Miura Kentarou'nun yeni serisi Duranki ve Berserk'i nasıl etkileyeceğine ilişkin röportajı
Japonca bütün röportaj burada, Japonca okuyan varsa,
https://natalie.mu/comic/pp/younganimalzero
İngilizce özeti de verilmiş şurada.
https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/d2d0jn/miura_interview_about_berserk_and_duranki/
- Duranki is made under Miura's Studio Gaga. For the series, he is credited as writer and producer.
- For Duranki, assistants are taking care of the inking. As writer & producer, he right now he makes the storyboard, sketch the draft, quality checking and final adjustments. (like "Art Director" in anime production)
- Three assistants on-site, one remote.
- For Berserk, he draws all the characters and background. Assistants are only in charge of tones, buildings, background soldiers or far-off scenery. Recently he started having them draw the ground too.
- He is usually fast with storyboarding, so he doesn't think this new series will affect Berserk production. Main bottleneck is the art, because he tries to draw everything by himself.
- He hopes to use Duranki as an opportunity to improve his assistants' skills so that he will be more comfortable offloading more of Berserk work to his assistants too. Potentially speeding up Berserk releases.
- Eventually, his goal is to only do the storyboard and final adjustments for Duranki and let his assistants do the rest.
- Duranki turned into a series when he shared one of his ideas for a new manga to his editor.
- Originally Duranki was actually a isekai time travel manga, but scrapped the isekai approach because it was too prevalent and went with straight fantasy/mythology.
- His manga production is now fully digital. Made the switch around 2015 when Rakshas revealed his true identity.
- He knows he has an unhealthy obsessed with drawing every little details. Believes it's simply because he loves the old, "Baroque Period" of manga like Akira and Fist of the North Star that had really dense and detailed art.
- Quite happy with using digital to draw. He gets to zoom into stuff and obsess over each little pixel. His editor tries to stop him whenever he goes that far.
- Never felt bored making Berserk. Always tries to do new themes. Making manga is fun.
- Berserk is currently in the later stages of its overall story. Lot of shocking things coming up after the current arc.
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Studio Gaga is my company with my assistants. The inking is being entrusted to my assistants for Duranki, but I did the storyboard, the draft and the final modifications.
-Modifications?
Each assistant has a different drawing style. So I unify and integrate them. Producing is like being a drawing director for animation. Three of my assistants commute. One lives in a remote place (stays in studio?).
-Berserk is also drawn by them, so what's the difference?
For Berserk I do almost everything myself, the characters and the backgrounds. I only give them the toning, buildings, soldiers, backgrounds, etc. These days I let them do the ground too.
-Berserk isn't available in every issue. With the start of Duranki, some fans might think the publication of Berserk will be delayed.
I'm quite fast at storyboarding, the main reason for the delays is my drawing speed. My staff is competent but I still draw almost every part myself, so it brings out more and more delays. So I hope my assistants' skills will grow with Duranki, so I get to think "this is good enough". So this can make me consider using them more for Berserk, and then I hope Berserk's publication speed will get faster.
-Do you mean your role in drawing Berserk can be reduced?
Yes. Because if the finished item is of the same quality, it's good. So when I entrust the inking to my assistants, I also think they can do it. I have staff meetings and I share ideas with them. At my age I think I should be able to establish a good system for my staff to get them to draw well, so Duranki is a really good chance to do that.
-Tell us how you started to publish Duranki.
Working on Berserk, I also have many ideas for other manga, but I don't think I can do them because I have no time. But accidentally I told one of my ideas to my editor. He said it's enjoyable, and suggested I take on the role of original writer, so I only do the writing. so I made a presentation with my ideas. They gave me a good feedback. So finally Studio Gaga took care of the drawing, but I'm short handed. I'm currently recruiting staff. But compared to the past it's hard to get the kind of assistants who commute to the studio and work seriously.
-When Studio Gaga recruits people, you welcome regular positions.
Yes, since Studio Gaga publishes Berserk and Duranki, we offer a decent, stable job. We're not a black enterprise. We're not like an ordinary company. I welcome experienced and senior people and I can pay them appropriately. Before I also thought about recruiting assistants to start Duranki.
-Tell me more...
I want to create a job that can put my assistants' names on the page under the studio's. At Studio Gaga, to be an assistant is an excellent job that allows them to draw, which is their favorite, and to make a good living. As for my staff, some are even married, some bought a good apartment in Tokyo, they've been building their skills for years. I am motivated to recruit more assistants who can take care of the drafts for the main characters, or of the inking. I hope Duranki will make it come true.
