Quite a few characters appear in "JAPAN, Our Homeland" ? the main character, his friends in elementary school, his family, neighbors, and school teachers. Such diverse characters are the focal point of the movie's human drama.

It's about the time to start designing the characters, starting from the main casts.

"The lady at the stationary store should look grumpy." "This teacher is supposed to be a chatterbox." What makes Mr. Kugimiya's (character designer) work difficult is that each character has a detailed personality with a rich panel of facial expressions, which slightly changes with the flow of the story.

Boys' hairstyle: buzz cut or bob

The buzz cut or bob hair style were two of the typical hairstyles that boys had in those days. As the movie features so many boys, we had to tactfully differentiate them by giving them glasses, different facial shapes, and so on. The director brought his own old photo album from his elementary school days. Although only in black and white, the group pictures taken in the school yard and on school trips helped us design each character.

Upon designing each character, the director assigned them with different personalities. Characters' facial expressions should greatly reflect these personalities.

We hope the audience will enjoy the looks of each individual character and the performance of voice actors/actresses chosen to suit the personality of each character.