Interview with Ballmastrz: Rubicon Creator Christy Karacas

Join Swimpedia in our conversation with Ballmastrz: Rubicon creator Christy Karacas, as we discuss everything from his anime influences and character creation process to his past work on Superjail! and Robotomy. 

Hello Christy! Thank you again for the opportunity to interview you, it's definitely something that the entire Swimpedia team was excited to hear about. Together, we've come up with a few questions that we hope results in a fun conversation, and creates further hype for your upcoming special, Ballmastrz: Rubicon. 

For those who may be unaware, this special is a continuation of your series Ballmastrz: 9009, with animation done by Studio 4℃. The premiere will be the night of Monday, February 20th at midnight, as well as next day on HBO Max, and that Saturday on Toonami as well. 

Swimpedia: To start, we were curious about how this special even came together in the first place, what was the conversation with Adult Swim that brought us here?

Christy Karacas: Well of course we wanted to do a Season 3 but when the network suggested a 22-min special I was excited because I originally wanted the show to be 22-minutes instead of 11 so we were psyched to try it out. There were so many characters on the team, plus other characters on other teams we wanted to explore more and we often found we were trying to cram way too much into 11-min and often cutting a lot of cool ideas and fun jokes. I also wanted this show to be a bit of a slower pace than Superjail!, more like a serialized anime, but because of the 11-min length it ended up being fast paced and intense much like Superjail! Oops! Haha.

Swimpedia: Then, how did you get involved with Studio 4℃?

Christy Karacas: I loved making Ballmastrz with Titmouse, but I’ve been an anime fan forever and making Ballmastrz at a real anime studio in Japan had always been a dream of mine. I was at the Annecy Animation Festival and talking to Silas Hickey about it and had connections with Studio 4°C so he helped hook it up. Also it blew my mind because I’ve been a fan of Studio 4°C since I saw Yuasa’s Mind Game way back in the day so that was such a thrill for me.

Swimpedia: How was it different communicating and working with Studio 4℃ when compared to Titmouse, Inc. or Williams Street?

Christy Karacas: Very different. First of all we’d always have translators so I’d have to be so very clear and articulate about these very subjective things like design and color or animation comedy/action/directing. On top of that it was COVID so it was all remote and on Zoom calls so it was just layer after layer of “disconnect” if that makes sense. I’m used to being a very hands-on director in the studio so it was a different experience for me, but that said it went pretty smooth I think!

I also want to add that pre and post production was done with PFFR -Alyson Levy, Lisa Thomas, John Lee, Parker Cowden were all so supportive and great to work with!

Swimpedia: What’s your personal anime taste and what influences do you most incorporate into your work with Ballmastrz: 9009, whether it be anime or western media?

Christy Karacas: I’ve loved anime since I was pretty young. When Superjail! was winding down I hadn’t watched anime in a while-when you’re making a cartoon sometimes the last thing you want to do when you go home is watch MORE cartoons-but as I slowed down with the work load I started catching up on things I hadn’t had time to watch. I was seeing anime like Yuasa’s ‘Ping Pong’ and ’Kill la Kill’ both of which were really exciting and inspiring to me. Adult Swim didn’t really have any sports shows and there are so many ‘sports’ animes so I thought ‘why not make up a fake sport and do it anime style’? Of course when I say ‘fake sport’ ‘Rollerball’ is an obvious influence…except for the balls being alive…and that was from the poster for Major League if you know that film. The Bad News Bears also…Slapshot. The more I Think about it, it was a combo of american sports comedy films and anime and dystopian films and wrestling! That’s how that all came about. Plus I wanted it to be very different than Superjail!-less flat, more spacial and dynamic. Then for the special we had always intended to ‘go to space’ with the show. I had always imagined it as a very Yamato/Gundam/Macross vibe and I think I did the rough designs with that in mind but then Nakamura-san designed them in a cuter more retro 60s looking way and I think that contrast made it very interesting and fun. The live action series “MegaBeast Investigator Juspion” was a huge influence on the tone and story of this as well.

Swimpedia: What are your thoughts on anime and Toonami fans alike discussing the series, especially since it’s aired on Toonami, and so will the special next week?

Christy Karacas: I love that ANYONE would discuss this show hahahaha. I hope they like it and know it comes from a love of anime. I hate when people ask me ‘is this a parody’? Why would I ever ‘parody’ something I love? I love anime-I love Ballmastrz-this is me making my version of an anime-it’s not a parody. It's a dream come true!

Swimpedia: How interested was the entire team and cast in returning for more? We’re especially curious about Natasha Lyonne’s perspective on the series, as she’s only gotten bigger and more in demand since the start of the show?

Christy Karacas: We really lucked out that everyone was available and psyched! OMG I really thought Natasha might say no and would be too busy but she has always been so kind and giving of her time and talent and we are so lucky to have her involved in the show she is amazing! The whole cast are so good and bring so much to the characters–and the rest of the cast: Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, Jessica DiCicco, Eric Bauza-they’re all so amazing-this is A-list voice actor talent! I don’t need to go into it but all of these people are so amazing. I'm so lucky-this show has the most stress free and fun voice-record sessions-I don’t have to do any work they’re all so talented and fun to work with!

Swimpedia: Similarly, in a show and special with an extensive ensemble cast with different personalities, what goes into deciding main plots and side plots, and who gets to play them?

Christy Karacas: As the creator I GET TO DECIDE (MUHAHAHAHA!) so the two new characters in the special ***SPOILER ALERT*** Crayzar’s dad DEMON SAYTAR and his little brother TITANUS are both pretty amazing -Joshua Henry is an amazing broadway actor/performer who’s been in Hamilton and Carousel with this amazing huge voice and presence and then Crayzar’s brother is played by Timothy “Speed” Levitch who is this amazing personality you might know from the documentary film “Speed”...look it up it’s an amazing documentary.

