The only way to really understand what's “entertaining”
is to experience it yourself, I think.
What you absorb from things around you, what has moved you,
what incites anger in you, what causes you to be happy...
All these things come together
and make up what is “entertaining.”
It's about heightening your awareness of things, I'd say.
Even things from normal everyday life, for example,
can be a special experience for someone who is more aware.
You may think you need unique experiences that others don't have,
but if you get hung up on that, you won't be able to draw anything.
Drawing His “Ideal”
A Man Aiming for Beauty
Without a good looking guy in the picture, it's just no fun to draw.
You're really fixated on good looks.
If you ask my wife about it,
she'll tell you I'm a “deviant.”
Your wife says that!?
“Manben,” the show where we observe the work space of mangaka,
Full Access to the Place Where Manga Is Born
artists who create grand dramas from tiny pen tips,
is finally in its third season.
“Billy Bat” “20th Century Boys”
The instigator of the series is this man, Urasawa Naoki-san.
who has drawn a number of hit manga over the years.
It's been 33 years since his debut.
He's created more than 30,000 pages worth of stories from blank pages in that time.
Every time, every page, I'm faced with another blank piece of paper.
And if I can't fill it up, what will I do?
If I don't like the art I drew in it, what will I do?
I feel like when a novice faces that blank paper,
and when a veteran faces it,
they're both basically dealing with the same questions.
Our first mangaka for season three
is also a veteran with more than 40,000 pages to his name.
He finally agreed to come on the show as long as he didn't have to show his face.
It's Ikegami Ryouichi-san, 72 years old. It's been 55 years since his debut.
He's a legend that's still active on the front lines.
He's most known for his impressive art, which has had a strong impact on the manga world.
A commitment to highly realistic drawings,
skillful usage of shading to create complex expressions,
intense action,
sensual romance,
and strong-willed characters that stand up to authority figures...
These things attract and resonate with his readers.
He's been consistently releasing hit series since his debut.
Even now in his 70's, he is still producing the same vibrant art.
This time we were able to spend 3 days thoroughly filming his work space which had previously been private.
Filmed Closely over a Span of 3 Days
What we found was a strong devotion to beautiful characters,
Devotion to Beautiful Characters
and a rebellious spirit imbued within them.
Rebellious Spirit
One week later, they'll watch the footage and talk about it.
They'll Chat as They Watch the Footage
His art style seems on another level compared to most people.
Makes me wonder how he does it, you know?
Like, “a person drew this, right?” That sort of feeling.
The location is in Kichijouji, where Ikegami spent his early days as a manga artist.
Chatting at a Cafe in Kichijouji
Ah, good afternoon.
Hi there.
It's been a while.
I'm honored that you'd pick me for this show.
Thank you for agreeing to be on it.
It's been about 15 years since they've seen each other.
I kinda feel nervous here,
getting to be able to talk to you like this.
Since I've always had a lot of respect for you.
To hear those words from you is just...
makes me wanna ask if we can end the show on this note!
The face on the screen that I'm sure you've been wondering about was drawn by Ikegami-san himself.
While he has a wonderful face with a soft smile,
he said he was too shy to be on TV!
I don't want readers to look and say,
“That old guy is drawing this stuff?”
My daughter told me,
“You don't have a face for TV anymore, dad.”
No way! Come on!
Even as a true veteran, Ikegami-san is still charming.
A Look inside the Work Space of a 55 Year Manga Veteran
Now we finally get a glimpse of how he draws.
How long have you been at this place?
Maybe 27, 28 years or so.
Seems like a place well-suited for drawing.
Have you been wearing a glove while you work for a long time?
Uh-huh. I hated having my nails turn black.
I remember when you were in a book about drawing manga,
you had this crazy callus on your finger from drawing.
How is it doing now?
Now? Well...
Wow, look at that!
They called it a “brush callus” back when I worked as a painter.
No, I'm pretty sure the callus from then
would be gone by now.
Worked as a Painter More Than 50 Years Ago
It wouldn't have lasted that long!
Filmed with Fixed Cameras to Not Get in the Way
We film him at work with fixed cameras,
trying to disturb him as little as possible.
Rough Draft
We'll uncover his style starting with his drawing of a woman.
2B Pencil
He starts his rough sketch with a 2B pencil.
You can see he's holding a ruler in his left hand.
It looks as if he's going to put it to use now.
A Look inside the Work Space of a 55 Year Manga Veteran
Seeing you use a ruler to make guidelines when sketching
makes me think about how precise your work must be.
Everyone tells me that, but...
