(MINI UPDATE 4/19: The Vending Machines, Part 3 - Drinks, Anyone?) Abandoned with the Hiccups

[Pixel]

This is part of what came in the EMS delivery Monday.

I've been trying to figure out how to do this. You see, normally I only deal with at the most two or three sketches at a time. I can handle that fairly well.

This however, is a bit different.

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Azumanga Daioh
Episode 2 - Osaka's Day
[Full Douga] Cut 135 (approx.) - Genga/(Yellow) Shuusei Set (Included With Douga)
Approximate Runtime Location Start (00:13:43:05)


Typically, I'd start with a particular sketch or frame from production, but I've never dealt with raw material spanning this much runtime before, so I included a link to a video for some context. I also decribe the context a bit more in-depth below.

Video for context in action. NOTE: Cut occurs right after Osaka spills the juice on the ground.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HMaB3S ... HVvwI/view

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Background and Reasoning

I considered buying a full douga cut of Azu for a long time. I took several factors into account on deciding which, such as (not necessarily in or of priority).

Number of characters shown during cut.
Characters I didn't currently have.
Balance of distribution of dialogue (i.e. how much time each character speaks)
Total number of sheets.

I had a nice Osaka sketch, and a pretty good Yomi sketch set. Yomi also appears in the former, while Chiyo makes an rather minimal appearance in the latter. What I did NOT have however, was a sketch or sketches with Tomo in it. What made me finally decide to get this particular cut was Tomo's presence, combined with most of the remaining stars each being visible (and audible) somewhere in the cut. Also, I love vending machines.

Scene Context

For context, I will go a few scenes back. Osaka contracts a bad case of the hiccups, presumably because she ate something spicy. Chiyo, Tomo, and Yomi all take turns suggesting potential remedies, with Tomo dutifully assisting Osaka in trying them. From drinking water, to stopping up Osaka's nose and ears while holding her breath (a combination of two remedies), to [EDIT: drinking from a cup balanced on chopsticks], none of these methods work.

In this cut, Tomo and Yomi decide music class is shortly to begin, so they casually walk out of the shot. As they do, Chiyo and Osaka become visible behind them. Chiyo looks nervously at them, then back at Osaka. Reluctantly, she runs out of the shot herself, leaving poor Osaka to suffer through the hiccups for a few more scenes.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I have the complete cut, at least the later stages anyway, including the full set of douga. I did not get any layouts or mint green shuusei. The seller never mentioned those specifically, so no harm no foul there. I didn't find anything telling me which cut this is, so I counted them from the end of the intro and made a rough guess.

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E-Layer = Tomo (Left), Yomi (Right)

Tomo and Yomi walk rightward-forward, and out of the shot. As they leave, Yomi chimes in "Sugi ongaku da na. Hayakuko." ("I think next up is music class. Better hurry.") The "Hayakuko." sounds very different from the rest of the sentence. I haven't figured out the intended meaning of the tone shift yet.

Tomo follows up with "Da na."(Yeah, I think you're right.") Tomo leaving the shot ends the E layer for this cut, I think.

E-NO, with detailed Note

I'm not really sure exactly what the note means, but I'm guessing it's talking about their hair.



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E3 genga, with note concerning Yomi.

This note appears to say よみ／中セルフ (Yomi/naka serufu) ("inside self" I don't know what is being said here.) Hiragana for "Yomi" are use instead of the kanji for "Koyomi", as explained for the E25, C7 sketch set.



E3 Shuusei (Yellow)

I've seen these called "shuusei" (corrections), in addition to the mint green ones. Only yellow ones came in this set. What is the difference between these and the mint green ones?



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E5 Genga, Same note as E3.



E5 Shuusei



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E7 Genga, with note concerning Tomo.

I can't tell if this is the same note as above Yomi or not. It only shows up just now above Tomo. Tomo's name is also written in hiragana, and it does have a kanji character associated with it. I have yet to see Tomo's name used in kanji form in production notes though.



