When they said this interview was long, they meant it. That being said, Kazuhiro Fujita has some interesting things to say about being a mangaka and the theory of storycraft itself, so it's a win-win for readers. (Maybe not so much the translator, but I do read (lol). In any case, here's the second of three parts!
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Interview originally posted here
Born in Ashikawa City Hokkaido, in 1964, Fujita sensei started his career working as an assistant to mangaka Yoshito Asari, after which he debuted as a solo artist in 1988 with his work Renrakusen Kitan. (Mysterious tale of a ferryboat) Arguably, his most famous work Ushio and Tora won the Shogakukan Manga Award in the male category. He went on to author other shonen titles such as Karakuri Circus, Gekkou Jorei (Moonlight Act), and Souboutei Kowasubeshi (Souboutei Must be destroyed). He is also known for his seinen works, such as Black Museum, Black Museum: Ghost and Lady, which was made into a musical by the Shiki Theater Company in 2024. He also co-authored a book on manga theory, Readers need to actually read (lol), that's aimed at young manga artists alongside Ichishi Iida.
Journalist (To be written as J): I note that there's a very merry atmosphere in your workplace, sensei. Not only do you and your team go out for drinks together, but you also take trips. I think this is reflected well in the depictions of passionate friendships in your works. One can peel back the screen a bit and see that you and your assistants have a great camaraderie in scenes like the puppet sumo match in Kuroga Village during Karakuri Circus. You've even co-written a guide for up-and-coming mangaka with Readers Should actually read (lol). Where does your sense of enthusiasm come from?
Fujita (To be written as F): Entertainment is the act of entertaining people, no? And while how one entertains others is influenced by trends, I think that human happiness hasn't actually changed that much through history. In knowing this, I believe it's possible with enough skill to move people's hearts, and skills can be passed down. I'm not necessarily saying that I'm some guru who has all the secrets of entertainment locked down, but I've been struggling valiantly for 35 years to entertain others, so I have confidence that I at least know a little more than the average person. And by passing what I know on to others, I can feel a sense of connection with society.
J: So this is for a sense of connection with society, then?
F: You got it. A manga artist's biggest fear is the idea of someone saying-similar to what I said about Hesse's Under the Wheel, that “I won't read your work anymore because it's boring. We don't need stories like these.” In short, I have a strong aversion to being deemed “unnecessary.” By passing on my techniques to my assistants, I can feel like I've contributed something, and if those assistants then become famous manga artists, then I can say I've been useful to society. (laughs) Manga's the only thing I can speak on with any brazen confidence.
J: Your place has churned out a startling amount of hit mangaka, including Nobuyuki Anzai (Flame of Recca), Makoto Raiku (Konjiki no Gash Bell!) Hiroshi Fukuda (Rock is a Lady's Modesty) and Kazurou Inoue (Aikora), I wonder how you manage to do it.
F: They're all awesome people. These are the type of people I want to see out in the world.
J: Do you utilize any lesson plans during serialization?
F: No, (laughs) I don't have a lesson plan or anything like that. I just reiterate the important things, things you can read in Readers Should Actually Read (lol). Though, as a rundown, essentially I say things like “Manga is about the characters.” Editors say the same thing, but because they aren't authors, they can't convey it as convincingly. However, I tell my assistants specific things because I want them to become successful manga artists.
J: I get it. I hate to pick on this same subject so much, but that doesn't explain why Japan has created so many manga artists.
F: I think individual advice that makes sense to specific people is essential. For example, let's say you're watching a movie while chatting during work. An assistant might like a movie such as Back to the Future. At the time, it's just idle chatter, but later on, one might come to realize, “Oh, so that's what Fujita meant by that.” And when that occurs, you can bring up Back to the Future again with an example that makes sense to that person.
J: So it's helping people develop a sense of self-awareness?
F: I believe putting your feelings into words is a way to truly grasp the essence of something. Some might think that words themselves don't have any power, but this is so important that I emphasize to my assistants to put why they enjoy something, what moves them to tears, and what it is they want to achieve into words as much as possible. (laughs)
J: And that's why silence is banned.
F: Oh, uh, no. (laughs) It's because I'm a motormouth, and having a friendly conversation is a great way for me to blow off some steam.
J: I see, that makes sense (laughs)
F: When the atmosphere in the workplace is silent and tense, then all the intrusive thoughts in my head rush in at once, get amplified, and explode. (Laughs) I get that some people aren't very good at talking and I feel for them, but for me, it's a life or death struggle. I don't want to randomly be like “Hey guys, what's good?”, so I ask them for my own sake to casually start conversations with me, even while I'm working silently. The number one thing I look for in prospective assistants is if they're genuinely good people to be around, even if they're not the best at drawing. So from the start, I place a huge amount of emphasis on whether they're good conversationalists.
