The Masakazu Katsura Interview From 4C
Translated by Sachi Coxon, adapted by Jim Zubkavich
The Road from Submitting, Debut, to Cartoonist
First, what was the reason you decided to become a cartoonist?
Around Junior High, I wanted to get this "component stereo" called
Technics V55 which cost 500, 000 Yen. At that point, Jump Comics'
Tezuka Prize was worth 500, 000 Yen, so I began to draw comics to
get that prize money. (Laughs) But after all that, when I actually
won it, it was near the third year Senior High graduation. It took
a whole three years! In that time, I bought a stereo, and I really
found drawing fun. During Senior High, I would draw during class,
too. (Laughs)
Actually, I submitted a comic called "Tsubasa (Wings)" for the Tezuka
Prize, and also a different comic for the Fresh Jump Prize (the
equivalent of Jump's present Tenkaichi (Matchless) Prize). Then,
Fresh Jump's editor (now Weekly Shounen Jump's head editor Kazuhiko
Torishima) looked at my submitted work, rang me up and said, "You
didn't win this time, but would you like to try for the next one?"
After I graduated Senior High, and the when I entered a Fine Arts
School, I drew only science fiction. But after I was given advice
by the person in charge to try out a romantic comedy and did one,
I won the second place for the Tezuka Prize. And that was my debut
work "Tenkousei wa Hensouhei! (Transfer Student, Transform!)"
"Wingman" was a hero-type story with elements of love comedy, wasn't
it?
I actually wasn't interested in romantic comedy at all. It was just
that the person in charge gave me that idea. But when I was doing it,
I realized romantic comedy wasn't all that difficult: in other words
I had absolutely no trouble drawing it. (Laughs) That's a good point.
And that's basically what I've been doing ever since. (Laughs)
Around the time I did "Wingman", I had just started, so I didn't know
right from left, and even if I had things I wanted to draw personally,
people in charge altogether refused it. (Laughs) But if I had drawn
whatever I'd wanted to, whether it was good or bad, my work would
probably have been some boring copy of a typical hero story. Around
the time I was doing "Wingman", the people in charge really got angry
at me because the girls didn't have any sex appeal. When I put in a
lot of detail for sex appeal, the only reply I got was, "Make the main
character a girl" (Laughs). And look at me now...
As a cartoonist, was your turning point the one-shot "Video Girl"?
That's right. When Torishima-san again became my head editor, he suggested
I make a romantic comedy comic. At the meeting, I was told to "go and draw
a girl you'd like to draw", so I drew a boy-ish Haruno. Then, we both
thought of what we could create, but we ended up with a story "about
a girl who hates males because a teacher she trusted tried to sexually
molest her". (Laughs) I said, "If there's no science fiction elements
in it I'm barely interested".
The person in charge had seen a video called "Amazing Stories" and
apparently there was a story of "a man that comes out of a magazine which
has a potion poured on it". We figured we’d do a female version of that
story. So, we thought of a story about "the main character who pours a
potion on a porno book (laughs) and a girl comes out... but because he
poured too much, it seeped into the other page so the girl got the
personality of the man on the other page." But we thought a porno book
would be unwise. At the time rental video stores were popular, so we
immediately thought, "let's use a video!". So, we came up with "a main
character who accidentally presses the record button, and the image of a
man on TV mixes with the video, so a boy-ish girl comes out" and I
started drawing.
Video Girl Ai is a love story that pushed realism
So you based the series on the one-shot Video Girl?
Well, it didn't happen like that. (Laughs) You see, Torishima-san became
Vice-Editor, so my head editor changed. At that time, I was friends with
Katsuya Terada, and after watching director Kenta Amamiya's "Mirai Ninja
(Future Ninja)" on video, we thought, "Japanese style is 'in' right now"
and when I drew "SHIN NO SHIN (New of New)", it was popular in our magazine.
