Title: “Summer holidays make us happier… before they start”
Thank you for purchasing the 20th volume of Gintama! In the 169th episode, an editor named Konishi will play an active role. To tell you the truth, I drew it at the request of Mr. Yoshida (a member of the editorial staff and the organizer of my editor Onishi’s wedding banquet), who asked me, “Could you do something for the occasion, Sorachi?” Mr. Yoshida, who was in charge of DeathNote and D. Gray-Man, is handsome and very good, and he started working in the same year as Onishi, but he doesn’t seem to care about manga that he doesn’t follow. So he casually said to me, “In Gintama, could you draw an episode describing the moment when Onishi asked for his woman’s hand in marriage…?”. When I told him my reasonable objection (“Well, wait a minute! I don’t have a problem with that, but they’ll all think it’s a self-referential story made just to get a laugh out of the editors! The readers don’t have the slightest interest in Mr. Onishi!”) he simply replied, “But in Gintama it’s acceptable!”.
Seriously, among those born in ’78, there’s no decent guy.
On top of that, he asked me to do it all in my spare time while I was doing the current story (I was drawing the Shinsengumi Crisis saga at the time), because he wanted to make the episode public during the wedding banquet. It was almost obstructionism at work!
Seriously, it’s a good thing for you that I don’t own a Death Note, dear people born in ’78!
SORACHI’S Q&A: HANGING OUT WITH THE READERS #57
QUESTION FROM MR. “A BIG FAN OF YOROZUYA! IS THE SHINSENGUMI… NORMAL?”, FROM GUNMA PROVINCE.
Nice to meet you, Sorachi sensei! To tell you the truth, I noticed something just now: Shinpachi likes Otsu, and Kagura likes Izenka*… What kind of songs does Gin-san like? Or does he only like the weather lady? Since I can’t think of anything, please let me know!
ANSWER:
Gin-san basically doesn’t listen to any kind of music, at most he hums songs from commercials.
What I’m about to say has nothing to do with this, but Okita has a weakness for rakugo**. It’s perfect, isn’t it?
*Japanese folk music style. **Comedy monologues in which a narrator tells a story.
SORACHI’S Q&A: HANGING WITH THE READERS #58
QUESTION FROM MR JUNPEI MASUDA OF KANAGAWA PROVINCE
Hello, Sorachi sensei! My name is Junpei Masuda, and I really like Gintama. So I’m going to be a mangaka like you! I’m not very good at drawing yet, so I don’t have a chance right now… I usually draw Naruto characters, but I never improve, so I’d like to become your student.
ANSWER:
I think you’re missing the point… Listen, Junpei… maybe it’s better to… ask Kishimoto sensei?
After all, for the proposal story, I completed the storyboard late because of the busy work schedule and the care I had for the bride, so I didn’t have time to finish the boards for the ceremony.
I thought, “Wow, I’m going to take advantage of this situation and make sure this project never existed!”, but on the day of the wedding, Onishi’s father said to me with contempt, “What’s Gintama? I don’t understand it…” And so the desire for revenge was born in me. Devising a method to entertain the readers and at the same time cause harm to the Onishi family, that episode was made! If you re-read it with this anecdote in mind, it will look different! I hope the Onishi family members all read it together and feel uncomfortable…
New topic: “I pretended it was nothing with a smile, but some tears came to my eyes”.
Title: “He who relies too much on his strategies is the cause of his own downfall”
Thank you for purchasing the 19th volume! I’ve started playing Monster Hunter (PSP), despite having abstained until now for fear of not being able to work. I was told that you get so into it that you can’t go back to the real world. But after answering “I’m a guy who’s all about work, it’s impossible for me to get totally lost in a video game with no plot, where you just have to defeat monsters. There’s nothing dramatic about it, such as a father being killed or becoming a slave, or finding out that your son is a legendary hero, etc., right? So, I’ll definitely be able to return to the real world!” I went hunting as if I were taking a test of courage. A few weeks later, I realized I had become a respectable Hunter, so much so that I downloaded a “Special Event Quest” at a shop in the Yodobashi Camera, bringing my PSP around the kids.
Lately, all I’ve been doing is drawing or hunting. In the last week, in addition to completing a chapter, I made a helmet. Drawing manga also means getting lost in fantasies, so except for times when I go to the toilet, take a bath, or eat, I’m never in the real world… Which is very problematic. By now I can’t tell if I’m a Hunter or a mangaka. My editor’s face has begun to look like Yian Kut-ku’s*, and you can’t imagine how many times I’ve wanted to stab him with a big sword…
*A bird wyvern in the Monster Hunter game series
FREEWHEELING: INTERVIEW WITH HIDEAKI SORACHI OF OVER 40,000 CHARACTERS
Published in the June 15, 2007 special issue of Akamaru Jump.
HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS OFF?
Onishi: Do you go drinking on your days off?
Sorachi: …After finishing the boards, at most I go out to eat with my assistants.
Onishi: Do you handle alcohol well?
Sorachi: Like a normal person, not very…
Onishi: You don’t like it too much or hate it, right?
Sorachi: It’s not that I don’t like it, I just get enough of the pleasant feeling of intoxication.
Onishi: What do you drink?
Sorachi: There’s nothing I prefer.
Onishi: Does that mean you drink different things every time?
Sorachi: I start with beer. After that, it depends on the situation.
Onishi: Like normal people (laughter)
Sorachi: Why? (laughter) It’s natural!
Onishi: You haven’t been playing video games lately, have you?
Sorachi: Hmm… There’s none I like too much so far.
Onishi: Which have you finished in the last few years?
Sorachi: Are you going to publish something like that?
Onishi: We’ll publish everything we can. Come on, even if it’s not a fun game, tell me which one you finished.
Sorachi: I don’t want anyone to know.
Onishi: What do you care?
Sorachi: Don’t publish it, you know! (laughs)
Onishi: I can’t accept your request.
Sorachi: Huh?
Onishi: Impossible to accommodate you!
Sorachi: But who knows how my words will be interpreted!
Onishi: You’ll just have to re-read everything at the end, before publication!
Sorachi: Yeah, right! Are you telling the truth?
Onishi: Of course! So what video game do you like?
Sorachi: Well, honestly, since the serial publication started, I can’t really get into any games.
Onishi: And you haven’t finished any?
Sorachi. Um, Yakuza…
Onishi: So you play!
Sorachi: It was about a year ago, when I ate some bugs (during the making of GinChannel!*).
Onishi: You don’t play role-playing games?
Sorachi: Sure! I play them a lot!
Onishi: Like DragonQuest, or Final Fantasy…
Sorachi: I did DragonQuest, but I wasn’t that impressed.
Onishi: How about Final Fantasy?
Sorachi: I don’t play FF.
Onishi: So you’re a DragonQuest lover!
Sorachi: In FF, the protagonists speak for themselves…
Onishi: You mean you find it hard to enter its world?
Sorachi: Yeah. I’m the kind of guy who puts his name to a hero.
BEGINNINGS AS AN ASPIRING MANGAKA
Onishi: Your blood type is AB, right?
Sorachi: If you’re not egocentric, you can’t draw manga.
Onishi: You’re right! To meekly follow the opinions of others is to accept what others say and believe them blindly. But if you see things from a different perspective, or with cynicism, you can create something new. Did you study hard as a student?
Sorachi: Of course, I studied like everyone else! I prepared properly for my high school and university entrance exams.
Onishi: So you were working hard…
Sorachi: You thought I didn’t study at all?
Onishi: I didn’t mean that, but I rather thought you were reading or drawing.
Sorachi: No comic books. In primary schools, I drew something, but my father mocked me by saying, “What is this?!”. I was very shocked by his offensive words…
Onishi: Like, “The main character is called Ken? Hmm…”.
Sorachi: It was a fantasy. I only drew fantasy comics.
Onishi: With a pen?
Sorachi: No, in a notebook with a pencil… Then I hid them, but he found them…
Onishi: What grade in primary schools was that?
Sorachi: Maybe third or fourth grade! But to tell you the truth, even in high school, I drew… I scribbled in my notebooks.
Onishi: But no finished works?
Sorachi. I thought I could never become a mangaka. When I was a kid, I told my parents about my dream, but they said, as so many do when they encourage their children to study, “If you’re not smart, you can’t become one!”.
*Guide on Gintama characters
Onishi: And you gave up because of that?
Sorachi: How should I put it… I wanted to, but I couldn’t say it in front of my friends because I was ashamed. So I said I was going to become an architect, just to ignore them.
Onishi: I get it!
Sorachi: I was studying drawing, saying I was going to study CG!
Onishi: What do you mean by “studying drawing”?
Sorachi: Actually, I just drew… because my course of study had almost nothing to do with drawing. I went to a school that was more related to advertising.
Onishi: So you were studying drawing comics?
Sorachi: But I was going to make at least one bet.
Onishi: When did you first submit artwork to a magazine?
Sorachi: When I was in my 3rd year at university…
Onishi: Was it a story about a ramen joint?
Sorachi: There were monsters in it.
Onishi: I don’t remember if the owner did anything… Was he the one who subdued the monsters?
Sorachi: Yeah!
Onishi: So while you were in college, did you submit that work to a magazine…?
Sorachi: I was sure I’d win some prize, but it went straight through the paper shredder. I’ve never said it publicly, but everyone thinks I won a prize with my first work. Even my parents don’t know that I failed.
Onishi: Why are you hiding it?
Sorachi: Well, I might as well have said it.
Onishi: Don’t you have character notes somewhere? It would be fun to publish them for readers!
Sorachi: Those characters didn’t have much charm.
Onishi: You were only delving into the plot, or the worldview that the story was imbued with, weren’t you?
Sorachi: I was just putting on airs!
“I THOUGHT (SORACHI) WAS LYING ABOUT HIS AGE” [ONISHI]
Onishi: You were putting on airs… about what? For example, about making monsters?
