Golden Sunday (Takahashi and Noda Interview) Part 2

Hey all! Been a little while, so I hope you've been keeping busy. I certainly have with this and that! The twitter is thriving, but the blog has been feeling a little lonely. How about I fix that up with another interview? That's right it's finally time for part two of the Takahashi and Noda talk! This was a lot of work and probably one of the toughest things I had to work on so needless to say I'm open to comments and (constructive) criticism. Noda and Takahashi are really a pair and this was fun despite being hard, so I hope you enjoy it.

“Golden Kamuy” volume 19 and Mao Volume 1 special project!!!

Satoru Noda x Rumiko Takahashi

The two artists who draw the “Meiji” and “Taishou” in the Reiwa era –Special Conversation!!

Mr. Noda, Ms. Takahashi, thanks so much for continuing this conversation. Ms. Takahashi what would you say is the charm of “Golden Kamuy”?

Takahashi (To be known as T): Hm, I guess I'd say how the realism is at a scary level. I think that's good, but perhaps the sudden appearance of the men getting into the sauna. It's like “Where did the tension go”? Though that too has it's charm, since people would probably wonder “How did they possibly get in there?”

Noda (To be known as N): It's just a bad habit of mine to fool around...

T: But that's still really interesting.

N: Conversely I get too embarrassed to draw naked girls acting all cute. Though with guys I have no problem.

T: Several pages before they were at each other's throats trying to kill one another, but then they're able to have a good enough affinity to mix together. It's kind of amazing, really.

N: I thought it was important to give them openings. It seems only Hijikata is tough as nails.

T: I understand. Deciding on who will be the tough one can be difficult, huh...Rarely do things go exactly as I plan them. I find it's often best to think of things as vaguely as possible as through doing that more interesting ideas that you weren't expecting can happen. Up until now I can say it's the things I wasn't planning for that ended up being the most fun to draw.

N: So you've never experienced writer's block?

T: Writer's block...of course I have? Though I don't acknowledge it. So let's just go with saying I've never experienced it.

N: I suppose for a weekly serialization one really doesn't have time to worry about writer's block. Though what would you say your reason is to keep drawing interesting manga in a weekly magazine?

T: It's embarrassing for me to say this, but I'd say it mostly has to do with me not wanting to back down from a challenge. If I find myself drawing a manuscript that's boring, then I'd rather stop than allow the quality to drop. It's because I keep this in mind that I can keep doing my best to draw an interesting manuscript. Even if you do have a high level manuscript ready, if you're able to think of something more fun in the meantime you should change it. In the end reviewing your work and reading it over is invaluable. If you're drawing something that you never want to see again then drawing manga is pretty difficult, no?

N: It is. That's why when I'm preparing for the collected volumes I make a lot of changes. Even when I get a week off from the magazine I'm basically using that to work.

T: Do you have any interesting anecdotes about that?

N: Well, it's kind of hard to talk about, but stuff like having enough pages and finding an easy means of tying events together, changing some of the lines, it's kind of like going back in time which I find somewhat fun. I even go back and fix Tanigaki's chest hairs.

T: Even Tanigaki's chest hairs, huh...(laughs).

T: Having enough pages to maintain momentum is quite important, probably just as much as Tanigaki's chest hairs.

N: When looking at the artwork it's easy to get overwhelmed by feelings isn't it? Especially when drawing something really difficult –you end up not realizing things until it's too late.

T: I get that. When there are gaps you end up feeling like an idiot....My debut work was a comedy, and when you saw it at a glance that's what it appeared to be. However when then drawing serious manga instead it gets to be a real trial to not have things looking foolish...

N: Is “MAO” any different?

T: “MAO” is quite restrained. Though I haven't thought of anything too silly for it either (laughs).

However there are times where there isn't a joke or straight man that are supposed to be funny. Without them saying so, where should one laugh? There are moments like these. Do you know Ranma ½?

N: Of course.

T: There were times where to me I'd have intended to draw a really sad scene, but when the editor read it they'd burst out laughing. Like for example when the guys who became a duck and pig went out on a journey...

N: Ryouga and Mousse, right?

T: Ah yes. So a lot had happened to them and they weren't able to return to themselves. So for that scene I had thought I'd drawn a really sad scene.

N: You had worked so hard on it but in the it was taken instead as a hilarious scene, despite the characters being dead serious about it. In Golden Kamuy there's a guy –Anehata who makes the utmost effort to stalk and have sex with animals. It's pretty deplorable, but because he's so serious about it, it almost feels like you should forgive him and cheer him on. Of course I can't go drawing that as is.

