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amyyythestarry · 10 months ago

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IDOL AU HCS!

They’re such Tsukasa stans.

I have been pondering on their group name for a while. In this au, their ‘The Fanboys’, no debating.

The idol Yugi twins do switch-a-yugis ( I’m calling it that bc it’s similar to switch-a-roonies in Liv and Maddie ) in their songs. For example, in Megumi Ogata’s songs, like ‘Rebuild’. Tsukasa can sing good high notes and Hanako can sing good low notes ( Bc it doesn’t take much effort cause he’s tone deaf ), in the song, I assume it’s Hanako singing bc of the deep voice, but then it gets higher on specific notes. Either, 1 - Tsukasa teaches Hanako how to sing high notes ( He definitely gives him lessons and stuff ), or they switched smoothly for a second so Tsu could give Hanako the perfect pitch.

Sometimes they do that in their songs, and it’s not that noticeable, so nobody ever figures out. The only one who knows about it are the people producing their songs.

But most of the time it’s easy to figure out who is singing which song, bc of the twins’ different vocals and their singing styles. In ‘Re:build Version’, it’s obvious it’s Tsu singing because of the way he freestyles at the end, and with the high pitches, ect. With Rebuild, Hanako sticks to the notes ( As much as he can ), pretty plain, but still good. Tsu is extra, Hanako is just right.

Though, both of them are good, obviously.

Hanako sticks to the scripts, and Tsukasa alters them a little.

They’re each other’s back up singers most of the time, like in ‘Hohoemi no Bakudan’ Tsukasa is the background singer. In ‘Sakayume’ Hanako is the back up.

Yokoo and Mitsu favor Tsu’s music better, Satouu’s with Hanako, and Kou likes both.

Scenario: Tsukasa is singing on stage and sees the fanboys in the crowd. He recognizes them from school so when he sees Mitsuba he winks at him. Mitsuba catches it and almost faints, but Kou prevents him from falling.

“Stop being such a simp,” then Tsu waved at him and he falls with Mitsuba.

Yokoo and Satouu want their acknowledgment, and they get it, Tsukasa smiles their way.

They do all go to the same school. Most of them are also performers, but none of them know each others identities. Aoi knows Nene’s,

the Shijima sisters know each other’s,

and Akane, Teru, Hakubo know each other as models ( Or whatever they are in this official art ). The Yugi twins know each other, obviously. But that’s it.

Tsukasa still goes by Tsukasa in school, unlike famous idol Hanako as Amane, but imagine the people in Kamome ( And the ppl in their life in general ) like those people In Miraculous Ladybug who can’t seem to see the similarities between Marinette and Ladybug. That’s just how that is with Tsu, no one thinks he could possibly be the famous idol Tsukasa. With both the twins actually. There’s no way they look remotely similar to the idols, right?

They got lucky with the stupidity of others.

Sakura is Tsukasa’s assistant, and Tsuchigomori is Hanako’s assistant. Tsuchigomori and Sakura know the Yugi twins’ identities.

Natsuhiko is the Yugi twins’ guitarist, and ( If I add an oc ), Liam is the twins’ drummer.

Hanako is always trying to find a way to get Liam fired, all bc he just hates him ( And he can sense the obvious favoritism of Liam for idol Tsu ). Tsukasa likes Liam’s drumming skills, so they keep him around.

Scenario: Mitsuba and Tsukasa are having a sleepover or something, and they’re doing karaoke. Karaoke with friends is never serious, just ugly blabbering. But, Mitsu’s wrong bc he can hear his bestie hitting all the right notes and it’s like an angel walked into the the room when singing ‘Kita no Yado Kara’ by Harumi Miyako.

Tsukasa, with the people who’s oblivious to him being an idol, is like that friend who can sing really well but always brushes off the compliments.

“Oh no, that was nothing!” Or some sh** like that.

He would tell Mitsu about the idol thing, but Amane would be really pissed, so he keeps his mouth shut.

The fanboys are always talking about the famous idols every chance they get, or whenever news about the twins come out, and Tsu is always amused by their fanboy-ing.

Their friends talk about the idol twins, and whenever that happens Amane will subtly ( But not so subtly ) promote idol Hanako.

“Oh, that one super hot, sexy, amazing idol Hanako-kun? Yeah, he’s the best!”

He accidentally made his friends believe he was a Hanako-kun simp. He is still not able to convince them other wise. Karma for trying to promote himself.

Tsukasa does it too, but his mindset is always ‘Amane’s popularizing himself, so I’ll popularize idol Tsukasa too!’

