𝓚𝓮𝓲'𝓼 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽

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Notes: can modify the frames as you like such as recoloring

bowless + wingless alts yay

Just like last year, this year’s anniversary interview will also be brought to you by 4Gamer. 

We spoke with YSK who is in charge of the character design and Tsukaguchi Ayako, who is Blackstar’s creator and the one in charge of all the shocking developments in the game’s story.

We’ll be bringing you lots of tidbids about the game’s character designs and the story behind how the game’s beautiful visuals are created.

—Blackstar started from a single email between Tsukaguchi and YSK!

4Gamer: Last year we held a solo interview with Tsukaguchi-san but this year for the game’s sixth anniversary, character designer YSK-san has joined us too. So first, could you tell us how YSK-san became involved in the project?

Tsukaguchi: During the early production phase of Blackstar Theater Starless, I searched for illustrators on the internet. I happened to see one of YSK-san’s works and immediately thought that this is the person I want to hire. I spoke with the game’s producer Ando about it and then emailed YSK-san shortly after.

YSK: I wasn’t acquainted with anybody on the Blackstar production team before this, so when I received the email I thought they’d sent it to the wrong person. I proceeded to sleep on it for a whole day (lol). The next day I looked at the email again and came to my senses and sent back a reply along the lines of ‘If you think that I’d be a good fit for the job then…’ 

4Gamer: Sounds like things went very smoothly! What was it about YSK-san’s illustrations that caught your eye, Tsukaguchi-san?

Tsukaguchi: Actually most of the illustrations that I first looked at weren’t of humans, but I could still feel a huge presence from each character. I remember I had to persuade the producer by saying “If they can draw non-human characters then I’m sure they can draw humans as well!”

At the time I was struggling to explain to the production team that Blackstar isn’t about idols, at its core it’s a game that depicts the underside of society. So I think the very first thing I asked YSK-san was “Please draw me some edgy looking men”.

YSK: Rindou and the rest of Team P are a bit brighter when compared to the others, but I was told to make sure their brightness wasn't too overwhelming and to bring out more of a fallen from grace vibe.

I was also told that Blackstar would be a work that values individuality, so I was asked to make sure none of the characters' aesthetics overlap. 

And so, from there I thought hard about how to make everyone unique. Up until that point I hadn’t had many chances to work on regular human characters.

4Gamer: A few years ago there were many games coming out that fell into the idol genre, so since the landscape wasn’t as diverse as it is now, Blackstar stood out. How did you react when you were told about the game’s premise, YSK-san?

YSK: I’ve always loved characters that look a little scary or have a couple screws loose. So when Tsukaguchi-san told me that she liked the way I drew crazy expressions I felt as though I might be able to go all out and add characteristics that I personally like.

Tsukaguchi: Looking back, that was a very unprofessional thing for me to say, wasn’t it? (lol).

4Gamer: No no, it simply sounds like it was a meeting in which both parties were looking for the same thing. Speaking of the characters, do you remember who the first character you designed was?

YSK: It was the five team leaders (Kei, Kokuyou, Rindou, Mizuki, Mokuren) and I think Kei was the very first that I worked on.

Tsukaguchi: YSK-san works really fast, they submitted all five at the same time and I remember thinking “Oh my god, they’re already here!”

4Gamer: I see. When working on the character designs were there any unexpected changes in the direction or setting? Or any other stories you’d like to share?

Tsukaguchi: The setting surprisingly didn’t change very much at all from the initial concept, there were only small tweaks made here and there. Thinking about it I remember we had a conversation where midway through a design I just said “Add shark teeth!” (lol).

YSK: Yeah. Another thing I remember is that Kei’s hair colour used to be black.

Image:

A creative hairstyle? (The length of his bangs on the right side and the length of the hair at the left on his neck are asymmetrical)

I think the rococo style patterned costume has a royal vibe

I thought making the lining a gradient is good because it’s not too overwhelming nor too subdued 

His shoes are plain grey so they don’t throw out the overall colour balance

Handwriting: Gradient colour | One ear only

4Gamer: Is that so? How come it was changed to the gold coloured hair he has now?

