Wanting to make readers happy,
to make them say, “Wow!” or to make their hearts pound...
Believing whatever toll it takes on you is fine, if that's what it's for.
That's probably what it's all about, right?
You think, “I hope they find it interesting,”
or, “I hope they cry here,”
but when it comes to laughing, crying, and being moved,
to rouse those emotions is actually an extraordinarily hard task.
So really, I have to be frantic about it too, or it won't be conveyed.
The Goddess of Shoujo Manga
This is wrong, it's a bit short.
Plowing a “Path” Forward
Then this is a little bit too big.
It's because I love shoujo manga.
There's just so much inside of it, so many possibilities.
So because you love it, you've got this tenacity about it.
Makes me feel like I've got to work harder too.
Creator of numerous hit works, mangaka Urasawa Naoki.
This project that he's currently working on, “Manben,” has finally begun its second season.
Mangaka create grand dramas from the tiny tips of their pens.
Usually entry is not allowed to where they work, but we've been granted full access to film there.
Full Access to the Place Where Manga Is Born
Urasawa-san is in his 33rd year since his debut as a mangaka.
He's attracted attention from around the world.
What kind of influence has this program, which looks at the way other mangaka draw, had on someone like him?
I didn't think it'd be this stimulating.
When I'm at my own desk working like this,
I feel like, “How long is this going to go for?”
and thinking like, “come on already!”
but when you see one of the old guard working at it,
Season 1: Saitou Takao
while they're telling you how their body hurts all over,
it's like, what's this greenhorn going on about?
For the first episode of the second season another member of the old guard takes the stage:
the mangaka who is known as the goddess of shoujo manga, Hagio Moto-san.
“The Clan of Poe,” “The Heart of Thomas,” “They were Eleven!”
With her delicate yet lavish art style, she's the author of many hit works.
The problems that burden society and people are pervasive throughout her works.
She's drawn works with bold themes and caused a revolution in shoujo manga.
Even recently, she's made “Nanohana,” which has nuclear generated electricity as a theme,
and “Away,” which depicts the relationship between children and society.
She's continued to create works over a span of 48 years.
For this episode we were able to film Hagio-sensei closely at work on her first foray into historical manga over a span of four days.
Closely Filmed Over a Span of 4 Days
What we discovered there were lines that carry feelings in every stroke, and the pen tip that draws them so exquisitely.
Exquisite Pen Tips
And an uncompromising attitude in pursuit of her ideal image, never overlooking any details whatsoever.
No Settling For Less
They'll Talk While Watching the Footage
Tokyo, Jimbocho
One month later, they meet to talk while watching the footage.
Reminds me of when I just started out.
She's a bit mysterious, so...
every time I meet her I get a bit nervous.
Ah, hello.
Oh, hello there.
Thank you for today.
The place for the talk is somewhere Hagio-san frequents, the “book town,” Jinbocho.
It's an old cafe there.
As for the relationship between you two,
who is Urasawa-sensei to you, Hagio-sensei?
I'm a fan of his.
I've read him here and there since his shorts.
He left an impression on me with his extremely delicate pictures.
Like with his cities, the windows, the sounds of footsteps...
it's so interesting how those sorts of things really come seeping out.
None of which would've been possible without the person to my right.
Makes me feel glad that I've worked so hard.
The goddess of shoujo manga, Hagio Moto-san.
The secrets of her creative process which have been shrouded in a veil of mystery will be revealed.
Infiltrating the Spot Where the Goddess Creates Her Works
Her House and Work Place of 35 Years Plus
Saitama
Super Cat Lover
It's your cat.
Yes.
How many cats do you have?
I have seven.
Wow, seven.
Hagio-sensei, this is just what I imagined on my own, but...
I thought you'd be working somewhere more “rococo.”
Everyone always says that.
I've tried to live up to that expectation, but with no luck.
This is great, this view of the “deskspace of the mangaka.”