It’s funny because he also says things like, “Idol Tsukasa-kun is so cool and amazing and sexy!” 💀

Now Tsukasa is considered a true member of the fanboys too.

Amane thinks Tsukasa is trying to compete with him for fun, so they keep going back and forth when endorsing the idols, playfully arguing over who’s better.

THAT’S IT FOR NOW! Maybe I’ll come up with some more.

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hinnahinnaoripa · 2 days ago

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(also. i wanted to send this message separately so feel free to not publish the first one if you don’t want to add anything, lol)

i’ve been thinking about a canon au for a while now based on an ogata survives scenario where during his eye injury recovery asirpa’s guilt drives her to have pity sex with him because she wants to prove she can “stomach looking him in the eye” and it results in a pregnancy which ogata isn’t even present for because he fucks off for like, three years afterwards on a lame Finding Purpose journey. when he returns and learns of it despite asirpa’s efforts to keep their son’s existence from him he kidnaps the kid and becomes delusional like his mother had that asirpa will come looking for them and when she sees how well ogata was able to take care of (i.e. bring dead prey back to their cabin that a three year old shouldn’t even be consuming) their son by himself she’ll want to leave her community behind and dedicate all her attention to him. it’s Are You Going To Force Me To Fatally Shoot You 2: Electric Boogaloo

You can’t just drop a banger like this and send as anon 😭😭 This is peak omg

Anw I sketched up something quick for your short story, hope you like it <333

#oripa #ogata #asirpa #📦

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hardcore-lonewolf · 1 year ago

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I love the Naruto World so much that I wish I was in it, I want to be a female Senju princess who's a god child to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

I'll love to be the last child of Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya Ogata, be the Sixth Hokage after saving the Leaf with Naruto Uzumaki, and is the main romantic interest of Sasuke Uchiha, a former student of Orochimaru Yashagoro.

I want Naruto to have a sibling, so I chose Deidara cause Uchiha Clan heirs tend to be rivals with Uzumaki Clan members and I don't to replace Hanabi for somebody else, so Hinata got a big sister now...how about Yume for the name...yes.

My name should be Misako, have a big sister named Akira who's the main romantic interest of Itachi Uchiha, and is the Chosen One with elemental bending powers as the Light Avatar who must destroy the Dark Persona.

I shipped myself with Sasuke, NaruHina for life, NejiTen, ShikaTema, SaiIno, KibaTama, ShiShi, ChoKaru, LeeAma, KankuAka, SoraKae, GaaMatsu, AsuKure, KakaHana, JiraTsuna, MinaKushi, Orochimaru X OFC, Itachi X OC, MY AU!Deidara X OFC!Hinata's Big Sister, ToneShion, IruAya, SuiKari, Sakura X OMC, GaiKao, KoteAnko, KabuGure, HayaYuga, IzuShizu, YamaYuki, ObiRin, Rin and Obito will be still alive, my dad's not gonna die too, Asuma deserves to live for his daughter, Neji stays living, etc.

There's ten tailed beasts from zero to nine; Satori the Reibi, Shukaku the Ichibi, Matatabi the Nibi, Isobu the Sanbi, Son Goku the Yonbi, Kokuo the Gobi, Saiken the Rokubi, Chomei the Nanabi, Gyuki the Hachibi, and Kurama the Kyuubi.

I want Team 02 [Yoruha - Hikaru, Nayumi, Migaku & Sakura], 03 [Gai - Neji, Tenten, Lee & Kaede], 07 [Kakashi - Naruto, Misako, Sasuke & Hinata], 08 [Kurenai - Kiba, Tamaki, Shino & Shiho], and 10 [Asuma - Choji, Ino, Shikamaru & Akane].

Sakura need to be shipped with somebody else rather than Sasuke, she was falling for him and broke her friendship with Ino for his heart.

If I was her, I'll choose my friend over my crush and keep my bond.

Misako got three childhood friends; Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke...it's that clear and simple.

Misa doesn't like fan boys at all like Sasuke don't like fan girls, they're from enemy clans and are best friends who's secretly betrothed to each other as a way to form peace to both family trees.

Watching all episodes and movies, I've learned many shocking plots and twists throughout my childhood.

Itachi's an amazing big brother, I wish Naruto has a brother and I gave him one...named Deidara rather than Menma cause I see that alternative future son of our ramen lover if he was married to Sasuke.

I want Naruto to have his first kiss with Hinata, which leads to this scenario...what if Misako was between both him and Sasuke during the episode where they were finding out their teams.

Misako will kiss Sasuke...again, here's the catch, they shared their first kiss at a young age cause they liked each other and can see their futures as a badass power couple.