YSK: I think it was because I was told to give him a little bit more of an elegant vibe.

Tsukaguchi: It was also because the name Kei is taken from the unit of mass to measure the purity of gold. Like 18K, 24K, etc. That kind of ‘K’. So that’s why I asked for his hair to be golden.

4Gamer: I see! Going a bit off topic here, but could you tell us the reason behind the characters names? I’m sure most fans are already aware that they’re taken from minerals and plants.

Tsukaguchi: I decided to base the names on minerals and plants because there’s lots of variety and they can have all kinds of different meanings behind them. The second reason was that I figured what kind of name someone wants to use would depend on the person.

The concept of them being stage names was developed later on. Almost all of the cast have pretty straightforward names, but some are a little harder to decipher, like Sin being based on the mineral cinnabar. Qu is also a really tough one to understand, so I kind of want to just leave it a mystery forever, I don’t want to reveal its true meaning yet…!

4Gamer: Thank you for the valuable information! YSK-san, when you received the commission request, did all of the characters already have their names?

YSK: Yes, they were all sent along with the brief.

4Gamer: In that case, how detailed was the brief that you were given for the character designs?

Tsukaguchi: They were given details like the characters name, height and weight. As well as a description like ‘looks amazing with his clothes off’ and an outline of each character’s physique.

YSK: The briefs said things like ‘this character has a slim but muscular build that appeals to women’ or ‘this guy has solid muscles and is built like a pro wrestler’… Ok yeah that one was Kongou (lol). Things could always be changed later, so these points were given as more of a guideline.

Image:

Short eyebrows that emphasise his square shaped eyes

I think it would be nice if he looks like a bear when he smiles. The rabbit is cute so it would be fun if it had a mascot name!

Added a chunky zipper for some uniformity with the rest of B Team

Instead of a bandanna a ramen shop owner would wear he has more of a street style headband 

He’s in his thirties so there’s some shadow under his eyes when he smiles

Not much was changed on his outfit apart from some small details (I added strings to the hood)

Tsukaguchi: YSK-san understood the assignment basically every time though, so there were barely any rejects or remakes. I remember YSK-san once asked “Are you sure that design is ok?”

4Gamer: In that case, were there any characters that were particularly difficult to design?

YSK: That would be Qu. When I was first told that he had the aesthetics of a woman but was still well built I was unsure just how feminine I should make him. I was having trouble visualising a character that was neither too masculine nor too flashy.

That’s why it was only for Qu that I kept submitting rough drafts and asking if they were any good. He has a different ethnicity that gives him a Cleopatra-like vibe and since he’s a man I gave him a muscular build… I was going for something like that.

Tsukaguchi: The only thing that I’d decided on was that he wears high heels. The design of Mokuren, who was intended to pair with Qu, went smoothly. But we definitely had a tough time finalising Qu’s design.

4Gamer: I think that the design you ended up with is a very charming one. Are there any other tidbids that you remember?

Tsukaguchi: Kasumi’s hairstyle was difficult. I was bad at explaining how I wanted his bangs to hide his face…

YSK: I wanted to bring out a shadow-like and nondescript air, so I decided on his hair colour and overall aesthetics pretty quickly. The only thing that I was lost on was how to style his hair…

Tsukaguchi: I knew that I wanted him to style his bangs up eventually, so from the onset we created some designs that showed his face. At exhibitions and such we’ve displayed headshots of the cast members, but Kasumi’s was the only one that we couldn’t reveal. His face was only unveiled in February of this year, just how many years did it take to be revealed again? (lol).

4Gamer: As much as I’d love to dive deeper into each of the characters designs, there’s a lot of them, so instead I’d like to ask if any characters left a particular impression on you?