Remote Work Isn't Enough
J: You've stated repeatedly during this conversation how you're a handful or a motormouth and such, but I believe that has a lot to do with the means of creating a story that you often talk about. Like, a character starts off a story as an incomplete shape. Throughout the story, they begin to fill in that shape, and by the end, they do, which can lead to a happy ending.
F: In that vein, I think that good movies have a missing character who fills in the gaps as the story runs its course. In theory, that should be simple enough, but to properly convey the ideas one has in mind, or to put it another way, to convey what it is they like. It's not enough to just kind of get what you think you're feeling. A storyteller has to be able to properly state what they're feeling in words. It's a real struggle we deal with. (laughs)
J: It's a do-or-die situation, yeah.
F: I desperately want to have people to hang around with who might be feeling down and want to kill some time, as well as people who like manga around me. In that way, it's like a survival game, where I'm examining something to figure out if it's edible, but by not eating it, I'll starve. (laughs) I can't be someone who acts standoffish. When I say “putting things into words,” I don't mean a long, elaborate explanation or concept. I personally try to put what I like about my friends, what makes me sad, and what kind of characters I think people will like into words immediately, and then illustrate them via my manga.
J: Makes sense, yeah.
F: That's why, when we put things into words, we don't use flowery anecdotes. Rather, we say things like, for example, “What kind of woman do you like?” And the answer is a simple “Someone nice, I guess? What does that even mean?” (laughs) Okay, what kind of job does she have, or hobbies? What does she do? People have their attractive qualities, and it's a blast to talk about them.
J: Sitting with you like this, I can feel the vibe of camaraderie. On that note, Fujita-sensei I hear you prefer to handwrite things, right?
F: I'm not that great at a lot of things, so when I draw digitally or remotely, all it does is further evidence how I'm not great at it, and it all gets to be too much. (laughs) When I have everyone here in person, I confidently tell my assistants, “I'd be doomed without you. The work would never be done.” They're vigilant too, and point out things like a character having too many fingers, or if something is completely wrong. (laughs) All of them are brimming with a sense of responsibility.
J: Do you still work on drawings at night?
F: Yup. We usually begin drawing at 5pm and work until the wee hours of the morning for about four days a week. I know I'm making the assistants draw while half asleep, which is why I want to ensure their experience of my workplace is a good one..
Why not go for a long stretch?
J: Now, I'd like to transition over to talking about your manga specifically. Before that, however, I'd like to ask you about your thoughts on shonen manga. In the first volume of the manga bon: Kazuhiro Fujita's book, you state that the basic premise of a shonen manga is that good triumphs over evil, and that you want to draw manga that are refreshing reads. What does shonen manga mean to you, Fujita-sensei?
F: Masaaki Musha, my first editor at Shogakukan, was the one to remark to me about how great shonen manga is. He said that it's a wonderful thing that kids can read, as well as adults. Shonen manga in it's essence is something that anyone can read and enjoy. I still carry his words to heart even today, as it'd be incredible if everyone could continue to read and enjoy shonen manga.
J: Are there any points you keep in mind while drawing shonen manga?
F: If you'll allow me a slight tangent change, are you familiar with Lone Wolf and Cub, which was written by Kazuo Koike and drawn by Goseki Kojima? It's a seinen manga that tells the story of a father who embarks on a journey of revenge. There's a scene before he sets off where he decides whether he'll take his son Daigoro with him based on his actions. He shows his son a ball and a sword and asks which one he prefers.
J: The father, Itto Ogami, weeps when his son Daigoro tries to touch the sword, and that's what spurs the father and son journey into the underworld.
F: To me, that scene is super cool, but my wife says that's just normal. "Children want the real thing. Even if you give them a smartphone, if the choices are between that and an actual toy, they'll want the real thing, hands down. Upon hearing that from her, I thought to myself that perhaps what children's hearts seek to do is to reach out. I think that kids can tell the difference between a kids' meal and something made for adults. As such, when I was working on Ushio and Tora, I wanted kids to try going for a long stretch. Even if there might be some words they don't understand, I think if a manga looks cool, they'll give it a read.
J: Ushio and Tora chronicles the tale of Ushio Aotsuki, the only son of an old priest, who makes a deal with Tora a demon who was sealed in a storehouse with the Beast Spear. The two of them work together and slay other demons amongst a cast of fascinating characters. It's no wonder that it's been popular with boys and girls, with the heroines preventing Ushio from turning into a beast.
F: For this series, I congealed everything I've gathered up until that point, including folklore, monster stories, scary stories, and erotic scenes. Though, because it's a shonen manga, I was determined to keep it from being difficult to understand or too abstract.
J: I'd say your approach to ensuring clarity in your works is consistent, even with your seinen series such as the Black Museum series.
F: I'm happy to hear that. Though I don't make a distinction in the difference between shonen and seinen manga. If the story and characters are authentic and, most importantly, entertaining, then everyone will read it.
Risking your life to get it done.