E7 Shuusei



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B-Layer = Osaka

Technically, Chiyo should probably be next, but I want to deal with Osaka first because I screwed up pretty good trying to photograph the shuusei.

B2END Genga, with notes and chart

The scene ends with poor Osaka left by herself to let out one last hiccup.

This time, the note appears to be セルフ中０ (Serufu naka 0). I want to think the chart and the circle is guiding the animators on the placement of Chiyo's mouth, which is on the D layer I think. But I thought B2 was the last keyframe of the cut, seconds after Chiyo was clear the screen.

Maybe what looks like "fu" in katakana is actually the number 7 ("cel 7", "Inside cel 7" in the E-Layer genga) I'm still not sure what that means.



B2END Shuusei, with unfortunate accident

I'm really unhappy with myself over this one. The room I was in got warm on me, and a drop of sweat got on this shuusei. I tried to get it away from the stack before it could do further damage. I can hear Tomo yelling in my head "Baka! Baka!" over and over. (She actually does that in Ep 12 by the way, and it is every bit as abrasive and obnoxious as you'd expect.)



I went and grabbed a hair dryer, and set it on low. Holding the paper down, I carefully dried it out.



The expression on Osaka's face pretty much matches how I feel about the whole incident. Somehow I can't keep from messing up when I handle this stuff

There's more genga than this, including Chiyo-chan on C-Layer. I've got so much listed already I can't see doing it all at once.

How do these yellow sheets work? Are they much later in the process than the mint green ones? My understanding is both are called shuusei. Did I handle the situation with the B2 shuusei correctly?

What does a sequence number like "Eの" mean? I've seen it several places, not just Azumanga Daioh.

Was the hair dryer a mistake?

You can see the edges have been roughed up a bit along the way, especially the top right. How should I go about properly storing all of this?

[jiangdc]

Nice collection
Eの----》E1 with a circle since 1 is always key frame.
Maybe you can try to make a gif with this sequence. You should be able to see the walking animation

[Pixel]

Nice collection
Eの----》E1 with a circle since 1 is always key frame.

Ah yes, that makes sense. It looked like a hastily drawn Japanese "no" though, so you can see my confusion.

Maybe you can try to make a gif with this sequence. You should be able to see the walking animation

As to that, I'm thinking about how I want to present the douga. Scanning them all in would be quite a task. I wish I had a better scanner, or at least one with a bigger platen. It is difficult to find a consumer grade scanner with platen bigger than legal size (8 1/2"x14", not big enough in the shorter dimension for sketches or cels.)

[jiangdc]

Nice collection
Eの----》E1 with a circle since 1 is always key frame.

Ah yes, that makes sense. It looked like a hastily drawn Japanese "no" though, so you can see my confusion.

Maybe you can try to make a gif with this sequence. You should be able to see the walking animation

As to that, I'm thinking about how I want to present the douga. Scanning them all in would be quite a task. I wish I had a better scanner, or at least one with a bigger platen. It is difficult to find a consumer grade scanner with platen bigger than legal size (8 1/2"x14", not big enough in the shorter dimension for sketches or cels.)

I use scanners in the university I go to. You may also consider public scanner

[Pixel]

I hope everyone's Good Friday has been pleasant.

As to the scanner solution, I will have to give that further thought. I'm a little leery of taking a stack of "one-of-a-kind" animation papers out and about.

Continuing the presentation, we have Chiyo-chan at the plate. Game 2 of the series, Inning 135 or so. 2 runs all and 1 on second. I have no idea where I was going with that metaphor, but I understand that many Japanese really enjoy baseball, so it kind of seemed to fit.

C-Layer = Chiyo (body, head movements)

As Yomi and Tomo leave the shot, layers B and C gradually become fully visible behind them.

C3 Genga, with note



I can't read the one kanji in this note. It looks like directives for shading Chiyo. DC, can you read it?

C3 Yellow Shuusei



Here we see sweet little Chiyo looking at Tomo and Yomi as they walk away, trying to decide what she should do.