Swimpedia: Then of course, there’s a ton of side characters and teams, what is the process of designing and conceptualizing the various members featured in The Game?

Christy Karacas: That is one of my favorite parts! I love wrestling so that and also ‘The Warriors’ were other influences for the show. The idea was like, what if sports teams were like ‘gangs’ in The Warriors or professional wrestlers -it’s so much more interesting than just a name with colors-why look the same? Be different, crazy and unique-that makes life and everything else so much more interesting and fun. Also it would be so much more crazy and scary to see a team of ‘killer clowns’ running at you than a team of players in helmets and football pads, right? You know like the ‘baseball furies’ in Warriors? hahahah.

I also want to add with regard to other characters this is a very collaborative process and I work with great writers-I wrote the special with Andrew Reuland and the other artists like storyboard artist Veronica Liu they all contribute. The music by Joe Wong and the sound design by Brett Graves also add so much to the feel and tone of the show!

Swimpedia: Over the course of making the special, the series, and even Superjail!, we’re curious what Adult Swim oversight has been like? Was there anything that Adult Swim prevented you from doing?

Christy Karacas: Not really. Some small ‘S+P’ notes which happens on any show. They have always been very creator friendly and supportive! I feel so lucky like I’m able to make work that is very personal to me that I don’t need to compromise or change it too much for it to be a ‘TV Show’. If I’m to be honest I do wish they were more aggressive with marketing and promoting the show. They were #1 in what they do for so long they didn’t really need to but now there is so much content out there and so it’s hard to get lost in a sea of titles when you’re scrolling through these streaming platforms. I really believe in this show and people seem to like it but I worry people might not know about it to be honest. I used to see big ads in the NYC subway for Comedy Central shows like ‘South Park’ or ‘Brickleberry’ and I always thought “Man I'd love to see some crazy Superjail! or Ballmastrz’s art up on that wall or in that train.” I always wondered if this stuff was more aggressively promoted would more people watch it and get into it?

Swimpedia: What did Mike Lazzo think of the series overall? What was it like working and interacting with him?

Christy Karacas: This show EXISTS because of Mike Lazzo-and Walter Newman! They were both so supportive and cool about it always. Superjail! has NEVER been officially canceled. Lazzo called me once and was like “Christy-Superjail! isn’t canceled, but I want you to come down to Atlanta and pitch a new show. Something totally different than Superjail!. And then BALLMASTRZ was born! I literally explained all the stuff I just said above and had one drawing (it’s on my IG account @christykaracas along with a bunch of other Ballmastrz concept art) and he said “Go for it!”.

Swimpedia: If you can talk about it, we would love to know what are the chances of more Ballmastrz: 9009? If not, are you interested in doing more at all, or can you mention where you’d like to take the series next? Would you want to keep the Studio 4℃ style?

Christy Karacas: I don’t know. I’ve made it VERY CLEAR to everyone at adult swim that I would love to do a Season 3 or at least 2 more 22 min specials to finish this story. There’s so much planned and I think it’s really good-Crayzar’s relationship with his father and brother, his relationship with the teams of Earth, Gaz, Ace and Ball. There’s so many cool ideas we kicked around that I’d love to be able to get to. It’s up to Adult Swim now. The story is all ready to go. We have plans and trust me-it would be really really great I think. I rarely like when I make it. I tend to only see the flaws but I’m so happy with RUBICON and the next two installments, starting with BALLMASTRZ: ODYSSEY (yes it’s already planned!) really would be great I think. Adult Swim-if you’re reading this PICK US UP ALREADY!!!!!! I think I would keep the 4°C style but I was wondering if it might be fun to change the style every time? I’m not sure yet…that is still to be determined…

Swimpedia: Lastly, you probably get a lot of questions about Ballmastrz: 9009 and Superjail!, but we were actually wondering if you could speak to your time working on Robotomy? How was that experience different from working with Adult Swim?

Christy Karacas: Oh man…very different. It was sort of one of my worst animation nightmare job experiences ever…but there was great stuff about it also …The crew was great on that job- It’s where I met one of my closest friends and long time collaborator Mike Carlo who was the animation director of both Superjail! from Season 2 onward and Ballmastrz who is so responsible for how great those shows look and are animated. It’s also where I met Adam Modiano who became a writer on Superjail! and Ballmastrz…I just didn’t like working at that studio and that production was a big mess…it was the fastest canceled show in Cartoon Network history I believe? The sad thing was the idea of the show was cool and I loved doing the designs and art directing it and so much of the crew were so great. But behind the scenes it was a messy production. It was that time when they kind of wanted to bridge the gap between CN and AS and there were a lot of conflicting notes and no one seemed to know what direction the show should go in-it was a lot of pushing and pulling…it’s too much to write about but some of those designs and characters were really cool and fun! Would be a great world to revisit someday!

Swimpedia: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions! All of these were put together in collaboration with our team, who make up a wide range of anime and adult animation fans. We’re excited to tune in to Ballmastrz: Rubicon, and we hope that this interview has piqued the interest of other Adult Swim and Toonami fans alike!

Christy Karacas: OMG well thank you so much for having me. I truly love working with Adult Swim and making cartoons but one of my favorite things about it is connecting with the Adult Swim and animation fans! I am a fan and a nerd so all of this is very special to me-I geek out and fanboy about other shows too-I’m so excited for JJ’s new KSK special, the new Venture and Metalocalypse specials-anything ATHF-the new season of Teenage Euthanasia-I love cartoons, animation, TV and films so all of this is very special to me so I am honored and grateful that people take the time to watch anything I make so again thank you so much for having me and this was so much fun! Happy to talk anytime! : )