Yamada Reiji’s Young Sunday Interview (Part 1)

People who appear in this episode:

Reiji Yamada (山田玲司) Manga artist and writer. Notable works: B Virgin (Bバージン), Zetsubouni Kiku Kusuri (絶望に聞くクスリ, translation: The Cure for Despair, the manga based on Yamada’s interviews with various celebrities on how to overcome the downside in one’s life).

Okkun (おっくん) is Yamada’s buddy, who watches One Punch Man anime in the nude — to bring in an element of sex into his everyday activities, according to him. Apparently, Okkun and Yamada became friends when the former visited the latter to complain that his manga was boring.

Muchi Shimizu (清水無知) aka “Shimmy”: Works as an assistant for the show, mostly sitting quietly in the background, writing on whiteboards and showing flip charts in perfect timing.

The Guest: ONE ... and invisible Nico Nico Live viewers who send in comments during the show.

Translation (T/N stands for "translator's note")

Starts from Nico Nico time 01:16 (ONE appears around 12:18)

Ok (Okkun) & Y (Yamada): Yamada Reiji’s Young Sunday! — Shimmy holds out a flip chart which says: “Congrats! 30th episode!”

Ok: Marty!

Y: What?

Ok: Oh, you know, “Marty!” — Marty is coming!

Y: Ohh, I see. That movie. Today is the day, isn’t it, the day Marty is coming. (T/N: Back to the Future reference; the interview was held in October 21st, 2015) Hi, everyone! We weren’t able to change the OP song [like we previously announced] in time, sorry!

Ok: (laugh)

Nico Nico time 01:59 talks on various topics, like the Opening song, the reason Okkun watches One Punch Man and horror movies stark naked, promotion of their mutual friend, Ryouhei Shima’s (person singing the OP) new CD, amd “armpit sweat”, How Yamada & Okkun Found Out That ONE is a Fan of This Program, and Their Impression of Him.

Nico Nico time 05:45, Youtube time 02:48 Y: Wait, I think I’m hearing voices: “Stop spewing crap already and talk about One Punch Man.” I can really hear them! “Enough of your small talk; just show us ONE.” Well, okay, everybody, are you really ready? Shall we go ahead?

Ok: We’re gonna call him in?

Y: We’re still only 6 minutes in, but we are having ONE-kun—ONE-sensei of the One Punch Man fame with us today! — Shimmy holds out a flip chart: “At last, here he comes!”

Ok: Why don’t you first explain to us how you asked him here? I remember you two were attending [the artist of Kengan Ashura (T/N: an Urasuday manga),] Daromeon-sensei’s wedding.

Y: Yeah, “Dora”— Daromeon and I had been pals for a decade, so naturally I attended. And by coincidence, you [Okkun] were also invited. You were dressed in Arab clothes — that guy’s you, isn’t it, who’s sitting next to Nin-nin (T/N: Yamada’s manga assistant) in the photo which appears for a flash second in this show’s OP? (T/N: photo appears around Nico Nico time 01:01)

Ok: Yes, that’s me.

Y: Robinson [Haruhara] (T/N: creator of Hero Hearts, serialized in Urasunday (completed in august 2013)) and ONE-kun were also there.

Ok: Also Nanaki Nanao (T/N: creator of the manga Helck, another Urasunday manga), and Yabako Sandrovich (T/N: author of Kengan Ashura). The powerhouses of Urasunday were present. We all chatted at the wedding afterparty —

Y: — the most popular topics were Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (T/N: Japanese rock singer, his name appears again later on in this interview) and Urasunday. Wow, what a combination! Ok: This is no time to delve on that...

Y: Well, those two topics were like two people of entirely different religions sitting down together.

Ok: Anyway, we learned that they [the Urasunday members that attended the wedding] had been watching this program.

Y: Yeah, and it was decided there that [Haruhara] Robinson would make an appearance because he told me he had been a fan of the show (T/N: Haruhara appeared in episode 26)… and this time, we managed to bring over ONE-sensei!

Ok: Surprise, surprise—

Y: — we learned that he [ONE], too, was one of our followers! — Shimmy holds out a flip chart: “pachi pachi pachi pachi (clapping sound)" (T/N: “8 (はち, hachi)" stands for “pachi")

Ok: Hear that, everyone? Free subscribers (of Nico Nico Douga) and paying subscribers (Y: “and those of you watching this show on Youtube,”); ONE-kun is one of our followers, proving he’s a man of immaculate taste.

Y: Good to know we have such a powerful supporter.

Ok: This show has reached its 30th episode today. According to ONE-kun, he had actually taken the trouble to view 80% of that content load we had been putting out. It was such a pleasant surprise for us. (looking at a Nico Nico comment) “Hey, I can see you're full of resentment towards folks who watch your show on Youtube [for free].” [laughter] — not true, not true! It’s just we want more people to watch the latter half [of each episode of this program], too. I tell you, they are good. (T/N: the latter half is only available to paying subscribers)

Y: I realize Youtube is easy to navigate. It’s an easier device to watch videos, and that’s fact. Anyway, it was at a party before where I met ONE for the first time. And at that very first encounter, I felt “Hey, there’s something unique about him.” You [Okkun] seem to have felt the same — that “he [ONE] is no ordinary guy.”

Ok: Yeah, the moment I glanced at him. I went: “Oh!” just like I did with Robinson [Haruhara]-kun, but, mind you, the feeling I got from them was somehow different. Y: Yeah, both of them are highly sensitive young people — however, they are different —

Ok: — in the way they “put on the mask”.

Y: Exactly! You see, this is the interesting thing; Robinson is truly wearing a “mask”. He’s wearing it to create a different personality [from his actual one]. ONE-kun, on the other hand, looks like he’s wearing a mask, too, but actually, he isn’t!

Ok: I see, I see. "ONE is the Guy Who Came Up With the Answer to the Chuuni Issue

Nico Nico time 08:45, Youtube time 05:57

Y: That’s their difference. While you are reading [ONE’s works], it gradually becomes clear to you: “This guy isn’t putting on any façade.” You realize: “Hey, so this is just the way he is!” That was a rather interesting discovery for me. And you know, when I read his manga, I went: “Wait a minute —” here’s what struck me — “could it be that ONE-sensei has found a [valid] response to the ”Chuuni issue” (中二問題)? The “Chuuni issue” we’ve been talking about all this while?” (T/N: Chuuni (中二) literally means “second year of middle school”)

Ok: You are absolutely right! I’d like punch David Fincher into reading the manga!

Y: The director of Fight Club? You’re gonna tell him, like, “Look, this is the Japanese rendition of Fight Club”? That this is our response to the “Chuuni issue”?

Ok: Yeah, exactly: “This is our response!” Really, how I’m rambling on today… you really should stop me, dear viewers!

Y: You’re pretty much stoked. Well, about this ”Chuuni” thing; may I elaborate a little?

Ok: Huh? You are not calling him [ONE] in yet? Look, he’s making a wry grin….(laughter)

Y: (Ignoring Okkun) I’m going to give you a rough idea: a “Chuuni-sensation (中二的感覚)” refers to the infantile feeling of omnipotence (T/N: from what I gathered, this is the actual term used in Freudian psychoanalysis), a delusion that your existence is equivalent to the whole world put together. And yet, [alongside that sensation,] you are also afraid of the outside world — like Nemo’s Dad (T/N: from Pixar’s Finding Nemo).

You imagine that there are scary giants lurking outside, and so you have to stay inside the wall. Or, you feel that if you’re really driven to it, “BAM!” — you’d be able to solve everything in an instant. That’s the ”Chuuni” mentality. Also, some people fantasize that they’ll be able to use magic powers someday. They wait for the day a girl with a mysterious stone in her possession comes floating down from the sky into their arms (T/N: Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky reference).

But is it okay to stay immersed in that fantasy? How long are we going linger in that kind of storyline? We had begun wondering, and had been thinking what we should do next. That’s when Mob Psycho 100 made its timely entrance on the scene — this is how I picture it.

Another thing I had in mind when I decided to bring ONE here is that his [other work,] One Punch Man had been given a highly acclaimed anime adaptation. Even [Toshio] Okada-san (T/N: nickname “Otaking”, co-founder and former president of anime studio Gainax, anime producer and renowned manga & anime critic) was saying “Damn, One Punch Man is excellent.” I thought it would be fun if we could have a chat about the anime, too, today.

Lastly, let me mention what I consider really great about ONE: you can really feel from his manga the long period of time this man has spent turning over things in his mind—and he was doing it all alone. You get to feel: “My word, the time he spent for self-debate and the quality of its contents are quite something!” And what’s more, besides expressing his thoughts he came up with all by himself, he managed to present them as extremely interesting stories. That really is amazing. He is a miracle.