Sorachi: I don’t talk about that kind of thing, but I was boasting.
Onishi: Was the main character just cool?
Sorachi: Well, even though he was cool, he was basically like Gin-san. He ran a ramen joint, and saved the evil spirit of a cat. It was a self-contained work, and I had to do everything myself. Since it was the first time I’d drawn backgrounds and I had to use a ruler, which was very annoying, I thought I’d give up being a mangaka… “It’s impossible for me to do this.”
Onishi: But you finished that manga, right?
Sorachi: Yes…
Onishi: And you thought you had some kind of award in your pocket?
Sorachi: I was sure of it.
Onishi: Were you shocked?
Sorachi: Since it was a hassle to get a work done, I gave up drawing. However, when I was in my fourth year of college and looking for a job, I tried to submit another manga to a contest, and I won a prize! It took me about four months to complete…
Onishi: You mean it took that long from storyboard to completion?
Sorachi: Yes! It was just like now: working until the deadline. For that contest, you just had to send the manga in the mail by the end of every month. I’d get down to the last one, I wouldn’t make it in time, and then, since I had another month, I’d correct anything that didn’t convince me. But gradually the number of things that needed to be corrected increased, so I didn’t make it in time for the next deadline. So I’d start correcting things again…
Onishi: Understood.
Sorachi: But I think it was all good. In the end, I was my own editor… even though four months was still too long for a manga!
Onishi: I thought you were lying about your age. I was convinced you were at least thirty, judging by the atmosphere of your stories.
Sorachi: Some people even thought I was a woman.
Onishi: I couldn’t believe it until I met you in person.
Sorachi: You thought I was lying?
Onishi: Well, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d found a man in his mid-forties.
Sorachi: And that’s why you thought I was a liar?
Onishi: As for Dandelion, the work that was sent had a different content… I don’t remember what happened to the old lady.
Sorachi: She was torn to pieces. There was nothing moving about the manga. Among the fan letters, there are many that say, “I was moved by the scene where the old man and the old woman got together!”, but at the beginning, there wasn’t even such a scene. She was hit by a car… But in order to publish, I had to rethink everything from scratch.
Onishi: Including the drawings.
Sorachi: I don’t know what happened, but it was decided that the manga would be published in a magazine, so I was asked to correct at least the scene of the old woman, because “it wasn’t possible to print a manga like that”. At first, I had no intention of bringing the two old geezers together… We had a fight right from the start, don’t you remember? Right from the start! (laughter)
Onishi: Then, before Shirokuro, you came up with Samuraida. There was a middle-aged man wearing a suit. It was a story where the characters just talked, right?
Sorachi: It wasn’t a suit, it was a prison uniform.
Onishi: Anyway, the final boss was a bald man of a certain age, right?
Sorachi: Yeah! But that manga remains the prototype of Gintama, of the story about the arrival of extraterrestrials in the Edo era. In that sense, it wasn’t a useless work.
Onishi: Well, yes!
Sorachi: I thought it was funny, and you trashed it as if to say, “I’m disappointed in you.” ….
Onishi: Well, you could hardly structure the next work, so I made you promise to fax me at least six pages of storyboard every day.
Sorachi: But I couldn’t do that, because it would take me a day to write a single line. Anyway, we used to phone each other, you’d ask me how many pages I’d done and I’d say: “All done!”, even though it wasn’t true at all. (laughter) So I’d improvise the three missing pages on the spot and send everything by fax. (laughter) Anyway, if I hadn’t done as you said, I wouldn’t have been able to do this work.
Onishi: No.
Sorachi: Yes.
Onishi: If I hadn’t gone this far, you wouldn’t have made it.
Sorachi: I feel like hell, I was always afraid the phone would ring. I was even having auditory hallucinations! (laughter) Seriously, when I would hear electronic sounds, I would weigh, “Ah, a phone call!” (laughter). I had a slight nervous breakdown.
Onishi: And after Shirokuro…
Sorachi: You asked me to do a storyboard for a serial, if I remember correctly…
Onishi: Well, if I thought it was good, I would have presented it at the meeting, but if I didn’t think it was great, I would have suggested publishing it as a self-contained manga.
Sorachi: Exactly! You told me to draw a story about the Shinsengumi, but I refused because I didn’t want to. Then I took up that idea again, since I had no other options, so I drew a manga… but only up to a point.
Onishi: At first, the story wasn’t about extraterrestrials, but about monsters, right?
Sorachi: No, that wasn’t my idea!
Onishi: Really?
Sorachi: You were the one who wanted monsters to fight the Shinsengumi, but I didn’t want to, so I chose extraterrestrials.
Onishi: But we said the other day that “maybe it was better to choose monsters”! (laughter)
Sorachi: Other than monsters… I thought it would be better to choose the Shinsengumi as the main characters. (laughter) I actually didn’t want to submit that story for serial publication yet, but since you said it might not be accepted, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem.
Onishi: To tell you the truth, I was convinced it wouldn’t… (laughter)
Sorachi: (laughter) You’re always sincere afterwards! You did the same for Shirokuro, too!
Onishi: If I really meant what I said, you’d never submit a story of yours!
Sorachi: That’s why you criticized a lot of things in Shirokuro too! But actually, by making changes, a work always gets better.
Onishi: Maybe you’re right, but…
Sorachi: Since I’m sure I can draw a more entertaining manga, I don’t want to interrupt the conceptual phase. And anyway, it was better to elaborate the story more before starting the serial publication, wasn’t it?
Onishi: In the end, the result would have been the same.
Sorachi: Or maybe the Shinsengumi would have become the main characters.
Onishi: Same result.
Sorachi: I doubt it…
“WHAT IS A DEADLINE? (LAUGHTER) [SORACHI]
ABOUT THE MEETINGS
Sorachi: I think one thing, though. The other mangaka respond properly to interviews because they think about questions on a daily basis.
Onishi: I guess that’s what you’re saying.
Sorachi: They also answer by thinking about what they’re not supposed to say, right? They’re amazing!
Onishi: But in a way, I think mangaka like you are to be envied. Because they don’t need to adapt to others.
Sorachi: Oh, no?
Onishi: No! They don’t even need to bow their heads to someone, or go to work in some office every day…
Sorachi: That’s the best thing about it.
Onishi: Just stick to the deadline, and they can keep drawing at their own pace.
Sorachi: Are you trying to tell me to meet the deadline…?
Onishi: Yeah!
Sorachi: What’s a deadline? (laughter)
Onishi: What do you mean?! (laughter)
Sorachi: What do you mean by “deadline”?
Onishi: It’s the limit for printing the magazine in time…
Sorachi: In that sense, I’ve never violated any deadlines.
Onishi: You’re on time because you have someone covering for you…
Sorachi: I’m talking about the one you impose on me at the beginning, Onishi! If the date beyond which the work will no longer be published is called a deadline, I think you should never exceed it, so don’t worry!
Onishi: Really…?
Sorachi: How will this interview be published in Akamaru?
Onishi: With a header. And I appear as the interviewer, as well as your editor…
Sorachi: But not everyone is that interested in something like that, right?
Onishi: In what?
Sorachi: In Gintama itself. Even if I talk for six pages, no one’s going to care, right?
Onishi: I think everyone is interested in you.
Sorachi: Really?
Onishi: Because everyone wants to hear your story! From questions and answers like the ones on the Gin Channel, it seems like you’re putting on airs, as if to say, “I’ve given it some thought before answering.”
Sorachi: Are you saying a confusing interview is better?
Onishi: Exactly! As in everyday chit-chat.
Sorachi: I’ve never seen an interview like that.
Onishi: You often see very long interviews in music magazines! You get asked about everything, starting with the history of your background!
Sorachi: That sounds unpleasant. I’d come across as obnoxious, and people might think I’ve gone overboard and that our story doesn’t matter…
Onishi: Well, those who want to read it, read it, and those who don’t… don’t.
Sorachi: The fact remains that they think I’ve gone overboard.
Onishi: But you like other mangaka’s interviews too, right?
Sorachi: I do. Other people’s, though.
Onishi: See? And that’s the same thing.
Sorachi: I like other people’s interviews because they’re done properly. Their answers are useful to me, too.
“SACCHAN, KYUBEI AND TAKASUGI ARE REALLY HARD TO HANDLE” [SORACHI]
Onishi: You’re referring to the interviews with a headline like “I WANT TO DRAW HUMAN BEINGS” right? (laughter)
Sorachi: The ones that start with a big advertising slogan… Ooh! Will this interview be like that?
Onishi: Well, not that serious… So how do you produce a work?
Sorachi: At first, I consult with my editor that’s you…
Onishi: We devote four to five hours a week to this little meeting, don’t we?
Sorachi: The other day about seven!
Onishi: Really? But we chatted about this and that, didn’t we?
Sorachi: If I’m not mistaken, our meeting started with an argument, don’t you remember? “You’re late!” that’s how you started, then we talked about this and that… that’s why it took seven hours! My meetings are pretty long for a mangaka! Other people take about one or two hours, right?
Onishi: I guess it depends on the person. In your case, at the beginning of the week you and I meet, then we have phone meetings every day…
Sorachi: And when we come to an agreement, I feel like cheating on him.
Onishi: Yeah, you hardly ever accept my opinions! (laughter) Even when we’re on the same page…
Sorachi: Most of the time, the ideas we share turn out to be failures.
Onishi: Maybe that’s where it all ends, and it’s like you’re letting off steam at that moment.
Sorachi: It occurs to me that because I had fun in the meeting, there’s no need to make that idea fun in the manga. Instead, when I draw something completely different from the line we’ve decided on, the manga comes out hilarious.
Onishi: I think it’s a matter of motivation. I guess it’s better when there’s something you want to draw, even if it betrays the agreement you made.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THE CHARACTERS?
