L'invitée, Yuuki Obata
Although Mang'Azur 2009 did considerably better than 2008 (at least a 50% increase in audience) , the conference with Yuuki OBATA didn't attract much attention. Maybe because she was planned Saturday in an amphitheater, and was finally held on Sunday in a roughly 100 seats room. The same goes for her signing sessions, where almost everybody interested showed several times to get more books signed.
There was a drawback, however : As it was her first signing session, she only drew a quick sketch of the main character (Nanami or Sumire, depending on your book), a sign, and the date. There was time to do something a little more sophisticated, but, as we could see Sunday, when she drew Nanami's head on a full page, right after her conference started, she lacks a bit of experience in public events. From her beginning to draw with a pencil where, for example, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (of Gainax fame) could draw a Rei Ayanami directly with a marker, to her use of eraser, we could see she wasn't very confident. Furthermore, we were told while she was drawing, that she usually uses several kind of pencil, with different lead each.
Sadly, we weren't allowed to take a photo of this drawing, which had us at a loss as to why we couldn't.
We understand the "no photo, no video" policy, but what about a photo of the drawing as a souvenir ?
The same happened with her homonym (but they're not related) Takeshi Obata, Death Note's illustrator.
But here, Yuuki Obata answered herself to the questions.
Report on Yuuki OBATA's public conference at Mang'Azur in Toulon, France.
Her translator begun by explaining that she is known for 2 titles in France : Bokura ga ita (We Were There) and Sumire wa BLUE (The Violet are BLUE)
Bokura ga ita's publication stopped for 2 years in Japan, for personal reason that we'll have to keep guessing, but 3 new chapters from the future 13th volume were recently released in the Betsucomi prepublication magazine, and now, she's working on the 4th chapter, like we could see from her name (the sheets of paper on which she draws the originals before printing)
And now, here are the questions from Mang'Azur staff :
How did she get her passion for drawing, and how old was she when she begun to draw ?
I begun to draw when I was very young, but I stopped for a while. I started again after completing my studies, and, after 3 years, I sent my works to different publishers. Happily, Shogakukan was interested and they allowed me to start publishing one year later, thus making my dream comes true.
Who are her favorite mangaka, her inspirations ?
I appreciate the works of Fusako KURAMOCHI and Ryou IKUEMI. They're probably not known in France.
They are my senpai from more than 10 years, but they have greatly influenced shoujo manga. I hope they will be published in France, so that you too can appreciate theirs works.
None of Kuramochi' manga are published in France. Her best-known works are A-Girl, 1984, 2 volumes, adapted in 1993 in 1 OVA, and Tennen Kokkeko, on which we will talk later. Her last work is Eki kara go fun, a 2-volumes jousei published by Chorus, which also publishes Honey & clover and Happiness.
For Ikuemi, we have 2 titles here in France : Honey Bunny et Watashi wa itemo inakutemo, published by Panini, Since 2004, she works on Kiyoku Yawaku which is published in Cookie, that also features Nana, Eden and Girls Bravo. The 9th volume of Kiyoku Yawaku was ranked 25th Japan's best seller in December 2008.
Which is her favorite manga between her own works ?
The title I like the most is Maru, Sankaku, Shikaku (circle, triangle, square). I worked on it 3 years after becoming professional. At that time, I was very enthusiastic and everything was new for me, and that's why I like this title.
What's more, Sumire wa BLUE and Bokura ga ita are both sad stories, but Maru, Sankaku, Shikaku is a more light-hearted comedy, and I'd rather like that we read this kind of work.
Did she plan Bokura ga ita as a shorter title, or did she expect it to be long ?
At first, I didn't expect it to be that long, but, in Japan, the mangaka might be asked to extend the story of his or her manga by the reader's vote. Since the title was well welcomed by the readers, my editor asked me to extend it. When I started it, I was aiming for 5 or 6 volumes.
Who is her favorite character between the casts of Bokura ga ita and Sumire wa BLUE ?
Fusako KURAMOCHI and Ryou IKUEMI have influenced me the most. And, when I was looking at their drawing techniques, I wanted to make my own manga more real. I try to make my character stick to reality, not to my own choices.
What is her source for inspiration ?
I generally listen to pop music, but, when I draw, I only listen to songs from the time I was in college
Can she reveal something on Bokura ga ita's story development ?
In the 3 newest chapters, Nanami and Yano meet. There's also a big event between Nanami and Takeuchi, but it's a secret !
Does she have some project after Bokura ga ita ?
No, I didn't think of it. I will think about it after I complete this work.
This is her first autograph session, including Japan. What are her sentiments and her impressions about her first meeting with her audience ?
In Japan, I never accepted to sign my books, that because I don't want people to have my image in mind when they read my manga.
So it must be why her attendants and the Mang'Azur staff were so concerned about not having any pictures or videos taken of her. And also why her conference planned in the great amphitheater was canceled, it would have been impossible to check everyone.
But, as you've given me the opportunity to discover France, I accepted your invitation.
I know there was a lot of readers in France, but I never imagined how they were. I attended the cosplay, yesterday evening, and I was really astonished to see that you like manga so much.
Generally, Japanese don't know that French like manga so much, I was very moved.
After the questions of Mang'Azur staff, speech was given to the audience :
would you be interested in a cooperation with an European comics author ?
Like you know, manga are in black and white, I was very surprised to learn that European comics are drawn in color. So, if I am given the opportunity, I would like to draw in this style.
What is her sentiment about Bokura ga Ita's anime ?
