{"id":6070,"date":"2019-07-25T17:28:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T00:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/?p=6070"},"modified":"2024-10-17T00:29:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T07:29:07","slug":"panel-report-cencoroll-connect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2019\/07\/25\/panel-report-cencoroll-connect\/","title":{"rendered":"AX 2019 Panel Report &#8211; Cencoroll Connect"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Ten years ago, <i>Cencoroll Connect <\/i>was a 30-minute animated film that came out with multiple commercials in Japan and only a few international screenings. The film was an original work by one-man-team Uki Atsuya who single-handedly came up with the concept, designed the series, and directed it all from start to finish \u2014 a feat worth noting in today\u2019s world of massive animation studios with hundreds of staffers. Despite Uki\u2019s efforts though, reviews were less than stellar. <i>Cencoroll Connect <\/i>apparently lacked a plot and substantial characters, thus remained under the radar until 2019 when its sequel was announced to premiere at Anime Expo 2019. With such a large time gap between movie sequels and its diminishing audience, how did <i>Cencoroll <\/i>as a whole maintain its foothold overseas and be further supported at Anime Expo? That question continued to burn at the back of my mind as I leaned back to enjoy the premiering panel. As a disclaimer: the Cencoroll Connect panel held at Anime Expo 2019 featured both the first movie <i>Cencoroll Connect<\/i><\/span>,<span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> and its sequel <i>Cencoroll 2<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wU67Tewbruk\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The first movie opens up with a simple plot. Yuki, a normal high school student in Sapporo, Hokkaido, happens to encounter the brooding Tetsu and his weird alien friend \u201cCenco\u201d. In a massive whirlwind of confusion, Yuki is suddenly thrust into this conflict of humans using aliens to fight each other for dominance. There\u2019s nothing mind-blowing about this concept, let alone a \u201cboy-meets-girl\u201d scenario that most likely implies a close relationship or romantic development between characters. But Uki-san uses a surprising amount of his own twists and subtle details that leaves the audience hanging by the first movie. Then <i>Cencoroll 2<\/i> begins to roll and <i>everything<\/i> starts to make sense: from the way characters act to the progression of the plot. All your questions are answered one by one, and before you know it, you start focusing less on the plot holes and more on Uki\u2019s vision for <i>Cencoroll<\/i>. Admittedly, it\u2019s better to watch both <i>Cencoroll Connect<\/i> and <i>Cencoroll 2<\/i> in one sitting to get the full scope of the plot. Just watching either of the two movies will get you nowhere and I could see why viewers back in 2009 were not too impressed with <i>Cencoroll Connect<\/i> as a standalone film.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6077\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6077\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"6077\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2019\/07\/25\/panel-report-cencoroll-connect\/cenco-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?fit=640%2C907&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,907\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Our adorkable main cast &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?fit=212%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?fit=640%2C907&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-6077\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?resize=300%2C425&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?resize=212%2C300&amp;ssl=1 212w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Cenco-2.jpg?resize=296%2C420&amp;ssl=1 296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6077\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Our adorkable main trio (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyroll.com\/anime-news\/2019\/03\/20-1\/cencoroll-connect-invades-japanese-theaters-on-june-29-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Going forward with a well-executed plot in two movies, the characters in <i>Cencoroll Connect<\/i> are surprisingly very charming. Tetsu is an absurdly broody protagonist that I couldn\u2019t seem to hate, no matter how many edgelords<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> exist in anime. While he often berates Cenco for being \u201clazy\u201d or remarks how dumb Yuki can be, Tetsu carries a softer side whenever Cenco is damaged during the fights or when Yuki is in clear danger. Then you have Yuki, the inquisitive airhead who serves as the audience\u2019s self-insert into the world of <i>Cencoroll<\/i>, but she\u2019s eccentric in her own way that allows her to form interesting bonds with the other characters. Together, Tetsu and Yuki create an interesting dynamic alongside the ever so scowling yet oddly adorable Cenco who puts up with Yuki\u2019s antics and Tetsu\u2019s demands. You end up laughing more at this oddball trio and how well their chemistry holds up, despite how turbulent things went down in both <i>Cencoroll Connect <\/i>and <i>Cencoroll 2<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">While Yuki, Tetsu, and Cenco are the pivotal characters of <i>Cencoroll<\/i>, I found myself especially fond of Shu and Kaname as the secondary characters. In a span of two movies, you are given a \u201cshow-not-tell\u201d description of their personalities, motives, and personal likes\/dislikes as characters, which also explains how each character operates with their aliens. They feel much more threatening to the