Interviews/Stream Q/A 4

These are taken from http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nebu-kuro1 and https://twitcasting.tv/nebu_kuro.

This page covers streams from 2018

Q - Questions by random stream audience

A - Answer from Murata regarding the question

T - From the translator himself

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

15/1/2018
Murata: Switched to a new computer, forgot my Amazon password, had to call customer support to reset it.

Murata: For identity verification, they asked me to list my recent purchases in an email. My assistant sent email on my behalf.

Murata: Let’s see...it was JULIA’s photobook, Ayumi Shinoda’s photobook, and some other photobooks.

T/N: These are Japanese AV actresses.

Murata: JULIA’s body is like a manga character.

16/1/2018
Murata: Received rest of the storyboards from ONE Sensei. Only a few pages, but they’re super interesting, I might delay update till next Monday to include everything.

24/1/2018
Murata made a comment about Whirwind Iron Cutting Fist, said it works by manipulating air. Didn't say anything about whether Bang could or could not deflect energy balls.

26/1/2018
Murata mentioned on Jan. 26th stream that the dine and dash place Togas (トガス) is based on Cafe Restaurant Gusto (Cafe レストラン ガスト), a Japanese fast food chain. Murata just rearranged Gusto (ガスト) into Togas (トガス). Said he likes the food there.

Their homepage: https://www.skylark.co.jp/gusto/index.html

27/1/2018
Murata: ONE’s original Suiryu’s setting was very different. In the first storyboard, he was Lin Lin’s brother and uses Drunken Fist (酩酊拳) instead of Void Fist (冥躰拳). During the finale of the tournament, he gets drunk, goes all out against Saitama, but loses. Afterward, Lin Lin comforts him, telling him to work harder in the future. This setting was scrapped because a drunkard vs Gouketsu was deemed too comical and they wanted to show despair.

T/N: Murata didn’t say who changed the setting. The kanjis for “void” and “drunken” are homonyms in Japanese, both are pronounced “meitei," which is pretty cool. Suiryu also means water dragon, maybe there’s a connection there as well.

Murata: The animation team misinterpreted ONE’s intentions when animating the Ancient King fight. ONE only wanted Tatsumaki to drop a big boulder on Ancient King. Before the boulder hits him, Ancient King has a flashback of the meteor that destroyed his race eons ago and starts to scream. She was not supposed to pull a meteor from space, if she could do that, she should be able to bring down Boros' ship without difficulty. The meteor scene was supposed to be flashback only.

T/N: This technically downgrades Tatsumaki's power.

Murata: Season 2 anime will likely cut a lot of content from the Superfight Arc, making it 2 episodes or so.

T/N: The Fubuki drawing he’s working on in the last few streams was planned as a color cover page for next chapter, but this has been rejected by his editor due to space constraints, so now it will go in tankobon. Murata was sobbing on stream when he drew the kid meeting Garou again, did you guys see that?

28/1/2018
Murata: I am taking a risk drawing Saitama dining with Fubuki, female OPM readers might beat me up for it.

Murata: I don't think Fubuki is really needed in this scene, Saitama can always come back and pay for it later after beating Garou.

Murata: Maybe this meal is why Fubuki gets a bit down when Saitama calls her his acquaintance later. Saitama doesn't actually care about Fubuki.

11/2/2018
Murata implies that Zombieman's trench coat is special and can store tons of weapons.

T/N: Regarding volume 16 cover art, Murata wants to use Zombieman to increase sales, but since Bang & Bomb are the ones heavily featured in the volume he might have them on the cover instead.

Murata is still in discussion with ONE regarding Bug God's premonition powers, said they might reserve it for the future fight with you know whom.

Murata drew Dr. Genus's bangs on the wrong side, didn't see the chat but I think a stream viewer corrected him. Murata said ONE's storyboard had it on the other side and it misled him but the webcomic Genus has always been like that.