Itachi had already predicted that his little brother was in love with Misako...like he was with Akira, Akira will prevent Itachi's death and tell Sasuke the real truth herself with her baby sister by her side.

I've read a fanfiction on Wattpad that has an original female character portraying as Nezuko Kamado, her name was Misa, I loved it and saw the major changes they've done...it was glorious...shout-out to the author.

I know one way to make Sasuke feel overprotective to Misako like she's understanding with him, I've made three characters we know as original characters named Hikaru, Nayumi, and Migaku.

Hikaru will portray from Toneri or Seimei, Nayumi will depict from Shion or Sawaii, and Migaku...I got something for him...Yoichi or Ren.

Misako and Akira, two sisters with their father's white hair, their mother's brown eyes, their father's red markings, and their mother's beautiful looks and gorgeous figure...I got their character portrayals...Heinrich Prinz (Akira) & Eugen Prinz (Misako).

Indra & Asura was in love with the Kishimoto Sisters named...Luna & Kira...

Kira will be the light that guides Asura to the Sun and into the Spirit World for a bright star.

Luna will be the shadow that escorts Indra to the Moon and get him away from the Phantom Zone for a dark cloud.

The sacred ancestry continues to Madara Uchiha's lover and Hashirama Senju's wife...Mito Uzumaki & Himiko Hyuga.

Years have passed, I want Misa to become the Light Avatar since the Dark Persona was her complete polar opposite...they're destined lovers.

I honestly want Misa to have two sons and daughters; Daisuke (OMC: Haruto Uchiha), Mikoto (OFC: Amara Senju), Yuta (OMC: Isamu Senju), and Sayuri (OFC: Kiyomi Uchiha).

I'm giving Naruto another son and daughter; Menma (OMC: Soha Uzumaki) & China (OFC: Naruko Uzumaki).

If you're confused with the names of the following OCs I've planted, search for their names on Google to get some clarification...it took me a few tries and I've finished.

Comment down below, reblog, anything you wanna do...go for it.

Do not report me, this is just my ideas...something I wanna do for my fanfics in the future.

Sayonara guys...believe it!

Also...who will win between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso?

If nobody wins and unexpected twists happen, who will return?

What if Damian Priest changes his mind and cash in on Roman, if not...on whoever wins between Seth and Finn?

Who will beat Dominik's ass and strip him from his title?

Will Santos dethrone Theory?

Can Ricochet take down a jackass?

Will Gunther stay undisputed?

Who will be Rhea's opponent?

Who will walk out as Women's Undisputed Champion?

Will Iyo win or lose her chance?

Will Shotzi get revenge on Bayley?

Can LA Knight conquer the Battle Royal?

Will Shayna kick this transphobic bitch's ass out of wrestling for good?

Will Solo join his brother?

Will Cody end Lesnar?

All these questions and more will be confirmed tomorrow night at Detroit...watch Peacock now, get your tickets, and get ready cause it's ride or die this year on 2023.

Let this tribal combat...commence.

#naruto #boruto

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goldenkamuyhunting · 11 months ago

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I found your post mentioning the possibility of Ogata working as a geisha if he had been born female (…com/post/176037618768/). As a result, I couldn't help but wonder how much her life would differ from his. (I’m surprise nobody had made fan content about such scenario before.) What do you think?

I had to go check the post because I couldn't remember it...

and here it is:

"A geisha wouldn’t permanently stop working because she had a baby. Ogata isn’t a little girl who can become a geisha so it would be fine if his grandmother were to come take HIM away, but she doesn’t need to bring home his mom as well."

Honestly I wasn't wondering what would be if Ogata were a female, it was more an observation on the fate of geisha's daughters... and, in truth, it would have been possible for Ogata to remain with Tome even as a boy.

In fact for example geisha's kimono are so tight that they requires a male helper, to help the geisha put them on and tightly knot the fabric in the back... so Geisha's sons could remain there and become helpers who do this and other jobs that were more fitting for a male, though this wasn't as likely as it was for daughters, so it would have made sense for Tome to send Ogata away.

If Tome had a daughter instead than Ogata, of course her life would have been seriously different from his own as back then expectations on boys and girls were pretty different.

Honestly it would probably make her a character completely different, not just genetically but also character-wise due to a radically different upbringing, resulting her into being another, completely different, character, if done realistically.

So I guess it probably doesn't get explored much because she would basically be an OOC.

Now, I don't know why people do something or not but, as a general line, fans rarely have interest in OOC characters so this might be why people don't explore this venue.

