【Interview】 Chainsaw Man Editor in Charge Talks about Tatsuki Fujimoto

Rin shihei met 17-year-old Tatsuki Fujimoto who was submitting his manga works to Shueisha‘s 「JUMP SQ.」 and since then, the manga editor in charge of his manga, he has been working with and supporting Fujimoto for about 10 years. In this interview, we interviewed Mr. Rin to find out who this mysterious man, Tatsuki Fujimoto, really is!

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Interview Rin shihei talks about Tatsuki Fujimoto

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Shonen Jump + (Plus)　 Editorial Department　「Rin shihei」
In addition to 「Chainsaw Man,」 he is currently in charge of 「SPY x FAMILY,」 「HEART GEAR,」 「DAN DADAN,」 and 「Kami no mani mani」. Manga works he has been involved with as an editor in the past include 「Blue Exorcist,」 「Hell’s Paradise,」 and 「Kemono Jihen」.

Tatsuki Fujimoto ‘s manga has a unique development and dialogue that moves forward while avoiding the 「predictable」

-What was your impression of Fujimoto’s work when you first saw it?

His first submission, 「There Were Two Chickens in the Garden,」 was published in the short story manga collection 「17-21」. When I saw this work for the first time, I thought he was a 17-year-old boy who thought of strange things. He was a high school student living in Akita at the time, so I called him and started communicating with him as 「his editor」. I remember hearing that he had been accepted to an art university and would be going on to higher education, and we had a conversation about working together to create works in parallel with his student life.

-What kind of communication did you have with him after that?

At first, his drawings were not stable, and I told him that it was one issue, so we talked about drawing a lot and developing his drawing skills from now on. During the 「Fire Punch」 period, we exchanged various ideas, thoughts on that” and opinions with him. When he was serializing his 「Chainsaw Man,」 he had done a lot of research on past masterpieces of manga, such as the motivation of the Main character and the goal of the story, for publication in 「Weekly Shonen Jump」. Now I feel like I’m done talking with him about all the direct techniques for drawing manga, and I’m helping him incorporate the values that come before that. I tell him novels, documentaries, and news that I find interesting, and together we decipher the atmosphere of the times through these senses. In addition, of course, I think that Mr. Fujimoto himself absorbs a lot of information.

-What do you feel is unique about Tatsuki Fujimoto as you have worked with his over the past 10 years?

When I first became his assigned editor, his creative speed was faster than that of other new artists, and I thought it was wonderful that he was trying to draw many works. Also, he has a lot of things he wants to do, but he doesn’t stick to his ideas too much, and if they don’t work, he switches and moves on. He is also the type of person who does not think it is very interesting when the story progresses as predicted by the viewers of his manga.

When I read his storyboards and say, If it were normal, this is what would happen, he starts the discussion of the story from that part of the story, saying, Well, then. When I received his storyboard the day after my meeting with him, I sometimes thought that he had thrown the ball from a completely different direction. But in the end, I felt that he valued my first-reading impression of the story, that the story came to be the way it is now because of what we discussed in our meeting yesterday.

-That is how Tatsuki Fujimoto ‘s unique manga expression is born, isn’t it?

I think so. I think that the unparalleled flow of the story and the sharpness of the dialogue, created through Fujimoto’s sensibility, is a major attraction that attracts many readers.

Tatsuki Fujimoto is full of things he wants to do and enjoys painting.

-Rin, what is your favorite scene or expression in Fujimoto’s manga?

I like the way of expression in Fujimoto’s manga using and trying to play with the panel layout. In the first fight scene in the 「Chainsaw Man,」 the panels are separated, but the arms appear to be connected for dramatic effect.

The powerful spread of the manga is a masterpiece, with Chainsaw Man cutting his way through his enemies with overwhelming strength, regardless of the situation. (page 48-49 of 「Chainsaw Man」 vol. 1)

Other examples include the cursed demon flicking Aki’s sword out of the frame of the manga, or replacing the window frame with 「a scene」 as is. Fujimoto’s work is truly manga-like in a way that is not possible in video or animation, and his expression, which I have not seen in many other works, is wonderful.

A bold expression that gives the sense of a cursed demon exerting its power from out of this world. (The Chainsaw Man, vol. 3, p. 150)

The point of view is from the outside, looking into the room through the window, in an ingenious way to step back and view the characters objectively. (“Chainsaw Man,” vol. 7, p. 121)

The meta story of Agni, the main character in the 「Fire Punch,」 being made up to be the main character in the story that 「Togata」 came up with was also a result of a last minute meeting with him, where we talked about how interesting it would be to cross the framework and lines of the work, and I think that is how he came up with that direction.

To take his own revenge, he declares that he will be the hero of Togata’s movie. (Fire Punch, vol. 2, pp. 104-105)

Last Interview What you enjoyed about being Tatsuki Fujimoto ‘s editor

-Mr. Rin, what did you enjoy or feel happy about while working as Mr. Fujimoto’s editor?

The schedule for a weekly manga series is really tight, but from our meetings and from Mr. Fujimoto’s storyboards and drawings, I could tell that he was enjoying drawing what he wanted to do and what he wanted to express, so communicating with him was and is “fun. Also, as a result of the many discussions I had with him while searching for what I could express in Shonen Jump, I was happy to receive immediate and enthusiastic responses from readers each time I released my work.

-I have recently heard many people say that they are eager to read Fujimoto’s manga and can’t wait for the updates of his works and the release of this magazine.

Thank you very much. On a personal note, when the manga 「Fire Punch」 was being serialized, 「Yuji Kaku,」 the author of 「Hell’s Paradise,」 and 「Yukinobu Ryu」, the author of 「Dandadan,」 both of whom I was working on at the time, joined Fire Punch as background staff and main assistants. They are still close friends today, with Mr. Fujimoto at the center. And they are all growing together through friendly competition, and I couldn’t be happier. While I recognize that they are wonderful manga artists, sometimes I feel like they are my relatives’ children (laugh).

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