14/2/2018
Murata: Bug God's eye design is inspired by the mantis. It's ONE's original idea. I really dig the pseudopupils in some insects like the mantis, because no matter where the head is turned, the eyes always look like they're staring right at you. I am trying to make it look more realistic by doing some research on mantis.

8/3/2018
Murata: The scale of Saitama vs Garou will be much greater than Saitama vs Boros.

20/3/2018
Q: Mr. Murata, is Saitama considered a gag character like Arale or a parody character?

A: Yeah, Saitama is definitely drawn in a different way than the others, and he's obviously on a whole different plane compared to other characters in the manga (haha)

T/N: I don't think he means "drawn differently" in a literal sense though.

3/4/2018
Q: What's on the inside of Royal Ripper?

A: I don't know if it's like a normal person or a mixture of blood, flesh, hair, and gauze. I will need to confirm with ONE.

5/4/2018
Murata: ONE confirmed that Royal Ripper's inside is nothing like that of a normal human, but a mixture of hair, blood, and gauze.

22/4/2018
Murata: Bomb would have beaten the rat monster in one swift attack with whirlwind iron cutting fist before it can react. Garou hasn't mastered WICF, which allowed the rat monster's regeneration to kick in and heal itself after being attacked.

7/5/2018
Murata: The glow-in-the-dark charging indicator on Genos was going to be part of the next Tankobon insert. Unfortunately, the editor rejected the proposal due to production issues, such as needing an extra layer of coating would make the page uneven.

Murata: Garou in the coming chapter has finally left humanity behind.

Murata: Each one of Orochi's 8 horns can turn into a dragon, plus more dragons wrapped around his body. He instantly learns any move used by Garou. He uses Water Stream Rock Smashing Fists with his multiple dragons as arms against Garou.

Q: Murata sensei, here's a question from overseas, can Geryuganshoop actually create black holes by manipulating gravity? It seems like they care about this a lot.

A: hm~, I'm not sure. Black holes seem too powerful. I won't know for sure without asking ONE. But his ability to control flying object should be above Tatsumaki, because he can eliminate the friction between rocks and air. If Tatsumaki throws rocks like he does, her output will be too powerful, the temperature increase due to friction and pressure, and evaporate the rocks in an instant. Geryuganshoop's psychokinesis can eliminate the friction between objects and air, the rocks will fly at sub-light speed*, that's the setting I based my drawing on. Tatsumaki can throw very large objects, but there's a limit to how fast she can throw them. Geryuganshoop is the greatest psychic in the universe after all. That's what I think. (he repeats this several times)

Murata: Saitama still beat him with a casual stone throw though. In Saitama's eyes rocks at sub-light speed is nothing, it's like a bad joke.

T/N: The Japanese used here is 亜光速, can mean sub-light or near lightspeed. Murata says Geryuganshoop being the greatest psychic in the universe in a joking manner.

11/5/2018
Murata: Orochi can breathe fire. His "released form" is drawn with Biollante in mind. I want to show Orochi using Gouketsu's techniques, I'm currently waiting on ONE's approval. I just had a long discussion with ONE on future plot development. Not everything has been revealed to me by ONE, but I feel Orochi will be shown to be a unique monster and handled with extra care.

14/5/2018
Murata: Garou evolves in this fight. The puncture wound will absorb black matter from air, spiral inward and close itself. He will evolve again when he fights Golden Sperm.

16/5/2018
Murata: Orochi's disaster level is "Dragon or Above"*

T/N: The Japanese used here is いじょう, meaning "greater or equal to", i.e. ≥. Doesn't outright say God, but that's the same phrase used for Boros.

17/5/2018
Q: Can Senior Centipede's carapace withstand Genos' blasts?

A: Genos can only damage Senior Centipede's armor using his upgraded attacks.

T/N: Murata is likely referring to his Spiral Incinerate set of attacks

Murata: I haven't asked ONE about using Gouketsu's techniques yet, but it shouldn't be a problem. However it's not happening in the immediate chapters.

