#nofna

"Character voices are not one of the difficult parts. I just have an idea of how a character would act and run with it. More difficult is realizing what a character would be based on his or her past—how a character would be liable for him- or herself. What shaped the character? How does that psychological profile exist realistically? I spend some crucial time doing character design as I figure out the stories. This isn't the design of the character's appearance—a lot of my characters are very plain and unremarkable—but the psychological design of the character. What ends up making the character act, in accordance with the theme of the story.

One of the things that I strongly dislike about modern character design, is that many characters are engineered to wear their hearts on their sleeve—to be instantly recognizable and evident of their pasts and passions, through both their actions and appearances. This is very good for a commercial product, because it allows your audience to instantly connect with vibrant characters that might represent them. However, it is not representative of real people, and I think that this is a crisis for introducing people to how other people think, especially younger children. People are very deep, and they only become deeper with age, and I don't think a lot of the media we consume reflects that. This might be because we simply don't have the time or money to tell even a single person's whole story, but I feel that we should have media that help to reveal the other sides of people. To teach them that there's probably something more there. This is one of the main reasons I started drawing NofNA: to try and show the depths of human reasoning, and its causes."

(comic’s journal, 2017 interview with Zachary Braun https://www.tcj.com/people-are-very-deep-an-interview-with-zachary-braun/)

Not enough is said online about Nofna - which is quite a tragedy to me as the collective stories written by Braun are some of my favorites I've ever come across in the years reading webcomics. His comics were first introduced to me by a close friend who I have spent years writing/drawing characters with and whose opinions on writing and art I have a deep and great respect for. Still, it took a long time to convince me to check it out as it typically does with anything for me. (I’m notoriously bad at spending time looking at out new movies/comics/ect regardless of how much I’ll like it or not. I usually do too, I just can’t pull myself away from my own work to focus on other things.)

I’ll admit, I haven’t read ALL of Nofna and oftentimes in the stories I have read - a lot does go above my head. I also don’t read a lot of books (like maybe 5 books in 10 years?) and a lot of Nofna does involve lengthy conversations and big words I haven’t heard of before that I probably need to look up to understand. Big words.. Scary.. :C

Sometimes, it either makes it hard for me to conceptualize what is being said, what it means or what is visually happening. Rereading a few times will sometimes help clear things up but if I am in a good reading flow, I usually don’t stop even if I find myself lost for portions of a time. Despite this, I have always walked away with a unique and interesting experience and felt like I have something new to think about. Anyway, this is about the visual part of stuff. Let’s get back on track. 

This quote above basically changed my whole life when it comes to looking at character design, as it crystalized so many of my unsaid issues on the subject in a couple paragraphs. I use it as a frame of reference constantly. After reading it when this interview came out in 2017- it has been hard to not ever use it or at least think of it when considering the value or skill of character designs in a comic. What makes it compelling, what the author is trying to do or say.. All of that has been given a whole other, deeper observation to the visual art of character designs, its like finding a room in an apartment that leads to a mansion you can’t get out of anymore. And you don’t want to because you keep finding new rooms to discover.

It also has resulted in me being deeply frustrated that this kind of sentiment is basically absent from conversations about character design - either in support or at least acknowledged as a viable direction to take. Something to consider! Maybe even, to argue against well beloved recognized designs as.. Being a complete failure of what a good design is. I don’t know why - but it also doesn’t surprise me. What do people usually look for when they want to check out a comic? If the characters are cool to them. I’m not dumb - I get it! I do the same thing. Why else did it take me so long to read Nofna????

It kinda boils down to this: I didn’t GAF about realistic looking animals talking, just wasn’t my thing. I still DONT really GAF about a lot of realistic animals talking - but at least now I know that I could be missing out on something really, really great and different. Once I finally did read Nofna, it made me feel totally humiliated in the sense of how shallow my taste really was. It exposed a deep preconceived idea I didn’t know I had held so strongly - If something didn’t “look good” to me I probably wasn’t going to read it. Excuse me? Fundamentally, that feels immature. It’s not that it's wrong to feel that way - I mean a lot of what comics are is looking at the art. Right? And characters are.. There.. To be looked at. It IS a visual medium after all. Although, it isn't completely. Besides, there are also a lot of great looking comics I don’t want to read at all, simply due to my personal taste or feeling visually overwhelmed by the information. (I feel this way i feel about a lot of fully colored comics or ones with a lot of detail in each panel.) It could be a great story that changes my life again, or opens up so many new doors.. blah blah blah.. I just won’t always engage with everything. I think that’s totally fine! but at least now.. When I make the decision not to read something, I can at least acknowledge that on some level - I have a bias. And that bias will prevent me from being a better artist. 

