Difference between revisions of "Interviews"

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(2003: Would be grateful if someone who knows Japanese can translate)
(Conan Drill Official Book (WITH RAW): Removed Japanese test and english translation side by side. We already have the raw scans, soo..)
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===Conan Drill Official Book (WITH RAW)===
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===Conan Drill Official Book===
コナンドリル オフィシャルブック (Conan Drill Official Book), published May 1 2003<br>
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'''Date:''' May 1 2003
Translated by: justwantanaccount
 
 
<spoiler>
 
<spoiler>
Interview in Conan Drill from 2003 translated! No spoiler on the plot here, though there are a lot of interesting tidbits.<br>
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File: Conan Drill Interview 1.jpg
Note: I took a lot of liberty with the English this time, since I wanted to focus more on making the English sound natural and readable. I usually try to translate as directly as possible, but I realize that the weird English probably turns off a lot of people – let me know if I've taken too much liberty, though.<br>
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File: Conan Drill Interview 2.jpg
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File: Conan Drill Interview 10.jpg
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'''Translated by:''' justwantanaccount<br>
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T/N: Interview in Conan Drill from 2003 translated! No spoiler on the plot here, though there are a lot of interesting tidbits.<br>
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I took a lot of liberty with the English this time, since I wanted to focus more on making the English sound natural and readable. I usually try to translate as directly as possible, but I realize that the weird English probably turns off a lot of people – let me know if I've taken too much liberty, though.<br>
 
Also, Gosho says a lot of things here that he mentions in future interviews, like how he was told to change Conan's name to Doyle since there was a work called Future Boy Conan, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. You kinda realize that interviewers keep asking the same questions, maybe because they don't bother looking over past interviews, ha ha.<br>
 
Also, Gosho says a lot of things here that he mentions in future interviews, like how he was told to change Conan's name to Doyle since there was a work called Future Boy Conan, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. You kinda realize that interviewers keep asking the same questions, maybe because they don't bother looking over past interviews, ha ha.<br>
 
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Highlights:<br>
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'''Highlights:'''<br>
The plot for conan was planned in two weeks<br>
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The plot for Conan was planned in two weeks<br>
 
Gosho is not "high-strung / neurotic" - he seems pretty laid back<br>
 
Gosho is not "high-strung / neurotic" - he seems pretty laid back<br>
 
Apparently, in File 125~, the dude pays the gal to be his lover<br>
 
Apparently, in File 125~, the dude pays the gal to be his lover<br>
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Gosho only draws characters with names, leave backgrounds and characters without names to assistants - does that mean that the forensics dude who wasn't Tomo-san in File 756-758 will become important someday?! Lol I dunno.<br>
 
Gosho only draws characters with names, leave backgrounds and characters without names to assistants - does that mean that the forensics dude who wasn't Tomo-san in File 756-758 will become important someday?! Lol I dunno.<br>
 
Maybe you guys knew this already, but apparently Paikaru/Baiganer isn't a real brand of alcohol – the name comes from a character in Lupin III.<br>
 
Maybe you guys knew this already, but apparently Paikaru/Baiganer isn't a real brand of alcohol – the name comes from a character in Lupin III.<br>
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青山先生は大学を卒業してから漫画家になられたんですよね。学生時代から将来は漫画家に、と決めていたんですか?<br>
 
Q: Aoyama-sensei became a manga artist after graduating from college, right? Have you decided to be a manga artist from your student days?<br>
 
