"The Rejected Title Page that Showed up on Twitter..."
"More than 4,000 questions in two weeks"
"The Reason Why Mangaka Rumiko Takahashi Opened an Official Twitter"

Translation by: Harley Acres

Rumiko Takahashi's official Twitter account, "Rumiko Takahashi Information" which was opened on June 1st, has become a hot topic. There were many enthusiastic welcome tweets such as "God has joined Twitter" and "Takahashi-sensei has come to Twitter!" flying around in the post notifying the opening of her account. We talked to Rumiko Takahashi's editor, "Moriken", Kento Moriwaki about the process of opening the official account via the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Sunday. ^[1]

Response of Q&A on a Trial Basis

Hiromi Aizawa: Congratulations to Rumiko Takahashi for opening an account on Twitter. I was rather surprised that she didn't have an official account until now. Why did she decide to open it now?

Kento Moriwaki: Due to the Coronavirus the number of people who visit bookstores has decreased and the number of contacts between Takahashi-sensei's work and her readers has decreased.

Originally, I was tweeting information about Takahashi-sensei under the account name "Moriken/Weekly Shonen Sunday Editorial Department," but since I am just an editor, I naturally do not have many followers. When I consulted with Takahashi-sensei I said, "I hope we can send more people information about the release of your books and serialization. Let's open a Twitter account." That's when we decided to open an official account.

When the first state of emergency was declared in April of last year, Takahashi-sensei had planned on using Twitter to answer questions from readers and had asked, "is there something we can do for our readers?" I did a trial Q&A with my account and there was an insane response.

Of the questions I received, I asked her about 30 of those questions and posted two responses each day. ^[2] I was in charge of providing the responses but the questions really touched my heart and I thought the answers should come from Takahashi-sensei rather than through me. From that point on we started to consider opening an official account.

'Rumiko Takahashi' is Trending When She Launched

Aizawa: In the post "I decided to make an official Twitter" on the "Moriken / Weekly Shonen Sunday Editorial Department" account, there is a comment to Mr. Moriwaki saying "Moriken is doing too good of a job" and "Praise Moriken everyone!" There were quite a few in that vein.

Moriwaki: Takahashi-sensei's fans have a high level of enthusiasm and I get the impression that many of them have warm feelings for her. There are many fans of Takahashi-sensei's work overseas, and since she joined Twitter, overseas fans have translated tweets posted in Japanese into English and retweeted them, and overseas followers increased quickly. ^[3]

Aizawa: The number of followers was over 50,000 within an hour of opening her account and now it is over 350,000 followers. On the day of the opening, celebrities such as manga artists Moyoco Anno and Junji Ito, Takeshi Tsuruno and Shoko Nakagawa all followed her and "Rumiko Takahashi" became a big topic. ^[4]

Moriwaki: She has many fans, so I thought that a considerable number of people would follow her, but I am glad that the response exceeded my expectations. Takahashi-sensei herself says that she is a "weak person regarding the internet," but there are many manga artists who are acquainted with Twitter, so I have been watching their social media for along time. I had told Takahashi-sensei about the number of followers and the trend of opening accounts, but I am happy that her fellow mangaka directly contacted Takahashi-sensei and spread the word that "she has joined Twitter".

"Treasures" Are Posted Generously

Aizawa: Luxury posts have been lined up, such as posting the name (storyboards) and introducing Takahashi-sensei's "unedited remarks".　^[5] How did you decide on your Twitter plan?

Moriwaki: Takahashi-sensei values her readers above everything else. Moreover, she is a very big-hearted person and basically says, "if the fans are pleased, you can post anything." So if I can post "treasures" such as her hand drawn roughs and manuscripts and newly drawn illustrations, I will.

Takahashi-sensei, of course, does not cut corners in interviews, just like she doesn't in her manga. She has a thorough belief that she should answer fully when asked and she has a very cool idea and said, "this has been a great opportunity for me to analyze my own thoughts."

Even With the Same Q&A The Response Has Been Different

Aizawa: The Q&A developed by the "Moriken / Weekly Shonen Sunday Editorial Department" account last year has been returned. Is there any difference in response this time than there was then?

Moriwaki: It's been different this time. Even in response to the same question, when I was tweeting for her, it would get 10,000 likes, but now that it comes from her official account it will get 35,000 likes in the blink of an eye. Part of that is that there are many more followers, but since it is now "official" there is more authority behind it.

I received quite a few replies when I was tweeting, but since Takahashi-sensei is tweeting "officially" she is featured in online news posts every time.