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Now, let’s step away from Nofna to talk about one of my super favorite favorite favorite artists ever, the one and only Yoshihiro Togashi. Yes yes, you probably all know already that I love that guy. What a shock, he also is pretty famous for making walls of text of almost incomprehensible internal dialogue that takes me several times to kinda get what’s going on. While I do deeply respect and would not change it for the world - I still struggle with it too. It makes me feel dumb I don’t like feeling dumb because it's not as fun as just getting it right away and feeling smart and  I hate doing work. That’s why I watch tiktok compilations on youtube for hours. 

I grew up with Yu Yu hakusho, the old ass dub when there were like.. 5 anime shows to watch. I loved it, banger opener.. But.. it wasn’t really my absolute favorite? I adored Trigun and Inuyasha. (Still do!) But YYH was like.. Interesting but.. I didn’t really go back to nostalgically watch it. Until.. I think it was about.. 2012? 2013? When I finally watched HXH (1999 version.) I fucking. HAAAAAAATED shonen at that point in my life. I didn’t give a FUCK about how cool the fight scenes were or whatever. They could all just go to hell. HXH was just playing on Tv.. and I was ignoring it until it was the scene in the hunter exam, where Killua/Gon/Togashi/Kurapika and Tonga were in the like.. Third phase where they were faced up against criminals. 

Oh boy, another fucking tournament/training arc. What a shock. WHOOo would have guessed it.. And then I found myself watching it anyway- instead of working. It was fine, I mean the old 90’s style of anime is still very nostalgic to me.. But man I thought those designs were very indicative of the time too. Not in the most flattering ways either, at least for the randos they were up against. Throw away generic baddies. Still, Tonpa was like.. I was like who the fuck is THAT guy. Also probably a throw away rando. I didn’t think too much of it. By the time Killua rips out the heart I was like huh.. This.. feels REALLY familiar to me. It hit me immediately, oh this is the YYH Guy? Oh! That kid is just like Hiei, that’s neat. I had to watch from the beginning.. Oh god that was the start of it all. By the time the exam was at the scenes of Gon trying to hunt Hisoka, I was sold. I was sold in a way I didn't even fathom until years later. 

I can’t believe I’m typing the words now but.. Tonpa. Tonpa was probably one of the catalyst moments for me, of like.. Totally taking me off guard of how deep and fascinating this random ugly background-looking character guy could be. I was glued to every scene with the asshole just because I had no idea what to expect from him. It was the most fun I’d have with an anime, especially a shonen in like.. I don't even know! Fucking. TONPA!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Tonpa was the first crack in the dam of what I would find most intrinsically fascinating about Togashi’s signature in his approach to designs. THAT alone would be enough to elevate him as the most excitingly unexpected author for me in manga! I DONT say that lightly. but the guy doesn’t stop at the greatness of.. Tonpa-like characters. As HXH goes on and on it feels like each arc brings in a new paradigm. Not just with the character designs but the way they are implemented and how you, as the reader, continue this.. involvement in directly engaging and interrogating HXH by your experiences with character designs in HXH. YOU the reader, if you recognize it or not - are also the hunter.  In Hunter hunter. YOU hunt the hunters!!!!!! Isn’t that so fucking cool? That’s why he’s my favorite. It's truly so simple but.. It never stops being fun, at least for me. I always have something I can look back on, reinterpret and I myself become the ouroboros telephone game where I dont know who the fuck is calling next but I’ll pick up the phone!!!!! You better believe I will!!!!!! EVEN if its a spam call. Ok, I’m getting lost in the analogies.. You get it, hopefully. I have a great passion for Hunter X Hunter. (I also rewatched and read all of YYH at some point and also read Level E.)

And a lot of people do.. But.. I would say, there is a common consensus with his character designs that.. Add to what a lot of people don’t enjoy about hxh. Which is fine. There’s a lot of things there that I can totally get why people wouldn’t be interested in. BUT. the thing that will drive me crazy on “critique of hxh character designs” is this absolutely.. Ignorant conception on what makes a character design he makes.. Not good. And when people try to redesign his characters I can immediately tell they don’t get it. At least not how I get it, which makes me feel very smart and very cool. But MAD! Because.. I feel they’re missing out on the point.. Or at least, failing to consider what makes his work and his characters so.. Distinctively him. You know immediately that it's a fucking.. hxh guy. It doesn’t matter if they look like Tonpa, who just is some dude.. But There's something about that.. Signature. If you know anything about the work togashi makes - maybe even decades ago - it will stand out to you in a crowd. Like a familiar stranger on a bus you can't place your finger on where you saw them before, until it clicks. You can’t erase that signature.. And when people TRY to redesign hxh characters oh boy.. They almost immediately erase it, or disregard and diminish that signature as being.. The FAULT instead of the victory of what I see it as. 

Before I really get into the nitty gritty of the various layers of why I love Togashi’s signature, I want to bring up something totally unrelated. Jojo! Almost every anime/manga fan at least kinda is familiar with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure by Araki. I know I was - I don’t even know when I first saw jojo stuff. It feels like its something that’s always BEEN there.. But I hated it. I thought it was BIZARRE. Ugly bizarre. Not to reiterate the same deconstruction from this is bad -> oh this is really cool but I went through that too with Jojo while.. Still not really getting into it and reading/watching it. I’m sad to admit, I only watched Phantom Blood like a decade or so ago and have a surface level knowledge of the legendary series. But, despite finding it vile for years, I respect it and can’t imagine what the world of comics would be like without JoJo there. 

