of nothing.

T-G: Throughout the film, I kept thinking about the kaze no denwa (wind phone) in Ōtsuchi. The image of an antiquated phone booth in the middle of a picturesque area is striking. Was this an influence?

Ishizuka: To tell you the truth, I didn’t know about the phone booth in Oduchi when I first came up with the idea of a phone booth. As I furthered my research into Island, I found the red phone booth in the wild. That’s where I got the idea of a phone that’s in the brutal wild nature being connected to someone… From there I expanded the story.

T-G: Did the pandemic affect production? 

Ishizuka: The fact I couldn’t go to Iceland was the negative impact caused by the pandemic. I felt that Iceland is not only beautiful but has the horror of wild nature that easily takes away lives. That’s why I wanted to actually go there to touch that brutality. And I wanted to stop by New York and see the opposite of wild nature where the energy of people is condensed in the air in the city. Traveling from Japan to the U.S. via Iceland would make me fly the northern half of the globe. I wish I could have an adventure like that.

T-G: Out of all your efforts in animation, which works are your proudest of?

Ishizuka: I know you don’t want this answer, but I have to say all of them! All the works we created belong to all the staff who contributed and the fans who loved them. And from now on, every time we create something, the work I feel most proud of keeps adding. Isn’t this an amazing job?

T-G: You’ve now created serialized television and theatrical films? Do you prefer one medium more than the other?

Ishizuka: It’s hard to pick one over another because they each have their unique charms. However, it’s not whether I like it or not, but it certainly is more difficult to work on films than series, personally. Especially, the original movies are particularly hard. But that’s also why it’s rewarding to work on it too

T-G: The film reminds us to self-actualize, to not give up on our ambitions. What is your “treasure”?  

Ishizuka: The existence of the people who make us feel there’s a light at the end of the tunnel even under terrible circumstances. That’s the fans around the world. That’s also the family who support us through the process from close by. I think because we feel the existence of those treasures in life, it makes it possible for us to pursue self-actualization without being afraid.

T-G: For any budding artists considering pursuing a career in animation, what advice can you give them?

Ishizuka: The tip to keep making animation is to keep enjoying it! One of the roles that anime has is to entertain people. So why not make one? Please find as many joys as possible in everyday life. And please nourish the creativity and energy. That’s what we want to do too.

Tech-Gaming would like to thank Atsuko Ishizuka and the GKIDS team for facilitating this interview.