Watsuki's Hiden (Secret profile) | Interview with Watsuki Sensei

Source : translated from "Kenshin Hiden" published by Shueisha

Translator : Sou-chan, SKetsu

Interviewer - I  Mr. Nobuhiro Watsuki - W

I : We want to know the true nature of Mr. Watsuki, ... You seems very
tired... Can you go on with the interview?

W : I nearly didn't get any sleep at all. (smile) I have been drawing for
the whole night, besides, a friend called on suddenly. I've only slept for
an hour.

I : It must be very exhausting.(smile) Now, going on to the subject: in
your personal profile, it is said that Mr. Watsuki graduated from the
Nagaoka high school, the name " Nagaoka" corresponds to the name of one of
the characters : Mikio Nagaoka in Rurouni Kenshin. Is there any special
relationship between the namings?

W: Yes. In fact, the surname of Misao Makimachi , Tsubame Sanjou and some
other's name are also taken from names of places in Niigata.

I: Oh, I see. I've heard that Mr. Watsuki practiced Kendo back in school,
is that true?

W: Er... I did practice it in Junior high school, but only up to
elementary level. I've stopped practicing in senior high school, since I was
devoted to manga drawing by then. I don't want the extra-curricular
activities in school to limit my time. Therefore, I didn't join Kendo
practicing since then.

I : Did you want to become a manga artist since you were small?

W : Yes. I was first influenced by my elder brother and started drawing...
To be more exact, I was deeply influenced by Fujio F Fujiko sensei's
"Doreamon" , Mitsuru Adachi sensei's "Touch", Katsura Masakazu sensei's
"Wingman", Nanita Minako sensei's "Alien Street" and "Cypher", a series of
work by Takashi Obata and Yoshihiro Togashi's "Yuu Yuu Hakusho" and many
other works. My favorite manga artist is Takashi Obata and my favorite
manga is Black Jack by Ozamu Tezuka.

W : I started drawing in separated blocks on my notebook when I was a
junior primary school student. I started drawing more seriously in the 2nd
year of Junior high andcompleted my first manga in the first year of Senior
high.

I : What kind of work was it?

W: It was the work that won the "Pop * Step" Award (held by Weekly
ShonenJump to find potential artist, the winner's work will be include in
"Pop-Step Selection), which is called "Podmark". It was created after I
came to know my present editor. It is about robots in a school environment.
The drawing style is very different from now, you can't imagine that's my
work (smile). Finally, I named the work, and submitted it after
getting permission from the editors. Although it's not my first work, it was
still published in the "Pop-Step Award, Selection 6".

I: Do you feel being lowly positioned because you were new to the industry
back then?

W : I didn't have that kind of feeling at all, since I was still a high
school student.

I : How many years did you work as Obata sensei's (whose first work in
Weekly Shonen Jump is Cyborg Grandpa assistant?

W : It was not long. I had only joined the crew of "Arabian Lamp * Lamp"
(serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, ended in 1992) and "Chikara mito
dentsezu". (serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, it is a story about Sumo
Wrestlers) And I even had to stop working temporarily to finish my own
manga. Basically, I participate in the production of these two works.

I : Now it comes to questions about the preparation of Rurouni Kenshin
before its publication. Before RK was published,I believed there was a
shorter piece called "Rurouni - Meiji Kenkaku Romantan"(to be called
Rurouni hereafter).

W : Yes, there was another one called "The new moon of the era of Wars"
(Sengoku no Mikazuki) . It was a fantasy story, but as I developed the
plot, I suddenly realized that there were a lot of similar stories with the
same kind of subject around. Therefore, I changed it into a Japanese style
fantasy. It was unexpectedly popular. Later, the editors consider it to be a
good chance, and "encouraged me to try creating medieval drama. Because of
its popularity, "Rurouni", which has a similar style, came out.

I :Why did you choose the Meiji era as the story background?

W : It started from when I was reading Shiba Ryutarou sensei's(A very
famous and popular historical novel writer in Japan) novel "Burn! Sword"
(Moeyo Ken). I love the book and decided to use the end of Bakufu era as the
story background. Later, the story extended to the Meiji era, it is also due
to another book I read at the same period : Tomita Tsuneo sensei's Shugata
SanShirou. To design a story setting for end of Bakufu era is a complicated
hard work, and thereforeunsuitable to be presented in a short story. The
end of Bakufu and the start of Meiji is full of chaos and instability,
therefore I chose Meiji 10-20, a more stable era as the background of a
short piece. Because of various limitation, I could not drew about real
historical figures. So, I created my own characters.

I : To be exact, why did you choose Meiji 11 to be the story background?

