ATSUSHI NISHIGORI × The Natural Aristocrat®

Interview

GROTESQQQUE. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

Fantasia 2026 Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori on Grotesqqque

By Nir Regev

Published on July 31, 2026

Ayame and one of the girls outdoors beneath a sky full of stars, one of them pointing upward

NocturneUnder a sky that never runs out of stars. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

Three Works × One Film

The A(E)LIENS title card over a pastel city skyline

01 — A(E)LIENS

02 — YOROSHIKU★Girl

The NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE title card over a field of stars

03 — NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE

Interview: Director Atsushi Nishigori of Darling in the Franxx fame is back with all new anime film, Grotesqqque. Nishigori’s latest picture saw its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival 2026, where he discussed the film with The Natural Aristocrat®.

01 · NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE

The action and the sky

action-packedthe scenery of a skya strong impression

Ayame, a pureblood vampire with long blonde hair and red eyes, lies back in the dark

NOCTURNEAyame, a pureblood vampire with long blonde hair. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What part of the film was the most challenging to animate?

A Gal P with a gold star hairclip laughing in pink and blue light

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

In the second work, YOROSHIKU Girl, there was a lot of action. It’s a really action-packed part of the movie, so how were we going to manage that? That was one of the difficulties I experienced.

However, in the third work, Nocturne, towards the end there was a very important scene where they were showing the sky.

One of the things I really wanted to figure out was how I’m going to create a scene with the scenery of a sky that was going to leave a strong impression on everyone watching it. That was definitely one of the challenges I had in the third one.

Two figures stand at the foot of an enormous glowing waterfall under a starlit sky

NocturneThe sky scene Nishigori calls the hardest in the film. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Can you describe your day to day approach to writing and directing?

Two of the girls read a newspaper together inside the wagon

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

As an animator, I always had to think about how I’m going to put up the drawing I have in front of me. Obviously, the text helps me get proper context, or give a bit more structure to the character.

However, it’s always my part of the work to think, okay, how am I going to put this into a drawing? How am I going to give it a proper rhythm in the animation?

“Why not three?”

too many ideasone movie could not hold itafter Evangelion

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV)

Why did you decide on three stories or episodes?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

It was a pretty simple reason. I had way too many ideas and too many scenes or shots that I wanted to do, and one movie could not handle all of it. So I decided, why not three? And that’s how it happened.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

How long have you wanted to make this film?

Ayame lies with Shion, Momo and Canna on patterned blankets at night, gathered around a small cluster of glowing fairy lights

NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

I looked it up — I started this project in 2020, after I finished Evangelion.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Was the development of ‘GROTESQQQUE’ different compared to your earlier work?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

That’s for sure. I had to put three works into one work, and all of them had a different style. I did something that I never imagined we could do. I really was wondering, oh, can we do it? But it was a very exciting project, for sure.

03 · YOROSHIKU★Girl

The music came first

rhythm35 musiciansfeel the flowGALs Tokyo

The neon skyline of GALs TOKYO at night, lit by pink and blue signage

YOROSHIKU★GirlGALs Tokyo, where morning never comes. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What do you hope people remember most about GROTESQQQUE?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

One of the things I want the audience to pick up on is the rhythm. The music was definitely a strong, integral part of this movie. You can almost see it as a long-feature music video. I really want the audience to feel the rhythm, not just the rhythm within one segment of the film, but the rhythm if you look at all three of the works combined. I really want the audience to feel the flow of the music throughout this work.

“You can almost see it as a long-feature music video.”

Atsushi Nishigori × 35 musicians scored the film

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

I just want to follow up on that. Do you actually hear the music before you direct and animate the scenes, or is that all in post?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

In terms of the selection of the music, there were some scenes where I already had a proper image of what kind of music I wanted in that specific scene, so I would discuss it with the music team and explain what kind of feel I wanted to match.