Ok: He is like, “Urasunday’s Nietzsche”?

Y: That’s right, “Urasunday’s Nietzsche”. Okay, let’s have him in!

Ok: Here he comes, everyone! It’s ONE-kun! Hello!

Y: “ONE-san” sounds un-Japanese, you know (T/N: Yamada is probably thinking that “ONE-san” sounds similar to “Wang-san” or “Wong-san”)

ONE Arrives

Nico Nico time 12:18, Youtube time 9:31 — ONE walks in, holding a drink in his hand

Ok: Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Y: (to the viewers) Give him your applause! Whoop!

ONE: (to the viewers) How do you do?

Y: (looking at the comments) The comments are saying: “He's good-looking (イケメン、イケメン)!"

ONE: I’d like to have come in more casually, you know...

Ok: Looks like we’ve hyped things up too much!

Y: I’ve told you: “It’s okay, we’re just going to have a nice quiet chat.” Sorry I lied to you (laugh). But we couldn’t help it, because we were so glad to have you here...

ONE: Thank you.

Y: We don’t find many young manga artists with substance these days, you see. (to Okkun) Hey, quit grinning while reading the comments!

Ok: [The comments say] “Shit, he’s not bald!”

Y: “ONE has a shaved head” theory overturned?

Ok: More like “ONE is actually Saitama” theory.

Y: Anyway, you’ve told us you watch Nico Nico Live a lot.

ONE: I do. But this is about the only program I watch on Nico Nico Live. Y: Oh wow! So happy to hear that!

ONE: I don’t watch TV much. But I had wanted to listen to something, like a radio, while drawing, and found Young Sunday on Youtube, and gave it a try. At first, I listened to the free videos uploaded on Youtube. I really enjoyed them, but eventually, I’ve watched all the videos that were available...

Y & Ok: A-ha.

ONE: So I became a paying subscriber [of Nico Nico Live], and has been watching the videos there ever since.

Ok: You are exactly the kind of Youtube viewer we had in mind! I’m so happy!

ONE: [At the time,] I never thought that I’d be invited to this program.

Ok: You thought, didn’t you, that we were just being polite when we told you “you should appear in our show”?

ONE: No, I had the feeling that you really meant it. (laughter) We couldn’t talk much at the party, didn’t we, and Yamada-san told me; “We need to talk some more”.

Ok: Well, on that occasion, Daromeon’s dad was doing the talking for 50 minutes out of the one hour available to us.

Y: And now is the best time to have a talk! You know, I’ve been wanting to ask you so many questions.

Ok: (looking at the comments) This says: “I also became a [Nico Nico Live’s paying] subscriber in the way ONE did.” So it looks like these cases aren’t rare; though we used to discuss that perhaps we should stop uploading on Youtube.

Y: We realize now that we don’t need to be so stingy.

Ok: (looking at the comments) This one says: “ONE looks like he has been working out.” Do you?

ONE: No, not at all. I had started working out at the beginning of May, but gave up by the end of the month.

Y: So you were trying to do a little “Body Improvement Club” activity yourself? (laughter) Did you participate in any club activities during middle school and high school?

ONE: I was in the Tennis Club as a middle-schooler and high-schooler. Not a very dedicated member, I’m afraid... ehh, and so really, I can’t outright say: “I was playing tennis.” Even when I had lost in games, no tears of disappointment would come out.

Ok (Okkun): (to Yamada) Shall we do it? (to the viewers) This is the first time in history for all of you to see ONE-kun live, isn’t it, so you wouldn’t be sure whether this guy here is really him. He could be one of our friends we are faking as ONE-kun. (laughter)

ONE: Like a stand-in?

Y (Yamada): But listening to him talk, you’ll probably understand that this guy is definitely the creator of Mob Psycho 100. Take his low-key demeanor, for example.

Ok: One Punch Man’s art is drawn by Murata-sensei, mind you.

Y: Actually, watching the anime adaptation of One Punch Man, I feel that the [Murata’s] art style has heightened this series’ [wacky?] tone.

Ok: Finely balanced combination [of art and story] causes amazing effect! But, we leave that kind of in-depth talk to the latter half of this episode. For right now, we’ll base our talk on ONE’s profile that Shimmy is going to write down for us. Okay, (clapping) this is “Let’s discuss ONE’s profile”, woohoo!

ONE: I’m feeling super nervous.

Y: You don’t have to! (to Shimmy) Shimmy-chan, could you start?

Ok: For starters, tell us the date of your birth.

Y: Yeah, how old are you? You don’t mind telling us?

ONE: No problem. It’s October 29th, 1986.

Y: No kidding! It’s three months after I made my debut as a manga artist. ONE: Really?

Y: Yeah. I started out in 1986. Wow, so my career is as long as you’ve been alive.

Ok:: Lots of people seem to be born in October. (T/N: Okkun was also born in October)

Y: Yeah, yet again. So, October.

ONE: Yes, the 29th.

Y: Next week?

ONE: Yes, around next week.

Ok: No, the week after next to be exact because today is the 21st.

Y: So, you are still in your 20s. You’ve become famous at an early age.

Ok: [Your zodiac sign is] Scorpio?

ONE: That’s right.

Ok: Not Libra. Where were you born? Where’s your hometown?

ONE: I was born in a hospital in Niigata Prefecture, but I was raised in Saitama Prefecture.

Ok: How many years did you live in Saitama?

ONE: Well, I had lived with my parents until I was 22 or 23 years old, so I lived there for 22 to 23 years.

Y: Which part of Saitama?

ONE: Kounosu City (鴻巣市). The place is known for the Driving Licensing Center. Y: That’s where every inhabitant of Saitama has to go [if they want to take driving lessons and obtain a driver’s license].

ONE: [In Saitama Prefecture,] that kind of facility almost only exists in Kounosu.

Y: I went there myself many, many times.

Ok: Uh-huh. No, what? So both of you come from Saitama?

Y: Yeah! I’m currently a citizen of Okinawa, but I used to be a citizen of Saitama for many years. Oh, yes, I used to frequent Koununosu — those were hard times.

ONE’s Impression of OPM Anime

Nico Nico time 18:55, Youtube time 16:00

Y: What kind of kid were you?

ONE: A very normal… a normal, low-key kind of boy. (laughter)

Y: Like all of your characters [in the manga].

ONE: You may be right. But actually, I’m in my highest spirits this moment. Ok: Seriously? With this?

Y: I see, so you’ll become like Mob if you are not careful? I guess you’re normally like Mob?

ONE: Well, yes. But I do get excited about occasions. I got so excited when the anime of One Punch Man began airing, I felt like stripping!

Y: No kidding? How did you find the anime?

ONE: Oh, epic! I thought it was really, truly epic. (ONE smiles)

Y: The anime direction was superb; they seemed to have set the overall tone closely resembling that of American Comics (アメコミ).

ONE: It was like that indeed.

Y: We had been waiting for Japanese Marvel movies, and it turned out that your manga got adapted into one!

ONE: Yes, I suppose it was really like that. The anime was extremely high quality; I wouldn’t be surprised that it made many people who hadn’t known the series before feel really intrigued how anime of such quality came to be.

Y: You can kinda feel the animators’ love in the work.

ONE: Yes, I was able to feel their passion.

Y: It’s clear that people who made this anime truly love One Punch Man. The Manga That Inspired ONE to Become a Manga Artist

Nico Nico time 20:30, Youtube time 17:36

Ok: How many years have passed since your debut [as a professional manga artist]? ONE: Uh, my debut...about the same time Urasunday or Tonari no Young Jump launched, so three years, no, it’s been four years.

Ok: Were you planning to become a manga artist [from long before]?

ONE: Yes, actually, I was aiming to become a manga artist since elementary school, at least in my mind. I had been drawing manga from at that age.

Y: What made you decide to become a manga artist? It’s usually some manga one had read. Ok: By the way, with Robinson [Haruhara]-kun, he somehow set his mind to become a manga artist when he picked up the first volume of One Piece at a convenience store.

Y: (waving towards the camera) Hi there, Robin, how are you? Okay? Come to this show again, will you? (to ONE) And how about you [what inspired you]?

ONE: I don’t remember precisely, but it was probably Crayon Shinchan [that inspired me]. My family didn’t buy me a lot of manga, but when we visit my grandmother in Niigata Prefecture, they’d buy me a manga copy at the kiosk to keep me amused on the bullet train. “Remember, just one book -” they would tell me, and so I’d usually choose a copy of Crayon Shinchan. My collection of the series didn’t increase very quickly, almost one volume per year, in fact. (laughter) I could never catch up with the pace of the publication of the volumes. I read the same volumes of Crayon Shinchan again and again; I suppose that’s what got me to start drawing pictures divided in panels. ONE’s Home Environment as a Kid

Nico Nico time 22:10, Youtube time 19:12

Y: Wow, your story is pretty unique. So, you were forbidden to read manga as a kid?

