【Interview】 TatsukiFujimoto talks about Yuji Kaku Hell’s Paradise

「Hell’s Paradise」 has been attracting a lot of attention for its series of sudden developments that defy readers’ expectations and boasts overwhelming popularity among the 「Shonen Jump +」 serialization team. Mr. TatsukiFujimoto, who has had a deep friendship with Mr. Yuji Kaku since the serialization of 「Fire Punch,」 shared his passionate thoughts about the unique characters that appear in the series.

Citation

スポンサーリンク

Interview TatsukiFujimoto Yuji Kaku Hell’s Paradise

-Please tell us about the characters of Hell’s Paradise .

TatsukiFujimoto　: Regarding the design of Hell’s Paradise characters, I had a lot of discussions with Mr. Kaku at the workplace of Fire Punch, and he said that he took in the opinions of those various people and solidified the image. The detailed settings, such as which character is stronger, have changed since the beginning, but the design remained the same as we had discussed at that time. Also, Mr. Kaku and I often talked about the fact that today’s readers don’t properly read long explanations about the backgrounds of the characters in between the stories. So Mr. Kaku told me that in order to keep the story moving at a good pace, it would be better if the reader could understand the background of the characters and other explanations by Just leaving them in place. I think that kind of thing was done very well in 「Hell’s Paradise.」

Editor in Charge (Rin): There were very many people talking about manga at that workplace (Fire Punch).

TatsukiFujimoto –What is the most impressive part of the way Mr. Yuji Kaku draws his characters?

TatsukiFujimoto: What is impressive in the manga 「Hell’s Paradise」 is the way he draws the characters with shading. It is difficult for me to explain, but when I try to depict the emotions of the characters, if I put too many facial expressions on their faces, it gives a noisy impression. But if I put shading on a character, it doesn’t make the character look too loud. I think the 「Hell’s Paradise」 has a very pleasing drawing style in this area. Also, this is not about the characters, but there is a scene that I thought, 「Oh, Mr. Kaku is going to show the readers that way」.The Xians in the manga have sexual practice (Taoist sexual practices) as their training, right? If that is the case, I thought that their home base would be a 「night pool-like place」 in the modern sense. Of course, it is not realistic to have a night pool in the world of the 「Hell’s Paradise」 , but it would be more realistic to depict it that way. For example, if the place were a dimly lit cave, it would be difficult to have sexual intercourse, and the atmosphere would not be conducive to such an act. But if it were a night pool, I think it would be a more realistic setting. I think Mr. Kaku probably dislikes places like night pools in the real world and drew them as places where hermits, the villains, thrive (laugh).

「Hell’s Paradise」-What is your impression of the main character, Gabimaru?

TatsukiFujimoto : When I read his serials, I sometimes feel that the main character, Gabimaru, is like Mr. Kaku sensei. The main character is portrayed as a ruthless character in the beginning of the story, but as the story progresses, his kindness becomes more and more apparent, and it grows bigger and bigger. In the manga, you also point out that the impression of the character is quite different. Mr. Kaku himself seems to be a normal person, but if Ｉ dig deeper into his Talk , Iwill find that he likes 「abnormal things」 (laugh). I felt that this unexpectedness of his was very Gabimaru-like. However, I believe that the main character of a manga should resemble the author. The main character has the most scenes in a work, so it is easier to draw the main character’s feelings as they are based on the author’s feelings. If I try to force a character to have feelings that are different from my own, the manga will not continue, so I think it is better for the author and the main character to be similar.

TatsukiFujimoto –what is your favorite character in 「Hell’s Paradise」?

TatsukiFujimoto : I especially like Sagiri. When I saw her, I thought, Mr. Kaku is intentionally drawing my favorite character! (laugh). Like Sagiri, all the women he draw are designed on the premise that they are all cute. Men come in all sizes, some are cool, some are creepy, and some are burly, but all women are cute. He has a reason for this, too. In fact, in the “Fire Punch,” when I was trying to draw women who were not to my liking, Mr. Kaku told me, 「You don’t have to do that. All the girls should be cute!」 In the end I ended up drawing a woman I didn’t like in my manga, but after she appeared, she became more and more the character I preferred (laugh). I think it is better to include my favorite elements in female characters, so in my 「Chainsaw Man,」I try to draw girls who are 「all cute」 (laugh).

– TatsukiFujimoto –what is your impression of the monsters in 「Hell’s Paradise」?

TatsukiFujimoto : When I create creepy designs, I need some kind of like energy. I know this because I studied art at university, but when I take the time to create a 「very beautiful object,」 it comes out as somewhat creepy. While working on the work, it becomes impossible to objectify it, and the neck gets longer, the ears get bigger, etc., and although there is beauty in the work, it gives the impression of being somewhat unpleasant. In 「Hell’s Paradise,」 there are many creatures that express the strangeness common to such beautiful creations. For example, a hermit transforms into a flower-like form, but the face is on the petal part of the flower, and furthermore, it is turned inside out, but I feel 「ah, i feel sick」. I think it is cool, but if ordinary people saw it, it would be creepy.

Also, many of the monsters in 「Hell’s Paradise」 are creatures that look like they could be from the games 「Siren」 or 「Silent Hill,」 but Mr. Kaku doesn’t play games, so I felt that he didn’t get his inspiration from there. When I saw the 「kigo」 (a small scaly stem formed by the enlargement of a bud at the lower part of a stem, such as a part of a lily), I thought that he might have been influenced by such an unusual work of art that uses tree branches and trunks to represent humans.

Which 「Hell’s Paradise」 character would TatsukiFujimoto most like to draw?

Mr. Fujimoto will be drawing the characters for 「Hell’s Paradise」 this time, which character will you be drawing

TatsukiFujimoto :My favorite character is definitely Gabimaru, but the character I would like to draw myself is Sagiri. Also, I have never drawn a character wearing a hakama like that, so it would be fun to draw her.

Hell’s Paradise 「Sagiri」　by TatsukiFujimoto

Click on the image to go to youtube.　↓　Tatsuki Fujimoto’s drawings

chainsaw man.　(World’s largest number of translations)

animePage

English Page