As for how the life of Tome's daughter would be... well, it would be the same as the one of a geisha's daughter, in short the same as her mother with the plus she was born in the okiya so she'll adapt to it a lot more easily and would view the people in it as her family a lor more easily.

She would clearly have zero expectations on Hanazawa as she would know it was foolish from her mother to expect more of him and that he would surely not come from her or his daughter.

Hanazawa might have been interested in his male firstborn but a daughter... that's something that would likely not interest him at all.

No one would consider giving her a rifle and letting her try shooting at ducks.

At 15 she would have started as Maiko (geisha's apprendice) and would become a 'full-fledged Geisha' around the ages of 20 to 22.

If you're curious for more I would recommend reading something about geisha in that time period. It's interesting... but they lead a life that's very, very different from the one a boy would lead both in education and expectation so really, Tome's daughter would have likely not have anything in common with Ogata beyond the birth parents.

Sorry, I fear this wasn't the answer you were hoping for and I guess people can think differently from me so just take this for what it is, my two cents. Thank you for your ask!

#Ogata Hyakunosuke #Ogata Tome #Ask

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hazamacore · 1 year ago

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terasaka, itona + yoshida’s voice actors singing :} in my head i like to really stretch to imagine scenarios and the like with the characters to these songs .. megumi ogata in particular has a huge discography of both original and cover songs

links to full songs:

terasaka - friend , echo (best cover of echo ive listened to tbhh)

itona - be my lady , sakayume

yoshida - ban ban burn , dark prophecy

#★: 112

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eyedelater · 2 years ago

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golden kamuy fragments

here are many short thoughts that i want to put out there but not as individual posts

because that would be too many individual posts.

i like the idea that usami could be a prettyboy that people around him love if not for his feral nature and shit personality

boutarou charm point: letting his long hair fall onto your body in unpleasant ways

tsukishima charm point: face partially obscured by hat <3

wilk said, "i want asirpa to become someone who chooses the difficult and thorny path of her own will and tries to grasp happiness with her own two hands." (inspired) i should choose the difficult and thorny path of my own will…! noo but it's so thorny

we really really need more characters like sofia. big and not beautiful in the face and cool. big mom from one piece is big and not beautiful in the face but she's not cool. she's cringe.

if i ever suffer a grievous life-altering injury i hope it at least makes my character design more interesting like with tsurumi

kiroranke's wife and sons only got drawn once but that panel got copied and pasted like 3 times. his family has an entry in the golden kamuy fanbook and it's yet another copypaste of the same panel.

hijikata toshizou is always dealing fatal wounds to the abdomen. they're gonna die horribly, you know?

otonoshin's recurring shakashaka and nagakura's recurring watata are not that different. they should get along

kikuta mokutarou's name is probably mokutarou because moku means wood and his face looks like it was carved from wood. (checks the kanji) 杢 is the moku in his name. i thought it would just be 木, the usual kanji for wood, also pronounced moku, but 杢 apparently means woodworker, so that makes even more sense.

i love tsukishima so much. i'll never get tired of him. sometimes you just need to spend a whole lot of time thinking about a really unhappy little guy.

another thing the official translation did wrong is that they didn't let us know when koito was adding an extra A to the end of tsukishima's name. it's a habit of his to say "tsukishimaa!" and sometimes, he even says "tsukishimaaa!" that's a charm point, dammit! he's a whiny bitch! include that! EH scans included that. (raises 100th glass to EH scans)

probably a lot of ogata's attitude toward guns, starting from childhood, is like, "this makes killing so easy. if it's this easy, it can't be that wrong." and that attitude, combined with certain external factors in his life and what some might call a clear case of the dark triad, slowly ferments into the ogata we have today. that's a big part of why he can kill people without remorse: because it's so easy... and because no one is close enough to him to make him question his own viewpoints.

it was the nikaidou twin with the leg wraps who hit sugimoto in the face with the rifle. i noticed during the nikaidous' first appearance that one was wearing leg wraps and one was wearing the leg guards that are not wraps, so i was going to use that to differentiate them and figure out if it was youhei or kouhei who hit sugimoto in the face with the rifle, which sugimoto himself wasn't sure about. and then i'd sound real smart. but by the time youhei got killed, it seems he and kouhei had taken their differential leg coverings off. even though i went to the trouble of remembering about the leg wraps for the duration of several chapters.

