100 SF Questions for Hagio Moto
I recently read the French edition of Hagio Moto's adaptation of Ryu Mitsuse's 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights (çžĺăŽćźă¨ĺĺăŽĺ¤, which becomes Une infinitĂŠ de jours et de nuits in French to make it sound less mathematically confusing), and I loved this exclusive interview that was included in the book. I don't have the Japanese edition of the book, so this will be a translation from French. Sorry for everything that might get lost in the double translation.
The Japanese original can be found in the kanzenban edition.
100 SF QUESTIONS FOR MOTO HAGIOÂ
Interview of May 21st, 2022Â
Special for Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion NightsÂ
SF and meÂ
1. What is it that fascinates you about SF?Â
Ever since I was a child, reality and its constraints weighed heavily on me. I felt that this world would forever be closed to me and that I would never find any kind of hope here. Thatâs why I started dreaming of faraway places, of legends, and of fantasies. I became obsessed after discovering science fiction. I was thinking of different versions of a future Earth. I was imagining myself meeting inhabitants of another world, traveling through space. That was what gave me hope. Â
2. How were you introduced to SF as a child?Â
Manga like Osamu Tezukaâs Astro Boy, Shotaro Ishinomoriâs Yuurei Shoujo (Ghost Girl) (where he imagines that multiple dimensions other than ours exist), among others. Â
3. What is the first SF novel you remember reading?Â
Kadokawa Shotenâs âSF Juvenileâ collection. Itâs about 10 volumes long, but I canât remember the title of the first volume. Â
4. How old were you then? And why did you choose that collection?Â
I was in fifth or sixth year of primary school. I was going to Mikawa Elementary School in Oomuta, in the prefecture of Fukuoka. One day, our library got the entire set and put it on their shelves. There it was, immaculate. I was overexcited. Â
5. Can you talk some more about your relationship with SF during elementary school?Â
I remember Chikyuu Saigo No Hi (The Last Days of the Earth) from the same collection very well. The story took place in Manor House, the UK. A group of lords learn that the comet Halley is on its way to destroy the Earth. Which doesnât happen, in the end. Then there was From the Earth to the Moon, The Lost World... I always sneaked into my schoolâs library to read. My mother was furious when I borrowed that kind of books and brought them home (she said that they had nothing to do with my studies). So I would stay at the library until the very last moment, right before closing time at 5.Â
6. What about you and SF during middle school?Â
I was mainly reading stories focusing on science you would find in magazines aimed at middle school students. There was one for every level: âFirst year,â âsecond year,â and âthird year.â I had many friends who would lend me books until high school, so I only bought âthird yearâ magazines. Thatâs also when I discovered Taku Mayumuraâs novel, Nazo no Tenkousei (The Mysterious Transfer Student). I was quite shocked when I read Wakusei SOS (Planet SOS) in a supplement of Third Year in 1966 (the story was based on Isaac Asimovâs The Currents of Space). Up until then, most of the stories Iâd read were taking place on Earth, but suddenly, I was reading about space civilizations and faraway planets in the future.When the characters said âI come from the Earth!â, they were met with a âEarth? I know no planet by that name.â I remember it very well. A world where nobody knows about the Earth. Isnât that fantastic?Â
7. And your high school years?Â
I was literally swimming in SF! I was living in Suita, in the Osaka Prefecture. I was a student at the municipal high school. There was a bookstore where you could borrow books, a kashihon-ya, in front of Senriyama Station. At the time, you could rent a book for 10 yen per day. I was mostly getting novels from the SF series of Hayakawa Publishing. I was renting so many books, so I donât remember the titles and their authors anymore. But I must have read a good 50 of the 318 novels published in the series. I remember 300:1. It was talking about humanity leaving the Earth. There was also Deadly Image. SF critics were talking a lot about it. After some research, I found out that it was written by Edmund Cooper, a famous British author. There were kashihon-ya everywhere back then, and they were selling Hayakawa Publishingâs SF Magazine or Mystery Magazine. I sometimes bought them whenever I had some pocket money. But because it made my mother angry, I was never taking them home. I wonder what I did with them. Â
8. Can you talk about how you felt about SF during your debut as a manga artist (during the 1970s)?Â