Tsukaguchi: I had fun when we were designing Sin. Even though I was the one who asked for it I was wondering how YSK-san would draw such a strange man (lol).

YSK: I was told that he had a cryptic way of speaking and was the oldest, so I thought about how I should portray that. He had to differ from a young and energetic image so I decided “I’ll add some wrinkles under his eyes!”

4Gamer: If we’re talking about under the eyes, then Heath is also pretty striking. He has massive dark circles under his eyes which have quite an impact.

YSK: Well sickly characters commonly have eye bags… but Sin actually has faint dark circles too. In order to make Heath’s different I made his eye bags really dark. He looks as though he doesn’t get a lot of sleep.

Tsukaguchi: YSK-san has mentioned that they pay particular attention to the eyes in order to differentiate each character.

YSK: Yeah. I want to avoid everyone looking the same if you remove their hair. I think that the eyes are the easiest place to add individuality to a character.

4Gamer: That’s true, if you just show the Blackstar character’s eyes you can still tell right away who is who. It’s amazing.

YSK: Come to think of it, at the time I was shocked to hear that characters might end up being fired if they weren’t popular enough. So I designed everyone while hoping that they will do their very best to survive and gave each of them their own unique charm…

Tsukaguchi: Every cast member received support from their fans and it was around the end of season 1 that I was finally able to feel that they were all safe.

—How were all of those provocative visuals created? Exclusive production stories 

4Gamer: Next, I’d like to ask about the key visual illustrations. What is the process behind creating such eye catching visuals?

Tsukaguchi: We have two departments, the game production team and the content production team. Orders for new visuals often come from the content production side of things. The concept and general idea of what is needed gets written up and then sent to YSK-san.

YSK: Yeah, the requests are usually split between being for the game or for concerts and other events.

Tsukaguchi: The requests are usually formatted in a similar way, but just written up by different people. Nowadays I check over all of the requests regardless of who has written them and then send the final document off to YSK-san. A correction that I often send back to other staff members is “This character would be smiling and we can’t have that”.

YSK: That’s true. While the characters in Blackstar do smile, it’s always more of a sneer or has a cool vibe. Even on some of the illustrations I draw I’m sometimes supervised to make the smiles less apparent.

Tsukaguchi: I may lift the ban on smiles one day, but they just don’t really fit a concept like this… So I’m always just apologising profusely as I check over the artworks.

4Gamer: True, big bright smiles don’t really suit Blackstar’s image, do they? By the way, which image was the first to be created?

Tsukaguchi: I think it was the game’s first key visual. We actually called this one ‘Hell’s Staircase’. That’s what the common nickname for it was between members on the production team, but I think it’s because it was the shortened version of the initial concept, which was feeling as though you were walking down a staircase into hell.

4Gamer: I see! I was shocked the first time I saw this image and it left a lasting impression on me. At the time there were a lot of sparkly idol-esque games being released, so I was like “This dark and scary visual is amazing…!”.

Only a few of the characters are looking towards you and Kokuyou, Rindou and Mokuren are standing quite far back. It’s very distinct for a key visual and I think it’s a really cool piece of artwork.

YSK: Thank you. If I remember correctly, I think I was directed to only have Mizuki opening his eyes wide (lol). I was like, this illustration is supposed to be the characters giving the viewer a warm welcome… isn’t it? So even I was a bit baffled about it.

Tsukaguchi: Opinions within the production team were actually quite split on whether or not we should have Mizuki smiling in this image. Some were worried it strayed from the concept that we were trying to present, but we eventually decided that at least one person should be grinning in the first visual for the game (lol).

YSK: Usually main visuals depict their characters in a setting that allows you to immediately understand the work’s tone. Or they’ll have the main characters inviting you into their fun world.

Blackstar isn’t like that though. And in order to show that the characters aren’t on good terms with each other I made it so none of them are making eye contact. And the result was an illustration with a very underground vibe, so much so that you probably wouldn’t expect it to be a game aimed at women.