reading the raws is enlightening because japanese only uses punctuation sparingly (japanese doesn't Need punctuation in the first place) so when there is punctuation included, it's there with a strong purpose. like the first time nihei tetsuzou just shouts out "BONER!" as an exclamation, there's a rare exclamation point and it made me laugh

golden kamuy is good for your mental health because it exposes you to scenarios like seeing nihei tetsuzou's detailed face saying, "My boner is raging out of control," and you get to experience the resulting emotions in a safe, controlled situation. (the emotions involved vary from person to person.)

most middle school boys in america could do an edogai cosplay just by drawing two lines down their face because they already have the exact right haircut

it's my 4th read and i only just noticed that the stand-in fake nopperabou has had his tongue cut off… i mean, it makes sense given how he behaves (no words), but yeah, it's visibly apparent the first time he screams. never looked in there before.

i haven't looked at much kirakado fanart yet but it's occurring to me that there must be a scenario where kirawus is like "i can't believe i'm letting this guy rummage around in MY asshole…!"

when tsurumi was hasegawa, he liked big guns enough to have a machine gun hidden in his big camera, but when the big gun was being fired right next to him, he had a perfectly blank face instead of tsurumi's usual look of orgasmic bliss. that must be something he developed during his later military service and time on the battlefield.

when koito picks up tanigaki's gun and it's got a grenade trap under it… tsukishima protects koito by grabbing his head, by the face, with his big mitten. head. face. mitten. i had forgotten about that particular action. i really like the mitten to the face come here boy it's gonna explode. and then tsukishima gets his hat knocked off again :(

the kanji for sugimoto SAichi, uSAmi tokishige, and SAdo island (tsukishima's birthplace) are all the same SA. it's 佐. just a coincidence. 佐 means help.

the reason boutarou knocked shiraishi out of the way and took 3 bullets for him is because moments earlier, he recognized that he had finally taken a fatal amount of damage, and shiraishi was basically the only remaining person who could tell the world about him, as the pitiful remaining fragments of his dream.

i was wondering how commander koito's satsuma dialect would play into his communication as a big boss military man, like maybe some subordinates from different regions could have trouble understanding his commands? but in chapter 291/292 raws you can see that every single thing he yells is in kanji, no particles, no grammar. that must be the navy standard. so you don't really have to worry about dialect if you're not stringing any sentences together.

when you find a work that really strikes you, i think it's very important that you make sure that you are picking up what the author is putting down before you start engaging in fandom. sometimes it'll take more than one read or watch for that to happen. otherwise intra-fandom memes and headcanons could poison your mind with foolish misconceptions. (like what?) <- wikipedia-style annotation debunking myself

#golden kamuy spoilers #golden kamuy meta #golden kamuy

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ramenrescue · 9 months ago

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I think this comes as no surprise but I find Usami and Ogata so very easy to draw--not in the technical sense--but their interactions are so comedic to me and I can think of them in 500 different little AUs and scenarios. They're so... catty with each other and it's very fun

Also the scene where Ogata shoots Usami and says something to the extent of "his death has made me complete" like what exactly does that mean... I'm guessing this is referencing what he said to Hijikata and co. about how sharpshooters aren't actually truly sharpshooters until they kill a human? But he's killed a shit ton in the past (just with his dominant eye) so does he mean that because he shot Usami using his left eye, that it's like starting a new tally? Yeah I don't know how much I should read into this.

Also I've been reading a lot of top Ogata bottom Usami on pixiv and the brainworms are relentlessly digging into my brain. <- this is what I really wanted to get off my chest. I like bottom usami in general. Just the fact that Noda canonically said in the official guidebook "What's scary about Usami is that he doesn't seem like the type [to sleep with a woman] but he'll probably be decent at it" (or something to that extent: check Usami's Wiki page), I think he's just good at everything, including bottoming.

#text

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chalkythetalkie · 2 years ago

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Time After Time for "mom?" - yuusaku when he's infected by the Incest Virus? 👀

Time After Time: Send me a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of [that fic], or sometime in the past before the story started, and I’ll tell you what happened then

OK, WHAT HAPPENED WAS Ogata was already feeling way better a couple days after the Mommy Incident, but still had a residual dry cough that wouldn't quit + some sneezing. And Yuusaku woke up ill that day, but since Ogata is shit at nursing others back to health Yuusaku just kept hallucinating for HOURS that Ogata was his dad bc they sneeze and cough Exactly the same (picture the most stereotypical Dad sneeze. that's Ogata. and Koujiro too apparently). Ogata only remembers that it would probably be good to give Yuusaku some ibuprofen and lower his fever when Yuusaku starts to like, actually talk to him AS IF HE'S KOUJIRO while they get handsy in bed. Getting called "daddy" is very novel for Ogata and he's not sure he's actually into it, but his dick kind of is lol.