C4 Genga



C4 Yellow Shuusei



Chiyo looks back at Osaka. She really doesn't seem to want to leave her friend like this, yet she knows she will get in trouble if she is late for Music Class. I think this is roughly where Chiyo begins to express her uncertainty vocally, using the Japanese interjection ええと ("Eeto." - "Hmm." ,"Well.", "Let me see.")

C6 Genga



C6 Yellow Shuusei



It is difficult to say for sure what is going through Chiyo's mind, but it seems likely she concludes that she cannot really help her friend. Also, Osaka herself is due for Music Class, hiccups and all. Chiyo ultimately runs after Tomo and Yomi, which is where Osaka goes solo. Technically, it seems that both B and C layers are on the screen at once, with a D layer added for Chiyo's mouth at a point where her head is still, but the script calls for Chiyo to speak. Chiyo's exit ends the C-Layer, leaving poor Osaka all alone with the hiccups on the B-Layer.

This is such a short segment, yet it demonstrates the core of Chiyo's personality so well. Kind hearted and loyal, Chiyo is easily the most likeable character on the show.

It's true, she does leave her friend; however, I think Chiyo is expecting her to come along shortly.

There's a bit more to come, but it may be a few days before I'm ready to get to it. In the meantime, feel free to comment. Thanks for staying tuned to the thread.

Happy Easter, everyone!

[Pixel]

A quick correction. After another look at the video, Chiyo actually says "Eeto..." while she is watching Tomo and Yomi leave, shortly after they exit the scene. I bet that is B-1 (Osaka) + C1 (or maybe C2? Chiyo, head still) + D-Layer (Chiyo lip-sync, head remains still), I haven't taken pictures of the latter two. I'll have to check when I get back to it.

[Pixel]

Correction #2 - The source video seems to play the audio about 5 frames later than the video, if not more. This has important implications for the apparent timing of the dialogue.

*Sigh* Audio drift is still plaguing internet videos even after more than a decade.

Of course, it could be my editing software.

I don't think I have an E1 Shuusei, yet in the video Yomi's mouth is open on what should be E1. The E1 genga above is drawn with her mouth closed.

I'll have to see if I can find that shuusei.

If there is indeed a missing shuusei from the set, the E1 douga should tell the tale. I'm not where I can look at it right now though.

Below is the first frame of the cut, with what should be E1 on top. While the compression isn't helping anything, it does seem that Yomi's mouth is indeed open on E1.

Why is this such a big deal? Incorrect dialogue timing can change the impression of what is going on.

Please excuse the VLC user interface at the bottom of the pic.

[Pixel]

And now for something a little different, backgrounds! Rather than simply show the Genga and Shuusei, I want to bring the background douga into play as well.

Actually, these might be midground objects. On it's face it is surprising that these machines are actually part of the animation layers, but the girls do interact with them briefly during the series.

It may surprise you to learn that these unassuming, very Japanese looking machines actually have their own story to tell. I'm not 100% certain exactly what that story is, but in the process of trying to find out, I've discovered another story of sorts. First, the machines themselves-

A1 Genga - Cold/Warm/Drink/Cup Vending Machines



Not my best picture, I know. The machines are beautifully detailed considering how rarely they are seen in the overall series. The kanji beside the sequence number means "stop". I'm beginning to think there's a shorthand here for the way things are done. I bet they meant "This layer stops here/does not move."

A1' Genga? - Shading Guides?



I'm not sure what this is, or even if it is truly a genga. It appears to be a sort of shading guide for the digital color artists.

A1' Genga? (Back)



Maybe the number is an index into the setup data?

burasiz" (Burashizu? Brushes?) note the apparent single quote-Perhaps this is telling the digital paint people which brushes to use?

Now to the douga. I haven't showed any of the douga yet, but this one contains quite a bit of information. In an unusual move, I'd like to focus on the back of this douga first. Like a moron though, I didn't take a full picture of the back.