ONE: No, it’s not that they forbade me to —

Y: — But they didn’t buy everything you wanted?

ONE: Well, no, they were not extravagant like that. But they did buy me things I had really wanted, like Super Famicon, on birthdays and special occasions like that. So I did enjoy a kind of happiness a kid normally has.

Y: You know, I’ve noticed while reading your manga, that the characters on the protagonist’s side are all people who were able to lead moderately happy lives: the antagonists, on the other hand, were people who couldn’t afford such lives, which had turned them into what they were. That was the strong impression I got. The interactions between Mob and his little brother were really heartwarming; I strongly felt that these sorts of portrayals could only be achieved by a person who had been brought up in a stable family.

ONE: Is that so? I haven’t been conscious of that. When I was in my puberty, I really wanted more freedom. However, looking back, I must admit it wasn’t actually bad; I’m sure there are many out there with more restrictive homes than mine was. Y: But you told us your home was quite strict?

ONE: Hmm, well, I suppose I felt like that more strongly because I was trying to keep my manga drawing a secret from my family.

Y: Why did you keep it a secret?

ONE: It was mainly because I was embarrassed about it.

Y: You simply felt shy about showing them?

ONE: No, I don’t think it was merely the feeling of shyness. It was because although I was still a child, I understood that this wasn’t what my parents wanted me to do. I knew they wanted me to study and take lessons, and felt I had better not show my drawings to them. And so I continued to draw all alone, read [manga] all alone, and hid them [my drawings and my manga collections] inside my desk. That’s how I lived during the period from elementary school to college.

Y: Keeping things in secret.

Ok: You were working in secret even as a college student?

ONE: Yes. But around my freshman year, I built my first homepage and uploaded my works such as 4koma manga (four-panel manga). I suppose that was the first time I showed my works to other people.

Nico Nico time 24:26, Youtube time 21:34

About a Page in Mob Psycho 100

Nico Nico time: 24:30, Youtube time: 21:35 Y (Yamada): Remember the student council president in Mob Psycho 100? The guy with these [lines under his eyes]? (runs two fingers under his eyes)

Ok (Okkun): Oh, Kamuro-kun?

Y: There’s one scene of him which left me with a pretty strong impression—you know, that scene which was a whole page (image link) covered with monologues, depicting the pressure the president felt from his parent (T/N: “his brother”, to be correct). That was like a page in Neji-shiki (ねじ式, see T/N below) — it really gave off Yoshiharu Tsuge (つげ義春)-vibe.

Ok: Tsuge and also, Kazuo Umezu (楳図かずお)?

Y: Not exactly. What I want to say is that this guy’s [ONE] works have a Garo-esque feel to it. (T/N: 1. Garo is the title of a magazine. See note below for further info. 2. Umezu wasn’t exactly a Garo manga artist, while Tsuge definitely was.)

Ok: I totally agree! That’s why the art style makes me think about Goya (T/N: Spanish painter)… but I digress.

Y:: Yeah, be careful! We mustn’t get distracted by the manga critic inside us. We must let our guest talk. We must make this show progress like Sawako no Asa (T/N: a TV show. See note below). (laughter)

Notes: Neji-shiki (ねじ式) A short manga published in Monthly Garo in 1968 and one of Tsuge’s most influential works. Its bizarre art and strange, disconnected story inspired many artists. Some pages from the manga for anyone curious ---> Link Monthly Garo (月刊ガロ)

A once influential manga magazine that mainly focused on avant-garde and experimental works. Many famous manga artists had started out by publishing their works in this magazine. Launched in 1964, and went out of publication in 2002. It’s still well remembered, however, and manga with non-mainstream, underground contents/art style are sometimes referred to as Garo-kei (ガロ系, “Garo-styled”). Umezu did publish his works once or twice in Garo, but his main platform was shoujo & shounen manga magazines. The following are links to the excerpts from some of the manga titles published in Garo, which might help you get some idea of the “mood” of the magazine ---> Link 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Sawako no Asa (サワコの朝)

Translation: “Sawako’s Mornings”. A Japanese TV talk show hosted by Sawako Agawa (阿川佐和子), who is renowned as a good listener and excels at eliciting interesting stories from the people she interviews.

ONE Taking His Manga to Shounen Jump

Nico Nico time: 25:18, Youtube time: 22:21

Ok: And so, you continued to draw manga in secret, created your homepage — and have you ever taken your works to the publisher?

ONE: Yes, I have. When I was a college freshman, I took my 19 pages gag manga to every aspiring manga artist’s goal and dream, Shounen Jump.

Y & Ok: Aha, everyone’s favorite, Shounen Jump!

Y: So you did try showing your manga to the publisher…

ONE: But that was the only time I did.

Y: And how did you fare?

ONE: Well, you see, that manga was such a lame piece of work...

Y: Oh, you submitted it although you were aware of that?

ONE: No, I had said to myself while drawing it: “This would definitely have the editor rolling on the floor laughing!” However, when I actually showed it to the Jump editor, he kept turning the pages super-fast like this (gesturing with his hands) — the page that was supposed to produce a hearty laugh was soon left far behind. (laughter)

Y: You were like: “Hey, stop, stop right there and take a look!” (laughter)

ONE: When I saw him impassively skimming through the section in which I put in five or six gag elements, I broke into a cold sweat. I said to myself: “Oh no, what on earth am I doing here? I want to go home right now!” (everyone guffaw) After that experience, I put effort into doing things like upgrading the design of my homepage, and updating my blog more frequently [to make them more appealing to the visitors].

Y: Aaah, I see.

ONE: I realized that [uploading on my homepage] was a lot easier and less uncomfortable way [to publish my manga].

Y: I see, so the disappointment you had experienced motivated you to work harder — inside an environment you felt the most comfortable.

ONE: Yes.

Y: And so you decided to create a homepage and publish your works there for free. Is that it?

ONE: Um, to be precise, I had started my homepage prior to taking my manga to the publisher. In the course of my online activities, I had met a number of other aspiring manga artists; after a while, one by one, they began receiving Jump-related awards…

Y: You were like: “Huh? So that guy won an award, too?”

ONE: Yes. And those friends would tell me: “Hey, ONE —” I had already been using the pseudonym “ONE” — “I’m sure the next award will go to you!” Those words went to my head; I took my manga [to Shounen Jump] —

Y: — and had a rotten time, as you have described. A truly “oh, crap” experience. ONE: Yeah.

How ONE Used to Upload Manga on His HP

Nico Nico time: 27:30, Youtube time: 24:34

Ok: And what happened next?

ONE: Well, since before that incident, what I had been doing on my homepage was taking pictures of my manga with the camera on my flip phone, and uploading those images. It was around the time cell-phones started to be equipped with cameras. The manga I drew was really tiny, and I’d take pictures of it, holding my phone up close, taking great care that the text wouldn’t get blurry. There was a service that enabled you to create your own homepage with a cell-phone —

Y: Ah, your generation has that kind of technology at hand.

ONE: — yes, and by using that service, I had been publishing barely legible manga. The pages needed to be loaded one at a time. Moreover, each page wasn’t large enough to squeeze in more than two speech bubbles.

Ok: (facepalm) Geez, what a pain! (laughter)

ONE: You had to load about fifteen pages of that kind of image for one scene. (laughter)

How ONE Started Serializing OPM at Neetsha

Nico Nico time: 28:29, Youtube time: 25:33

ONE: Then a friend of mine started to draw manga using PC. Up until then, I hadn’t been aware that you could publish manga with that method; I followed my friend’s example and switched to PC, then began uploading my manga onto a certain website. My friend had told me of its existence, and so I took a look to see what the website was like; its name was “Neetsha (新都社)”.

Y: Wow, what a great name! That’s such a delightful name; “NEET-sha”. (T/N: “Neetsha” stands for “a company (会社) for NEETs (ニート)”. NEET is the acronym of “Not in Education, Employment or Training”, further info below)

ONE: The name makes it sound like the website’s community consists of NEETs, but in fact, the people there are mostly students and adults with jobs. Visiting the website was such an amazing experience.

I saw a great number of amateur and semi-professional manga artists publishing their works there. Some of them had been active there for years. There were more than 5,000 manga to be read. I went to check out my friend’s serialized manga’s webpage, and discovered a section in the page which said “send comments”. When I clicked it, rows and rows of comments from the Neetsha community members appeared. Some were already commenting on the newest chapter.

