Special Feature - MAO
Interview with Rumiko Takahashi
Translated by: Harley Acres
The historical romance
MAO depicts a curse that has persisted for 900 years and the protagonist's battle to break it. We spoke with the author about her much-talked-about new work, focusing on developments up to the two manga volumes currently available.
The new work is a dark fantasy.
The caption beneath the illustrations reads, "The storyboard was drawn so precisely that it could be called a draft. This is an important scene where the heroine, Nanoka, passes through the gate for the first time and steps into the Taisho era."
First of all, please tell us how the series started.
Takahashi: I'd been thinking about making a dark fantasy for my new work since after
Kyokai no RINNE ended, but I couldn't find a clear shape for it. I had some vague ideas of the direction I wanted to take, such as "an interesting Onmyodo master like Ashiya Douman" or
The Pigs of Gadara (ガダラの豚/Garada no Buta) by Ramo Nakajima Ramo (laughs), but I had no idea what I wanted to draw...
[1] I also had some vague ideas of the direction I wanted to take, and a hazy notion of what I wanted to depict. Then I had a series of meetings with Moriwaki-san, who was the editor of the project, to see if we could do something on the theme of "curses," and we sort of developed a framework for
MAO.
[2]
Perhaps what was overwhelmingly new about this manga was that, for the first time in a full-length work by Takahashi-sensei, the main character was a cool, reserved guy. For example, this is the first work that brought a character of the type similar to Sesshomaru in Inuyasha to the center of the story.
Takahashi: Indeed, that's what happens. As you can see from
Mao's first appearance in the manga, when a heroine like that comes across a dangerous situation, the hero in previous shonen manga would immediately go to her rescue without thinking twice. But this time, I wanted to create a hero who deviates from that formula. So when I drew the layout for that scene, I had a pretty good idea of the hero's character.
What was your intention in setting the story in the Taisho era, rather than the present day?
Takahashi: Partly because I like the atmosphere of buildings from that era, but also because the daytime dramas I used to watch when I was a child had a lot of stories from the Taisho era, so I was personally familiar with the era. In these dramas, the Great Kanto Earthquake is always depicted at the climax. I think I'm unconsciously influenced by those kinds of dramas. Earthquakes are something that many people living in Japan today, myself included, feel anxious about somewhere deep down.
[3] It's scary to depict that in a manga, but I also feel that it can't be avoided when depicting the Taisho era.
Perhaps because the keyword "earthquake" is linked to the vague sense of anxiety that modern people have, this work can be read as a "present-day story" even though it is set in the Taisho era.
Takahashi: I just think it's visually interesting.
The contrast between the light-hearted girl and the cool Onmyodo master creates an exquisite buddy feeling.
Since the story has just begun and many mysteries remain hidden, I can only talk about what has been revealed up to this point, but I guess that Byoki will be the last boss from Mao and Nanoka's point of view.
Takahashi: It's not that I can't say it yet, but it may change later, but I'll answer this by saying that I don't think Byoki will be the final boss.
So far we've learned that Byoki is a kodoku creature which means that someone created it. Also, as the story progresses, we learn that not only Mao but also Nanoka have a connection to Byoki, but how do you foresee Nanoka moving the story forward?
Takahashi: Mao will be the one driving the story, and she will be involved as his buddy. Nanoka is a very easy-to-draw heroine. She had a terrible accident when she was young and lost both of her parents, but I also like that she hasn't lost her positivity. She's in that kind of situation, so she doesn't force herself to try to be cheerful, and I think she's a cheerful girl at heart. Because she's that kind of a heroine, it's fun to draw a contrast between her and the cool, reserved Mao.
I want to see what kind of characters will appear in this work as well.
The caption beneath the illustrations reads, "The first appearance scene of onmyoji Mao and shikigami Otoya. It's a typical appearance for a shonen manga hero, but after this, Mao doesn't help the heroine who asks for his aid!"
I think one of the charms of Takahashi-sensei's manga is that each of the supporting characters has a unique personality and each has their own fan base, but this time, apart from the two main characters, all of the characters are shikigami. There aren't any other notable characters besides Otoya-kun and Nanoka's classmate Shiraha. Will Mao and Nanoka's friends appear in the future?
Takahashi: I'm sure things will change over time as the series continues, but for the time being I'm thinking of running the story with Mao, Nanoka, and Otoya. Rather, it feels like there are more and more enemies (laughs).
So, are you planning for this to be a long story like your previous ones?
Takahashi: I can already see the final outcome, but there are still many mysteries that remain unsolved... If I were to draw out these mysteries one by one, then this might turn out to be quite a long story. As always, please be patient.
That's the last question. Please tell us what you would like readers to see in MAO up to this point.
Takahashi: As with other manga, I want people to look at the characters first in this work. I think that's what my manga is, whether it's Mao, Nanoka, or Otoya, so long as readers can empathize with one of the characters while reading it, nothing would make me happier as an author. At this point, their battle has only just begun, but I hope you will continue to support these three.
Footnotes
- [1] Ashiya Doman (芦屋道満) is a historical figure that is an onmyoji and rival to Abe no Seimei (安倍晴明) the legendary founder of onmyoji. While Abe no Seimei is fairly certainly a verifiable historical figure, it is more difficult to ascertain Ashiya Doman's historical veracity. Abe no Seimei has been referenced in MAO, thus far Ashiya Doman has not. Ramo Nakajima (中島らも) was a popular copywriter and mystery novelist. His novel The Pigs of Gadara (ガダラの豚) won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award (日本推理作家協会賞/Nihon Suiri Sakka Kyokai Sho) in 1994.
- [2] Kento Moriwaki (森脇健人) was Takahashi's fourth and final editor on Kyokai no RINNE and her first editor on MAO. He helped launch Takahashi's Twitter account and after leaving MAO became editor on Shonen Sunday's Shiroyama and Mito-san (白山と三田さん/Shiroyama to Mito-san) by Yuuhei Kusakabe (くさかべゆうへい). In an interview Moriwaki also mentions Takahashi's interest in the works of Ramo Nakajima and exploring Ashiya Doman as early elements that would help to shape MAO.
- [3] Takahashi has long mentioned her fear of earthquakes going back to some of her early interviews in the 1980s and then later ones as well.
