Happy Birthday to me? No, Happy Birthday to us. As is customary for this site, I try to have a little present for the fans on this day, the day of my birth. This year, it's an interview with Kazuhiko Shimamoto from around the time Vampidol Taigru ended. For such a short interview, it's packed with insights regarding where his head was at around the time the series ended, what his plans are, and just in general how he feels about his career.
As always, if you want to share this interview, please let me know first so I can shout you out! Also, if there are any TL errors, hit me up.
All right. Enough foreplay. Let's get naked! (It makes sense in context, I swear.)
The original interview can be found here.
To commemorate the release of the final volume of Vampidol Tagiru we sat down with passionate manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto and asked the big questions, such as if he would have quit the otaku life if Tagiru had become a huge hit?! He reveals everything about the series that he can now that it's completed!
Kazuhiko Shimamoto is a fiery manga artist behind the animate mascot "Anime Manager." Recently, the final volume of his manga "Vampidol Tagiru" was released. Many fans were surprised to see Mr. Shimamoto take on the idol genre, so we're getting the scoop on his thoughts on the series' conclusion!
Join us and enjoy the behind-the-scenes looks and insights regarding Vampidol Tagiru!
--Please tell us your thoughts now that the final volume of Vampidol Tagiru has been released.
Kazuhiko Shimamoto (To be known as "Shimamoto" henceforth): The series was originally meant to end in four volumes, but I asked for an additional volume and was grateful when it was granted to me. That said, in all honesty? That extra stretch was hell. (Note: There are times when you can ask for more volumes and times when you can't, and accordingly there are times when they can grant more volumes and times when such a request is denied depending on the situation.) I would have been done drawing the series last year had I finished with four volumes, and truly drawing it up until March of this year was killer, but I wanted to ensure the series had a proper ending. To me, from the conception until the final chapter, Vampidol Tagiru was a difficult work to draw.
--That's quite the story to start this conversation with.
Shimamoto: Truly, I've never had it so hard, but I congratulate myself for not giving up and seeing the series through to the end.
--It's an intriguing idea to combine vampires and idols. As a reader, I felt like I could learn a lot from your vitality and from combining different ideas from various sources and immediately put them into practice.
Shimamoto: Before I began the serialization, I went to various idol concerts, as well as watched "No No Girls" and other auditions. It's thanks to that that I've gained extensive knowledge of what it is to be an idol nowadays.
(TN—The No No Girls is a girl group audition project spearheaded by female artist Chanmina. It's unique spin on gathering idols, which eschews an application and rather focuses on a girl's voice and life experience has garnered significant attention.)
Shimamoto: And then I sat down with Yuichi Fukuda twice. I included what I thought were safe stories about the industry in the manga, but when the first volume came out, the featured blurb said, "In all honesty, it's kind of hard to comment on this!" and I thought to myself, "Oh, so that was a no-go, huh." (Laughs)
(TN—Yuichi Fukuda is a playwright, screenwriter, and film director chiefly known for the Brave Yoshihiko series and directing the live-action Gintama movies.)
Shimamoto: I indeed crammed a bunch of different things into this series, but my editor said they liked it, so I was able to keep drawing. There were approximately three times in my past serializations when a former editor told me that a manga I drew wasn't entertaining. So, in comparison, this time around, having an editor say that they enjoyed it was enough of an inspiration to continue the series until it was over. (Laughs).
Was Vampidol Tagiru an experiment?
--Animate also had several huge displays, and you even came in person to Animate Sapporo.
Shimamoto: I'm very thankful to animate for promoting the series.
--And we'd like to thank you for your cooperation.
Shimamoto: Seriously, I'm so grateful to you all. The experience of having a pseudo-hit was amazing. (laughs).
--On that note, Animate even made a cameo at the start of volume one, right?
Shimamoto: Whilst I was interviewing idols and visiting various acquaintances, I was given the opportunity to interview at the Animate Theater in the basement of the main Animate in Ikebukuro. A female idol was performing there at the time, and I was able to get some ideas while watching her show, as well as take pictures of the Animate Theater.
