{"rewrite":{"id":"r_84ab53708a4342d68f9bf3cb","clusterId":"c_d7dbdce9369a86afa19309d2","slug":"souta-ueno-and-noriyoshi-konuma-discuss-shiboyugi-s-sound-and-direction","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Souta Ueno and Noriyoshi Konuma Discuss Shiboyugi's Sound and Direction","summary":"Sakuga Blog published a translated interview from Comic Natalie featuring Shiboyugi director Souta Ueno and sound director Noriyoshi Konuma. The two discussed their creative process for the anime, which premiered on January 7. Ueno said he wanted to avoid common death game tropes by not reveling in the girls' deaths or making a spectacle of them. Konuma explained that the sound design aimed for abstraction rather than dictating emotions, using atonal and dissonant music from composer Junichi Matsumoto. The recording sessions for the hour-long first episode took two sessions, with three takes per episode and five-hour sessions. Konuma noted that voice actress Chiyuki Miura's performance made Yuki more human than expected, adding nuance to her character. Ueno revealed that the opening sequence was inspired by his own experience of wandering at night, which he compared to feeling suicidal, and Konuma's dream of a burning double-decker bus. The interview also covered the casting of lesser-known talent, the decision to use instrumental music for the opening, and the thematic exploration of love in the story's world.","whyItMatters":"The interview reveals that Ueno and Konuma deliberately rejected genre conventions to create a death game story focused on the dignity of its characters, using sound and direction to evoke detachment rather than shock.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe translated interview, originally conducted by Oto Haruno for Comic Natalie, covers the production of Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table, which aired its first episode as an hour-long special on January 7. Ueno and Konuma, who previously worked together on Days with My Stepsister, discussed how they built on their rapport from that project. Konuma said he joined the team after being recommended and that he immediately understood Ueno's unique direction from reading the storyboards. The two described a collaborative process where Konuma would translate Ueno's intuitive directions, like 'something blue,' into concrete instructions for the voice actors. Ueno noted that working with the same team from Days with My Stepsister, including Studio DEEN, streamlined production because everyone already shared an understanding of what he considered stylish or beautiful. The interview also touched on the casting approach, with Ueno saying he wanted to make the best of one-of-a-kind performances rather than relying on established names. Konuma called the casting a display of yet-to-be-discovered talent. The opening sequence, which features an instrumental track over highway shots, was storyboarded by Ueno after he tried experiencing Yuki's irregular lifestyle by wandering at night. Konuma contributed his dream of a burning double-decker bus, which Ueno felt captured the moment where Yuki comes closest to death yet continues to cling to life.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Ueno on Shiboyugi: 'I wanted a death game story with none of the common tropes. We do not needlessly revel in the death of the girls.'","twitterPost":"Shiboyugi sound director Konuma: 'We do not dictate the audience's emotions, we only set the tone of the world. What the viewer takes away is up to them.'","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Sakuga Blog translated a Comic Natalie interview where Shiboyugi director Souta Ueno and sound director Noriyoshi Konuma discuss their approach to the death game anime. They explain how they avoided genre cliches, used atonal music, and drew from personal experiences for the opening sequence.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Sakuga Blog\",\"url\":\"https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2026/04/10/shiboyugi-interview-souta-ueno-noriyoshi-konuma/\",\"title\":\"Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table Interview Translation - Souta Ueno x Noriyoshi Konuma\"},{\"source\":\"Sakuga Blog\",\"url\":\"https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2026/04/10/shiboyugi-souta-ueno/\",\"title\":\"Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games To Put Food On The Table And Souta Ueno's Deranged World\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":22220,"outputTokens":949,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1780170866,"createdAt":"2026-05-30T19:08:18.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-30T19:11:59.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-30T19:11:59.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_d7dbdce9369a86afa19309d2","canonicalTitle":"Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table Interview Translation \u0026#8211; Souta Ueno x Noriyoshi Konuma","representativeArticleId":"a_1ef4d0f4f913dd8bb1f83be8","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Shiboyugi\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Souta Ueno\",\"Noriyoshi Konuma\"],\"type\":\"review\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"blog","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-04-10T13:00:23.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-04-10T13:00:29.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-30T19:11:59.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Sakuga Blog","url":"https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2026/04/10/shiboyugi-souta-ueno/","title":"Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games To Put Food On The Table And Souta Ueno\u0026#8217;s Deranged World"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Shiboyugi"],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Souta Ueno","Noriyoshi Konuma"],"type":"review","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Shiboyugi director Souta Ueno said he wanted to avoid common death game tropes by not reveling in the girls' deaths or making a spectacle of them.","Sound director Noriyoshi Konuma explained that the sound design used atonal and dissonant music from composer Junichi Matsumoto to aim for abstraction rather than dictating emotions.","The opening sequence was inspired by Ueno's experience of wandering at night, which he compared to feeling suicidal, and Konuma's dream of a burning double-decker bus.","Recording sessions for the hour-long first episode took two sessions, with three takes per episode and five-hour sessions.","Ueno said he wanted to cast lesser-known talent to make the best of one-of-a-kind performances rather than relying on established names."]}