Thank you for purchasing the 24th volume! I’m finally approaching the age of thirty. Lately I’ve also got a big belly, and it’s as if a mass of flesh has been placed on my trousers. In addition, as is always the case with hairy people, the hair around my belly extends straight down to my groin, so I look really filthy. I was surprised to see my body in the mirror before taking a bath… I saw Boss Troll*. Although it wasn’t Ra’s mirror**, there was a monster reflected in it! To be precise, a sad monster created by a weekly serial publication…
So, as I’ve just explained, I already look like a middle-aged man, and my twenty-nine years therefore seem ambiguous, I find them annoying. You can’t tell whether a twenty-nine year old is a young or a middle-aged man, an angel or a demon… Maybe more of a fallen angel. He has a half-hearted stance, as if, despite already being on the scaffold, the executioner who has to wield the axe has come home saying, “Hmm… I can’t remember if I turned off the kotatsu!”. You wait for the executioner to come back and you want to say: “Give me the coup de grace immediately!”, or “Rip my wings off at once”… Because you know you can’t fly anymore since the ones on your back are just dull hairs.
Listen up, teenagers! If you don’t get up in the air before the age of thirty, your wings will fall off. Just like hair, feathers are also lost. Badly shredded wings can support my fat body, but for you the situation is different. With your dry body and your wings, you will be able to fly anywhere. You can also become pilots, or do any other job. So don’t give up on your dream! I want you to fly towards it with the wings on your back, and then I want you to explain to me why I started talking about such a thing.
*Monster from the game Dragon Quest
**The mirror that reflects the truth that appears in Dragon Quest*
So, that ends the “Lord Of The Thirty” special. I have a feeling that if I end this way, I might be killed by those over thirty, so I want to stress that it’s not what you think. I don’t mean to say that people over 30 are doomed or anything like that. First of all, I’m also going to be a 30-year-old now, so I don’t want to be in a situation like that. I wanted to tell everyone to fly with the feather left on their back, and that men must continue to be boys until they die! The real middle-aged men are those who have given up flying. Even if they’re in their thirties, bald, or give off the typical smell of middle-aged people, men who try to fly with the last feather are still boys… And if they can’t because of their flab, just lose weight! I used to eat lightly salted crisps and consommé crisps on a rotating basis, once a week, but from now on I want to change my habits and only eat the salted ones, which are the best because they have a certain something. Even these efforts can generate the strength for the miracle of flying with one feather towards your dream! Middle-aged men from all over the world, let’s eat salted crisps together… Each to his own dream!
New topic: ‘Even seaweed and salt crisps are hard to give up’.
Starting from page 104, there is an interview to commemorate the first publication of the self-contained work 13-Thirteen in Jump Square (March 2008 issue). Enjoy reading!
SORACHI’S Q&A: HANGING OUT WITH THE READERS
QUESTIONS ABOUT HIDEAKI SORACHI
Q1: First of all, please say hello to Square readers!
Nice to meet you! And thank you for taking care of Ginpachi. I apologize if reading my handwriting is unpleasant, after all, I was told to handwrite the answers.
Q2: How have you been lately?
I’ve hardly slept to draw this work. However, I eat properly, otherwise my head wouldn’t work. I don’t have any friends. But why are you making me say this?
Q3: Did you enjoy New Year’s Eve this year?
I drew the storyboard.
Q4. Your editor has changed and Mr Saito is now in charge of you. Do you sense any change in the atmosphere of the meetings?
Basically nothing has changed, I still do nothing but chat with my editor. The topics, though, are more Otaku… Saito looks a bit like an Otaku, and his feet stink.
Q5: Is there anything you’d like to say to Mr Saito on this occasion?
Well, as I wrote, his feet stink. I don’t notice this fact very much. But my assistants say that when he comes into the studio you can smell it (laughter). I don’t dare say it to his face because I don’t want to cause any discomfort between us, so I’ll write it here… Saito, your feet seem to stink!
Q6: Do you still play Monster Hunter Portable? What character did you choose? What’s his name?
I don’t play it anymore. I played it so much that the joystick broke and I gave the PSP to an assistant. I had chosen a swordsman who uses a big sword, a flamboyant weapon that gave me a pleasant feeling, not least because you could wipe out your companions with it. Of course, the character’s name is “Hideaki”.
Q7: Why did you choose that name?