4 sayfalık röportajın ilk sayfası bu. 2. sayfa
"Duranki" is a story about mythology with the tagline: "The ancient world. Building up a new myth with sagacity". Usumugal, the main character, is revealed at the beginning to be androgyne: "neither god nor human, neither woman nor man".
When I was a boy, manga that were about boys in mythical backgrounds such as "Triton", "Arion", "Pygmalio", etc. were hits. The biggest one was "Saint Seiya". Since it's been a long time since we had this kind of story, I wanted to do it.
A common thing in these manga, except "Saint Seiya", is that the boys are sexy and girl-like, surpassing gender conventions, which gives us a "tingling" feeling.
I've revisited these characters as androgynes in a modern style. I'd say I'm communicating to today's youngsters that the manga I, a middle aged man, had enjoyed are "great"!
I want to create a story that can be shared by both young and old generations. And to have an androgyne character can be a good contemporary theme. Besides, these days we have many female characters with a strong will, like in "Frozen" or "Mad Max: Fury Road". My creation is also based on them.
To describe androgyny well, I think romance is essential, which means Usumugal falls in love with a man or a woman. Romance is one of the main themes in "Duranki", but I'm not sure I can do it well since I haven't described it well in Berserk. Though Guts and Casca look like that (lovers), the truth is that the relationship before actual romance has lasted forever. *laughs*
"Usumugal" is the name of a dragon in a Mesopotamian myth. Anatolia, the land between Europe and Asia that is also called Asia Minor, is the background of "Duranki". It's sourced from Greek, Mesopotamian and Sumerian myths but is different from the existing myths. It's half-fiction, half-reality and a blend of history and myths. I even thought of a modern kid going to that era of myth with a time slip...
The highlight of the manga is that Usumugal can "think up unknown things", not just using modern knowledge but they themself should come up with great ideas.
3. sayfa
We know your work has become fully digitalized, both in color and black and white. When did it start?
Around 2015. From the time when Rakshas' true form was revealed.
You mean the episode in volume 38.
Before the digitalization, I did "pencil copy" for some time. I drew with a pencil, then thickened the lines and after that toned it to finish it. It was when we were in the pirates' story.
Why did you finish your manuscripts with "pencil copy"?
In the hope of increasing my drawing speed. I wanted to draw efficiently as well. I tested it on "Gigantomakhia" and kept it for Berserk. But it didn't help speed up and I couldn't have thick lines like those I did with a pen. It wasn't convenient in terms of lines. After a serious reflection, I decided to change to digitalization instead of going back to the analog pen.
During our conversation, your drawing speed has been mentioned several times. But I also want to ask you about that.
Drawing is like a disease (to me). I have no other word for that.
For Elfhelm in volume 39, you've performed an unspeakable level of detail in your drawings.
The scale of the elves was out of my calculation. To realize one panel packed with characters like Puck was actually nonsensical *laughs*. Besides, I wanted to make each of them react differently because they have their own spirits.
Until what point do you draw before you judge it’s finished?
I don't know myself. (When) I hear the bell ringing "Diiiing" somewhere. Sometimes I notice the bell is "ringing…". *laughs*
For what reason do you draw that much?
Because I got to like it. During "the Baroque era of manga", when many good manga like "Akira" or “Hokuto no Ken" came out, I was at an impressionable age. And I fancy that the panels in manga are windows leading to other worlds. As the windows allow us to peep on other worlds, there must be something over there. I also wanted to feel the layers of atmosphere as much as possible.
Can I say you draw to heighten the resolution of the world we look at through the windows?
Yes. In manga, many things are usually left out for arrangement but the manga by which I was enchanted in my high school days weren't like that. When I read "Hokuto no Ken" drawn by Hara-sensei, his spirit "I'm drawing this panel with such an energy!" was transmitted to me, I think it's the essence of it. I still hope I also can feel it in Berserk. A good drawing is a proof that a lot of efforts were put into it, much time was devoted to it, isn't it? In our time, it is thought that time devoted equals a high commercial value. So I hope we find the value there.
For example, you use lines to express gradation in Guts’ cloak and armor while it would be usually painted evenly. What’s your intention?
Things have details. Clothes also. Since there’s cloth and thread, each material has a different surface. I want them to feel details as well between the lines in manga.
