From its 2000s classics like Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka Seven, and Soul Eater, to its more modern fan favorites like Space Dandy, Bungo Stray Dogs and My Hero Academia, it’s hard to deny that Studio Bones is one of the most prolific studios in anime today.
When news came of its newest project, Metallic Rouge, considerable hype built up going into the studio’s impressive presence at Anime Expo. When the second series trailer dropped last week during Anime Expo, there’s been no shortage of interest.
Building on top of the stylish action focus from its previous series, Metallic Rouge has been described as something of an anniversary project for 25 years of Bones. With the character designs for the show coming from Toshihiro Kawamoto—the legendary designer behind Cowboy Bebop—the show is expected to come off as a visually captivating work. Sitting down with Game ZXC at Anime Expo, Kawamoto and Studio Bones president Masahiko Minami discuss their years of experience in anime, what audiences can look forward to in Metallic Rouge, and the enduring legacy of Cowboy Bebop and its character designs.
Game ZXC: Metallic Rouge has been described as something of an anniversary landmark for Studio Bones. In your words, how would you say that this new series brings together all of the different design and animation influences across the studio’s history?
Masahiko Minami: It’s difficult to say how this show can bring together everything that we’ve done, but the main thing when developing it was that it definitely has some of the best parts of the original influences in terms of genre, like the mecha genre, or the sort of hero action that has been such a big part of what we’ve done in the past. It has a lot of that goodness! Of course, [Metallic Rouge co-creator and writer Yutaka] Izubuchi, who’s worked a lot with bones in the past, his stamp is definitely on this, as is Kawamoto’s, so I would guess that their participation is some of the most symbolic.
GR: What are you hoping for fans to enjoy with this show? Anything that particularly stands out for what you want to give fans, either in terms of the story or character designs?
Toshihiro Kawamoto: So, personally, and I hope this is something fans can get from the trailer that was unveiled, but you just have the character dynamics that are so special here. You have Rouge and Naomi as the main characters, and the interactions between them—one of them is a bit lower energy, and one is extremely high energy, and in terms of the development we were always trying to bring out that aspect of their personalities, and that’s something I think the fans can really look forward to. I think they’ll be interested in seeing how that plays out.
GR: Minami-san, what would you say it’s like running an anime studio, in your words? What are your thoughts on the studio, having gotten to the milestone of 25 years?
MM: *laughs* So we’ve been around for that long, but so much of the influence of how I started out really came from Sunrise animation, where I was working on the Gundam series. And since that time I’ve been working with many of the same staff, such as Kawamoto-san and Osaka-san. And in the process of working with that same core group, they all have their different ideas on what goes into a great anime. When we formed the studio, we took all of those individual ideas and leveraged them together on some of our own series. We have, of course, with our new titles we wanted to keep that feeling of creating things in a new way, in a way that motivates the staff. We had our younger staff, who also had their ideas that would come to the table that wouldn’t have even been possible back in the older days. We wanted the studio to be a place where new ideas, and young ideas could be valued. That is something that has really allowed our studio to continue to grow in the way it has.
GR: Kawamoto-san, now that Cowboy Bebop is 25 years old, what are your thoughts on the character designs all these years later? Has your perception on the designs changed at all, or have you seen any aspect of them in a different light?
TK: In a nutshell, it hasn’t really changed much. I think of the way that directors are Cowboy Bebop fans, and that’s been something I’m proud of. One of the things I’ve felt is that, even if I tried to create character designs that diverge a lot from Cowboy Bebop, or have a completely different aesthetic, that shadow is still there. The orders from the studios I get are always very in-line with what I get from Cowboy Bebop. With Metallic Rouge, when I was consulting with Izubuchi-san, and he came back with the ideas of wanting things to be edited in a way that feels a little more like Cowboy Bebop? *laughs* And of course, I designed those characters, and I’m not denying that that was such a landmark work for me, but at the same time I always like to get other opinions. At this point it’s less my opinion, and more others coming to me with the aesthetic that they think I’m best suited for!
Metallic Rouge is premiering in 2024, produced by Studio Bones and streaming simulcast on Crunchyroll.