Interview with Soichiro Suzuki
Translation By: Dylan Acres
The site where big masterpieces are born, as told by the editor in charge! Interview with Mr. Soichiro Suzuki, 3rd Editor of Maison Ikkoku
"I Wouldn't Do Such a Rude Thing!"
Interviewer: Today, we would like to ask Mr. Soichiro Suzuki, the editor in charge at the time, about Rumiko Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku currently being published in eBigComic4. We are looking forward to hearing about some of the behind-the-scenes stories from the time of its creation. Thank you for joining us.
Suzuki: Yes. But it has been more than 30 years since I was in charge of the serialization of Maison Ikkoku, so I don't know how much I can remember, but Takahashi-san is our "treasure" (laugh), so I will try to answer as properly as possible. Thank you very much for your time.
Interviewer: So, first of all, could you tell us how Maison Ikkoku came to be serialized in Big Comic Spirits?
Suzuki: I'm the third editor in charge of Maison Ikkoku, and the response to the serialization was really great from the time it began that by the time I took over from the second editor, it had already become a popular work.
I personally liked the work even before I was put in charge of it, so I was determined to do my best, but it had reached the top relatively early on, so as an editor I was more concerned about making sure it didn't drop from the top.
Interviewer: The response was that strong?
Suzuki: At the time, Rumiko Takahashi had been serializing Urusei Yatsura in Weekly Shonen Sunday for a year or two on an irregular basis, and it was already very popular. It was the first time for such an up-and-coming author to write for Spirits, a seinen magazine, and the fact that it was a young female author attracted a lot of attention. [1]
Interviewer: Was it the editor-in-chief at that time who decided to publish Rumiko Takahashi?
Suzuki: Yes. Spirits is a youth magazine in the Big Comic series, so at first, the artists were from the Big Comic series plus new artists. The staff who gathered at the time of the first issue of the magazine brought together works that they thought would be interesting, and the person who was in charge of the first issue, who had transferred from Sunday, brought Rumiko Takahashi to the magazine. [2]
Interviewer: Which editorial department were you in before Spirits?
Suzuki: I was in the editorial department of Big Comic Original, but when Spirits was launched, a preparation room for the launch of Spirits was created in the editorial department of Big Comic, and I moved there when Spirits was launched.
Interviewer: When did you start working on Maison Ikkoku?
Suzuki: I think it was from around the eighth or ninth chapter of the first volume of the series to the 11th volume of the series. Well, I was in charge of the "tasty parts" in the first half and the middle of the book (laughs).
Interviewer: By the way, other than Rumiko Takahashi, what other mangaka were you in charge of?
Suzuki: Since I've been doing this for a long time, I've been in charge of many different people. At that time, it was rare to have a female mangaka in a seinen magazine, but after Rumiko Takahashi, there were many female creators in Spirits, and I was in charge of Fumi Shibakado and Kei Ishizaka. I was also in charge of Shinji Mizushima, who was a great author, Takashi Iwashige, who was a newcomer, and Takashi Tagami, who wrote Karuizawa Syndrome, as well as Gallery Fake by Fujihiko Hosono.
Interviewer: Um, this may be a very rude question, but is it true...... that you are the model for "Soichiro-san" in Maison Ikkoku?
Suzuki: It's just a coincidence (laughs). Of course, I am honored, but the name had already been chosen before I was put in charge.
Interviewer: Was it really just a coincidence?
Suzuki: Yes, it was. Takahashi-sensei also said, "I would never be so rude as to name a dog after the person in charge" (laughs).
"The beginning of Maison Ikkoku is a manga textbook."
Interviewer: Each character in Maison Ikkoku is very interesting, and the interplay between them is wonderful. I'm surprised that Takahashi-sensei was still in her early twenties when she started this work.
Suzuki: That's right. She started Urusei Yatsura in Sunday while she was in college, and about a year later, when she graduated from college, she started Maison Ikkoku in Spirits.
Interviewer: That's amazing. Was Ms. Takahashi stood out even then?
Suzuki: She definitely wasn't an ordinary person.
Interviewer: The image of Maison Ikkoku is quite different from that of Urusei Yatsura, and I am sure many fans were surprised by that.
Suzuki: Since the setting was a young men's magazine, she went from the SF + gag genre of Urusei Yatsura to a new genre of romantic comedy, which is completely different from the image of Urusei Yatsura, but it still has the gag-like feel of it at the beginning of Maison Ikkoku.
Interviewer: It's true that the first chapter of Maison Ikkoku starts with a gag scene that seems to be unfolding from the very beginning. In a few pages, the main characters, especially Godai, appear one after another, and in about three pages, the way the characters are all set up at once is just brilliant. It's a masterpiece.
Suzuki: This first chapter is a "textbook" for manga artists.
"How do you know how a man feels?"