And so I discovered a website where people came to read the works of amateurs and give them feedback.

Ok: Being in that community must be really exciting!

ONE: I said to myself: “Wow, I’ve found my utopia!” I felt extremely motivated to draw manga with PC and publish it on the website. So I equipped myself with a laptop and a graphic tablet, and by using the software “Comic Studio Mini”, which came with the tablet, I set about drawing… and what I came up with was One Punch Man.

Y: Woah! Seriously? That’s what I call the “Japanese Dream” come true!

Ok: You mean your first attempt was One Punch Man?

ONE: Yes.

Y: Awesome! So, success stories aren’t dead yet in this country! (laughter) Look, that’s the exact same One Punch Man we all know, which [anime adaptation] is airing at the moment.

ONE: Yes, incredible, right?

Note: Neetsha A website that originated from 2channel VIP board, for people to share their webcomics and writings.

A number of manga creators started out their career as amateur webcomics artists at this website; notable examples are ONE, Sui Ishida (Tokyo Ghoul), Tatsuki Fujimoto (Fire Punch), Yabako Sandrovich (writer of Kengan Ashura), and Homura Kawamoto (writer of Kakegurui)

Koya and Qurappe, ONE’s former/current assistants, are also Neetsha webcomic artists. ONE’s Neetsha webcomic about how to draw cute girls, which he drew around 2011 (Link).

Early this year, ONE has uploaded a low-effort webcomic depicting his failed attempt at losing weight. (Link)

OPM Getting a Marvel Movie Adaptation?

Nico Nico time: 30:36, Youtube time: 27:40

Y: I bet this series will be included someday in the Marvel movie franchise. (ONE chuckles) Like, it would become one of the movies after Ant-man! (laughter) We had Iron Man and then Ant-man, so after a couple of “something-man” movies, we’re going to get Anpan Man (アンパンマン) and finally, One Punch Man!

Ok: What, there also will be a [Marvel] movie about [Takashi] Yanase’s Anpan Man? (laugher)

Y: Yeah, preceding One Punch Man. (laughter)

Ok: We’ll be seeing Anpan Man in Marvel style? Muscular like this? (flexes his muscles)

Y: The movie’s definitely going to be popular overseas!

Ok: Huh? Which movie are you talking about? You mean Anpan Man? (laughter)

Y: No, no, I mean One Punch Man. I heard that Anpan Man doesn’t appeal to the people over there [Western countries]. They find the story creepy. The idea of a character letting others eat him seems to turn them off. Asian countries have a common understanding of “self-sacrifice”, and moreover, Anpan (アンパン, bread with sweet-bean filling) is a popular food in Asia. The people in the West, however, react like: “What? You make folks eat your body-part?”, and so the series hasn’t gotten popular over there, it seems.

One Punch Man series, on the other hand… by the way, how did you come up with the idea of the “one punch” thing?

ONE: Uhh, let me see…

About OPM’s Popularity Overseas

Nico Nico time: 30:40, Youtube time: 28:45

Ok (Okkun): (looking at the Nico Nico comments) According to the comments, One Punch Man is selling more copies than One Piece.

Y (Yamada): That’s awesome!

Ok: Well, that’s just based on the comments. We don’t know for certain.

Y: Nah, let’s believe them, okay? (laughter)

ONE: I did hear that depending on the week or the day of the publication, One Punch Man’s sales are ranked no.1. Not sure about the details, though…

Y: (to Okkun) See?

Ok: (looking astonished) Wow, really? I had no idea of that…

Y: You now understand that we are sitting down with a man who won over entire United States. (laughter) We are living in the era where such things happen. (to ONE) I’m very impressed with you.

Ok: [This comment says the copies are] “selling more than the Bible”!

ONE: (waving off the statement) Oh, no, no…

Y: You mean, the situation’s like that The Beatles quote — “More famous than Jesus”? (T/N: John Lennon’s quote)

Ok: I think ONE is more like [Apostle] Paul...

Y: Hey, stop. You’re going to sidetrack.

ONE: Well, it’s Murata-sensei’s contribution that has a lot to do with this series’ success.

Y: He’s doing a great job, but still, I find your achievement really impressive. This series really reminds me of Kinnikuman (キン肉マン). It started with two boys letting their imagination run wild and doodling all kind of characters. These characters eventually made up Kinnnikuman.

Ok: Are you saying that ONE is the second Yudetamago? (T/N: “Yudetamago (ゆでたまご)” is the joint pseudonym of Kinnikuman’s two creators, Takashi Shimada and Yoshinori Nakai)

Y: Having read One Punch Man, I strongly feel that all those characters are actually, extensions of your fun doodles.

ONE: I suppose you are right.

Story Behind the Creation of Saitama

Nico Nico time: 33:05, Youtube time: 30:10

Y: How did you come up with that character [Saitama], anyway?

ONE: Well, I wanted to differentiate the character from pre-existing characters. Mind you, I do love traditional shounen manga, and have read a lot of it. But I thought it might be interesting if “the first chapter is like the final chapter”; have the protagonist be extremely strong from the very start — be at the maximum power level which could only be attained in the final chapter of usual manga. That was what flashed across to me after having finished drawing the first chapter.

With the first chapter, what I only had in mind were a string of words: “One Punch Man (ワンパンマン)” and a vision of a character defeating his opponent in one punch and lamenting: “I’ve finished in one punch yet again!”

Ok: Just like the catchphrase: “Once again, I have cut a worthless object.” (T/N: famous catchphrase of Goemon in Lupin the Third)

ONE: That’s right. And so I began to turn over my mind how I should expand the story from there. I eventually realized that the story had much more potential than I initially thought…

Y: Didn’t that make you feel overwhelmed?

ONE: No, not at all. In fact, it made things much easier for me.

Y: This manga starts from the point where a story usually ends; you need to lead the story from there into areas that other people haven’t considered much yet. And you have managed to do that, while populating the series with a large number of characters and developing the story at an amazing speed. Did ideas come to you naturally?

ONE: Well, yes —

Y: Guys, we have a genius here! (laughter)

ONE: — you see, there are manga protagonists that overcome hardships and complications by using their knowledge and experiences. You, Reiji [Yamada]-sensei, for instance, can write such resourceful protagonists; because, as you have met a lot of people in your life and assimilated great many things, you have them at hand [to use as material to build characters]. I, meanwhile, can’t write that sort of character; that’s what I felt then. And so I decided to… have the protagonist solve problems by punching. (laughter)

Y: Great idea!

ONE: Of course, [in reality,] punching is oftentimes pretty useless against life’s problems. But inside One Punch Man’s universe, I made Saitama a sort of guy who was capable of adapting his life to the world that surrounded him, only armed with his immense power. The only obstacles he faces are mundane things, like running short of money.

Ok: Or like needing to make it on time on sales day.

Y: That [particular problem] came up in this week’s anime episode, didn’t it? (T/N: episode 3)

Ok: He is leading a pretty ordinary life, isn’t he? Aside from becoming extraordinarily strong.

ONE: That’s right. And because the very first character I came up with was a protagonist who’s really tough and from the creator’s perspective, extremely reliable, I haven’t felt any reservations about introducing troublesome characters into the series. As long as Saitama’s there, all would be well.

Ok: I see. That’s probably why we feel refreshed when we read this series.

Y: Just like when we watch Mito Koumon. (T/N: 水戸黄門, title of a long-running popular Japanese costume drama. Every episode ends with the protagonist, an old man, saving the good and defeating the evil.)

Ok: In these series, justice always prevails in the end.

“ONE is a Remarkably Conscientious Man.”

Nico Nico time: 33:30, Youtube time: 33:35

Y: Doesn’t Mob Psycho 100 give you the same feeling? We would see Mob still in his reserved state, and then the percentage number shows up; we learn how many more to go until we get an exhilarating scene. It’s like the manga has incorporated “the astonishing answer will be revealed in X seconds from now!” captions we often see in TV shows.

Ok: But, don’t you think Mob Psycho 100 takes it a step further than that? I feel this series wants the readers to think that maybe unleashing one’s power isn’t a feel-good thing.

Y: You are right. Mob Psycho 100 takes it a step further and takes time to reflect.

Ok: One Punch Man is more like an escapist manga. (T/N: Okkun uses the term: 麻酔コンテンツ, “a work that anesthetizes people”, i.e. helps to take your mind off from reality. The opposite is 覚醒コンテンツ,“a work that wakes up people”, i.e. helps you to think.)

Y: At a first glance, it looks like it, but actually, I think that One Punch Man also is a pretty thoughtful piece of work. That’s because, you see, (pointing at ONE) this guy, the creator, is a remarkably conscientious man.