 
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青山 大学時代から漫研には入っていましたけど、大学へは美術の先生になろうかなと漠然と考えて進学しました。小学生の頃、卒業文集に「将来は漫画家になる」と書いたらしいんですが、それも自分では覚えていないんです。でもまあ、子供の頃から絵や漫画を書くのは好きだったので、教科書にパラパラ漫画なんかを描いて遊んでいましたね。ただ、漫画を描いていると親には叱られましたから、コソコソではあったけど。漫画を始めて投稿したのは大学4年のときでしたが、卒業して漫画家になるといったら親には反対されました。学校の先生ならいいけど、漫画家なんてやっぱりどう転ぶかわからないやくざな商売でしょう。親としては、そりゃ心配しますよね。漫画家になる直接のきっかけは、先輩ですでに漫画家の人がいて、「青山、おまえちょっと出してみないか?」と声をかけてくれたことです。それで、ある少年誌に送ったら佳作になったんですよ。これはサンデーじゃないんですけど。で、ひょっとしたら俺ってうまいのかなと思って。それが大学4年のときでしたね。<br>
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'''Interview'''<br>
A: I was studying manga since my college days, but I entered the university while vaguely thinking that I will become an art teacher someday. Apparently I wrote "I will become a manga artist in the future" in my elementary school's graduation anthology, but I don't remember it. Although, I did like drawing pictures and manga and such from childhood, and I drew flip books and such into my textbook. My parents scolded me when I drew manga, though, so there was a sneaky quality to it. I submitted manga for the first time when I was a fourth year university student, but when I told my parents that I will become a manga artist after graduation, my parents opposed me. Being a school teachers is fine, but being a manga artist is, after all, an unpredictable, yakuza-like business. Of course you would worry if you were a parent.The direct cause behind becoming a manga artist for me was when a senpai, who was already a manga artist, asked me, "Hey, Aoyama, do you want to try submitting?" Then, I sent one to a certain shonen magazine, and the work received a kasaku*. This wasn't at Sunday, though. After this, I thought that maybe I could possibly be good. This was when I was a fourth year university student.*佳作 (kasaku) directly translates to 1. well executed work or 2. second best work at something like an art/literature contest (source); however, given the context, it seems that if you receive this then you debut as a manga artist, so I left the original Japanese term since I'm not sure how to translate it. Some people translate it as an "honorable mention", but I don't know how accurate that is.<br>
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Q: Aoyama-sensei became a manga artist after graduating from college, right? Have you decided to be a manga artist from your student days?<br>A: I was studying manga since my college days, but I entered the university while vaguely thinking that I will become an art teacher someday. Apparently I wrote "I will become a manga artist in the future" in my elementary school's graduation anthology, but I don't remember it. Although, I did like drawing pictures and manga and such from childhood, and I drew flip books and such into my textbook. My parents scolded me when I drew manga, though, so there was a sneaky quality to it. I submitted manga for the first time when I was a fourth year university student, but when I told my parents that I will become a manga artist after graduation, my parents opposed me. Being a school teachers is fine, but being a manga artist is, after all, an unpredictable, Yakuza-like business. Of course you would worry if you were a parent.The direct cause behind becoming a manga artist for me was when a senpai, who was already a manga artist, asked me, "Hey, Aoyama, do you want to try submitting?" Then, I sent one to a certain shonen magazine, and the work received a kasaku*. This wasn't at Sunday, though. After this, I thought that maybe I could possibly be good. This was when I was a fourth year university student.<br>[T/N: *佳作 (kasaku) directly translates to 1. well executed work or 2. second best work at something like an art/literature contest (source); however, given the context, it seems that if you receive this then you debut as a manga artist, so I left the original Japanese term since I'm not sure how to translate it. Some people translate it as an "honorable mention", but I don't know how accurate that is.]
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周りはもう就職活動していた時期ですか?<br>
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Q: Back then, were the people around you already searching for permanent jobs?<br>A: Yes. For me, I trained to be a teacher, just in case, since I still had the option to become an art teacher at my hometown's high school. Although, when I received the kasaku, I think I lost the urge to continue down that path. I drew the background for Ponkikki and such for part time jobs, so I wasn't searching for a permanent job at all.
Q: Back then, were the people around you already searching for permanent jobs?<br>
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Q: How did you live as a university student? The characters in the manga that sensei draws are all unique - I suspect this might be due to influence from human relationships during student days.<br>A: Yes, though I think I was influenced not only during my university years but throughout my life, accumulating from my childhood. As for my university years, I did Mahjong - a lot of Mahjong (laughs). I used to live first in Egoda, which is along the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, then in Senkawa. The distance was the longest here, but it was close to the university so we met up for Mahjong and such. We met up at someone's house many times, since we didn't have money. I was pretty strong back then. Right now, not so much - I don't have time to play, and even when I do play I think that we should just have fun, so I aim for a high hand. If you do that, you lose. If you play thinking that you'll lose, then you really will, as you'd expect (laughs).
青山 そうです。僕も一応、教育実習へ行ったんですよ。まだ地元の高校の美術教師になる選択肢もありましたから。でも自分なかでは、佳作に入った時点で、もうそういう気はなくなっていたのかな。アルバイトでフジテレビの「ポンキッキ」の背景書いたりして、就職活動はまったくしていなかったら。<br>
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A: Yes. For me, I trained to be a teacher, just in case, since I still had the option to become an art teacher at my hometown's high school. Although, when I received the kasaku, I think I lost the urge to continue down that path. I drew the background for Ponkikki and such for part time jobs, so I wasn't searching for a permanent job at all.<br>
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Q: Even if you say you didn't have money, it wasn't such a period back when sensei was a student, right?<br>A: Nah, I was pretty poor. I couldn't put in meat into curry. I would eat such an indigent curry for five days straight. Curry day after day. But I was sent rice from my hometown, so I did always have something to eat. If you have rice, you manage, don't you? I ate nothing but curry everyday and I played Mahjong at someone's house - I think I was the very picture of a poor college student.<br>
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December 31, 2002, nighttime. The interview took place, since sensei's schedule was apparently only open on this day. I could imagine that sensei was considerably tired; I thought that it couldn't be helped that sensei might be ill-humored. However, you couldn't tell that he was tired, even though he must have been. My impression was that he was upright as a human being and as an adult, though he was of course aware that he was first-class as an artist.
学生時代はどんな生活でした?先生が描かれる漫画はみんな登場人物が個性的でしょう。ああいうの、学生時代の人間関係の影響もあるのかなと思いますが。<br>
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Q: How did you live as a university student? The characters in the manga that sensei draws are all unique - I suspect this might be due to influence from human relationships during student days.<br>
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Q: In truth, I thought that it couldn't be helped if Aoyama-sensei had a difficult temper, until I met you like this. It is the truth that mystery writers often have complicated personalities, to say nothing of their difficult schedules. I'm surprised that you are far more cheerful than I've imagined you to be.<br>A: Did you imagine someone who was stress personified? I have stress, of course, but I've never been the type to be highly strung. I think that that's why I can endure difficult schedules. I, too, think sometimes that some writers are highly strung when I read their work – the type who are good at searching people from scratch, and such. For me, I'm not that type of person at all. I haven't inconvenienced the editor* much, either . . . or at least, I'd like to think so (laughs).I haven't quarreled with the editor, either. Even if there's a quarrel, it's not about manga, it's about something really trivial. The editor is a Hanshin fan, and I'm a Giants fan; when Hanshin won consecutively against the Giants in the match where the Giants' championship was at stake, I happened to have promised to draw the illustration for the movie poster. But I was in a bad mood, so I said, "I'm not drawing!" (laughs) Since the editor was understanding, he didn't contact me anymore that day (laughs). This isn't really a quarrel, is it?<br>[T/N: *Strictly speaking, the term could be plural, but I've left it as singular here since Aoyama seems to be talking about his editor.]