T: It was a somewhat moving scene. (laughs). I really like the story about the old guy and the princess. I laughed a lot at it –their pure love was really something else, wasn't it?

N: For that scene I asked my assistant to draw the clouds as a heart, and they were like “huh”?...

(Thinking of really charismatic characters...)

N: Do you think of the themes of the series from the first chapter?

T: For this series (Mao) I had had decided on just the major themes, but I hadn't quite figured out how I'd go about executing them. So each time I'd reach a highlight with the mindset “Okay this is how this should be.” So the highlights themselves were roughly decided on.

N: For me I'd have my editors asking me often “what's the theme for this week's chapter supposed to be?” It seems like they had totally forgotten...

T: I understand what it is to forget. It's not quite the same as when I have meetings with the editor, I'd remember the really interesting parts of the chapter the storyboard and Otoya –stuff like that.

N: I understand, but sometimes things go differently than my expectations, for example the character known as Henmi wasn't one I had developed very much and the editor even said that it'd be okay to kill him off...but I thought I should work on him some more and forcefully gave him some character development. After that I thought the manga needed something new, I decided why not make it a dog manga? Which meant bringing back Ryuu who had been popular before, so I strategically introduced him at a certain point. Ryuu allowed the story to expand even more so he's quite the convenient character.

T: Oh? Are there any others?

N: Kirawus and Kadokura are two characters I personally like a lot. They're quite a reliable duo. Oh and so I don't forget there was one charismatic evening where I was eating with my editors and they said “You should think of some incredible characters right now.” So I revealed to them “I'm thinking of a character who has sex with animals. What do you think?” The answer was “Ah...is that right?” And it was through that conversation that a character who probably shouldn't have been created was born. “He's a powerful medicine for the series, but where would you be able to introduce him naturally without it being forced within the nature of the Ainu?” Was the question, but because he's defiling animals I think that the Ainu have no choice but to get involved.” was my response. That's how that charismatic night went.

T: (Laughs) On the subject of powerful medicines, let's take the creation of the Edogai family. Of course Edogai is interesting but it's through how creepy he is.

N: Thank you. I found the idea of counterfeits to be extremely compelling. For that I even went to a taxidermist place for information and I got all kinds of information to keep things realistic from the workers there.

T: I see. On that note, what manga influenced you?

N: I'm a Jump reader. Of course things like “Kinniukman” and “Hana no Keiji” I picked up the beefy men chilling in a hot-spring scene from the reader's perspective from “Hana no Keiji” in particular, but it was meant to tie in with the previous scene. It's probably where I grew my sense of Machismo. When I was a kid, I had the naked poster of “Rambo 3” hanging over my bed. I was really a troublesome elementary school student. Ms. Takahashi, what's your ideal badass guy like?

T: Fundamentally I love the movie “Drunken fist” with Jackie Chan.

N: Jackie Chan is really cool, isn't he? I personally love “Drunken Fist” too.

T: Other than that I read “Ashita no Joe” and “Dororo” when I was a child. It seems my type is mostly made up of cool guys seen in shounen manga. However, since my debut was a comedy manga, I didn't really get to draw that type of character.

N: But Ranma is pretty cool, isn't he?

T: He is, but then there's “Ranma” within him. I wonder if drawing a guy like him was a good idea or not? (laughs).

(Note- Male Ranma is referred to using kanji, while female Ranma is written in hiragana. Noda uses the kanji here denoting the male Ranma, while Takahashi uses the hiragana denoting female.)

(A proper discussion of parents and results.)

T: Mr. Noda, when did you decide that you'd become a manga artist?

N: I'd say around the time of my high school graduation. Up until then I had only been reading (shounen) jump, and everyone in the magazine was amazing like faraway existences. I hadn't even drawn that much at the time either. Around that time I started reading Young Jump....I'm not sure how to put this but I saw that even though the newbies weren't the best they still did their best and that encouraged me. Certain manga there had a lot of zeal in them, but those are the kind of manga I love.

T: I get it, I do.

N: So I got to thinking that I'd try drawing something too. It's because this magazine in particular gaive me so much courage. Of courser the art quality in young jump is very high and you have to put your all into your work.

T: So what was your first work? Where did you submit it?

N: I won a prize at that magazine. I never said to my parents “I want to be a manga artist”. Though since I had results –a prize even, I thought that I should consult with them with what I wanted. “I said that I “Wanted to go to Tokyo”.