ONE: Do you think so? Thank you…

Neetsha’s Reaction towards OPM

Nico Nico time:37: 13, Youtube time: 34:17

Ok: Getting back to an earlier topic; when you started publishing One Punch Man at Neetsha, did it get popular instantly?

ONE: Pretty quickly, I guess. It caught me by surprise. At the time I had uploaded the first chapter, I had been thinking how nice it would be if I could receive one or two comments just like other artists.

I went to see the comment section, and each time I reloaded the page, the number of comments increased. I saw that some people were waiting for the next chapter, so I worked hard to finish the second chapter and published it. As I followed it up with the third chapter and then the fourth, people of the Neetsha community seemed to have recognized me as a manga artist who would update his work on regular basis, and more people started coming to my webpage to read my manga. Many webcomic stops at the first chapter, you see. There are also cases where the second chapter arrives after a long lapse of like, three years.

Y: Hearing this makes me reflect that we did well, making this program a regular weekly show. We can induce people to watch this every Wednesday.

Ok: (to ONE) Saitama has been doing hero activities as a hobby, and eventually he enters the Hero Association and rapidly climbs up the hero rankings. The situation you are in regarding One Punch Man seems similar to his. And what motivates both of you to go on with your activities is that “people are waiting for me.” So maybe, you might acquire yourself a disciple just like him! A cyborg disciple. (laughter)

Y: I still have many things I want to discuss, and so we leave the questions like “what’s ONE’s favorite food?” to the latter half of today’s episode.

Ok: We do that?

Y: Because we’ve passed 40 minutes already.

Ok: And so we have! Oh no.

The Questions ONE Explores in His Manga Nico Nico time 39:06, Youtube time 36:07

Y (Yamada): (showing a panel ---> Image Link) Having read Mob Psycho 100, I think there are three basic questions that ONE explores in this manga. Same with One Punch Man. First is; what exactly is “talent” or “ability”? Second; what should one do with that “talent” or “ability”? Then the final and closing question: in the end, what exactly is “true strength”? And through exploring that third question, ONE explores about what it means to live. Whenever he tells a story, it always eventually turns into a solid think piece about life and happiness. That’s one of the things I find remarkable about him.

Also, I want to point out that ONE’s manga is no different from other manga out there, in that it depicts characters that crave great power and struggle to obtain it. And so, at the start, it handles the Chuuni (T/N: see note below) trope in much the same way as other manga. However, ONE gives it a unique twist by making the protagonists devastatingly strong. They are people who can see the world around them from neutral perspective, because they stand above the rest as absolute victors.

Note: Chuuni (中二)

Shortened version of the term “Chuunibyou” (中二病, literal meaning: Second Year of Middle School Syndrome).

Chuunibyou is a Japanese slang term that mockingly refers to attitudes or actions that people in their early teens consider “cool”, but look embarrassing when one gets older. It also refers to narcissistic day-dreams (obtaining special powers, becoming the protagonist in a fantasy story, secretly of royal blood, etc) early teens often have. Yamada is probably using the term in latter sense.

To get the sense of what he considers Chuunibyou, look up Part 1 of this interview. Discussions on ONE’s Art Style

Nico Nico time 40:22, Youtube time 37:25

Y: Anyway, I want you all to take a look at this. (shows the first page of MP100 chapter 2 ---> Image Link).

(to ONE) Now, this is what I find really great about your manga: your art. Take this scene in this page of Mob Psycho 100 chapter 2, for example; the close up of the protagonist. This is how the early chapters are drawn. I assume this was the art style you drew with, back when you were running your first homepage? What was your art style like back then?

Ok (Okkun): Had it changed much since then?

ONE: No, it had not changed much… well yes, it had improved. (Y: Wait, what?) In fact, this page’s art was my best effort with my considerably improved skills. If I remember right, my drawing skills were even worse when I was running the homepage in my college freshman days.

Y: Oh, is that so? You mean, at the time you were taking pictures with your cellphone?

ONE: Yes. You see, the manga panels had to be really tiny, to fit inside the camera’s scope. It’s not easy to do detailed art within a very small space, you know? They were like the mini-versions of this panel.

Ok: (looking at the Nico Nico comments) [The viewers are saying that] your drawing skills have improved tremendously!

Y: I agree! Your art started out like the one we see in this page, and has been rapidly getting better. But it always stayed very interesting.

(shows the second page of chapter 3 ---> Image Link) Now, take a look at this page. Isn’t it just great? The art is… very Yoshikazu Ebisu-esque (T/N: manga artist. See note below), don’t you think? (laughter) It has a strong feel of Garo manga in the 80s. Are you in any way influenced by the magazine?

ONE: No, I’ve never read the magazine, I’m afraid.

Note: Yoshikazu Ebisu (蛭子能収)

Manga artist, actor, film director and TV celebrity. Published many short manga in Garo. His very badly drawn, wacky manga earned a cult following. Exerpts from his works ---> Image Link Y: How did your art style come to look like this? Did it just, sort of naturally turned into this as you drew?

ONE: I guess it’s like this because I had never practiced drawing by copying another person’s manga.

Ok: Yeah, from the feeling I get from your art, I can see you’ve never tried imitating someone else.

Y: Have you ever experienced working as a manga artist’s assistant?

ONE: No.

Ok: Ahh, that explains it!

Y: I’m sure the editor would have pointed out all kinds of things to correct about the way you drew, had you worked an assistant.

Ok: Okay, so, you’ve never been an assistant, nor had an editor criticize you…

Y: It’s obvious that he never has. Take the way ONE drew intensive lines in this panel. (shows first page of MP100 ch.1---> Image Link)

He had placed the reference point around here, and simply drew lines around it. Usually, we try to make things look more professional, you know? (ONE chuckles) Look at this area [where the intensive lines and sfx “ドンッ” overlap]; he didn’t even outline the lines with white [to distinguish them].

ONE: I used a software tool for this, you know. (laughter)

Y: Oh, so you simply placed [an intensive line] layer [over your drawing]? (laughter)

ONE: Yes. I used a layer included in Comic Studio. (laughter)

Y: Got it. So, this panel looks like this because you didn’t bother to modify anything after using a Comic Studio template. That attitude of yours is kinda awesome, if you ask me.

“ONE is Sid Vicious” Nico Nico time 43:07, Youtube time 40:10

Y: (showing again the second page of MP100 ch.3) You have been watching this program, and so you probably understand this about me: I’m not exactly enthusiastic about artists with good techniques.

Rather, I admire those who create engrossing works despite being bad at drawing, or whose techniques are so-so, but have amazing knacks for conveying things through their art. Akiko [Higashimura] (T/N: 東村アキコ. Manga artist. Creator of Princess Jellyfish) is like me in that aspect. We love people who have “Expressionist” feel in their works. People who ignore the accuracy of anatomy or perspective to focus on imparting moods or ideas. People whose attitudes are “I give no shits about nice technique, I just want to get this idea across to people, okay?” That’s why I adore the punk subculture and the avant-garde movement.

With you, I think, that attitude is most apparent with your drawings of characters’ hands when they talk over their cellphones. (indicates a scene in ch.2, where Mob calls Reigen to ask whether he could be late for work ---> Image Link) Ah, this is totally rad. (chuckling) Yeah, hands holding cellphones are pretty troublesome to draw, I know. (laughter) They are not easy, I tell you! However, with this page, you didn’t care to accurately depict the hands in the first place; viewed as a whole, that’s such a trivial matter, anyway. And this is the mind-set of “punk”… the same philosophy as that of early hip-hop.

You just impulsively scrawled down what came to mind, making people who saw your creations think: “Hey, this guy’s skills are awful, but what he’s doing looks incredibly fun! Maybe I could do it, too?”. It’s just like when we saw The Blue Hearts’s “Marcy” (T/N: see below for info) playing his guitar. (Ok: Now, now, you’re beginning to digress…) I think you could be likened to Sid Vicious — breaking the convention and at the same time, constructing something new with sheer drive!

Note: The Blue Hearts (ザ・ブルーハーツ)

A Japanese rock band which was popular in the late ‘80s to early ‘90s. Though not exactly outstanding as musicians, the members’ energetic stage performances and the heart-felt lyrics of their songs won the hearts of many youths. “Marcy” is the nickname of the band’s guitarist, Masatoshi Mashima (真島昌利). Youtube video of them performing one of their songs (Mashima is the guy acting at the vocalist).

Another video, of the occasion they appeared in MTV. What Differentiates ONE’s Manga from School Kids’ Projects Nico Nico time 44:35, Youtube time 41:39

Ok: The art [of these manga pages] makes me recall that there was always at least one kid in class who was working away alone at some manga project that looked like this.