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青山 うん、影響は学生時代に限らず、子供の頃からの蓄積でいろいろあるでしょうね。大学時代は、麻雀ですね、麻雀をよくやっていましたよ(笑)。住んでいたのは最初、西武池袋線沿いの江古田で、そのあと千川。ここがいちばん長かったんですが、大学に近いのですぐ麻雀のメンツなんかは集まるわけです。誰かの家に集まってやる事が多かったですね、お金もなかったですし。けっこう僕は強かったんですよ、当時。でも今はだめですね、やる時間がそもそもないですし、やってもみんなが楽しければいいやと思って、高い手を狙って打っちゃう。そうすると負けます。負けるだろうなと思って打って、やっぱり負ける(笑)。<br>
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Q: You got an kasaku with a submission to a magazine other than Shonen Sunday, right? Did you not want to continue at that magazine? Why the move to Shonen Sunday?<br>A: At the manga magazine where I was kindly given the kasaku, the editor kindly advised me, "I personally like your art, but you'll probably be told to change your style sometime soon, so it'll be better for you if you went elsewhere." If so, I like Mitsuru Adachi, and the picture is cute overall, so I thought about moving to Sunday. Then, I was told that I could go sooner than I'd thought, and things went smoothly after that.But then, a senior manga artist told me, "You should visit the editorial department many times until they memorize your name," so I visited the editorial department whenever I could. When I received the Newcomer Award with Wait a Minute, I already had an editor, in my case. There are many newcomers just like you, so to stand out you must bring in the name (roughly sketched manuscript) often. I did that intentionally. For about half a year, I visited quite insistently, saying "I fixed the name again!" Almost everyday. It's not like I had anything else to do, and I wanted to serialize as soon as possible.
A: Yes, though I think I was influenced not only during my university years but throughout my life, accumulating from my childhood. As for my university years, I did mahjong - a lot of mahjong (laughs). I used to live first in Egoda, which is along the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, then in Senkawa. The distance was the longest here, but it was close to the university so we met up for mahjong and such. We met up at someone's house many times, since we didn't have money. I was pretty strong back then. Right now, not so much - I don't have time to play, and even when I do play I think that we should just have fun, so I aim for a high hand. If you do that, you lose. If you play thinking that you'll lose, then you really will, as you'd expect (laughs).<br>
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Q: Magic Kaito's serialization started in that environment, didn't it? In Sunday's Special Edition?<br>A: Yes. I was allowed to draw from time to time, but you're basically jobless during that time, aren't you? You can't eat as a manga artist, yet. I was eating with the money I saved through part-time jobs as a student, and with the prize money from the Newcomer Award. Although, you might think that this was a difficult time period the way I talk, but those days were actually really fun for me (laughs). In the end, I was doing what I liked, since I like manga. I also had a lot of time when I was a newcomer, so I could play my favorite games. Back when I used to draw manga while playing Dragon Quest, I had a promise to meet with the editor. Then, when the editor called since he was at a cafe near Egoda's train station, I replied, half asleep, "Uuuum, I can't gooo, since I don't have the gold yeeet" (laughs). Then I hanged up, and when I got a call again after thirty minutes, I vaguely thought, "I said something weird, didn't I?" (laughs).The editor back then was a good person, too. Things were fun back then, in many aspects. Now, I don't quite have the time to play games as I used to.
お金がなかったといっても、先生の学生の頃はもうそんな時代でもないでしょう?<br>
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Q: Even if you say you didn't have money, it wasn't such a period back when sensei was a student, right?<br>
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Q: Did you realize that you could continue as a manga artist, that you could eat as one with Magic Kaito?<br>A: Yes, I think so. The editor-in-chief back then didn't like Magic Kaito very much, and he said, "I'll treat you something if this gets sold as volumes and sells 100,000 copies." Then the number was passed in the blink of time - I thought, it's profitable to sell volumes, isn't it? After that, YAIBA started at the magazine, and since the magazine is weekly, volumes came out quickly, too. Things became much easier after that, not only in terms of livelihood but psychologically, too. I did become busy and lost time to have some fun, though. Conan was decided when I met up with the editor to discuss what to do next after YAIBA ended. At the time, Kindaichi (from Kindaichi Case Files) started at Shonen Magazine, and since I like mysteries and it seemed interesting, I wanted to have a go at it. At first, I/we thought about a hardboiled-esque comedy with a title like "Tale of a Detective" or something similar. But Conan is the royal road to shonen manga, isn't it? Becoming small, and then getting threatened by bad guys. The plot was finished in about two weeks, but it's not something I/we thought neurotically about. Conan turned back to a first grader, since Shinichi is 17, so I thought that turning back exactly ten years would be easy to understand. I get asked if why I chose first grade, but that's pretty much all the reason (laughs). Although, there also was a bit of an aspect that, since first graders are completely children, someone that age will be laughed at and then forgiven for doing anything.
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青山 いや、けっこう貧乏だったなあ。カレーには肉を入れられなかったし。5日ぐらいそんな貧しいカレーで食いつなぐんですよ。毎日毎日カレー。でも米は田舎から送ってもらったので、食う物が何もないってことはなかったけど。米さえあれば何とかなるんですよね。毎日カレーばっかり食べて誰かの家で麻雀やってって、絵に描いたような貧乏大学生の姿だと思いますよ。<br>
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Q: Did you decide the characters' appearances along with the plot?<br>A: Almost at the same time. I don't think that the pictures took more than a minute.
A: Nah, I was pretty poor. I couldn't put in meat into curry. I would eat such an indigent curry for five days straight. Curry day after day. But I was sent rice from my hometown, so I did always have something to eat. If you have rice, you manage, don't you? I ate nothing but curry everyday and I played mahjong at someone's house - I think I was the very picture of a poor college student.<br>
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Q: The idea for Conan's glasses was decided at the time, too?<br>A: I like Superman, you see. Superman wore glasses as Clark Kent, right? That was what was in my head at the time. No glasses when he's Shinichi, but glasses once he turns into Conan. I just remembered, I wanted to make a rule-breaking manga. In shonen, Arare-chan is about the only one who is a protagonist and who also has glasses. Strictly speaking, Nobita-kun isn't a protagonist. Also, names (characters/letters). In shonen, there was a rule that manga with a lot of names in it don't become popular. There was another rule I tried to break – hmm, what was it? Was it about the name, Conan? Since it was the same as Future Boy Conan, the editor-in-chief didn't make a very good face. I think I was told to change the name to Doyle-kun (laughs). My editor was excited about breaking the rules, though.
2002年の12月31日の夜。先生のスケジュールがこの日しか開かないという中で、インタビューは行われた。かなり疲れていることは想像が付いたし、少々先生が不機嫌でも仕方がないと思っていた。しかし疲れているのは当然なのに、こちらにそれを感じさせる場合はほとんどなかったといっていい。作家として一流なのはご存知の通りだが、人間としても大人のキチンとした人、という印象なのだ。<br>
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December 31, 2002, nighttime. The interview took place, since sensei's schedule was apparently only open on this day. I could imagine that sensei was considerably tired; I thought that it couldn't be helped that sensei might be ill-humored. However, you couldn't tell that he was tired, even though he must have been. My impression was that he was upright as a human being and as an adult, though he was of course aware that he was first-class as an artist.<br>
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Q: Going back to what you have just said about shonen manga's royal path – your work also has an element of love comedy; childhood friends are also royal-path material, aren't they?<br>A: That's true. You could say that it's my preference to use childhood friends, though (laughs). The setup becomes really easy. It's easy to develop the story when the characters are childhood friends who have known each other for a long time. I liked Mitsuru Adachi-san's Touch, after all. As for dramas, I like The Tale of Seven Men and Women*. Though most young readers now probably don't know about this drama, I think that this is the masterpiece of love comedy. I wanted to bring out such an atmosphere in my work. Although, despite the presence of love, neither Shinichi nor Hattori chases after women, do they? They're a little different from a normal high school boy. In the end, detectives are fairly different, whether you're talking about Holmes or Seishi Yokomizo's Kindaichi. That's the appeal of detective-type people, though. *There's a Japanese Wikipedia page for it, but that's about it. Apparently it ran from July 25 to September 26, 1986 on TBS, and was so popular that its ratings exceeded 31% at one time.
