Ask Majima Goro

Urgh this is one of those moments when I wish I had that Japan expert at hand- 

Agh! Thank you once again, tumblr, for not notifying me of new messages. 

I am very much alive, my comic has occupied pretty much all of my thoughts. And, you know, this lovely lil’ pandemic as well. I’m not gone for good, rest assured. The comic is going to be the biggest project I’ve ever done, so there’s a lot to do and plan for. Even as I’m writing this right now, I’m thinking of two of my characters duking it out and I need to go sketch it. 

I’m back from Tracon, and If there’s anything I learned from selling at the artist alley, it’s that Yakuza fans are fucking AMAZING!! <3<3 Everyone was so cute and fun I just wanted to keep all of them! I had great discussions about our favorite fighting styles in Zero and I met people who are new to the series, but are already in love with it. You adorable Ryu Ga Gotoku babies, you! 

To my absolute surprise I spotted at least four Yakuza cosplayers! And they were all perfect! I mean just look at these two! I hope I didn’t embarrass myself too much with my excitement. Excuse my weakness. I am a mess. 

I met two other Yakuza fans who were so awesome that I already miss them. They were the most precious people ever and I kind of want to go to Frostbite (another con) just to see them again. ^^’ I also want to see them group cosplaying Kiryu, Majima and Daigo. I haven’t decided to go yet, but damn if it ain’t tempting! 

Yakuza fans, how can you be so flawless? ಥ_ಥ

Getting ready for Tracon! 

I will also specify: I will be at the artist alley ONLY on Saturday!

Also, my friends said “draw things that are in right now” so of course I was like “I KNOW, HOW ABOUT A CARTOON FROM THE 80′S AND 90′S THAT WARNS KIDS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF FASCISM, RACISM, WAR AND INCOME INEQUALITY!”

Because that is sadly pretty much in right now.

Ok. This is going to sound a bit weird but bear with me. 

I need someone who is either Japanese and fluent in English, or someone who has a Japanese friend and can act as a translator between us. OR if you yourself, as a non-Japanese-person, are very informed about Japanese culture and infrastructure, that would work too. Note that I’m not looking for someone to explain me stuff like “what is okonomiyaki” or “what does ‘senpai’ mean”, I need someone who can tell me stuff like “when a person is cremated in Japan, do they give the ashes to the relatives or do they bring the ashes to the funeral as a part of the service?” And “what is the average amount of rent in areas that aren’t so well off?” 

Why Japanese? 

I’m working on a comic which takes place in Japan. I want to avoid plot holes and illogical ways of presenting life in Japan. Not everything is going to be realistic, of course. I have been working on the story and characters for over a year and this is the first comic I’m actually PASSIONATE about and intend to complete. This is my goal and my dream. Once it’s done, I will either try to get it published or publish it myself. The comic is in very early stages, I’m nowhere near to starting the drawing process. Still, I’m making steady progress.

The story

I don’t want to spoil anything at this stage, but I have two main ingredients: yakuza and eating spirits. The main character eats spirits for a living and eventually ends up working as the “go-to guy” for yakuza families who (understandably) have some pretty irked spirits pestering them. Shit gets pretty dark at times.

What would the team work be like?

It would be pretty slow. I wouldn’t contact you every day, only when I have a question. We would discuss things on Skype or Discord or here on tumblr. I might stay silent for very long periods of time (work, life, etc.). Not that I don’t like having a random talk on the side~ 

So in a nutshell, this is a pretty relaxed task, no deadline and no hurry. Could take a few years, depending on life.

I will eventually need a native English speaker to proof read the whole thing in case there’s some dumb sounding dialogue or bad choice of words. This comic is designed entirely for the English language, but it will have a Finnish edition as well. But this is a discussion for another time, I’m not looking for a proof reader right now.

What’s in it for you?

When the project is complete, I will send you a free copy of the comic (it might end up as more than just one volume, so it can take a VERY long time). I will also credit you for your amazing knowledge and patience in the comic.

If you’re interested, message me here on tumblr! You can also reblog this or share this to someone you think might be interested.

There’s no deadline for this, so I’m just going to let people think about it and let the messages pile up a bit (hopefully at least one person is interested-). Tell me a bit about yourself in your message and why you think you would be a really good source of information regarding Japan. 

So! Hi!

I got me a little Kazudanbo-chan. <3