Tsukaguchi: I was ok with some of the characters being far away with their faces too small to be properly seen. It couldn’t be helped since I wanted the image to invoke the feeling of walking down a staircase and into the building. I said with my whole heart “This is Blackstar!” and decided on that direction.

If I remember correctly at this time the voice drama was also being recorded. So continuing off that point about nobody making eye contact, these characters don’t talk to each other for longer than necessary either. Once the voice directors explained that to all of the voice actors, I felt as though the atmosphere for both the key visual and the voice drama were complete.

4Gamer: That’s also really cool. I do honestly think that the first key visual is a masterpiece.

Tsukaguchi: We used that visual for almost five years right at the top of the official website. However, after the first year of the game, Mizuki and Mokuren had changed teams and wore different outfits… So we ended up creating an updated key visual. That one is ‘Hell’s Staircase 2’ (lol).

4Gamer: Other than the group illustrations, at events like AGF (Animate Girl’s Festival) you’ve released individual illustrations of all of the characters, haven’t you?

YSK: Yes. When drawing individual characters I need to make sure that none of the poses overlap, so I end up redrawing a lot of rough drafts. If I’m given specified poses the character's vibe can still end up feeling similar, so it takes a lot of trial and error.

Tsukaguchi: There are 28 characters after all… Everytime I’m reminded just how fast YSK-san is with a pen.

4Gamer: In that case, could you share any works that left an impression on you?

YSK: The AGF2020 illustrations that were monochrome and utilised ribbons. 

These weren’t used in-game and were entirely for display. I was requested to draw each character either playing with or being tied up by a ribbon and what I chose to do with the ribbon depended on the characters personality and setting. I remember thinking that they turned out being illustrations that are aimed at a more adult audience.

Tsukaguchi: I wasn’t in charge at the time of these illustrations, but the merch was popular and they’re all very high quality illustrations don’t you think?

4Gamer: These were impressive illustrations too, I remember thinking that they matched my interpretation of each character. They’re all individual illustrations but when you look at them all together it’s stunning.

Are there any illustrations that left an impression on you, Tsukaguchi-san?

Tsukaguchi: Let’s see… First there’s the ones for BLACK LIVE IV. Akira and Mokuren are in the middle of a kick, but I especially think the silhouette of Mokuren’s body is beautiful. Those illustrations were released around the same time I returned to the team, so I remember looking at them and thinking “Woah, what amazing illustrations!”.

YSK: On an actual human body, the leg that Mokuren isn’t kicking with would bend a little when doing a pose like this. But, if I were to draw Mokuren like that, it would give off the impression that they aren’t very flexible. If Mokuren were to do this pose, I believe they wouldn’t need to shift their centre of gravity, and so that’s how the illustration turned out this way.

4Gamer: I totally agree with you. Most of the other AGF illustrations are quite provocative too, aren’t they?

Tsukaguchi: For the AGF themes we collect ideas from the staff members, but even I was shocked at how bold the 2021 theme of ‘soaking wet bad boys + fruit’ was. 

YSK: Blackstar is always treading the line of what’s appropriate (lol).

Tsukaguchi: It always makes me wonder just how far we can take it… but in comparison we made sure to give them lots of clothes last year! (2024)

YSK: These costumes weren’t designed by me and they’re all packed with so many intricate details. Each character is wearing a different one too, so while I was working on these illustrations I probably spent at least a quarter of the time just staring at the costume references (lol).

I wanted these visuals to be a little rougher than usual, so I drew them whilst hoping people would enjoy that aspect as well.

Tsukaguchi: This year’s casino series is nice too. We left the costume design to YSK-san for this one.

YSK: At first we discussed that they should be showing some skin, but since they’re all casino dealers I thought it would be fitting to only get a glimpse of their wrists. So they ended up being fully clothed and that idea wasn’t approved (lol). So because of that I added some netting to Kokuyou-san’s arms and adjustments were made to make some of their midriff visible.