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実はこうしてお会いするまでは、青山先生が気むずかしい方でも仕方がないなと思っていました。ミステリー作家は複雑な性格の方が多いというのは事実だし、ましてやハードなスケジュールですから。でも想像していたよりずっとほがらかで、ちょっと驚いています。<br>
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Q: Have your names ever been disgarded before?<br>A: In the case where the female illustrator gets killed by her lover, who is an artist (File 125~ "Falling Corpse"), I wrote, "I give you money. You give me satisfaction. That sounds like a fair deal to me," and they told me that this was not good. I do agree that it was too raw for Sunday (laughs). In the end, I changed it to something light like "I'll do my job so don't meddle with the family." That's about it.
Q: In truth, I thought that it couldn't be helped if Aoyama-sensei had a difficult temper, until I met you like this. It is the truth that mystery writers often have complicated personalities, to say nothing of their difficult schedules. I'm surprised that you are far more cheerful than I've imagined you to be.<br>
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Q: What about collecting data? I'm often surprised about how firm the factual areas on police relations, crime knowledge, and such are.<br>A: The editor has friends who does CSI or are working at a bank, and the assistants' relatives turn out to be former police detectives, so I ask them. For example, what do you need if you want to open a safe at night? I get to use some police terminology, too, though of course there are secret ones that I can't use. On car-related subjects, I ask my brother, who is one year younger than me. He's an engineer. I ask him things like, if you insert ice between the front wheels and the ice melts, what will happen? The radiator's water will probably drip if the cooler was kept open – then, where would the water drip from? Things like that. (File 221) On medicine-related subjects, I have another younger brother, who is a doctor. He and I came up with the APTX. To be rejuvenated . . . you can't get your bones back to the way it was, so that aspect is fictional, but maybe it's possible to rejuvenate cells, and such. This younger brother is also knowlegeable about anime, so he advised me on who to pick for voice actors. Also, on Hattori and Kazuha's Kansai dialect, the editor, who is from Kansai, looks over them carefully for me. On site research, I've rode the sleeping car train Hokutosei with the editor before. We had a meeting around dusk once, and suddenly decided to make this case center on Hokutosei. By chance, I/we managed to obtain the ticket(s) for next morning. Unfortunately, we didn't go up to Hokkaido and got off at Utsunomiya, so it was a bit of a waste. The train conductor surprised me. I said, "I have to get off in the middle?"
青山 もっとストレスの固まりみたいな人間を想像していました?もちろんストレスはあるけど、もともと神経質な方ではないんですよ。だからハードスケジュールでも耐えられるというところもあるかな。僕も推理小説とか読んでて、この作者は神経質だなあと思う事がありますね。人のアラ捜すのがうまいやつだなとか。僕の場合はまったくそういうタイプではないです。編集者を困らせた事もあまりない・・・・・・と自分では思うんですけど(笑)。編集者とケンカすることもないですね。ケンカするとしても漫画とは関係ないところで、すごいくだらないこと。編集者が阪神ファンで、僕は巨人ファンなんですが、巨人の優勝がかかっている試合で阪神が巨人に連勝したとき、たまたま映画のポスターのイラストを描く約束をしていたんですよ。でも気分悪いから「俺、描かねえぞ!」って(笑)。編集者も心得たもので、その日はもう連絡してきませんでした(笑)。これ、ケンカっていうのかなあ。<br>
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A: Did you imagine someone who was stress personified? I have stress, of course, but I've never been the type to be highly strung. I think that that's why I can endure difficult schedules. I, too, think sometimes that some writers are highly strung when I read their work – the type who are good at searching people from scratch, and such. For me, I'm not that type of person at all. I haven't inconvenienced the editor* much, either . . . or at least, I'd like to think so (laughs).I haven't quarreled with the editor, either. Even if there's a quarrel, it's not about manga, it's about something really trivial. The editor is a Hanshin fan, and I'm a Giants fan; when Hanshin won consecutively against the Giants in the match where the Giants' championship was at stake, I happened to have promised to draw the illustration for the movie poster. But I was in a bad mood, so I said, "I'm not drawing!" (laughs) Since the editor was understanding, he didn't contact me anymore that day (laughs). This isn't really a quarrel, is it? *Strictly speaking, the term could be plural, but I've left it as singular here since Aoyama seems to be talking about his editor.<br>
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Q: What do you struggle with the most in Conan's story?<br>A: The culprit's motives. People often think that coming up with tricks is troublesome, but for me, I always struggle with the motives. Grudges pop up a lot, but if it happens too often, then it's not interesting anymore. But then, I don't like indiscriminate murder, either. For example, someone kills people because it was hot outside – that leaves a bad taste, doesn't it? I don't want to do things like that. I also don't let the culprit die. The culprit commits suicide in the end only in the Tsukikage (Moon Shadow) Island story, right?
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少年サンデーではない雑誌に始めて投稿なさって佳作になったんですよね。そのままそちらでやるという気持ちはなかったんですか?なぜ少年サンデーへ?<br>
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Q: On the characters, is there something you decided the characters won't do?<br>A: Conan doesn't cry, but that's about it. He might have tears in his eyes from yawning, but he won't wail, he won't cry from empathy. I decided this at the beginning. There are other things I decided, but it's better not to say them, isn't it? It'll be more fun for the readers to search for themselves.
Q: You got an kasaku with a submission to a magazine other than Shonen Sunday, right? Did you not want to continue at that magazine? Why the move to Shonen Sunday?<br>
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Q: Do you decide the story with the editor?<br>A: Yes, I first discuss with the editor and decide. When the previous case ends, I take a nap, then I discuss within that day. With a free-talk-like style, we discuss from the trick, the flow of the story, to the conclusion, and we decide one case at once – in another words, we decide what will happen for the next 3~4 weeks. So the overall schedule goes like this: one case ends, I take a nap, I meet with the editor within that day, then I finish the name (pre-manuscript) in three days, then I meet up with the editor again, and then I ink it, then I add the finishing touches in the next four days. This is my week.
青山 佳作に選んでくれた漫画雑誌の、編集者が「僕は君の絵は好きなんだけど、今のうち雑誌では絵柄を変えろといわれるだろうから、よそへ行ったほうがいいよ」とアドバイスしてくれて。だったらあだち充さんが好きだし、全体的に絵がかわいいし、サンデーに持っていこうかなと思ったんです。そうしたら、わりとすぐにいけると言われて、その後はけっこうスムーズに。ただ、先輩の漫画家から「編集部に何度も足を運んで編集者に名前を覚えてもらわなきゃいけないよ」といわれたので、できるだけ編集部に通いました。「ちょっとまってて」で新人賞をいただいたんですが、その時点で僕の場合は編集者が付いていたんです。でも自分と同じような新人は何人もいる、その中で顔を覚えてもらうためには頻繁にネーム(下絵原稿)を持って行こうと。そこは意図的に考えてやっていました。半年ぐらいは、かなりしつこく「ネームを直してきました」と通いましたね。ほとんど毎日のように。ほかにやることもなかったし、早く連載待ちたいなと思っていましたね。<br>
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A: At the manga magazine where I was kindly given the kasaku, the editor kindly advised me, "I personally like your art, but you'll probably be told to change your style sometime soon, so it'll be better for you if you went elsewhere." If so, I like Mitsuru Adachi, and the picture is cute overall, so I thought about moving to Sunday. Then, I was told that I could go sooner than I'd thought, and things went smoothly after that.But then, a senior manga artist told me, "You should visit the editorial department many times until they memorize your name," so I visited the editorial department whenever I could. When I received the Newcomer Award with Wait a Minute, I already had an editor, in my case. There are many newcomers just like you, so to stand out you must bring in the name (roughly sketched manuscript) often. I did that intentionally. For about half a year, I visited quite insistently, saying "I fixed the name again!" Almost everyday. It's not like I had anything else to do, and I wanted to serialize as soon as possible.<br>
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Q: You can't rest at all, can you? You must have other things to do within that period, too.<br>A: No, I can't rest. I rest only about the time when I sleep after finishing the manuscript. I might travel when Conan doesn't print, but even then I think about Conan so it's not truly a rest at all. I relax only about when I watch baseball.
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「マジック快斗」の連載はそんな中で決まったんですね。サンデーの増刊で。<br>
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Q: Everyone is curious about how Conan will develop in the future.<br>A: It's probably more fun to not say much about that (laughs). I am thinking about a development that will surprise the readers, but for now there are more things that I can't say.<br>Even if sensei does take a few weeks of vacation, no one forgets about Conan, and the popularity doesn't go down, either (though this will trouble the editorial department). Even though sensei climbed up to that point, he continues writing Conan amid an even more difficult schedule. I wonder about where such an energy come from. One more thing, sensei never said the word "job". Though writing manga is undoubtedly a job for sensei, it seems to be completely different from the what is called "labor".
