At the beginning of 1999, French readers could discover the first tome of Dragon Head, a manga by a certain Minetaro Mochizuki. In about ten albums, this mangaka wrote himself into the collective memory like a talented and passionate artist, just like those who he was influenced by, like the famous Paul Pope. The artist had fun changing his register while evolving his style, he tried to write adventures with Maiwai, but also novel adaptations with Chiisakobé. The latter wins recognition as a magnificent story of much subtlety. It was chosen among the best albums of the year at the Angoulême festival. Chiisakobé is a wonder that M.M. himself came to France to promote. This is the perfect occasion to meet one of the most significant figures of japanese comics.
An interview translated by Miyako Slocombe from Japanese
Hello Minetaro Mochizuki, how do you present yourself to the readers?
Minetaro Mochizuki: I have never really thought about my position in the world of manga, so it's a bit difficult to introduce myself. In any case, if I try to locate myself in the industry in Japan, I would be at the very end, as a kind of outsider. I think my most representative titles are Dragon Head or Maiwai that are translated in France. My newest title, Chiisakobé, is a little like a career changer for me, a different view/angle that makes me very very happy to see it published in France. Want more information about my age? Where I live ? [Laughs]
What was the first time you came into contact with the 9th art?
MM: Actually, I was raised in a single-parent family, it's my mother that took care of me. During the day when she went to work, I stayed home alone and had fun drawing on the shoji* [*sliding paper doors in traditional japanese houses]. Since there was nobody to stop me, I drew on each door of the house. My mother did not tell me anything because she knew I had nothing else to do. This is the first time I found it fun to draw, even though I was scolded the first time.
What were your main influences for you when you drew Phantom Stalker Woman(Zashiki Onna)?
MM: Of course, there is the influence of Kazuo Umezu. He was an author that I read a lot in elementary school. I read everything about him and he must have left a mark on me, I respect him immensely. On the other hand, I was not directly influenced by him when I came up with Phantom Stalker Woman(Zashiki Onna), but one of my editors. He told me that I should try to make a horror manga because my style was a good fit for the genre. So it wasn't my idea, my previous manga was kind of a comedy but my publisher told me that I let my sensitivity speak too much and that I was going to hit a wall.
Then came Dragon Head. What is your opinion on it now?
MM: I went a little too far. Before starting this series, I thought I would do something very simple. I did not think about doing a long series at all. The theme was more about the terror than the action. The action parts were not the main part of the story, it was rather the inner darkness of the people that interested me, the human feeling that I wanted to deal with. That's how I realized Dragon Head at first, but it's the action parts that most interested readers, which forced me to push in this action side of the manga. In the end, I do not know if it was a good thing or not that I did that.
The theme of fear and it's many variants seem to be at the heart of Dragon Head What about that?
MM: Yes, that's exactly it. In Chiisakobé the hero goes away to travel. He leaves his house, acquires something and returns to his place. He really has a goal, whereas in Dragon Head it is the opposite and that's what's terrifying.
With Maiwai, we found you with a visual style that has evolved and a type of unexpected story. How do you explain it?
MM: With Maiwai, in fact, I wanted to capture the feeling of a voyage, I wanted to draw an adventure with a departure and a return. I wanted to do a pure action manga, even though I do not think I managed to do what I wanted.
MM: First, I wanted to go off a scenario that already existed. I asked my editor if he had something to propose to me. It was him that found the novel Chiisakobé.
With Chiisakobé you seem to have calmed down.......
MM: Actually, it was with the manga that I did before [Tokyo Kaido] that my style has completely changed, that series wasn't published in France. With Chiisakobé I told myself I would do what I want, no matter what the readers think, if they like it or not. I went forward in the same vein. You can maybe speak of calming down, of tranquility. I told myself that even if I loose my readers, I would have drawn what I desired to draw. I had lots of fun with Chiisakobé and to find myself in France as a result, for an interview, that's very funny to me.
Can you tell us a bit about your characters, about Shijegi, Ritsu and about the child gang that surrounds them?
MM: In the original novel, Shijegi is a more active character. He is a beautiful man. I thought that that lacks of realism. As an author, I didn't find that realistic, I told myself that would be the same for the readers. So I made a bearded man who loves to travel and who has a sensible personality. For Ritsu, when I read the novel, she became my favorite character. I found her to be sweet and charming. I took a lot of time to try to make her more friendly and charming in the manga. For the children, there are about a dozen of them in the novel, I believe. I preferred to reduce their numbers to give them a proper identity and a proper past [of their own].
In all of your titles, there is always a certain subtlety......
MM: Well, I need to really like my characters myself, because if not, that will be felt by the readers. Often I am told that Ritsu is a charming person, I appreciate that, even though I think that it is myself who appreciates her [Ritsu] the most.
What are you working on at the moment now that Chiisakobé is finished in Japan?
MM: I am having a difficult time giving birth to my next project. I would like to apply everything I have learned while Chiisakobé to my next project.
If I offered you the metaphysical power to visit the skull of an author to understand his genius, who would you visit?
MM: It's a very difficult question. In fact, I am extremely impressionable. For a long time, I was afraid to go read the manga of others, for fear of being influenced by them, probably because I had little confidence in myself. I imagined myself stealing what others were doing. Even today, I deliberately do not read the manga of others, I'm allergic to the manga department of bookstores! I am not going. However, since Tokyo Kaido and Chiisakobé, it bothers me less. I will say that I do not need the technical talent of anyone, I want to challenge myself to surpass myself. I'm sorry, maybe I should have answered Kazuo Umezu or Akira Toriyama but that answer reflects my personality.
Mœbius advocated the fact that he observed much what other artists did to inspire and renew himself constantly. It's the opposite for you!
Minetaro Mochizuki: Moebius must have been very strong, psychologically.[Laughs]
How do you rate the evolution of manga since the beginning of your career?
MM: Before, there were more big publishers on one side and on the other, a more independent and more creative circuit. This border has almost disappeared today, as if the small publishers had been absorbed by the big ones. We see fewer and fewer boundaries between the two, as if the mainstream had won. I regret that all the works are a little similar. I took a walk in the Bubble New York at the Angoulême festival and I discovered many publishers like Le Lizard Noir, who, even if they are not very big, have a huge will and an ambition. In Japan, I feel that it no longer exists. I envy you a lot about it.
Thanks to Stéphane Duval of Lézard Noir for having allowed this meeting
Link to the interview in french: http://www.planetebd.com/interview/minetaro-mochizuki/945.html
No comments:
Post a Comment