I think that's it!! At least that's what i've vaguely envisioned. I do think it would be fun seeing what someone else would do with this sort of scenario lol the opportunities are endless.......

#asks #fics by me #YuuO #ogata isn't 'daddy' material by any means but that's ok. yuusaku is a hard worker and WILL do the mental gymnastics to get it to happen #if only in his own delirious head

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stardoc676 · 4 months ago

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Ogata Yandere AU! (Announcement)

Sorry for not being present recently!!!! But, I'm working on something I think might be of ur liking. I'm trying to make an Ogata yandere AU visual novel. Or something like that. Making this by myself is more than I expected. Either way, I'm having fun and enjoying the process.

It's still a big Sketch by now. But if everything goes well, I will be posting more about it. If not, then I will go back to the usual content ^^.

Thanks a lot for your patience and support! Feel free to ask and propose scenarios like usual. ♡♡

#ogata hyakunosuke yandere au

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piduai · 2 years ago

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Interview with Noda Satoru for kotoba magazine

reposting anywhere is fine, but please credit me.

Q: While the setting of Hokkaido at the end of Meiji era does feel somewhat familiar, it was still abundant with novelty. It seems to me that the more new stuff you bring into a story, the easier it conflicts with the way people are used to reading manga. How do you find the balance?

Noda: Exploring what others have barely touched upon before has been my goal ever since I was but an aspiring mangaka. Things like baseball and soccer, magic, demons, superpowers, all the genres that have so many fingerprints on them already have never inspired a desire of competition in me.

Rather than fighting my way climbing on a huge mountain with countless rivals, I'd rather make my own little mountain, with what I, myself, find fun. My previous work was about ice hockey, this one was about Ainu as a key element. I have also considered it crucial to include human drama that anyone at all could relate to. Besides that, I was sure to include things that only I have seen and things that the people I've met across my life have shared with me, it was all done on purpose. This way, my original story is my own, something that only I would be capable of creating.

For example, take the scene with Ariko Rikimatsu's father stubbornly showing his son how to carve a makiri. This was a real episode that Kaizawa Tooru-san, an Ainu artisan, has shared with me, and I depicted it as such. Perhaps Kaizawa-san's father also wanted his son to continue their craft, but didn't want to force him into it, or so I would like to assume.

Q: Bringing characters to life is a process I find difficult to even imagine. Do you go with your gut on top of the general layout, and then finish off with calculated tweaks? Especially Asirpa, who really gives Golden Kamuy its flavor, is a character whose like I haven't seen before. Could you elaborate on this unique heroine?

Noda: Just as you said, it's half hunch, half sticking to the plan. As Sugimoto's partner, if Asirpa were a grown woman, she would have been bound to become the object of romantic affection of either Sugimoto himself or someone else on the male cast. That, on top of feeling unnatural for many readers, would have steered the story into an entirely unnecessary direction. So that plot line was given to Tanigaki and Inkarmat. The scenario in which the Ainu partner is a pops-aged guy was given over to Kadokura and Kirawus. The dynamic between Tanigaki and Cikapasi is great as well, although it's a bit difficult to make it feel profound because Cikapasi is a child, and children should be protected and mentored by adults.

In the end, the reception for Asirpa and Sugimoto was the loudest, so it seems that both my hunch and my calculations were right.

Q: When a bunch of characters with entirely different motivations are united by the same goal, a Japanese audience tends to trace it back to Lupin the Third. But it didn't feel like that with yours at all.

Noda: It is true that, when creating different group combinations, I considered which would draw out each character's different sides. For example, when Karafuto was the main scene, there was absolutely no way Tsurumi or Usami would have worked in Sugimoto's group. That trip would have been so awful. Sugimoto's group reuniting with Tsurumi was when they had to part ways for good, the story progressed as definitive points like this were decided on.

Q: It's during their trip in Karafuto when Tanigaki has suddenly become such a prominent figure. In the beginning he used to be quite a serious character, but with time he started getting special treatment and became somewhat of an author's beloved plump pet. I have heard that Tanigaki is your favorite character, so I suppose that his growing popularity and the attention he gets is exactly what you wanted?

Noda: Tanigaki Genjirou's body pillow sales amounted to a mere third of Ogata Hyakunosuke's. He sold even less than Sugimoto. I have always been anxious that my sense of what's cute differs greatly from that of the readers. I mean, Tanigaki is the cutest of them all, so why was there such a huge difference in sales? Furthermore, when they told me that the first merch to sell out during the exhibition was Tanigaki's 5 piece gravure set, I screamed, "See, this is how it's supposed to be!".