W : It is because of the South-West Civil War. (Sei Nen Sen Sou) Before the
end of the South-West Civil War in Meiji 10, there were still a lot of
disturbances and riots in Japan. Most of the people who are familiar with
the end of Bakufu and the Meiji restoration, do not recognize the end of
Bakufu is exactly the start of Meiji. Instead, the Meiji era really started
in Meiji 10, after South-West Civil War concluded. For the same reason, I
chose Meiji 11 to be the story background of RK.

I : In Rurouni Kenshin there is a part describing the historical fact of
assassination of Toshimichi Okubo at Kioi Zaka, which happened in Meiji 11.
Did you add this into the plot once after you decided what the story
background should be?

W : No, I didn't consider about this at all back then. Initially, Rurouni
Kenshin is only planned to be published for 30 weeks. Although I hadn't
thought about it before then, I though it should be very interesting to add
this in the plot. 

I : Why did you plan RK to be serialized for only 30
weeks(about 3-4 volumes of manga)?

W : Since before this, no one have done a really long series in their first
attempt of serialization. 30 weeks is only an assumption. I set this as my
aim, and do my best.

I : So are you confident in your story-telling?

W : No, I don't have confidence, (smile) especially when the series is first
published, I was most worried then.

I : Once RK is published, there are feedback from many fans, what's the
actual situation?

W: I had thought that it perhaps can attract many young female reader's
attention, however, the feedback were more than what I've expected.

I : I have heard that Watsuki sensei has received a lot of letters from
people interested in history, is that true?

W : There were a lot of letters at first, but none recently. Perhaps, they
have given up now.(smile) When Hajime Saitoh first appeared, the response
was huge, the number of letters increased dramatically.

I: Watsuki sensei can be considered a historical manga artist. Are you
interested in late Bakufu/Meiji era?

W : My interest in history started with the beginning of Kenshin series . I
learned its history along with my readers. I had to look up the references
while drawing the series, and I only knew bits and pieces about the
Shinsengumi.

W : I like Shinsengumi since I drew "The new moon in the era of Wars".
(Sengoku no Mikazuki) In the year I finished "Rurouni" and started "RK",
the only book I read were book about the Shinsengumi. (smile) 

I : So, will you draw a series of manga about the Shinsengumi in the future?

W : I really want to do so! If I am still a manga artist in ten years time,
I will draw a manga about it even only for a short piece. It's quite
impossible to draw another story with the same historical background,
therefore I will probably draw it in another way.

I : Who do you like best in the Shinsengumi?

W : My favorite is Toshizo Hijikata, with Souji Okita, Saitoh Hajime,
Sanosuke Harada, Kamo Serizawa following, basically, everyone in the group.
I like Kanryuusai Takeda and Shinpachi Nagakura, as well. I always want to
arrange Shinpachi Nagakura to appear in RK. in the manga.

I : Among the Ishin Shishis, Watsuki sensei likes Okubo Toshimichi, doesn't
you?

W : Yes, I like both Toshimichi Okubo. Things about Kogorou Katsuta seems
very interesting either. Apart from Ishin shishis, it's interesting to
study the life of Takeai Enomoto's life after the Hakodate war. I quite
like it. Besides there was a swordsman of late Bakufu named Kenkichi
Sakakikara. He was the master of the martial art school set up by the
Bakufu government. By title, he should be the strongest Bakufu swordsman.
He insisted on wearing a mage until his death, he was a really stubborn
person! I have also considered to add him in the manga. I'm interested in
Ryoma Sakamoto recently, however, I do not intend to add him in the manga
(smile).

I : When you are preparing to draw Kenshin, did you read a lot of
historical novel for reference?

W : I did . Although I don't have time to read them now, however I did read
a lot of them at the beginning. The writer I like includes : Ryotarou
Shiba, Shoutarou Ikenami, Renzaburou Shibata ...etc.

I : Talking about Shinsengumi, Zawahiroshi Shimo (a famous write of
Shinsengumi's related novel) is very famous.

W : His writing was interesting, they serve well as historical reference
and novels.

I : Did you take the subject about beef hot-pot restaurants (Gyuunabeya)
out of the historical novels? Have you ever tried the food in one of those
restaurants?

W : I have been to one of the Gyuunabeya -- Shishi Nabeya. The food there
is delicious. Before drawing Kenshin, I had also been to the Edo Tokyo
Museum. I did not have too much expectations at first, however, after I
paid a visit, I find it to be more interesting than I thought it would be.
There was an imitated wood-block printing workshop ( Nishikeya), that's
worth a visit. In my opinion, one can benefit from it.

I : How did you thought of adding the "Character design special" in the
manga book?

W : The main reason is : when I read mangas back in my childhood, I was
fascinated by the drafts and the editor's remark. Therefore, I adopt a
similar format and put it in the manga book. However, determining what to
put in these special section becomes a major headache to me nowadays.

I : The coloured paintings are very nice, What do you use for drawing them?

