So, today I bring you a recent conversation between Taiyo Matsumoto, Inio Asano and Keigo Shinzo that ran in Monthly Spirits. The first two names should be familiar to everyone, but I don’t t…
Shinzo: So, another thing I think about a lot is how far along my favorite older artists were when they were my age.
Asano: I don’t think there’s much point in thinking about that sort of thing. The fact that you admire those artists means that they’ve mastered their art — you can go back and reread them later when you’re the same age as them, but you still won’t find that you’re any closer. I used to chase after artists I admired like that, but over the years you eventually stop thinking that way.
Asano: As you go on drawing manga, there’s this stage you hit where you come to understand your skills and your tics, and it all becomes a matter of looking back and honing that stuff. Once you’re at that point, the way other people draw becomes irrelevant. I said earlier that I don’t read manga anymore, and the reason for that is because it stopped being useful to me.
Editor: Is there anyone in particular you wish you could draw like, Shinzo?
Shinzo: I’m starting to realize that that’s not a good way to look at it, and that I need to be true to my own style… but then at the same time, I just can’t quite seem to escape from Taiyo’s influence.
Asano: I imagine Taiyo himself is constantly adapting to fit whatever series he’s working on, though.
Matsumoto: I am. I used to want to make perfect manga, but after a while I figured that that wasn’t possible, so now I try to think of things in terms of the overall whole — maybe I’ll draw something really cheerful for a while, then go on to do something really dark, and hopefully it’ll all balance out well in the end.
Editor: Are you talking about more than just your artwork here?
Matsumoto: Yes, I suppose I mean everything. I didn’t even like my own manga back when I was in my twenties — I thought it was ugly. Like, I’d go to draw an airplane and it’d come out looking soft.
Asano: One might see that as artistic style, though.
Matsumoto: Well, no matter how many times you’re told that that awkwardness is actually good, it doesn’t seem good when you’re the person drawing it. Really, the only answer is to keep working on improving your technique. Looking back from where I am now, having improved my technique somewhat, my older work seems… awkward, and like I thought I had everything all figured out. With Hanaotoko and I suppose with Tekkon Kinkreet too, I was pretending like I had all the answers, you know? But now I can see that as maybe kinda cute, in a way.
Asano: How old were you when you started feeling that way?
Matsumoto: My late thirties, or maybe around 40. You almost start to see your past works as if they were made by another artist, I think.
Asano: I see — so as you get older, you start to see this young artist trying to impress people as cute?
Matsumoto: Yeah — cute. Or maybe earnest is the word.
Asano: Oh, I think I see — he comes off that way because he’s so earnest.
Matsumoto: So earnest you’re almost embarrassed for him.
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