Interviewer: The psychological portrayal of the characters, which is especially not the idealized female image that male writers portray, but the unique female psychological portrayal is wonderful. For example, Akemi and Ichinose-san say things to the Manager that really get to the heart of the matter.Suzuki: Akemi is great. Kyoko-san, I'm never quite sure what she is thinking. She stirs up and snipes at Godai.
Interviewer: She can certainly be moody.
Suzuki: Takahashi-san depicts women's feelings and true intentions, and the thoughts of real women who are not just stereotypically cute, but are shown with a detailed psychological portrayal that is typical of female authors. I also wonder how she can understand men's psychology so well. Sometimes she depicts the vulgarity of a man's feelings, or rather, something that touches on a man's indecent side. How did she figure this out? (laughs).
Interviewer: (Laughs) Did the editors ever give advice on the opinions of men?
Suzuki: In our meetings, we would make suggestions, for example, "Why don't you let them go to a hot spring next time?" I felt that she understood the male psychology very well, and I didn't feel at all uncomfortable with her name. [3] The conversations between Godai and his friend Sakamoto were completely natural.
Interviewer: The story is brilliantly told, and you never let the reader get bored.
Suzuki: We were not trying to create a story that would never bore the reader, but rather, the characters seemed to move on their own. Since all the characters were well-defined, it was as if they had created the story.
The "Incident" that Caused a Huge Firestorm!
Interviewer: In the seven years of serialization, I feel that you have depicted an important period in the life of Godai, his adolescence, when he went from being a ronin to a university student, graduated, got a job, and got married. Did she have that idea from the beginning?
Suzuki: I don't think she had that much in mind. As for the main character, Spirits was intended for readers around 20 years old at the time, so she thought that the main character would be a college student, and the romantic partner would be a slightly older apartment manager. As the drama escalated and grew more and more exciting, in order to get a satisfying ending we knew the story had to have the character graduating, getting a job, and getting married. But I don't think that she had the whole thing in mind from the beginning.
Interviewer: At first, I think some people expected it to be a slapstick comedy manga like Urusei Yatsura.
Suzuki: However, the difference between a seinen magazine like Spirits and a shonen magazine is that, although there is an element of romance in shonen magazines, in the case of a seinen magazine, even if they do not depict sexual acts, they do so in a more realistic way than in a shonen magazine. So I don't think we could have made a slapstick comedy like Urusei Yatsura, which is serialized in a boys' magazine.
Interviewer: I see. So you can depict things that cannot be done in a shonen magazine. Certainly, there was a scene in Maison Ikkoku in which Godai went to a brothel with Sakamoto, and I think many readers were surprised. [4]
Suzuki: That's... various things have been said, but Takahashi-sensei herself seems to think that in the relationship between Godai-kun and Kyoko-san, it's not good if Godai-kun is sexually inexperienced. [5]
Interviewer: What do you mean by that?
Suzuki: Since Kyoko-san is a widow, she naturally has experience, but if Godai had no experience, it would inevitably lead to a relationship initiated by Kyoko. But Sensei seemed to think that should not the case. Because Godai should take the lead, Godai should not be inexperienced.
Interviewer: Certainly, Godai-kun, who is younger and unreliable, might not be able to stand up if he takes the lead in that too...
Suzuki: So, after all that happened, we made the story in such a way as to "hint" at it... What surprised me was not so much the pros and cons of the story, but the reaction of the readers.
Interviewer: What kind of reaction did you get?
Suzuki: "Why did you let Godai go there when Kyoko-san was there? The first woman has to be Kyoko-san!" We received many postcards and letters to the editorial office saying, "Why did you let Godai go there when Kyoko was there?" And most of them were from male readers.
Interviewer: Not from women, but from men! That is surprising.
Suzuki: I was surprised to think that unlike in the past, now is the time for men to protect their virginity, or that the times have reversed. Well, that's how much the readers were emotionally involved with the two, wasn't it?
Interviewer: It would be called a "firestorm" today, but do you use this kind of reaction from the readers as a reference for your works?
Suzuki: I read them as a reference, but I was never influenced by them, nor did I move to the right or left. You have your own idea of what is interesting.
Interviewer: I guess Maison Ikkoku must have had many female fans.
Suzuki: Yes. And Spirits itself had many female readers. It had an image of being a magazine that you read with your girlfriends, and we secretly thought so, and that was part of the reason why we intentionally made it that way. We were conscious of making something that women could read but not be put off by it.
Takahashi-sensei is a “Genius Who Works Hard”!
Interviewer: Does Takahashi-sensei start with a plot or a rough outline of the story before starting on the name? Or does she start from the name?
Suzuki: Yes, that's right. The first draft is the name.
Interviewer: At the name stage, do the editors ever reject the work, saying, "It's not quite right"?