Y: Yeah, but those kids’ manga are, basically, not much more than the visualizations of their teenage fantasy. It’s something we all drew when we were young. As for you [ONE], on the other hand, because of your conscientious and responsible nature, your works are proper stories with viewpoints unique to you.

You see, anyone can draw a picture of characters shooting out explosive beams. (makes a Kamehameha pose) But what’s the implication of that scene? Okay, so that character shot out an explosive beam, what do you have next in store? — Not everyone bothers to seriously contemplate beyond that one scene. To many, it’s just a superficial “Boom! I have obtained the power! The world is mine!” scene.

ONE, however, does give serious consideration, and as a conscientious guy, offers this perspective: okay, even if we can shoot out beams, let’s not point it at people. It’s so comforting, don’t you think, when people with great powers have their hearts in the right place? Think of it in real world terms; it’s so distressing when a bunch of psychos are in positions of power in times of trouble. We hope that the strong would be moral. (indicates the MP100 pages he has been showing) And I think that wish is also reflected in ONE’s manga.

Okay, so, with this, I rest my case with the art-related topics.

Nico Nico time 45:45, Youtube time 42:50

The Two Kind of Competitions Manga Artists Participate Nico Nico time 45:45, Youtube time 42:50

Y: What I keep feeling while reading ONE’s works is that he really knows how to write compelling stories. That’s probably because he’s good at capturing the essence of subjects. You know, I think we manga artists compete in two kinds of fields — although people tend to group all of us together in one category and whine about “the art” or something stupid like that. “How much is your manga selling?” “How are you doing these days?” Just shut up, I say!

Ok: There’s no harm, is there, in asking “How are you doing these days?” (laughter)

Y: Oh, shut up, I’m trying to make the best of everyday, thanks very much! (laughter) Okay, I’m saying there are two fields in which manga artists compete —

Ok: Oh no, he’s at it again! (laughter) Sorting a subject in two categories!

Y: Idiots love dualism, you know?

So, one kind is what I call the “tribute band” field, and the other is the “what do I make of this matter” field. These two. It’s only natural that the people competing in the “tribute band” field are good artists. They copy from all sorts of artists — “So I pick up this thing from this guy and this other thing from that guy” — and produce art works that have the best of everything. They could be likened to “tribute bands”, like all those tribute bands of the Beatles out there, or Queen look-alikes —

Ok: Ah, you mean, like Gueen (T/N: see note below)? (laughter)

Y: — and what those manga artists are doing is a fine thing in its own way. However, those people don’t give much thought on, or should I say, can’t give much thought on “what’s the idea behind all that?” They can’t answer to “What’s your take on this matter?” They compete solely with their craftsmanship. And let me repeat that that’s totally okay.

What’s more difficult for manga artists, though, is to compete in the “what do I make of this matter” field. Your ability as a storyteller would be put to the test; your predecessors approached this subject from this and that angle, then what’s your approach? In ONE’s case —

Ok: (looking at the Nico Nico comments) So, basically, do you mean that some manga artists rely on their art skills, while others use their abilities of making interesting plots as their strength?

Y: Um, no, [with the latter,] it’s more like: their abilities to philosophize.

A classic example of the psychic battle genre is Babel Ⅱ (T/N: title of manga and its anime adaptation. See note below). It was followed by Genma Taisen (T/N: manga title and the collective term of the series. Yamada might be referring to the anime adaptation. See note below.) and then Akira. Dragon Ball came after that, introducing magical elements into psychic fight scenes, like characters fighting with ki (気). Mob Psycho 100 is the descendant of that lineage. It has Akira as one of its predecessors. I find a lot of Akira-eque elements in Mob Psycho 100 — you are influenced by it, right?

ONE: (hesitantly) Um, I think so…

Ok: (laughing) You are pressuring him to agree with you!

ONE: Oh, no no, I loved Akira, so [Yamada is probably right].

Y: I thought so. Akira is the first manga that came up with the way to depict psychic powers in visible form, like a wall getting a circular dent when a person crashes into it. Akira used all those methods before any other manga. Others followed suit and have been incorporating those methods into their works.

However, here’s the problem: what are each of them [Akira followers] trying to tell the readers with all that? Those questions also exist for all of us manga artists. We use words like “justice” and “evil” in our manga, but what do those concepts mean to us? If we come up with shallow answers, the readers would be disappointed in you. The more large-scale or intricate the story, the more we need to give a convincing and impressive conclusion. The readers wouldn’t be satisfied otherwise, and would say we’re being too ambitious for our own good. That’s how they evaluate our abilities as manga artists. And this guy [ONE], at his comparatively young age, always, without fail, manages to give stories solid conclusions! I really admire that about him.

Notes

Gueen (グイーン)

A Japanese tribute band of Queen, led by Yoshinori “Freddie” Hatae (波多江良徳, “フレディ波多江”). Official site: http://gueen.com/ Recap video of the band’s 2015 concert, uploaded by Hatae himself. Babel II (バビル２世)

Created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama (横山光輝), serialized in Weekly Shounen Champion from 1971 to 1973. Later on adapted into successful TV anime series. The story centers around Kouichi Yamano, a boy who succeeds the legacy of a space alien, “Babel”. Together with his three servants, Rodem, Ropross, and Poseidon, Kouichi fights Yomi and his evil organization to stop their attempts to take over the world. This series is pretty unique in that the protagonist’s side is far more powerful than his opponents and quite ruthless, while the “baddies” resort to brains, diligence, and strong will-power to compensate for their disadvantages in power, and often seem more relatable. Genma Taisen (幻魔大戦)

Manga was a joint work of Shoutaro Ishinomori (石ノ森章太郎) and SF novelist Kazumasa Hirai (平井和正). First manga was serialized in Weekly Shounen Magazine in 1967 (cancelled). Second manga was serialized in SF Magazine from 1971 to 1974. Third manga was serialized in Ryu from 1979 to 1981 (cancelled). There is also a collection of novels by Hirai. The anime adaptation (1983) became a box-office hit.

Inspired by Nostradamus’s prophecy, the series depicts the never-ending battles between a group of human psychics and the demonic beings, “Genma”, who sought to destroy the whole universe.

Y: It’s already reached 49 minutes. (to ONE) You must tell me when I’m saying something off the mark. Am I doing okay, up until now?

ONE: I think your comments for the large part have been pretty spot-on. But there’s one thing I need to set right. You might not believe this, but about those hands holding cell-phones… um, I drew that by observing my hands carefully… (everyone guffaw)

Y: Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry!

ONE: No, no, I acknowledge that I caused that misunderstanding. My art skill is poor; I often get harshly criticized for it. I don’t offer excuses, and just genuinely feel that I need to improve. (laughter)

Y: But I’ve noticed that for the most important scenes, you have been producing terrifically good art-works. Whenever you feel that you need to impress a scene on readers, you seem to become a completely different artist. It makes us have faith your talent as a manga artist — that at critical moments, you’re always fully prepared to convey moods and feelings with your art.

ONE: Thank you [for the compliment].

On the Mood of ONE’s Generation and How It’s Reflected in His Works

Nico Nico time 50:08, Youtube time 47:10

Y: Well then, here’s another thing I’ve felt about One Punch Man: it’s actually quite similar to Dr. Slump (T/N: manga by Akira Toriyama).

For one thing, they both depict “the pure and simple” having attained the strongest power. Kenshiro [from Fist of the North Star] is like that, too, in that sense.

Ok: I guess Lucky Man [from Tottemo! Luckyman (T/N: manga by Hiroshi Gamou) is yet another example.

Y: Yeah, Lucky Man, also. [All of them are] characters from Jump magazines.

But here’s another similarity that struck me: Dr. Slump’s universe always remains inside the Penguin Village. No matter how strong Arale-chan (T/N: protagonist of Dr. Slump, an android) is, how high she sends her opponents flying by shoving, or how many times she splits open the Earth, everything’s just a story of Penguin Village; a week later, we would see that the cracked moon has been completely restored. The series’ world has a video game-like feel. And I thought that perhaps, that’s also how you [ONE] view school environments and society? You seem to look upon the world around you with a sense of virtual reality; that the world is somewhat like a video game — that’s the feeling I get when I read your manga [One Punch Man]. I had been trying to figure out why it had that feel.

You know, when we play video games, we get to have a taste of what it’s like to be the strongest in existence —

Ok: Do you mean, we would feel omnipotent?

Y: That’s what they refer to as “infantile feeling of omnipotence”.