The biggest response was for the post about Takahashi-sensei's work schedule. In response to the post saying that she didn't get much sleep, I received a lot of comments about her health, saying "please sleep" and "please take good care of yourself" rather than just being surprised by the amount.

The answer to the question "what's the difference between a person who would make a good manga artist and one who would not?" We received a lot of positive comments on that one.

Over 4,000 Questions Received During the Two Week Solicitation

Aizawa: I think the fact that you can get a glimpse of Takahashi-sensei's true nature and personal life is an irresistible part for fans. You asked for new questions this time as well, but I think the response was even greater?

Moriwaki: Takahashi-sensei's work has a wide variety of targets and genres, so questions were asked from all directions.

There were many detailed questions about her work, "what happened to the main character after the final chapter?" Questions about the attitude of a mangaka and private questions, questions about the Hanshin Tigers that Takahashi-sensei is a fan of, etc. I received a lot of questions. We received more than 4,000 questions during the two-week solicitation, so we are posting answers one by one a day since June 1st. In addition, we are discussing with Takahashi-sensei which questions to post in the future.

Takahashi-sensei has a Strong Spirit of Service

Aizawa: The rough sketches for MAO have also been published on Twitter. This is a really coveted thing for fans.

Moriwaki: "I can see your rough layouts!" and "Thank you for sharing these valuable things" were some of the joyful replies she received and Takahashi-sensei was pleased to be able to share those. She has a strong spirit of service. In messages to fans, she often adds a ittle illustration in addition to the comments. I think she's such a great artist.

Surprisingly, there were many fans who didn't know how to send fan letters by e-mail, so when I posted how to send them, I received a tremendous response. When I printed them out, the thickness was amazing. I was very happy when I gave it to Takahashi-sensei who was also very pleased. Some fans were worried that "email is no different from what other people get," but she has read all of them, so please do send a fan letter by email as well!

I Was Also Given A "Please Use This on Twitter" for the Chapter Title Page That Wasn't Used

Aizawa: She really is always thinking of the readers, isn't she?

Moriwaki: Takahashi-sensei often says that when her works get animated or become live-action it is a "reward". It's a bonus stage for her to let people who don't usually read manga come into contact with the work in anime and movies, so she wants to continue to make work that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

That attitude doesn't change on Twitter. It seems that she is always thinking that she wants the readers who came to the official account to enjoy it, and the other day she handed me the chapter title page that she decided not to use and said, "please use this on Twitter if you like."

It seemed that she dismissed it while drawing because she thought "it wasn't quite right". But I am very grateful to to be the editor and able to publish such a valuable thing and to have such cooperation.

Aizawa: I see many posts of Takahashi-sensei's that are translated into English and retweeted. ^[6] Please tell us if there are any plans for overseas fans in the future.

Moriwaki: Currently, the posts are basically only in Japanese. But since the number of overseas followers has increased, I am thinking that it would be nice if I could translate one chapter of MAO that is being serialized into English and post it.

I've also talked about whether it would be good to introduce Takahashi's works that haven't appeared in the world, such as unreleased things cut from past series, but nothing has been decided yet. I'm thinking about putting together what I want to do, so I'd be happy if many people could come and take a look. ^[7]

Part 2
Rumiko Takahashi "I Have Eternal '8th Grader-itis'"
"The Event in Miyakojima with the Voice of Inuyasha That Amazed Her Editor"

MAO which is serialized by Rumiko Takahashi in Weekly Shonen Sunday is generating quite a bit of excitement. In MAO a girl in her third year of junior high school, Nanoka Kiba, who lost her family in an accident when she was in elementary school, falls into the Taisho era. It is a Taisho mystery-romance that unravels the mystery of the character Mao, an onmyoji who Nanoka fatefully met. We asked Mr. Kento Moriwaki, the editor, who has been involved since the launch of MAO about Takahashi's work and her charm.

The Idea Was Born from a Chat While On a Break

Aizawa: I heard that Moriwaki-san has been the editor for Takahashi-sensei since before the launch of MAO. She took a break for about a year and a half after Kyokai no RINNE, which had been serialized since 2009 and was completed in 2017. Was there any special reasoning for this?

Moriwaki: That time was her longest break so far, but there wasn't any particular reason she "wanted to take a vacation". It just suddenly became that way.

So even while she was on her break we chatted about once a week. Takahashi-sensei had mentioned that it was interesting to read all the works of Agatha Christie all at once, and out of that was born the idea that she would like to draw a little mystery that had a sense of darkness to it.

