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----First of all, would you please tell us what made you decide to become a mangaka?

That'd have to be the moment I learned there was such a job. When I was in Kindergarten I really liked the work of Fujio Fujiko but when I learned that all they had to do to make a living was draw pictures I was so jealous. At the time that meant exactly the same thing as 'Not working at all'.

Of course being a mangaka means 'working' is drawing pictures, but what kid thinks drawing a picture means work? 'Working' meant putting on a suit and heading to the office like my dad.

And so that's why I wanted to be one. Ever since that age I loved drawing and the people around me always said I was good at it so I had confidence in my work.

-----So how did you actually progress from there?

I started submitting work from when I was about 15 and actually took home an award when I was 17.

But it was from that point that things got harder. As far as drawings are concerned, well, I had no problems there but a comic isn't just a bunch of pictures. Writing stories was something that used to be really hard for me. Whenever I showed my head editor rough drafts I would get all kinds of weak points pointed out to me and I couldn't move forward.

That was the first Wall of the Professional I hit. At the time I thought people who draw great pictures become mangaka, because every mangaka I knew drew pictures really well. So that's about the time I started to seriously think about that thing called a 'story'.

So from there I continued aiming to be a mangaka and after graduating high school went to a college in Kumamoto but after a year of that I got to thinking, "This really is a waste of time.", so I headed for Tokyo.

Of course I hated studying but more than just that, heading down that path as a college student gave me this sense of impending doom (laughing) Because all college students do is party right? (laughs)

----Was there anyone in college who had the same goal of becoming a mangaka as you? [Good question!]

Nope, nobody. Actually you know I hid the fact that I drew manga from a lot of friends. I dunno about now but back then writing amateur manga meant being made fun of.

I did NOT want to be called an otaku so I decided that until I became a professional I'd secretly be a closet mangaka. (laughs) If you turn pro and you make a hit, you're just accepted as that so there's no need to do work in secret. So in that way I think it also kind of gave me this strong feeling like, "I wanna be a pro as soon as possible!"

So wanting to go to the scene the action I dropped out of college and my editor introduced me to an opening as an assistant.

----How was the first time your actually saw a professional at work?

It was 1994 and I became the assistant of Shinobu Kaitani (Liar Game, Somurie) whose Midoriyama Police Gang was running in JUMP at the time, and the thing that shocked me the most was the beauty of the original print. [I agree, having seen them at JUMP Festa, they're really amazing]

Since JUMP's pages are made of recycled paper they feel all rough and looks dirty right? But the original molds are remarkably beautiful. 10 times more beautiful than I imagined. I went to a bunch of different works places all around the same time but wherever I went the original prints always blew me away. My own work wasn't even worthy of comparison.

----Was there anything else about the professionals' jobs that moved you?

After Shinobu Kaitani's work finished its run, I went to work for Masaya Tokuhiro (Jungle King Taa-chan, Vampire) and I admired how he was able to chug along through his work exactly as he planned. He is a real professional. I always try to learn that by observing but guess I'm just not that kind of mangaka. (laughs)

----What kind of work did you do while under Tokuhiro sensei?

I drew scenery for Taa-chan and his next piece, Mizu no Tomodachi Kappaman. I was only with him for about a year and a half but he really taught me a great deal of things. How to draw the profile of a character, techiques for expression and so on... After quitting as an assistant we don't exchange much more than New Year's Cards [Japanese equivalent of Christmas cards] but he made a huge contribution to my life.

----On the topic of your life as an assistant, many people mention Nobuhiro Watsuki sensei. After you ended your time at Nobuhiro sensei's, did you go right to work for Watsuki sensei (Rurouni Kenshin, Embalming)?

Yeah pretty much. But I actually wasn't there too long. I think I managed to work full-time every week for only 4 months. After that I wanted to prepare for my own [upcoming] serial work so I worked there every other week.

----Would you tell us some special memory you have of working at Watsuki sensei's?