Then, some of us keep on “level grinding” even after completing a game, and bring the character’s level up to the utmost limit. I imagine how terribly lonely that character must feel — “the loneliness from being Lv.9999”, I call it. (shows panel ---> Image Link) I think the protagonists of Mob Psycho 100 and One Punch Man are like that character. You’ve told us a while ago that One Punch Man was a story that starts from the “final chapter”. But isn’t that situation somewhat similar to your own life, in that the time you were born was also something like a “final chapter”? Like, all the things around you were coming to a close or already over.

ONE: Are you talking about the end of the manga industry?

Y: No, I mean the end of everything — the [Japanese] society as a whole.

ONE: (slowly) Uh, let’s see… this is probably related to that topic, but by the time I started reading Weekly Shounen Jump, series like Dragon Ball had been already completed, and —

Y: (to Okkun, who has been giggling in the background) Hey you, be quiet! What do you mean by all that noise?

Ok: (laughing) But you were so overbearing towards him! (laughter) You two were like: “Everything was over, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?” “Eh, okay, y-yeah, whatever.”

Y: Yeah, I need to control myself.

Ok: I suppose you hit puberty around the time the end-of-century feel was widespread among the society, am I right? It was when Evangelion was hugely popular.

Y: That’s right!

ONE: I didn’t watch Evangelion until I became an adult. I rented it and watched it.

Ok: Oh, so, you were one of those who didn’t jump on the trend.

Y: Evangelion aired in 1995, so at that time, ONE was about 10 years old, I guess? Then he probably wouldn’t have understood the content of that anime. It had a big impact on people a little older than him.

[Having grown up amid such a social atmosphere,] people of your generation seem to distance themselves from the notion that our society will rise to greatness. They are pretty nonchalant, and seem to be aware — seem to accept this viewpoint (shows panel ---> Image Link): “we are all just common people”. In my idea, it’s like some guy who was full of Chuuni delusions playing a game; when he started out, he was fantasizing about taking over the world. Then, while advancing the character’s level, the fever gradually dies down as he begins to understand how things work. In the end, he accepts the fact that he is just an average joe. And your generation was probably the first group of people that embraced that same fact. You guys are realists.

In my opinion, the outcome of playing games constantly is that, rather than becoming stupid, you get to understand however much you level up, you always stay a common person. You would never be awakened to super powers, but I think realizing that truth is itself an important “awakening”. Becoming “the strongest” is the goal for those who haven’t yet reached that stage. But for those who have already reached that stage and have been living in that state for a while, being “the strongest” holds no meaning anymore. And I think that’s the message you [ONE] have been telling so convincingly through your manga: that obtaining power doesn’t mean much. What do you think of my explanation?

Nico Nico time 54:50, Youtube time 51:54

ONE’s Primary Influence is… Nico Nico time 54:52, Youtube time 51:54

Y (Yamada): Oh, time’s nearly up, but is it okay if I continue for a bit?

Those who are truly strong attain the peace of mind. ONE highlights that by contrasting characters — there’s a good example in this week’s episode [ep.3] of One Punch Man: a group of mad scientists [Dr. Genus and his clones] appeared as Saitama’s opponents, and we saw them get all fired up about taking over the world. I felt they could get excited over such matters because they weren’t yet truly strong. By contrast, the strongest character [Saitama] was all laid-back and was like: “Calm down, you guys.”

ONE: I had pictured those character contrasts you’ve just pointed out like this: the situation is looking very grim, like mankind being threatened by attacks from some undefeatable enemy. And we see characters resembling typical shounen manga protagonists, trying to stop the crisis. But while they are engaged in a life-or-death struggle, a far stronger, Lv.9999 person abruptly cuts in and stops the fight between the lowly Lv.200s.

Y: Yeah, isn’t that how [One Punch Man] typically goes?

ONE: That’s right. You see, my favorite way to make plots is to “rub” serious elements and gag elements together and create comedic atmosphere by the friction. I guess my primary influence was Crayon Shin-chan. Normally, Shin-chan’s (T/N: protagonist of the series, a little boy) home is very peaceful and filled with laughter. But in Crayon Shin-chan movies, there are times when we suddenly see some serious element being introduced into the story. The result feels much more hilarious than usual — very, very funny. Something happens when solemnity suddenly breaks into the world of comedy.

One Punch Man is the opposite; it’s a manga in which we observe what happens when a nonsensically strong guy — whose existence is a kind of a joke — get thrown into a dark, serious world, where monsters are attacking humans.

Y: Yeah, I think this series is a sort of an observational study. It has a South Park-like perspective.

Ok (Okkun): I agree completely, and would like to add that this is probably the work that seems to most directly reflect your low-key demeanor. Its tone feels very natural.

Also, here’s something what I find interesting about One Punch Man: you see, because “Wanpanman” (T/N: Okkun is referring to Saitama) has a god-like existence, he is a lonely being. However, this series doesn’t bother to get really deep and serious about that loneliness. It’s focused on simply telling an amusing story. There was a [Nico Nico] comment a short while ago, which said: “I see a huge emotional gap between the creator and the readers. [ONE stays low-key while the readers are so passionate.]” I thought there was something in that —

Y: Uh, that’s just ONE’s natural personality…

Ok: I mean, I find ONE’s perspective so unique. He had started One Punch Man based on a single idea, and then, when it would have been more normal if he set the story around the great loneliness of being the strongest — you know, someone like Yujiro Hanma (T/N: a character from Baki the Grappler, Okkun’s favorite manga) — he refused to take that direction. ONE creates stories grounded in the ordinary life he’s been living; he is a different type of guy from [Keisuke] Itagaki-sensei (T/N: creator of Baki the Grappler), a former Japan Self-Defense Forces member. There’s a character called King — you know, the guy with the “King Engine”? He’s a random average joe, but just because he had happened to be nearby when Saitama had defeated some monsters, all the credits went to him. He is this big, rugged looking bloke, and has risen up the hero ranks without doing a thing. He’s currently ranked 7th, isn’t he?

ONE: He’s now… err, let’s see… (ONE doesn’t seem to remember, and everyone burst in to laughter)

Ok: Anyway, King’s true identity is just a shut-in gamer. It was a great idea that you introduced a character like him into the series. You always try to preserve a sense of normalcy in your stories like that, I’ve noticed — same with Mob Psycho 100. For this reason, you don’t depict Saitama as being too preoccupied with his current state [of having become too strong]; he just goes about day to day with his hero hobby. You reveal his feeling of disorientation only in small doses, and that makes the story really easy to digest for us readers.

Y: Yeah, it’s like Saitama’s already standing at the finishing line, and so he doesn’t need to have any strong internal struggle. On the other hand, the protagonists of [relatively old] series like Kamen Rider and Devil Man are still struggling hard, and sometimes that gets a bit too overwhelming for us readers, you know? It’s pretty emotionally draining to empathize with their mental anguish. One Punch Man evades that. I guess it’s truly a work that reflects [the mood of] your generation.

“What are Mob Psycho 100’s Antagonists?” Nico Nico time 60:28, Youtube time 57:31

Y:(shows MP100 ch.46, page 6&7 ---> Image Link) There’s another thing I want to talk about before we move on to the latter half of today’s episode — remember these weirdos (T/N: the cadres of Claw’s 7th Branch) in Mob Psycho 100, to whom Reigen refers to as “children who failed to grow up”? The antagonists of Mob Psycho 100 are basically people like these, who make nuisance of themselves by using their powers to spread hate and chaos. (shows ch.49, page 4 ---> Image Link) Their rampages are observed with dispassionate eyes by the protagonist, and they placidly get told: “Psychic powers can’t make us popular with girls, you know?” What a matter-of-fact perspective — psychic powers “can’t make girls like you”! (laughter) ONE makes Mob casually throw cold water on their zeal like that!

Then Reigen says here: “And that’s all there is to it. You can’t get popular, either. Just give it up.” and we see the old man [the Branch Leader Ishiguro] go ballistic. His meltdown sequence is absolutely brilliant. Look at this. (shows MP100 ch.49, page 3 --->Image Link) [He cries:] “I am so amazing! Why can’t you all just acknowledge that? I deserve to be treated as special by the world!” and he breaks out into a new appearance. (laughter)

Ok: Yeah, his wrinkly face rapidly gets kind of smoothed out. (laughter) This portrayal impressed me very much.

Y: And look over here, isn’t this great? A shot of the planet Earth is inserted here; from this immense height, this manga observes its antagonists and coolly dismisses these adults — whose dreams to rise in the world swelled up so much that they’ve gotten out of hand — as a bunch of nutjobs. And they don’t get reprimanded in a dramatic way. They get cut down by the matter-of-fact words from a boy with a bowl-cut and impassive eyes.