Has the digitalization changed your conception for expression of manga?
Yes. I thought I got a convenient thing and it was good enough to be used as a tool, because it’s actually used for something like "enlarging the image continuously to see it dot by dot? Huh? Huh?!" *laughs* I feel like during the editing process they would grab me from behind, telling me "Sensei! Please stop!" several times. I shook it off
(refrained his crazy desire).
Hahaha *laughs*
Mori
(Mori Kôji, Miura’s friend since high school) also often said "it’s good you didn't reach that point." And I could give it up… Now I deem that drawing is in my personality. I just hope the overall level of my studio is improved with "Duranki" and I want to give that back to Berserk.
Casca has regained her consciousness finally in the recent volume 40 of Berserk. Many fans must have wished and waited for it.
I’m also filled with emotion. However, Casca's real problem has started from now on. She herself should analyze, understand and solve what happened to her. She should confront what Griffith or the monsters did.
In other words, I guess the process is necessary for Casca's recovery. We expected a kind of route "she'll be fully recovered once she regains her consciousness" but an easy way out isn't allowed for the characters in Berserk. I think you also should be prepared for it.
It's like that because I draw humans. I should depict well what humans would do in this situation to make the story appealing.
This is a bit of a hard question… You've drawn "Berserk" since 1989, but are you never tired of it?
No, never. I feel like I draw a new thing each time. I've never been bored with "Berserk" and no episode has made me think "this episode has been imperfectly (poorly) done". It's probably because it's not a manga where the same patterns are repeated. I draw the essential themes with "hard work" (he uses an onomatopoeia) and then go to the next theme. I mean I challenge myself to do something new each time. I think those who draw epic (long) manga would never be tired of it…
There are no hard parts?
Actually, it’s always pleasant to draw manga. I have little trouble drawing manga. Sometimes there's some bothering things but I do them pleasantly as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep working on my manga for such a long time. *laughs* Because manga gives me nothing but pleasure, I do it all day long which causes me to give up leading a decent life sometimes… Ah, now that I think of it, I need time. I'm getting old with not much time left, and my body not being what it used to be would be a painful thing…
In this state, you would be reborn if you have a Beherit with you. *laughs* Where are we in the whole story of “Berserk”?
Around the later part. With the revival of Casca, the Chapter of the Elf Island is going to be ended and you can expect very surprising developments after that. Please look forward to “Duranki” as well.
Sayfa 4.
Miura's area
- There's another office aside from this one. I do the storyboarding at home because I want to do it alone. I finish my work with my assistants in a busy/noisy environment in this room.
- For Berserk, I mainly draw alone from the characters to the backgrounds and then entrust adding screentones, buildings, etc. to my assistants. For the first and second episodes of “Duranki”, I have done the storyboards and drafts and entrusted the inking to my assistants. My role is, like a drawing director, to modify our work to harmonize the quality at the final step.
- I draw with Comic Studio. This tablet was very recently installed so I even haven't touched it yet.
- I use the PC for my work and for watching Nico Nico vacantly all day long while working.
- I received it when I had a talk with Hara Tetsuo-sensei. My manga is influenced very much by "Hokuto no Ken", which is one of the sources of infection for my disease of "drawing too much". *laughs*
- These are DVDs and Blu-rays of animations that I have collected for a long time. I can also watch them using a streaming service but it's my old habit. So I keep all of them and they continue to take up space. *laughs* I watch them once in a while and the old commercials on them remind me of those days.
The assistants' area
- Three assistants commute to work and one assistant works remote in Sentai. Since we're starting "Duranki", I need more assistants. So I've reformated the studio recently and prepared working desks for 7 assistants. The equipments have been thoroughly installed… But if I can't find anyone, it will be like Hoshi Hyûma's "Lonely Christmas Party"…
** The main character of the animation "巨人の星 (Kyojin no Hoshi)".
- With this remodeling, I've prepared tablets for my assistants.
- These are shelves for materials that I use well. The importance of the paper materials has decreased a lot compared to the past. Actually this remodeling was to make the space where the bookcase was into an area for the assistants. Once it's done, it can still accommodate two more desks.
- I guess my assistant brought this to draw a forest. I myself don't have it. He's enthusiastic for (his work).
- This is a sailing ship that I used as a material at the time of Roderick. I got it through my editor. I can't draw a sailing ship without a model. I wouldn't know at all how to depict the cordage.