As I've said, most of Takahashi-sensei's works are "ad-lib types". This is a style in which you first have a character and a setting and then you think about who will be in each chapter each week. However, this time, MAO is a mystery, so the storyline has to be carefully assembled. This is a new initiative that has never been seen before and she has said it has been a lot of fun.

The Work with the Theme of "Curses" is Born

Aizawa: Inuyasha and Mermaid Saga also have dark sides to them. I feel like the settings and characters of MAO are very similar to those of "Inuyasha". How did the manga gravitate to the theme of "curses"?

Since the previous work, Kyokai no RINNE was a school comedy what made you focus in this serious direction?

Moriwaki: At first she was interested in doing something about the revival of Abe no Seimei's rival, Ashiya Doman, she was thinking about a story involving him. However, from the story of Ramo Nakajima's novel The Pigs of Gadara (ガダラの豚), which she read a long time ago and was really interested in. ^[8] Takahashi-sensei was excited by the idea of a "closed society with magic" and from there the "curse" theme solidified.

Aizawa:The Mermaid Saga series, which tackles life and death head-on, was also quite serious. It was a shock to the readers who were familiar with her comedy in Urusei Yatsura, but I think "Rumic World" expanded its audience further as a result of series such as that.

Moriwaki: Each of Takahashi-sensei's works creates new fans. In Ranma 1/2 after Urusei Yatsura she gained male fans of the same age along with younger fans from junior high school and elementary school. Mermaid Saga is still one of her most popular works and I think she always wants to entertain new readers.

An Important Factor For Shonen Manga Artists is the Heart of "8th Grader-itis"

Aizawa: Isn't it scary to draw a work that may not appeal to the fanbase she has built?

Moriwaki: Takahashi-sensei has a strong desire to continue drawing works that junior and senior high school students can enjoy because she took a lot of enjoyment from manga when she was that same age. She often jokingly says "I'm have eternal 8th grader-itis". But the important factor for shonen manga artists 8th grader-itis in your heart. Whether or not you can draw an aspirational story with a dream is an important element in shonen manga and I feel like that is why Takahashi-sensei can keep doing it for a long time. She has "eternal 8th grader-itis".

When she went on a trip to Miyakojima with the voice actors of Inuyasha before Coronavirus she found an unused incinerator next to a school.

We only thought of it as an "old and dirty incinerator", but Takahashi-sensei was interested in the incinerator and wondered "what kind of past it had" and "what kind of drama was there". "Maybe these two elementary school students are in this incinerator..." she told us a "story" that could have become a short story. ^[9] Even though I was there and had the same experience she did, I was shocked that she could feel this drama and create an interesting episode from it. I think that is what she means about being an "eternal 8th grader-itis".

Shonen manga has a bad sense when it comes to telling lies, but it is important to be able to draw interesting lies. So, I think Takahashi-sensei came up with the idea of inflating and making it into something fascinating.

She Reads More Books that We Editors Do

Aizawa: Imagination is the driving force that makes your work interesting.

Moriwaki: In addition, you have to have a huge amount of input. Takahashi-sensei is looking at various works. She goes to the bookstore once a week to buy and read everything from serialized works to popular works regardless of if they are manga, novels or magazines. I always think that is amazing.

Jiro Asada's Soukyuu no Subaru (蒼穹の昴) and Agatha Christie's work were mentioned in the answers to what books she recommended on Twitter, but I often receive recommendations from her that "this one is really interesting." ^[10] If she's not careful she'll have read more books than our editors. Anyway, I just think "wow, she's a great writer."

A Charm That Seems to be Universally Interesting For All Ages

Aizawa: I feel that Takahashi-sensei's work is never "old". It's interesting to look back on the old works now and see the reason that she keeps drawing new work that is interesting for everyone from adults to children is because she's honing her imagination and constantly getting new input.

Moriwaki: Elementary school fans often send letters saying, "I'm addicted to reading the works of yours that are on my parent's bookshelves. I love it so much." This is universal for all age groups. I think it's because she's drawing something she finds interesting. These days it's not only "dad and mom" but also "grandpa and grandma's bookshelf". So, I feel it covers all generations.

I happened to see Hajime Isayama-sensei, the author of Attack on Titan on TV the other day with Takahashi-sensei. When asked by Isayama-sensei, "do you have a plan for your next work?" Takahashi-sensei said, "I don't know if I can draw the next one yet." When I was struggling to process that she quietly added, "but that is what makes me want to draw again." Takahashi-sensei, who has launched new works over and over and over again is making big hit after big hit. After making a huge hit I think Takahashi-sensei had the same feeling as Isayama-sensei. But that is what makes her want to draw again. That was the weight of Takahashi-sensei's words and she said, "I think Isayama-sensei is the same way too."