I won a prize (of 3000 yen) by sending my manuscript to Shuueisha when I was still in high school. After that, my mother stopped scolding me when I told her I had to buy books to help me with my manga. So, the moment I had some money, I was spending it on paperback SF books. As I was approaching 20, I got my hands on two books by Ray Bradbury at my bookstore at Oomura. First one was The October Country, which took my breath away by its beauty. I went back the next day to get R is for Rocket. I went by bike. Later, when I went to Tokyo and started living there, I read Philip K. Dickâs Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I was astonished. I was engulfed in this futuristic world where androids and humans shared the same pain, the same melancholy for many days to come. Â
9. So, we can say that you never stopped reading SF.Â
No, never. Â
10. What kind of SF do you particularly like?Â
I like them all. But I must admit that Iâm always at the edge of my seat when itâs a story about extraterrestrial beings. Very recently, Liu Cixin released a book in that genre, The Three-Body Problem, which I found to be very interesting. Â
11. Between parallel worlds, spatial distortion et time travel, which one do you prefer?Â
I love them all. I read Ken Wakuiâs Tokyo Revengers not too long ago, which dealt with time travel brilliantly. Â
12. Sometimes, stories inspired by the fantasy world, like the ones you had in Unicorn no Yume (Unicorn Dream) for example, end up by being rather in the lane of SF. Do you separate the two categories?Â
Yes, I do. When the fantastic is combined with magic, thatâs fantasy for me. When it has scientific elements, itâs SF.Â
13. For you, what other words would correspond to âSâ and âFâ of SF?Â
âStrangerâ and âFestival.âÂ
14. Letâs talk about Asimov a little bit. What about him that fascinates you?Â
How apt his analysis of the world and the scope of his universe are. Also the appeal of his creative genius, like in Foundation or Caves of Steel. Until the very end, the story keeps its density and homogeneity. Â
15. And what do you like about Bradbury?Â
I like his lyricism above all. His writings, his narration makes me feel like Iâm reading a poem or listening to music. He sometimes writes about young boys whose purity is simply captivating. Â
16. Who are your favorite Japanese SF authors?Â
Sakyou Komatsu, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Taku Mayumura, Shinichi Hoshi, Ryu Mitsuse, Ryou Hanamura, Yasumi Tsuhara, Yuusuke Kishi...Â
17. And if you had to choose between Japanese authors and foreigner ones?Â
I would choose foreigners. Â
18. As a long-time SF reader, would you say that your taste in SF has changed? Or are you still interested in themes that youâve always liked?Â
I donât think I have changed, because I enjoy everything. Â
19. If you had to recommend a work to someone whoâs never read any SF, what would it be?Â
To start, Iâd say works of Fredric Brown are the easiest to get into. And if they like it, they can move on to Robert Sheckley, Alfred Elton van Vogt, Theodore Sturgeon... Oh sorry, Iâm only listing my favorite authors. Â
20. And what would you recommend to someone whoâs not really good with SF?Â
Maybe titles who do not stray too much from what we usually encounter... Why not go with Children of the Atom by Wilmar House Shiras, of The Body Snatchers of Jack Finney? Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is also great. Stephen Kingâs 22/11/63 made me hold my breath until the last page. Again, thatâs just my personal preference. Â
21. How do you choose your SF novels?Â
I buy the latest releases of authors I like. That being said, I also rely on reviews, and word-of-mouth, and recommendations...Â
22. You said youâve read Liu Cixinâs bestseller, The Three-Body Problem. Can you tell us what you thought of it?Â
Thatâs a great example of a big-scale saga that spans multiple universes! I thought it was really interesting. We also visit very exciting parallel worlds. After finishing it, I thought back to the introduction of the second volume again. The one where we simply follow marching ants. The plot is very coherent, and the story is quite cruel. The bottom line is, humans are nothing but insects. Â
23. What would you recommend among the latest SF releases?Â
Hmm... The Three-Body Problem was really amazing. I also liked Peter Wattsâs Blindsight. Itâs very engaging. I had a good time reading Andy Weirâs Martian, it was very comforting. It figures that it was adapted into a movie.Â
24. Is there an upcoming SF novel you are looking forward to?Â
As a matter of fact, I love Ann Leckie. I was totally hooked on her Ancillary Justice. Iâm also waiting for a sequel for Provenance. Inhabitants of other planets intrigue me so much. Â
The appeal of SF mangaÂ