Both in Dragon Quest and in other games, I almost always put my own name. I used to put in “AAAA” because I found it annoying to write my own, but when I was faced with the last boss I felt an empty feeling in my heart. Since then I have decided to do it this way.
Q8: Gintama‘s serial publication has been going on for a long time. It’s going to keep going, isn’t it? It’s going to run again, right?
As long as they don’t suddenly tell me to draw something for SQ, there’s no problem!
Q9: Why did you refuse the interview at first?
Because I don’t have time. It’s not that I’m afraid of strangers, or that I can’t sleep at night before an interview because of the emotion, eh…
QUESTIONS ON CLASS 3-Z: PROFESSOR GINPACHI
Q1: What made you decide to draw Class 3-Z: Professor Ginpachi in Akamaru Jump?
I wanted to draw a work set in a school, so I didn’t think much of it.
Q2: You won’t be drawing this manga any more?
When the idea of publishing the Gintama novel was first floated, I suggested Ginpachi instead. I thought Osaki sensei could do whatever he wanted since I wouldn’t be drawing it anymore, and I really wanted to see Ginpachi. Well, if the opportunity arises, I might redraw him.
Q3: What’s your favourite character? And why is that?
The headmaster and the deputy headteacher, because you can see how well they can be fooled.
Q4: If you were admitted to Class 3-Z, what would you do, Sorachi sensei?
I’d be slumped over my desk for at least two weeks, radiating an aura towards Shinpachi that means, “Hey, talk to me!”
Q5: By the way, what does Mr. Ginpachi teach?
Japanese… if I remember correctly.
Q6: The novel’s colophon says “Original work: Hideaki Sorachi,” but how much did he contribute with his ideas?
Not at all. Reading the first volume of the novel, and laughing, I even thought, “Ah! If I die, I’ll have this writer develop the Gintama story and Obata sensei do the drawings!” (laughter)
I’ll leave it all up to Osaki sensei, because I guess he has more fun writing when he can do as he pleases.
Q7: Have you ever met Tomohito Osaki sensei?
At the Café Renoir once before the first volume of the novel was published. He sat with his chair at an angle. Since he was always leaning against the wall, I did the same… I had no other choice.
Q8: Why don’t you make friends with Osaki sensei?
I want to, but maybe it’s impossible. Because he seemed unsociable too. We’d probably just look at each other obliquely.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SELF-CONTAINED WORK 13-THIRTEEN
Q1: You’ve finally published a manga on Square! Tell us how it came about.
There’s no backstory to tell, I was being forced to!
When my editor said to me, “Editor-in-chief Ibaraki suggested that you draw a self-contained work in SQ. What do you want to do?”, I replied: “Well, it’s tough considering the schedule of my work…”. Then he replied: “Beyond your will, this thing has already been decided. The decision’s been made… That’s what the bald guy said.” … Why did he ask me then?! And bloody baldy!
Q2: This is the first self-contained manga you’ve done since you started publishing Gintama. Did you have any difficulties, different from when you make an episodic series chapter?
It’s always hard having to create everything from scratch. For an episode of a serialized series, the characters are already well defined…
Q3: When it comes to making a self-contained work, did you find a different mood than when you first started making Gintama‘s serialized series?
No change in particular. Since I didn’t have much time, I simply drew.
Q4: The title is 13-Thirteen. I’ll ask you a straightforward question: where are you going with this?
Well, you can tell right away from the first page. It’s obvious.
Q5: Is the main character, Izayo Gorugo, based on anyone in particular?
No, I just wanted to draw a sailor’s uniform and a sword.
Q6: What did you struggle with most?
I had very little time, and I also had to work on Gintama‘s colour pages, so I kept thinking, “I hope they stop publishing SQ! Die, Ibaraki!”
Q7: We’ll be reading the work from the next page onwards, but tell us what we shouldn’t miss.
At a meeting with my editor Saito and Mr. Hayashi of the SQ editorial staff, we decided to create a love comedy. They happened to go to the same high school, so the meeting turned into a reunion of old school friends. So I thought, “Wow! They’re so stupid!” and I made the comic strip on my own and left them alone! And it didn’t turn out to be a love comedy… I’d like you to enjoy this confusion of mine.
Q8: To conclude, say something.
I drew this work with all my strength, and there’s a lot of text. If you’d like, you could read it in three parts, I’d be happy to. Oh, one more thing… I really like SQ! I don’t think it’s better to stop publishing at all! Yay SQ! And call me again!
Yorozuya Shinigami 