Danica Davidson
April 9, 2021 
Anime News Network interviewed Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation director Manabu Okamoto and Toshiya Otomo, president of Studio Bind, to learn more about the anime and the new company.
Asked for opinions on the original work, Okamoto said, “It had a lot of vulgar and uncomfortable parts, but ultimately I thought it was a first-rate story.” The director continued, “I heard rumors that before this current project got underway, a lot of other companies were trying to get Mushoku Tensei projects off the ground. However, it was never made into a screen adaptation. When I read the original story, I thought that there may be various reasons for that: 1) It’s too vulgar. 2) The story is excruciatingly difficult to arrange into the structure of a TV anime. 3) The Japanese animation scene has become oversaturated with the isekai reincarnation genre.”
Talking more about the main character, the director said, “This character has an opposing personality: a vulgar side that is incredibly difficult to sympathize with, as well as a more normal and conventional side that can be sympathized with. Those negative traits are a part of his identity, so he can’t be rid of them, but we are taking due consideration to portray him in a way that does not cause the viewers discomfort.”
Studio Bind President Otomo, meanwhile, was asked for the inspiration behind the studio name. “When going independent, I thought back on all the anime I’ve worked on, and when it came to what was important to me, I thought that it was the bonds between people,” Otomo said. “From that meaning of bonds and binding people together came the studio name ‘bind.’”
Source: Anime News Network
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, and its sequel, Manga Art for Intermediates, with professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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