To celebrate STUDIO 4°C’s upcoming All You Need Is KIll adaptation, which aired at the Animation is Film Festival, Bucheon International Animation Film Festival, Leeds International Film Festiva, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, San Sebastian Fantasy Film Festival and Scotland Loves Animation Festival, we were given an incredibly special honour. The film’s director, Kenichiro Akimoto (Berserk: The Golden Age, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko) visited London where we were able to talk to him about bringing All You Need Is KIll to the big screen.
When tackling All You Need Is Kill was the decision to change the perspective from Keiji to Rita a natural decision?
All of the previous adaptations from the book, manga adaptation, and the Hollywood version with Tom Cruise, are all accomplished pieces of work in themselves, but Rita’s viewpoint is already mentioned within the book but we really thought about how it would feel to expand her viewpoint to tell the story from her perspective rather than Keiji’s. That would really make it different and original… and help bring it to the level of its predecessors while also keeping the core intact.
It was a really fun decision to take that approach and expand on our understanding of the world, because my first introduction to this story was the Tom Cruise movie and then the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. To be able to go through and see multiple iterations do it different has been incredibly interesting. How easy was it for you to figure out that unique angle both visually and narratively?
This really started from the character designs. We wanted to really represent their personality and uniquness through the visuals. So we had thought about who they are and how we can make the visuals representative of who they are as a person. But also, we wanted to get this film across the world to all different countries and regions, so we didn’t limit ourselves to a traditional japanese aesthetic in hopes of making it more accessible regardless of where you’re watching from.
Talking about the visuals, one of tbe things I loved the most was how the Mimics were created and drawn. They felt very floural in nature. They had this flowery presence instead of this monstrous appearance that we see in previous iterations. What was the reasoning behind this unique design?
So, this work really centres on the concept of life and death. There’s this repetition of life and death as well with the time loop. We see the repeated deaths many times, and I wanted to depict Rita rebelling against her inevitable repeated demise, and as you have seen… There are many cruelties that happen to her, but I wanted to depict that in a very colourful world and landscape. That’s where the flowers came from. This really vivid landscape. Something really cruel is happening in this vibrant landscape with these creatures that represent life. So we went for those extremely vivid colours and the rainbow colour scheme to counter the brutality and bring us back to this idea of life.
The suits they wear and the environment… It’s such a vibrant movie which almost contradicts what’s going on. There’s this fun parallel where you’ve got this repeated death cycle against the vivid environment. It was great to see such a different take where it felt like its own independent thing.
Thank you, that is wonderful to hear. It’s extremely… It means a lot because this is my directorial debut so while I was making this I wasn’t quite sure whether certain scenes worked or whether the concept I was pursuing was entertaining enough. So thank you for saying that.
Congratulations on your directorial debut. Going from an animator/storyboard artist to a director, how did you find that transition? Was it something you found fairly simple or was it an experience that taught you a great deal?
To answer your question whether it was an easy transition… The answer is no [laughs]. It was extremely challenging. I took on some directorial roles, for example I was a CG director, background scenery director for some of my other works that I have been involved in, but there was always the feature director who would actually oversee everything. They would be responsible for the entire product, so I was used to that format. However, for this, I realised that acting as the main feature director… There were a lot of challenges. You need to take on all of the responsibilites. One of the challenges I realised very early on was that the animators, who were all working on particular components, if they came up to me with something good but not exactly completely suitable or what I was looking for. I needed to come up with a judgement there and then. To say no. There was a need to be strong and ruthless in that sense. I did find it a challenge to say “no”. in some ways, part of me thought it would be faster and easier if I did it all myself, but I needed to get used to other people taking on various responsibilities for it all to work,
Looking at anime as this cultural and worldwide phenomenon, was that something that surprised you? Did you ever expect anime to become this big and influential especially here in the UK?
We were just talking about that actually before you arrived. Yes, I am rather surprised in the sense that anime has become so global and mainstream because animation has that appeal and power. There’s this potential in animation, whereas previously it was seen as something for children, or perhaps a certain group of people like… nerds. But it has become so much more accessible for all types of audiences. There was a shift. Perhaps with the emergence of multiple streaming platforms like Netflix, and even the pandemic as well. There’s definitely an increase in terms of numbers, but I think the reason it has become popular is because people are experiencing their own troubles, even struggling to fit in with the world, I myself have experienced that feeling of not fitting in, so I think anime provides a certain comfort and escape. Whether that’s a positive or negative reflection on society, I’m not sure. But animation has definitely provided that something that I needed.
When it comes to adaptation, especially a text that has been adapted before, how easy was it for you to find this balance between staying faithful to the source material and providing audiences with a fresh experience?
That was definitely one of the major challenges we faced with this film because the orignal book is well loved, so it was a big risk. It was a big risk to deviate from that, but if we were to make a decision to change anything… then we really need to come up with strong reasoning that we then established in the world, so we were very conscious of that. There were certain components that we knew would remain the same such as the repeated timeloops and the fact that the characters would have accumulated memory through each loop and death. However, we did spend a very long time doing an anaylsis on the sci-fi elements of this story. We actually hired a specific sci-fi director to take on this role, and we had researchers as well. We actually had a production period of around 4 years. The first 3 years were spent on the research and the pre-production, really looking into the script and structure.
There’s so much that the audience don’t know about when it comes to films and animation. We’re not always aware of how much time and effort goes into these things. For me, it adds an extra layer of appreciation, especially when I watch it again… Which I will. You have that foresight of knowing what went into this production. Is there a particular moment or sequence that really stands out to you during your experience?
This is a 3D animation, but we really wanted to retain and capture the filmic texture and quality in this film. I believe all the staff members involved had that ambition as well. We were all looking in the same direction, so in terms of a highlight… I can’t pinpoint a particular scene, but all of the scenes had the backing of the entire staff. We really wanted to create something, and we wanted to create movie in the filmic sense. On a side note… You might consider me a little sad, but there were many moments where I wanted to escape during this process. But all the staff members where incredibly talented and dedicated. They came up with really great shots and ideas, and when I saw them, I was like… I need to carry on. It was very encouraging to see how dedicated everyone was, and that definitely helped me.
Now that you’ve had a taste of what directing is like, is that something you wish to continue? And if so, is there a particular story you would like to adapt or do you perhaps want to pursue something original?
Yes, so… I have persevered after those moments of doubt, but now that the film is complete… I feel ready. I would love to do more films. Whether they’d be adaptations or originals, I would be interested in both. There aren’t many boundarties between the two because there are interesting elements in both. There have been many learning experiences, and there are many things that I would do differently. For those learnings to live and thrive, I would love to create something else in the future.
Check out the trailer below:
Synopsis
Set in the year 20XX, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL follows the story of Rita, a resourceful but isolated young woman volunteering to help rebuild Japan after the mysterious appearance of a massive alien flower known as “Darol.” When Darol unexpectedly erupts in a deadly event, unleashing monstrous creatures that decimate the population, Rita is caught in the destruction—and killed. But then she wakes up again. And again. Caught in an endless time loop, Rita must navigate the trauma and repetition of death until she crosses paths with Keiji, a shy young man trapped in the same cycle. Together, they fight to break free from the loop and find meaning in the chaos around them.
A UK release date for ALL YOU NEED IS KILL is currently unknown, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted when one arrives. In the meantime, we highly recommend reading Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s light novel which inspired this adaptation, as well as Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow. It’s a fantastic read.
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