Q: Magic Kaito's serialization started in that evironment, didn't it? In Sunday's Special Edition?<br>
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Q: What is important for a manga artist? What would you advise people who want to become manga artists, for example?<br>A: I wonder . . . I never had a moment where I had a strong sense that I am a manga artist.You might say that, at the core, you have to like it. You can't continue if you don't like it. Also, you must have a sense of inquisitiveness. These might be common, but that's all that I can think of. On inquisitiveness, say you see a boring movie. Don't say "Boooring!" and be done with it, for me I would think about how this part should be like this, how if this is done then it will be come more and more interesting – things like that. Interesting movies are fine the way they are, but what are you doing to think when you see a boring one? That's why boring movies are surprisingly better for me results-wise (laughs). Also, there are a lot of things that you don't know about in this world, right? In a story related to anime, when I heard of the terminologies "F1, F2" for ratings, I end up thinking if I could make something out of them or not.* It's important to think about what you can do with things you've never heard of before.<br>[*Symbols representing TV viewers' age groups. F1 = female, 20~34; F2 = female, 35~49; others are as follows:<br>F3 = females 50 and above; M1 = male, 20~34; M2 = male, 35~49; M3 = males 50 and above; C1 = children, 4~12; C2 = children, 13~19.]
青山 そうです。単発で少しずつ描かせてもらったりしていましたけど、基本的にはその間、無職ですよね。漫画家として食べていけるようになったわけじゃないですから。学生時代にバイトで貯めたお金と、新人賞の賞金を食いつぶしていました。でも、こうして話すと苦労の時代と思われるかもしれませんが、実はえらい楽しい日々だったんですよ(笑)。漫画は好きな事だから、結局、自分の好きなことやってるだけなんですね。新人の頃は時間もたくさんあったから、好きなゲームもできましたし。ドラクエをやりながら漫画を描いていた頃の話で、編集者と待ち合わせの約束があったんです。で、江古田の駅前の喫茶店にいるからって電話かかってきたときに、僕は寝ぼけて「あ、あのー、ゴールドがないからいけないよー」って(笑)。そのままガシャンって切って、その30分後にまたかかってきたときに、そういえばさっき俺、なんかへんなこと言ってたなーとぼんやり(笑)。そのときの編集者もいい人だったんです。だからいろんな面で楽しかった。今はもうゲームをやる時間もありませんしね。<br>A: Yes. I was allowed to draw from time to time, but you're basically jobless during that time, aren't you? You can't eat as a manga artist, yet. I was eating with the money I saved through part-time jobs as a student, and with the prize money from the Newcomer Award. Although, you might think that this was a difficult time period the way I talk, but those days were actually really fun for me (laughs). In the end, I was doing what I liked, since I like manga. I also had a lot of time when I was a newcomer, so I could play my favorite games. Back when I used to draw manga while playing Dragon Quest, I had a promise to meet with the editor. Then, when the editor called since he was at a cafe near Egoda's train station, I replied, half asleep, "Uuuum, I can't gooo, since I don't have the gold yeeet" (laughs). Then I hanged up, and when I got a call again after thirty minutes, I vaguely thought, "I said something weird, didn't I?" (laughs).The editor back then was a good person, too. Things were fun back then, in many aspects. Now, I don't quite have the time to play games as I used to.<br>
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Q: Your head constantly turns toward creative work, doesn't it? Creative brain, perhaps.<br>A: That's true. That's why you have to like it, in the end. You're usually carefree without any thoughts if you travel, and I try to do that, too, but I end up thinking about if I can find material to work with out of habit. At the core, there's an aspect of diligence (laughs). You shouldn't strain your nerves too much, though.
漫画家としてやっていける、食べていく事ができると実感したのは「マジック快斗」でですか?<br>
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Q: Did you realize that you could continue as a manga artist, that you could eat as one with Magic Kaito?<br>
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Q: Are you all right from tendonitis? They say that being a manga artist means a fight against tendonitis.<br>A: There was one time when I almost got it. I always had strong pressure on the pen, so I'm the type who easily gets tendonitis. I've changed my drawing style since then. I use a thin marker and trace over the same line many times to make it thicker. I use the PIGMA 0.1mm pen. That way, I don't have to put much pressure on the arms. Except for background and unimportant characters, I draw everything. Meaning, I leave things like backgrounds with cars, CSI's and police people without names to assistants, then draw the characters who have names myself.<
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青山 そうですね。当時の編集長が「マジック快斗」をあまり評価してくれなくて、「これが単行本になって10万部売れたらおごってやる」って言われていたんです。だけどあっという間に越えちゃって、その時単行本が売れるって儲かるんだなと思いました。そのあと「YAIBA」の連載が本誌で始まったんですが、週間だから単行本が出るのも速いでしょう。それでずいぶん楽になりました。生活もですが、精神的にもですね。忙しくなって遊ぶ時間はなくなっちゃいましたけど。コナンは「YAIBA」が終わってから、編集者と次はどうしようという打ち合わせの中で決まりました。当時、「少年マガジン」で金田一君(「金田一少年の事件簿」)が始まっていたんですが、探偵モノは好きだし、面白そうだから自分もやってみたいなと思いました。最初は「探偵物語」みたいな、ちょっとハードボイルドっぽいコメディというのを考えていたんですよ。でもコナンはわりと少年漫画の王道なんですよね。小さくなって、悪い奴らに脅かされてという。プロットは2週間ぐらいでできあがったんだけど、そんなに神経質に考えたわけでもないんです。コナンが小1に戻っちゃうというのも、新一は17才だから、ちょうど10才戻ればわかりやすいだろうと思ったんです。小1にしたことにどんな意味があるんですか、と聞かれる事があるけど、意味はただそれだけ(笑)。あと、小1だと完全に子供だから、その年齢の子が何をやっても笑って許してもらえるだろう、みたいなことはちょっとありましたけど。<br>
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Q: On the art, which manga artist did you receive influence from?<br>A: Monkey Punch, of Lupin III. There's a time when Conan drinks some alcohol and reverts back to his former body, right? The alcohol called Paikaru comes from the name of a magician that appears in Lupin III. I would also say Mitsuru Adachi-san, and surprisingly a shojo manga artist named Akemi Matsunae-san, I think. And people my age all received influence to some degree from Katsuhiro Otomo-san, I think. (Ha ha, I wonder if Miyano Akemi's name comes from Matsunae Akemi's . . . it sounds like it does, doesn't it?)
A: Yes, I think so. The editor-in-chief back then didn't like Magic Kaito very much, and he said, "I'll treat you something if this gets sold as volumes and sells 100,000 copies." Then the number was passed in the blink of time - I thought, it's profitable to sell volumes, isn't it? After that, YAIBA started at the magazine, and since the magazine is weekly, volumes came out quickly, too. Things became much easier after that, not only in terms of livelihood but psychologically, too. I did become busy and lost time to have some fun, though. Conan was decided when I met up with the editor to discuss what to do next after YAIBA ended. At the time, Kindaichi (from Kindaichi Case Files) started at Shonen Magazine, and since I like mysteries and it seemed interesting, I wanted to have a go at it. At first, I/we thought about a hardboiled-esque comedy with a title like "Tale of a Detective" or something similar. But Conan is the royal road to shonen manga, isn't it? Becoming small, and then getting threatened by bad guys. The plot was finished in about two weeks, but it's not something I/we thought neurotically about. Conan turned back to a first grader, since Shinichi is 17, so I thought that turning back exactly ten years would be easy to understand. I get asked if why I chose first grade, but that's pretty much all the reason (laughs). Although, there also was a bit of an aspect that, since first graders are completely children, someone that age will be laughed at and then forgiven for doing anything.<br>
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Q: Sensei is single, but if you marry you can't continue living like this, can you?<br>A: No, I can't. If my lifestyle changes, I can't continue the current pace anymore.* When I started Conan, I thought that this would be a lot of work. When I actually started, it was truly so much work that I don't do what my superiors say. I even said that I won't do anything unless they let me do whatever I want to do. This way, I can continue because I'm doing whatever I want in life and in my work. I was told to change the name from Conan to Doyle, to make Hattori into an absolute rival, things like that, but that's different from what I'm thinking. In that aspect, I insisted on my way as the artist. So I've been doing whatever I want. You should do what you like, as you like . . . This may be quite troublesome to both mind and body, but in the end I think that I want to be consumed there. Therefore, I'm happy, after all, because I'm living this way. I think I want to continue being a manga artist until ideas run dry, or readers tell me that they don't need me anymore. Though I might say "Aaaah, stooop!" from time to time.<br>[T/N: *There seems to be a typo here - I can't find the meaning of 維待anywhere – so I guessed at what it meant.]<br>
プロットと一緒に、キャラクターの絵も決めていくのですか?<br>
 