Actually, there was a group inspired by these idols in the latter half of the series! They were transformed into sand, though. (Laughs)
--(Laughs) I was surprised when I heard your new series would be about idols and wondered what direction you'd take it in.
Shimamoto: Honestly, I wasn't sure what would happen either. I took in the thoughts and opinions of various people and tried to use that as inspiration for Vampidol Tagiru. I thought that by tackling the story this way, it'd have a unique charm, so I wanted to give it a shot.
--It felt fresh, but as the series wrapped up, it showed that time-tested Shimamoto vibe.
Shimamoto: I had a good stride going for the first three volumes. For volumes four and five, I basically pretended to be Devilman. I reread Devilman several times to inspire an incredible ending.
Volumes four and five came from my usual comfort zone, but the first three volumes were a struggle as I was drawing from a place of unfamiliarity.
--So to you, this was a grand experiment?
Shimamoto: Yeah, you could say that it was a grand experiment. It's the first time I've ever had a hottie as a protagonist. My other protagonists have all been losers in one way or another.
--What I found most interesting is that the theme of this series is patience.
Shimamoto: That's correct. See, there are these books written by a psychiatrist named Viktor Frankl who was imprisoned in a concentration camp during World War II. His book, Man's Search for Meaning. In the book, he writes that "enduring something is what elevates a person."
It is through endurance and perseverance that failures in life can be overcome. So I got to thinking that if I could convey that thought in an entertaining way, it might help young people shoulder suffering in these modern times. I feel like it's the kind of message that hasn't been conveyed like this before.
Truth be told, I read the book after I started working on Vampidol Tagiru on my son's recommendation. Though it's because I had already started drawing the series, I realized I'd be able to impart the same messages as a bestselling book in my manga, which instilled in me a sense of confidence. It was a real moment of "Yes! This is what I want to draw!"
--It's really cool that even now you're conveying a message to modern youth.
Shimamoto: I conveyed it, but whether it was received is another thing entirely (laughs), but this is only the first time. I'll keep trying as long as it takes.
Drawing manga carelessly!
--So, what are your future plans?
Shimamoto: I was fully absorbed in drawing the manga, so I didn't realize this until now, but reading popular manga nowadays is painful. It's like when youngsters feel a sense of resentment and/or depression when someone their age is excelling. That's where I'm at right now. In the past, I didn't feel that way at all, but now I do. If I'm comparing myself to an older artist or series that was successful, I'm okay with it, but I have an adverse reaction when thinking about what is popular now.
To be completely honest, I've regretted feeling low during the time before I worked on Aoi Honoo because it felt like I didn't do all I could when I was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. So I figured if I locked in and put my full effort into a Shonen Sunday serialization, I could make a comeback, but ultimately this is how it ended. Reflecting on it I feel like I did everything I could have to ensure things would work out well, but in the end it didn't. I feel like not many people experience something like this.
I was welcomed into Weekly Shonen Sunday by my fellow mangaka, Kazuhiro Fujita. The two of us are from the same generation, so I got spoiled. Just as I thought that life had granted me a second chance alongside a buddy, I ended up hitting rock bottom alone. It's kind of incredible. I thought things would turn out better and I'd be on a morning TV show in 20 years, but now I'm in a do-or-die situation.
--Though this would be amazing character development for a morning TV show.
Editor: Kazuhiko Shimamoto's fight hasn't ended. Had he won, he wouldn't have to fight anymore.
--I don't think anyone continues to challenge themselves and fight on and shows that attitude through their manga like you do.
Shimamoto: When I'm playing a clown through my work, it makes things easier for other artists, I feel like. I'm a shield for them, making myself a fool in new and innovative ways as I charge forward.
Speaking of people who are still fighting in this day and age. I'd like to highlight Hideaki Anno, who's made a living through Shin Kamen Rider and Shin Ultraman. He's also working on Space Battleship Yamato, so it's not just me. The box office numbers are pretty impressive, so it feels like I should try something along those lines, even if it's just once. (Laughs)
--Mr. Shimamoto, have you ever thought about rebooting your past works?