After thinking I should serialize this, Torishima-san said, "No, do a love
story. Why aren't you doing 'Video Girl'?". (Laughs) So, I made up my mind
and began the serial of "Video Girl". (Laughs) Since "Wingman", I've been
told many times to do love stories. But I kept having arguments with them
whether I should or shouldn't do it. With I"s, for the first time, I opened
my heart to what Jump told me and replied "Okay, I'll do as you say."(Laughs)
Even at the time of "Video Girl", ordinary romantic-comedies didn't interest
me. I thought I should do a different sort of romantic comedy. From where
Nobuko comes in, I was able to think "How should I draw her to be interesting",
and I was able to get into it and draw. The key to Video Girl was "Realism",
and I became disenchanted with really cartoony drawings. Even with describing
feelings, I always tried make it realistic. Naturally, if a boy and a girl
are going out together it is normal to have a love scene, but there are
many touchy people. So, I decided that "I can't do nudes, but I'll draw
erotically." That is when I "awakened." (Laughs) That's why, in "Video Girl",
I think it changed before and after the appearance of Nobuko. After she
appeared, I really detailed the girls' movements. Maybe it was because
I was a little perverted. (Laughs).
First Scoop! What Was the Plot Behind The Failed DNA2 Movie!?
After that, V-Jump's "Shadow Lady" and then "DNA˛" showed elements of action...
With "Shadow Lady" I wanted to attain the atmosphere of "Batman". With the
first of the series, I went to America, and did a full-color seven page intro
in 2 days. I asked Terada-kun to draw the backgrounds, and extremely tired as I
was, left on a late night. That was a bad memory. (Laughs)
There was a story that director Kaneda and I would make a movie of "DNA2".
The story was set after the end of the comic; after Karin went back to the
future, she bounty-hunted. In that time, DNA experiments were developing and
cloning techniques existed. The most effective use may have been to make spares
of someone's original body. Well in the end, the story might have gone along
those lines and we thought that "actually, Karin is the clone of a spare body."
In the movie, it was going to be about her meeting with the original body,
but we couldn't do it because of the cost...
After that was "ZETMAN" which is my work inspired by my love for "Batman".
A while back, when I was in a taxi, there was a traffic jam and we couldn't move.
So, when the taxi driver pushed the horn, the man in front of us made this face
like "What the f*** is your problem?!" I got really mad and went in to a sort
of a "fantasy mode". (Laughs). "As soon as I opened the door, I became a black
shadow and beat that guy up. Then, just like nothing had happened, I sat back
in the taxi." That was the thought that came to me in that situation, and I
made a comic from it. (Laughs). But actually, it was really dark humor. He’s
the kind of hero that comes flying at a kid who makes a peace sign during a
camera taping of a sad accident, punchs the kid out and then leaves.
"M" was your first teenage comics work...
I really got into the spirit that if it was a teenage magazine, I'd make it
erotic! (Laughs) It would have been boring if I just did the eroticism normally,
so I tried to do as much as I could without showing extreme nudity. In that
respect, I'd do what I did in "Video Girl" in full swing. (Laughs) But,
unlike simple love stories, I tried to change the direction from the main
plot all the time. That sort of idea is easy for me. I feel that a normal
manga uses up more energy.
The presently serialized comic "I's" is full of accidents and bad
luck...(Laughs)
Yes, that's because the ideas that come up during our meetings always
start with "How can we cause trouble?" (Laughs) Actually, when I started
serializing it, I was thought to myself, "What's funny about this?"
But as I keep working on it, I’ve decided that I'd do a comic about a main
character that has fantasies. Then I had to make sure I did a professional
job! (Laughs)
Do tool changes alter Katsura's illustrations?
What do you find hard in the working process of comics?
The names. When I write it out, it should sound right. I have to think
thoroughly about what they say and the feelings of the characters, so
this takes a long time. Before, my script drafts in my comics were detailed,
but that may not be the case now... For pens I usually use ball point pens.
For sound effects I use "kabura" pens, and when I do touch-ups, I don't
change my pens.
Do you do a rough sketch for your colour pictures?
No, I don't. As I draw the under-drawing, I choose the character's
position and composition. For colouring, if I use rikitex (?) I paint
on an illustration board, not paper. I first draw a draft on a
normal piece of paper, and I use pencil on the other side of the drawing
and I trasfer it onto a board. After that I use pen, but depending on
the picture, I may use a thick line on top of the paint, using ink or
pencil.
You know how to use papers and drawing instruments properly...?
I'm stubborn and picky in nature, (laughs), so I like to do things
differently. In "Video Girl", the theme I incorporated was wrinkled paper,
and I found that when I used pastel to draw on good traditional Japanese
paper, it was interesting. For "Wingman" I drew on patterned paper
or used a collage.
What type of drawing material do you use?
