The second installment of CLAMP IN WONDERLAND has finally been completed. CLAMP, the original author, planner and director, talk about the production process from the start to completion.

■What is the criteria for selecting the characters?

It’s been 13 years since CLAMP IN WONDERLAND. Please tell us what made you decide to make the new CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2.

Ohkawa: We thought it would be a good idea to collect a certain number of works that have been published since CLAMP IN WONDERLAND and characters that have not yet been animated. If more years had passed, the number of new characters would have increased, and making this kind of video would have become an even bigger task (laughs).

Who came up with the setting for CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2, where white Mokona and black Mokona travel?

Ohkawa: It was me. I wanted to bring the two works that are currently being serialized to the beginning and the end. So, I came up with a composition that starts with the scene of XXXHOLiC, where the Mokonas depart, and ends with a scene from the manga of Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-.

Igarashi: As in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND, the four of us discussed other details such as situations and which characters would appear in which scenes. Also, the characters from 20 Mensou ni Onegai!! and Shin Shunkaden, which had already appeared in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND, we decided to make them appear in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2.

Nekoi: For example, it’s the same for the characters from CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan. You can catch a glimpse of them depicted on posters inside the okonomiyaki restaurant. There are also other characters who pass by for just a moment (laughs). It’s a short video of about 6 minutes, so in order to include a lot of characters, it was necessary to reduce the appearance of some characters.

Mokona: On the other hand, we were able to include more characters from Card Captor Sakura and Chobits, which were released after CLAMP IN WONDERLAND.

■Characters with the image of the original work (manga).

This is your first time working with Hiromi Kato-san, who was in charge of character design for CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2.

Mokona: I was very happy to have him participate in this project. I know it must have been a lot of work, but he did a wonderful job of designing the characters with an anime style while keeping the image of the original works.

Ohkawa: For both CLAMP IN WONDERLAND and CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2, the artists themselves (character designers), not the original authors (CLAMP), made the illustrations, so I think they respected the image of the original works. However, it is not like simply saying, “design a video with the image of the original work”; in reality, it is not an easy task. We change our drawing style for each work. It is amazing that Kato-san was able to reproduce these differences so well.

Mokona: Yes, that’s right. For example, the character Sakura appears in two works, Card Captor Sakura and Tsubasa. Kato-san was able to capture the subtle differences in the design and drawing style, and he did a wonderful job of depicting each Sakura in different ways.

Are there any characters in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2 that you’d like us to focus on?

Igarashi: I would like you to take the time to watch the characters that were animated for the first time from Suki. Dakara Suki, Gouhou Drug, and Kobato. Especially Kobato’s hair was very difficult to animate (laughs).

Ohkawa: Regarding Gouhou Drug, the characters’ faces are drawn in a very cool way, so please pay attention to that as well (laughs).

Igarashi: It is a little strange to see the characters that we have only seen in the manga moving in the video, but I am sure that you will enjoy it.

Nekoi: I also recommend paying attention to white Mokona and black Mokona, the main characters in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2. They move so cute.

Mokona: There’s a scene at the beginning where white Mokona and black Mokona rub cheeks. When I drew the storyboard for that scene, I tried to express Mokona’s fluffy texture. Then, I found that the texture was expressed in the animation even better than the storyboard I drew. In addition, the movement was cute, and I was deeply moved.

Nekoi: That was a really good move (laughs). Also, the scene with the Tsubasa characters is cool, so please check it out. By the way, the Tsubasa members are drawn using the manga style and it is pretty close to the original work, especially Syaoran and Kurogane, they look fantastic.

Mokona: It might be fun to compare the characters from the anime versions of XXXHOLiC and Tsubasa Chronicle with the characters and color settings in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2.

What about Ioryogi, who appears as the main character in the ending of CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2?

Ohkawa: The movement of the feet was cute. Nekoi came up with the idea of Ioryogi riding a pedal car.

Nekoi: I gave Madhouse-san a rough sketch of him riding a pedal car and they designed it so that Ioryogi’s feet could be seen properly.

Igarashi: The facial expressions are also very rich. In the manga, Ioryogi shows a variety of faces, such as angry and astonished, but in the video, where there is a lot of movement, it is enhanced.

Nekoi: He didn’t get angry and breathe fire like in the manga, so he was a little quiet (laughs).

Aside from Ioryogi, there are several other characters that appear, and they are all adorable.

Ohkawa: At first, we only had Ioryogi, but we thought it would be better to have a lively atmosphere, so we added monkey and Usagi-san as well. But when I saw the demo version of the video, I wanted to include the pufferfish, so I had it added.

Nekoi: The monkey and pufferfish actions were thought up by Madhouse-san. Thanks to them, the movements were very good.

■CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 3!?

What do you think are the major differences between CLAMP IN WONDERLAND and CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2?

Nekoi: I think it’s the passing of time. Of course, CLAMP IN WONDERLAND is a wonderful work, but in many ways, such as in the computer graphics (CG) and coloring methods, you can see how much time has passed between CLAMP IN WONDERLAND and CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2 and how many things have changed in animation.

Igarashi: At the time of CLAMP IN WONDERLAND, animation cels were mainly used. The Mashin from Magic Knight Rayearth were hand-drawn in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND, but in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2 it is CG.

Mokona: The same goes for the magic circle. The hand-drawn magic circle in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND was wonderful,^[1] but I was surprised by the beauty of the magic circles from XXXHOLiC and Card Captor Sakura in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2 (laughs).

Ohkawa: CG was still rarely used when CLAMP IN WONDERLAND was produced, but now it has become a very popular technology. If we were to produce a third video, we might see further technological advancements (laughs). However, I would like to avoid leaving a gap of 13 years like this time. The number of characters would increase too much, and it would become even more difficult (laughs).

■The fun of finding your favorite character.

Finally, please give a message to the people who purchased this DVD.

Nekoi: It is a very short animation clip, but I hope you will take the time to watch it many times and enjoy it.

Mokona: I think there are some characters that you can’t see clearly just by watching the video once. The interesting thing about CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2 is that if you watch it many times, you will discover unexpected characters at the edges of the screen. I hope you will watch it three or four times.

Igarashi: You can take your time to enjoy the entire video, but I think one way to enjoy it is to look for the characters who are animated for the first time in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 2 and which scenes feature your favorite characters.

Ohkawa: I think it is a very rare case for the artists themselves to create a video using only their own characters. But because they are all CLAMP characters, fans can have fun finding their own favorite characters among them. There may be an unexpected scene or unexpected characters may co-star, so please try your best to find them. Also, since old characters will appear, we would be very happy if you could watch it while remembering the works related to the characters.

Note

^[1] Not necessarily a magic circle, Mokona is talking about the magic which appears in CLAMP IN WONDERLAND, for example, Chun Hyang’s spell.

Translated from Japanese by shidouhikaru15.

Source

Interview originally published in CLAMP Interview – CLAMP IN WONDERLAND 1&2 1989～2006 〈PRECIOUS EDITION〉booklet (Bandai Visual), released on October 26, 2007. Original text available upon request.

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