Tsukaguchi: For these illustrations we literally had a meeting to discuss how we should expose their skin (lol). YSK-san came up with the idea of netting and I was impressed by their creativity as always.

YSK: There may be less skin exposure when compared to previous years, but every character is still showing some. So please look forward to it (lol).

Tsukaguchi: I know we’re talking about AGF but another recent illustration set left an impression on me as well. The ones for the ‘Nautilus Blue’ event (July 2025).

These illustrations were actually ordered quite a while back, but due to some complications they hadn’t been used. So when we revisited them, there were discussions of whether it would be ok to add such naked cards to the game. But c’mon, pro wrestlers don’t wear shirts and everyone’s fine with that! (lol)

4Gamer: That’s a good point…!

Tsukaguchi: I think that these illustrations really show the beauty of the human body. The poses are interesting too and the tattoos leave an impact. They’re not the kind of illustrations you get to make often, so even now I still think it would be cool to see one’s like this for all 28 of the characters.

4Gamer: Listening to you two talk about it, I can tell that it isn’t just as simple as ‘take their clothes off’, but instead that a lot of care and planning goes into everything.

Tsukaguchi: Looking back on everything, the way the 4th anniversary illustrations came about was pretty amazing as well. YSK-san was asked to “Please injure the cast”…

YSK: Yep, that did happen!

Tsukaguchi: I returned to the team around the game’s 4.5 anniversary, so I remember when I first saw these illustrations I gasped like “His nose is bleeding, is that ok!?” (lol). The nosebleed was even specified in the brief… I was so shocked to see an order like that went through.

YSK: Yes. But nosebleeds can have a certain appeal to them sometimes (lol). In the brief the severity and grading of the injuries was outlined, and to imagine it being like a bloody fight.

However, I wasn’t allowed to make the injuries look too painful. Kei in particular isn’t very wounded at all. There are actually a lot of minor differences like that depending on the character.

4Gamer: Did you have any trouble with regulations when putting blood in the game?

Tsukaguchi: App store regulations don’t seem to mind as long as the blood isn’t red in colour. That’s why in cases where red blood does appear, it’s only in very small amounts.

4Gamer: No matter how provocative the illustrations may seem, I think they all still suit Blackstar. Is there anything that you make sure to keep in mind while drawing them, YSK-san?

YSK: I’m very mindful of how to bring out a sense of sex appeal. I rarely ever get other commissions that are focused on making male characters seductive. I always make sure to pay particular attention to the angle and expression of the eyes.

I think expressions can usually be split up into three categories, smiling, serious and sad. However in the case of the Starless cast, I’m often directed to draw more niche expressions, like a character looking down on you or giving a flirtatious glance. I always try my best to properly express those distinctions.

4Gamer: I see…! The characters' personalities and the story are a big part of Blackstar’s charm, but thanks to YSK-san’s illustrations, I think that these charms can be expressed even more strongly. A game’s visuals also play a very important role.

—Why are Blackstar’s characters always so naked!? Expressing the beauty of the human body and the current state of the game’s story

Tsukaguchi: I use the word ‘atmosphere’ a lot, but I truly love the atmosphere that YSK-san’s illustrations possess. That’s why I like using the phrase ‘new pictures’ for the new illustrations. Because just like a real photograph, I’m thankful that the atmosphere of YSK-san's drawings has not changed since the beginning.

4Gamer: That’s true. I have one more thing that I’d like to ask you, YSK-san. Is there any kind of illustration that you’d like to one day draw for Blackstar?

YSK: I’d like to see the whole cast wearing proper black suits. They could still have some of their chest exposed around the collar area of course, but I think that seeing the whole cast lined up in black suits would be really cool. I kind of want to try drawing that one day.

Tsukaguchi: Noted! (lol).

4Gamer: They’re usually not wearing much so part of me does want to see them fully clothed, but do you always make sure to have some skin exposed?