I'm the only one who knows where anything is.
We film them with the fixed cameras set up all over the room,
Filmed with Fixed Cameras to Not Get in the Way
trying to disturb their work as little as possible.
Starting the Sketch
She begins sketching the characters.
With this program...
we've had a bunch of people that don't do a proper sketch,
Fujita Kazuhiro
real daredevil roughnecks that just draw an outline and go at it.
It's been a bunch of “Manben” episodes of that.
Yes, the “Golgo 13” episode was amazing.
Saitou Takao
This is a relief to me.
Infiltrating the Spot Where the Goddess Creates Her Works
And this taping too...
It's to help with preventing tendinitis.
Makes you feel a bit like a craftsman.
It looks pretty cool.
She continues to draw images that look close to complete at the sketching stage.
The work is titled, “Queen Margot.”
The stage is the 16th century royal family of France.
Margot (Marguerite de Valois)
The main character is Margot, Marguerite de Valois.
Known for her beauty and refinement,
she's said to have experienced many a relationship with various men.
Hagio-sensei depicts a riveting time period with Margot at its center.
Margot
Husband: Henry (the 4th)
The rough sketch is complete.
Margot is in the bedroom with her husband Henry.
Margot!
There's no point to loving him...
Forget about him!
It's a scene where Margot's husband urges her to forget her first love.
I will love you more than he ever did...
I can't do it!
Inking Henry
She is inking Henry, her husband.
Infiltrating the Spot Where the Goddess Creates Her Works
Is that a G pen?
That's right.
You're holding it in such an interesting way.
Oh, is that so? I see.
See... you've got your pointer finger on the pen nib, right?
Oh, do I?
Urasawa Naoki
Hagio Moto
When you compare them...
their fingers certainly are in different locations.
The way I'm saying this might sound a bit strange,
That's a good catch.
but it looks like you're almost carving something with a chisel.
Ah... Hmm? I see.
Drawing like You're Carving
It feels a bit mysterious, doesn't it?
It really does look like I'm carving it out.
Or maybe, you're scratching it out with your pointer finger's nail.
So a bit like a cat would do, really.
Oh, scratching like this?
I see, so is that why I have seven of them?
The feel to her work is born as each line is drawn as though it were being carved.
She draws the expression of Margot's husband, pleading with her passionately.
These lines that you make, going *tap* *tap*,
they have some sort of subtle flavor to them, right?
Adding on Detailed Lines
It's like I'm drawing the outline with a pen,
I'm doing it while asking myself, “Is this the spot?”
You're building up all those delicate lines, right?
Draws Outside the Panel to Make Sure of Its Structure
She sticks paper on the edges of the panel, and sketches what would be outside of them.
She revises it over and over so the lines of the body and the clothes don't feel out of place.
These little taps,
they're so precise.
I'm glad we caught this on camera.
It's amazing.
Adding on Detailed Lines
What a good looking guy.
Thank you.
His eyes are beautiful.
Because he has to persuade her with his expression.
He has to tell her, “Forget about him that other guy, love me!”
Continuously building up the lines and adjusting the structure.
With each step of this solemn process
Henry's expression of desperation takes form.
Henry's Inking Complete
Now comes the main character Margot, historically famous for her beauty.
Margot's Inking
She draws the feelings of someone unable to forget her first love.
Whoa! Hahahaha!
The cat!
Mai-chan the Cat
That was a surprise.
The cat was especially excited at that time.
From the camera?
Yes, the camera.
Mai-chan.
Born 1949, Fukuoka Prefecture
Origins of the Mangaka Hagio Moto
Hagio Moto-san was born in 1949, in the Fukuoka Prefecture.
She loved drawing ever since she was young.
Tezuka Osamu “Princess Knight” (1953~1956)
She encountered manga through the works of Tezuka Osamu and Ishinomori Shoutarou.