19/5/2018
Murata: Not sure who's stronger, Orochi or Golden Sperm. Will need to ask ONE. Orochi definitely has better techniques though since Golden Sperm is all about speed and power.

24/5/2018
Murata: ONE told me more about what will happen to Orochi. He's going to show more abilities in the future. He's a top monster both in looks and power. However, I do not know how he'll die yet, usually ONE decides this while drawing the storyboards. For example, Gouketsu's last fight was skipped because ONE specifically told me so.

Murata: Orochi's Water Stream Rock Smashing fist is just as good as Garou's.

Murata: Too tired. I will do a full coloring of the title page and update later. For now I'll try cheat with a graphic tablet and simple American comic color palette.

Murata: Maybe Garou should hold a can of Red Bull instead of coke. It will give him wings. My assistants and I used to drink a ton of Red Bull during the Eyeshield days, we end up with a Red Bull pyramid every week, but energy drinks are bad for you.

Murata: Season 2 is coming soon, which means I have to supervise the artworks on a lot of merchandise. I hate it. In the past most of the designs sent to me were so badly done I had to correct everything. It was so tiresome. I just got this chibi Sonic design. Not sure what merchandise it's for, it's so bad I almost laughed. How could you turn a beautiful character like Sonic into this?

Murata: I'll be streaming signed artworks for Eyeshield 21 after I'm done with this chapter. It's for JUMP 50th anniversary exhibition.

25/5/2018
Murata: Orochi's attacks should have more collateral damage, in particular the walls of Monster Association should melt from the extreme heat of his breath. I didn't have time to finish that before handing the chapter in.

26/5/2018
Q: Monster King's design is so complicated how is it going to be animate?

A: I'm not worrying about it. In fact I will even make the drawings more complicated, more facy, more explosiveness. I'm not going to tune down the drawings for the animation. The animation team are professionals, they know how to find an easy way out to cover up the complicated design of such character.

Q: I've heard JC Staff is not good at animating battle scene, wonder if it's true

A: Hmmm....well hopefully they can keep it up...

Murata: Gyoro Gyoro will be burned to death by Orochi's fire if she didn't use her shield.

Murata: Garou will fight Darkshine next just like in the webcomic. Fighting Darkshine after Orochi is fine, Darkshine is super strong, you'll see! His muscles are amazing, he just lacks a little willpower.

Murata: Orochi is probably included to let Tatsumaki to get injured, so Psykos can use the opportunity to sneak attack Tatsumaki. Having her directly sneak attacking and injuring Tatsumaki in the original was a little far fetched.

Q: Sensei, how do you think the fight between Tatsumaki and Orochi is going to be?

A: The fight between Orochi and Tatsumaki? We'll see how that goes when I receive ONE's storyboards.

Murata: Orochi being Blast? Oh this is interesting. Blast is really strong, I don't want him to die. Plus Tatsumaki won't mention her relationship with Blast until much later, so he won't be making an entrance now, therefore that is not a possibility.

Murata: Orochi's tail is modeled after a sandworm. I went fishing during golden week earlier in the month and got bitten by the worms used as live bait. I found them particularly gross and decided to model Orochi's tail after it.

30/5/2018
Q: Is Choze German?

A: Genos looks German. Choze would be Russian. Suiryu would be Italian. Sweet Mask would be Korean. The Psychic sisters would be French.

Q: Can you draw formal wear Garou?

Murata: Garou probably won't wear something that restricts his movements like this, but it's still interesting to see how he would look in one for the contrast.

2/6/2018
Murata: This pipe thingy that looks like stacked up plates from conveyor belt sushi is the underground design of the Monster Association base. Tatsumaki will lift up the whole thing at the same time. I'm thinking of drawing it like an ant nest or tower shaped.

Murata: There will be ant monsters anyway, let's just assume they made the base. But it is difficult to explain why is the base a tower shape.

T: Let's assume they snatched it from the Subterranean people.

Murata: That's a great idea. Since they have Orochi on their side, they can do whatever they wish. Let's add a mummy of Subterranean King, it could be quite shocking.