She Also Reads All the Books Sent by the Publisher

Aizawa: She really likes manga.

Moriwaki: Of course. She's always felt that way. She'll read any work and read all the books sent by the publishers though it's a huge amount. When a young cartoonist went to say hello to Takahashi-sensei at a party at Shogakukan, everyone was impressed because Takahashi-sensei said, "I always read your work," and "that development in the story was really interesting."

She's just really kind and caring. The sweets we send from the editorial department will always get a note back saying, "it was delicious". I'm so happy about stuff like that. It's full of love, isn't it?

In A Word, "Love" Is the Work of Takahashi-sensei

Aizawa: Takahashi-sensei's kindness was overflowing in the answers to the questions on her official Twitter account, "Rumiko Takahashi Information". She even spelled out the feelings of gratitude she has for characters at the end of a series.

Moriwaki: Takahashi-sensei's work is, in a word, "love". Everyone has the feeling of being jealous or loving someone. I think Takahashi-sensei draws this really well.

MAO is a story of love and hate that lasts for nearly 900 years. Love and hatred are packed into the story of how those who are trapped in the past come to terms with their unsettled histories. If you pay attention to it and read it, I think you'll find it interesting so please give it a try.

Can I advertise here at the end? Volume 9 of MAO will be released July 16th, so please buy it if you like (laughs).

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Footnotes

• [1] Kento Moriwaki (森脇健人) was Takahashi's final editor on Kyokai no RINNE and her first editor on MAO. He is the one who helped to launch her Twitter account and also the editor who interviewed her during the social distancing portion of the Coronavirus pandemic. He is also interviewed in "My Page One" and "'Rumiko Takahashi Encouraged Them to Make Bold Changes.' What is the Commitment to the Reiwa Urusei Yatsura?".
• [2] The posts were originally solicited via Moriwaki's Twitter, answered on Peing.net and then reshared by Moriwaki. When Takahashi got her own Twitter account they were then reposted there as well which we have translated and archived here.
• [3] That's us here at Rumic World. We translate Takahashi-sensei's tweets in addition to archiving them in English on the site. It was exciting to see that he was aware of those retweet translations.
• [4] Moyoco Anno (安野モヨコ) is the artist of Hataraki Man (働きマン), and Happy Mania (ハッピー・マニア). She is married to Hideaki Anno (庵野秀明). Junji Ito (伊藤潤二) is the prolific horror mangaka known for Uzumaki (うずまき) and Tomie (富江) among many others. Takeshi Tsuruno (つるの剛士) is an actor known for Ultraman Dyna (ウルトラマンダイナ). Shoko Nakagawa (中川翔子) is a voice actress and singer associated with Pokemon (ポケモン).
• [5] "Name" (ネーム) are storyboards. These are the rough drawings that layout each page's panel layouts, character positions in each panel, and handwritten dialogue balloons. Some artists ink over their name, others draw on a fresh sheet which preserves the name. After joining Twitter (and on a few rare occasions earlier) Takahashi would share a panel of her name next to the finished panel.
• [6] Again, this is referring to us here at Rumic World.
• [7] Editors are typically changed after a few years at Shonen Sunday and Moriwaki was swapped to work on Hoankan Evans no Uso: Dead or Love (保安官エヴァンスの嘘〜DEAD OR LOVE〜) and Shiroyama to Mita-san (白山と三田さん) after MAO around September 8, 2021. Because he is no longer her editor it remains to be seen if any of his plans for her Twitter will be carried out by his replacement, Riri Okamoto (岡本吏莉).
• [8] Ramo Nakajima (中島らも) was an author, copywriter and musician. The Pigs of Gadara (ガダラの豚) won the "Mystery Writers of Japan" award. Nakajima was notorious for his drunk and alcohol abuse.
• [9] Takahashi would typically take annual trips to Miyakojima with the producers and voice actors of Inuyasha even after the anime ended. She discusses these trips in "All About Rumiko Takahashi" and "Rumiko Takahashi Works".
• [10] Takahashi tweeted about these books. Jiro Asada (浅田次郎)'s Soukyuu no Subaru (蒼穹の昴) is set in China in the late 1800s and tells the story of two young men, one who is castrated in order to serve Empress Dowager Cixi and the other who rises through the ranks of the Chinese bureaucrats. British author Agatha Christie is one of the most well respected mystery writer in literature, having penned Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile and created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

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