Q: When and why did you switch drawing from traditional to digital? Would you say that your page spreads are so good specifically because you do it all digitally?

Noda: I have already switched to digital entirely by the time I started my previous work, so in 2010. Before that, I was an assistant for a mangaka that stuck to traditional. The problem is that, when creating manga, there's a lot of extra labor besides drawing that goes into it when done by hand. Cleaning out the corners with wite-out or erasers, cutting out and sticking or taping panels, and the such. A lot of fine extra work that is needed for traditional disappears entirely when done digitally. There's a lot of other merits to it as well.

Speaking as a professional mangaka, during my previous work I had my assistants come to the job in person, but now we mostly communicate through Skype, so there is no need to be particular about my appearance when working, no need to worry about whether my assistants get along well, and it's much easier mentally. Being able to draw traditionally is important too, though, and if I don't practice, it's easy to start messing up when drawing illustrations meant for autographs.

As for spreads, a lot of them were done with the intention of splitting the upper and lower parts of the page. This was done mostly with the intention of being in a physical book in mind, although lately there's a lot of people who read exclusively on their smartphones. For this reason I think that this will be my last work with that kind of panelling. I consider a mangaka that cannot adjust to the times fated to be left behind.

Q: Did you do any special work related to the exhibition? How did you feel about the exhibition in general, with it going all around the country and with so many people coming to see it?

Noda: I listened to the explanations sternly and answered whatever questions were asked of me. The exhibition staff was very considerate of this work, and eagerly participated in the management.

I loved the goods. Like the brain marshmallows. When I saw the Tanigaki mousepad I started thrusting my hips, saying, "Oh, it's finally here". I want about five of them, to put both my hands, feet, etc on. The Tanigaki bromides were my idea, by the way. I just asked them to make my drawings into goods without much consideration, basically forced the idea on them.

I consider the fact that the exhibition overall was a great success proof of this work being well loved and acknowledged.

Q: As appreciation for manga has grown overseas, back in 2019 there was a panel of Asirpa at the entrance of the British Museum during the manga exhibition. How did you feel when looking at it?

Noda: When I heard that they decided on Golden Kamuy to represent Japanese manga as a whole in that exhibition, I could really feel their resolve shining through. After all, if the goal were to attract as many visitors as possible, there was a lot of more well-known hit manga to choose from. I was told that Asirpa was chosen as key visual by popular vote from the museum curators.

I have met with the guides who helped me back then on site recently, and, according to them, the exhibition was highly praised in newspapers at the time, stating "It felt entirely different from the manga culture we know of. My impression of the medium has changed completely", things like that. I think that the organizers were more preoccupied with having a meaningful exhibition rather than getting visitors.

It seems that back in Meiji, the non-executives of the British Museum have courteously asked a few Ainu to carve a few tools for them from the local wood. I've seen those tools and the storehouses myself. Maybe they decided on Asirpa as key visual because there's this kind of history there.

Q: In order to write about the Ainu accurately, I heard that you dedicated a lot of time to proper research and to meeting various people. I can't imagine you haven't met any opposition or complaints. If you read the story, it's quite clear that you, as the author, have plenty of interest in Ainu and their culture; how did you manage to win over the trust of the people who helped you?

Noda: I have always believed that if I'm to depict Ainu in my story as a major theme, it's important to show the beautiful carvings and embroidery, the religious views, the interesting legends and customs, the words, all of it, in a positive and engaging way. And I think it went well with people of Ainu heritage. I don't know any other manga that has engaged with Ainu culture in a similar way. I consider that approach the reason that the work was received so well.

Q: Golden Kamuy has a number of very fun title pages. Ones that look like movie posters, ones that look lifted straight out of magazines of that time, parodies, even fantasy-like ones where Asirpa is frolicking with animals, but when it's cutscene, those animals, well... you know the drill. You can seldom get something that makes you laugh that much with only the title page.

Noda: The parodies weren't there just for the sake of parody, more often than not it was like, "Please read this chapter with this vibe in mind". For example, in the chapter where Sugimoto was fighting Vasily, I wanted to invoke the feeling of a horror movie with the enemy forestalling you no matter where you run, so I made the title page a parody of "Friday the 13th".

Q: The story was full of fierce battles, ranging from duels between snipers, various close defensive and offensive combat, and even fighting ferocious beasts such as bears. I think they're all pretty difficult to depict by just imagination. What did you use as references?

