Director Hiroshi Ikehata Aims for Big Laughs in Giant Ojō-sama Anime
Hiroshi Ikehata is a director with decades of experience in the anime industry. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in diverse roles, including directing series such as Robot Girls Z, Kiratto Pri Chan, and Witch Watch. He is also directing the upcoming Giant Ojō-sama anime, and we caught up with him to ask him a few questions about working on a project where the character is bigger than a skyscraper.
Were you familiar with Giant Ojō-sama before this project?
Hiroshi Ikehata: When the original pilot version of the manga was released, I knew that it caused a buzz in the so-called online “giantess community”. I hadn't read every chapter, but I had read it online from time to time. The combination of “giantess” and “ojosama (heiress)” felt fresh to me.
Were there any unique challenges you encountered when bringing this manga to life?
IKEHATA: I paid close attention to “recreating the world of the original manga,” of course (which holds true for every manga adaptation), but not only that, I made sure not to compromise the unique sense of realism and the relationship between the characters, because that relationship is an important part of the story.
Also, the original manga includes hidden details and little things that the author, Nikumura Q-sensei, was particular about, which you might not notice in a casual read. It was challenging to reflect those in the animation.
In the original manga, there were some parts that were drawn intentionally “rough”, which I found appealing. But it was another challenge to animate them in a way that wouldn't make them look just like “rough drawings,” but would make it clear that the “roughness” was intentional and meant to make the audience laugh.
What considerations went into Oriko's visual design? What did you feel was essential to her character in bringing her to television?
IKEHATA: Of course, Oriko 's size and attractive figure are essential, but what I asked (Hajime) Mitsuda-san, the character designer, was “not to lose her rough-around-the-edge, in a positive sense, and relatable quality despite her being a wealthy heiress, while also making sure not to take either side too far.” We also discussed which period of the manga's art style would work best for the anime, since the manga's artwork has become more detailed as the series progressed. I also remember we struggled to depict the gradient of her hair. That was the only part where we used the two-layer gradient.
Were there any particular details you spent a lot of time working out that might surprise readers? Things such as achieving the right sense of scale, or achieving the appropriate visual effects.
IKEHATA: Basically, we applied techniques used in the tokusatsu (live-action special effects) for the anime, such as “using objects and people for comparison reference”, “depicting a scene from a standard human perspective”, and “forced perspective”.
Especially when Oriko becomes giant-sized, if the foreground buildings are out of focus, the objects in the scene will appear to be miniatures. So, unless we wanted to keep the foreground out of focus for directorial reasons, I gave the team instructions on each episode to keep it in focus.
On the other hand, in comedic scenes or when I wanted to give a goofy impression, we intentionally created shots which made it look as if people were standing in a miniature set.
Also, there was another challenge: “What kind of voice should a gigantic character have? Should we make it sound huge and echoing?” Ultimately, to avoid confusing the audience, we settled on keeping the character's voice normal even when they're giant-sized, though we added a sense of wind, pressure, or sound pressure.
How much have you collaborated with Nikumura Q during the production, if at all?
IKEHATA: We asked Nikumura-sensei to review the script and all the storyboards. When we wanted to add our own idea to a specific scene, we consulted Nikumura-sensei to confirm whether our interpretation of the manga scene was correct. I was impressed to learn that even the seemingly minor details in a scene of the manga were packed with Nikamura-sensei's preferences and the story's world.
How has the experience of working on Giant Ojō-sama compared to prior works you've directed? Was there anything you hoped to achieve during this production? Things such as using a new approach, giving the work a certain quality, perfecting a certain technique, etc.
IKEHATA: I hadn't previously worked on projects that involved “something gigantic moving around a city.” Even when I worked on something similar, that was just a one-off parody. So, I tried various approaches to the task. For example, to what extent should we make the concept of a “giant woman” seem realistic, and to what extent should we simplify it to make it easy to understand as a manga-like fantasy? Finding that balance was a challenge. Like with the voice I mentioned earlier, it's not fun if it leans too heavily on realism. I believe the ability to flexibly switch between live-action realism and the loose logic of manga—in a good way—depending on the scene is one of the strengths of Japanese anime. Having had the opportunity to direct more works than many other directors, I can draw on that experience when making those decisions.
