Interviews/Stream Q/A 3

These are taken from http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nebu-kuro1

This page covers streams from 2017

Q - Questions by random stream audience

A - Answer from Murata regarding the question

T - From the translator, Lee, or hdx514

Murata - Whenever he speaks during the stream (Not answering any particular question)

24/2/2017
Murata: The energy ball that Choze fired is the same as Vaccine Man. For those who read the web comic should also notice that it is the same thing with Homeless Emperor as well.

24/5/2017
Murata: Let's enjoy Suiryu facial expression.

Q: Someone asked sensei what sensei think about Gouketsu head being knocked off.

A: Hmmm how should I put it， that is Saitama sensei for you, sensei is truly amazing ~

Q: What? Gouketsu is dead?

A: Yep, usually it is better not to ask me this type of question. It would be best if you could just observe what's happening on screen.

Murata: 6 pages to go, 5 pages to go, 4 pages to go. Getting hungry, I want to eat something now.

Murata: I'm hungry, want to get something to eat.

Murata: I guess the hands and legs are all flew to other places as well.

Murata: BGM is from FF10, I guess the youngster now wouldn't know it.

Murata: This page is a double page, so only 2 pages to go.

Murata: Is it starting to lag again? It does nothing even when I restart, please be patient everyone, perhaps it would get better soon.

Murata: Oh, it's over 12 now, going to notify new chapter of OPM will update today.

Murata: I think I can get it done on time, only 2 pages to go. But once you let your guard down something bad is going to happen, so I complete everything in one go.

Murata: Finished! Wait I forgot the shading.

Murata: The arm looks weird. Oh right I haven't drawn Suiryu's wound on his body.

Murata: I want to get something to eat, but there's nothing in house, or should I go out to buy?

Murata: Overall that's all for now, RIP Gouketsu.

Murata: Let's check out what's left in the fridge. Let's make some curry. See I found a love-shape potato, guess it's the sign for something good going to happen haha.

Q: Sensei is your knife sharp?

A: I often sharpen it.

T: You sharpen it yourself?

A: Yeah, otherwise you will cut your hand.

Murata: This muskmelon, you can eat the seed too, it tastes like hami melon but slightly harder. It's not that sweet, but just right.

Q: Sensei what do you feel now after finish drawing?

A: It's not finish yet. Turns out I am making curry casually. Forget it, let's start drawing.

T: Why I feel like Suiryu's nipple should be higher up?

A: Sorry, I have the right to decide Suiryu's nipple position haha. Come on what I said was very normal, why are you guys keep saying BL about me and Suiryu. yeah right I'm the one who tears off his cloth too.

Q: After finish drawing is it passed to ONE sensei for checking?

A: Yes.

Murata: What happened to the comment section today hahaha, it feels weird hahaha.

Q: About what time is the new chapter going to update?

A: Hmmm 2 more pages left to go. My assistant is coming to work at 9 o'clock, he will draw the background, so I'd say around....anyway it will be updated around tonight. If I'm telling you guys here it will be updated on afternoon, everyone will be disappointed if I didn't make it. There's still sometime until the rice is done, so let's put the curry into it together for a while. The rice is done! Hahaha Suiryu says he wants to eat too.

Murata: The hair here is feeling weird.

Q: It's too long.

A: Oh let it be then. Don't care (laughs) Murata: 1 more page to go, page 39. End with a thank you, nice. Natto curry, looks like dark material, could it really taste good...hmm not bad, the bean is huge tho.

T: The natto must be made by sensei yourself.

A: Right, I made it from the soybeans I bought.

Murata: 2 o'clock in the morning, finally getting my dinner. It's too hot, let it cool down first, going online now. Actually I was worried I will get sleepy after eating everything. Oh crap I'm starting to get sleepy now. (Murata mentioned in one of his tweets once he getting sleepy he will start to clean the floor)

T: Sensei is sleepy, how about live streaming cleaning the floor?

A: Oh yeah, right, which piece should I start with?

Murata: Okay, I cleaned the floor in the kitchen and the corridor. Slightly awake now, after this page there are still few pages I want to redraw. But let's do it after I submit everything.

Murata: Doesn't the head look like it's from the LEGO? Hahaha.

Murata: Bakuzan should be standing here, isn't it fun hahaha. I accidentally let him fell down haha what should I do now. I've drawn few panels of Bakuzan lying on the ground, no time to redraw.

Murata: Oh dear, I wasn't paying enough attention on ONE sensei's storyboard. Gouketsu's eye popping out feels unnatural, let's redraw.

Murata: Thanks everyone for watching, after this panel my work is done, there are some panels I want to redraw, but I want to get a sleep first. Ok, let's end it, I'm reaching my limit. Feels good to draw everything summing up this arc's ending in this chapter. Goodbye.