Shimamoto: There are quite a few series I enjoyed when I was younger that I'd like to work on.
Series such as Cyborg 009 or Space Pirate Captain Harlock, which are unfinished due to their creators passing away, are ones I'd love to come up with conclusions for.
I'm not looking to profit off of them, really. I just want to draw them. So from time to time I'll illustrate storyboards and such. But a lot of the time they're not very good so I get to feeling like I shouldn't bother.
And then, after watching Mr. Anno's Shin Kamen Rider and Shin Ultraman I feel like some of the feelings I had for him in the past have cooled. It's weird, isn't it? It kinda feels like "Oh, I don't have to live in his shadow anymore." Jury's out on whether that's a good or bad thing.
So if Vampidol Tagiru had become a major success, I was going to quit being an otaku and trash the subculture books I've collected up until now, being reborn as a new manga artist on a higher level but alas, I couldn't.
When I was in Philadelphia, I climbed the stairs from Rocky. (Laughs)
(Editor Note: These are the stairs in front of the main entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as featured in the movie Rocky. It's a mecca for fans of the famous scene, serving as a popular tourist spot that attracts people daily. Mr. Shimamoto visited and took pictures there.)
Shimamoto: I was so happy!
That aside, it's really fun to work on older series. I had an exhibition some time ago entitled "Kazuhiko Shimamoto's red hot original drafts version two: The Tezuka duo at the Osamu Tezuka Memorial Museum in Takarazuka City, I drew a famous scene from Black Jack on a shikishi.
It's the scene from chapter 3, "Miyuki and Ben." I drew Ben as a delinquent, but the version of Ben that Mr. Tezuka drew didn't have the same mouth as mine, so I drew him in my own style with a focus on making him cooler.
Later, when I went to Tokyo to see a Black Jack exhibition, I took a look at the original drawings that were on display and saw that the mouths of the characters had been modified and fixed with paper pasted over them, and to my shock, the shape of the mouth before the correction was exactly the same as the one I drew! I felt like "I was right after all!" Though I doubt anyone else would have noticed anything like that, haha.
Making discoveries like those is why redrawing older manga is amazing.
--If there are stories like that I'd be hyped to read them...!
Shimamoto: Nah. My hope is to draw manga that upends the rosy flower garden that manga is now. (Laughs) I worked my butt off on Vampidol Tagiru for a year, so now I'm just going to lean back and carelessly illustrate manga for a year.
Though, to be clear, I don't mean drawing any old thing, or dashing off stuff in the blink of an eye. Rather, it's more like I'm just gonna shoot off laid-back, kinda rough feelings for a while.
Like, for example, when I drew Gyakkyo Nine, I was so incredibly busy that I'd draw 50 pages of manga in three days. Normally, drawing that many pages of a sports manga in three days is impossible, but despite drawing in horrible conditions, I wanted to pour my heart and soul into the work. I wasn't overly concerned with quality back then, but oddly, that sense of focus --putting my everything into the page worked well.
It's similar to how I approach Aoi Honoo with the feeling of showing my bare, naked soul without any of the gilded parts. It's the same as opening a window into my very being.
I don't know how far I can take this, but please bear witness to my naked being, not held back by any sense of decoration.
--The series will reach its 20th anniversary next year, and it's coming in buck naked!
Shimamoto: Damn straight! That aside, I think Aoi Honoo continues because it's based on actual events.
See, I do strive to draw the series with care, but the depictions within are drawn honestly without preconceived respect for other artists. I feel like being pretentious in the storyboards for Aoi Honoo isn't the way to go.
I don't know how long I can keep going, but I hope you all continue to look forward to seeing me naked. (Laughs)
--(Laughs) any final words to the readers?
Shimamoto: If you go to a normal bookstore, you'll have issues finding Vampidol Tagiru! However, if you visit an animate you'll find it right away, so I give them my full recommendation!
(Everyone laughs)
Shimamoto: I think that everyone reading this article is a friend of mine so please buy a lot of manga at your friendly neighborhood animate.
The anime manager is waiting for you!!
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