When it comes to directing, do you have any preference between adapting a work from another medium (as in this instance) and working on something wholly original?
IKEHATA: Adaptations and original works each have their own appeal when it comes to directing. I've been fortunate enough to create a few original works myself, but I've never thought, “It's easier because there's no source material,” nor have I ever thought, “It's easier because there is a source material,” when working on adaptations. I suppose I'd say that, professionally speaking, both are enjoyable and both are challenging.
There are countless films, series, and manga about kaiju from across the years. Do you have a particular favorite that comes to mind?
IKEHATA: When it comes to kaiju (monsters), I love Godzilla and Gamera, but I have a particularly strong attachment to Ultraman—especially the series from what is known as the second era of Ultraman—from Return of Ultraman through Ultraman Leo.
This series strongly reflects the social climate of the 1970s; it's a series with an incredible variety of stories and styles that's chaotic and loud, at times cruel, at times cheesy, at times high-quality, at times childish, and at times deals with serious themes that even adults might pause. As someone who's been in this business for a long time, there are certain films I occasionally revisit when I find myself wondering, “How should I make a movie?” (By “movie,” I mean the broadest sense of the term—not just live-action theatrical films, but also anime, TV dramas, and so on.) For me, this is one of them. I still look to footage from creators who worked on this series, such as director Tadashi Mafune and special effects director Nobuo Yajima.
You have directed countless works across a number of genres, including comedy. What are some of the insights you've learned as a director to help achieve the best comedic effect for a given work or scene? What does it take to create good comedic timing that goes beyond just a good punchline or a funny situation?
IKEHATA: I believe comedy is half the material and half the timing. No matter how funny a joke is, unless you tell it at the right moment, it won't get a laugh. Even something utterly mundane, such as “Fine weather today,” may get a big laugh if the timing is right. Fortunately, Nikumura-sensei and the scriptwriter have already provided us with excellent source material. So, I was able to focus on fine-tuning the timing, such as “Let's put a little pause here.” “Let's have the retort immediately without pause.”, or “Let's leave the joke hanging in the air and create a surreal moment.” Naturally, directing the actors' performances to match the situation and the timing is a very important element.
Then, how do I create that moment? The answer is that what I value most is probably “suddenness.” If I set up a joke by saying something like, “Okay, here comes the joke~,” I inevitably end up feeling secondhand embarrassment, so when it comes to comedy scenes, I try to make things happen faster than the audience expects.
For our readers who may not be as fluent in kaiju works, how much background knowledge of giant monsters is required to appreciate Giant Ojō-sama?
IKEHATA: No. Not at all! In fact, our policy for this project is to avoid parodies aimed at existing tokusatsu fans. (To be honest, there might be a little room for that in the music…?) Of course, the original work isn't just about kaiju movie elements—it also centers on themes like “giantess” and “ojō-sama” (heiresses). Therefore, even those unfamiliar with Japanese kaiju tokusatsu can enjoy it without any worries. However, as mentioned earlier, since we've drawn on and referenced special effects techniques to create a sense of gigantic scale, I think fans of kaiju special effects will also enjoy this film as a “new kaiju movie.”
There are many wonderful and strange kaiju creatures from across the genre's history. If you could have one kaiju monster as a pet, which would it be and why?
IKEHATA: There are just too many to choose from, but based on how I'm feeling right now, I'd go with the “Black Pigeon.” It's cute with its silly face, but it's also ridiculously strong!
What is one thing you would like to tell readers who are curious about Giant Ojō-sama before the anime releases?
IKEHATA: As I mentioned earlier, this series is packed with a wide variety of elements. Whether you're a fan of “giantess” and “aristocratic young ladies”, kaiju (monsters), sci-fi, or watching buildings get destroyed—whether you like just one of these things, all of them, or none of them but just want to watch an entertaining anime—we've created this series so that everyone can enjoy it. So please look forward to it—GIANTLY!!
The Giant Ojō-sama anime will premiere in January 2027. The anime is based on the original graphic novel GIANT OJOSAMA by Nikumura-Q, published by Shogakukan, Inc.
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KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.