I always start out by drawing the most important lines.
Like figuring out where the center of a face will be.
And that way, the drawing has a strong foundation.
Even after 55 years of drawing, he still places an emphasis on the fundamentals.
He's working on is his new series, “BEGIN,” which started in October.
Drawing His New Work, “BEGIN”
We were able to record him working on the first chapter.
Right now he is drawing the heroine of the story, Reiou.
Drawing the Heroine, Reiou
A realistic drawing has come about in the rough draft stage.
Facial expressions are very important to me.
If I don't like something at the rough draft stage, I won't ink it.
Drawing the Roughs Realistically
You put in a lot of detail into your rough drafts.
You could already make a good living off these rough sketches alone.
Well, I like to use realistic art to tell unrealistic stories, you see.
When people read then, they may say,
“That's impossible! Nobody's like that in the real world!”
But by making the art and the characters realistic,
it makes them think, you know, “What if?”
That's what I feel like my job is.
The rough sketch is complete.
Rough Sketch Complete
It's so well done that it looks finished.
Inking
Next comes the inking.
A Dedication to Detailed Expressions
Wow, those eyes have strong expressions.
Eyes have got to be the most important part of expressions.
They're the best at showing emotion.
After that, I'd say the mouth is next.
For example, with the shadow below the lips,
for a man or a woman, the way you draw that shadow
allows you to draw lips with depth to them.
Uh-huh, when you give lips some shadow,
it makes them plump and stand out.
If I'm going for a realistic style,
then I need to be realistic even in those little details like that.
A Dedication to Detailed Expressions
Oh, and I use this a lot, but...
I think when you give lips that sort of curved, wavy look,
it tends to give the character a somewhat selfish look.
There's subtle personality that shows through.
When you want a stubborn expression,
the best way to do that is a smooth straight line.
Also, the eyebrows...
A Dedication to Detailed Expressions
Eyebrows are also good for subtly showing emotion.
Yeah, they are.
Like how someone really scary will have angled eyebrows.
But not angled like this.
Yeah, it's actually...
When they're angled up that they're scariest, right?
After that has got to be the fingers.
A Dedication to Detailed Expressions
My male main characters all have well-trimmed nails.
I don't want to make them look like they're unclean.
A Dedication to Detailed Expressions
“Rokumonzeni Rock” Buronson, Ikegami Ryouichi / Shogakukan
Like when there's a close up of the fingers,
I feel his fingers have to look as good as he does.
“Heat -Shakunetsu-” Buronson, Ikegami Ryouichi / Shogakukan
He even worries about how long the nails are? He truly is dedicated to fine details.
Truly a beautiful woman.
Now he is using a brush.
Water -color Brush
He uses a watercolor brush.
Bold Brushwork
You use that brush very confidently, don't you?
It's kinda scary though, right?
Like when you think you'll maybe just add a touch more,
then suddenly it's like, “It's all black now!”
And then you're like, “Whoa, uh-oh!”
I feel like drawing out the vision in your head like *wham!*
Bold Brushwork
really depends on how good you can visualize it internally.
It's probably from all the experience I've had.
A skill with the brush built up over many years.
The inking is complete.
Inking Complete
Giving Directions to His Assistant
After that, he gives some directions to his assistant.
But don't reverse this part.
Flipping It to Face the Right
Huh!? They flipped it using the computer!
Discussing the Flipped Rough Draft
Y-you...
flipped it around, right?
I can't ever seem to properly draw people facing to the right.
I've spent a lot of time considering why that may be too.
Facing Right
Facing Left
Apparently Urasawa-san also has trouble with the same thing.
When a Right-Handed Person Draws a Person Facing Right
Right-handers have a hard time drawing lines from right to left,
They End up Pushing the Pen, and It Becomes Hard to Draw
and that's why eyebrows and such are hard to draw,
or so thinks Urasawa-san.
What do you think, Ikegami-sensei?
Discussing the Flipped Rough Draft
I think it's gotta be something wrong with my head.
I'm completely confident in drawing people facing left.
Even if you flip it, I'm confident it will look good.
Oh, so you drew it to be flipped from the very beginning.
As someone who focuses on beauty, I want to be as thorough as I can.
Art that still looks good even if you flip it. Amazing, isn't it?
The heroine, the embodiment of his dedication to beauty, is finished.
Eyes drawn with the finest detail,
And lips...
It's an expression born from the skillful hands of a master who constantly strives for realism.
He Starts on His next Drawing
Next he begins work on another new project of his, “Adam and Eve.”