25. What is the first SF shounen manga you remember reading?Â
Astro Boy, of course.Â
26. And the first SF shoujo manga?Â
Shotaro Ishinomoriâs Yuurei Shoujo (Ghost Girl). But Iâve only read the first part, which was published in instalments in a magazine. Which is why, I know very little about it. Â
27. Which SF manga character(s) have impressed you the most?Â
Astro and Cyborg 009. Lucius Modestus from Thermae Romae is also very cute. Â
28. What did you like about them?Â
In Astro, I liked his sad eyes, which still had so much spirit. As for 009, he is just so cool! His shyness is also very touching. And I love Luciusâs noble soul. It allows him to be open to different cultures. Â
29. What would be your list of best SF manga of all times?Â
Astro Boy, Cyborg 009, Doreamon by Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko (Fujiko Fujio). I keep repeating the same titles. Something must be off with my memory!Â
30. Why do you love them so much? Â
They pierced through my restless heart... in more ways than one. Â
31. Among the shoujo SF manga of Osamu Tezuka and Ishinomori Shotaro you read as a child, which were your favorites?Â
Sorry, but I will still go with Astro Boy and Cyborg 009. But I can also count Wonder 3, Majin Garon, Fushigi no Shounen (The Mysterious Boy), and Mutant Sabu, which were all very interesting. Oops, these are mostly shounen manga. Sorry. Leiji Matsumotoâs shoujo SF manga he released under the penname Akira Matsumoto were also very good. But I canât remember their titles, sorry. Â
32. What is the appeal of writing SF manga for you?Â
Being able to describe a certain future, values and customs of other worlds, their philosophies, environments... Being able to smash your own value system to pieces.Â
33. And what is the most complicated part of the process?Â
The technology aspect (robots, ships, mechanical pieces...). I mean it. Worldbuilding too, especially when you have different planets or worlds. Â
34. Would you say that SF manga stands at a different place compared to before?Â
Truth be told, I do not know. I donât read all SF magazines. I get the impression that there arenât SF manga for adults anymore. Well, Naoki Urasawa wrote Asadora, after all. Thatâs SF, is it not? Thereâs also Attack on Titan in the spotlight, so I assume that thereâs a demand for SF. In that case, maybe nothingâs changed?Â
As a creator of SF worlds...Â
35. When you draw SF manga, what do you pay attention to the most?Â
Hair design and the outfits of the characters. Â
36. What are the hardest and the easiest parts?Â
I take pleasure in finding the inspiration to create a beautiful composition. The hardest part is making do when I canât find it. I keep going at it until I finally do. Â
37. What do you have for us next?Â
Iâm working on a new instalment in The Poe Clan saga, Ao no Pandora (Blue Pandora), which has a surprising SF twist. Â
38. Do you have your little rituals when you write SF?Â
Absolutely not. I look at my Mars globe for a while, I guess. Â
39. Does writing SF takes more or less of your time than writing in other genres?Â
No, they are all the same. Â
40. Do you consider writing a work that would explore the theme of traveling to another planet from the Earth?Â
That would be nice. It reminds me of the time when I met Ryu Mitsuse during a party thrown by Akita Shoten. It must have been between 1985 and 1990. At the time, I was frequently going to Globe Theater of Tokyo in Shinookubo, where they staged Shakespeare plays. I thought of a story in which the Globe Theater was a spaceship, taking its crew on a star trip. The leader of the troupe was a boy of 16 or 17, his favorite play was Hamlet and he was dreaming of avenging his father one day. See, I had even thought of the characters. So, when Mr. Mitsuse and I started talking about the Shinookubo theater, I was surprised to hear him directly say that having a theater troupe travel in a spaceship built like the Globe wasnât that original. I was convinced that telepathy exists! But itâs true that taking these unambiguous elements and combining them would certainly end up being something very commonplace. Nevertheless, even today, I probably donât have the energy to plunge into such a project. I wish someone got to it, so that I can read it one day. Oh, and all events would be tied to a Shakespeare tragedy in some way.Â
41. In 1993, in an interview with novelist Yoshiki Tanaka, you said âI would like to write a long, a very long SF story. The story of a never-ending journey.â Do you still want to?Â
Yes, that would have complemented the space theater troupe story. If you added a Moby Dick-like side to it, it would be even more dramatic. Â
42. Is there a novel that you would like to adapt into manga?Â
