Director Research: Tetsuro Araki

Tetsuro Araki is a Japanese director born in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. He was born 5th November 1976.  Araki has worked on several well known Japanese television series. Most of these series have become popularized by American distribution and thus have been dubbed in English and are known to a vast number in several other countries in including Britain.

Although nearly all of his works appear in the animated form of the Japanese 'Anime', Araki's directing skills are clear throughout each of these series. On several series, Tetsuro Araki even contributes to the story boarding and key animating, contributing along with several other artists to make sure that his own vision is clear of how he wants to direct the series.

Akari's most notable TV contributions include being the series director on 'Black Lagoon' in 2006, 'Death Note' between 2006 and 2007 and 'Attack on Titan' in 2013. All three of these series have received much critical acclaim, both for the directing and the way the overall story is conveyed.

What is most surprising about Araki's directing is how diverse he can make the tone of each individual series. 'Black Lagoon' showcases a lot of comedy within what would otherwise be a seriously conveyed world. 'Attack on Titan', although slightly over-the-top at times, presents some very serious and often times harsh imagery. Perhaps most interesting is 'Death Note'. This series is grounded in reality. Although there are supernatural elements, this series feels like a real thriller that could easily work as live action. The tone is often times bleak but somehow there are very slight inserts of humour which allow an ease of tension, balancing the right level of intensity in this murder/ crime drama.

Most importantly, Araki takes time to develop each character. Some of his series last for as much as thirty episodes and each may focus on either one particular character to develop or on several to develop their relationship with each other at certain stages of events. Each character is always given a distinct personality and is then developed, sometimes into another during the course of a series.

That is the essence of Araki's directorial style. Araki takes his time. Each shot is planned, whether still or kinetic. None of his directorial efforts feel rushed. This is an aspect that I feel I am inspired by when making my own films. Several of these efforts also do not seem glamorous, often the footage seems raw and realistic (when not dealing with supernatural elements), something I will also take from the series.

However, there are still several problems that Araki seems to convey several times through his directorial efforts. Firstly, because some characters are developed to such a high standard, several others who may only appear later on in the series appear very underdeveloped in comparison. Secondly, sometimes there can be a lot of exposition literally telling the audience what some character's motivation may be what what they are going to do next which sometimes breaks the atmosphere and can take viewers out of the drama. This would be something I would avoid, opting to show instead of telling. However, I only have a six or seven minute window to convey the story through either showing or hinting at certain plot-points so I need to be careful.

Most Notable TV directorial credits:
-Gungrave (2003)
-Black Lagoon (2006)
-Death Note (2006-2007)
-Guilty Crown (2011)
-Attack on Titan (2013)
-Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (2016)