“Adam and Eve” Yamamoto Hideo, Ikegami Ryouichi / Shogakukan
A pet project with the twisted mind of the manga world, Yamamoto Hideo-san.
Drawing the Main Character, Smell
He is drawing the stylish, handsome criminal, Smell.
Another in the long list of cool characters for Ikegami-san.
And we get to see it happen before our eyes.
A Desire to Draw Beautiful Characters
When I saw that you started this new series, I thought,
“Oh, so that's the type of man he's going with this time.”
It's something new, right?
What's important to me are beautiful characters.
Without a good looking guy in the picture, it's just no fun to draw.
You're really fixated on good-looks.
You're right, it's a strong fixation.
If you ask me, I think it's perfectly normal.
If you ask my wife about it,
she'll tell you I'm a “deviant.”
Your wife says that!?
A composed, chiseled face is coming to life.
Ikegami-san, with a dedication to fine details,
has always tried to draw his ideal beauty.
The eyes, the nose, the mouth, the ears,
I try to use these building blocks of god
and draw things that reach an ultimate ideal.
All I do is draw what I think is ideal.
I want the readers to think, “I'm glad I was born Japanese.”
Drawing His Ideal
If they see these great men and women here,
it will give them confidence.
So when they read my manga,
they might be more positive about their lives.
I remember going to a Takakura Ken-san movie,
and at the end of it, everyone was acting like Ken-san.
That's probably pretty important, isn't it?
Rough Sketch Complete
At 72 years old, the feelings he has towards manga now have been fostered since childhood.
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
1944, Born in the Fukui Prefecture
He wanted to become a mangaka since he was in middle school.
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
I read, for example, Yamakawa Souji's picture stories,
and I loved the realistic art that was in them.
Also, stuff like Saitou Takao-sensei's “Typhoon Gorou.”
That one was very stylish.
I think I aspired to stuff like that.
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
Aspiring to be a manga artist, he debuted at 17 years old.
However, he wasn't making enough as a manga artist,
so he worked painting signs while continuing to do manga on the side.
During this difficult time he found solace in the works of Tsuge Yoshiharu-san,
which were often about the dark side of society.
He used the absurdities found in society as his theme,
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
and drew stories that were a bit dark and depressing.
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
but I felt that there was a strong realism in it.
There were two things I liked.
That there was realism to it and desire.
To how it tried to entertain?
That's right.
Both were important to me.
A major turning point happened when he was 22.
Mizuki Shigeru invited him to come work after being impressed by his drawing ability.
And there he met someone he wasn't expecting.
He had 3 or 4 assistants, and they were introducing themselves,
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
when I heard, “I'm Tsuge Yoshiharu,” I was so shocked!
Was it like, “No way!”?
It was totally like, “Woohoo! Thank you, god!”
Origins of the Mangaka Ikegami Ryouichi
Mizuki Shigeru and Tsuge Yoshiharu...
With their tutelage,
he honed his skills of drawing realistic works about society.
In addition, he paired with Koike Kazuo,
Kariya Tetsu,
Buronson, and other talented writers.
Combined with the qualities that made their stories entertaining,
his works made a big splash.
The characters they were creating weren't simple allies of justice but dark heroes.
Characters that may be outlaws, but hold strong convictions
and fight the contradictions and absurdities of society.
Characters which have inspired readers across many different generations.
The world we live in is filled with contradictions, I'd say.
Questioning “Justice”
There are two sides to everything, right?
And that's why...
with things like virtue and justice,
I feel a certain sympathy with characters that stand against them.
So that's how this outlaw world comes about.
Once someone mentions virtue, it's already sort of suspicious.
That's right. No one likes hypocrisy or deception,
and those feelings are still there even these days.
Standing against the hypocrisy and deceit in an isolated Japan
and representing the people's anger is Ikegami's dark hero.
He's a handsome figure sure to entrance readers.
For 55 years, Ikegami-san has striven to draw characters people aspire to.
In order to connect with readers, he has always kept abreast of the times.
Oh, this here was a big deal online a while back.
Drawing Inspiration from the Present
I was asked if I could draw this, and when I did,
it caused a big reaction on the internet.
It certainly did.
Drawing Inspiration from the Present
This girl is from “Girls Und Panzer,” also known as “Girl Pan.”
It's a hit anime about cute girls fighting in tanks.
And incredibly, Ikegami-san did a collaboration for the series.
By Ikegami-san
A moe character by Ikegami-san himself! What a shock!
Drawing Inspiration from the Present
Remember the cute blonde with the glasses from “Wounded Man”?
