Monthly Volleyball 2014 - March Issue - Haikyuu!! Feature - Interview with Furudate Haruichi
– so 1. stage play and interviews has wrecked me 2. hq s2ep24 has worsened my condition this might be my permanent state of crying anyway, so because of the above stated reasons, I started trawling through tumblr and digging up stuff about haikyuu, and I chanced upon this magazine interview posted here by aerobird. Yes it’s kind of (very) late considering it’s a publication from 2 years ago (wow), but I really liked what I read so I decided to translate it out of personal interests (plus I haven’t been translating stuff lately so this is good). there’s also another haikyuu feature in a magazine called DaVinci which was also found on tumblr, it’s a little longer than this one I might translate it if I have the time. I can’t remember who posted it but I will put up the link if I ever do get down to translating it. for now, please enjoy!
– So I understand that Furudate-sensei has been watching the Spring High Volleyball tournaments every year! First of all, please share with us your thoughts on this year’s tournament.
Furudate: Well, this is something that strikes me every year, but the cheering is really intense! The very moment I step into the gymnasium, I’m overwhelmed by the cheers of each school. They really raise the atmosphere by a notch. Hearing the cheers also make me think of the players who must be so full of pride, to be able to play a match with so much support behind them. At the same time, I also recall my high school days, when I thought that it was so unfair, because only the baseball team got the whole school to support their matches! (laughs)
– This year you were allowed on the benches to collect material for your manga. How was it witnessing the matches up close?
Furudate: I was allowed to watch the matches from the reporters’ bench which was situated at the end of the court, and the balls were always rebounding in my direction! I was able to once again relive that feeling of ‘closeness” with the ball.
Other than that, I was able to see the match from the serving player’s line of sight, which gave me a very realistic view. And when I was down on the courts once again, I remembered how high the ceiling was and how bright the lights were. The players must have felt dizzy every time they practiced and had matches in the gymnasium. It must have taken them a while to get used to it. Though I couldn’t enter the court, I was really happy that I got to witness the match at such close proximity.
– Were there any plays or scenes that left a deep impression?
Furudate: Since I’ve been watching the matches from the audience seating until last year, the behind the scenes work which I was able to catch a glimpse of this year definitely left a lasting impression.
I was definitely able to feel the players’ anxiety while they waited for the previous matches to end and for their own team’s matches to start. And when the matches end, witnessing the reactions and feelings of both the winning and losing teams also left a deep impression.
– Were there any teams in the Spring High Tournament that left a deep impression?
Furudate: I was able to watch Seijoh High School and East Fukuoka High School practice in the sub-arena before the semi-finals. Seijoh had a more mild and quiet playing style, while East Fukuoka was intense and impactful, it was quite an interesting contrast. Each team’s unique personality also really shines through during the few moments before the start of a match.
– Were there any players who left a strong impression?
Furudate: To be honest, it’s quite hard to find someone who stands out as “The One” from first glance. I’ve always longed to stand on this kind of platform but I never had the chance to, so everyone who has made it to this stage is an existence above me (laughs)
Also, while collecting material I tried to focus more on the off-camera action, as the actual matches can still be watched on DVD. Bearing witness to these little details, the number of players that left a strong impression could only increase.
– Haikyuu!! Is a story revolving around volleyball. What inspired you to create a series like Haikyuu!! ?
Furudate: I was part of the volleyball club in middle and high school, and I still feel a strong sense of attachment to the sport. At that time, club activities were the only thing driving me to go to school. Even so, I wasn’t able to accomplish anything of much result. The feelings of frustration and regret, and the things that I wanted to do – I channeled them all into my manga and created Haikyuu!!
– What is the charm point of volleyball to you, personally?
Furudate: “Entrust”, and “to be entrusted with”, are foundational concepts in volleyball. Without understanding them, the game will not fall into place. For any team sports, it might be a given that teamwork and “connecting” is necessary for each play to work, but in volleyball such concepts form the roots of the game. Other than serving, even a simple offense cannot be done alone. That is precisely why the joy we share with our teammates, the frustration we feel when we can’t do anything on our own, are the charming aspects of volleyball.
– While reading Haikyuu!!, I noticed that there were many “speedy” scenes. Is “speed” also an aspect of volleyball which you find charming?