Onishi: How do you come up with fun characters?
Sorachi: To put it simply, I basically try to make them earthy.
Onishi: Rather, you try to bring them to the readers’ side.
Sorachi: Exactly! The characters in the manga seem to float on air, so I try to make them sink into real life.
Onishi: That means you want to tell people, “These aren’t special at all just because they appear in a comic book!”, right? Show them picking their noses too, eating cheap snacks, etc… You mean that, right?
Sorachi: I think about the smallest details, as if they were people close to me. When I start to know what I would find in the dustbin of the character in question, I succeed. However, in Gintama, it didn’t happen often, there are some characters that I still don’t fully understand, for example Sacchan. Also, Kyubei and Takasugi are really difficult to handle.
Onishi: You still don’t fully understand them?
Sorachi: Ah! This discussion isn’t bad, huh? It can be used for a title, right?
Onishi: For example, “I haven’t been able to fully understand my characters”! (laughter) Who’s the easiest to handle?
Sorachi: I’d say Zura.
Onishi: Zura? Well, he’s funny!
Sorachi: I get a kick out of drawing him, because when he becomes dumb, he’s more powerful than anyone else. And since he’s a serious character, I like to deform his character, so when I do that I get excited. That’s a speech for an interview! (laughter) I also like Chief Matsudaira, but I don’t really understand his feelings.
Onishi: Did I mention that a Gintama fan once protested to me in tears?
Sorachi: Why was that?
Onishi: It was a girl who said she was a fan of Gin-san. When I told her that he talks out of his ass, she said, “That’s not true! Cut it out!” …
Sorachi: Crying?
Onishi: More like angrily… She yelled at me, “What do you know about Gin-san?!” …
Sorachi: My goodness!
Onishi: Well, she was right…
Sorachi: How wonderful! As I was saying, Gin-san’s already become independent, so there’s nothing we can do for him.
Onishi: What’s your favourite episode in Gintama?
Sorachi: The one about sukiyaki (100th lesson). And you, Onishi?
Onishi: The ones where Katsura appears.
Sorachi: What about the “sentimental episodes”?
Onishi: I have the impression that for this kind of stories there aren’t always enough pages available, a sentimental atmosphere really sticks with the readers.
Sorachi: I’d choose the episode about the kappa (18th lesson), where I was able to put in some jokes at just the right point… I also like the one about fireworks (56th teaching), but there, after all, the members of Yorozuya didn’t do anything.
Onishi: As a third anniversary event, we held a vote in the magazine.
Sorachi: I’d also mention the episode on Mayora Thirteen (65th lesson). However, I never have enough pages, I always think that if I had more pages I would be able to conclude the story better. So I have some regrets for each episode, I’m never completely satisfied.
Onishi: How about the chapter where the characters go to observe the cherry blossom (17th lesson)?
Sorachi: Well… I think there was a better way to end that story, too. To tell you the truth, I would have liked to have all the characters appear.
Onishi: You’re right!
Sorachi: Thinking about it now, we hardly ever discuss Gintama properly, even though we often talk about other manga or crime cases.
Onishi: Yeah! We get too involved, so there may be a lot of things we don’t understand.
WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DRAW?
Onishi: Besides Gintama, what kind of story would you like to draw?
Sorachi: A manga with a school setting.
Onishi: Why?
Sorachi: I feel like once I get too old, I won’t be able to publish that kind of manga anymore. Besides, I enjoy drawing noisy scenes! And just by being in a classroom, a character might stand out.
Onishi: So the next work will be about school!
Sorachi: But to be funny, you can’t just put everyone in a school…
Onishi: If I remember correctly, among Miyazaki’s films, the one you like best is Kiki’sDelivery Service, right?
Sorachi: That’s right! But I never found Kiki cute.
Onishi: So what do you like?
Sorachi: The development of the story… and the description of the urban character!
Onishi: But narratively, it’s an ordinary work.
Sorachi: Huh? But it’s a lot of fun, isn’t it?
Onishi: There’s no fighting and no airships crash!
Sorachi: That’s true! However, I also like Laputa – The Castle in the Sky.
Onishi: You don’t like superheroes?
Sorachi: No.
Onishi: Do you like works that depict ordinary people who live by being busy?
Sorachi: It’s true that in Miyazaki’s anime I like the secondary characters, but not the main characters. Except for Sheeta. What do you like about this work, Onishi?
Onishi: It makes me feel emotions!
Sorachi: Your answer sounds stupid (laughter) But do you like the rendering of the scenes or the simplicity of the story?
Onishi: For example, the fact that the castle moves!
Sorachi: Yeah, you can feel the romance in Laputa! And in this interview, there’s also an exchange about Miyazaki’s anime! (laughs) Seriously, if I thought about drawing manga, it was because of Laputa. When I see the final scene, where it flies away, I feel very sad. I feel like saying, “Don’t leave me!”… I don’t know if you can understand.
Onishi: Did you, by any chance, draw the sequel yourself?
Sorachi: (laughter) No. For television works, and for manga, there’s always an end. And the readers definitely feel a sense of abandonment. They’ll feel like saying, “Wait a minute!” … Rather than being dumped like that, it’s better to switch sides. Maybe I draw for that reason too, it’s the only way to resolve such a situation, don’t you think?
Onishi: My way of resolving it is to wait for the next work.
Sorachi: Which will also end (laughter). There’s no choice but to become an author! Also, there’s one thing to add: the more funny movies you see, the more you feel an emptiness in your heart… isn’t that right?
Onishi: Why?
Sorachi: Because all you can do is “watch” them!
Onishi: Well, that’s normal!
Sorachi: Wouldn’t you like to be in a position where you can think, “I want to make a movie too!”?
Onishi: Normal people don’t think like that! Only you have that idea!
Sorachi: Of course I’m not capable of making something great, but I want to stay in this business forever.
Onishi: So you want to be a director after all?
Sorachi: No, not really… it’s more of a desire to create something. The more I see films, the more sad I get. Maybe that’s why I’m a mangaka.
Onishi: I don’t think everyone feels that way. You usually enjoy watching them.
Sorachi: Don’t you feel like enhancing that feeling in some way? Doesn’t hearing, “Ooh, I have to go back to the office tomorrow!” … doesn’t it make you feel empty inside? Isn’t it great to think that you can create something better the next day?
Onishi: (laughter) Yeah, but normal people don’t think like that.
Sorachi: Don’t they think, “I’d like to create something moving too!”?
Onishi: No. But it’s because you think like that that you became a mangaka, right?
Sorachi: The more you see funny works, the more excited you get…!
“YOU DON’T TALK TO OTHERS MUCH, DO YOU?” [ONISHI]
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?
Onishi: Any plans for the future?
Sorachi: I’ll be happy if I can continue drawing.
Onishi: Until what age?
Sorachi: Until I die.
Onishi: Really?
Sorachi: Yeah! Hmm?
Onishi: Well, do you want to retire at a specific age…?
Sorachi: No.
Onishi: Do you want to keep drawing forever?
Sorachi: Yes! But without being cornered like that, even if it’s impossible.
Onishi: More like…
Sorachi: Impossible. The next work will be a failure. (laughter) Maybe I’ll eventually open a cafe, and that’ll be the end of my career.
Onishi: (laughter) Why a cafe?
Sorachi: Well… There’s no particular reason… A situation like this comes to mind: “I used to draw manga…”!
Onishi: A cafe run by Hideaki Sorachi, the former mangaka! Basically, a manga cafe? (laughter)
Sorachi: No! It would just be a place where you could talk to the owner!
Onishi: You don’t talk to other people much, do you?
Sorachi: A place where aspiring mangaka gather.
Onishi: In Hokkaido?
Sorachi: I don’t want to go back there anymore. But I’d like to continue making manga, or screenplays… After all, there’s nothing else I want to do…
Onishi: Would you still like to continue creating stories?
Sorachi: Yeah! Something similar to what I’m doing now.
Onishi: What if you eventually die drawing a storyboard? (laughter)
Sorachi: That would be fine. While I’m writing the storyboard, I offer a lot, but when the readers say the manga is fun, I’m really happy. I’d say drawing is my only hobby.
Onishi: By the way, you never get sick.
Sorachi: I do get sick, but I get treatment.
Onishi: When did you ever get sick? (laughter)
Sorachi: Several times! You didn’t know? The episode where Zura attends a driving school (125th lesson) has an eccentric story… Well, it was due to a fever.
Onishi: (laughter)
Sorachi: That time I was about thirty-eight, and had a big cough. I drew the storyboard in a state of confusion. Seriously, it was risky, I had a strange feeling. Right before the deadline, everyone feels tense… or maybe only I do since I’m up against the wall.
Onishi: You had to struggle!
TELL ME ABOUT WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD!
Onishi: What were you like as a child?
Sorachi: I don’t want to brag, but until primary schools, I was everyone’s favourite.
Onishi: Did you make the others laugh?
Sorachi: Yes! I was the centre of my class!
Onishi: You used to give funny answers to teachers’ questions, right?
Sorachi: I wasn’t that skilled. And then in middle school, I met a whole different level of kids from all over the city, and my popularity disappeared.
Onishi: Without standing out, you’d like to be the centre of attention, right?
Sorachi: I’m shy, but I like making others laugh.
Onishi: It’s as if you want to say, “Look at me!” …
Sorachi: Not really. I’ve always wanted to be funny anyway.
Onishi: Which is like saying, “Hey, look at me!” …
Sorachi: Um… It’s an unpleasant expression.
Onishi: It’s because you want to express yourself that you draw manga, right?
Sorachi: Thinking about it now… is that why? If so, I’m drawing out of a desire that’s pretty disgusting.
Onishi: Disgusting…? Basically we all have the same desire, the desire to get recognition, and that desire leads to a concrete result. Some people become mangaka, and some become criminals. It’s not really for that reason, however we often talk about criminal cases.