The reason why I’m randomly including Jojo in this discussion is because - when people erase the importance of Togashi’s character designs, it feels like the same kind of ignorance to erase the VERY distinctive, VERY flashy, over-the-top camp that is Araki’s signature. His is so loud, you can hear it from the bottom of the ocean.. even if you don’t want to. Jojo is arguably just, so influential and mainstream that I think many people do have a much more positive reaction to his designs despite them being ~wEirD~ in their own ways. His designs are like, to me, on sort of the opposite scale of exaggeration that Togashi usually does. With togashi’s frequent use of very plain, very unassuming designs taking center stage.. BUT that’s not to say that there ARE a lot of togashi designs/costumes that DO feel very Araki to me as well. Sometimes, it almost looks like they’re cousins. 

Obviously, people do redesigns of JOJO characters too.. But i will say, when the trend of redesigns or fanart for jojo.. At least from my passing observation, his “signature look” doesn’t usually feel absent. If anything, it is often indulged to the extremes that Jojo feels famous for. It is a celebration and freedom to .. be jojo too. I love seeing that for you guys, really. You are being so cool by being so unabashedly confident in a way that no one can ignore. It feels truly “empowering” in the spirit of the series. Like how.. Strength is shown in DBZ with the Super Saiyan hair. I mean, Jotaro and Dio’s “walk” face off panel is basically like the pinnacle of THE EPIC BADASS FACE OFF. I don’t even need to have read/watched jojo to immediately recognize it. And that’s really just two dudes standing with an extreme angle. Wow!

So.. I guess what I’m trying to say too with this point is that.. “Looking cool” - looking "Immediately recognizable” even without context - to find that appealing and distinctive and.. influential.. To make a “good character design” ISNT a so-called wrong take to have when it comes to considering character designs and what makes one strong. The fact that the jojo walk panel is just this thing that exists that says a specific thing that is very universally recognized is a crazy incredible accomplishment of skill. I do not want to diminish Jojo here, or the impact of using Goku’s “saiyan hair” as a referential device of like.. You know what that is. That being said I dont think success always needs to look like that to be just as much as an achievement in art. Just a different one! Maybe it's one that is a bit more secretive - but if it works for you it becomes something you cannot unsee in the world.. Not just for characters but like, art and your own relationship with what you experience with art and communicate it with your own. 

It is such an important lesson for artists and a journey that keeps going. Everything becomes part of this web and the challenging part really is trying to find your place in it. Where you’re stuck at and where you might want to go next. 

If you had to choose, what would you want to try to say with your characters? Your designs. What is your signature that no one else can replicate, even if.. they hate it. When you redesign something, are you trying to elevate what you feel the original artist intended to communicate, are you doing your best to replicate that signature or are you tearing it apart to try to use your own signature with this “visual puzzle.” These are all really fascinating things to think about. Characters themselves are these ideas and they can be such a great tool to say a lot of things at once with your own art. Or your skill, or your ability to observe and communicate with intention the things you want to communicate about your taste and opinion. I love that for redesigns - I love that for fanart in general. 

This is already getting long, isn’t it. I am not even done - I have a whole breakdown of various aspects of Togashi’s work with character design that I would consider part of his distinctive signature. (in my interpretation anyway, of what i recognize as ‘him.”) And I also have a lot I’d like to say about my own relationship to character designs and its evolving process in my work. Both as a subconscious decision and conscious evolution. That part might not.. be as interesting as what I’d like to say about Togashi. Simply because its like.. Dissecting your own appearance in the mirror. You’re going to notice things no one else cares about & totally miss very obvious things everyone can see, but if you enjoyed this and.. If I felt inclined to continue this conversation I might write it too. I already enjoyed writing this and I think I was able to cover at least a bit of what I think about with art. 

As a comic artist myself, I like to be part of the conversation and share those considerations that I have with myself that maybe people didn’t know I did. Or they might be interested in thinking about things that way too. I want to be part of that “change” like the Zachary Braun quote was to me and how I changed as an artist because of it. Maybe I can feel like “no one’s talking about it” but at least I know I am, I’m sure other people are too I just.. Wish it was more common. I wish i was BORED of hearing it like I am with the other talking points. 

To be changed by someone else’s distinct artistic signature really is a beautiful thing, to me. A total stranger you’ll probably never know and yet you get something out of it that makes your life better and more interesting because of it. Its just something you observed, that maybe is only something you can see - but whatever it is - it became something in that observation.. AND YOU BECAME A HUNTER.. HUNTERRRR!!!!!!!!!!  Just like Tonpa. 

That’s all for now, if you read all of this.. Neat! I hope you enjoyed it! -Kosmic