19/6/2017
T/N: Murata showed some of his old Saitama training footage. Murata purposely lowered the stream resolution for the Garou vs. WDM fight to avoid spoilers, but didn't think it was working.

Murata: I haven't drawn Garou for a long time, I don't think I'm getting it quite right.

T/N: Murata showed some practice drawings from his assistants, including nude female bodies. Said he told them to not draw nipples because they were too young (early 20s) and would be embarrassed. Said he proposed to his fiancee at a temple on new year's day, told her that he'll become a champion in the manga world one day, but for now please let me be a champion husband before presenting her with the wedding ring. Said there are 48 pages in total including the last update. We should probably expect 30-32 pages for the update on Wednesday the 21st.

Murata: Saw fireflies for the first time recently, they're so beautiful. Overheard some couple saying they look like cockroaches, wanted to beat the crap out of them.

10/9/2017

 * Genos is too heavy to swim under normal circumstances.

25/10/2017
Murata-Sensei did a livestream of the most recent chapter of One Punch Man and, during the stream, drew doodles of a Genos-Cinderella alternate universe twist featuring Genos as “Deshiderella 弟子デレラ” and Saitama as the Prince, with the quote “I’m a Prince for a hobby!”

He also made commentary of other characters he would have thought fit the role, and they are as follows:


 * The King: King


 * The Stepmother: Tatsumaki


 * The Stepsisters: Sonic and Fubuki


 * The Fairy God Mother: Dr. Kuseno

November 2017

 * According to what Murata said on stream, ONE’s original storyboard had Bang going alone against Elder with his Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. Bang’s plan was to push Elder aside, but was only able to delay Elder’s advance, while Bang ended up being the one getting pushed aside. Elder took no damage, and Genos made a comment on being shocked by the power Bang demonstrated.
 * Murata didn’t like the fact that Bomb got so little screen time, and said Bomb is even stronger than Bang and he needs his fair share, so Murata decided to have Bang and Bomb use a combined strike.
 * One relevant point I should mention here is Murata said on stream that ONE would miss storyboard pages and make fights deliberately brief, e.g. show only start of a fight and the end result, and gives Murata the freedom to come up with details of the actual combat in-between.
 * For this particular fight (Elder vs. Bang, Bomb, Genos), Murata said ONE’s ‘end result’ was that Elder cannot die/be badly hurt at the hands Bang/Bomb/Genos, that cannot be changed, but as you’ll see in a second, Murata took a fan’s suggestion on stream and used the freedom he has with the “in-between” details to significantly change the nature of the fight. ONE was very happy with the result approves the new version personally. ONE even came up with a new name for the combo move. Here’s the detailed series of events:
 * A fan on stream questioned Murata about the inconsistency in power levels, said if Bang and Bomb combined couldn’t hurt Elder Centipede, doesn’t it make Metal Bat stronger than them combined? Shouldn’t the combined hit at least damage Elder’s face like cave it in or something?
 * Murata acknowledges the issue and said he will discuss this with ONE to see what the official changes can be made.
 * Murata decided to go ahead and alter the fight as follows:
 * Instead of doing no damage, the combined hit by Bomb and Bang now cracks Elder’s entire carapace as well as bursting Elder’s face. Murata said that the combo attack can’t be 2x Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fists, but something one level weaker, to distinguish it from the punch against Overgrown Rover later on.
 * The reaction/impact knocks Bomb and Bang back, relatively unharmed though
 * Unexpectedly, the cracked carapace helped Elder with his molting process, a new, bigger body emerged out of the old shell, with a new face and extra eyes on his head. The three of them (Bang, Bomb and Genos) combine their powers to attack it.
 * Murata thanks the fan for his very reasonable suggestions, said otherwise there would be a problem with power levels. With the new change, the fight is more fleshed out, power imbalance is more or less resolved, and it doesn’t violate the ‘end result’ (Elder can’t die or be badly hurt) set by ONE (i.e. although Elder was hurt, the molting evolved him so he’s stronger and no longer hurt)
 * Murata said he will send the sketches to ONE, awaiting approval and lines. He later updates on stream and said ONE is happy with the changes. ONE particularly likes the molting/evolving idea, said he had been trying to come up with a way to address the power imbalance for almost 2 days.
 * ONE came up with a new name for the combo technique: 旋風流水轟氣空裂拳, which can be translated roughly as Whirlwind Water Stream Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist, a more advanced technique than both Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist and Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, a move that splits the skies and blast airstreams into the opponent’s body: https://i.imgur.com/noNHZTs.jpg
 * T/N: Elder vs. Metal Bat: according to ONE/Murata, Metal Bat thought Elder’s weakness is his face, but it’s actually not the case, not sure what to make of it, is he implying that Elder’s face is actually extremely strong and the only reason it cracked was because it was about to molt anyway?