Furudate: I haven’t been consciously thinking about it, but the “speedy” feeling from these scenes may have actually been a result of trying to depict the “rigor” of the sport. Volleyball is different in the sense that continuous running is not involved, but as long as the ball is in the air, one must be constantly on the move and have their senses honed in order to stay focused in the game. I might have been trying to depict the rigor and anxiety felt in such scenes. Even though I’m the one drawing it, I’m analysing it as if it’s another person’s work (laughs)
– Within the manga, I noticed that a size 4 ball was used during middle school years, and the designs of the coloured balls changed with time as well. I feel that sensei has put in a lot of effort into these minor details.
Furudate: When transitioning from middle school to high school, we also upgraded from using a size 4 ball to a size 5 ball. The thought of “It’s big!” that I had at that time Is still very fresh in my mind, so I decided to put in such details in the manga as well. In the manga, I wanted to add in a scene where Hinata was thinking, “The ball’s different from the one in middle school!” but sadly, due to the limited number of pages, I had to cut it. When I was playing volleyball in high school, we also switched to coloured balls (we were still using white balls at the time when I entered high school), which left a deep impression on me. The designs of the balls keep getting more and more intricate, it’s getting tougher to draw (laughs)
– Are there any volleyball players you like?
Furudate: Aoyama Shigeru (former Japan National team member), and for currently active players, I like Torray Arrows’ Yoneyama Yuta.
– There are many unique and fascinating characters in Karasuno High School. Are there people in real life whom the characters are modeled after?
Furudate: Personality wise, I thought of the different aspects of the people I know, my own shortcomings as well as my own ideals. I have yet to create any characters who are modeled after real-life players.
– Why did you choose to set the story in Miyagi?
Furudate: Karasuno is located in Sendai City of Miyagi Prefecture, and may give off a sort of countryside image. In the beginning, I was deciding between Miyagi and Iwate. I lived in Iwate until high school, so I thought of modelling Karasuno High and its surroundings after my hometown in Iwate. However, my hometown was so far into the countryside that not even trains passed through, so it was kind of impossible to encounter students from other schools. I also rarely walked around town, so I actually didn’t know as much about my hometown as I had expected, so I gave up in making Iwate the setting (laughs)
I spent about 8-9 years in Miyagi after graduating from high school, so it’s like a second hometown to me. I feel a great sense of emotional attachment to the place and I’m also familiar with the area. Furthermore, it’s also the hometown of my editor-in-charge, so in the end I decided on Miyagi for the setting. But thinking about it now, having characters from a rural countryside with no trains saying things like “Ey we’re gonna go to the Tokyo Gym!” would be kind of interesting to see (laughs)
– Were there any scenes that were particularly difficult to draw?
Furudate: The rules and explanations of the different plays. Majority of the Jump readers do not have a prior interest in volleyball. I didn’t want to bore the readers with the explanations, so I try to incorporate them as parts of the story. The rotation of the players is also another issue. When I think that, “Hey! The protagonist can shine in this scene here!” in the next rotation, he would be shifted to the backrow. But the rotation itself is an interesting concept that can be expanded on in the manga.
Other than that, sometimes it’s just the scenes and frames where I have to continuously squeeze in the characters. When I’m drawing in a half-asleep state in the middle of the night, I’ll carelessly draw a character who was supposed to be in the backrow jumping to block the ball, or drawing right-handed players spiking the ball with their left. When I realise I’ll be like, “Uwaaaa!” and then I’ll have to redraw the scenes. Sometimes they get published without me noticing so then I’ll be like “Uwaaa!’ and I’ll have to redraw those scenes for the comics publication. (laughs)
– Volleyball terms such as direct and indirect delivery, break, etc. were also all very well-explained in the manga. I can tell that sensei has put in a lot of effort in explaining these very daunting volleyball terms…how was it?