Noda: Well, it's not that this kind of combat can be as flashy as ones using magic and superpowers, so my prerogative was devising ways of showing combat that wouldn't bore the readers. When I was at this or that scene, I'd think of ways to use the surroundings for fighting, or when I looked at various items from that time I'd come up with ways they could be used in combat. I was inspired by Jackie Chan movies a lot, the way they utilize the set in battle choreography, or the way they make weapons out of ordinary objects. That was, perhaps, the starting point. When you look at fights using magic and superpowers, it's hard to imagine pain. But when you see Steven Seagal wrap a billiard ball in a towel and hit someone with it, it feels much scarier and conveys the feeling of pain well.

Q: I heard that the way you draw firearms is so thorough that even maniacs would groan. The depictions of vehicles of those times also seem very detailed. Are you good with machinery?

Noda: Not particularly, no, I often draw by looking at exhibits I photographed at this or that museum, and by referencing materials I purchased myself. I have Sugimoto's type 30 rifle as a full-scale model with minimal movement. In the first there is a scene in which the safety device is released, but back in 2015 there were no materials anywhere to show how it was done precisely. Years later, a video explaining its operation was finally released on overseas Youtube, and I immediately revised the scene in the volume.

Q: I could feel that for you, the sense of realism went further than researching materials. How often did you ask yourself, "Shouldn't it be like this", "Wouldn't it be more natural if it went like this"? Is it possible that there is a realm of realism that is only possible to convey through the use of imagination?

Noda: It was often the case that I'd consult a professional immediately after building up a hypothesis of my own. For example, the time when Asirpa managed to tell apart the fake tattooed skins by looking at the reaction of the tannin applied to them to iron, where she talks about the way a woman has dyed a kimono a beautiful red. I have heard of Ainu dyeing their thick kimonos made of tree bark red using alder, so I hypnotized that since alder also contains lots of tannin, it would turn brown upon contact with iron. After that I consulted Saito Reiko-san of the National Museum of Ethnology and Takano Keiko-san, an artisan from Nibutani, and was informed that although it was possible, though quite difficult, to use alder in dyeing things a neat red, when washed in a river with high iron content, the clothing would turn brown. Therefore my hypothesis was confirmed, and I was able to proceed with writing a crucial plot point.

Q: I assume many fans rejoiced in your choice to not separate Asirpa and Sugimoto, by design or death. Was it the ending you planned from the very beginning?

Noda: I could say that I never planned to kill him at all, although if the story spanned across ten volumes or so, that option wouldn't have been out of the question. But it spanned across thirty one and took eight years, therefore I considered that killing off Sugimoto or separating him from Asirpa would have been a deed done in bad taste towards the readers, who have been watching over them for so long. When you think of a work that you love, a manga or a movie, that you want to reread or rewatch over and over again, wouldn't most people choose something that has a happy ending?

Q: Speaking of movies, I heard that you're an avid watcher. Please share some of your latest favorites.

Noda: I like stuff by David Fincher, Michael Mann, Kathryn Bigelow... My manga is entirely different from their works, though. Recently I went as far as buying "Anne of Green Gables" on Blu-ray. The colors used in the backgrounds were so wonderful, I told the people working on the anime to use that movie as reference.

Q: Editors are important figures for authors. If you don't mind, could you tell us more about yours, Ookuma Hakkou?

Noda: I brought my idea to the editorial department of Young Jump because it kept being dropped from the serialization meetings at Young Magazine. Back then, Ookuma-san just happened to glimpse over it by chance, and immediately decided that it needs to be serialized. In the end, that manga was cancelled after 6 volumes, so I can't judge whether Magazine or Jump was in the right. However, I did feel thankful to Young Jump for giving me a chance, so I wanted to repay them with Golden Kamuy, and I think that I managed to pay that debt off. Meeting Ookuma-san was the most fortunate event of my life.

Q: You already announced that your next project will be picking up that cancelled manga again. Please tell us how you feel about it.

Noda: I was thinking about it even back when Golden Kamuy was still serializing, taking notes and making plans. After finishing a series that took thirty one volumes, I more or less came to an understanding of what kind of preparations and labor a long serialization would require. I learnt that fans are curious about such things as the height and weight of the characters, and that they want to know the full names of basically nobodies, there's demand for really detailed information. I'll make sure to have those things ready when I take upon a new project.

I consider it very fortunate that Golden Kamuy has happened to me when I was at peak physical and cognitive health. I'm not getting younger, but it made me acquire a wealth of experience, so I'll put it to good use with my next work. I'd like for those who liked Golden Kamuy to give it a try, and promise to not disappoint. I'm counting on you.

#golden kamuy #noda satoru #translation

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