 * Murata also implied that someone else will be the one to take out an evolved Elder, so it doesn’t matter if they made him even stronger.
 * Something about what will happen next: Murata said Genos will end up being melted by Elder’s stomach acid, and that Bang will rescue him and suffer minor acid burns. Genos will be grateful. It was half joking so I’m not sure if it’s going to happen.

Regarding Garou vs. Bang
 * Murata says Bang’s Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is much more efficient and precise than Garou’s. Garou must make a conscious effort in order to use the techniques, but for Bang it’s become part of his very being.
 * Garou had already started to evolve towards his monster form during this chapter. The bandages and debris on his arms have started to merge with his body.
 * Genos got cut in half by Elder, but pieces himself back together and rocket kicks Elder in the face, breaking his teeth. The kick is an upgraded version of the kick he once threw against Saitama.
 * T/N: Not sure if it’s original or evolved version though.


 * Genos has an inner monologue about how strong Gouketsu, Elder Centipede and Garou are (Garou already started to evolve during the fight with Bang and Bomb and I think got a lot more powerful), and that the fight against Monster Association cannot be avoided, and if he (Genos) continues to be like this (careless? powerless?), he’ll only be good enough as backup.
 * ONE apparently only drew Genos being cut in half. Murata had to come up with the rest of the details. Seems like ONE isn’t too high on poor Genos and Murata is using everything in his power to make Genos look less bad.

Other stuff Elder Centipede making an entrance, Murata’s version: https://i.imgur.com/jNT3Nza.jpg https://i.imgur.com/0Id7V8b.jpg
 * Murata complains about drawing Elder Centipede. He hates it. A usual page takes around 1.5 hours, but with EC it’s much longer. He draws the centipede himself and leaves the background to his assistants.
 * After background added by assistants: https://i.imgur.com/6o3L4Ci.jpg https://i.imgur.com/JPulE6Y.jpg
 * Someone asked Murata about the photorealistic backgrounds, he said he doesn’t ask too much, his assistants take care of the details. Said as far as he can tell they were all hand drawn.
 * Updates to Sonic vs. Gale Wind/Hellfire Flame
 * Their fight was updated in volume 15 and Sonic’s speed relative to those 2 is significantly increased. They no longer speedblitz him as he’s standing there. The exchange was pretty back and forth and Sonic was able to keep up with them.

18/12/2017
Murata: I drew 3 full panels before it dawned on me that this is not Fubuki's normal casual wear

Murata: I should have noticed this while doing the rough sketches

T/N: Murata said the plan was to have readers go wowzers at her, but said ONE was more subtle (I think he meant in the original storyboard?), like making Fubuki wear extra earrings only when visiting Saitama, but since Murata hadn't drawn Fubuki for a while he couldn't hold back and overdone the outfit.

Murata initially didn't want to color it all black since he worked on the lace for a long time, said he'll sleep on it and decide later. (Some guy on stream suggested Do-S outfit and Murata jokingly agrees)

Later on Murata decided to redraw because he wanted the outfit to contrast the difference between Fubuki's and Psykos' psychokinesis powers in battle, and it would be difficult with the lace one. Also says Tatsumaki's outfit is optimized for battle. Still he hopes someone will cosplay Fubuki in this outfit at future cons.

20/12/2017
Murata: Next update on December 28th, 44 pages of sketches so far, a bit on the low side because there are no fight scene storyboards. I want to add more pages, really want to draw more Fubuki.

Q: How about Fubuki oppai double spread?

Murata: Good idea

Murata: All I can say is I didn't do a good enough job with the Genos drawing (Context: Murata drew female Genos and got a few negative feedback after posting it on Twitter. Mainly some Japanese fans criticizing him for messing with ONE's original creation without permission, which they deem unprofessional). I'll try harder in the future so even those who crap on me publicly will secretly press the like button.

Murata: Someone said my female Genos looks like a prostitute, I initially thought no way but upon further inspection I can kind of see where they're coming from. In any case, I thought it was a good drawing at the time and wanted to share, so I uploaded it to Twitter.

Murata: I know some people were unhappy when I was tasked with redrawing One-Punch Man, but I'm not going to change myself for them. Whether it's drawing for work or fun sketches, I will only ever draw stuff that makes me happy. Some of you worry that the criticisms would make me change my MO, I assure you that will never happen.

Murata: I did draw female Sonic once but she looked virtually identical to male Sonic.

24/12/2017
Murata: Bike form would be a waste here so I changed it to centaur form

T/N: Abandoned bike form https://i.imgur.com/SctPCE5.jpg

Murata: My Christmas gift to everyone, Tatsumaki's behind.

27/12/2017
Murata: I need to finish Cammy before year's end otherwise they'll cut my pay.

Murata: I will be working on new serialization right after this (not streamable, paid magazine content).

Acknowledgements
Great thanks to the following people for providing the translations
 * sysr23 and hdx514 from One Punch-Man subreddit for the Stream translations