Partial translation of an interview on Watsuki Nobuhiro, author of Rurouni Kenshin.Â
Disclaimer: The following translation is by someone who learned little Japanese from a few books and watching anime. Please proceed cautiously. Corrections are gladly welcome :)
On 2 Dec 2016, it was announced that Rurouni Kenshin â Meiji Kenkaku Romantan manga, which first serialized 17 years ago, would have a come back. It would contain Hokkaido Arc â which involves not only Kenshin and Yahiko, but also Shishio Makotoâs trusted subordinate Seta Sojiro, and the remnants of Shinsengumi. This would be a RurouKen sequel, authored by Watsuki Nobuhiro.
(tr notes: Nagakuraaaaaaaa!!! It should be safe to assume Nagakura will make an appearance right? :3)
The January issue that comes out on December includes Watsuki Nobuhiroâs Rurouni Kenshin: Ex-Con Ashitaro. After this, around April of next year Jump Square will have RurouKen Hokkaido Arc.
(tr notes: the Hokkaido arc was pushed summer 2017)
Q: So that means, by the time this interview is published, the talk about Hokkaido arc has already spread out. Then again, after all this time, why RurouKen?
WN: The truth is I had chances to look over RurouKen again and again. Specifically, the movie was a big opportunity. Honestly, I never thought it would go until three parts, because when the talk about making movie came out, I was thinking âah, it would be nice if this wonât be a losing movieâ. But old fans and new people ended up liking the movies, I was surprised.
Q: I actually have an acquaintance whose grade school daughter was a big fan of RurouKen. Itâs a work that is still actively popular.
WN: I have a manga-ka friend also whose child likes RurouKen (laugh). Thanks to the movie, generations of grandpas and grandmas watched it, fathers would take their children (to watch). It has spread out in a way that was not possible before.
Q: From our RurouKen interview with you today, it seems for Watsuki-sensei, this work is that one big work that influences in a manga-kaâs career. Afterall, you havenât written any historical manga after RurouKen.
WN: Well, I thought if I would write another historical manga, people would tell me âwhy not write more RurouKen instead?â (laughs)
Q: Which leads me to the question, why RurouKen again, after all this time? I was under the impression that you do not want write sequels to itâŠ
WN: Itâs not that I donât want to write sequels. Itâs just, for me, RurouKen has always been a wall.
WN: Because of RurouKen, I was able to continue being a manga-ka, and I was able to build a wall of stability from there. Whatever happens, this security wall would help me keep my career as manga-ka. Â However, looking at it the other way, it has been difficult to get out of that security zone. As a manga-ka there has always been the expectation of âcan I write something other than RurouKenâ. Of course, itâs nice that people are kind of looking forward to my next work, but it was still difficult.
But after seeing how the people has enjoyed the movie and the Takarazuka production, I thought, âwhy not give it another shot?â
Q: Then again, at the end of RurouKen, the doctor has advised that Kenshin cannot use Hitenmitsurugi-ryu anymore, and Kaoru gave him a shoulder tap and said ârestâ. I thought it meant that Kenshin has done everything that he could alreadyâŠ
(*Kaoru said âotsukaresamaâ, translated as ârestâ in English scanlations of the manga)
WN: No, not really. At that time, I already have the draft of the Hokkaido arc, that Iâll be doing now, in my head. But that time I cannot see the conclusion of RurouKen as a shounen manga.
RurouKen is a story of atonement. If I continued the story at that time, Kenshin is bound to die because of the sin of killing so many people. Even if he does not die, he will not lead a happy life. With those thoughts somewhere in my mind, I thought I had to end RurouKen as a shounen manga at just the right timing.
Q: So that was how it was⊠It brings a passionate imageâŠ
WN: That was the general feel, but I avoided putting it into actual drawing. Actually, if I continued writing it as a battle manga at that time, Kenshin would become like âAshita no Joeâ. I mean, he canât use Hitenmitsurugi-ryu anymore but he would still have to protect his vow of not killing. Because of that, he would end up being killed in battle. That was why I had Kaoru say, âfor the time being, restâ
Q: So Kaoruâs âfor the time beingâ has that kind of meaning tooâŠ
WN: Also, because it was Kaoru who said those words, she perfectly understood that that is what would happen to Kenshin. It was precisely because she understood that she said âfor the time beingâ.
At that time, the end of Kenshin that I was thinking was, in a way, as a man, idealistic, and cool, kind of. I mean, I like âAshita no Joeâ too. But at the very least, for Kenshin, it was not the case, I thought.
Q: What could have brought about the change in thought?
WN: When youâre in your 20s, you usually think very serious, straight forward, and intense. But as you grow older, youâd think you could chill out a bit. From there, the field of vision widens (laugh).
Now that Iâm over 40, when I looked over again at Kenshin with a third person point of view, I thought âis this really the last of it?â I kept thinking, would that âfor the time beingâ on ârestâ, really be a ârestâ or notâŠ
But for me to be able to write the future, I need the image of something that goes beyond the finale of Kenshin. In a way, a finale where Kenshin becomes happy is necessary. That was something I could not see for a while.
But after being involved in the movie and the Takarazuka productions, for about a year and a half, I had been thinking about it in the corner of my head, and now I see a path opening.
WN: Now Iâm in my 40s. I can see myself doing manga for roughly around 10 more years. After that I donât know what will happen. I might be at my strength limits. I still have a lot of ideas. But I know I might not get to write all of them. So when I think in all the ideas among my manga works, while I can still write as a manga-ka which is that that I want to write about â that is Kenshinâs Hokkaido Arc.
Q: What kind of story would it beâŠ
WN: As a hint, it was something that happened in the Takarazuka production, that much, I can tell you.
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