Thereâs a lot, but Iâm not sure if Iâll be able to. I read John Herbert Varleyâs Steel Moon recently. Although it was hard SF, it still leaves amazing images in your head. China MiĂŠvilleâs Embassytown was alro released not too long ago, in which the residents of Planet Arieka, who suddenly find themselves in a type of addiction. I thought that with its oppressive side, it would be the kind of parallel world worth adapting. Â
43. In the past, you wrote SF novels like Piaris or Utsukushi no kami no tsutae (Message of the Gof of Beauty). Are you considering going to back to writing?Â
Yes, one day. But it has to take place among the stars. Â
10 Billion Days and 100 Billion NightsÂ
44. Tell us how you ended up adapting this novel into manga. Â
I was talking to my editor from Akita Shoten about how astonishing Ryu Mitsuseâs novel was. Then another editor who was also present there said, âOh, Iâm close with Mr. Mitsuse. Would you like to adapt it into manga?â Before he could finish his sentence, 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights started serialization in weekly Shounen Champion. Sometimes, you just need to go with the flow. Maybe that was destiny. Â
45. How did you feel when you first read this story?Â
I thought it was very complex, but one of my teachers in high school once said, âhumanity is incapable of knowing what lies beyond the universe.â Ever since, I never stopped thinking about how there was something there. At the very end of the novel, there is that very dramatic revelation... The Q&A between Ashura and Chakravarti-rÄjan also came quite as a shock to me. All the more so when Ashura started receiving what that âsomethingâ is through a dream. I felt as if my heart would leap out of my chest. I thought, âitâs not just something, but itâs someone...â This kind of story is really bad for my heart. Â
46. What really pulled you in Mr. Mitsuseâs novel?Â
Its dark, melancholic, and fatalistic side. But also the ideas of resilience, of pride, and the philosophy thereof. Â
47. Was designing the characters for the novel hard?Â
No, because the novel already did a great job at it. I did my best to stay as close as possible to the original designs, but Ryu Mitsuse still told me to go ahead and draw them as I like. That really lessened the pressure I felt, and Iâm grateful to him. Â
48. You say Ashura is your favorite character. Why?Â
I modeled Ashura after the statute at Koufukuji, and everythingâs there. Destiny, space, eternity, the male-female duality in its features, and that elusive, yet ever present stubbornness. The ability to guide and console Siddharta, to stand up to Maitreya and admonish Sakra... How cool!Â
49. Which scene are you most proud of?Â
Siddharta and Ashura facing off in the desert. You could really feel the aspirations of a young artist through the art there. I donât know if I can draw like that ever again. Â
50. Conversely, which scene would be the farthest from it? To put it more simply, which part was the hardest to adapt into manga?Â
The place where the Negation compartments are stored was too cramped. I would have loved to reflect its monumental aspect better. Like there were no limits there, a little bit like an immense airport.Â
51. Apparently, you submitted about 90% of the storyboards before the serialization began, and made necessary changes as you proceeded. Is there a particular reason why you chose this method?Â
I needed to fit everything in two volumes. That was the number of pages I was given. Each chapter had to be 20 pages long. The color pages werenât included. I could finish five pages in a day, so I had 4 days to complete a chapter. The scenes like the one that takes place in a desert were going to take time, so I wanted to at least submit the storyboards with the dialogue and all. Iâm not too sure now, but I think I kept everything in a little folder. I must have dedicated myself wholly to this task to get everything done at once. It must have taken me a month. Â
52. You must have needed a good knowledge of Buddhism. Was preparing for this manga hard?Â
I bought a photo album of Buddhist statues to scavenge for visual references. I took a trip to Kyoto and Nara, and I studied the artefacts on display. Â
53. Were you comparing your work to the other manga published in Shounen Champion at the same time? Did you face different hardships compared to working for a manga magazine aimed at young girls?Â
Usually, I donât really think about what other artists do who are published together with me, no matter the demographics of the magazine. I take the age bracket of the readership into consideration, that I do. I wouldnât say I had any particular difficulties, but I can say that I enjoyed working on different contexts and settings, like the buildings in the desert or in Atlantis.Â