Ah !? So you've seen it ?
The director of Bokura ga ita is a great fan of the manga. When I saw the adaptation, It was so good, I was very surprised and happy. He didn't break the manga's image.
But, frankly, Nanami's voice is very far from what I envisioned.
The director, Akitarou DAICHI, is also responsible for the anime adaptation of Fruits Basket, Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku and Animation Runner Kuromi
Nanami's voice is a seiyuu that makes her debut with this role, Nozomi SASAKI.
Did she follow scholar course to learn how to draw ?
In fact, Japanese don't learn how to draw in a school. We begin to draw from our early age, and, by persevering, you can become a mangaka.
Could she give us some titles from the works of the 2 mangaka she named earlier ?
In fact, every works of Fusako KURAMOCHI and Ryou IKUEMI are very good, so I can't choose just one. But, if you really want that I give you one, it would be Fusako KURAMOCHI's Tennen Kokkeko ( "spontaneous cock-a-doodle-do" ), because she draws countryside landscapes very well.
Tennen Kokekko is a 14-volumes manga that won the Kodansha best-shoujo award in 1996 (even though it's not published by them). It was also adapted into a live-action movie en 2007
How does she organize her days, her work, her sheet ?
A mangaka's work is very hard, you have to endure the lack of sleep. Working time is very unstable, but I work for a mangashi published monthly by Shogakukan. For a month, it's 3 weeks of drawing, where I essentially make the original sheets to be published (the "name"), then I discuss with my manager to see if I need to change something.
There was a last question by a latecomer about the fact that becoming a mangaka was her dream, then she thanked her audience, saying she never imagined that French may appreciate her works, because she's essentially drawing for Japanese girls.
Yuuki OBATA's private interview for Manganimation.net
Mang'Azur granted us the privilege of a private interview with Yuuki OBATA, who kindly offered us some of her time to answer 8 short questions :
We first wanted to know what were the details of her career as a mangaka, mainly to know if she debuted as an assistant, or if she had any mentor ?
I started to send drawings to become a mangaka, and I got the chance of winning a competition (Shogakukan's 1998 new mangaka prize). While I was sending my drawing, I did take an assistant's job once, but it was really not to learn.
In Sumire wa BLUE, there's an important story element in English, and in Bokura ga ita, Nanami is very good in English. We didn't know at the time, but it's also a point that come back in some of Kimi no Kachi short stories (her first tankobon).
We wanted to know if English was something she liked, why did it appear so often in her stories ?
As English is a mandatory course in school, it's easy to notice a girl doing well in this matter. But, for Sumire wa BLUE, it's only a strike of luck. In fact, when writing this manga, I was inspired by this poem ( « Roses are red, violets are blue. Sugar is sweet, and so are you » ). Your question puzzle me.
In fact, we thought that you've maybe graduated from an English class in University, or that you are very passionate about the English language.
I like this language, but I didn't graduated from an English class in University, but I did study English for 2 month in Cambridge.
The characters Yano (from Bokura ga ita) and Shinobu (from Sumire wa BLUE) are very possessive, so we'd like to know if it's something she likes to put in her stories, if it's something personal, of just coincidental ?
I didn't pay much attention to it, but, effectively, it's true. But I was set on this behavior for the character of Shinobu, and it was easy to draw after that.
We wanted to know the genesis of her 2 works released in France, how she got the ideas for the story ?
For Bokura ga ita, my manager at the time asked me to change from the usual school-life stories I draw. I remembered that one of his friend was in a situation a little like that of Yano in the manga's end. So I contacted him to tell me a little about his story. This manager since then switched position.
For Sumire wa BLUE, I had another manager, a woman this time. She believed that a man, to be classy, must do some kind of sport. So she absolutely wanted the hero to be a sportsman. And since, in Koshiro, where I was raised, there is a reputed hockey club, I naturally choose this sport.
The Koshiro club is named 'Nippon Paper Cranes', it's part of the Asia League Ice Hockey, a championship that gathers the best Japanese, Chinese and South-Korean clubs.
What are her thought on the French title of Sumire wa BLUE, that can translate as "Sumire no Yuuutsu" ( "The melancholy of Sumire" ), and reveals only half of the title' meanings ?
"Sumire" is a first name, but also means "violet" (the flower), and the title can then be read as "violets are blue", which is a reference to the poem in the manga.
As I feared, it really sad to not being able to translate the full meaning of the Japanese title, but I understand that it must be difficult. Nevertheless, the choice of the word "melancholy" is a rather good adaptation, I'm satisfied with it.
There's a lot of characters in her manga that are hardly named, called by their first names or even by a nickname, and we sometimes haven't any information on them, so we wanted to know why ?
It was natural for me to not name them. You can say it's to contrast more with the main characters. Besides, the same goes for the drawing, the main characters have more details, theirs drawings are more marked.
Interested by what she says earlier about Nanami's voice in the anime, we asked what kind of voice did she imagine for her heroine
I imagined a voice more active and lively, when the voice in the anime was rather feeble. I would have preferred a voice like that of Mizuchin.
Nanami's seiyuu is Nozomi SASAKI, who debuted with this role, and Mizuchin's is Kaori SHIMIZU.
To end our interview, we wanted to know how much more volumes of Bokura ga ita was she planning before the end ?
I think that, if I can perfectly organize the story, the manga should do a total of 14 volumes.
Report of the convention, in french language
page 1 - page 2 - page 3 - page 4
Rédaction : L'équipe de manganimation.net
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