Tsukaguchi: I think it’s more that they’re not the kind of people who would wear a suit properly. Of course there are cast members like Kei and Rindou who would be capable of wearing one properly. But do you think Mizuki would wear one correctly?

YSK: I doubt he would be able to tie a tie by himself (lol).

Tsukaguchi: He would probably have someone else tie it for him every time… The manner in which someone wears a suit can differ greatly depending on the person, so I’m hesitant to have them wear suits as I wouldn’t want the differences to be too big.

I know that there are some guests who would love to see those kinds of outfits on the characters though, so if the opportunity arises it may be possible.

YSK: I just remembered this now, but one of the reasons that they offered the job to me was because I could draw muscles to a certain extent.

Tsukaguchi: Yes, that’s right. I didn’t want the characters to have frail bodies. This relates to the topic of their exposed skin, but I thought that the beauty of these performers' bodies would be an interesting angle to pursue. YSK-san and I often discuss how much skin would be ok to show.

4Gamer: Meaning, you still haven’t hit the limit yet…?

Tsukaguchi: It depends on the design of the costume. I think that it would be easier for them to dance with less obtrusive clothing on. Like how in ballet the dancers wear form fitting outfits, I think that the shows the Starless members put on display the beauty of the body.

4Gamer: I totally get what you mean. You mentioned in last year’s interview that you’re careful not to go into full gravure territory, and I think you’ve managed to hit a wonderful balance in the work's artistry. 

YSK: I aim to draw their muscles in a way that shows off the beauty of how well trained and sculpted they are without leaning too heavily into it being lewd. We want all of the illustrations to be their own thing, so I want to keep expressing each characters' unique charms.

4Gamer: I suppose we should start wrapping the interview up now—

Tsukaguchi: Excuse me, but there’s just something that I’d quickly like to say to YSK-san. In the past I explained that all of the mysteries will be resolved in season 6, however that didn’t end up being the case… 

The members of Starless all tried their best, but ultimately what they ended up learning from season 6 is that sharing information with each other is very important. It took them six years to remember the importance of reporting, contacting and consultation (lol).

YSK: That’s fine, don’t worry about it!

Tsukaguchi: The final chapter of season 6 featured the longest violent scene in the game’s history. It contains the most text we’ve ever written and yet the problem wasn’t resolved…

However I’m sure that we’ll get to see something resolved in season 7. So we’ll be continuing to work with YSK-san from here on out, please look forward to what’s to come!

4Gamer: I hope that new mysteries will continue to arise and eventually get resolved as well.

Tsukaguchi: It’s not that I just keep adding mysteries as I think of them. It’s just the characters that keep selfishly saying they want to solve things…

YSK: I see, they really are alive, huh? (lol)

Tsukaguchi: Yes. Even once all of the mysteries are resolved, life will still go on.

4Gamer: Lastly, would you like to leave a message to the fans or anybody else that may be reading this?

YSK: Blackstar isn’t about idols, it’s a work with violence, shady developments and an underground atmosphere. And while you may not get to see many sparkling moments, I’d like for you to watch over these men who crawl along the ground and continue to live even if it means they have to drink mud. I’m having fun with my involvement as the photographer, so please continue to enjoy the game!

Tsukaguchi: I am very sorry for causing you all trouble again this year… I said the same thing in last year’s interview, so I feel bad that I’m always just apologising.

It’s not that the characters don’t want to wear clothes, or that they particularly want to wear them either. They’ll just properly wear whatever it is that they’re given and enjoy performing. And if the guests enjoy the show too, then I think that will make them happy.

If you’ll allow me, I’d like to promote our sixth album ‘BLACKSTARVI’ which will be releasing in October of this year! YSK-san drew the album cover. This time you can vote for an original work to be adapted for each team. So please participate in the voting if it interests you.

We also have no idea what will be decided on, so we’re nervously awaiting the result (lol). I’m sure that the characters will take whatever the show is head on, so please look forward to it.

4Gamer: Thank you for your time today!