"RaglanPunch" is a font from Fontworks' CATCH series. It is a typeface with a unique and powerful character, and is used in a wide range of media, including books, anime, and television subtitles.
This font was used particularly effectively in the anime "Kill la Kill" (broadcast from October 2013 to March 2014), and the impact of its typographical expression was enormous.
This time, we will be focusing on RaglanPunch, introducing its development, the characteristics of this typeface, and using examples of how it is used in the anime series "Kill la Kill."
Additionally, director Imaishi of this work cooperated with us in creating this article by providing us with his thoughts on the role of typefaces in anime works.
Production cooperation: ©TRIGGER, Kazuki Nakashima/Kill la Kill Production Committee
The development of RaglanPunch- The Raglan was refined to suit the times
"RaglanPunch-UB" is a refined typeface of "Raglan-UB".
The Raglan-UB was born in 1995.
At the time, the variety of so-called display-oriented design typefaces released by font manufacturers was not as abundant as it is today.
At the time, it was released as an extremely Heavy display typeface that was not available from other companies, and its impactful design was well received and it was often used in flyers, catalogs, etc.
At the time, fonts were primarily intended for use in paper media (printing), but the need for them has grown for digital media such as monitors and displays due to the advent of electronic signage and the shift to digital terrestrial television broadcasting. In particular, television captions have evolved from simply conveying information in text, like subtitles, to being used for dramatic purposes in ways that express "scenery" and "emotions," and even in anime and games, unique fonts are now often used.
Of course, the uses of "Raglan-UB" expanded to meet those needs. However, as the uses expanded, problems also arose. The problem was that "Raglan is easily crushed" below a certain Font Size. As a font manufacturer, we wanted to solve this problem so that people could use unique, Heavy fonts more comfortably. As a result, we made some improvements and created "RaglanPunch-UB" in 2011.
"RaglanPunch-UB" is a typeface that has been refined to suit the times.
"RaglanPunch-UB" has an even larger character surface than "Raglan-UB", with larger holes (punches) in the white-filled areas, and wider joints between lines and between parallel lines. This makes it an easy-to-use typeface that maintains the Heavy impact while minimizing character crushing even at Heading size.
Adding a distinctive "RaglanPunch" to the image creates an impact
In the anime "Kill la Kill," the highly impactful "RaglanPunch" is used even more distinctively.
監督 今石 洋之氏のアニメ作品における書体の役割について思うこと
I believe that the role of typefaces in anime is not simply to supplement information with text (such as meaning and pronunciation), but also to exist as pictures and contribute to the presentation and atmosphere of the screen.
This time, for "Kill la Kill", I knew from the scenario stage that there would be a strong element of typography, so I felt that important lines needed to be read in subtitles, and I wanted to have an expression that would become an icon throughout the work apart from the artwork. Therefore, I envisioned letters that would be so bold that they would fill the entire screen and obscure the picture underneath, so I chose the "RaglanPunch" typeface as the closest thing to that intention.
The method we adopted for this production is to make the characters overlap with the text so that they cannot be seen, and to make the ruby readings on the kanji characters extremely small. Styles this time is "it doesn't matter if you can't read it, we place more importance on impact than on being able to read it."
Also, this time, rather than just using the "RaglanPunch" as is, we added a process to roughen the edges to give it the analog feel of "Kill la Kill."
By skillfully combining the typeface with animation, we were able to create a sense of newness and innovation.