J: Your pursuit of authenticity is reflected in character names as well. Be it Ushio or Narumi Kato from Karakuri Circus, Gekko Iwasaki from Gekkou Jourei and Tsutomu Takoha from Souboutei Kowasubeshi. Either their first or last names are familiar and easy to remember.
F: Yuji Horii of Dragon Quest fame once said coming up with a good title is combining two words-one that you have heard of with one you haven't. Hence "Dragon" and "Quest." I personally feel that if a character's names are unfamiliar, then it's hard to trust the character themselves.
J: Yeah, it loses a level of believability.
F: Manga, at its base form, is all about symbols. After all, these are a sequence of drawings meant to entertain. Personally speaking, I steer away from adding symbols upon symbols, which ends up with a character that has a name that definitely doesn't exist. Like in Karakuri Circus, the lead character is Narumi Kato, and another boy, Masaru Saiga. I want fans to root for both of them, which would be weird if they had names that were too out there. Heck, even I wouldn't trust them at that point, so how could I ask a reader to?
J: I see, that's why Ushio has that kinda name as well.
F: I feel like Ushio Aotsuki looks way too cool in kanji. (laughs) But if instead I write Ushio's name in hiragana, then the vibe of his name becomes a little less intense and more approachable. In retrospect, his dad's name Shigure Aotsuki might have been overdoing it. (laughs)
J: At the start of Ushio and Tora, Ushio seems like the kind of person you want to be friends with and hang out with forever, and it's through that one gets absorbed into his world. Meanwhile, Karakuri Circus was a work driven by its myriad of plot twists that, by the end, are all resolved perfectly. I remember being impressed as I read it.
F: I'm the type who'll risk my life to get things done. (laughs)
J: From a reader's perspective, I think that if you can draw the passionate Ushio and Tora and then the intrigue seeped Karakuri Circus, then you can do just about anything...
F: Nah, I'm just desperately clinging on to one thing.
All for the moment of "that was awesome."
J: As both of these series are easy to get invested in, it's sad when characters die. Such as Nagare Akiba in Ushio and Tora or Eiryou Ashihana from Karakuri Circus or even the knife-using acrobat Wilma..
F: Actually, since you've been reading the series, I'd like to ask you a question. Do you think it's possible to tell from the outset which characters in my series will die?
J: No way, I have no idea. (laughs.)
F: Of course, my aim is to illustrate manga that'll be fun for everyone, so I don't want them to be shocked to tears, but I think my characters all have a path they must walk. A sort of honorable walkway
J: An honorable walkway?
F: Let's use Akiba, for example. During his final scene, his saying that Ushio and Tora are amazing with an open mouth doesn't work with him, I feel like. In a sense, it's like I'm killing a part of myself, but the way that I depict one's death is, in essence, showing the way they lived. Sure, there are many ways of dying, be it fighting to a draw or defeating one's opponent, but ultimately for a specific character, that message is most important.
J: It's the characters who die who leave the strongest impression.
F: Ashihana was a guy who was constantly bored. Why was he bored? Because he never made a promise to anyone. He was always operating solo and had no one to make a vow with.
J: Ahh, I see where you're going. So by promising to marry the knife user Wilma once the final battle ended, he even said, "It'd be fun to be the target of your knife every day."
F: Exactly. And at the series outset, he made a promise with Narumi for 10 yen.
J: Yeah, Narumi makes Ashihana promise to protect Masaru, and makes it clear that if he screws up, he'll kick his ass as Ashihana accepts the 10 yen. It's a truly exciting development for the fans.
F: For Ashihana, who up until then had only been in it for the money, the promise of 10 yen was more important than anything else. He had his professionalism as a hitman on the line, so breaking that promise was absolutely not something he'd do. So even when he dies, he does so with a wry smile despite himself. For Wilma, she wanted to prove to her bedridden brother, who believed in her, that she could nail her target, but she missed during a critical moment. You could say she died at that moment, but when the chips were down and, she needed to lock in, she hit her enemy with her knife. So in that way, she's able to go to the afterlife with a smile on her face.
J: So both the way they lived and the way they died were important.
F: I put a ton of effort into drawing scenes like those. My mind is filled with thoughts of what is most important to this character. That's what I don't want people to forget, not so much how much time I spent in the kitchen cooking said developments. I do think about these things very deeply, and I'm not asking others to think nearly as much about it as I do. Even if you do forget, if it helps kill some time while you wait for your ramen, then my job is done.
J: I love that aesthetic of yours. It moves me every time I hear it.
F: I mean, of course, I want to draw a manga that stays with people. I'd be remiss to be in this career if I didn't have that passion, but I don't seek out praise. The food that comes out of the kitchen is either good or bad. I think about how I want to cook, what I want to cook, and when I want it to come out, but in the end, it's consumed in an instant. What I live for, however, is that moment when someone says, "It was delicious."
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