trio\u2019s dynamics and bring much larger stakes than just being there as typical cardboard cut-outs of \u201cantagonists\u201d. Tetsu may have Cenco who is a versatile fighter, but both Shu and Kaname have tricks up their sleeves t<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">hat make them far more dangerous than anything we\u2019ve seen so far in <i>Cencoroll<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6075\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6075\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"6075\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2019\/07\/25\/panel-report-cencoroll-connect\/antagonists\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?fit=884%2C367&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"884,367\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The &#8220;antagonists&#8221; of the show. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?fit=300%2C125&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?fit=696%2C289&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-6075\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?resize=696%2C289&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?w=884&amp;ssl=1 884w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?resize=300%2C125&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?resize=768%2C319&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Antagonists.png?resize=696%2C289&amp;ssl=1 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6075\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">The &#8220;antagonists&#8221; of the show. Shu on the left, Kaname on the right (<a href=\"https:\/\/cencoroll-usa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a>)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">As much as I\u2019d like to harp about the plot and characterization, the truth behind <i>Cencoroll<\/i>\u2019s popularity and niche foothold in international audiences is not because of these two factors. The reality is, Uki is an absolute <i>genius<\/i> when it comes to pairing his visuals with the appropriate soundtrack or sound effect. I will never forget the scene that truly wowed me: the moment when Tetsu and Cenco first appear on screen to<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> monitor a new alien that rips apart a space dimension and plops on top of a skyscraper, stirring national attention as it happens. We start with the rippling effect of the alien popping out of the sky, which reminded me of how the Arrancar faction in <i>Bleach<\/i> crossed dimensions. There\u2019s a singular screech of the alien ripping through the dimensional plane before it fully reveals its grotesque appearance, promoting an unworldly and bizarre feeling that\u2019s absolutely fitting for a sci-fi scenario. Following up on the alien\u2019s touchdown, Tetsu immediately communicates with Cenco using a hair strand that acts <\/span>like<span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> an electric antenna. It flicks, unfurls, and ripples to life with a &#8220;fwish, fwtiz!&#8221; <\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">sound effect of <\/span>a crackling<span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> cable wire, all while accompanied by Ryo\u2019s electric and jarring single \u201cLove &amp; Roll\u201d and soundtrack single \u201cCencoroll\u201d. In those short few minutes, I felt completely impressed and completely <i>invested<\/i> in how well Uki crafted his world. How could such a man instil<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> so much awe and impact in just a few frames? I felt the need to learn more, to see what else Uki had to offer and witness his passion project come to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Time practically flew and before I knew it, the audience was treated with a special Q&amp;A session with producer Hayashi Kenichi and the man himself, Uki Atsuya. Despite being a complete newcomer to the <i>Cencoroll <\/i>movies, I clapped just as hard as the original fans and cheered just as loud. It was such a joy to hear how much effort both Hayashi and Uki put into <i>Cencoroll<\/i> as an independent film project, which gave me so much hope for the subsequent <i>Cencoroll<\/i> movies. I hope that with Anime Expo\u2019s premiere of the second film, it will give <i>Cencoroll<\/i> the proper reception it deserves. I look forward to its future premieres and anything else Uki has to offer at this point. Be on the lookout for the next <i>Cencoroll 3<\/i>, whether it comes out soon or ten years from now<\/span>!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Special thanks to Aniplex for hosting this premiere at Anime Expo 2019 for international audiences!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ten years ago, Cencoroll Connect was a 30-minute animated film that came out with multiple commercials in Japan and only a few international screenings. The film was an original work by one-man-team Uki Atsuya who single-handedly came up with the concept, designed the series, and directed it all from start to finish \u2014 a feat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":6078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[14,10046,85,648,6615,10045,635,618],"class_list":["post-6070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anime","tag-anime","tag-anime-conventions","tag-anime-expo","tag-anime-movie-premiere","tag-convention","tag-events","tag-movie","tag-summer-2019"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Header.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n4QV-1zU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6070"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6080,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6070\/revisions\/6080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}