54. Did writing an SF work published in a magazine aimed at young boys made you impose certain restrictions on yourself?Â
Not really. Itâs true that as a general rule of thumb, lines are thicker in that kind of magazine. One can notice more striking nuances in the thickness of the lines, more than I would have imagined. For a moment, I thought that my linework was maybe too thin for this kind of work. Despite all that, I did what I did. Â
55. Did that have an impact on your later works?Â
No, I donât think so. Â
56. How did Mr. Mitsuse and his fans react to this manga? Â
After the first chapter, I received letters from elementary school boys asking me to stop because they didnât find it interesting. I felt a little guilty. I knew they were buying the magazine with their pocket money. It was only fair that they wanted to enjoy everything they read in there. When the first volume came out, Mr. Mitsuse suggested that we sign it together. We prepared about 20 co-signed 2-volume sets, and took half of them each to distribute. However, Iâm not sure if the readers were satisfied with that. Â
57. Did you read the original work in episodic instalments in SF Magazine?Â
No, Iâve read the paperback. But I remember reading the first chapter in the magazine, so I probably got a second-hand copy to read it. Â
58. On the introduction page of the first chapter of the manga in the magazine, we can see a character with glasses next to Orionae. Who is that?Â
Thatâs Judas. He hadnât appeared in the story at that time. Â
59. Yume, the young girl from Elcasie village, doesnât appear in the novel. What made you create this new character?Â
She was supposed to be a guide. Including generic characters often allows a less brutal delivery of the setting. Â
60. In the novel, Judas is 60. But under your pen, he becomes a young man. Why is that?Â
Really?! This is the first time Iâm hearing it. Sorry. Iâve always imagined him as a young man. Thatâs just a personal presumption. Â
61. How does the end of this story make you feel?Â
Thanks to this story, I now understand the expression on Ashuraâs face (Iâm talking about the statue at Kofukuji). In a never-ending battle, humanity cannot turn away from its destiny in order to survive. This transient nature is Ryu Mitsuseâs signature. Iâm very impressed by how he chose to write about a world in which there would be no winners. Â
62. Have you ever thought about how you personally would have finished this story and was it ever reflected in your later works?Â
Oh no, I would not dare!Â
63. Ashura is always seen striking very theatrical poses, which remind of kabuki*. Was that intentional?Â
*Traditional Japanese theater that focuses on dancing and singing. Â
Now that you mention it, itâs true that I try to draw beautiful silhouettes, and thatâs how I always end up like that. I donât specifically draw inspiration from kabuki, but I admit that the poses of the actors are quite impressive. Â
64. I quote what you once said in an interview: âThe hardest part to convey was the climax that lead up to the end. I didnât know how to draw it. I felt even more lost thinking about how the story would be incomplete without it. But to really grasp its difficulty, I still needed to take on the challenge. When I felt ready, I started to draw Ashura with her tiny hands and feet (laughs).â What did you mean by that?Â
I was asking myself, âWhat? Is Ashura connected to the universe by sharing a common conscience with Chakravarti-rÄjan?!â I was imagining that her three pair of arms were embracing the universe, and as I drew her three faces, and six elbows, I could naturally see the connection. Â
65. How did you imagine the legendary continent of Atlantis?Â
I had been interested in the legend about its submersion for a very long time. About how it has a more advanced civilization than ours, and yet how it all disappeared in a single night... Still, whenever they find ancient remains at the bottom of the sea, my heart beats with excitement. The passage that sheds lights on this mystery in Ryu Mitsuseâs novel is of colossal scope, itâs simply spectacular. Â
66. The scene where Ashura is surrounded by elephants right before the end is particularly striking. Thatâs also featured on the cover of the Image Album. How did you create the composition?Â
Thatâs quite a Christ-like scene with Ashura in the center and the elephant troop of Sakra around her. Despite the very critical situation, Ashura stands proud. There are flames, and waters. Thatâs really a very beautiful scene. I was allowed to rework on the description from the book. Â
67. The opening sentence of the novel is as follows: âSurging and receding... Surging and receding...â Why didnât you use that?Â