Ishinomori Shoutarou “Midori no Me” (1957)
In Elementary School When She First Drew Panels and Began to Create Manga
She began to draw manga in the third grade.
Origins of the Mangaka Hagio Moto
Hagio-sensei, when you started out drawing manga,
who had an influence on you?
I tried imitating all the art of the manga I had,
I copied Yokoyama Mitsuteru-sensei the most.
Yokoyama Mitsuteru “Iga no Kagemaru” (1961~1966)
His faces were always the same size, so it was easy to imitate.
I copied the balance of Yokoyama-san's faces.
Mizuno Hideko “Hoshi no Tategoto” (1960~1962)
Watanabe Masako “Okaa-sama” (1961~1962)
Maki Miyako “Maki no Kuchibue” (1960~1963)
Mizuno Hideko-san, Watanabe Masako-sensei, Maki Miyako-sensei,
I tried copying the way those authors drew eyes,
but I could never draw the lashes well.
The lashes?
I didn't know how they got them to be such beautiful curves.
Curves, huh? Ah...
So you had trouble with lashes.
As for authors who didn't draw lashes,
Yashiro Masako “Ahiru no Maachi” (1967)
there was Yashiro Masako-sensei,
so I decided to draw my eyes like hers.
Origins of the Mangaka Hagio Moto
She made her debut at 20,
and at 23 she wrote “The Clan of Poe.”
“The Clan of Poe” (1972-1976)
It was about a persecuted family of vampires,
drawn in an illusory manner, and became a big hit.
Origins of the Mangaka Hagio Moto
“The Clan of Poe” Series - First Work “Her Transparent Silver Hair” (1972)
The Original Manu- script
Ah... Wow, amazing!
You didn't white those flowers out.
You left them in and used pointillism, it's wonderful.
This lace is amazing too.
Printing technology wasn't advanced enough at the time to depict this.
Not yet.
Hagio-san's manga receives great praise.
In drawing light and shadow, she portrays the world with rich depth.
Furthermore, she depicts the state of mind of her characters using diverse motifs.
She's created works overflowing with creativity,
and aroused the hearts of her readers.
I'm happy if they feel that twinge,
because I'm drawing it with a twinge in my heart too.
When you feel that twinge really deeply,
then drawing is really fun.
The inking for the main character, Margot is complete.
Margot's Inking Complete
Finally, the finishing touches.
Finishing Touches
Using Diverse Motifs
This is a tone sheet I made myself.
So you've got something like that!
It's so worn out.
Hagio-sensei pastes the screentones which depict the character's state of mind herself.
It's especially in the world of shoujo manga that
Using Diverse Motifs
you really feel how wide the imagination can expand.
Yes, that's right.
Urasawa-san, you know what you're talking about.
Like for sexy scenes, you draw them quite light and fluffy,
like how they typically are in shoujo manga.
For example, trying to make them metaphorical.
Ah, yes, yes.
A flower entwining someone, or stars crashing down...
Actual displays of the body and flesh are also quite interesting,
I find that the imaginative parts are more fun.
The Overlapped Depiction of the Candle's Light and Her Emotions in Flux
She depicts the image by overlapping the light of the candle with the quavering of her heart.
Building up the detailed work, the scene is finally done.
Eyes rich with emotion, drawn by layering delicate lines on top of each other,
screentones that stimulate the imagination,
a scene full of Hagio-san's style has been drawn.
She Works from 1 PM to 3 AM with Little Break in Be- tween
She works from one in the afternoon to three in the morning.
Other than for meals, she takes barely any breaks.
She only continues to draw, keeping her posture perfect.
Now she draws an incident that caused great upheaval in the French royal families during the 16th century.
A Big Event That Caused Great Upheaval for French Families
In the French Wars of Religion the Duke of Guise, a Catholic,
Catholic Duke of Guise
assassinated an important Protestant, Coligny.
