First of all, I want to deeply thank Mr. Inagaki from Yostar Pictures, Mr. Kimura from ANIPLEX, who both worked so hard to make an anime like this possible, and above all, Director Nakajima, who has been fighting through it all with his stomach in knots more than anyone else (and still is).
By the time I had finished writing all the scripts and sat down once again to face Director Nakajima, the direction we were both looking toward was live-action film.
Godard, Kubrick, Wes Anderson. We talked about what we loved in various filmmakers, and for me, the spirit underlying this work ultimately settled on A Clockwork Orange. Director Nakajima had handled part of the Blue Archive anime, and in that section he was very clearly trying to do “cinema.” More recently, maybe the director of Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu. is doing something similar too. There are people out there trying to make film inside animation.
This work is filled with youth, and with the violence that bursts out because of that youth.
In A Clockwork Orange, “ultra-violence” is shown without holding anything back, and because Kubrick confronted violence itself with complete sincerity, it became a dangerous film that sparked endless debate. That can only mean it treated its sensitive themes as equals, and that is exactly why it continues to be loved across time.
What I felt I had to do was write, to the end and without flinching, the modern themes only I could handle: drugs, selling sexuality, the internet that contains all of that, and by extension, human beings themselves. So whenever I see words like “honest” or “raw” in the staff’s comments on this project, it makes me happy. It means that my no-guard style—though that’s how I write everything, whether fiction or essays—was carried out even at anime scale, and that’s exactly why this strange, one-of-a-kind world was able to exist.
A work that dares to depict, in anime form, a kind of reality too unsettling to feel safe. Is that a forbidden move in this era? It is too pure. Too honest. Once you’ve seen it, there’s no escaping it. This work tests a burden and resolve that will stay with you forever. It can no longer be contained by anime alone— this is literature. Now that I’ve encountered this level of intensity, I want to see it through to the very end with the strongest support I can offer. Toru Kawakatsu Representative, Petit Depotto
And so, the pages of the story begin to turn.
Kache.
Within this work, she’s the one closest to an ordinary person.
Long time no see — uniform design.
Actually, up until now, when I worked with Ohisashiburi on character designs, we had never used more than two hair colors. So I thought, this is the moment, and entrusted that role to her. Half-and-half, because she’s still just a little immature.
The reason we asked Nagase-san to voice her was because her performance wasn’t “anime acting,” but something more actor-like: low, grounded, and the sort of voice you could listen to forever. And then, not long after she got the role, Nagase-san started achieving one huge success after another. It really made me realize that even back then, everyone must already have been thinking, Nagase-san is incredible.
Thinking about the classical pieces for the soundtrack, with respect for Kubrick in mind, was an incredibly fun process. Playing music I love over scenes I love — what a thrilling opportunity that is. I especially love the way the music is used after Kache enters the shop in Part A. That was DEDE-san’s work as composer!
After the game’s release, I published a novel.
In my own Spider, the protagonist isn’t KAngel, but an ordinary female college student. It’s about a community of university-age internet users, seen through the eyes of someone with no particular identity — sour and gloomy, or maybe just painfully young; petty and immature, but pure too.
It’s also a sublimation of my own frustration.
The years when I came to Tokyo full of confidence, got battered around by social media, envied everything, and kept struggling as one of the “have-nots.” Resentment toward the world is the foundation of my thinking. This work, too, is carved full of various angers. Compared to a sparkling modern star like a streamer, Kache is just a chick who still hasn’t broken out of her shell, selling off her youth cheaply to make a little money.
Hama-san, who did the cover design for Spider, is also handling many of the designs for this NEEDY anime!
KAngel, as seen from someone like her.
I was deeply moved by the director’s storyboard choice to stage that contrast through split screens. Producer Inagaki said the storyboards for episode 1 were everything, and he was right: the overall completeness and tonal control of episode 1’s boards pulled along every episode that came after. I struggled plenty when writing the script, but I can only imagine the director’s burden in turning it into images. Thanks to that, even with all the bias of an insider, I genuinely love how interesting episode 1 turned out. This really is a good anime.
The director, and the people who adapted my script into a 24-minute episode structure themselves (they’re individually credited for script work in the ED), all cared so much about my words that they even read through all my note posts. Combined with their French-film taste, they use on-screen text constantly. That’s another place where Director Nakajima’s sharp sense really shines.
The very first completed background art we got was Karamazov’s Mondrian-inspired room and that lavish carousel, and that was the moment I became certain this anime would succeed. I’m overwhelmed by the pleasure of seeing my inner landscapes take shape beyond words, becoming something solid and visible.
Selling off memories and sublimating them into a work.
Without a doubt, my entire thirty years are packed into this piece.
Places I walked through. Furniture I stared at. Books I devoured. Films that moved me.
Flowers. Colors.
Since we had the chance, I asked the person whose voice I truly believe is the coolest in the world. His voice was so unbelievably good that I kept being amazed the entire time during recording. Thank you so much. I love this character.
Midorikawa-san...
When I imagine a “cool voice,” the very first image that comes to mind is always Heero Yuy. And if we’re talking cool machines, then of course it’s Wing Gundam Zero Custom.
Snow White
The way the interviewer gets more and more excited under the influence of KAngel’s words was ad-libbed by Saki Fujita. It’s so good. Because Kache is there as the ordinary-person viewpoint, KAngel is already popular here, just like in the novel version. I didn’t want to do the exact same thing as the game, so I skipped over the whole “process” in episode 1. The interview scene around there is probably my favorite part — it has the most fairy-tale-like feeling.
By the way, this work is filled with Marilyn Manson references. How many of them did you spot in episode 1? Please go watch the masterpiece Bowling for Columbine.
During recording, there was a moment where the clown ad-libbed, “My balls—!!!” and it made me laugh so hard because it came out of nowhere like s.CRY.ed. But it was just too funny, so it didn’t make it into the aired version. It would’ve stolen the whole scene. Great parody, though.
After episode 1 was finished, a friend gave the perfect impression: “It ended without anyone meeting anyone.”
Exactly. No boy-meets-girl, no sign of anyone’s life turning around. That’s how episode 1 ends. It was unconscious on my part. Everyone is just facing upward, muttering whatever they want toward the sky. The fact that I produce that by instinct made me realize that this lack of connection is one of my core traits. And seeing it take shape in animation made me think: this is basically an “autism-experience movie.” This is what my brain feels like every second, muttering away endlessly, and by turning that directly into writing, I’m able to post essays every day.
In every possible sense, episode 1 is self-indulgent.
And I love it.
So then, how exactly will the fates of these selfish girls begin to cross?
The “Killer Queen” in the title is, of course, Queen.
It’s my favorite Queen song. In the music video, Freddie has this dangerous, mysterious quality where the boundary between man and woman still feels blurred and melting, and I can’t get enough of it.
And the end card is by OMOCAT!
From the moment I asked, I knew absolutely that she had to close out episode 1. I was already overexcited just exchanging messages across countries.
Thank you, OMOCAT! I LOVE YOU, OMOCAT!
That was anime episode 1!
Inside me, there is always this boiling swirl of two things at once: resentment toward a society that mocks the self who could never become anyone, and despair toward the masses who keep hammering down the nails that stick out and delight in the execution.
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