In the beginning, with "Wingman", I used to use water magic markers,
and diluting it with water, but, one day, I was told by Akira Toriyama
(Dragon Ball series) that a colouring ink called Ruma was good, so I
used that along the way. Then, Gash and Rikitex and so on. I came to
know Rikitex through Terada-kun. In the cover page of the first volume
of the collector's edition of "Wingman", I didn't have time for painting,
so Terada-kun did it for me. At that time, I was told by him that "you
can draw well with Rikitex", so from "DNA˛" I started using that.
At first I experimented with it but on the way I got used to it pretty
much. I got addicted to rikitex because you can keep painting over
what you've done before. I kept changing and improving the cover of "I's".
For the first volume, I did the cover four times. That's why the
first volumes are a bit different from the later volumes. (Laughs)
I was told by Taketani-kun "you're an idiot", but.
For the girls you draw, do you have models?
Not a real model as such. About all I do is look at magazine models.
If I were to draw from a real model, it would have bad balance since
human eyes aren't that big, so I change all the sizes and draw.
But then I start thinking sometimes, "Is this face right?" (laughs).
And if I have to redraw, that would be very troublesome (laughs).
I think I work hardest on the nose or mouth. If the eyes aren't
"lively" I don't like it, but if I drew the eyes normally as they are,
it becomes repetitive for the girl's face so I try to define a character
with the hair-style and the shape of the face.
Who is your favourite character?
Ami from "DNA˛" is one I put a lot of thought into. Her double-eyelidded
eyes that aren't that special, but that's what I like about it. Kind of
ill-fortuned (?) (laughs). So I was happy when Ami was done cutely in the
anime version. In "Video Girl" it's probably Ai-san... There's nothing
special visually, but her place in the story and her relation with the
other characters, is probably why it's Ai-san. Then it's probably Zetman.
You have many anime-versions, but what do you think of changing media?
In regard to character design, I'm not that strict. But if it's not
similar I might ask them to change, sometimes.
In the Original Video Animation "I.R.I.A" you designed the character,
but how was that compared to actual comics work?
It was really fun, and unlike comics, I wasn't in charge of the whole thing
(laughs). It wasn't too much trouble, because I was able to draw as I liked.
I feel that I was successful regarding Iria's face. I think I was able to
bring out the character's personality well with the way her hair on the
left side was slightly aggressive, and the way her right part's roll brought
out her femininity. If I get another chance, I'd like to do this sort of
work again.
Many of your friends are illustrators and model creators, do you influence
each other?
Yes, I do get influenced by some. But Takayuki Taketani and Terada-kun,
film director Amamiya, and Yasushi Nirazawa are serious creators and drawers,
my drawings of girls are like water and oil·so my work probably doesn't
influence them. (laughs) Even my cartoonist friend Toriyama-san (Dragon Ball
series) doesn't understand my love comics (laughs). Well, "love" is his weakest
point, as one can see. I feel that compared to other people, I still haven't
fully matured. One day, I hope to be able to draw "proper" comics.
What does the "4C" title of this art book mean?
4C means the 4 types of Colors for the manuscripts. In color printing, by
mixing the four colors of black, red, blue, and yellow, you can show all
colors...4 COLORS, so 4C. The illustrations in this book come mostly from
Jump's 4 Color pages, so that's how I came up with the title. But to be
honest, in this book we used 1 more special color so it became 5 color
printing (laughs). Because it's my first illustration collection, I was
happy, but also embarrassed. (laughs) Looking back at what I've done, I'm
shocked. I didn't mind the fact that the pictures looked different in
those days, but there were so many I thought I'd put so much effort in
to and I when I saw them I went "What's THIS?!" (laughs).
Are there any favorite pictures?
Hmm, not really. Regarding pictures, I feel that I've just made it to
my starting point. It's just that when I see a work of an illustrator
or a designer which makes me go "wow!", I think I've got to work harder.
I only illustrate in color only once in a while, I just can't beat people
who do it all the time. I can't compete with professional color painters,
but I still want to illustrate in color. I think I should stick to being
a cartoonist. That's my dilemma.
What kind of comic would you like to work on in the future?
Definately a hero story. I think I'd like to draw "Zetman" once more.
I want to draw a Zetman that everyone would feel for.
Would you like to give a message to the readers?
I am really grateful to all the readers. Even though there are some
pictures that I now think aren't very good, if you find something good
in them, I'll be happy. I'll try my best with everyone's support and
encouragement.
(
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