When she first appeared,
I really wasn't expecting a young girl like that in an Ikegami manga.
At that time, Takahashi Rumiko-sensei had come on the scene,
and love comedies became really popular.
That's sort of when what we now call “moe” started, isn't it?
That's right, so...
I felt if the heroine was an adult, the readers wouldn't like it as much.
So you tried to incorporate the trends of the time in your work.
You check fashion magazines somewhat regularly, don't you?
Uh-huh, I buy them regularly to use as references.
If you want to do realistic works,
you have to match the times, or it ends up looking dated.
With Tezuka-sensei or Ishinomori-sensei,
“Black Jack” Tezuka Osamu
“Cyborg 009” Ishinomori Shoutarou
the fashion is more generic, like with round feet and what not.
It transcends time. I feel that's what manga looks like at its essence.
With the stuff that I'm doing,
when times change even a bit, it looks very old as far as style.
I think manga relies a lot on that,
on what's currently popular at the moment.
And the question of how to strike a compromise with that
is a struggle that all of us have to face.
When focusing on realism, if you aren't sensitive to the times, it will start to look out-of-date.
And Ikegami-san has fought this battle for 55 years.
Even now at 72 years old, he continues to produce new works.
Like his new serialization, “BEGIN,”
which features another one of the dark heroes he's so fond of.
His name is Shinkai, and Ikegami-san begins to draw him.
Creating His New Main Character, Shinkai.
Ikegami-san has produced countless cool men over the years.
What kind of character will he create this time?
First, he starts with an intense scene where the main character,
A Fight Scene with the Main Character
Shinkai, gets revenge on a man who hurt his friend.
A new Ikegami-style hero is coming to life.
What Ikegami-san draws for such an intense scene,
is a surprisingly calm and collected expression.
Ikegami-san is trying to capture the life this character has led until now in his expression.
Even in an action scene where he beats up his opponent,
he suddenly gets a sort of melancholy look on his face.
Details like that aren't in the script actually.
Drawing out those details that aren't in the original script
is really what my job is, I feel.
So I want to bring out those aspects.
For a character like this, which I've never drawn before,
Capturing the Life of the Character in His Expressions
he has a rugged handsomeness, but there's sorrow in his eyes.
Makes you wonder if he had something sad happen in the past,
like maybe he let his beloved daughter die in some way or another.
And that's why he's kind to girls in the story.
Those are the things I imagine on my own while creating his eyes.
Even if it doesn't necessarily come up in the story,
I aim to draw expressions that readers can find something in.
When you go all out from the very first chapter like this,
it's like, “Something serious must have happened to this guy.”
And that makes it seem like the script must be really detailed.
He draws carefully in order to reflect the main character's past in his expressions.
Capturing the Life of the Character in His Expressions
You know, cigarettes truly are great for dramatic effect.
Yeah, they are!
To me, the way a cigarette is smoked is a very erotic action.
Like the way it's held,
That's right.
they can hold it like this, or like this. With all that variation,
Yes.
you can create valuable space in the action.
For showing emotion, it's not just about the face,
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
things like the lighter he's holding,
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
“Sanctuary” Fumimura Shou, Ikegami Ryouichi / Shogakukan
“Ha -LORD-”
or the pose of the fingers, they're all tools to express emotion.
In the middle of a fight scene, a somewhat forlorn expression...
It's cool, isn't it?
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
With art, if it lacks allure
or a sensuality to it, then I think it's no good.
It's gotta be erotic, right?
I like the physical form of the male body.
I've even used real life policemen as reference material.
A young policeman was washing the car,
and he had his t-shirt rolled up.
You could see the sweat streaming down his deltoids.
There was an incredible eroticism to it.
And then, after that,
I was working on “Ha -LORD-,” a Three Kingdoms story,
“Ha -LORD-”
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
and I designed all of the clothing to show off the upper arms.
That's where the idea came from?
Yup.
So observing the muscles of policemen lead you to those designs.
That's right. So...
That's a good story.
I especially like the deltoids.
Deltoids, huh? Yeah, I can see that. Deltoids are...
Oh, and also...
the serratus anterior muscles,
the saw-shaped muscles that are around the ribs.
They all help add an element of sensuality.
Oh, and the curve you can get on the back is nice.
Yeah, they're all great.
Because we're creatures crafted by god's hands,
If you work on improving yourself,
your body can take on quite an amazing form.
But I also think that
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
it's cool since he has this sad look in his eye with all these muscles.
That might be part of it too.
If his eyes were piercing, it would be a little different,
but I like how his muscles complement the somber look in his eyes.