ONE: Life’s realities can be pretty cruel, don’t you think? I aim to make my characters articulate those cruel aspects at the timing when they most hurt.

Y: Yeah, and you have an ingenious knack for that timing!

Then here’s the thing; the antagonists in Mob Pycho 100 are the “children who failed to grow up” — then what exactly are “children who failed to grow up”? Well, I’d describe them as people who have dreamed to “hit it big” someday (T/N: reference to Eikichi Yazawa. See note below). And suddenly, a realization strikes me (shows a panel ---> Image Link) — this manga is telling us to shift our perspectives from that of “Yazawa” to “Nagabuchi” (T/N: reference to Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, see note below). You hear that, guys? (others giggle in the background at the abrupt “Nagabuchi” reference)

Ok: (to Yamada) Don’t forget many of the viewers of today’s episode are ONE’s fans, who are watching this program for the first time… (laughter)

Y: We are told to change our mindset from “I’m a star! A “Yazawa”! I deserve to be treated as someone special by the world!” to (Yamada and Okkun hum together) “I’ll now take a step forward down this road, ‘cos I haven’t been living till today just to lose sight of myself.” (T/N: reference to Nagabuchi’s song. See note below) It’s okay that we stay as mob (モブ), as background characters. It’s okay that we are common people. The important thing for all of us is to “take a step forward down this road”. We had been doing the exact opposite, you know? Our focus had been on moving up from “Nagbuchi” [= common people] to “Yazawa” [= celebrity]. But this guy [ONE] chose to do the reverse. In Buddhism, that’s the philosophy behind the concept of Myokonin (妙好人).

Ok: Huh? You’re talking about Buddhism this time? (laughter)

Y: I’m sorry viewers, for my babbling unfamiliar things at this stage, when the free-of-charge half of this episode is drawing to a close.

Myokonin is a term that appears in the teachings of Jodo Shinshu (T/N: 浄土真宗, aka Shin Buddhism, a widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan). It refers to a layperson — an ordinary farmer, for example — who, by keep doing good deeds, attains Buddhahood without the aid of sutra recitation [= without gaining a clerical status]. And so, you see, people in the Kamakura Period (T/N: AD 1192 ~ 1333, Jodo Shinshu was founded during that period) were already aware that common people can be heroes, too. Jodo Shinshu preaches that we’re all common people. That’s identical to ONE’s philosophy, and therefore, in my opinion, ONE is the personification of Jodo Shinshu. (Okkun looks amused, ONE smiles awkwardly) He’s a modern Shinran (T/N: 親鸞, founder of Jodo Shinshu). Okay, now that I stated my claim that ONE is Shinran, why don’t we move on to the next half of this episode?

Ok: I’m confident your gibberish just now has made us lose many subscribers. (laughter)

Y: Wait, guys! There’s a lot more to come during this episode! Well, but I believe I’m allowed to say anything I find interesting…

Notes

Eikichi Yazawa (矢沢永吉)

Famous Japanese rock singer/song writer. Widely regarded as one of the coolest men in the country.

“Hit it big (ビッグになる)” is a phrase often associated with him, as it appears many times in his bestseller autobiography, 成りあがり― How to be BIG, in which he relates how he rose from extreme poverty to stardom. Also known to refer to himself in third person “Yazawa”, when he talks about his superstar persona. Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (長渕剛)

Another famous singer/musician. Sometimes compared with Yazawa, his contemporary. Okkun and Yamada are his fans (especially Okkun), and they try to stick in references of him during the episodes whenever they get a chance. “I’ll now take a step…” is a lyric from one of his songs, Gyakuryu (逆流, “Crosscurrent”) Rough translation of the part it’s taken from: Although they’ve taken off their boots [= refused to come along]/Although they laugh at my way of life/ I‘ll now take one step forward down this road/ ‘cos I haven’t been living till today just to lose sight of myself

What ONE Wants to Depict in His Manga Nico Nico time 64:53, Youtube time 61:55

Ok: (to ONE) Before we move on to the next half of today’s episode; any thoughts regarding the things we’ve been saying up until now?

Y: Feel free to tell us whatever is on your mind.

ONE: Well, obviously, becoming a big-shot like Yazawa is an extremely difficult thing to achieve. However, in my eyes, just leading an ordinary life seems like a pretty tough job, too. The simple task of waking up in the morning and getting on the train to go to work, doing that every day — that isn’t easy at all, at least to me. (Y: Ohh, same here!) It’s very hard, getting oneself to focus on one’s job, or even getting out of bed in the morning regularly. I don’t want to trivialize all those ordinary things. I want to have my protagonists strive to live a proper social life. I want to depict Saitama running around to make it in time for the sales, and struggling everyday with all those little, ordinary things

Y: And Mob longs to be popular with girls…

ONE: (Image Link) Yes, with Mob, I want to show how he’s not popular with girls and his difficulties for being very timid and not good at talking, despite possessing great psychic powers.

Y: Mob’s always saying he needs to work out, doesn’t he? He’s also one of them who strive to take “one step forward” every day.

(to Okkun) Hey, “When are we going to start working out?” (indicates “Nagabuchi” written on the panel he’s holding) “We need to start right now!” (T/N: reference to another song by Nagabuchi, Nishishinjuku no Oyaji no Uta (西新宿の親父の唄, “The song of the Old Man of Nishishinjuku”) And so, we’re moving to the paying subscibers-only half right now! Please stay tuned, followers!

Ok: (to viewers) This program has a reputation for being exhaustingly in-depth with its subjects, and we’ll be hearing Reiji Yamada, aka “Mr. Overthinker” here, talk non-stop about his hypotheses. Actually, we haven’t been giving our 100% yet! I assure you the next half of this episode is going to be crazy. You know, among all the 30 episodes we’ve been doing this past year, today’s episode is the one I’ve been looking forward the most.

Y: Really? And not the Nagabuchi episode (T/N: ep.27 was dedicated to Nagabuchi)? But you went insane that day.

Ok: Nope. This is far more exciting than that. We’re dealing with Mob Psycho 100, the next monumental work after Evangelion! We’re now going to discuss how amazing it really is.

But before we start, let me announce what we’ll be doing next episode…

They spend the last minutes talking about the next episode, Okkun’s plan to do a live-reaction to a baseball match, and how he isn’t going to watch the match in the nude but in a baseball uniform.

Ok: Well guys, I suggest you become paying subscribers! (laughter) You’d like to hear ONE talk more, don’t you all? We’re going to have a lively discussion, so if you will, please consider subscribing!

Ep.44 (aired on May 16th, 2016)(Youtube Link to the first half)

Yamada, ONE, Daromeon (artist of Kengan Ashura, and Yamada’s former assistant) and Robinson Haruhara (wrote and drew Senyuu) try to create a one-shot together on the spot, based on three themes Akiko Higashimura has given them. (But in the end, they fail to come up with a consistent story)

ONE appears from 6:08, Okkun reveals that ONE’s favorite food is tarako spaghetti (spaghetti with cod roe sauce).

ONE says that he moved house in April, and what he currently loves doing is visiting Seiyu, a supermarket (it’s similar to Walmart) located near his new home. (18:15) Yamada: “Why do you like the place [Seiyuu] so much?” ONE (simply): “Because it’s really big... bigger than a convenience store…”

Yamada asks ONE if he’d like to draw a romance manga. ONE says he isn’t up to it yet, but he might be able to produce something if it’s a love story with zombies or such monsters; for instance, a story about a guy who falls in love with a monster girl, whose appearance is unmistakably that of a monster, but whose behavior is very cute. (33:30)

ONE draws Okkun (61:58)

Episode aired on August 10th, 2016 (Youtube Link to the first half)

The same members make a second attempt at creating a one-shot. Daromeon quotes Bruce Lee and slaps Okkun’s head. (1:46)

Everyone congratulates ONE on Mob Psycho 100 getting an anime adaptation. (10:48) ONE says he still loves to hang around inside Seiyu. (12:20)

Asked what he does to relieve stress from work, ONE replies that it’s making plots for other manga. (12:48)

Short discussion on what defines a good manga. ONE brings up Crayon Shinchan again. (18:46)

Start working on the one-shot from around 33.50. As the protagonist, they decide on a character which Yamada came up with, a killer whale and sunfish hybrid. ONE provides some interesting facts about sunfish (he once watched a TV program about it) and suggests making a parasite the protagonist’s sidekick. He seems to be the one that’s most serious about the plot. He hardly joins in the conversation, and keeps whispering his ideas to Yamada.

Watch Daromeon draw! Haruhara arrives an hour late, leisurely eating an ice cream.

Haruhara (to ONE): “My sister loves this series called Mob Psycho 100. Have you ever read it?” (69:49)