Protestant Coligny
This Event Caused the Saint Bartholo- mew's Day Massacre
The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre, which resulted in many dead,
was largely caused by this event.
The Duke of Guise Was Margot's First Love
The person who plotted the assassination, the Duke of Guise, was Margot's first love.
She draws Margot's expression of shock as the news reaches her ears.
Drawing the Conflicts That Face Characters
You always create these situations where they're just so cornered.
So is it that you side with people that get driven into a corner?
Or is it that you want to corner them?
I'm sure that it must be that I like them both.
Drawing the Conflicts That Face Characters
I find it interesting to draw adults confronting problems.
Adults confronting problems, right?
Yes, that's right.
So innocent and naive children aren't that interesting.
I prefer children that confront problems as well.
So I take it your childhood didn't go how you would've liked it to?
That was especially the case because I liked manga so much,
Conflicts She Faced as a Young Woman
I was forbidden to work on manga, which I loved so much.
You were forbidden?
That's right.
My parents said I was a bad child that wouldn't listen,
but I couldn't quit.
So drawing manga was the equivalent of disobeying your parents.
That's completely how it was.
I asked about this before and it surprised me,
but there's this story about when you were in high school
and Tezuka-sensei's “Shinsengumi” was at its biggest turning point.
Do you have “Shinsengumi” here?
Oh, yes, it's right there.
Hagio-san clashed with her parents, who put a priority on education, and had a difficult time during her school years.
The work that was there for her during those hard times was Tezuka Osamu's “Shinsengumi.”
The main character is Kyuujyuurou, a young boy in the Shinsengumi.
Kyuujyuu- rou
Daisaku
He finds out that his very best friend, Daisaku, is an enemy spy.
Kyuujyuurou, who has been ordered to kill Daisaku,
is stranded in a conflict of duty and friendship.
Tezuka Osamu's “Shinsengumi” Which Guided Her on the Path of Manga
The story kept repeating in my head while I was sleeping.
Then lines kept appearing for this one panel.
“We were supposed to be best friends, why do I have to do this?”
and also, “Did you stab me in the back?”
Lines just kept on appearing.
Expanding out at you.
But then I paused and read it over and saw...
“What? It's just two lines?”
Ahh...
Tezuka Osamu's “Shinsengumi” Which Guided Her on the Path of Manga
My imagination just kept building on itself.
Night after night.
Yes, night after night.
That's amazing!
I read “The Greatest Robot in the World” when I was 5 and...
“Astro Boy - The Greatest Robot in the World” (1964~1965) Tezuka Osamu
I did the same thing, like for when North #2 got destroyed,
thinking that they said these specific lines in this particular scene,
“Pluto” (2003~2009) Based on the One Volume “Astro Boy - The Greatest Robot in the World” and Expanded into 8 Volumes
and then basing what I was drawing in “Pluto” on that.
But then when I looked at the original, they weren't actually there.
You too?
Yup.
It's the same, right?
Yeah, that's right.
It was after I read “Shinsengumi” that I madly...
wanted to become a professional.
You saw the path, huh?
It was the flame that set me off on the path to become a pro.
So your heart was set aflutter by this one panel,
and what unraveled from all those wild ideas that followed
would later become an influence on Japanese manga.
That's really pretty amazing, don't you think?
Hagio-san found comfort identifying with the conflicts that faced the characters drawn in manga.
“Mesh” - The Main Character Struggles with the Desire to Kill His Oppressive Father
After facing her parent's opposition and becoming a mangaka,
she drew the conflicts of characters herself,
“A Cruel God Reigns” - The Main Character Is Repeatedly Assaulted by His Father
hoping to rouse the hearts of her readers.
An Unaccepted Path of Manga
When did your parents finally accept your profession?
It was after they watched the TV drama, “Gegege's Wife.”
“Gegege's Wife” (2010) A NHK Drama Series Based on Mizuki Shigeru's Wife
What? Huh?
But that just came out recently though.
