Thank you for purchasing the 36th volume! The other day I went to a wedding. Since it was summer, I was dying of heat, it was thirty-five degrees… So, I celebrated the wedding all sweaty, as if I had gone to do some Mongolian sumo! Of course, I was thirsty, so I drank beer, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by the bride and groom’s relatives. In the end, I thought I was really going to do sumo, but they said, “You’re Gori… uh, Sorachi sensei, right?” and asked for my autograph. But I can’t draw without an outline, because I’m inexperienced. Still, I had to, and having no other choice I tried to get away with something simple, telling the people who asked me to draw Gin-san, “Better Elizabeth, right?”. But because I was drunk, the lines were uneven and Elizabeth looked like a character I’d never seen or heard of… Seeing him, one wondered: “Is it Venezuela?”. It created a situation where people wondered if I was really Sorachi, or said, “Hey, some animal escaped from a zoo” … So, they all walked away. At one point, I noticed that there was only a three-year-old boy standing next to me. He just stood there, silent, even though I asked him: “What do you want me to draw? (Say Elizabeth!)”. He kept staring into space with teary eyes. Then, from behind, a little girl of about five years old appeared, probably his older sister, who acted as an interpreter to explain to me what he wanted. I certainly couldn’t go home like that (you never know who might tweet ‘That gorilla has just left after only doing a bit of Mongolian sumo’), and after making all those mistakes. I absolutely had to get this last drawing right. I was psychologically ready: “At this point, I’ll draw any character, whether it’s Gin-san or Takasugi! I’ll show you the skills of a professional! Ask anything!”
AND THE SISTER ASKED FOR ANPANMAN…
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 92
QUESTION FROM MISS “I LOVE GIN-SAN AND KATSURA” OF CHIBA PROVINCE
Shinpachi is smart, isn’t he? Those whose role is to criticize others cannot perform their duties if they are not quick-witted, right?
ANSWER:
I get the impression that Shinpachi seems intelligent simply because those around him are too stupid, but actually… he’s very intelligent. When I was in primary school, there was a guy named Kakuta in my class. One day I looked at his face and noticed that he had a clearly swollen and reddened circle around his mouth. When I asked what had happened to him, he said that the previous day he’d gone too far while sucking air out of a glass and sticking it to his mouth… it wouldn’t come off. So Shinpachi is three times more intelligent than Kakuta.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 93
QUESTION FROM MR. “I’M GOING TO SEE THE MOVIE WITH FRIENDS” FROM KYOTO PROVINCE
Why is there no character song for Gintama? It seems to me that the natural order is: manga → anime character song → (video games) → movie. Or is there something wrong with the characters in this opera singing?
ANSWER:
An Otsu CD has come out, and it seems to have been quite successful. Thank you. It’s not that I don’t like character songs, it’s just that among my characters it’s hard to get someone to sing because others want them to. The fact that they ask for a song that describes themselves is pretty absurd, and I think they might break the mic. That’s why there is no character song. However, if it’s a character who wants to sing, like Otsu, some song could also be made. For example, if need be, for the Vacuum!
An album with a Vacuum song on the A-side, a Nogusoel song on the B-side and Katsurap as a bonus track… That would be great!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 94
QUESTION FROM MR. “SINCE I CAN’T REFUSE OTHER PEOPLE’S REQUESTS, I PUT AWAY A COCKROACH AND BURIED A RABBIT’S SKELETON, BUT AS A GOOD-NATURED PERSON I REFUSED TO REMOVE THE FROG DROWNED IN URINE FROM THE TOILET”.
Sorachi sensei, I’m writing to you for the first time. I’m talking about something that has no importance whatsoever… I’m shy, and since you claim to be too, I want to ask your advice. A few years ago I went out to eat ramen with my parents, I was strangely euphoric and entered the restaurant dancing for no particular reason. I was ashamed, but I also thought that no one had seen me. So, after eating, I went home and went to bed. The next day at school, a classmate said to me, “You used to dance like that, didn’t you?”, imitating my dance in front of the whole class. I felt so ashamed that every time I see that club, that memory comes back to me and I feel like I’m writhing around spitting blood and shouting “ghaaaaah!”. What should I do to forget?
ANSWER:
In my opinion – and I have thirty-one years of shyness behind me – since you came in dancing in a club, you are not shy. You have the talent of a street performer! Train now in “ramen dancing” and become a respectable street performer!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 95
QUESTION BY MR. JUNZABURO OF OKAYAMA PROVINCE
This is the first time I’ve written to you, Sorachi sensei! I like to draw, but I can’t make the hair shine… Teach me how!
ANSWER:
In Gintama. for the gloss and the parts to be painted completely black, I use a pen with a brush tip, the Pentel one with an extra-fine tip. The secret is to always picture the direction of the hair.
For a beginner like you, I recommend drawing the lines with a pencil. After that, you pass the pen over the shiny, colourless parts, forming serrated strips. Be careful not to form these fine indentations when you “detach” the tip, but when you “start” to colour.
At the moment of “detaching”, once you have finished colouring, it is difficult to control the movement of the brush. This is why there is a risk of messing up the direction of the hair. However, when you “start” colouring, it is easier to control the movement of the brush, and you can calmly choose the lines to draw.
However, the movement of the brush is from top to bottom (painting from bottom to top is difficult, try to avoid this). When you have to paint the top of the sheet, turn it upside down instead of moving the brush backwards.
And in any case, imagine the direction of the hair… that’s the most important thing!
SO SAY MY ASSISTANTS.
So I drew Anpanman.
While I was doing that, the kid’s sister criticized me: ‘The symbol in the chest must not have a nose on it!’… Of course! I’m not the Anpanman guy! I’d rather have Takeshi Yanase sensei’s autograph! But I somehow finished off Anpanman with a shaky hand because of the alcohol and gave the shikishi to the kid. Then he started crying his eyes out….
“NOOO! THAT’S NOT IT!”
Of course, I’m not the Anpanman guy. Mine had irregular features and looked like it might secrete adzuki bean pesto at any moment.
Kid, I’m sorry for disappointing you! And to you, Takeshi Yanase sensei, I apologize for destroying a little boy’s dream! I, Hideaki Sorachi, vow to work hard to become a respectable mangaka, capable of not only drawing any character without sketches, but also Anpanman!
New topic: “The symbol in the chest must not have a nose on it!”
Yorozuya Shinigami 