So, today I bring you a recent conversation between Taiyo Matsumoto, Inio Asano and Keigo Shinzo that ran in Monthly Spirits. The first two names should be familiar to everyone, but I donât tâŚ
Shinzo: So, another thing I think about a lot is how far along my favorite older artists were when they were my age.
Asano: I donât think thereâs much point in thinking about that sort of thing. The fact that you admire those artists means that theyâve mastered their art â you can go back and reread them later when youâre the same age as them, but you still wonât find that youâre any closer. I used to chase after artists I admired like that, but over the years you eventually stop thinking that way.
Asano: As you go on drawing manga, thereâs this stage you hit where you come to understand your skills and your tics, and it all becomes a matter of looking back and honing that stuff. Once youâre at that point, the way other people draw becomes irrelevant. I said earlier that I donât read manga anymore, and the reason for that is because it stopped being useful to me.
Editor: Is there anyone in particular you wish you could draw like, Shinzo?
Shinzo: Iâm starting to realize that thatâs not a good way to look at it, and that I need to be true to my own style⌠but then at the same time, I just canât quite seem to escape from Taiyoâs influence.
Asano: I imagine Taiyo himself is constantly adapting to fit whatever series heâs working on, though.
Matsumoto: I am. I used to want to make perfect manga, but after a while I figured that that wasnât possible, so now I try to think of things in terms of the overall whole â maybe Iâll draw something really cheerful for a while, then go on to do something really dark, and hopefully itâll all balance out well in the end.
Editor: Are you talking about more than just your artwork here?
Matsumoto: Yes, I suppose I mean everything. I didnât even like my own manga back when I was in my twenties â I thought it was ugly. Like, Iâd go to draw an airplane and itâd come out looking soft.
Asano: One might see that as artistic style, though.
Matsumoto: Well, no matter how many times youâre told that that awkwardness is actually good, it doesnât seem good when youâre the person drawing it. Really, the only answer is to keep working on improving your technique. Looking back from where I am now, having improved my technique somewhat, my older work seems⌠awkward, and like I thought I had everything all figured out. With Hanaotoko and I suppose with Tekkon Kinkreet too, I was pretending like I had all the answers, you know? But now I can see that as maybe kinda cute, in a way.
Asano: How old were you when you started feeling that way?
Matsumoto: My late thirties, or maybe around 40. You almost start to see your past works as if they were made by another artist, I think.
Asano: I see â so as you get older, you start to see this young artist trying to impress people as cute?
Matsumoto: Yeah â cute. Or maybe earnest is the word.
Asano: Oh, I think I see â he comes off that way because heâs so earnest.
Matsumoto: So earnest youâre almost embarrassed for him.
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