Sorachi: That’s right, we comment on a certain guy’s character, for example.
Onishi: Exactly! We get hung up on the characteristics of the likely perpetrator.
Sorachi: The meeting ends in about fifteen minutes, and then we talk about these things.
Onishi: Let’s get right off topic.
Sorachi: Rather… I have the impression that this interview is questionable.
Onishi: No problem, it’ll be published secretly anyway.
Sorachi: Our reputation will suffer a lot, won’t it?
Onishi: Since it’s going to come out in a corner of Akamaru unbeknownst to everyone, there’s no need to worry!
Sorachi: But someone in writing is always to be feared. The readers will take everything literally.
Onishi: Then it’s enough to say honestly everything the criminals feel can teach the mangaka something.
Sorachi: They don’t have to be criminals.
Onishi: They’re hiding a deep wound in their hearts.
Sorachi: Yeah…
Onishi: So imagining why they’ve gone to such lengths is like creating characters after all.
Sorachi: You’re right! The character who hasn’t strayed from the path of righteousness despite his past experiences is the perfect manga protagonist.
Onishi: Exactly! Finding a reason that justifies behavior that seems strange or bizarre at first glance is a mangaka’s job. When asked, “Why does he do that?”, instead of saying he’s eccentric, you have to come up with a proper explanation.
Sorachi: In that sense, parents are always important. I have great faith in mine.
Onishi: In the end, it always comes back to this point: “If I do something like this, my parents will suffer!” … It’s not a matter of logic.
Sorachi: Yeah.
Onishi: There’s a lot of things we go through when we have that thought.
Sorachi: Now that those of our generation have become parents, maybe that way of thinking has changed a bit? Crimes have always existed, so we all have the opportunity to commit some crime? It’s just that the problems have changed… but what are we talking about?
Onishi: We’re discussing modern society.
Sorachi: Are you going to publish this too?
Onishi: Yes, if it’s interesting!
Sorachi: I’d rather readers didn’t read this conversation.
Onishi: It’s only natural that you feel that way… We’ve gotten a little off topic. When you were in primary schools, did you do anything else besides draw comics?
Sorachi: I was lively, I was good at sports!
Onishi: If I remember correctly, you were in the basketball club in junior high, right?
Sorachi: Yes, but I became less and less agile and realised I wasn’t good at physical activities. I started to find a lot of people who stood out more, so I thought, “Great! It’s time to go the comedy route.
Onishi: That’s a great path to follow in life!
Sorachi: I’m glad I did.
Onishi: You mean it’s because of that that you’re doing your job now?
Sorachi: Yes!
Onishi: Were you ever scolded by your parents? And how they did it.
Sorachi: Huh? Are you asking me?
Onishi: What do you mean? Who do you think I’m interviewing? (laughter)
Sorachi: I was scolded a lot more by my teachers than by my parents.
Onishi: Why was that?
Sorachi: Because I was joking around too much…! I happened to get beaten up because I took a shortcut during the marathon.
Onishi: Really?
Sorachi: We used to call the PE teacher “Gori”. As I was trotting after cheating, I saw him coming towards me. So I changed tactics and told him I had a stomachache, but he had already found out and punched me in the stomach with all his might.
Onishi: You tend to show great courage on unexpected occasions…!
FOR THOSE WHO ASPIRE TO BE MANGAKA
Onishi: Say something to the kids who want to become mangaka!
Sorachi: Well, it’s not good to just read comics.
Onishi: Then what should they do?
Sorachi: Since they want to become mangaka, it’s clear they like comics. So, they need something else.
Onishi: Yeah!
Sorachi: They need to do the activities of some circle, like everyone else… Because they need to know about normal life too, right? For example, they need to know how other high schoolers live, but… while maintaining a cynical outlook.
Onishi: “Normal life, but with cynicism” … Is that what you mean?
Sorachi: That would be insolent, not to publish it!
Onishi: Well, just don’t write it arrogantly.
Sorachi: No, don’t publish it!
Onishi: Just add a sentence like “It’s not for me to say, but…”!
Sorachi: I don’t want to be like that!
Onishi: I hope to even create a series of interviews like this.
Sorachi: What?! Did you like it?
Onishi: Everyone likes interviews with mangaka, but it’s rare to find them… I think so.
Sorachi: Then I’d better say something useful, right?
Onishi: It doesn’t have to be “useful”. As in, everyone wants to read the diary on Social Mixi, right? Anyway, lesser people don’t like it.
Sorachi: (laughter) Do you get angry reading your friends’ diaries?
Onishi: People who don’t reply to my emails often update their pages. It doesn’t take that long to reply to an email! (laughter)
Sorachi: But Mixi has nothing to do with this! (laughter)
Onishi: (laughter)
Sorachi: Going back to the question I asked earlier, people who want to become mangaka usually tend to study only as a drawer, and of course that’s important.
Onishi: But it would also be good to observe people…
Sorachi: If you ask me, “If you draw, can you automatically become a mangaka?”, I’d say no.
Onishi: You’re right! You have to be able to describe “people”, to delve into human nature.
Sorachi: On second thought, if the person who draws a manga initially doesn’t want to be a mangaka… It would be more interesting.
“YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE ‘PEOPLE’, SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A PERSPECTIVE TO DELVE INTO HUMAN NATURE.” [ONISHI]
ABOUT GINTAMA…
Onishi: What developments should we expect?
Sorachi: Hmm? Are you talking about Gintama?
Onishi: Yes.
Sorachi: If I revealed it, that would be the end!
Onishi: You can’t tell us anything at all…?
Sorachi: I’d like to finish this work before I get to volume 30.
Onishi: Volume 30?
Sorachi: Otherwise, the desire to collect all the volumes will disappear, won’t it?
Onishi: I don’t think so, for example Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo.
Sorachi: For a work like that there’s no problem, but for a frivolous manga like Gintama it’ll be harder. Frankly, it already is. I think it’s good to close Gintama at about the 18th volume!
Onishi: But there are a lot of fans asking you to continue forever!
Sorachi: Since each episode is so confusing, if it goes past thirty volumes it’ll feel like Sazae-san.
Onishi: Sazae-san‘s episodes aren’t confusing, and everyone watches them!
Sorachi: Not at all! Since it’s broadcast on Sundays at that time, everyone watches it out of inertia.
Onishi: That’s not true! When I was a kid, I used to look forward to it! And since they were showing three episodes, I’d think, “One more, how lucky I am!”.
Sorachi: But I didn’t want to watch it anymore because I thought, “Tomorrow it’s back to school…”.
Onishi: I used to watch them.
Sorachi: When it’s time for Sazae-san, don’t you start feeling melancholy?
Onishi: Well, that’s true… Then how about the Gintama anime?
Sorachi: It made me happy! At first, I was told that proposals for an anime were coming, but I was never presented with any concrete plans. So I couldn’t see the possibility. Then, looking at the audience’s reaction at the JF-AT ’05 (Jump Festa Anime Tour 2005), I realized that Gintama is really appreciated and that made me happy, I almost cried.
Onishi: It may be that mangaka generally don’t realize it. Because the editors have contact with various people, they have control over the situation, but the illustrators are always locked up at home.
Sorachi: I don’t really know if my work is popular or not.
Onishi: You might be able to tell from the copies of the monographs that are printed,
Sorachi: But it’s always about numbers that you can’t actually check. However, when I went to JF-AT ’05, and saw the audience’s reaction, I felt happy… Gintama is liked!
Onishi: I get it!
Sorachi: I have one more thing to say. Maybe it’s not appropriate to use the term “inept people”, but it seems like my work makes you think… “Even if I’m inept, I can go on living!”. Anyway, I personally don’t think I’m drawing incompetent people… or it means I am too…
Onishi: Maybe that’s what readers like. The message they read between the lines is “there’s no such thing as an incompetent person”.
Sorachi: Hmm, I don’t think my work is that refined.
Onishi: True, but it sends a message like that! Even though there are lots of superhero stories in children’s magazines, in your manga a lot of characters throw up or pick their nose…
Sorachi: But I’m not the only one who does that! Everybody does it, don’t they?
Onishi: What are you talking about?
Sorachi: Don’t the others humiliate their characters?
Onishi: Yes, but there’s always a limit!
Sorachi: I humiliate them too much?
Onishi: Yeah! If Luffy was a peeping tom, he’d back off at some point.
Sorachi: But Luffy was a peeping tom at the end of the Alabasta saga!
Onishi: Really? Gin-san would be more obscene anyway, because he’d be more realistic!
Sorachi: (laughing)
Onishi: More than just looking like a cheerful dirtbag…
Sorachi: He’d impress everyone, and with another misstep, he might lose his fans… Even though he’s made some missteps now…
Onishi: Do you read the letters sent by your fans?
Sorachi: Of course! That’s my only pleasure!
Onishi: Ok…
Sorachi: That’s normal! I draw with all my might because I can see what the readers are saying! If I don’t get any letters, it’ll be hard to keep working.
Onishi: Have you received any unusual messages?
Sorachi: A letter from a prisoner. It looks like it was written in solitary confinement. “Gintama saved me.” … I’m happy that my manga can be useful to someone.
Onishi: Do you often get letters from abroad, too?
Sorachi: Yes.
Onishi: I wonder if foreigners understand Gintama‘s gags?
Sorachi: I’m very pleased that my work is published in the North American edition of Jump, because there are some amazing authors there! There’s also RurouniKenshin, who’s a big hit.
Onishi: It seems like samurai and ninja always enjoy a lot of popularity.
Sorachi: Americans still have a misconception about us. If I remember correctly, in the American edition of the film Godzilla, in the scene where the beast comes out of the sea for the first time, you see fishermen in the ship eating sushi while watching a sumo match. There’s still a bizarre description of Japan.