In those cases, the music team would deliver something that went well with what I had in mind. For other scenes, there was some music that didn’t particularly match exactly what I wanted, but as I was creating the scenes, I felt it was fun. It was a fun experience to see how it would go together. So there was a bit of both.

04 · A(E)LIENS

Elie pulls it all together

eccentric personalityretro colorthree distinct art styles

Elie, a pink-haired alien girl in glasses and a varsity jacket, leaps toward the camera with a red cassette player at her hip

A(E)LIENSElie, voiced by Kana Ichinose. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What does it mean to you to be part of the Fantasia Film Festival?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

This was my first time attending or experiencing a movie at a film festival with the audience, so this was definitely a new experience for me. In the festival experience, I felt right at home. I found the audience very charming, very welcoming.

It was almost like an event, it was a festival, and it kind of reminded me of the days when I loved and enjoyed anime. It also gave me an important experience of how audiences outside of Japan experience anime.

I really feel like, when I’m working in the future, I will have to think about how audiences in Japan experience anime and how audiences outside of Japan experience anime, and maybe I’ll have to think about how I should adapt my future works.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

How do you make unusual characters feel human?

Two masked figures with glowing green visors face the camera in the dark

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

One of the things I do is put in a bit more of an anime personality, and then on top of that, I include some more human-like emotions.

Having that proper balance, or that switch between the more anime-like and the more human-like, I feel is one of the fun parts of making anime and creating these kinds of characters.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

How important were the character designs to the story?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

In the three works, I had to choose what kind of color I would pick and how we would do the color and the character design. Some of the works would have a bit more of a retro vibe. They would also have a bit more of an old style of color, from the olden days of anime.

I did base myself on the anime that I used to watch and used to like in the past, and I was really thinking about how I could challenge myself to recreate that kind of feeling, that experience of when I used to watch these anime.

One of the things we worked hard on is making sure that each of the three works in the film had its own distinct art style.

One of the things I hope people can do is, if they see one of the shots or scenes and they see the art style, they’ll immediately know which work it is from. That was one of the challenges we had, and something I thought about during the production of this work.

A cluttered pink bedroom with a retro television, where two figures sit on the floor

A(E)LIENSA retro vibe, from the olden days of anime. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Did the story change during production?

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

From the get-go, I already had the idea in my mind that I would have Nocturne as the end goal of the three works. So I had to think, how am I going to reach that goal of Nocturne? How should I make everyone express themselves? How should I handle the world building?

One of the things I really had to think about was how I’m going to adapt that, because what we were going to do with the first and the second piece in this movie was already kind of set. So I really had to adapt and see how I could adjust Nocturne to get to that goal.

Secrets stay secret

a bit of a secretEaster eggsinterpret it your way

Ayame's red eye visible through a narrow gap in a doorway

NocturneAyame, through the gap in the doorway. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Was there anything you removed from the final film?

STELLA and UNKNOWN, in an oversized white cat mask, on a neon-lit city street at night

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

In terms of what we cut, in the second part of the movie, as I said a bit earlier, it’s a very action-packed part of the movie. We felt that if we put in too much, that part was going to be a bit too tiring, too heavy to digest.

However, one of the things about this project is that I had a lot of freedom in terms of how long the movie could be. So whatever I wanted to put in, I could put in. But one thing I had to pay attention to was that I didn’t want to have it too long and drag it out, so that the audience would get bored of too much of the same thing. I really wanted to try and adjust according to how much the audience would like it.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What detail should viewers watch for in GROTESQQQUE?

A blue-haired Gal P leaps through a burst of pink energy

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

I would say this is a bit of a secret. If there is any kind of special Easter egg, I’m not going to say it. I have to be careful here, because I don’t want to say this is how you should interpret the character, or, if there’s a special Easter egg, oh, this is a reference to that.

I really want the audience to discover and interpret it the way they want, because if I give out a certain thought process of how I wanted to do it, I don’t want the audience to be forced to think in a certain way. I really want the audience to be free to think and interpret the movie the way they want.