Q: Did you decide the characters' appearances along with the plot?<br>
 
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青山 ほとんど同時に。絵については1分もかかってないかな。<br>
 
A: Almost at the same time. I don't think that the pictures took more than a minute.<br>
 
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コナンのめがねというアイデアもそのときに?<br>
 
Q: The idea for Conan's glasses was decided at the time, too?<br>
 
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青山 スーパーマンが好きなので。彼はクラーク・ケントのときにはメガネをかけていたでしょう。それが頭にありました。新一のときはメガネしていないけど、コナンになるとメガネ。メガネで思い出しましたけど、掟破りの漫画を作りたいなと考えていたんですよね。少年誌の主人公でメガネって、アラレちゃんぐらいでしょう。のび太は厳密にいえば主人公じゃないし。あとはネーム(文字)の多さですね。ネームの多い漫画は少年誌ではウケない、というのが定説だったんです。それからもう一個何かあったんだけど、何だっけな。コナンっていう名前についてだったかな。「未来少年コナン」と同じだからということで、編集長はいい顔をしませんでした。ドイル君にしろと言われたような(笑)。でも担当編集者とは掟破りをやろうと盛り上がっていましたよ。<br>
 
A: I like Superman, you see. Superman wore glasses as Clark Kent, right? That was what was in my head at the time. No glasses when he's Shinichi, but glasses once he turns into Conan. I just remembered, I wanted to make a rule-breaking manga. In shonen, Arare-chan is about the only one who is a protagonist and who also has glasses. Strictly speaking, Nobita-kun isn't a protagonist. Also, names (characters/letters). In shonen, there was a rule that manga with a lot of names in it don't become popular. There was another rule I tried to break – hmm, what was it? Was it about the name, Conan? Since it was the same as Future Boy Conan, the editor-in-chief didn't make a very good face. I think I was told to change the name to Doyle-kun (laughs). My editor was excited about breaking the rules, though.<br>
 
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それと、さっきおっしゃった少年漫画の王道の部分と。ラブコメの要素もあるけど、幼なじみでっていうのはわりと王道ですよね。<br>
 
Q: Going back to what you have just said about shonen manga's royal path – your work also has an element of love comedy; childhood friends are also royal-path material, aren't they?<br>
 
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青山 そうですね。幼なじみはまあ、僕の趣味といわれればそうだけど(笑)、ラクなんですよ設定が。幼なじみで昔から知っているというのはストーリーが展開しやすいんです。ラブコメではやっぱりあだち充さんの「タッチ」とか好きでしたから。テレビドラマだと「男女七人夏物語」。今の若い読者の子はこのドラマを知らない人も多いでしょうけど、ラブコメの最高傑作だと僕は思っているんですよ。ああいう雰囲気を出したかった。ただ、ラブはあるんだけれども、新一と服部に関していうと女好きではないんですね、どっちも。普通の高校生の男の子とはちょっと違う。探偵ってやっぱりホームズにしても横溝正史の金田一にしても、かなり変わったところがあるんですよ。そこが探偵という人種の魅力でもあるんです。<br>
 
A: That's true. You could say that it's my preference to use childhood friends, though (laughs). The setup becomes really easy. It's easy to develop the story when the characters are childhood friends who have known each other for a long time. I liked Mitsuru Adachi-san's Touch, after all. As for dramas, I like The Tale of Seven Men and Women*. Though most young readers now probably don't know about this drama, I think that this is the masterpiece of love comedy. I wanted to bring out such an atmosphere in my work. Although, despite the presence of love, neither Shinichi nor Hattori chases after women, do they? They're a little different from a normal high school boy. In the end, detectives are fairly different, whether you're talking about Holmes or Seishi Yokomizo's Kindaichi. That's the appeal of detective-type people, though. *There's a Japanese Wikipedia page for it, but that's about it. Apparently it ran from July 25 to September 26, 1986 on TBS, and was so popular that its ratings exceeded 31% at one time.<br>
 