Onishi: Anyway, the Japanese see sumo matches and eat sushi. This information, in itself, is correct…
Sorachi: But I’d say you wouldn’t do that on a fishing boat! (laughter)
Onishi: It can also happen the other way around, in the sense that the Japanese may have a misconception about Americans.
Sorachi: Of course…
Onishi: We’d imagine them eating popcorn in front of a baseball game, or holding a hamburger.
Sorachi: And the Americans would say, “Not in this situation!”?
Onishi: Probably.
“I DRAW WITH ALL MY STRENGTH PRECISELY BECAUSE I CAN VERIFY THE REACTIONS OF THE READERS!” [SORACHI]
SAY SOMETHING TO YOUR FANS…
Onishi: That’s it! And finally, say something to your fans!
Sorachi: Don’t ask me a question like that… I get tense! (laughter) Ask me something similar but in a more natural way.
Onishi: What can we expect to see in the future?
Sorachi: Do we have any special episodes planned? The ninja saga, then…?
Onishi: I don’t remember what the Ninja Saga is…
Sorachi: A series of episodes where Sacchan and Zenzou have more significance. There was also the saga of the great war in Kabukicho!
Onishi: The Four Devas of the district will appear.
Sorachi: I’d also like to expand on Otose, and then the saga of Mutsu and Sakamoto. There will also be a story about Kagura’s older brother. However, it’s hard to believe that no one seems to expect a serious story, they all want me to go on with gag after gag… It’s difficult for me.
Onishi: I think there can be serious stories too.
Sorachi: What should I do to make a serious story funny? Maybe my drawings aren’t right? They’re not serious…?
Onishi: That’s not it.
Sorachi: So most of this interview is impossible to publish, right?
Onishi: Is that right?
Sorachi: Are we going to have trouble? (laughter)
Onishi: Maybe…
END
So, the Monster Hunter special ends here. Almost all the extra space was taken up by the interview published in Akamaru magazine, but not because I deserted the job. I want to stress that I wasn’t just hunting, I was busy with various things: illustrations for the novel, work for Akamaru, eliminating the Yian Kut-Ku… I distinguish work from hunting, I’m a professional! The next volume will be like the others, so I’m asking my comrades who are willing to go and defeat the Yian Kut-ku with me to send me messages without any hesitation! I’ll be waiting for you in a tavern!
Thank you for buying the 18th volume! The other day, I was reprimanded by the company that manages the building where my flat is located, who accused me of making too much noise and disturbing the neighbours. He added: ‘Your flat is frequented by a Chinese woman, isn’t it? I heard it from your neighbours…’. Well, the noise at night was definitely my fault because I did not take into account that I have a different pace of life from ordinary people. I apologize, from now on I will be careful not to make noise when I work at night. I’m really sorry. But where did the Chinese woman come from? For a moment I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about because my head was in the clouds after a night of work, so I thought, “A Chinese woman? Ooh, that must be Kagura!”. Only she doesn’t come to my flat at all. If people thought (wrongly) that I was a man of international activities, it would be better, but the lady’s gaze was that of someone staring at something really obscene. She was convinced that I practiced Shaolin martial arts with a Chinese woman every night!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 54
QUESTION FROM MR. STUPID REPRESENTING SEVENTH GRADERS, NAGASAKI PROVINCE
Sorachi sensei, I apologize for asking you this question out of the blue, but you make fun of seventh graders too much, don’t you?
I won’t be a seventh grader anymore soon, but this fact is close to my heart.
Anyway, even though you make fun of them, I really like Gintama and you! Get on with it!
ANSWER:
Well, I don’t know what girls are like, but seventh graders are really terrible! They’re the dumbest beings in the world, seriously, probably dumber than golden retrievers! Being the most delicate period of adolescence, you tend to lose your way due to various torments. I’ve had a period like that myself, and everyone grows out of it. But it’s also the most fun time of life, so go ahead and become wonderful adults!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 55
QUESTION FROM MR. “I WONDERED WHETHER OR NOT TO SEND THIS POSTCARD”, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
Good morning, Mr. Sorachi! After asking myself several times, for at least six months, whether or not to send this postcard… I have decided to do so!
Does Count Hedoro belong to the Dakinis or the Shinras, who are considered mercenary tribes? And if not, to which people does he belong?
ANSWER:
He belongs to the Dakini, famous fighters like the Yato and the Shinra.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 56
QUESTION FROM MISS “THIS WEEK MY OLDER BROTHER HID SOME EROTIC MANGA IN MY ROOM”, HIROSHIMA PROVINCE
While I was cleaning my room, I found a large envelope that I’d never seen before. It contained volumes of the erotic manga A Woman Who Fights Back. It’s no joke! Why did you hide them in my room? If our parents see them, I’m the one who’ll be accused, and maybe we’ve already seen them! Sorachi sensei, what should I do? I’m ashamed to ask my older brother, “What are these?”, and I’m also afraid that the relationship between us might get worse. Seriously, what should I do?! Give me some advice, sensei!
ANSWER:
First of all, forgive him! And don’t hate him! It’s normal for a healthy guy to have ten or twenty erotic books. I’m sure S_zawa, who you like, has some too. As for why he hid them in your room, the most natural thing is to think that your mother was going to get rid of them. Your brother momentarily hid the erotic books in your room to save them from the evil clutches of that woman! But since you came back at that very moment, he couldn’t go back and retrieve them… I think so. In this case, the most important thing is how to return the body without hurting your brother. He fears more than anything that you will read his erotic books. The best thing to do is to give him back the envelope and pretend you don’t know what’s in it, perhaps saying: “I found this in my room. Is it yours by any chance? What’s in it?”. If you don’t succeed, destroy everything and avoid telling your parents anything!
…Under the circumstances, when I think about what consideration my neighbours might have for me, I get very anxious. However, I have to think about the saying ‘He who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind’. Thinking about it now, in the summer I used to rehearse out loud the dirty jokes to be inserted, without closing the window. And maybe there were some Chinese words in between. Maybe I said “ni hao”, it’s likely… Taking advantage of this space, I apologize to my neighbours. You too, be careful in your dealings with your neighbours, and continue to live modestly!
New topic: “I apologize to all those who have anything to do with my building”.
Thank you for purchasing the 17th volume of Gintama! Thanks to your support, we were able to celebrate our third anniversary, and even my editor Onishi was able to get married! I suspected he was having an affair… He once came to my house for a business meeting and had a pink umbrella. He hid it outside so I wouldn’t see it! So, given my great perspicacity, I deduced that he was getting married soon. Naturally, I avoided indelicate sentences such as: ‘What does that umbrella mean? Are you from some woman’s house?!”. I pretended that nothing had happened, except that inside I felt an unpleasant sensation, like the one you get when you discover your older brother’s porn magazines. During meetings we talk about nonsense as well as work, but never about love life. As if to say: ‘Since I’m shocked to hear something like that, I don’t want to hear it, on the contrary… let him die if he talks about it!’. Since our relationship was similar to that of Kakarot and Vegeta, who think they’ll kill each other if they let their guard down, I felt a certain disgust when I found out the news. So when he informed me of his marriage by saying, “Kakarot, I’m now twenty-eight years old, I’ve decided to get married,” I replied, “Congratulations! I’ll tell Krillin too!”. However, I felt nauseous inside: “reeeetch”! I felt like throwing up everything, from the rice balls to the senzu beans prepared by Chichi and eaten the day before. On top of that, Vegeta was blushing! That Vegeta! I wanted to shout, “Spare me!” Then, I don’t know why, Kakarot blushed too. So Vegeta and Kakarot had a big meeting, all red-faced, in a slightly tense atmosphere. You can’t imagine how many times I shouted inside: “Dear readers, give me streeeeength!” …
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 51
QUESTION FROM MR. SAKURA SAMURAI, CHIBA PROVINCE
I’m writing to you for the first time, Sorachi sensei! Gin-san belongs to the category of people who immediately throw away a Jump magazine after reading it? Or is he in the other category, that is, those who throw it away only after accumulating a few copies?
By the way, I’m with those who follow the work in monographic volumes.
ANSWER:
It is Shinpachi who throws away copies of the magazine after accumulating so many. And he doesn’t collect monographic volumes, by the way. Kagura only has a few for studying Japanese. Zenzou, on the other hand, keeps all the copies of Jump he has ever purchased in a special archive… but his father has sold most of them.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 52
QUESTION FROM MR. SAMURAI MAYORA & SWEET TOOTH OF HYOGO PROVINCE
Sacchan is an assassin, right? It is said that she was part of the Shogunate’s spies, but how strong is she realy? Also I want to ask her if “realy” is spelled that way?
ANSWER:
No, that’s wrong.
And, in fact, Sacchan is really strong.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 53
QUESTION FROM MR. ORANGE, KAGAWA PROVINCE
I’m writing to you for the first time, Sorachi sensei! I’ll come straight to the point. I have a question: in Gintama, are there no foreigners? In the manga world, are earthlings only Japanese? Let me know!
ANSWER:
There are, there are. It’s just that Edo is the only place where there’s such a large terminal, so there’s flourishing trade with the Amanto and it’s more developed than anywhere else. Consider it the gateway to Earth.
That said, the special “Farewell to Bachelor Onishi” ends here, although we still don’t know how it will end since there was no ceremony. Until the last moment, you don’t know how the relationship between a man and a woman evolves! It is very common for the bride to run away on her wedding day… In fact, I hope so! That would be fun. I hope she runs away at full speed, even though they loved each other so much. By the way, about the umbrella thing, if the situation were to escalate into sentences like “Hey, what’s with the pink umbrella?! It’s not mine!”, what will they do?! Rather… I was the one who told it, and in any case I really saw it, but it’s none of my business! Until the next volume!