Apparently Ikegami-san has studied anatomy and is especially well researched on muscles.
He truly is dedicated, isn't he?
Time for the final pass. He holds both a pen and a brush in his hands.
Expressing Blood Splatters
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
Oh, I could use this technique!
Up till now, I've just been blowing on the brush to do this.
You blow on it?
Yeah.
So if you do this, it turns out like that.
A Fight That Shows the Charm of the Character
You can end up with a disaster when you blow on it.
You blow, and then *splash* it flies everywhere.
So you have to cover up the area around it,
and then you blow on it after that,
but sometimes it doesn't go where you want.
Who would have thought you could do it this way?
With attention paid to even the blood splatters, an intense revenge scene comes to life.
And now, onto drawing the climax.
A Large Panel Showing the Main Character Clearly for the First Time
He'll use the whole page to draw the main character facing forward and saying a catchy line.
Rough Sketch
In this first chapter of a new series,
he wants to pull out all the stops to show a portrait of the character's personality and its appeal to the reader.
Showing the Charm and Person- ality of the New Main Character
It's a drawing with a lot of spirit.
He draws guidelines as a tool to help find a balance between intensity and stability in the composition.
Tackling the Facial Expression
Finally, he begins drawing the facial expression.
The eyes begin to take shape.
He decides to redo the right eye.
I want an expression where the character himself
is a little embarrassed at the words coming out of his mouth.
This time he erased everything.
He's trying to find the right expression to properly convey who the character is.
He makes small adjustments as he goes.
It looks like he has finally settled on eyes that he likes.
Before
After
It now has a much more melancholic look.
Loading the Eyes with Sadness
I feel like, with the kind of eyes you draw,
there's no sense of inauthenticity to it.
Loading the Eyes with Sadness
When you give them a melancholic, or forlorn sort of look,
it's not completely straightforward, is it?
Loading the Eyes with Sadness
It makes me so happy to have you say that about it. Thank you.
I have to redo them countless times to get them like that -
to show that they're being a bit wry
or playfully sarcastic somewhere inside.
I want to show that sense of emptiness in the eyes.
He's been drawing for a whole hour now.
Rough Sketch Finished
The rough sketch is finally complete.
Inking
Now to ink it in.
Ikegami-san actually uses a different pen just for the eyes.
I use a G Pen for everything else,
Loading the Eyes with Sadness
but for the eyes I use a Kabura pen.
That's a bit...
Since it is a story about men, it's fine if the lines are rough at times,
but for the eyes, I prefer to use a Kabura pen.
Oh, so you can draw finer lines with a Kabura pen?
It's very rigid.
It doesn't change based on pressure.
Yeah, that's true.
The character's past and internal aimlessness...
He uses the eyes to convey these complex emotions.
Now he uses a G Pen to fill in other details.
It's been 55 years since his debut.
He has always striven to draw carefully and with detail.
In order to bring the cool, realistic heroes that he wanted to draw since he was a young boy to life,
he has continued to improve himself and tried to keep pace with the times.
Men who stay firm in their convictions and break through hypocrisy and injustice -
The desire to create those kinds of characters anyone would aspire to has not faded from his mind one bit.
They're people who might nearly be lost to the times,
A Desire to Draw Prideful, Noble Men
and they may be old fashioned,
but they live in a way
that's faithful to themselves, and I like that.
If you look at it from a different point of view,
they're people of a dying age, aren't they?
That's right.
But, you know, the characters that you draw
seem to have an understanding that their time is ending,
and that's why they have eyes like that.
That might be. There's a sadness to it.
And that may come out unconsciously from me.
He's not completely confident that he's in the right, is he?
That's what his eyes say.
That's what helps make him a cool character.
Drawing in the Shading
Here we see one of Ikegami's trademarks, his complex shading.
Adding in Some Final Fine Details
Work Done
After spending 3 hours on this page, it's finally finished.
A resolute, handsome figure that anyone in Japan would aspire to.
However, he's not simply a hero of justice as we see from his slightly wry expression.
A new hero is born, inheriting Ikegami-san's ideals.
I think anyone who aspires to be an artist
will look at the pictures you've drawn and think, “Wow!”
So I'm really glad we all got to see that.
For a lot of the younger manga artists out there,
they tend to draw life-size characters, don't they?
While I'm sure many will think my stuff is old fashioned,
I can only draw the things I desire, so that's all I can keep doing.
I think drawing your aspirations is really very important.
It's something that makes you shout, “Now this is what I've been waiting for!”
Manga plays a pretty major role in that, doesn't it?