T: I'm really looking forward to the moment where the base was lifted up, along with the falling debris, dust and fodder monsters. That scene must be superb.

Murata: Yes, it shows Tatsumaki's overwhelming psychic power.

T/N: The Fubuki cover was approved by ONE, and ONE said that it is not impossible that Fubuki is working as a model as her part-time job. So Murata was wondering if he could draw a full photo/portrait album of Fubuki.

T: Let's name the album "OPPAI".

Murata: That's dirty, but people will know on the spot it is an OPM art album.

Murata: There will be some Fubuki in next chapter, but no Garou. The next time Garou shows up should be the time when he fights Darkshine.

T/N: Gale, Hellfire and Goddess Glasses were designs from other mangakas back when ONE was still working at NEET, that is the reason why they cannot be used in the redrawn version, and on top of that he added the ninja background to enrich the story line.

Q: Is Fubuki still a virgin?

Murata: I don't know! Why ask me such question? But if Fubuki only founded the Blizzard Group because of the absence of Psykos during the school time, then that's really....

T/N: Sorry I'm not sure what this line even means. I would appreciate if someone can help me out on this. It likely implies that Fubuki is still a virgin.

Q: Then she must've been experienced a threesome with Eyelashes and others.

Murata: Don't bring in the plot from doujin!

Q: But during Christmas sensei mentioned that Fubuki and Saitama are both virgin.

Murata: Ignores chat

Q: Will those S-class who were absence in the webcomic show up this time?

Murata: I don't think so. Instead ONE sensei gave the reason of why Metal Bat and others are not showing up to the fight. However, Drive Knight is joining this fight, it seems like he already infiltrated the Monster Association.

Murata: Beefcake is 10 times bigger than Orochi. And Orochi is going to showcase his disgusting powerful skills, he will become even stronger. If the three generals under Boros work together against Orochi...Let me think...If they plan it properly they could have a very minimal chance of winning, almost next to nothing. After all it's still unsure if Tatsumaki can beat Orochi.

T/N: Murata then shows the Orochi's original setting by ONE. In the original design by ONE, Orochi's horn were all dragons, and Murata added even more dragons to Orochi's body. Orochi will still be showing up in future chapters, and he's really really strong, well at least that is what Murata keeps on saying. Murata also accidentally showed ONE's remarks & notes written regarding Orochi, but the story will be different from the initial plan.

Murata: Sitch and Sekingar are both relatively decent person in the Hero Association.

T/N: The original plan was Orochi swings at S class heroes with his monstrous strength, however the S class heroes dodge and toy with him mercilessly with their speed, and give the feeling that Orochi is just a boss that possesses nothing but pure strength and size. Orochi's horns transform into dragons and spitfire to S class heroes, and Orochi transforms into a huge monster. 8 S class heroes fight together, where each of them deals with and defeats one of the dragons, while Tatsumaki finishes off Orochi directly. Just when everyone believes the fight was over, the executives who were originally buried by Tatsumaki appear on the surface.

8/6/2018
Murata: I'm drawing a very beautiful version of Sweet Mask so hopefully I'll hate him less. He's my least favorite OPM character.

9/6/2018
Q: Do Genos' piercings have a purpose?

A: They do have a purpose, but it's a secret for now.

11/6/2018
Murata: It's a brand new character (referring to Mizuki) and my original design. She's a famous track and field champion who decided to become a hero, currently B class. Both her and Feather will be making their manga debut, as A/B class backups to the main MA strike team. Depending on her performance she might receive an invitation to join the Fubuki group in the future.

12/6/2018
Murata: The C-Class hero, Gearsper. He's a weak esper who uses ESP amplifying helmet to enhance his abilities. He performed badly in the hero exam, but was recruited anyway due to his rare abilities.

Murata: The B-Class hero Needle Star. He's a former Fubuki group member who got kicked out for disciplinary issues

14/6/2018
Murata decided not to put the NSFW Fubuki drawing into volume 17, even though it's approved by ONE, because he felt that if he publish it, he will be keep on receiving request to draw something similar in the future.