A1 Douga, notes on back



Another number. I think "jihan" is short for "jihanki" ("vending machines")

Permit me to wander into the show a moment. In Episode 18, Tomo has trouble with the cup machine. I'll try to see if I can pick up the correct Japanese...sometimes, spoken Japanese is very difficult to hear properly, and it doesn't help that Tomo is upset here. This is my best guess at it-

Kono jihanki wa, mou kowaku de tsukaenai!

I think the English subtitles read something like "I can never use this vending machine again!" From looking at my dictionaries, I kind of think she might have said more like "This vending machine's charms are already useless!" Which if correct, would be very similar to "This vending machine has suddenly lost all of its charm!"

Please don't assume that is correct though. At any rate, the important word for this discussion is "jihanki" or vending machine.

The word "gomibako" means garbage can. It is very surprising that so much romaji has been used on these notes. I didn't really expect the Japanese to use Romanized Japanese in day-to-day business such as this.

Now for a note above this one. This time it is in more proper *sigh* handwritten Japanese script.

A1 Douga, Back, Even more notes



Ugh, handwritten kanji give me fits! I'll give it a shot...

I can't make it all out. The top word seems to be "design or pattern" the bottom seems to be "please combine (something)." I'm only guessing here, but maybe the mean the red shading outline from earlier? If only I could read the kanji.

A1 Douga, still more notes



I don't know really.

I know I haven't properly investigated the front of this douga yet. I will have to do that, in yet another exciting episode of-

Azumanga Daioh: The Animation Production Art Pieces That Survived Over 15 Years And A 10,000 Mile Journey Partially Through a Blizzard And Are Sitting in A Cabinet Right Next To Me

Same Neco-Coneco Time...
Same Neco-Coneco Channel!

I'll have to remember not to post when I'm getting sleepy.

[Pixel]

Sorry it took awhile getting back to this.

First a quick review. Here comes the A1 Genga of the machines back into the mix, followed by the matching shuusei, and the douga.


A1 Genga (Vending Machines + Garbage Can)




A1 Shuusei (Vending Machines + Garbage Can)




A1 Douga (Front)



While there are a few differences in the body of each machine, what is really intriguing about them is that the names of the leftmost two were changed between the genga and the shuusei, with these changes then incorporated into the douga. To me, the new names look rather hastily drawn.

The final names of the machines in this cut are "HECHO" and "SAWAYAKA". (Note: In a prior cut, the latter machine has the name spelled "SAWAYAK").

I'm not sure about "HECHO", I know it means "made" in Spanish. "SAWAYAKA" means "refreshing" in Japanese.

The original names on the genga are "POKKE" and "KARIN", respecitvely. What do these names mean? Why were they changed?

Here is where things get interesting. I will go ahead and say that I don't really have the answers to these questions. However, I hope what I've discovered along the way will at least be entertaining anyway.


Machine #1, "HECHO" ("POKKE")

I think "POKKE" can mean something to do with Pokemon, but somehow I rather doubt that was intended here.

More research turns up a character by that name in Hirayuki-hime no Densetsu, or [The] Legend of Princess Snow White (1994-1995).

I think I'll refer to it by the Japanese title, to make absolutely sure of no confusion between it and the 1937 Walt Disney classic. I really don't think there will be any, but it helps me remember I'm not talking Disney here, anyway.

I don't really know much about this anime. Pokke is a pretty good sized pink cat. Here's a picture.

Pokke, from Hirayuki-hime no Densetsu




Pokke was voiced bt Akiko Hiramatsu . Click on the photo below to view a page about her on Anime Encyclopedia.



(I think I'll use Western name order for romanized/English versions of Japanese names from now on, I'm more comfortable with it. Generally, if I use romaji for Japanese name order, I'll try to remember to type the surname ALL CAPS. Please keep in mind that in kanji, the surname will in general come first.)

Hiramatsu-san is a veteran of the industry, with characters including Miyuki Kobayakawa from Taiho Shichauzo (often called You're Under Arrest), and Akagi Haruko from Slam Dunk. She even provided "additional voices" for My Neighbor Totoro, all the way back in 1988.

Relevant to the dicussion at hand, she also voiced Yukari Tanizaki, the homeroom teacher for the girls in this cut from the very start of Azumanga Daioh. Sakaki-san (not in this cut, sadly) is also one of her students.