Title: “To a woman who asks you what is most important”
Thank you for purchasing the 16th volume! The other day I attended a drink organized by the Gintama anime staff. I talked to various people, the voice actors, etc… and realized one thing again: “Ooh, I’m bad, it’s like I’m harassing people!”. Above all, this was obvious to the female voice actors, who have to work so hard. Although I felt sorry for them, since I’m a shy person, I couldn’t honestly express how I felt. A first-class shy person like me always ends up saying the opposite of what he thinks, such as: “So? In the world of voice actors, you do naughty stuff with each other, like titillating your nipples or something, don’t you? “We don’t do that!” … “Well, I guess in the studio you sometimes run into someone you’ve done the nasty with in the past, huh?”
And in the taxi, on the way home, I was admonished by my editor: “What the hell do you say to someone you’re seeing for the first time! Stop acting like that!”. So, looking at the passing night view, I thought, “Damn it! No one understands me!” but I started to feel sick and was almost between life and death. When I got home I put my face in the toilet to throw up, but a completely different substance came out of my bottom… Here’s a night of my twenty-seven years.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 47
QUESTION FROM MR. SAMURAI MARINE SILVER OF OSAKA PROVINCE
Good morning, Sorachi sensei!
I have a question for you.
Gin-san always reads Jump. Which comic book does he like best? Let me know!
ANSWER:
GINNIKUMAN*
*Parody of Kinnikuman, literally “Muscle Man”.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 48
QUESTION FROM MR. “MOM, WOULD A FRIED EGG BE GOOD WITH SOY SAUCE?”
Between Kondo, Hijikata and Okita, who’s stronger? Hijikata beat Okita, and Kondo beat Tojo, right?
Let me know!
ANSWER
Unless there’s an obvious difference, strength is an unstable factor that can easily change depending on the situation or state of mind you’re in. This is how I see it. Only those who are able to display constant power, without letting themselves be disturbed by anything, are to be considered truly strong. But at a very high level, sometimes the outcome of a challenge is determined by a very narrow gap between the two challengers. Therefore, I cannot say who is stronger. However, for pure swordplay, Okita is the most skilled.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 49
QUESTION FROM MR LASAGNA, KOCHI PROVINCE
I want to be a mangaka. Once you succeed, do you have to go to Tokyo? If possible (if I ever become one), I’d prefer to stay in Kochi Province, at most on Shikoku Island…
ANSWER:
You can live anywhere! There are mangaka who draw their works for girls in the provinces, in Hokkaido for example… Well, maybe because they publish in a monthly magazine it makes it easier for them, but I’ve also heard of authors from the provinces drawing for the weekly Jump. However, I think it’s hard to do something like that if you can’t manage the work schedule yourself. For a wimp like me, who doesn’t meet deadlines, it would be impossible.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 50
QUESTION FROM MR FUJII OF AICHI PROVINCE
Good morning, Sorachi sensei, and thank you for your work!
Well, I bought Gintama volume 15. Since I noticed something that doesn’t leave me indifferent, I decided to write you this letter. Perhaps many people have pointed out the same thing to you. In the Question Corner (42), you wrote that Masuo has taken on his wife’s surname, but if you mean the husband of the famous Sazae, he hasn’t taken on his wife’s surname at all.
His full name is Masuo Fuguta, and Sazae is called Sazae Fuguta (her maiden name is Isono). Since I’m a fan of the author Machiko Hasegawa, so much so that I’ve collected all the volumes of Sazae-san published by Shimaisha, I wanted to have a word with you…
ANSWER:
Sorry! I was completely wrong! He simply lives under the same roof as his wife’s parents. I really apologize for creating this confusion, but it seems that there are many people who are victims of the same misunderstanding as me.
I wish the Isono family all possible happiness!
So, this is how the 16th volume ends. In this issue I wanted to say more than anything else that it’s not good to drink too much, because both the head and the ass relax. But for a shy person this also happens: you feel tense when you talk to someone for the first time → you drink to hide this feeling → you poop yourself. So you have to choose one of two possibilities: feeling tense or shitting your pants….
Remember, as adults, make the right choice!
What I have thrown away is not only a pair of pants…
QUESTION FROM MR. “CATHERINE’S CAT EARS ARE TO BE CONSIDERED THE MOST EVIL AND STRONGEST WEAPON IN HISTORY” FROM KAGAWA PROVINCE
What do you want to do with Gintama? I don’t really understand it… I can’t see a goal for this manga.
ANSWER:
I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT EITHER.
Thank you for buying the 15th volume! That said, despite having published fifteen of them, I still get a postcard like this! I have the impression that it would have been better to have the protagonist say: “I will become the king of the samurai”, or something similar. I think that around volume 20 we’ll start to get a glimpse of his goal. It may be that this work doesn’t last that long, but I think it’s enough that we get a glimpse of, “Ooh! So that’s what he was aiming for?”. Please follow me until then.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 42
QUESTION FROM MR. M.A.D.A.O. (I LIKE OKITA A LOT, REALLY), FROM OSAKA PROVINCE
I have a question for you, Sorachi sensei! In the 87th lesson, in volume 11, at the entrance of the house where Hatsu now lives, there was a plaque with the surname “Hasegawa”. But Hatsu left home, right?
Or did Madao take on Hatsu’s parents’ surname? I don’t really understand the situation, explain it to me!
ANSWER:
Hasegawa took on his wife’s surname, like Masuo from Sazae-san. He was born into an unimportant family, but he managed to win the heart of the Hasegawa family’s daughter, who was directly employed by the Shogunate. So he married a woman of higher social standing than himself and began a brilliant career, rising to the top of the immigration office. However, since he has taken on his wife’s surname, his position in the family is the weakest. It seems that his typical M.A.D.A.O. character developed in this context, and “Madao”, his nickname, is similar to “Masuo”.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 43
QUESTION FROM MR. JAWA 100%, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
Why did you decide to have the stupid prince appear (on a cover)? And on volume 14, Kyuubei… When will Yamazaki appear?
ANSWER:
Yamazaki will never appear on any cover. He is the way he is, his modesty prevents him from doing so. Otherwise he wouldn’t be Yamazaki anymore! That’s how I see it. Secretly, he stands next to you and starts doing something silently… That’s how he is. When you remember the past and think “That time we had so much fun! Who did we go with?”, “Well… Takahashi, Sato, me… and there was another one… who was it?” … It’s Yamazaki. He’s comparable to that green decoration in the shape of a jagged leaf found in the package of a ready-to-eat meal; the typical man who only looks better than usual at the graduation ceremony; a work glove dropped near the feet of a guy who, despite insisting on running a marathon together, suddenly sped up just before the finish line. Everyone always has Yamazaki in their hearts. Even if he never appears on a cover, he is still everywhere… Look, even next to you…!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 44
QUESTION BY MR STTa, FROM THE PROVINCE OF AICHI
I have a question.
Shinpachi, with those glasses, gives the impression of being incapable and overly critical, but he’s quite strong, not least because his family runs a dojo… How strong is he really?
ANSWER:
Shinpachi is quite strong. Because he’s surrounded by monstrous characters, he doesn’t stand out as much as he should, but his strength is three times that of Kosuke, who was the ringleader a year older than me in junior high. I’d say he’s pretty strong. If there were three Kosukes, honestly no one could stop them. He’s not a frivolous man at all. Even though he’s a Yankee, that is, a delinquent, when he rides a bicycle, he always keeps his back straight… Kosuke isn’t a frivolous man at all.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 45
QUESTION FROM A PERSON WHO WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS
Teach me how to draw the faces of the Yorozuya members!
ANSWER:
Since I explained how to do it for Gin-san, I’ll tell you how to draw Shinpachi and Kagura.
All the characters are based on Shinpachi. If you learn to do him, you’ll be able to draw the others too! Come on, give yourselves to Shinpachi!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 46
QUESTION FROM MR. KOBAYASHI OF CHIBA PROVINCE
For the next episode’s commercial placed in Jump magazine… for example, the swimming style invented by Gin-san, his debut as a rapper, etc… For these commercials, I was saying, which I’m not indifferent to, are you pulling the strings behind them, Sorachi sensei? And what does it mean to make them?
ANSWER:
It’s Onishi the chimpanzee, my editor, who writes the commercials by imagining the plot on his own. Gintama changes its story drastically every episode, and I often draw a completely different story from the one I created after consulting with my editor. That’s why it’s difficult to predict what will happen, and you have to resign yourself to it. Well, it’s only natural that he does that, but when he writes that “The next episode will feature the Kabukicho district marathon race” while I’m drawing something very serious, I get nervous!
Title: “If four people work together, you have more ideas”
Thank you for purchasing the 14th volume! There’s a legend in Jump magazine that when you’re over thirty, it’s hard to keep up a weekly serial publication! But I started having problems before that age… until now, even though I know it’s hard, somewhere in my heart I’ve always had an unfounded self-confidence and thought: “I won’t have any problems”, “I’ll be able to do as many all-nighters as I want”, “I’ll always meet my deadlines”, “I’ll never die”, “I’m a phoenix”, etc… But maybe now I’m starting to pay for the fact that I’ve overworked myself… I suddenly caught a cold in the summer and infected all the members of my staff and I might not be able to complete the boards! While cackling while watching the World Cup, after passing the fatal moment of the deadline, I got palpitations and almost died. When I came out, I realized that I was wearing my polo shirt inside out and I thought of putting it behind the building where I live, but just when I was naked, a neighbour saw me and she almost called the police! In short, unusual things happen to me which make me realize that I’m not young anymore and that I’ve reached a certain age… I used to never have a nipple uncovered while I now have a polo shirt. Trying to blame everything on the polo shirt in this way is also typical of middle-aged men! Even this way of expressing myself, ‘It’s typical of…’, is very typical of a middle-aged man!
Q1: What was your first encounter with video games?