Weeks ago he also stated that he will complete the drawing regardless of the approval, but probably won't show to the public if it's not approved.

19/6/2018
Captain Mizuki, famous track champion turned hero. Murata changed her stance in the group photo. Murata is using Michelle Jenneke as reference to draw Mizuki. In the first draft she had slimmer legs but Murata added more muscle to her thighs to make her look more like a track athlete.

21/6/2018
Murata (In English): Hello everyone I am Murata, (points to Flashy Flash that he just finished drawing) and this is Flashy Flash, he is very cool.

Murata (In English): Pantsu or no pantsu, that is a mystery.

23/6/2018
Murata: Next chapter will feature a lot of combat.

Murata: I was considering on adding Genos and Saitama to the latest chapter spread and turning it into a poster. King is behind everyone.

Murata: The school uniform sketches are going to be signed artworks for an autumn festival with a high school setting.

T/N: The text on this sketch says "青春まさかり(鉞)", "the great ax of youth".

Murata: Bang and Bomb from 51 years ago, age 30 and 32, were unstoppable.

T/N: ONE is very busy with other projects these days, the storyboards he sends often consist of simple stick figures and sometimes only descriptions of characters or scenes in text, leaving a lot of the creative work to Murata.

Murata: There was a lot of creative freedom with the support team panels. ONE provided me with a text description of who to include and character settings for new heroes and I created the panels himself. There were too many heroes listed that I accidentally left out Food Battler Futotsu.

Murata: Food Battler Futotsu was previously named "Fatman" (a parody of Batman). The setting is he started doing hero activity as part of his diet. ONE thought the name Fatman was too inappropriate if shown in the anime given its popularity, so he changed it.

Murata: I had a very long discussion with ONE recently about Monster Association plot development and changes.

Murata: There will be some major power-ups and I am very excited about it.

Murata: Few things in life are more exciting than giving creative input and shaping the future of OPM together with ONE sensei.

Murata: ONE told me a little about the finale or maybe I should say a bite before the finale. How would the last chapter look like? Would it touch on the secret of Saitama's power? Or it might also be nice if it stay secret until the end.

T: Maybe elements of Saitama weakening

Murata: Ahhh possible, say if the god who gave Homeless Emperor power, also gave Saitama power, then Saitama defeated that god. Then Saitama loses his power, loses his memories, his hair grows back, and lives a normal life after that, but he still wants to be a hero so he starts by doing some hero activities in the community. Then one customer comes up to him, that'll be Genos, who also turned back to a normal human. "Please take me as your disciple!" "Uh no, I'm super weak! I have nothing to teach you." Then Genos drops a stack of cash and Saitama goes, "Did you bring your toothbrush?" Hahaha Then One Punch Man ends.

Murata: Normal Saitama and normal Genos, two of them continue their hero activities for fun.

T: Then Genos is probably stronger.

Murata: Yeah maybe he is, but that's not bad either

Murata: Oh everything I said is not official, it's just me ranting and making guesses.

T: King awakens his power.

Murata: No! King cannot have his power awakened! He'll lose his charm. King is the best just the way he is, everything he does will be hero-like too. King should be able to become a hero just the way he is now. This I heard a bit from ONE. Well either way, please look forward to the story. He will show his manly side.

T: Hero name, "One Punch Man".

Murata: Oh hero name, "One Punch Man", not bad, since no one has called Saitama by that name yet. Oh, didn't he get his hair grown back and gotten weaker? Also, continues his hero activities, and because he's too weak, he always gets beat up be monsters with only one hit. Since he always loses from just one punch, people call him, "One Punch Man". Then Saitama always complains to Genos, "Damn it Hero Association (for calling me that name)! One day I will be able to defeat the monsters with just one punch! And totally flip the meaning of one punch man! I will get stronger until I can beat up monster with just one punch!". After this Genos goes, "I believe you can definitely do it, sensei!", then both of them will work hard together. How does this sound?