Furudate: Conveying these terms to readers who are not familiar with volleyball in a straightforward manner has always been my top priority, so I always try to use words that leave a strong impression or simple explanations. Especially for foundational rules (the ball must be sent back to the opposite side of the net after three touches, player rotation etc.), the names of the different positions and the basic attack strategies, I hope that the reader can remember them in order to fully enjoy the manga. However, unlike the basic terms that appear very frequently, the specialised volleyball terms are rather difficult to understand and commit to memory. The technical terms might sound cool to someone who’s never heard them before (at least that’s what it’s like for me? How about you?), so even if they can’t remember their meanings, just by filing them into their memory as “something cool”, when they come across these terms again while watching a match on TV, they’ll think, “Hey! I think I read about that term in a manga before!” It’ll be great if they can slowly familiarise themselves with the terms in this way.
Also, for a shonen Jump manga like Haikyuu!!, there still hasn’t been a special move with a cool name yet (due to the author’s lack of naming sense), so the use of these specialised terms actually helps to shoulder some of the burden (laughs)
– Are there any characters whom you especially like?
Furudate: If I had to only choose one, it would be the protagonist Hinata. I put in a lot of effort to arrive at the Hinata that’s in the serialised version right now, so I have a really strong emotional attachment to him. Other than that, from Karasuno I like Tanaka, and from the rival schools I like Aone of Date Tech and Bokuto of Fukurodani. Basically, I like characters who don’t think about the consequences before acting. I’m someone who tends to overthink the consequences, so I really admire characters like them.
– I think it’s a really amazing concept to have someone small like Hinata who only stands at 162.8cm to be a middle blocker. Please share with us your thoughts and inspirations for this idea.
Furudate: I wanted to make quicks the main weapon, so I decided on middle blocker. Before Haikyuu!! started, I wanted to draw a story about a super amazing setter who could send the perfect tosses to his spiker. Following such an idea, I thought, rather than being “taller than the block”, why not be “faster than the block”? In the first chapter, we see that Hinata makes up for his lack of height with his amazing jumping power, but yet he realises that such ability is insufficient. I wanted to make Hinata reach the “peak” before his opponents, to triumph over those who are bigger than him, so I gave him an extraordinary jumping power to contrast the handicap his overwhelming lack of height gave him.
I also played middle blocker during my school days, so I really wanted to convey the feeling of touching the ball when making an awesome quick!
– I feel like the names of many of the players in the story are kind of uncommon or unconventional…is it just me? (laughs)
Furudate: I don’t think it’s just you (laughs) At this juncture, the surnames of the players from Aoba Johsai were taken from the names of hot springs in Iwate, and the surnames of the players from Date Tech were taken from the names of hot springs in Miyagi (for most of them). When more characters are introduced, it’s also really difficult to think of names for them. Now I’m still using the names of hot springs in the Tohoku region, but in the future it may expand to the whole of Japan. For the teams that have animal motifs, I think of their names by relating them to their respective animals.
– Hinata and Kageyama are indeed the epitome of yin and yang. I’m also looking forward to their individual growths in the future. Please tell us more about the future developments!
Furudate: As to how Hinata and Kageyama will change from now on, to be honest, I’m the person who knows the least. I’ll work hard to create a progression that the readers would be excited about.
Right now we’re at the Spring High Preliminaries, but there will be teams that will lose their third year players, and there will be teams that will completely change too. I also want the readers to also look out for teams that will be competing once again. Nekoma High and the other rival schools of the Kanto region will also be facing off in the preliminaries at the same time. I haven’t drawn these scenes yet, but I definitely want to do a good job portraying the matches between the other schools.
– Last question, what is the one thing that you want to convey the most to the readers through Haikyuu!! ?
Furudate: The fact that volleyball is fun and cool! I hope that Haikyuu!! can become a gateway for people to become truly interested in and pick up volleyball. I want it to be a story which both people play and do not play volleyball can enjoy, and I’ll work hard on that. Please look forward to it and thank you for your support.
reblogging this cos hq is coming to an end...reminded me of one of my past translations i did for a magazine interview with Furudate...hq will always have a special place in my heart...!
also helped out @pala_bora over on Twitter with the latest translation of the monster generation interview thread!!! please do check it out!!! i’m super proud of her for doing this!
EDIT: I’ve done up the DaVinci interview with Furudate (my small contribution to the wrap up of HQ - it can be found here! I’d be really glad if you give it a read! Furudate talks a lot about what goes into the manga and it’s really insightful!
