 Bringing youthful romance and emotional depth to the screen this Fall season, Taiyou yori mo Mabushii Hoshi (A Star Brighter Than the Sun)—herein referred to as Tamahoshi—adapts the beloved shoujo manga by renowned author Kazune Kawahara. Directed by Sayaka Kobayashi, animated by Studio KAI, and produced by TBS Television, the anime captures the warmth and sincerity that define Kawahara's works while adding new layers of expression through animation. In our conversation with Director Kobayashi, she reflects on the process of visualizing a story deeply rooted in characters' emotions and inner reflections. From her initial impression of the manga, to the delicate ways she conveys unspoken feelings through movement and expression, Kobayashi discusses how the team approached adapting Kawahara's pure and earnest world to animation. ──Tamahoshi is your directorial debut. Could you please tell us how you joined the project, and how you feel about your first director role? The story of how I got involved goes back to when Studio KAI produced Captain Tsubasa: Junior Youth Arc. I participated in the previous season with David Productions, but by the time the second season was produced, I had shifted to working as a freelance director, so I didn't think I would be involved. However, the character designer Hajime Watanabe-san referred me saying, "I would like you to lend your support to the second season as well," so I contributed by directing and making the storyboard for three episodes, as well as making only the storyboard for the final episode. At that time, it seems that one of the episodes I had the honor of being involved in was well-received by Shueisha, so I suspect that made it easy to introduce me to the original creator team of Tamahoshi, even though I was a first-time director. I say "suspect" because I never heard it directly from the producer, so this is my own interpretation of the events (laughs). I've been in the anime industry from the time I graduated until now with the intention of becoming a director, but it took more time than I expected, and it was full of difficulties once I got there. Even if I was worried, I couldn't discuss it with those around me which made the tough times longer, but I've also gained many things career-wise so I'm glad I saw it through. Translator note: The Tamahoshi manga is published by Shuiesha, as was Captain Tsubasa. ──What was your first impression when you read the original work, and what aspects did you find appealing? I was amazed at Kawahara-sensei's power of expression, or rather, skill at handling very uncommon feelings (continuing to like someone for a long time after you first met) and turning them into situations that many people can empathize with. While working on episode 1, I was thinking about this again while staring intently at the finished cuts and their corresponding scenes in the manga. When the characters are happy but sad at the same time, or have emotions that cannot be expressed in a single word, their facial expressions are drawn exquisitely… Being able to portray the emotions of a diverse cast of characters made me think Kawahara-sensei's power of expression is the biggest charm.  ──Shoujo manga seems to be adapted to live-action more frequently than to anime. What strengths or advantages do you think anime has to bring these stories to life? When words alone are insufficient, the emotional impact on the character can be conveyed much more in anime, and I feel that richness of expression is the strength. For example, talking to your crush feels like your heart is soaring inside, but if the live-action replicates the manga's depiction of a character's heart soaring, it'll become a superhuman expression (laughs). In illustrated media like manga or anime, I think those expressions are easier to accept. It may be similar to how a painting by Picasso or Chagall seems easier to understand when you're actually looking at it, compared to reading the explanation text next to it. That's why I thought it would be better to depict Sae's feelings as close as possible to the original work, so I tried to express that when adapting Tamahoshi. ──What kind of techniques did you use to try and convey the "earnest and pure world" of Tamahoshi? When Sae remembers Kamishiro in her "special memories," I tried to create a mental flashback effect with a warmth like not seen before. And when seeing Kamishiro through her eyes, he sparkles (physically) and the colors become more vivid. Like this, I tried to create images that would resonate with the audience. For the flashback effect of thinking back to when the two of them were little, we tested it over and over again, aiming for warm lines and textures like a children's picture book. To share the image in my head with the staff, I also added color to the storyboards and special effects used in the illustrations, trying to convey the image of the final footage.   ──Please tell us what you focused on when creating the first episode of this series, and what scene was the most memorable for you personally. Above all, episode 1 is a long monologue from Sae. The challenge was how to express the frustration she feels. It was Kawahara-sensei's wish that episode 1 be made faithfully to the original, so I drew a storyboard with that prerequisite, but while Sae's feelings were expressed in writing in the manga, the video content required a lot of visual footage, so I was really racking my brains. Early in the story, Sae's attitude has a slight sense of resignation, or rather that she looks too much from a bird's eye view, even though she is the only main character in her life. I wanted to express that, so I tried to create a visual representation of her watching her life until now as if it's on a screen, similar to the original story. During the dubbing, I asked the lead actor Fujidere-san to act in this scene with a calm atmosphere, as if she were looking at her own life from a bird's eye view.   A memorable scene for me personally was the last part of the first half, when Sae goes to get a thick marker and is out of Kamishiro's sight, she's shown holding her cheeks tightly. In any episode, original depictions are put into the anime without going against the character's interpretation, and I think this scene more clearly conveys Sae's tension and elation to the audience. I would be happy if viewers could enjoy seeing these depictions in other episodes.  ──Since the manga's dialogue is so focused on Sae's inner thoughts, I think it adds to the feeling that Kamishiro is out of reach. How did you approach this in the adaptation? As you pointed out, the Kamishiro that Sae sees is a "perfect prince." Since the story revolves around Sae, the visual composition includes many cuts from her perspective, so we designed the Kamishiro she sees to have a sparkling and vividly colored image. For example, the sparkling effect seen when Sae looks at Kamishiro was created while considering the form used in the original work and adjusted while referencing sparkle effects used on social media. We named it the "Sae Filter" so that it could be used repeatedly, and to make sure all the staff were on the same page.  ──As a reader, you begin to get the impression early in the story that Kamishiro isn't the perfect prince Sae views him as. Is there anything you kept in mind when directing their interactions? While adapting the story to anime, I did have a thought about making him just a little bit more of a widely popular princely character type. However, Kawahara-sensei said, "Kamishiro is mentally around the second-year of junior high school (14 years old), so I hope you'll think about the character with that in mind," and I've also come to realize that this is an area that should not be changed. There are some scenes where he could be perceived as "immature," but the main character Sae's feelings remain unwavering, so I directed with the aim of encouraging the audience to pay more attention to Sae and understand her emotions, rather than Kamishiro. ──Did you give any special instructions to the main cast when performing their lines? For this series, I thought that episode one would be the real battle, especially for Sae's actress (Fujidera-san). As I mentioned earlier, the monologue where she looks back on her life so far was especially packed with my line of thinking about the work, so to get close to the image I had in mind, I asked her to act with a feeling of "looking down on her own life from a birds eye view." Also, this applies to all the roles, but I remember asking each character on the set (with the exception of Izawa) to prepare for their role in a way that the character won't become infected with an unpleasant personality or gather hate. This decision to maintain a good balance wasn't only my opinion, but came while consulting the producer Shiraishi-san and sound director Yoshida-san.  ──Were there any memorable discussions that you had with the original author, Kawahara-sensei? There are two. First, Kawahara-sensei asked me when we first met what motivated me to enter the anime industry, and when I talked about how I wanted to be a film director since I was old enough to understand, and my childhood experiences with video, she responded, "It's very interesting that Director Kobayashi has all kinds of stories to tell," and that left an impression on me. The other was something sensei said when she visited the sound studio during the recording of episode 7. It had been a while since we met in person, and she complimented me, saying, "It's really great that you can show me so many different perspectives that I hadn't thought of, I'd like to keep seeing more." For me, who was overly skeptical about whether my way of creating the anime version of Tamahoshi was okay or not, it was the greatest compliment I could receive. Those words encouraged me to keep doing my best in the second half.  Director Kobayashi (left) and Producer Shirashi (right) take a photo with the audience at Anime Expo 2025 in Los Angeles ──Sae compares her feelings for Kamishiro to liking a pop star or unknown manga, before it became famous. Have you ever felt this way about a work (e.g. manga, anime) or person (e.g. artist, musician) you wanted to support before they became renowned? For film directors, I've been a big fan of Director Pete Docter since the days of Monsters, Inc. I first saw Monsters, Inc. when I was about 10 years old, and around then the first thing I would do was check the director for works I liked, so naturally I started following his new works. I love his innovative approach, and the way the story develops and is directed to suddenly become emotional at unexpected times. For music artists, it would be Wanuka who we asked for Tamahoshi's ending theme song. He's good at creating catchy melodies and memorable lyrics, so he's an artist that I want more people to listen to and spread the word about. ──Kawahara-sensei's earlier work, Koukou Debut, was one of my first shoujo manga, and is one I still like to recommend to manga fans today. Are there any shoujo manga you like to recommend? Takumi Ishida-san and Zakuri Sato-san are both very good at drawing characters who have their quirks, but you can't hate them, so I recommend all of their works. Others I would recommend are Hi ni Nagarete Hashi ni Iku by Shoko Hidaka-san and Palace Meidi by Banko Kuze-san, which are historical "what if?" stories that are good at including very interesting story developments that are addictive! ──Please leave a final message for overseas fans looking forward to the anime. As Kawahara-sensei said, "the feeling of falling in love with someone is very beautiful and precious." I have interpreted this in my own way and expressed it to the fullest. While creating this work, I remembered my own bittersweet experiences from when I was a teenager, so I would be happy if viewers could also relive theirs. Please be sure to watch it. Interview was conducted in Japanese and has been translated into English. Visit the Official Site: https://tamahoshi-anime.com/ Follow the Official X (Twitter): @tamahoshi_anime Watch A Star Brighter Than the Sun on Prime Video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0FDNZG74Z3YIIIQ4HPWX966TO2 Add the anime to your list: https://xss.now.cc/anime/60969/ Taiyou yori mo Mabushii Hoshi PV2 |
KinetaOct 23, 8:19 PM
| Kind of reminds me of one of those budget visual novel games, but the anime might be decent. |
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| I have been enjoying this anime. The animation is kind of stiff, but it portray emotions well. Before even reading this interview, I was really liking all those sparkly images because it really portray Sae's emotions and how she falls in love. Nice to know the thoughts behind the decisions and connect it to my own experience. |
Above all, episode 1 is a long monologue from Sae. The challenge was how to express the frustration she feels. It was Kawahara-sensei's wish that episode 1 be made faithfully to the original I massively respect this. Countless times I've imagined creative approaches to first episodes and I must praise bold approaches like this. |
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