Only very recently, after we entered the 21st century.
Wow, no way!
My mother told me, “Oh, I was watching the TV, you know,
and I saw that Mizuki Shigeru-san, he was working so hard!”
That's what changed her mind?
That's it.
My mother always thought that all I was doing was goofing around.
She didn't know what was actually going on.
She had no idea at all what was happening.
“So that's what my daughter was doing too?”
She told me, “Please excuse me for what I did.”
Oh, really? Wow...
Now comes Margot's expression of shock.
Fine lines are drawn into her eyes.
We're really in there now.
Drawing the Conflicts That Face Characters
Your fans are probably going crazy watching this.
This is great.
Those are the eyes!
Those eyes that are like completely haggard,
or are in shock, or have fallen into a deep sadness...
Those eyes of yours during those times,
it really feels like there's something unique dwelling in them.
Eyes Filled with Conflict
What you want people to look at are these eyes, right?
That's why you aren't drawing the nails.
If you draw the nails then it'll be too busy.
Yes, that's right.
That's what that states.
The fingers get in the way.
But, I have to draw them, so...
I try to omit whatever I can get away with.
That's why I draw the fingers next to the eyes clearly,
but the others are in the way so I obscure them.
You do that so quickly and nonchalantly.
Finally, this panel is finished.
A true display of Hagio-san's skills,
these eyes that depict a moment of great shock have been drawn splendidly.
The assassination that shook France...
it would go on to cause various affairs between people to unfold.
Margot's brother, King Charles.
King Charles IX
Because of the assassination, he is urged by his mother and followers to suppress the Protestants,
and finds himself gradually cornered.
♪♪～
The Drama of Conflict - Performance and Direction
That's some good acting.
It's so fun to have them perform.
Charles has to give in to his mother's wishes here.
This... how should I say, face of a selfish, useless man... It's so good.
The dark circles under eyes are great, right?
Yes.
I've been having a lot of fun recently drawing those too.
They really bring out the expression, after all.
The change in King Charles' expression as he's being cornered is being drawn.
The Drama of Conflict - Performance and Direction
In a certain way, shoujo manga...
almost has this part to it that goes too far,
it's a world that's been distorted a bit.
Ah, that's true.
The acting is exaggerated, and the drama is a bit exaggerated...
It feels like a musical, or something similar to that.
I think it's a bit close to theater myself, compared to movies.
With realistic images, you have to make sure to show everything.
You have to show the order of events too.
But in theater, you have some small turn of events, and just from the lighting suddenly changing
you have a totally different scene.
That's resembles shoujo manga a bit, right?
It does.
King Charles finally loses it and orders the massacre.
The Drama of Conflict - Performance and Direction
See, that looks like theater lighting.
Ah, you're right, it does.
It gives off the vibe of a stage play.
The spotlight from below...
Yeah, a sudden flash.
And then *boom* you cut all the lights.
Hagio-san directs the drama by drawing panels that look like they've captured moments in a scene from a theatrical play.
Next she attempts a panel which boils down a clash between fellow humans.
Henry, hearing word of the assassination, presses Margot to find out if she knew.
Husband Henry
Main Character Margot
Is Guise the one that did this?
Did you know that this would happen?
It's a scene where the pair's emotions clash violently.
I don't know anything!
This spot that you have the two set up in is really difficult.
Yeah, it's difficult.
The emotions are really getting worked up.
You have to make sure the acting then reflects that properly.
The rough sketch for Margot is done.
Tracing Paper
Next comes her husband, Henry.
Hagio-san begins drawing Henry's face on the tracing paper.
She then layers another sheet of tracing paper over it, where she draws only Henry's hand.
She shifts the two pieces of tracing paper around, getting a feel for the position.
I'm seeing which position it is that will give me a composition that's clearly comprehensible.
This is a pretty interesting way of doing it.
After spending more than 10 minutes on it, she carefully decided where it should be.