Suzuki: There were some minor adjustments, such as "This part should be done this way," but there was never a complete redrawing of the work. If we had a meeting, we could usually get an idea of how it would turn out, and if there was still some uncertainty, we would say, "Let's talk more about it.
Interviewer: So, the work is usually decided at the meeting.
Suzuki: That's right. But normally, when I have this kind of meeting with a artist, if we want to discuss "100" ideas, if the result is "60", it is "eh, okay", and if we get to "80", its like "Yay! We did it!" But in the case of Takahashi-san, the response goes to "150" or "200".
Interviewer: So she always exceeded expectations.
Suzuki: Yes. It might seem like a contradiction, but she is a "genius," but, she is a "genius who works hard". I can only say that she is an "amazing person". But that doesn't mean that her works come out easily.
Interviewer: Did your impression of Takahashi-sensei change from when you first took charge of her to after you'd known her for a long time?
Suzuki: From the very beginning, Takahashi-sensei was very serious about her work. She is a professional. Her manuscripts are fast-paced and interesting. That hasn't changed.
Interviewer: Her professionalism is amazing.
Suzuki: I certainly think it's amazing. One time, there was an earthquake just before our meeting. It shook quite a bit. When I mentioned to Takahashi-san that the earthquake was bad, she said, "I don't like earthquakes". I thought she was going to say something like, "I was scared," but instead she said, "Well, if the printing shop stops, the manga I drew won't reach the readers" (laughs).
Interviewer: Eh!?
Suzuki: I was reminded what a professional she is, and that impression has never changed since the very beginning.
Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku Were Serialized Simultaneously Weekly!
Interviewer: At that time, she were serializing two works, Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, in weekly magazines at the same time, wasn't she?
Suzuki: Yes. I myself had a lot of fun being in charge of Takahashi-san, but I felt sorry for what I had done to her...
Interviewer: What do you mean by "sorry"...?
Suzuki: Spirits was a monthly publication for the first six months. Then it became bi-weekly, and after about two years, it became weekly. [6]
Interviewer: That's how popular Spirits was.
Suzuki: However, going from "bi-weekly" to "weekly" is a big deal for writers. They have to draw twice as much as they used to.
Interviewer: I see. If you include Sunday, you will have two deadlines in one seven-day week.
Suzuki: It was quite exhausting just serializing Urusei Yatsura weekly and Maison Ikkoku bi-weekly, but I went to Takahashi-sensei and asked her to change the bi-weekly series to weekly.
At first, Takahashi-san was like, "What?" But she was a professional, and in the end, she said, "I'll do it."
Interviewer: That's amazing. What a professional.
Suzuki: After that, she continued to write two weekly serials every week for about four years until the completion of Maison Ikkoku without a single break. She was a very young girl, and the only personal holiday she had was New Year's, and the rest of the time she was working on the manuscript every day. That alone is something that makes me feel very sorry for her.
Interviewer: How much time did she spend on the names at that time?
Suzuki: When I was in charge, it took all night. Otherwise, we would not be able to turn around the work.
Interviewer: Did she have many assistants?
Suzuki: At first there were two, but after we started publishing weekly, there were probably four or five. [7]
Interviewer: Did they divide into groups for each work?
Suzuki: No, they did not. At Takahashi-san's place, the assistants were excellent like her, so they helped a lot.
Interviewer: Did you have any conflicts over deadlines for Sunday and Spirits, both magazines published by Shogakukan?
Suzuki: No, there weren't any conflicts. Takahashi-san always met deadlines. She would set a schedule and work according to it. Even if she occasionally caught a cold or something, she would still meet her deadlines. [8]
As an editor, I think that writers who are "fast and interesting" are the best writers. Some writers are slow and boring.
Interviewer: She sounds like an easy writer to work with. Someone you would want to be in charge of forever.
Suzuki: That's right. However, Takahashi-san is so professional that we have to do our best to be professional as well. That's why the editor has to think about the work all the time, but I think thats what makes her a very fulfilling writer. [9]
Ikkoku-kan is a "Pseudo-Family!?"
Interviewer: Who is your favorite character in Maison Ikkoku?
Suzuki: Basically, I like them all. All the characters are attractive. I like Akemi, Yagami, and Kozue. Yotsuya-san is also good. He is a great supporting player. Also, Godai's grandmother is excellent.
Interviewer: All of the characters are very lively and lovable. There is not a single character you can truly hate in the whole series.
Suzuki: That's right. There are no bad guys. So, by the last episode, everyone is happy. However, it is very difficult to make a film without having any bad guys in it.
Interviewer: Godai's rival, Mitaka, is still a "good person."
Suzuki: Godai is an unreliable man with neither money nor power, but he is victorious over Mitaka using only his kindness and single-mindedness as weapons. This may have something to do with the state of the world at that time, but I think it is still valid even today. Nowadays, there may be many women who say, "I prefer Mitaka" (laughs).
