I Want to Draw an Out of Place SF Manga
Translated by: Harley Acres
Congratulations on winning the Shogakukan Manga Award. [1] What do you think about receiving the award?
Takahashi: Thank you very much. Anyway, I'll keep up the good work... I don't know what to say, honestly... Basically, I hope to be able to say that I deserved the award... Well, you know what I'm trying to say.
I heard that you draw 20 pages a day, is that true?
Takahashi: Yeah, it's true that 20 pages can be completed in one night, but before you get to that point, there are drafts to do of course, so if all the background work is done, I'll can make 20 pages from the draft in one night.
Where does that lechery come from in the men you depict?
Takahashi: Well, it's not that I like lewd guys (laughs), but it comes from the nature of the work.
And where does the sexiness of the women that you draw come from, Takahashi-san?
Takahashi: No matter where you come from people like sexy women.
How many pages are you producing per month now?
Takahashi: About 85 pages, which is pretty good.
[2]
You can't go much further than that, huh?
Takahashi: Well, there are some things that come along unavoidably... (laughs). From there, I'll try my best to prepare and adjust as needed.
Did you have any prior experience with manga?
Takahashi: Oh yes, with (Ryoichi) Ikegami-san's old work that appeared in
Shonen Sunday,
I Don't Need Anything! (なんにもいらない!/Nannimo Iranai!) Before that, he was doing
Farewell to Anger (怒りよさらば/Ikari yo Saraba), and around that time, he was also doing
Spider-Man (スパイダーマン). When I was about 13 years old, I started thinking about copying the drawings and changing them up.
[3]
What kind of girl were you when you were younger?
Takahashi: I was a very, very introverted child who seemed to be lost in her own imagination. I was a big fan of Tezuka-sensei's shojo manga
Princess Knight (リボンの騎士/Ribon no kishi) when I first started elementary school.
[4] I would move the characters around in my head and play with them... I think everyone has experiences like that though.
Which of your characters is most similar to you?
Takahashi: Hmm, I guess my way of thinking is most similar to that of
Sakuranbo's.
When you're not working, how do you spend your free time?
Takahashi: Sleep, watch TV, or make phone calls.
[5]
Please let me know if you have any suggestions on how to get rid of depression or frustration.
Takahashi: Sleep, watch TV, or make phone calls.
I think you could say that the appeal of your manga lies in the charm of the characters, but how do those characters come about?
Takahashi: Thinking while I doodle... I guess you could call it "designing."
What kind of SF works do you read?
Takahashi: Yasutaka Tsutsui's work.
[6] I think for me it should be Japanese, and it should be slapstick.... I can't get into space operas.
Is there a subject that you would like to draw if conditions allowed? For example, would you like to draw something more serious?
Takahashi: There's a part of me that doesn't want to do anything serious. I'd like to do some out of place science fiction, or something... (laughs). Even in science fiction, I'd like to do a little research on ethnography. Well, at the root of it all is melodrama.
[7]
What do you mean by out of place?
Takahashi: In short, something that doesn't deal with machines. I was wondering if I could deal with lore and such and do a more down-to-earth version of, let's say, Daijiro Morohoshi-san...
[8]
Is there anything good about gag manga as opposed to serious manga?
Takahashi: You get a reaction right away. For example, if you are reading in front of someone and they laugh, you know it was funny. That's a great feeling. Gag manga are interesting because they are straightforward.
Lastly, please tell me what type of man you like.
Takahashi: If he's warm and inviting and makes you feel at home, that's what I think is good.
Footnotes
- [1] Takahashi won the Shogakukan Manga Award (小学館漫画賞/Shogakukan Mangasho) twice. Once in 1980, which is what this interview is referring to for Urusei Yatsura and the second time in 2001 for Inuyasha. Both wins were in the "shonen" category.
- [2] At this point in her career Takahashi was producing Urusei Yatsura weekly and Maison Ikkoku twice a month, plus she was also doing numerous one-shot stories in 1981 as well.
- [3] Ryoichi Ikegami (池上遼一) is by far Takahashi's biggest influence and favorite artist as she has professed many times. His work includes Crying Freeman (クライング フリーマン), Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ) and Wounded Man (傷追い人). Kazumasa Hirai (平井和正) is the creator of 8 Man and Genma Taisen and a mutual fan of Rumiko Takahashi. She speaks again about her fondness for these particular series by Ryoichi Ikegami (池上遼一) in "I Was a Follower of Ikegami-sensei".
- [4] Princess Knight (リボンの騎士/Ribon no kishi) is also discussed in her interview "Rumiko Takahashi - Long Interview".
- [5] Takahashi had mentioned being a heavy phone user at the time, claiming that her longest phone call was 12 hours.
- [6] Yasutaka Tsutsui (筒井康隆) is a novelist perhaps best known to western audiences as the writer of Paprika which was turned into a film by Satoshi Kon. The Girl Who Lept Through Time (時をかける少女) is another well-known novel by Tsutsui. Takahashi frequently mentions him as among her largest influences.
- [7] This is perhaps foreshadowing Takahashi's ideas for her very dark series Mermaid Saga.
- [8] Daijiro Morohoshi (諸星大二郎) is another mangaka Takahashi has stated her admiration for. She has made a few tribute manga dedicated to him as well.