W : In the beginning, I used colour ink. However, since I do not have
enough time recently, I usually use some instant dry colour marker. I also
planned to use the Apple's Macintosh computer.

I : Now we move on to things other than manga, let's talk about your
interest. I was told, you like to play TV games, Are you a fan of fighting
games?

W : Yes indeed. I'm greatly influenced by fighting games. I started playing
TV games for the fighting games. Since I do not have the time to play RPG
games or simulation games, therefore I turned to fighting games and become
a fan of them.

I : Is Samurai Showdown your favorite?

W : Yes. I like it more than anyone else. (smile) Apart from this, I also
like "Tekken 2" and "Vampire Hunter". However, I am running out of time
therefore I can only watch my assistants playing them. Anyhow, it gives me
quite a lot of inspirations by merely looking at the games' character
design.

I : Is RK going to turn into a game for Playstation?

W: Yes , it is a 3-D game. I am expecting it. I personally prefer 2-D games
better and play less 3-D games in usual. However, I'd better start
practicing it from now on.(smile)

I : Do you watch any TV?

W : Yes, I'm watching "Royma ni O Makase". I didn't expect it to be that
good at first. Other than that, I do watch some varieties and news, etc. In
my opinion, the recent medieval drama are not interesting, therefore, I
seldom watch them. I did watch them a lot in my childhood, the one I like
include " Kogarashi Monjirou", "Hissatsu Shigoto ni" series, "Edo O Kiru",
" Sanbiki Ga Kiru"; I was also a fan of "Edo no Kiba". Since I was small, I
cannot remember the actor's name. I've heard that TV has been rebrodcasting
"Moeyo Ken " (Burn! Sword), however, I could not find the tapes in the
rental shop.

I : Do the medieval dramas influence your work?

W : Yes, however, they can't serve as reference for sword fighting scenes.
This is because Kenshin usually involve in one on one dual, but then
characters in TV programs usually had to fight a whole gang. For the
fighting scenes in RK, I usually use the Shonen manga magazines " Sanbiki
Ga Kiru" as my reference

I : How about anime, what kind of anime does Watsuki sensei like?

W : In the meantime, I'm into " Neon Genesis Evangelion" and the "Child's
Toy" produced by Studio Gallop which also produces Kenshin. Of course, I
watch Kenshin, too. Although a lot of things happened at the beginning, now
I put my trust on the TV crew. All I have to say to them is : please
continue your good word. At first there does exist some conflicts, but at
the end I realized the TV crew had already put a lot of effort into
producing Kenshin. Their effort now begins to show. And from now on , I
support them whole-heartedly. For the fans of Kenshin, please support them,
too.

I : How about movies, do you like watching movies?

W : I watched a lot of movies in the past, however there's no time for me
to watch them now. Usually, I don't watch medieval drama movies, since they
were prejudiced. I like watching Hollywood movies such as "Back to the
Future" and "Die Hard" , my favorite is "Midnight Runner" by Robert de
Neal. I think the story is nothing special, however, the performance of the
main character was great.

I : What kind of music do you like?

W : I like the music by ANZI and Kinniku Shoujo Tai. Even Yukyuuzan Anji in
the ten swords was inspired by the vocal of ANZI. Besides, I also like the
background music of TV games. I usually turn on the TV in midday, and
listen to the CD's my assistants bring along at night.

I : Drawing RK has cost Watsuki sensei a lot of time, Do you have any other
hobbies?

W : Drawing, for sure. Drawing that doesn't directly involve manga is my
favorite. (smile) Other than that, I like reading books and American
comics.

I : Which American comic does Watsuki sensei like?

W : X-men. I come to like American comics because of it. As for now, I
think "Spidermen" is quite interesting. I like the series published by
Maberu Publishing Co. as well.

I : Now we go back to question about RK, for all the characters in RK, who
do you like best?

W: Among the allies, Misao Mikimachi is my favorite. Since she's the one
came out better than I expected. Also, she follows most closely to my
original idea and brings up a lot of subjects. As for the enemies, I like
Udo Jine. But recently I also like Hoji in the Ten swords since he's an
interesting character. Although he did not achieve a lot in the story, he
was the only one in the Ten Swords who worried about the future of Japan.
His thought is similar to those of Ishin Shishis. Isn't he a contrast to
Kenshin?  Moreover he's the right hand man of Shishio, like Toshizo Hijikata
(in the Shinsengumi).

I : Why do you like Udou Jine?

W : He's a strange person (smile) , he's dark inside. If his personalities
is used on the main character, the story would becomes very boring,
however, using it on an antagonist, it is very successful.

I : I see. Thank you for what you've done today and Sorry for bothering
you.

W : Not at all. It should be me who's saying thank you. I look forward to
see the publication of Kenshin Hiden.

If you have any other information about Rurouni Kenshin, please email to
me.

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