Interviewer: (laughs) I am sure there would be. He is handsome and rich.
Suzuki: Another thing that is often said about Maison Ikkoku is that it is a "pseudo-family. The "Ikkoku-kan" itself is a house, with Mr. Yotsuya and Mrs. Ichinose acting as aunts and uncles..., it really is possible to think of them as a family.
Interviewer: It is indeed like a big family, if you ask me.
Suzuki: At that time, the big family system was collapsing, but in Ikkoku-kan, there is a place where you can be surrounded by many different people and still feel at ease. I think Maison Ikkoku is a world where you can enjoy such things. That is why the ending of the series ended with a scene like that.
Interviewer: The homey atmosphere is one of the charms of Ikkoku-kan. The situation that Godai is in, such as not having money or a job, may resonate more with today's youth.
Suzuki: That's right. The situation today may be more severe, though. At that time, it may be an illusion, but Godai had a dream about romance, and even though he didn't have any money, I feel that he had a better future ahead of him. At that time, even for Godai, I felt like if he worked hard, he would be able to support his family. However, nowadays, a man who is single-minded in love might be called a "stalker" or a strange person if he makes a mistake (laughs).
Interviewer: (laughs) Do you have a particular favorite story in Maison Ikkoku?
Suzuki: No, every episode has its own charm, and I like all of them, but during the tight schedule I mentioned earlier, there was one time when she was asked to draw a story for a special issue. That's the story Yusaku's Island recorded in Volume 6 of the tankobon. It is a silly story that has nothing to do with the main plot, but it is a very enjoyable story, and I personally like it.
Interviewer: Lastly, I think there are some people who might be interested in reading Maison Ikkoku after reading this interview, or who might be thinking of reading it in the future. Do you have any message for these new readers?
Suzuki: It is definitely an interesting work that will not disappoint, so the best thing I can say is that I hope you will read it.
Interviewer: Isn't it a work that will probably continue to be read 100 years from now?
Suzuki: I hope that happens.
Interviewer: Thank you very much.
Soichiro Suzuki joined the editorial departments of Big Comic Original and Big Comic Spirits, and was in charge of the third generation editor of Maison Ikkoku (Rumiko Takahashi). He has worked with popular authors such as Shinji Mizushima, Fumi Shibamon, Kei Ishizaka, Takashi Iwashige, Fujihiko Hosono, Juzo Yamasaki, and Kenichi Kitami.
Footnotes
- [1] Seinen manga (青年漫画) is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men.
- [2] Katsuya Shirai is the editor-in-chief that Suzuki references here. He oversaw the creation of Big Comic Spirits and is responsible for bringing Rumiko Takahashi to the magazine. You can read their discussion of these early days at here.
- [3] "Name" are rough drafts of manga pages. They are used to show the layout and positioning on the page leading up to the final draft. Rumiko Takahashi is known for her highly-polished name.
- [4] Takahashi, Rumiko. ""I Love Dogs" * II" Maison Ikkoku, Volume 10 Chapter 10,. 173. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 1985. Accessed November 12, 2022. https://www.furinkan.com/ maison/manga/10.html#103.
- [5] It has been mentioned in various places that Takahashi wanted Godai to lose his virginity but it was ruled out by the editors. Specifically it has been said she planned for him to sleep with Eriko Shiraishi in chapter 55 and Konatsu Oguchi in chapter 61, both of which would have fallen under Suzuki's time as her editor.
- [6] Suzuki is partially correct. While Takahashi was simultaenously publishing Urusei Yatsura in a weekly format, Big Comic Spirits switched from a bi-weekly to weekly format on March 31, 1986 with chapter 124. She would manage to balance two weekly series until May 26, 1986 with chapter 132 at which point Maison Ikkoku would only appear in every other issue of the magazine until Urusei Yatsura ended. Maison Ikkoku would begin publishing weekly again with chapter 147 on January 1, 1987 until its conclusion.
- [7] Takahashi's original two assistants are Makiko Nakano and Kuniko Saito.
- [8] Rumiko Takahashi is well-known for never missing deadlines. Katsuya Shirai would confirm this in an interview with Animerica which has been archived here.
- [9] The relationship and responsibilities of editors is referenced again in a series of blog posts by Zatch Bell creator Makoto Raiku, who in 2008 would allege mistreatment by Shogakukan and editors of Shonen Sunday in regards to him and his work for the magazine.
Interviewed by Kiyoharu Yamashina. Yamashina is the scenario writer of Booska+ (ブースカプラス) and has contributed to Kazuo Koike's book Super Character of Change and Evolution (変化と進化のスーパーキャラクター) and The Classified Guide to Writing Manga (漫画原作マル秘の書き方).
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