Koji Watanabe Designed Everything from Pistols to Howitzers for Golden Kamuy!
An interview with Golden Kamuy's firearm designer Koji Watanabe!

Golden Kamuy's official website is releasing a series of interviews with cast and staff over the course of the Spring season, which we're translating and brining directly to you! They started things off with the character designer, Ken'Ichi Onuki, followed by animal designer, Ryo Sumiyoshi, the art director, Atsushi Morikawa, and this week we bring you the firearms designer, Koji Watanabe!
Tell us how you felt when you read the manga.
I thought it was great! (I read the whole thing in one sitting.)
What did you focus on when you did the firearms for this anime?
All of them are real weapons, so I focused on drawing them accurately.
Is there anything that you always have to think about when doing firearms design, not just for this anime, but for any anime?
How to simplify the amount of lines you need to draw, so it’s easier.
What parts were particularly difficult?
Things like the 28cm Howitzer, where the only pictures available were in black and white, and too blurry to make out details.
There are a lot of different firearms in this anime. If there was any particular place where you did personal research or had instruction from the show supervisor that was put to use in the anime, please tell us.
I draw the weapons from a lot of angles in order to make it easier for the animators to understand them.
Tell us what you remember about your interactions with Director Nanba and the rest of the staff.
I remember that I had to do retakes for minor details. Very tiny nuances.
Tell us how it felt to participate in making this anime, and what you hope to see in it.
I hope you all enjoy it.
---