Yeah, I uh, I was able to make a lot of great connections from Watsuki sensei's place. Dunno if you can call friends like us Manga Buddies or Manga Rivals but that was the place where we all met. It was an fantastic place to be.

----For a while there was a time when the most popular JUMP mangaka all came from Watsuki's place.

From when we were all assistants we all wanted to cultivate ourselves with this kinda of, 'Let's all become serial authors!' attitude, I was so happy when that became a reality.

----Of all those you considered rivals, who sticks out the most in your mind?

That would have to be Hiroyuki Takei (Shaman King). From way back he just has this fantastic [art] sense. He continues to make feel like, "Woah! That's awesome!", even now. He just makes these drawings and compositions with ease that make me go, "There's no way I could possibly draw that." He also kicks ass at mecha. He's an amazing guy, really.


Part 1 End

Next part will come on the 17th. He'll talk about Romance Dawn and about.....how much more life OP has in it *gasp*

Chi ha voglia di tradurre farà un favore al 90% del foro!!

----In primo luogo, prego ci direste che cosa li ha incitati a decidere trasformarsi in in un mangaka?
ho pensato che deve essere il momento ho imparato che ci era un tal lavoro. Quando ero nell'asilo realmente ho gradito il lavoro di Fujio Fujiko ma quando ho imparato che tutta che dovessero fare per fare una vita era immagini di tiraggio ero così jealous. Quando quello ha significato esattamente la stessa cosa “del non funzionando affatto„.
# Il # naturalmente che è un mangaka significa che “funzionando„ è immagini disegnare, ma che capretto pensa l'illustrazione un lavoro di mezzi dell'immagine? “Funzionare„ ha significato mettere su un vestito e la parte anteriore all'ufficio come il mio dad.
e così ecco perché ho desiderato essere uno. Da allora che l'età io amava disegnare e la gente intorno me ha detto sempre che ero buono esso in modo da ho avuto riservatezza nel mio lavoro.
-----Così come realmente avete progredito da là?
Il I ha iniziato il lavoro di presentazione da quando ero circa 15 e realmente ha preso a sede un premio quando ero 17.
# Il # ma esso proveniva da quel punto che le cose hanno ottenuto più duro. Per quanto le illustrazioni, bene, non ho avuto problemi là ma un comic non è giusto un mazzo di immagini. La scrittura delle storia era qualcosa che usasse essere realmente dura per me. Whenever I showed my head editor rough drafts I would get all kinds of weak points pointed out to me and I couldn't move forward.Quella era la prima parete del professionista che ho colpito. Quando ho pensato la gente che disegna le immagini grandi si trasforma in in mangaka, perché ogni mangaka che ho conosciuto ha disegnato le immagini realmente buone. Così che ha luogo circa il tempo ho cominciato pensare seriamente a quella cosa denominata “una storia„.
# # in modo da là dall'ho continuato a mirare ad essere un mangaka e dopo la laurea la High School è andato ad un'università in Kumamoto ma dopo che un anno di quello che ho ottenuto a pensare, “questo realmente è uno spreco di tempo. „, in modo da I diretta per Tokyo.
# # naturalmente che odiavo studiare ma più appena quel, dirigere giù quel percorso come allievo di università mi ha dato questo senso della sorte avversa imminente (ridere) Poiché tutti gli allievi di università è destra del partito? (risate)# # ----Era ci chiunque in università che ha avuta lo stesso obiettivo di trasformarsi in un mangaka di voi? [Buona domanda!]# # Nope, nessuno. Realmente sapete che ho nascosto il fatto che ho disegnato il manga dagli amici molto. Il dunno I circa ora ma il manga dilettante allora di scrittura posteriore ha significato essere reso a divertimento di.
# Il # I non ha desiderato essere denominato un otaku in modo da ho deciso che fino a che non diventassi un professionista sarei segretamente un mangaka dell'armadio. (risate) se girate pro e fate un colpo, siete accettati appena come che così non ci è necessità di fare il lavoro nel segreto. So in that way I think it also kind of gave me this strong feeling like, "I wanna be a pro as soon as possible!"