What You Need to Know:
TV Anime「CAROLE ＆ TUESDAY」NEW PV
- A lot of attention has been circulating around Flying Dog's upcoming musical anime, CAROLE & TUESDAY, and Honey's Anime has the official scoop! CAROLE & TUESDAY is a groundbreaking musical anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and featuring original character designs by Eisaku Kubonouchi. Earlier today in Tokyo, more details were revealed regarding the main cast, the official opening and ending theme songs, a brand new PV, along with its official airtime in Japan. This all took place during the production presentation meeting, which we'll cover in more detail below.
- Music is a major focus of CAROLE & TUESDAY, and in addition to many of the tracks being provided by foreign composers, all of the main theme songs will be sung in English. Carole & Tuesday’s songs will be performed by Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann, the winners of the 2018 global singers audition. Details about these artists can be found below.
- The titular characters Carole & Tuesday will be voiced by Miyuri Shimabukuro (Carole) and Kana Ichinose (Tuesday). These two fresh voice actresses will be backed up by supporting cast members Akio Otsuka (Gus), Miyu Irino (Roddy), Sumire Uesaka (Angela), Hiroshi Kamiya (Tao), and Mamoru Miyano (Ertegun).
- Animation production is being handled by Bones, the studio behind numerous hit anime including Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven's Door, Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka Seven, and My Hero Academia, while music—a central element of this story—is being handled by FlyingDog, a record company that has produced soundtracks for many hit anime series including Cowboy Bebop and Macross.
- Two seasons of CAROLE & TUESDAY will be broadcast on Fuji TV’s +Ultra timeslot and Netflix in Japan from April 10, 2019. Further details regarding the overseas Netflix release will be announced a later date. Please look forward to a global anime of epic proportions.
- Video footage from the production presentation meeting will be streamed on YouTube for one week from 21:00 today (Streaming schedule:YouTube: 2/27 (Wed) JST 21:00 - 3/5 (Tues) 20:59).
Source: Official Press Release
Artist Details
Nai Br.XX
Nai Br.XX was born in New York. Influenced by her family, she grew to love Jamaican music from a young age, and the rhythm and sounds she learned as a child form the basis of her repertoire today. At age 12, she moved to Atlanta, her current base of activities. There, she attended Georgia State University, where she met producer Sensei Bueno, an encounter that led to her first serious musical production. With an elegant voice honed through vigorous musical activities, she approaches music from a bold new angle, differentiating herself from the humdrum beats currently saturating the contemporary music scene and earning praise from critics and radio listeners alike. Inspired by Tina Turner’s performances, she enchants audiences with her vivid expressions during gentle, flowing acoustic sets and energetic band/DJ sets. Artist link.
Celeina Ann
Born in Tokyo, Celeina Ann is a singer-songwriter who attracted attention through her performance in Aozora Caravan, a popular segment of the NTV series ZIP! Influenced by her father, she began playing the guitar in junior high school, and in 2014, she launched her own official YouTube channel, “Celeina Ann’s Channel,” where she posts covers of western songs. Her mini-album “We Are One,” which was released in November 2015, ranked 4th on iTunes’ album chart, surpassing many major artists. In July 2016, she made her major debut with the mini-album SUNDAYS, which consisted of six songs, including CHANGE, an official song written for cosmetics manufacturer CLINIQUE’s campaign “One step toward change.” In April 2018, she launched a regular program on bay fm called SUNDAY! FUN!DAY and began VJing for International Flash on Japanese music channel Space Shower TV. Artist link.
OP/ED Details
The opening theme “Kiss Me” is being produced by Nulbarich. The ending theme “Hold Me Now” is being produced by Benny Sings. Other composers contributing tracks to this anime include Lido, a Norwegian musician and producer; Jen Woods, an American indie diva; Maisa Tsuno, the guitarist of the all-girls band Akai Ko-en; Evan "Kidd" Bogart, a composer who has produced songs for numerous major artists including Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez; Tim Rice-Oxley, a member of the popular rock band Keane; and Eirik Glambek Bøe, one half of the Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience.
Canadian artist Mocky will be in charge of producing the BGM. The winners of the 2018 global singers audition, Nai Br.XX and Celeina Ann, will be performing the songs of the titular characters Carole & Tuesday. Music is a major focus of CAROLE & TUESDAY, and in addition to many of the tracks being provided by foreign composers, all of the main theme songs will be sung in English.
Synopsis
Fifty years have passed since mankind began migrating to the new frontier: Mars.
It’s an age where most culture is produced by AI, and people are content to be passive consumers.
There’s a girl.
Scrapping a living in the metropolis of Alba City, she’s working part time while trying to become a musician. She’s always felt like something is missing.
Her name is Carole.
There’s a girl.
Born to a wealthy family in the provincial town of Herschel City, she dreams of becoming a musician, but nobody around her understands. She feels like the loneliest person in the world.
Her name is Tuesday.
A chance meeting brings them together.
They want to sing.
They want to make music.
Together, they feel like they just might have a chance.
Production Presentation Meeting Report
TV Anime [CAROLE & TUESDAY] Official Production Presentation Meeting - Available for 1 week
Four or five years ago, President Sasaki mentioned to Bones President Minami that he’d like to do an original music anime. At the time, President Minami and Director Watanabe had just finished Space Dandy and were busy planning their next idea, which eventually turned out to be CAROLE & TUESDAY. Reading this plan, President Sasaki felt, “It was ridiculously straightforward and unrefined, but splendid at the same time. It suited both FlyingDog and Bones to a tee, so I went along with it.”