T: Even though he always lose from just one punch, but he will always stand up and keep fighting.

Murata: Yep!

11/7/2018
Murata: This guy is a psychic that was created by a Gyoro Gyoro... It is a psychic that was synthesized and experimented with by Gyoro Gyoro.

Murata: It was a guy who was originally a weak psychic, who implanted eyeballs of monsters who were killed by heroes to amplify his power with hatred.

Murata: Its role is to be the opponent of Tatsumaki. (laughs) This is a selfishly painted monster. It will be killed off easily. It is a scene where a fool is fighting with Tatsumaki, I need a scene to show something ... I need to draw a little, and I have to talk to Mr. ONE from now on. I'll be right back... ah! Do not say this! It's strong! This guy!! It is very strong!

Murata: Well, actually, it's just as powerful as a psychic. It is stronger than Fubuki ... In this fight, it wants the eyes of Fubuki and Tatsumaki, which brings out the anger of Tatsumaki.

T/N: Murata is referring to Jagan/Evil Eye

14/7/2018
Q: Can you elaborate on the fighting spirit scene?

Murata: The Metal Bat scene was meant only as a flashback.

T/N: This means Garou's fighting spirit is his own. Murata also wasn't willing to reveal anything regarding the future of the council of swordmasters.

19/7/2018
Murata: The monster is as strong as Deep Sea King. Puri Puri Prisoner is using the technique Deep Sea King used to defeat him against the monster. Even though Puri Puri Prisoner got stronger he's still nothing compared to Darkshine. If it were Darkshine, he would destroy the monster with a light touch.

T/N: Murata referenced a boss from Dragon Quest Psaro the manslayer when drawing

Murata: ONE wants Evil Eye panels to be personally approved by him.

20/7/2018
Murata: I'm considering giving Shadow Ring a rather unexpected look underneath the mask, maybe old female ninja that looks like Yoda or Rose from Last Jedi.

T/N: Murata's Shadow Ring's face suggestions were said in a joking manner.

17/8/2018
Murata: I am going to trim the fight scenes involving Food Battler because they are a bit redundant.

Murata: I am planning another update before the end of the month, but this time it will only cover a fraction of the new storyboard pages I received. ONE sent me 120 pages, which will be turned into at least 3x as many when redrawn.

26/8/2018
Q: Who is Orochi, will his past be revealed?

A: I haven't heard anything from ONE yet.

Q: Favorite movies growing up?

A: Godzilla Returns 1984. I was obsessed with it, to the point I was only drawing Godzilla and nothing else and it had my parents worried. I've been an otaku since 6 years old. Let's see, Gremlins and Ghostbusters from the same period were also transformative movies for me.

Q: Why didn't Genus clone his top monsters?

A: I don't think Asura (Carnage Kabuto) can be cloned easily. However, there are secrets with Dr. Genus that will be revealed in the future so stay tuned

Q: Is there a more powerful version of Maiko Plasma like Geisha Plasma?

A: No answer.

Q: Do you like Sweet Mask more after the recent chapters?

Murata: He still annoys me, he's strong but so far he's just a mouthpiece. ONE sensei has added more fights involving Sweet Mask later this arc, maybe people will see a different side of Sweet Mask then.

Q: Is Twin Tail a girl?

A: Yes.

Q: What is Evil Eye's actual disaster Level?

A: ONE sensei wrote "unknown" since Evil Eye is my original character. Its power is multi-building level and its only purpose is to show how strong Tatsumaki is. Evil Eye can lift several buildings at most while Tatsumaki can easily lift the entire Z city.

Q: How strong are Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame?

A: They're demon in human form, in monster form they are probably dragon.

29/8/2018
Q: I wanted to see Metal Bat vs Sweet Mask.

Murata: Sweet Mask isn't very popular among the fans. He also hasn't done much yet, but I assure you, he's quite strong.

T/N: Murata said nothing in particular about who'd win.

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