OCTOBER 2005

October 6, 2005
Hello, this is Long Skirt.
A few nights ago, sleepy in the dead of night, I was printing a huge mount of material for an upcoming background art design meeting when I saw a most unexpected printout come out of the printer.
It read, "For reference: Beach Sunset Dinner Combo".
I must have made a mistake copying-and-pasting a title for one of the reference photos.
What's a dinner title printed by a daydreaming old man doing here? (tears)

October 7, 2005
Hello, this is OO.
Thank you for those of you who attended the Tokyo International Forum last Saturday. My concern was brushed away when I saw just the right number of visitors in the event venue.
Late tonight, there will be a preview program for Blood+. And tomorrow, the anticipated first episode.
It's been so fast and so slow at the same time to get here. It's a mixed feeling.
I feel like the show had already started on TV, since I participated in three promotional events prior to the first episode airing.
The ads, like the bus wraps and flags put up in the Shibuya Station Mall, would certainly increase the exposure, so try to watch out for them.
In any case, Blood+ will come to you by way of TV every week from now. Don't forget to tune in.
Lastly, thank you to the staff of Gundam Seed Destiny. You have done a great job this past year. Without your team's cooperation, the event at the International Forum could not have achieved as much as it did. I hope to pick up the passion you created with Gundam, and develop and keep it in good shape. Thank you guys.

October 13, 2005
Hello, this is Long Skirt.
Quite a while ago, Snow White wrote in her diary:
>N often drops by to see the Blood+ team. He is (as of now) the youngest producer in the anime industry.
He works energetically and oversees the production of the opening episode and some more episodes of Blood+.
He seems as though he's just casually dropping by, but there's more to it. He's actually mentoring his junior associates, Matty and Falcon, passing on the names of experienced key animators and animation directors as though he were the wise father teaching his sons the family secret.
During a chat after a serious discussion, Matty and N start to pick on each other with ad-lib banter. It's something one doesn't want to miss.

Example:
N: Hey, what was your name as a Sumo wrestler?
M: Osoreyama (Fearful Mountain).
N: What were you doing before that?
M: I was a wrestler in Mongolia.
N: What was your name as a wrestler then?
M: Primal.
Personally, I believe Osoreyama's Sumo stable was something like a sweatshop.

October 14, 2005
Hello, this is OO.
The first episode went on air last week.
It's been five years since I saw the first airing of an anime series while at work with my staff.
To tell you the truth, that was when I was working on an anime in the same time slot. At that time, I remember, many people congratulated me after my name appeared in the credits.
In Blood+, my name appears at the opening of the show. I can't get used to this. I guess I should be doing some quality work to be worthy of the placement I got in the credits. I promise I will finish 50 episodes in good standing. Don't miss the next episode.

October 20, 2005
Hello. This is Long Skirt again.
It is autumn and a season of much food and drink. But lately, I'm too busy that I can't eat at mealtime. So I am constantly hungry.
The other day, I went stumbling, tottering into the washroom. When I saw an atlas of the world right in front of where I sat down, I thought, well, there's a country called "Ham". I thought, "I must be really tired" and I looked at it again. It was "Haiti", not "Ham". To a pair of hungry eyes, an "I" and a "T" with another "I" all squeezed together looked like an "M".

Oh, I am becoming corrupted. (tears)

October 21, 2005
Hello, this is OO.
While Episode 3 will be airing this week, we're working on the new version of the opening back at the studio. I can't say much about it yet, but the music is super, as always. So don't miss it when it comes out.
As you might already know, Blood+ is a road movie. The location changes as the episode progresses. So at the studio, the scriptwriter would be writing about a certain location, while the storyboard team works on another location, and the previewing team might be looking at some other location. I've got to readjust my mind for each section. I sort of get the feel of traveling all over the place with the characters throughout the months, and see them mature as they move on. Please enjoy the next show.

October 27, 2005
Hello, this is Long Skirt.
At a character design meeting the other day, the director asked us to design a housewife dress. When you think of it, it is kind of difficult. The character designer and the director started to draw dresses and mumble this and that.
After a while, they happened to gaze at my outfit and both of them said, "Long Skirt's wearing exactly what we want." Well, excuse me, I don't think I'm married yet...

Note: This design was abandoned later. (tears)

October 28, 2005
Hello, it's OO. This Sunday, October 30, at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival, they will hold an event called "Production I.G Special" as a part of the "animecs T!FF - T!FF Anime CG Festival". They will be showing the special edited version of the Blood+. There will be stage appearances of Director Junichi Fujisaku and Saya voice actress Eri Kitamura, as well as all sorts things. In fact, the special edition is not complete yet. So those of you who will be there are going to watch a "hot out of oven" film. I am serious. It's only two days away and I am thrilled ? nope, I am definitely worried.