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ネームがボツになった、というようなことはありますか?<br>
 
Q: Have your names ever been disgarded before?<br>
 
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青山 イラストレーターの女の人が愛人の画家に殺される回(FILE. 125「落ちる死体」~)で、「俺はおまえにお金をやる。だからおまえはオレを満足させる。それで50・50でいいじゃないか」と書いたら、これはちょっとまずいですって。サンデーでは確かに生々しいかなと思いました(笑)。結局、「仕事をやるから家庭に口出しするな」というような、あっさりしたものにしたんです。そのぐらいですね。<br>
 
A: In the case where the female illustrator gets killed by her lover, who is an artist (File 125~ "Falling Corpse"), I wrote, "I give you money. You give me satisfaction. That sounds like a fair deal to me," and they told me that this was not good. I do agree that it was too raw for Sunday (laughs). In the end, I changed it to something light like "I'll do my job so don't meddle with the family." That's about it.<br>
 
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取材はどうしているんですか?警察関係とか、犯罪の知識とか、すごくデータ部分がしっかりしていて、驚くことも多いんですが。<br>
 
Q: What about collecting data? I'm often surprised about how firm the factual areas on police relations, crime knowledge, and such are.<br>
 
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青山 編集者の友達に鑑識や銀行の人がいたり、アシスタントの親せきが元刑事だったりするので、聞いてもらって。たとえば貸し金庫を夜中にあけるとしたら何が必要か?とか。警察用語でも出していいものは作品で使わせてもらうし、「これはちょっと秘密だから出さないで」というものも当然ありますし。クルマ関係は一つ年下の弟に聞いています。エンジニアなんです。トリックで、氷を前輪に挟んで動かないようにして、とけたらどうなるのか、多分水はクーラーかけっぱなしだったらラジエーターの水が落ちる、で、どっからどう落ちるの?と聞いたり(巻末最新416話リスト、302頁を参照)。薬者関係はもう一人の弟が医者だから・・・・・・。アポトキシンの設定などは二人で考えました。若返る・・・・・・骨が元に戻るっていうのはあり得ないんで、それはフィクションだとしても、細胞が若返るというのはありうるな、とか。この弟はアニメについても詳しいので、声優さんを決めるときにアドバイスもくれました。あと、服部と和葉の大阪弁は、関西出身の編集者が細かく見てくれます。取材といえば、寝台特急「北斗星」を編集者と二人で取材に行ったことがあります。夕方近くに待ち合わせしていて、今回の事件の舞台は「北斗星」で行こうと突然決まって。その時偶然、翌朝のチケットが取れたんですよ。でも北海道までは行かず、宇都宮で降りてきちゃったんで、ちょっともったいなかったですけどね。車掌さんに驚かれましたよ。「途中で降りちゃうんですか」って。<br>
 
A: The editor has friends who does CSI or are working at a bank, and the assistants' relatives turn out to be former police detectives, so I ask them. For example, what do you need if you want to open a safe at night? I get to use some police terminology, too, though of course there are secret ones that I can't use. On car-related subjects, I ask my brother, who is one year younger than me. He's an engineer. I ask him things like, if you insert ice between the front wheels and the ice melts, what will happen? The radiator's water will probably drip if the cooler was kept open – then, where would the water drip from? Things like that. (File 221) On medicine-related subjects, I have another younger brother, who is a doctor. He and I came up with the APTX. To be rejuvenated . . . you can't get your bones back to the way it was, so that aspect is fictional, but maybe it's possible to rejuvenate cells, and such. This younger brother is also knowlegeable about anime, so he advised me on who to pick for voice actors. Also, on Hattori and Kazuha's Kansai dialect, the editor, who is from Kansai, looks over them carefully for me. On site research, I've rode the sleeping car train Hokutosei with the editor before. We had a meeting around dusk once, and suddenly decided to make this case center on Hokutosei. By chance, I/we managed to obtain the ticket(s) for next morning. Unfortunately, we didn't go up to Hokkaido and got off at Utsunomiya, so it was a bit of a waste. The train conductor surprised me. I said, "I have to get off in the middle?"<br>
 
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コナンでストーリー上、いちばん苦労する事は何ですか?<br>
 
Q: What do you struggle with the most in Conan's story?<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 動機ですね、犯人の。トリックを考えるのが大変だと思われますけど、僕としては動機の方にいつも苦労しています。怨恨が多いんだけど、いつもじゃ面白くないし。かといって無差別殺人みたいなのはイヤですし。たとえば暑かったから、ムシャクシャしたから人を殺したとか、そういうのは後味が悪いでしょ。それはやりたくないんです。犯人も死なせません。月影島の話だけですね、最後に犯人が自殺して終わるのは。<br>
 
A: The culprit's motives. People often think that coming up with tricks is troublesome, but for me, I always struggle with the motives. Grudges pop up a lot, but if it happens too often, then it's not interesting anymore. But then, I don't like indiscriminate murder, either. For example, someone kills people because it was hot outside – that leaves a bad taste, doesn't it? I don't want to do things like that. I also don't let the culprit die. The culprit commits suicide in the end only in the Tsukikage (Moon Shadow) Island story, right?<br>
 
<br>
 
キャラクターについても「これだけはやらない」と決めていることはありますか?<br>
 
Q: On the characters, is there something you decided the characters won't do?<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 コナンは泣かない、ということぐらいですね。あくびして目に涙がたまるのはいいけど、号泣しない、感情移入して泣いたりしない。これは最初に決めたことです。ほかにもいろいろあるけどあんまり言わない方がいいですよね。読者のみんなに捜してもらうほうが楽しいでしょう。<br>
 
A: Conan doesn't cry, but that's about it. He might have tears in his eyes from yawning, but he won't wail, he won't cry from empathy. I decided this at the beginning. There are other things I decided, but it's better not to say them, isn't it? It'll be more fun for the readers to search for themselves.<br>
 
<br>
 
ストーリーは、編集者との話し合いで決まるんですか?<br>
 
Q: Do you decide the story with the editor?<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 はい、編集者と最初に話しながら決めていきます。これは前の話が終わったら仮眠をとって、すぐその日のうちにやります。フリートークのような感じで、トリックから話の流れから結末まで、一気に編集と一話分、つまりおよそ3~4週分を決めてしまうんです。だから大まかなスケジュールは、一つの話が終わって仮眠、その日のうちに立ち合わせ、そこから3日間でネームを上げて、またそこで打ち合わせ、それから4日間でペン入れ、仕上げという感じです。これで一週間。<br>
 
