--MANGA NO MORI YASUHIRO NIGHTOW INTERVIEW--
Selections from an interview
printed in the September 2000 Manga no Mori newsletter.
Translation by sumire.
From Reader to Artist
Profile:
I was born on April 8, 1967. I was born in Yokohama, but we moved to Yokosuka when I was in elementary school, and I spent those formative years of junior high and high school in Shizuoka. At the same time I decided to spend a year studying for college entrance exams, my father also had a job transfer, so I came to Tokyo with my parents.
I attended the Social Sciences Department of Housei University. I haven't studied art at all. The last formal art training I had was art class in junior high school.
Your meeting with comics...
The first comic book I ever had my parents buy for me was Fujio Akatsuka's "Tensai Bakabon," published by Akebono(?) Shuppan. Before that, I had copied pictures of "Snoopy" ["Peanuts"], but "Bakabon" was the first thing I drew where I was aware that it was comics. When I was 12 or 13, Leiji Matsumoto was a big influence. I was copying his drawings right in the middle of the boom of "Yamato" and "Harlock" and "999." After that, I got drawn into Shounen Sunday, which had artists like Rumiko Takahashi and Fujihiko Hosono. (laughs)
When I was starting to deviate from those a little, I discovered Katsuhiro Ohtomo. Like, I bought "Sayonara Nippon" when I was in the eighth grade. (laughs) From there, I got into Fumiko Takano and the other New Wave artists.
Speaking of your generation, were you influenced by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko?
I thought his art was really great, but I felt like it was totally different from what I was drawing. His talent is exponentially greater than mine, so I probably wouldn't even be able to copy him.
What about manga?
It was a very solid period for the "Sunday" comics, but for some reason, I had lost my interest in comics for a moment. That was because when I saw the new wave works, it was a shock, and made me start to see things from the "drawing" point of view.
It was the moment when my stance changed from that of a reader to that of an artist. It's probably because of this that I didn't go into animation or game work.
So Ohtomo had a lot of influence on you.
What was your doujinshi work like?
I went to an academic-track high school, but we had a sort of unofficial manga club, and I made some photocopied pamphlets and things of my original works. I first consciously made doujinshi when I was a sophomore in college. I put out my own books, and had things reprinted in a magazine called "Little Boy" put out by Fusion Product.
What led to your becoming a comic-book artist?
After I graduated from college, I went to work selling apartments with Sekisui House [one of Japan's largest housing companies]. I was so busy with work, I couldn't draw comics, you know? I was probably building up a lot of stress, too.
One day, I was thinking about my future, and I just couldn't see myself sitting in my boss' chair. I was sure I'd end up thinking, "Why didn't I choose comics back then?" so after three and a half years with the company, I quit. It was unexpectedly easy. I was 26 then.
So, my debut was pretty late. Before that, I had done some semi-professional comic book work--I had contributed "Call XXXX" to Super Jump, and my first one-shot "Samurai Spirits" that was published in book form afterwards. When I quit my job, I used those as material to convince my family and friends.
A publisher I had met when I was still an amateur artist gave me the chance for my real debut.
Is there any talk of reprinting the "Samurai Spirits" book?
Does my present readership want to see it? Those drawings are pretty embarassing for me. (laughs) See, I put my all into drawing them on big paper, so I wanted them to be seen in the large format. If I got the opportunity, I might like to do a reprint, though.
On the serialization of Trigun
It's the series I ended up doing for that publisher I mentioned who approached me in my amateur days. I did one story for the February 1995 issue of Shounen Captain, and then two months later, in April, it became a regular series. It was also that publisher who arranged for my first meeting with Nippon Victor when there was talk of animating Trigun. I'm deeply indebted to him, and very grateful.
Background music during work
Late-night home shopping programs. (laughs) Stain-removers and vegetable peelers and muscle-training equipment and stuff like that. (laughs) You know, when there's some guy constantly blathering on, it livens up the room. It doesn't fluctuate as much as music, it doesn't grab your attention because you've heard it over and over before--it doesn't disturb you while you're listening to it.
Tell us about the interval between the discontinuation of Trigun and the start of Trigun Maximum.
When Young King Ours invited me to do some work for them, they were hoping for a new piece, but I was troubled by leaving Trigun unfinished. I told them I wouldn't feel like I had done my work unless I finished it, plus I was attached to it, and I asked them if they'd let me finish it. Just at that time, the talks on the anime had gone through, so I think that helped, too. The publisher was understanding and let me resume serialization.
The Tokuma Shoten series had stopped right with the defeat of Dominique, and then I just dropped that and jumped ahead into the beginning of Trigun Maximum. I drew the story that comes between them only afterwards. I had only had some vague idea of blowing a hole in the moon--the finer points were unsettled--so I think it was a pretty desperate act.
The parody book incident
Well, that's all in the past now. Once, I protested against a publishing company that had put out an anthology (of Trigun parody manga) without my permission. I didn't know about it until it had been published, and bookstores had it lined up alongside my own works. Doujinshi are distributed only to like-minded individuals at special events, so I think they manage to just barely stay within an acceptible line, plus I know how much fun it is to exchange ideas and opinions like that, so I don't want to interfere. But when you're talking about a book with a commercial basis, being sold in ordinary bookstores, it's a totally different story, so I was like, "Be reasonable!"
What future developments do you have in mind?
In just a few more months, I'll be introducing the character who's going to carry the final half of the story. So I'm thinking that all that's left is to point the story towards its conclusion and run with it. I've more or less decided the ending. However, stories really do take on a life of their own, so I can't say for sure how much things will go as I've planned.
What do you have to say about Young King Ours?
In "Ours," there are a lot of manga I, as a reader, personally like, so I think it'll suit people who enjoy Trigun. Plese give it a try.
To be continued...