Hiramatsu-san typically would give Yukari a sort of high-pitched rather nasal sort of sound. (It can be difficult to properly describe tone, which is why I typically prefer videos to demonstrate tone, as well as context.) I think Yukari-sensei is supposed to be a bit of a short-tempered smart-alec, hence the general characterization of her voice. Ms. Yukari is roughly equal in intellectual maturity to Tomo.

Hiramatsu-san's vocal intereptation suits Yukari-sensei extremely well. I have watched a few episodes of Taiho Shichauzo, and I must say the difference in the two characters' voices is very impressive.

Fun fact: Before the TV series, a short Internet video called "Azumanga Web Daioh" was made. The only voice actor from the show used in that video was Hiramatsu-san, and she actually voiced the other teacher, Ms. Kurosawa. (More on her shortly.) Ms. Tanizaki had no speaking part in that video. Her interpretation of Ms. Kurosawa is a bit like Miyuki from Taiho Shichauzo, but not exactly.

An even more surprising coincidence can be found among the staff of Hirayuki-hime no Densetsu. Among the credits for "Script" on Anime Encylcopedia, we find the name Masaaki Sakurai.





The same name can be found under "Animation Director" in the Credits for Azumanga Daioh. If you check the individual pages for both the Screenwriter and the Animation Director, you will find that both names use the same kanji for surname and given name.

Anime Enclyclopedia - Masaaki SAKURAI (screenwriter)
Anime Enclyclopedia - Masaaki SAKURAI (animator)

I can't be 100% certain of course this is related to the original name "POKKE" on the machine later named "HECHO", but feel free to reach your own conclusions, and of course to post your own findings.


Machine #2, "SAWAYAKA" ("KARIN")

Now, the the machine labeled "SAWAYAKA", originally "KARIN". I really don't know exactly what's going on here, but in the process of trying to find out, I stumbled on a yet more strange coincidences.

When I first started checking into "KARIN", I thought it was a reference to the series Karin, also known in English as Karin: Chibi Vampire. I'll just call it either "Karin" or "Chibi Vampire". This series and Azumanga Daioh were both produced by J.C. Staff.

Anime Encyclopedia - Karin: Chibi Vampire

Among the voice cast of "Chibi Vampire" is another veteran seiyuu, Aya Hisakawa. She voices the character Fumio Usui. Hisakawa-san has been in voice acting for over 40 years, and from what I can tell she is still voice acting today. Again, clicking on the photo should take you to the relevant page on Anime Encyclopedia.




As I once said before, she is probably best known for the role of Kero-chan in CardCaptor Sakura. Among her credits are Arimi Suzuki from Marmalade Boy, Unohana Retsu from Bleach (not really sure of the name order here), and of course numerous others.

Coming back to Azumanga Daioh, Hisakawa-san voices Physical Education teacher Minamo Kurosawa, often called "Nyamo-chan". She and Yukari-sensei appear to be rather close friends, but exactly how they tolerate each other is not explained.

Many fans of the series draw parallels between the friendship of the two teachers, Ms. Tanizaki and Ms. Kurosawa, and the resident comedy duo of Tomo and Yomi. In my opinion the differences between the two sets of friends is rather more nuanced, but in general it is a pretty good comparison.

Nyamo-chan's voice is generally kind, but also has a bit of seriousness about it. She's nice to all of the students and they really like her. She will occasionally chide a student when it is warranted, but even then she comes across as very gentle and likeable. While Nymao-chan is often portrayed as the most sensible of the regularly shown teachers, a closer look reveals her to be only slighlty more sensible than Yukari-sensei.

Kagura (the "san" doesn't appear after her name as often as it does Sakaki[-san]) was orginally Nyamo-chan's student, she would join the rest of the cast in Yukari-sensei's class as a regular at the start of the second year of high school, in Episode 10. It is interesting that Kagura is not part of the main cast at the start, but this is consistent with the manga.