When I was in kindergarten, my father bought a Famicom. At the time, because I was naughty, I had broken my arm, but because I wanted to play it so badly, I held the controller on the floor and operated the directional cross with the thumb of my left foot and the A and B buttons with my right hand. In short, I played the game using these… unusual techniques. When I did this at my friends’ houses, they hated me, but being a brat, I didn’t care.
Q2: What were the first three games you got into?
3. Fire Emblem
2. Megami Tensei series
1. Zill O’ll
Q3: What was the first video game you ever bought?
Ice Climber. It’s a video game where a mountaineer climbs an icy mountain.
Q4: How many software do you own?
A lot. But because I’m busy, I never play them.
Q5: What do you care about when buying a video game?
I like protagonists who are quiet and don’t talk too much, who don’t talk out of turn and who only say “yes/no”.
Q6: Tell us about a video game you like.
I like all the Dragon Quests, but especially Dragon Quest 5. I got so into it that I was able to challenge Satan with a copper sword to defend Bianca. Then one day I found that the hero Hideaki’s adventure book had been changed to the hero Hideo’s, and that my bride had been changed to a woman called Flora that I didn’t know, so I ended up fighting with Hideo (my father). This memory makes me want to die…
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 40
QUESTION FROM MR. WIND MATASABURO OF SHIMANE PROVINCE
Good morning, Sorachi sensei! I’ve been worried about something for a long time… Why did you become a mangaka? Please give me a good answer!
ANSWER:
Both movies and manga and anime always have an ending. So, although I feel empathy for the protagonists, I suddenly feel abandoned. I hate that sad feeling, and I feel like shouting, “Wait a minute! Take me to the other world too!” … Just hearing this part of the speech would make me sound like a crazy person, but I really do feel that way, especially about Laputa. It makes me want to smash the TV set and yell, “Don’t finish, Friday Road Show*!”. This situation is so painful that I have no choice but to create the works myself… That’s what I thought. I got into this world because I’d rather be on the side of abandoning readers than being left alone.
Sorry if the answer is a bit awkward and far from beautiful!
*Television program where movies are shown.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER
OPINION BY MR. SAMURAI MAYORA, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
Sorachi sensei!
I’m a big fan of Kagura’s voice actress in the anime, but it gets awkward if the woman I like is always talking about obscenities like “the dick” (well… it’s kinda arousing too), so please refrain as much as possible from making her say obscene things. (Well, it’s kind of arousing… Huh? Is this the second time I’ve said that?)
ANSWER:
I beg your pardon, Mr. Samurai Mayora and Mrs. Kugimiya! Well, I was blasting out dirty jokes in the magazine as if I wanted to say to the anime staff, “I want to see if you can stick them in the anime!”. So they moved it from prime time to a different slot. Given the time when this decision was made, I thought it was my fault, but apparently not. Well… I don’t know the details… Maybe it wasn’t, maybe what I did had nothing to do with it… maybe.
Title: “Yesterday’s enemy, for one thing or another, remains an enemy even today”
Thank you for buying the 13th volume of Gintama! Having reached thirteen, as an inauspicious number, lately… or rather, since the work has been transposed into anime, I come across many enemies. Even among the letters sent by fans I find comments like: “You have no taste in clothes, sensei! Take Tutor Hitman Reborn as an example! And D. Gray Man!” Or: “I hate you, sensei, but I like Gintama!”. So, I don’t know if I should be happy or not… Someone even raised a suspicion of plagiarism writing: “You are a mean mangaka, you must die!”. I’d like to say, “Wait a minute! I may die, but you don’t have the slightest intention of trusting me?”. It’s true that when I was a kid, I stole an arm of the Goggle Five robot from my friend’s house, the one with the rocket punch that can be thrown, but that friend stole it back from me, and a few years later he even apologized! I even lectured him: ‘Don’t ever do anything like that again!’
Having said that, the suspicion of plagiarism has strengthened, and I have many enemies… Well, it is normal to be faced with such animosity, and I would be inclined to welcome this hostility with gentleness, but lately I perceive a great malice also from the editorial staff, which should instead suffocate me with gentleness…
This is the continuation of the speech about the editorial staff who seem to have a murderous instinct towards me. The other day I had the opportunity to be on the jury of the monthly “Twelve Masterpieces” award. As you know, despite the fact that I am overconfident and very proud, I have a strong inferiority complex. To put it bluntly, I am as dangerous as performing a clumsy tap dance on a pyramid of playing cards. So I scrutinise the works with fear, asking myself, “Huh? Can I really do this? Of course I try my best, but there are details that I find difficult to comment on. I could never criticize others by making myself look good, for example, about the drawings… But, being a professional, I examine works severely and without hesitation! In short, I thought I would write a vague comment, without going into too much detail, believing that even the members of the editorial staff would understand my intentions, but they have as many as follows:
“It is a pity that many people do not take the readers into consideration. Especially when the drawings are sloppy, the work is at a disadvantage, even if it has an interesting story. If one is clumsy in drawing, correcting the black parts outside the outline with whitewash, or doing careful work on the backgrounds, the overall impression changes a lot. Try to make a work with the readers’ existence in mind!”
This comment refers to me, I know! What?! It is the taboo comment to me! Or you, members of the editorial staff, should understand the atmosphere I breathe! I thought I could get away without commenting on the details! You have to think about the position of Sorachi sensei, who tries to put on airs like this: “The work of someone who has managed to draw what he wants is always entertaining!”. By now, the playing cards have collapsed like a rock, and the tap dancing that I pride myself on is a simple scraping in the air with my feet… it’s like falling to the bottom of the valley, dancing.
Having said that, I can’t help but think that there was a certain amount of malice on the part of the editorial staff in the selection of the “Twelve Masterpieces” award… Pretending to criticize aspiring mangaka, they bombarded me with precise targeting. Faced with such an attitude, it’s as if they’d taken me up to a Shinto altar and thrown me down, shouting “Die, Sorachi!” It’s natural for me to lose faith in people! So in the midst of all these enemies, I only have family on my side, the last lifeline. And I called it. My mother says to me: “Lately you’ve been resorting to too much dirty jokes, don’t you think? When you don’t have a good idea, you always overdo it… That’s what Mr Onishi says!” What the hell does that man want? (My editor, Onishi, met my parents at the “Jump Festa” organized in Hokkaido). My family members are so serious that just seeing a slightly erotic scene in a movie makes them all stiffen up! So I asked him not to talk about certain topics… Don’t you think his behaviour was terrible? How can he compensate me for this unpleasant feeling I have in front of my mother? Well, I felt a certain irritation at her words (because I find it harder to write), so I replied: ‘Even filthy jokes are ideas to be respected. As long as they are funny! I’ll stop sending you money, damn you!”, to which she replied, “Ooh… you’ve changed…”. Eh…? She goes too far, as if she meant “Hideaki has changed since he went to Tokyo” … How bitter…!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 37
QUESTION FROM MR. “I WANT TO EAT GIN-CHAN’S HANDMADE CAKES” FROM MIYAZAKI PROVINCE
I have a question for Sorachi sensei. Zura… is he actually a dirtbag? I’m asking because although his hair was cut off in the Benizakura saga, it grew out a lot in “103rd Lesson”. Or does he really wear a wig? I really care about this fact, so answer my question if you don’t mind.
ANSWER:
From the Benizakura saga to the “103rd lesson”, in the monographic volume, very little time seems to have passed, but you have to consider that a few months have actually passed. Anyway, Zura is a dirty man. In fact, all men are dirty.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 38
QUESTION FROM MS HANAKO MOTOKI, TOYAMA PROVINCE
Who prepares the dishes served at the table in the Yorozuya? Is there anyone among the three who can cook properly?
ANSWER:
They take turns cooking. Shinpachi lives with his older sister, but because she is the way she is, he had to learn to cook to survive. Gin-san is also skilled despite his appearance. Whereas Kagura mostly makes rice with a raw egg and soy sauce… or with various dry seasonings.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 39
QUESTION FROM MS. SARA, CHIBA PROVINCE
What is the difference between “Patriots promoting the campaign against foreigners” and “Masterless samurai promoting the campaign against foreigners”? Let me know, Sorachi sensei!
ANSWER:
Basically, they are the same. The patriots are the people who want to expel foreigners. Among them were many masterless samurai who acted freely by leaving their fiefdom (a kind of village). That is why they were called that.
By the way, in the world of Gintama, fiefs have already been abolished, so there are no feudal lords, only the Tokugawa shogun. To make a long story short, men like the Shinsengumi, who serve the shogun’s family and the shogunate, from whom they get their salary, are officially called samurai, while others like Gin-san, Katsura, etc., who have no master and carry a sword without permission, are considered masterless samurai.
So, that’s how volume 13 ends… I’ve written a number of things, but all in all I wanted to say that having three months at my disposal is nice because I can accumulate so many ideas and so I’d like them to publish a volume every three months from now on! As if to say… since I have revealed the truth in all honesty, I find it difficult to be a member of the jury of the “Twelve Masterpieces” award. I’m so ashamed that I’m afraid I can’t do it. This is because, if I and the editorial team were to make a comment that did not refer to the drawings at all, after writing the background, you readers would think: “Damn! These are sickening!”. Rather, is it better to criticize the drawings severely? Or rather, to comment only on the drawings? But how concerned am I with people’s criticism? How delicate am I?
I turned 27 the other day! Try not to become an adult like me! See you in the next volume! Goodbye!
New topic: “If you’re not delicate, you can’t draw comics. Mangaka are all annoying types”.
Thank you for purchasing the 12th volume of Gintama! For those of you who will have this volume in your hands on release day in Japan: tune in to the channel that shows the Sakata family, not the Ito family*… the anime starts today!
The other day I went to peek at the production (I wanted to watch the voice actors work), but my editor got the time wrong, so when I got to the studio I only found Katoken** singing KatokenSamba. Despite not seeing anything, I irresponsibly greeted everyone by saying, “Well, your voices are just right for the characters!”.