First festival, new eyes

right at homecharming, welcomingaudiences outside Japan

NocturneAn extreme close-up of Ayame’s red eyes. Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

Do fan reactions change the way you write or create in any way?

A pink-haired Gal P swings a glowing sword, trailing light

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

I didn’t have that kind of experience in the past. However, by attending this festival and watching the movie with the audience, I could see how the audience reacted to each specific scene, and that gave me immediate feedback.

It did influence me in a way. I might include that, or think about it, when I work on future projects, thinking about how I could make certain scenes make the audience laugh in a certain way. I feel this is one of the pleasures of being an anime creator: thinking about how to make the audience laugh and how to make the audience enjoy it.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT

What does it mean to you to be part of the Fantasia Film Festival?

A masked figure wreathed in a glowing green halo against pink light

ATSUSHI NISHIGORI

Cast

14 rolesGen HoshinoNogizaka46

Elie, a girl with pink and lavender hair in round glasses and blue overalls, facing the camera

Kento Kunikura, a young man with dark purple hair and glasses in a collared shirt and tie

A(E)LIENS

Elie: Kana Ichinose
Kento Kunikura: Gen Hoshino

STELLA, a girl with dark navy hair tied back, wearing a choker and a navy jacket

UNKNOWN, a figure in a white cat mask with red ears above a dark high-collared outfit

HIKARIN, a silver-haired girl wearing a headset visor with teal accents

GORGEOUS MIKA, a tanned girl with magenta hair, bold gal makeup, gold earrings and star motifs

SWORD, a girl with long pale blue hair falling past her shoulders

CHIFFON, a light blue haired girl under a large lavender hood

PAPICO, a pink-haired girl in a patterned outfit with one eye covered

POYOMI, a green-skinned girl in a green cap with dark twin tails

YOROSHIKU★Girl

STELLA: Sara Minami
UNKNOWN: Ikumi Hasegawa
HIKARIN: Saori Hayami
GORGEOUS☆MIKA: Maaya Uchida
SWORD: Chika Anzai
CHIFFON: Miyu Tomita
PAPICO: Rumi Okubo
POYOMI: Rie Kugimiya

Ayame, a blonde girl with red eyes, a black bow and a black lace collar

Shion, a black-haired girl with blunt bangs and dark eyes in dark clothing

Momo, a brown-haired girl with twin ribbons and a white collar

Canna, a girl with straight dark navy hair and pale skin

NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE

Ayame: Nagi Inoue (Nogizaka46)
Shion: Aruno Nakanishi (Nogizaka46)
Momo: Miku Ichinose (Nogizaka46)
Canna: Nao Tomisato (Nogizaka46)

GROTESQQQUE

Director: Atsushi Nishigori — also screenplay and original character design
Animation: CloverWorks
Produced by: JOEN Inc., Aniplex Inc.
Episodes: A(E)LIENS × YOROSHIKU★Girl × NOCTURNE: NUIT GROTESQUE
Run time: 104 minutes
Music: 35 contributors. Main theme “Shoot Shoot Shoot” by Metalverse
Japan release: November 6, 2026

Watch the trailer

Stills

Elie throws a peace sign beside Kento Kunikura in a neon-lit arcade

A flying saucer hovers over a bright green field with the city behind it

A close-up of one of the small pink alien creatures from A(E)LIENS

Elie eats a slice of bread while small alien creatures float around her

The Gal Ps gathered together on the street, lit from behind by an explosion

The white cat mask lit by red laser lines in the dark

A helmeted Gal P rides a trail of light across the dark city

The wagon travels a dark road beneath a sky thick with stars

Nir Regev

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All content on The Natural Aristocrat® is Copyright © 2016-2026 TheNaturalAristocrat.com. All rights reserved. This includes (but not limited to) ALL text in this article. Film Stills and Art in this interview article were provided to The Natural Aristocratt® and are Credit: ©Atsushi Nishigori, CloverWorks/Project GTQ.

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