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). Yamada’s buddy, who watches OPM 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? O: 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 OP song, the reason Okkun watches OPM 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.
 * ”Okkun” (おっくん) *

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 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 on 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 MP 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.