God there's so much I want to talk about Re: Kondo's answers, but it's a bit overwhelming. Let's start with a few:
1) According to Kondo, the various countries in the Trails series were inspired/based around
Liberl: Thailand (due to never being occupied, though the actual nuts & bolts of the country is European inspired)
Crossbell: Hong Kong (world's leading international financial center)
Erebonia: Germany (duh)
2) Kondo is extremely frank with his answers. He'll outright admit to saying the following (Re: Outsourcing)
In the AMA, he admitted that the reason CS3 lacked the usual opening style was due to the fact that those openings were made in-house, and they simply didn't have the time to make them.
3) On which protagonist is his favorite to right for
4) Regarding his favorite art/craft in the franchise
There's also other stuff, like a Cold Steel anime adaptation being highly requested
1) According to Kondo, the various countries in the Trails series were inspired/based around
Liberl: Thailand (due to never being occupied, though the actual nuts & bolts of the country is European inspired)
Crossbell: Hong Kong (world's leading international financial center)
Erebonia: Germany (duh)
2) Kondo is extremely frank with his answers. He'll outright admit to saying the following (Re: Outsourcing)
Reactions are mixed, particularly when it comes to the opening animations. Some people like them and some prefer when we made them in house.
We will consider outsourcing things on a case by case basis and what will best serve the project.
In the AMA, he admitted that the reason CS3 lacked the usual opening style was due to the fact that those openings were made in-house, and they simply didn't have the time to make them.
3) On which protagonist is his favorite to right for
All of the characters that we create are like my children, but as she was the first character made, I have a special place in my heart for Estelle.
4) Regarding his favorite art/craft in the franchise
I'm Japanese so I really like the Eight Leaves One Blade overall. I think it is a great blending of both fantasy and realism, so I like the S-Crafts that come from that. Honestly, I wish I could do them myself...
There's also other stuff, like a Cold Steel anime adaptation being highly requested