Anyway, I really think they’re up to their roles, even though I don’t know anything about it. Then I talked a bit with Mr. Sugita, who voices Gin-san. I’ve met him twice before, but I always got the impression that our conversation wasn’t in perfect sync. I don’t know why, but our discussions always end up with no rhyme or reason. This time too, we talked about the singer and comedian Masashi Tashiro… But why? Why did I talk about Marcy? We should have discussed the anime! Well, anyway, given the ditzy look on his face, he’ll definitely give a great performance.
I also met with the director and staff.
But we chatted about adult videos for a good 80% of the time. Even the last time we only talked about nightclubs… However, since they hide a great passion under that dirty spirit, surely some wonderful anime will come out…
Naaa, impossible!
*Variety TV show **Ken Kato, a character from Gintama.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 33
QUESTION FROM MR. “I LIKE THE FACT THAT JUST AWAY IS NOTHING BUT JUST AWAY”, FROM OSAKA PROVINCE
Sensei, about Gin-san’s wooden sword, in volume 1 he said he bought it during a school trip, but in volume 5 he gets one by mail order. The one he has at the beginning he bought during a school trip, while the others he bought by mail order… Is that so? Since I’m stupid, I can’t help thinking about a detail like that… Tell me the truth!
ANSWER:
No, he bought all the wooden swords by mail order, from the first to the last. “I bought it on a school trip” or “A hermit who lives on Lake Toya gave it to me” are all, shall we say, embellishments made by Gin-san himself. I guess for him, Lake Toya is a place full of memories…
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 34
QUESTION FROM MR. JOHNNY, FUKUSHIMA PROVINCE
I hear Mrs. Otose is agonizing over Gin-san’s (Yorozuya) rent arrears. How many months does he owe her? And how much does he pay in rent? Since I care about those two points, I took the liberty of asking you this question.
ANSWER:
The rent is sixty thousand, although the place is in Kabukicho… So it’s a fair price. Unfortunately, Yorozuya is a freelance profession, so there are times when you earn money and others when you don’t. Moreover, even if you manage to earn money, you can’t do it. On top of that, even if he manages to make some money, the cost of food for Kagura and Sadaharu is by no means negligible, so he’s always broke. Despite his appearance, he works hard, but is always two months’ rent in arrears.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 35
QUESTION FROM MR. LIKELY INHABITANT OF THE PLANET OF SADISTS, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
Sorachi sensei, don’t you sometimes regret what you draw in Gintama?
ANSWER:
Every time I get a letter like this.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 36
QUESTION FROM MR. KUDO OF AOMORI PROVINCE
In “The 58th Night,” Lavi shouts, “We’re at war, there’s nothing we can do!” and it looks like his eyes are filled with tears. Is it just me? I don’t think so. Answer me as a real man should, without running away!
ANSWER:
Lavi was definitely crying… Well, he must have suffered for various reasons too, and he’s desperately trying to convince himself that there’s nothing to be done, because they’re at war, but deep down… I imagine he’s in a situation like that. Anyway, since I’m not Lavi, I can’t give more details… Also, this manga is not D. Gray Man! The addressee says “D. Gray Man-interview room”, and it seems that by some mistake this postcard was sent to me… don’t worry, Mr. Kudo… I’ll make sure it’s sent to the correct address!
I’m sure you don’t read Gintama, so you can’t imagine that your question was posted in one like this, right?
So, we’ll leave it at that for now. Before I started the serial publication of this work, when I was still at my parents’ house, a long hair sprouted on my back. Since it was making an impression on me, I tried to pull it out, but my mother said: “It’s good luck, don’t do that!”, so I left it where it was. The other day I looked at my back, after a long time, and found it covered with hair! Is that back hair? It’s making me sick, Mum! Huh? Does that mean I won’t have any problems? Will I die when Gintama ends? Since I still have so much time ahead of me, I’d like to, say… spread my luck evenly. But the hairs on my back are already going at full speed! It’s as if I’m in this situation: before the marathon they tell me we’re going to run together, but once the race starts the hairs take off with all their might and I shout: “Hey, wait a minute! At this rate, you’ll collapse from exhaustion halfway through the race!” … Under the circumstances, all I can do is slow down. But when I cross the finish line last, if you greet me with warm applause and shouts of “What a fool! He ended up like that because he’s been going at full speed since the beginning! I was moved by it anyway!”, I will be grateful. So, from now on, we’ll be running together”!
Thank you for purchasing the 11th volume! Having said that, thanks to the support you’ve given me, it’s been happily decided to adapt the manga into an anime for the TV this spring!
HOORAAAAAY!
To tell you the truth, I’ve known about this decision for a long time, and I apologize for hiding it until now for “adult” reasons. As if to say… since it’s Gintama there are many elements that will have to be censored, so it looks like they’re going to have a hard time… When I said that the work would also fit a suspension for criticism from the PTA, I was severely reprimanded by everyone. Well, it’s up to the TV people to think about these things, I’ll continue to write the jokes without paying too much attention to them, as I have done until now! In fact, I’m going to make up jokes so bad that the voice actors will have to report me for sexual harassment…! Well, I’m giving them too much weight… I’d like to point out that you should never stop buying the volumes because you only watch the anime with the excuse that the drawings are better!
We’ve had fun together so far, right? It’s true that I only received complaints about volume three, but that’s all in the past! By overcoming friction, we’ve strengthened our bond! So… ah, geez! There’s no more room to write!
CORNER “SINCE IT’S A HASSLE, MAKE UP YOUR OWN AMANTOS!” (1)
CORNER “SINCE IT’S A HASSLE, MAKE UP YOUR OWN AMANTOS!” (2)
Since I have already presented Noriko Mahha, having accumulated quite a few, I think I will be publishing many excellent works from now on. Speaking of which, maybe I’ll have the characters I’ve introduced here appear in the magazine as well. Maybe appearances… it will be fun to look for them!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 30
QUESTION FROM MR. FLYING DOG, KYOTO PROVINCE
Hello! I’m a young man of sixteen and I like this manga as much as Kinnikuman. I’m suddenly asking you this question: how did you become a mangaka? Did you have to go to a school? Tell that to an aspiring sixteen-year-old mangaka like me!
ANSWER:
When I was a kid I used to lose myself in fantasies, having fun drawing comic strips secretly in an exercise book, but when I was in the 4th grade, my father read them, laughed at me, and so I gave up my dream (what a lousy father, eh?). Then I changed my dream: architect, copywriter, seitai expert… but even after graduating I couldn’t find a job, so, dejected, I took refuge in the world of comics and, fortunately, I won a prize! By the way, at university I studied advertising, which has nothing to do with it.
Since being teased by my father was traumatic, I didn’t say anything to my parents or friends. If you think you have to go to school or things that are too formal, you don’t enjoy making comics anymore. Anyone can draw anywhere, if they just have a pen and paper… this is a comic book! I think that drawing while having fun, without getting too caught up in a stereotypical way of thinking, can be useful! Get busy!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 31
QUESTION FROM MR. “BECAUSE I ATE TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE, I GOT A NOSEBLEED, I’VE GAINED 2.5 KG, I WANT TO CHANGE MY GLASSES, AND THEY MAY THROW AWAY ALL MY JUMP NUMBERS. HELP ME, MAYBE I’M CONTRACTING A DISEASE CAUSED BY BAD HABITS”, FROM KAGOSHIMA PROVINCE
In the 51st Lesson of Volume 7, Yamazaki said, “…EVEN IF OUR DIRECTOR AND COMMANDER OKITA SEEMED TO BE STIMULATING YOU.” But did Okita become commander?
ANSWER:
Under the vice chief, there are ten teams. Each squad is headed by a commander. Okita is the commander of squad 1. In short, he’s the commander of an assault squad.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 32
QUESTION FROM MISS “THE GIRL WHO ADORES OTAE AND WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO HAVE A YOUNGER BROTHER LIKE SHINPACHI”.
The other day, as soon as I got home, my father said radiantly, “I was wandering around the comic book section in a bookstore, and a guy I don’t know asked me, ‘Are you Sorachi sensei?’ I refused to give him an autograph. But who is this guy?”
So, I have a question for you, sensei! Have you ever thought about how the family members of a person who is mistaken for you might feel?
ANSWER:
Ooh! It happened to him because I once wrote that I’m always wandering around bookstores… I apologize.
Because my father insisted on asking me: “Listen, what’s he like? What does Sorachi sensei look like?” my younger brother showed him a picture of Konomi sensei and said, “There he is!” So I have a question! Have you ever thought about how Konomi sensei might feel about being passed off as you?
ANSWER:
Sensei, I apologize if someone’s younger brother acted the way he did!
Since my father seemed very happy with the photo he saw, he will surely also say to his colleagues, “Well, I’ve been mistaken for Sorachi sensei!”. So, I have a question for you! Have you ever thought about how my father would feel if he ever found out the truth?
ANSWER:
I DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR FATHER!
As you’ve seen, volume eleven, the hemorrhoid special… ends here. Despite an auspicious event, such as the anime adaptation of the opera, those damn hemorrhoids finally started grinding their teeth. May I ask the readers to let me know how to defeat them, Mr. Onishi? …Is that not okay? Is it too private a matter? Can I give them autographs made from blood? Can’t I? I thought so, but the condition of my haemorrhoids got worse because of you, because you made me work on New Year’s Eve without a day off, forcing me to use my anus too much! I don’t know if you were reading Nana on your way back to your parents’ house, but while you were reading Nana, my “ana” got so bad! I feel great anger! Damn you! Yeah, you readers are the only ones who support me by always sending me nice letters. Even if my “ana” is in pieces, keep following Gintama!
New topic: “Ana”.
Send in, questions, illustrations, characters, etc.
Yorozuya Shinigami 