If I could get 8 more introductory pages, I would have loved to recreate the undulating movement between the waves on the beach and each character. A wave, then Ashura, another wave, Siddhartha, a wave, Orionae, a wave, Sakra, a wave, Maitreya, a wave, Judas... that would have translated perfectly into an image. But if I had to inscribe the phrase in question over the drawings that are meant to illustrate it, I believe that would have been a little bit repetitive. So I gave up on the idea. Â
68. Would you say that you had to force your hand, and make your art "heavier" than you would in a shoujo manga in Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, because it was published as a shounen manga?Â
No. I canât change my art style on the go like that. Â
69. Right before the end, Orionae has to take the sphere apart to build a new âtrellis.â Did you already have an idea about its design?Â
Sorry to disappoint, but I didnât really know what I was doing. I randomly went at it. In the end, I owe the design to Orionae. Â
70. You say that you took inspiration from the Ashura statue you saw at Kofukuji in Nara. How much of an influence did it have on you?Â
100%. If the statue didnât have that face (or rather, those faces), that body, the character of Ashura as we know wouldnât exist. Â
71. Did you ask for the help of someone skilled in the representation of technologic elements for your drawings?Â
Not when I was adapting Ryu Mitsuseâs work. However, for They Were Eleven..., Leiji Matsumotoâs team accepted to offer their help.Â
72. It appears that in Uchuu Jojishi (The Epics of the Universe), created in collaboration with Mr. Mitsuse, you worked simultaneously. He wrote the text and you did the illustrations at the same time. Do you have anything memorable to tell us about that?Â
His stories have always been filled with a wild lyricism. Each time, I was wondering whether I would be able to reflect the beauty of his lines in my drawings. I was breaking in a cold sweat. Â
73. Do you have any memory from the time when you were doing the covers of the paperback editions of his novels?Â
I love working on illustrations. It was very exciting for me. Â
Your Own SF WorksÂ
74. Letâs talk about your SF manga. Other than Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, which one left the strongest impression on you, and why?Â
Hmm, thatâs hard to say... I feel attached to every one of them. I canât see myself picking one in particular. Â
75. I think that your early SF works, like Asobidama (âMarblesâ) or Rokugatsu no Koe (âThe Voice of Juneâ) are close to perfection. Looking back, what do you think of them?Â
Thank you so much! In both, you can feel the influence of the American SF of the 1960s, like interplanetary migration, automated systems, cyborgs... Writing about those was a joy for me. Â
76. In Horizon of the East, Eternity of the West, sequel of They Were Eleven!, we see His Majesty (Baseska, the Mayan king) and Fourth (Soldan âFourthâ Dorikas) again. Have you ever considered featuring other characters in other sequels?Â
That would be great. I would love to send the Tada and Frol duo to discover new planets. I canât let go of those two. Especially, not Frol. Thatâs a very effective character. Â
77. When did you meet Ray Bradbury?Â
It was by pure chance at the San Diego Comic Convention in July 2010. I was overly excited by the thought that I would be meeting one of my idols. He was in a wheelchair, but I still gave him a hug and said âI love you.â to him. I felt a little embarrassed afterwards. But that was an opportunity I couldnât have missed. Â
78. After the serialization of Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, you started Star Red without having an ending in mind. Can you say that its creative process was the exact opposite of Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights?Â
Well, as I was asked to draw that series quite hastily, I only had time to create the characters and the basic setting. I had to build all the rest as I was releasing new chapters. The suspense was always there. But Erg, one of the secondary characters, ended up taking the center stage, which helped me a lot. Really, everythingâs happened thanks to him. âErgâ is a reference to the old unit of measurement of energy, which you can see in October the First Is Too Late by Fred Hoyle I had just finished reading. I thought that sounded nice, so I turned it into a character. I think the word comes from Greek. Â
79. Gin no Sankaku (âSilver Triangleâ) was published in SF Magazine. How did it feel to be featured in one of the magazines you were a reader of?Â
Thinking that the readers would be as familiar as me with SF, it was reassuring to know that everyone would be able to more or less grasp the setting of the story, even though not all elements were introduced beforehand. Â