Notice that I use the form "Nyamo-chan" vs "Yukari-sensei". This is how it is often done on the show. Ms. Tanizaki doesn't really have a nickname, and "Nyamo-chan" was Ms. Kurosawa's nickname whe she was in high school. She really doesn't like the students using it, but she can't really bring herself to properly stop them. Yukari-sensei doesn't help her out any. So, that's why I normally call them "Nyamo-chan" and "Yukari-sensei".

With the common bond of J.C. Staff between the two series, I thought at first this settled the origin of "KARIN" on that machine in the original genga. There are a couple of problems however.

According to the Anime Encyclopedia, Azumanga Daioh ran from April to September 2002, while Karin ran from November 2005 to May 2006. Azumanga Daioh: The Animation is older by at least 3 years.

As for manga, that also presents a problem. Karin: Chibi Vampire started its run in October 2003. Azumanga Daioh on the other hand, began its run as a manga in February of 2000. Comparing the two manga, not only is Azumanga Daioh older, the age difference spreads to over 5 years! [EDIT: Actually the age difference is about the same between the two manga and tv series, about 3 years.)

I actually the manga of Azumanga Daioh it was even older than that, but I'm going with Anime Encyclopedia to keep it simple.

I therefore cannot conclude that "KARIN" on this machine is a reference to Karin: Chibi Vampire. While it is certainly not impossible, I just can't find any clear evidence. There is one other manga by the name of Karin, but very little seems to be known about it, and it doesn't seem to have ever been adapted for the screen. It is from 1992 to 1997, so it is certainly old enough to have some influence on the production of Azumanga Daioh: The Animation.

Anime Encylopedia - "Karin" (Manga by M. Kawasou)

I don't recall seeing these machines in the manga, perhaps I should go back and look again.

It's hard to believe, but there is still even more to come, not all of it strictly about the machines.

NOTE: If you see some, but not necessarily all of the graphics from this post below this text, I'm trying to workaround some issues. Also, attachments can't be hot-linked to other urls, but if they are referenced instead as images in the body of the post, they can.

-

[Pixel]

I'm not really sure whether this update is big enough to warrant it's own part, I guess I'll give it one anyway.

I found a more plausible origin of the "KARIN" name on the machine later named "SAWAYAKA".

"KIRIN" or "Kirin" is part of the branding for a number of hard and soft drinks produced by the Kirin Company.

http://www.kirin.co.jp/company/english/outline/

From the website-

"...Kirin Lager Beer, recognized as one of the most popular beers in Japan for more than 120 years..."

In my opinion, it is highly likely that "KARIN" was intended as a reference to this beer, or one of the other beers sold with Kirin branding. Why?

In Episode 14, everyone goes out for some R&R on the beach near Chiyo-chan's summer home. Yomi kindly offers to bring everyone a drink of their choice while she is buying herself "JYUUSU" (see note below). Yukari-sensei very cheerfully requests 「ビール！」 ("BEER!") in a rather loud voice, prompting Nyamo-chan to chide "Don't ask for that."

When Azumanga Daioh was made, the age of majority in Japan was 20 from what I've read. How exactly Yukari-sensei thought the 15-year-old Koyomi-kun would actually be able to acquire beer, I can only guess.

NOTE: In Azu, you will sometimes hear discussion of 「ジュース」 (JYUUSU/"juice"). "JYUUSU" can mean any sweet non-alcoholic beverage, including actual fruit juice. This is the word Yomi used where we might say "soda" or "[implied non-alcoholic] drink". Perhaps Yukari was being sarcastic in asking for beer in this context, but knowing her she was probably being serious. Incidently, Yomi never acknowledges the request directly. I assume Nyamo-chan was able to shut it down with her admonishment.

Anyway, I suspect the branding on that machine was changed because the producers were concerned that they would be seen as promoting underage drinking.

As to the POKKE machine, I have another theory but I can't really find any evidence to support it.

This is not the update I originally intended to post. I haven't completely settled on how to present that information. It sort of heads away from the topic before coming back to it. Hopefully this will do for the time being.