Director Watanabe also reflected on the musical aspects of the plan, saying, “As a music maniac, I really wanted to do a music anime as my lifework. But I like music so much, that I couldn’t accept anything but the very best. I said the bar very high for myself. However, when we were working on this project, the music maniac in me gave it the go-sign (laughs), so the anime director in me could finally get to work.”
When asked, “Why did you make the protagonists two young girls?” Director Watanabe explained that “This isn’t a story about some lonely genius artists. It’s about two people who can’t create their ideal music separately but are capable of making something amazing together. Basically, I wanted to depict this collaborative effort.” He added that “Anime is also a collaborative effort. Just like our work, I wanted to show those moments where 1+1 equals more than 2.”
When asked about the appointment of Eisaku Kubonouchi as original character designer:
“I asked Mr. Minami to show me lots of pictures from illustrators and managaka, and I selected one based purely on the art style. That was Kubonouchi. Not only were his artistic skills good, but the backgrounds also stood out and it really felt like the characters were alive, so I chose him.” (Watanabe)
“Kubonouchi’s pictures have universal appeal and are also popular overseas. We thought he’d be able to create some characters that audiences all over the world would like.”
When asked about the specific character creation process during the Q&A session, Director Watanabe mentioned that he was also influenced by Kubonouchi’s designs. “When Kubonouchi sent me drafts, he would include lots of explanatory memos and suggestions like ‘How about this background?’ With pictures of specific poses, he would add remarks like ‘When they’re doing this pose, they’re probably thinking this.’ Those memos gave me a lot of hints during production, so in that sense, my correspondence with Kubonouchi also contributed to forming the characters.”
After getting an overall idea of the anime, the new promotional video was screened. This was the first video that included character’s voices. Afterwards, each of the main cast’s voice actors commented on the characters they’re playing.
Miyuri Shimabukuro (Carole)
I think Carole is really frank and straightforward. She’s not the type of person to put up with injustices. She has a lot of qualities that I don’t, but when I voice her, I try not to put on airs or make her cute, I just sort of play it natural.
Kana Ichinose (Tuesday)
Tuesday is from a good family, so my first impression was that she’s very elegant and ladylike. But once the story gets going, she starts acting like a bright and energetic girl her age, and you can tell that she’s really passionate about music. When it comes to music, she’ll do things that she would never do otherwise. I want to add my own touch but also stay true to Tuesday’s character.
Akio Otsuka (Gus)
Gus is naturally a bit of a slob (laughs) I actually wanted to wear a tank top today like the character, but they stopped me (laughs). I’m going to be depicting this slobbish guy who gets involved with Carole & Tuesday’s music career.
Miyu Irino (Roddy)
Roddy is an introverted otaku character. He’s definitely not an outdoors type of guy, but he gets dragged into all kinds of shenanigans by Carole, Tuesday, Gus and Ertegun. I’m playing that guy who gets dragged into everything.
Sumire Uesaka (Angela)
Angela is a successful child actor and model who now wants to break into the music business, so she’s a character who’s at a turning point in her life. At first, I thought she was just an arrogant girl, but she does have some surprisingly brave and down to earth aspects to her personality as well, so I want to depict not just the bully, but also the girl underneath.
Hiroshi Kamiya (Tao)
Tao is a cool and logical guy. There were some very specific requirements for voicing him, so I’m going to do those parts carefully.
Mamoru Miyano (Ertegun)
Director Watanabe explained to me that Ertegun is in his 40s, and when I later mentioned this to the production team, they were really surprised. Like, “We didn’t know!” (laughs). It’s pretty rare that I voice a character that’s older than me, so I really want to do my best here. He’s sort of a hip old guy that’s really excitable, but Director Watanabe has firmly reminded me to “stick to the setting”, so I’m going to be very serious about making him excitable!
Regarding the large number of prominent foreign artists participating in the project, Director Watanabe explained that “We wanted to make music that would be appreciated anywhere in the world, so that naturally led to a large number of English songs, and we got a lot of composers and artists from overseas. FlyingDog worked really hard on that point.
During the Q&A session, one reporter asked about getting into a role and its relationship to the music.
Ms. Shimabukuro commented, “Before recordings, I try to listen to Carole’s favorite artists like Adele and Aretha Franklin, so I can get to know what she likes. I also went to watch the recordings of Carole & Tuesday’s songs. I listened to Nai Br.XX singing and tried to produce a similar tone.
Ms. Ichinose commented, “I also listen to Tuesday’s favorite musician Cyndi (Lauper) and sometimes drink her favorite bubble milk tea to get a little closer to the character. I also watched the recording, but I’m just going to leave the singing to Celeina Ann and focus on my role.
Looking back on the work, Ms. Nai Br.XX commented, “I was an honor to be part of this project. Singing music for an anime was a really exciting experience, and I had a lot of fun with it.” Celeina Ann added, “As a singer and songwriter myself, I can really sympathize with a story about two girls who are budding musicians. I’m so glad to have been involved with this project, and I’m also looking forward to watching this anime as a viewer.”
During the meeting, Director Watanabe commented, “I’ve thrown a lot of curve balls in my career, but this time, I wanted to pitch my message straight.” He finished the meeting with the declaration, “In this story, Carole & Tuesday cause a wave in society. I hope that CAROLE & TUESDAY the anime also causes a wave in real life. I don’t often say this, but I’m confident in this work!”
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