T: You got a prize for the very first manga you drew? That's amazing.

N: It was really crappy in all honesty. I didn't even use a G pen. Though before I knew it I was in Tokyo as Mitsurou Kubo's assistant. Kubo had also come from their homeland as a youngster full of dreams to pursue being a manga artist. If it weren't for that I wouldn't be in Tokyo so I took Kubo's invitation.

T: How old were you at that time?

N: I was over twenty. I got my start kind of late, but there had been some time that passed before I had really made my mind up to be a manga artist. While I was waiting for a serialization of my own I was still thinking about it, and from there I ended up at Yasuyuki Kunitomo's place as an assistant. Kunitomo had a great working schedule. I had 3 days to myself. It was afterwards that Kunimoto said to me “I'm glad that I gave you time to work on your own series.”

(I learned a lot from Kunitomo.)

T: Were you still using analog tools to draw while assisting Kunitomo?

N: Half of the time. Rather than say digital, we were using analog means to draw all kinds of scenery on the computer. Then we'd print out that data and attach it to the manuscript. So we'd draw backgrounds using analog scan those to the computer to build up stock, and it was my job to cut these and attach the various settings to the manuscript.

T: I see.

N: After I left there, I thought to go all digital, and thought“I'll start things from this age!”

T: I have a friend who appreciates the arts, so I knew of Kunitomo through them, but I didn't know they're a person who was advancing things in their own way.

N: Kunitomo is a very reasonable person.

T: It's through this that I can see in the near future that the staff of a series work from their indiviual homes, and I think it's incredible that this new method exists.

N: Right? Kunitomo knew computers better than I did when I was their assistant. They even taught me how to divide storyboards.

T: How to divide storyboards?

N: He taught me that since a chapter is 18 pages, that developments and scenes should change every six pages. If you show the same scenery for more than six pages it'll get boring. I learned all kinds of things there.

T: I understand what Kunitomo means about six pages. I spend about three days on the storyboard, and I spend a surprising amount of time chopping scenes up. After I get through page six ask myself if it's ready to show to the editor, if the point the story diverts should go here, if everything up until this point is okay, and so on. So I totally understand.

N: On that point, where do you get your ideas Ms. Takahashi? Movies? Books?

T: I wouldn't necessarily say I'm inspired by movies, but I do get a surprising amount of enjoyment from novels...

N: Why would you say that?

T: Obviously it's manga, if it's manga you can think of all kinds of foolish stuff and it's still fun. (laughs).

N: That is really fun isn't it?

(Do you have any routines you follow when drawing manga?)

T: It acts as a magic charm for me but when I'm drawing the storyboards I eat fish. I pray that the taurine I'm ingesting helps my brain work better.

N: You've always been doing that?

T: That's right. I always do it, I always find a way to. Any fish will do.

N: For me I don't have anything at all. When I'm drawing I don't move or do anything at all other than focusing on my artwork. I've even started correcting how I set my teeth. If I leave it be I can have them perfectly aligned. Do you not watch TV or anything either?

T: Eh? Of course I do.

N: Is that so? I don't even listen to the radio.

T: I have the TV on. I need the sound...Even during my meetings with the editor I have the TV on and sometimes words that I find interesting come up on the news. “Oh, that's a good one, that word is interesting” I'll think. On that note, have you already got a final scene for “Golden Kamuy” in mind?

N: Yes I do. Really making sure that the story is consistent with the finale I have in mind is difficult. I'll do my best to make sure the wrap up to the story is prepared well.

T: Lately that man –Tsurumi has been rather surprising. I hadn't noticed him.

N: That story has always been heating up. I'm glad that a certain scene that occurred in volume 18 happened. Typically I think of how a volume has ten chapters in it, but as that was the centerpiece of the volume, I made several adjustments.

T: Having that character on the cover, even changing the colors...you're quite considerate to keep folks from buying it by mistake. (Laughs)

N: There are times where you've made a mistake and bought something, huh.

T: I have three copies. (laughs) Up until now I haven't really thought too hard about the volumes I have, but it seems I'll have to for now on. I really look forward to when new volumes of Golden Kamuy come out so I can't help myself.

N: Thank you so much. Please take this complimentary volume.

T: No no, I still rather enjoy going to the bookstore myself and buying manga. Thank you very much for today. I'm quite glad we were able to meet each other.

N: It was an honor for me as well. Thank you so much!