80. In A-A', you introduce a race with a horn. Where did you get the idea?Â
My point of departure was human emotions. Emotions often get in the way of our logical, pragmatic behavior. So I made different hypotheses such as, âWhat if we created a new type of human, with no emotions, like robots? And if such creatures really existed, could they still be called human?â I got them all together and assumed that beings capable of suppressing all emotion to act logically already existed, which would be better suited to long travels in space. Thatâs how the unicorn race came to be. But at the end, their creation would prove to be a failure, because the difficulty of expressing their emotions would create a sort of stress on them, slowly killing them like a poison. As someone whoâs often been under a similar kind of stress, I could see myself in them. Â
81. In Marginal, you describe a world where a futuristic SF world and nomad customs merge together. What were you trying to do with the amalgamation of these two settings, two cultural variations?Â
Until the 1970s, when you thought about the future, you just had to think of science and its supremacy. But we soon came to understand the limits of our scientific progress. We understood that in order to survive, humanity had to go back to nature. So in Marginal, I tried to create a mixture between the two with a community closer to nature, and with another one devoted to scientific progress. The wider the gap between the progress and nature grows in the story, the easier it gets to grasp what separates the two. Â
82. You have a lot of SF stories in which sound and music occupy an important place like Gin no Sankaku (âSilver Triangleâ), Mosaic Rasen (âMosaic Spiralâ) and Umi no Aria (âAria of the Seaâ). What does music represent for you?Â
My father had a beautiful voice and good ears. He also played the violin in his spare time. He tried to get his children interested, but none of us really did. However, the fondness for things related to music stayed with us and for a very long time, I was wondering how to visualize the echoes of music fading out. Thatâs where I got the idea of paying tribute to sounds, to melodies. Gin no Sankaku and Ragini have a little âethnicâ side, as they both explore the formal beauty of musical instruments in Southeast Asia, but it all stems from the principal theme. This link to music was also a way for me to pay tribute to my father. The problem is, I was a fan of Beatles when my father didnât even want to hear of them. We were never on the same wavelength. Â
83. In Abunai Oka no Ie (âThe Dangerous Family on the Hillâ), there is a chapter titled âAbunai Dan no Uraâ (âDanger at Dan no Uraâ). Although it has SF elements in it, itâs also inspired by Japanese history, which is rare in your works. How was your creation process?Â
Iâve always been fascinated by the rise of the first military government of Japan, the Kamakura Shogunate, in 12th century. When you look at European history, unlike in Japan, revolutions are not a rare occurrence. They topple the existing power and turn the whole country upside down. Unless you consider the rise to power of a military government as a kind of little revolution by itself, that is. I did research on the topic, and thought it would be nice if Mariko could go and make sure herself. Thatâs why I made her travel in time to follow in the footsteps of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun, and his brother Yoshitsune. When I started working on it, there were still so many details I knew nothing of, like how people provided for heating, for example. Â
Did they have a fire in their houses that burned all day? I looked into the history of temples and shrines to figure out what the daily life at that period could be like. I also visited an artisan who specializes in armor-making, who kindly allowed me to study up them close and learn more about them. Â
84. You said about Otherworld Barbara: âI always have a hard time drawing Japan, except for when itâs Hokkaido.â What about Hokkaido resonates with you?Â
When they talk about Hokkaido, they often call it âoverseas.â Itâs true that the frozen lands of the North has something exotic about them. Maybe that is due to the Clock Tower of Sapporo, or the Our Lady of the Angels Trappistine Abbey. If not, it might be because of Hokkaidoâs rowan trees and their small berries, asparagus fields, houses with tout roofs, chimneys, huge oil stoves, silos, meadows... The green is so different there than of my birthplace, Kyushu. Itâs more tender. Everything about Hokkaido is exotic. Â
85. What are your favorite chapters from Koko Dewanai Doko ka (âAnywhere But Hereâ), the manga series that you drew for Monthly Flowers?Â