Directing a Sense of Distance
She Places the Positioned Sheet under the Paper and Does a Rough Sketch of Henry
He's closer than I thought he'd be.
Yes, he's getting very close to her.
Hmm...
The acting changes a lot just from the sense of distance alone.
That's right, the...
It changes the amount of strength he's putting in his hand.
How he's grabbing her and such.
♪♪～
Hagio-san now wrestles with the shape of Henry's grasping hand.
She checks the shape against her own hand.
Before
It appears she's changed the thumb to an angle that is grabbing more forcefully.
It looks as though she isn't satisfied yet.
Letting the Performance of the Hands Tell the Story
You're very particular about it.
It is a performance after all, this squeezing of the hand.
People will think he isn't angry, if he's clutching her hand softly.
Yeah, that's true.
Before
What a subtle amendment.
Worried about the position of the pair and their hands, she spent nearly two hours on just the rough sketch.
She finally begins to ink it.
You're quite particular about expressions of the hand, aren't you?
Ah, hands...
Hands really communicate all sorts of things for us, don't they?
Uncompromising in Details
The first person to really shock me with a depiction of an
expression using fingers was Chiba Tetsuya-san.
“Shiden-kai no Taka” Chiba Tetsuya (1963~1965)
Like in “Shiden-kai no Taka,” the way he'd have him whisk away
sweat with the back of his hand. You know, that seductiveness to it.
Joe did that quite a lot too.
Oh, really?
“Ashita no Joe” Chiba Tetsuya (1967~1973)
Yabuki Joe would slide his hand like that too.
That was like Chiba-sensei's patent specialty.
It would always just make my heart skip a beat.
And he'd give them a bit of a downcast look, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Hagio-san had been drawing the faces,
but in the middle of that, she begins to revise the hands again.
Uncompromising in Details
Mangaka are pretty much always worrying over these parts.
Because they're thinking, “There's something here!”
“There's something important being presented here!”
Yes, it's like you have to make sure you pin it down.
It's telling you that you can't overlook this part,
and that's what you're so engrossed in right now.
How should she draw that wrathful hand so the emotions are conveyed?
She repeatedly revises it over and over again.
Since her debut at 20 it's been 48 years.
Without ever overlooking any detailed expression,
and drawing every single item as carefully as she can,
she has blazed a path for shoujo manga.
The pure desire that she's had ever since she was young to rouse the hearts of her readers
continues to be the driving force of Hagio-san even to this day.
It was these worlds of stories that saved me,
and I think they're really enjoyable.
I want to pass on those things that moved me to the reader as well.
But when it comes to laughing, crying, and being moved,
to rouse those emotions is actually an extraordinarily hard task.
So really, I have to be frantic about it too, or it won't be conveyed.
She's spent 3 hours and a half poring over the detailed performances.
That single panel is finally complete.
Depicting the conflicts of the characters through delicate performances,
she hopes to sway the hearts of the readers.
Hagio-san's wish is embedded in these hands she has drawn.
Another famous scene from Hagio Moto's manga has been born.
♪♪～
You draw a different picture from the blank page every time,
so you feel a bit like a beginner every time too.
That's right.
It's hard, no matter how much you draw.
You look like you're having so much fun that you wouldn't think you've been at this for 40 some years.
I'm sure that back when you were a young girl
you were probably drawing the exact same way.
You know... It's because I love shoujo manga.
There's just so much inside of it, so many possibilities.
So because you love it, you've got this tenacity about it.
A tenacity, huh? Yeah.
That tenacity that says, “I'm going to stand guard over this path.”
Makes me feel like I've got to work harder too.
If I have a day off then I'll spend it all drawing.
It's sort of like how a singer will be singing everyday, right?
Or how a comedian will be thinking of jokes everyday.
I'm sure there are people like that.
Even if I were told to stop, I just wouldn't be able to.
♪♪～