NAFCA Original Characters

望月ほくと Hokuto Mochizuki

Elementary school student. Known as “Mocchi” among friends.

Comes from a family lineage of ninja practitioners spanning generations.

Assisting their retainer dog, Kagemaru, who aspires to become an animator.

Using ninja techniques occasionally transforms into an adult to infiltrate animation production companies and voice actor agencies for information gathering.

影マル Kagemaru

It seems like Kagemaru wants to become an animator, but being a dog, it poses a challenge.

Using Hokuto’s ninja techniques, he transforms into a human to draw anime.

He’s also interested in voice acting but struggles because his sentences end with “wan” (the sound a dog makes in Japanese, like “woof” in English).

Character Design: Yoshihiko Umakoshi
Color Design: Kunio Tsujita
Costume Design: NaSka

A Discussion on Creating Original Characters by Yoshihiko Umakoshi and Kunio Tsujita

Q; ―― Please tell us about the process of designing Hokuto, the mascot of NAFCA.

A:

Umakoshi:
First, we were briefed on the founding principles of NAFCA. Additionally, we discussed various motifs for the character design, such as “compass,” “stars” (Polaris), and “map” as guiding elements in the anime industry, along with considerations for international appeal with “ninjas” and the representation of Japanese anime culture with “magical girls.” Concepts such as the imagery for children’s anime, which multi-generational families would embrace, were also shared. Furthermore, during the meeting, costume designer NaSka was present, and her input on costume design imagery was invaluable.

Umakoshi:
Hokuto was intended to be a character that could potentially be used for NAFCA’s video certification, so I aimed for a design that was as simple as possible with a moderate number of lines.

Ideally, for ease of drawing in animation, the head design would have been symmetrical, but I allowed a bit of my own style to show here (laughs).

However, I made sure that by changing angles, I could hide expressions or alter the silhouette, which could also be utilized effectively in presenting the character.

Q: Regarding Kagemaru’s design, what kind of considerations did you have?

Umakoshi:
Kagemaru wasn’t a character I struggled much with when designing. Recently, I’ve been really into Shiba Inu dogs and watch videos of them every day, so that probably influenced my design process (laughs).

When drawing Kagemaru, I provided plenty of images with different angles to make it easier to grasp him in three dimensions for animation purposes. Typically, for characters, you’d prepare a wide range of facial expressions, covering various emotions like joy, anger, sadness, and so on. However, since he’s a dog and I didn’t want to give him too many expressions, I think I prepared the maximum amount for this occasion.

But ultimately, it depends on the artist who draws him next. They can interpret him however they like.

Q: ―― What aspects did you pay attention to in the color design of Hokuto?

Tsujita: 
Hokuto’s color scheme was based on NaSka-san’s original costume design concept, and I thought about which color arrangements would work best. As a key point, I decided to keep the hair and waist ribbon in shades of red, while the rest was primarily in shades of blue to maintain a balanced impression.

Regarding the shoes, I generally followed the same color balance as the body, but the red was actually slightly darker than the ribbon color. By darkening the color of the socks to match, it naturally draws attention to the upper body.

Furthermore, by slightly altering the color of the socks from the yukata’s color, I aimed to enhance movement and add depth to the character’s appearance.

Umakoshi:
Also, the eyelashes are purple.

Tsujita:
Yeah, I thought it would make the eyes stand out more. Since the main lines of the yukata are blue, using purple doesn’t disrupt the balance, and it keeps the eye area from feeling too heavy, don’t you think?

Normally, eyelashes would be black here, but I thought maybe it doesn’t have to be black for everyone (laughs).

Umakoshi: 
I’m grateful for this. When Hokuto was offered to me, there was a request to give him a “Doremi-like image.” However, in “Doremi,” the eyelashes are as thin as pencil lines, almost without any thickness.

Hokuto’s proportions were slightly taller than those in “Doremi” to differentiate him, but his eyebrows were also made thicker, similar to those in “My Hero Academia.” Being able to express that with makeup was really great.

Tsujita:
There was an intention to ensure that the color of the eyebrows and main lines didn’t become too reminiscent of “Pretty Cure” or the typical style of Toei Animation. Hokuto’s overall design came together smoothly, and I’m slightly patting myself on the back for the good result (laughs).

Q: ―― Did you encounter difficulties in the color design of Kagemaru?

Tsujita:
Kagemaru wasn’t originally this color at first 

Umakoshi: 
I mentioned something here, didn’t I? (laughs)

Tsujita:
I see. Originally, Kagemaru’s ninja outfit was yellow. I wanted to see if the same direction as Hokuto’s design would be suitable, so to speak, I threw that idea out as a trial balloon. I think I also made the color of his face, or rather, his fur, a bit more subdued and realistic

Umakoshi:
It was more like the color of toasted bread. We adjusted it to be more towards orange from there. As for the color of his clothes, NAFCA requested something along the lines of “It would be nice if it looked like he’s a companion of Hokuto.”

Tsujita:
Right, that’s it. So we aimed to unify Kagemaru’s design with Hokuto’s. We provided several options for the color of Kagemaru’s fur in a gradient style and let everyone choose from them. In the end, we went with the brightest orange-like color.

This is the process: rather than sticking to a fixed decision from the beginning, we put forward ideas for everyone to consider and provide feedback on. It’s about organizing those responses and bouncing them back.

I think it’s better to develop the design through this kind of back-and-forth exchange of ideas rather than sticking to just one person’s vision. Unlike creating something based solely on one person’s desires, we’re creating what’s necessary together as a team to complete one piece of work.