I would say Kuro Hitsuji (âBlack Sheepâ), Yanagi no Ki (âThe Willow Treeâ), Sphynx, Nanohana, or Haru no Ogawa (âStream of Springâ). Yama he Iku (âGoing to the Mountainsâ), too. As for why, well... As a matter of fact, I seldom go back and read my own works, because I canât help but think âI could have done this differently, I would change this...â And because there is not much I can do at this stage, I ask, why am I torturing myself? I prefer believing that I did my best. Â
86. In Away, why the world of adults is called âhomeâ and the world of children âawayâ?Â
I was inspired by the sports terminology. In football, you say you play at âhomeâ when itâs your field, and you play âawayâ when you play in the field of the other team. Thatâs how you differentiate between two spaces. Most of the time, children go âaway,â but they can always come back âhomeâ where their parents are if they want to, as long as their home remains a safe haven for them. Â
87. Yodaka in Star Red and Kira in Marginal are both characters whoâve been through pregnancy and gave birth to children. We encounter the theme of pregnancy again in Seirei Kari (âFairy Huntâ). In your SF settings, what do the concepts of âpregnancy,â âbirthâ, and âthe continuation of the speciesâ mean?Â
About that... I think they all represent the mystery of life. I think if men could become pregnant, the world would be a much different place today. Â
SF and Movie AdaptationsÂ
88. What are your favorite SF movies of all times?Â
Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey. I choose Blade Runner because itâs based on a book I love, Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep? I think itâs enthralling. The rather bleak vision of the future that was not too far away from us, and the dark and rainy atmosphere in the movie gripped me. As for 2001: A Space Odyssey, I was astounded by how strong Stanley Kubrickâs aesthetic was. It felt like I was wandering through a museum. I knew nothing of the story except for what I saw on the screen. When I started reading Arthur C. Clarkeâs novel, everything became more confusing. I had to think for a decade to finally understand that it was talking about evolution and resurgence of life.Â
89. Which movies caught your eye in recent years, and why?Â
I would say The Martian. There's great attention to detail in that movie. I thought I was really on Mars. Â
90. Are there any scenes from SF novels that were adapted to a movie that left an impression on you?Â
The whole futuristic (but not too futuristic) setting in Blade Runner. Xenomorphs and their eggs in Alien. They give me the shivers. Â
91. If you had the chance to see one of your SF works adapted into a blockbuster movie, which one would you choose?Â
Otherworld Barbara, please! To be honest, I would have loved to see an adaptation of Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, but because Jesus appears in it as the embodiment of a death instrument, Iâm not sure if that would get a pass.Â
92. And which actors would you choose for that adaptation?Â
I donât know actors well enough to choose. Â
93. Would you be interested in directing an anime or a movie based on one of your works?Â
Thatâd definitely be beyond my capacity...Â
Et cetera...Â
94. Have you ever had a science fiction-like experience yourself?Â
Never. I havenât even seen a single flying saucer.Â
95. Speaking of, what do you think of flying saucers and aliens?Â
I believe they exist. I donât think it likely that humans are the only beings to exist in this universe. But I canât say that weâll meet them one day. Â
96. If you could leave the Earth, where would you go?Â
Hmm... to Mars. Iâd like to spend a couple of days at a resort with baths. Â
97. If you could time travel, which era would you go to?Â
Hmm... I would have loved to watch Dan no Ura Battle between the Taira and the Minamoto, but from a distance. Â
98. Scientific developments never stop and our convictions are put to the question every day. What inspiration from SF would you like to see in real life today?Â
There are just too many things to mention. Â
99. For me, a strong visual impact is also one of the charming aspects of SF works. From a graphic, even iconographic point of view, what left the strongest impression on you among all youâve seen or read?Â
The egg clusters in Alien and the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.Â
100. We know that SF literature changes in every age. As a reader, what are your expectations from the works of future generations? I simply expect them to be interesting to read. Sorry for this bland response. It is a given that SF is not free from the influences or archetypes of its age. But what I expect are works of SF that will make my eyes pop out of my head, like James Tiptree Jr. (Alice Bradley) or Ursula L. Le Guin's did.Â
















