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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nThe Colors Within<\/em>, in theaters nationwide beginning next Friday January 24th, is from director Naoko Yamada. Three teens \u2014 Totsuko, Rui and Kimi \u2014 form a band as they figure out the next steps in their lives. Totsuko also has a unique power: sensing people as specific colors. (This Animation Scoop Q&A<\/em> with Yamada was conducted on Zoom with a translator and was edited for length and clarity. Images: GKIDS)<\/p>\n Jackson Murphy<\/strong>: How did you become interested in this ability to see colors and wanting to explore that in your film?<\/p>\n Naoko Yamada:<\/strong> It\u2019s really vague, but I think the way we sense each other in the world is very different. We all have our own different set of rules that we sense when we talk to people or when we interact with people. So for Totsuko, that in the sense is that\u2019s color. But I wanted to make sure that the audience, when they see the movie, could adapt their own rules on how they sense other people or how they interact with others. And I wanted to incorporate that so the viewers could think about how they interact with others as well.<\/p>\n JM<\/strong>: You do an excellent job with that. And I love how you show the main characters\u2019 personal lives in such real and honest ways. What was most challenging for you to present with the main trio, and especially with their personal lives?<\/p>\n NY:<\/strong> Even though they may be small issues or problems that they\u2019re struggling with (it\u2019s not very overly dramatic or anything \u2014 nothing huge happens out of it), it\u2019s in their personal lives. It may seem small to others from other people\u2019s perspectives, but to them it\u2019s really big. It\u2019s a huge deal to them. So I really wanted to focus on that and then also respect that they have their issues. I think that\u2019s what was a challenge to me, or what I wanted to challenge myself with.<\/p>\n JM<\/strong>: I really like the character of Sister Hiyoshiko. She is very well written and kind of the beating heart of the film. What do you love about this character, and the emotion that she brings to the others into the story?<\/p>\n NY<\/strong>: Yeah, I love her, too, as a character. She\u2019s one of my favorite characters as well. I really think her appeal is that she\u2019s a young sister. She doesn\u2019t have that many years of being a sister yet. She\u2019s still like a novice. I think she\u2019s very relatable as a human being, and she\u2019s very young at heart. She still remembers what it\u2019s like to be a young girl, or a younger woman. As the years go by she will be more sister-like and her experience will grow. But I think she\u2019s still midway. She\u2019s still malleable, and that\u2019s part of her appeal as a character.<\/p>\n JM:<\/strong> I love her interactions with everyone. How would you compare directing an animated feature to the process of songwriting that we see in the film?<\/p>\n NY<\/strong>: I thought we were actually complete opposites. In the story, the three of them are not professional musicians. They were writing songs for themselves. It wasn\u2019t for someone to listen to, or to make money, or etc. It was really a way to express themselves through music. I, on the other hand, created the story so that a lot of people could watch it. The way the three in the story and the way I approached this were completely opposite. I was really facing towards the outward world. And they\u2019re more like looking inside themselves.<\/p>\n JM:<\/strong> And we see them feel the joy in music. How do you feel joy when you\u2019re listening to music?<\/p>\n NY:<\/strong> Music, what\u2019s important inside of me, or feeling the rhythm within my body, I want to treasure it. And I think that\u2019s why I listen to music. I like going to concerts or live jam sessions with the people who like similar music as me. But what\u2019s also important are these emotions that I can\u2019t really share or express with others in order to feel it. I think that\u2019s what music is for me.<\/p>\n JM<\/strong>: Wow. I think we\u2019re almost out of time, but I think what you say about maturity and young people growing up and learning maturity is really powerful. And I thank you for your time today. Congratulations on this.<\/p>\n NY<\/strong>: That makes me so happy hearing that. Thank you as well for today.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.animationscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ColorsWithin1-460.jpg\")
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