A: Yes, I first discuss with the editor and decide. When the previous case ends, I take a nap, then I discuss within that day. With a free-talk-like style, we discuss from the trick, the flow of the story, to the conclusion, and we decide one case at once – in another words, we decide what will happen for the next 3~4 weeks. So the overall schedule goes like this: one case ends, I take a nap, I meet with the editor within that day, then I finish the name (pre-manuscript) in three days, then I meet up with the editor again, and then I ink it, then I add the finishing touches in the next four days. This is my week.<br>
 
<br>
 
休めないですね、全然。その間にもいろいろあるでしょうし。<br>
 
Q: You can't rest at all, can you? You must have other things to do within that period, too.<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 ええ、休めないです。原稿を完成して寝てるときぐらいしか休みはないですね。休載のときは旅行なんかもしますが、それでもコナンのことを考えていて完全に休みにはならない。息抜きは野球を見てるときぐらいですね。<br>
 
A: No, I can't rest. I rest only about the time when I sleep after finishing the manuscript. I might travel when Conan doesn't print, but even then I think about Conan so it's not truly a rest at all. I relax only about when I watch baseball.<br>
 
<br>
 
コナンはこの先、どう展開していくのか誰もが興味のあるところですが。<br>
 
Q: Everyone is curious about how Conan will develop in the future.<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 いや、それもいっぱい言わないのが楽しいでしょう(笑)。読者があっと驚くような展開を考えていますけど、今はまだ言えないことのほうが多いですね。<br>
 
A: It's probably more fun to not say much about that (laughs). I am thinking about a development that will surprise the readers, but for now there are more things that I can't say.<br>
 
<br>
 
仮に先生が数週間の休みを取ったとしても、誰もコナンを忘れる事はないし、人気が下がる事もない(編集部は困るが)。そういうところまで上がりつめたのに、先生はなおハードなスケジュールの中でコナンを書き続ける。そのエネルギーはどこから湧いてくるのか、不思議な気分になった。もう一つ、先生からは「仕事」という言葉が出てこないのだ。漫画を書くことはまぎれもなく先生にとって仕事なのだが、いわゆる「労働」というという意識とはまったく違うものだろうと思う。<br>
 
Even if sensei does take a few weeks of vacation, no one forgets about Conan, and the popularity doesn't go down, either (though this will trouble the editorial department). Even though sensei climbed up to that point, he continues writing Conan amid an even more difficult schedule. I wonder about where such an energy come from. One more thing, sensei never said the word "job". Though writing manga is undoubedly a job for sensei, it seems to be completely different from the what is called "labor".<br>
 
<br>
 
漫画家にとって大事なことって何なんでしょう?たとえば漫画家を目指す人たちにアドバイスするとしたら。<br>
 
Q: What is important for a manga artist? What would you advise people who want to become manga artists, for example?<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 なんだろう・・・・・・。僕はあんまり自分で「ああ、俺は漫画家なんだな」と強く意識するような瞬間ってないんだけども。まあ基本的には好きっていうのがありますよね。好きじゃなきゃやっていけない。あとは、好奇心を持つこと。ありきたりですけど、これぐらいしか思いつかないですよね。好奇心っていうのは、たとえばすっごくつまらない映画を見て「つまんねー!」って終わるんじゃなくて、俺ならここはこうするのに、とか、こうすればどんどん面白くなるのにと考えていくようなことかな。面白い映画はそのままでいいんだけど、つまらない映画を見たときにそこで何を考えるのか。だから案外、つまらない映画のほうが結果的には自分にはよかったりします(笑)。それから、世の中のことで自分が知らないことはたくさんあるでしょう。アニメに関しての話なんだけど、視聴率で「F1, F2」という専門用語を聞いたとき、あ、これで何かできないかなと考えちゃったりしましたね*。新しいことを見たり聞いたりしたときに、何かできるんじゃないかと考えるのは大事なことです。<br>
 
A: I wonder . . . I never had a moment where I had a strong sense that I am a manga artist.You might say that, at the core, you have to like it. You can't continue if you don't like it. Also, you must have a sense of inquisitiveness. These might be common, but that's all that I can think of. On inquisitiveness, say you see a boring movie. Don't say "Boooring!" and be done with it, for me I would think about how this part should be like this, how if this is done then it will be come more and more interesting – things like that. Interesting movies are fine the way they are, but what are you doing to think when you see a boring one? That's why boring movies are surprisingly better for me results-wise (laughs). Also, there are a lot of things that you don't know about in this world, right? In a story related to anime, when I heard of the terminologies "F1, F2" for ratings, I end up thinking if I could make something out of them or not.* It's important to think about what you can do with things you've never heard of before.<br>
 
<br>
 
*テレビの視聴者の年齢増をあらわす記号。F1は20~34才の女性、F2は35~49才の女性である。その他は次の通り。<br>
 
F3=女50才以上、M1=男20~34才、M2=男35~49才、M3=男50才以上、C1=男女4~12才、C2=男女13~19才。<br>
 
*Symbols representing TV viewers' age groups. F1 = female, 20~34; F2 = female, 35~49; others are as follows:<br>
 
F3 = females 50 and above; M1 = male, 20~34; M2 = male, 35~49; M3 = males 50 and above; C1 = children, 4~12; C2 = children, 13~19.<br>
 
<br>
 
頭が常に創作の方を向いているんですね。創作脳というか。<br>
 
Q: Your head constantly turns toward creative work, doesn't it? Creative brain, perhaps.<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 そうですね。だからやっぱり好きじゃないとだめでしょ。普通は旅行に行ったらなんにも考えずのんびりするんだけど、僕もそうしようとは思うんですが、つい普段の癖で何かネタになりそうなことはないかなと。基本的にマジメってこともあるんです(笑)。ただしあんまり根を詰めるとダメなんですけども。<br>
 
A: That's true. That's why you have to like it, in the end. You're usually carefree without any thoughts if you travel, and I try to do that, too, but I end up thinking about if I can find material to work with out of habit. At the core, there's an aspect of diligence (laughs). You shouldn't strain your nerves too much, though.<br>
 
<br>
 
腱鞘炎は大丈夫ですか?漫画家は腱鞘炎との戦いだ、といわれますが。<br>
 
Q: Are you all right from tendonitis? They say that being a manga artist means a fight against tendonitis.<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 一回なりかけて、ヤバイなというときがありました。元々、筆圧が強いので腱鞘炎にはなりやすいタイプなんです。それからは描き方を変えましたね。細マジックで、何度も線をなぞって太くしていくんですよ。ピグマの0.1ミリというペンがあるんですが、それでサッサッと。そうすると腕に力を入れなくてもすむんです。絵は背景と重要じゃない登場人物以外は、自分で描いています。クルマを含めた背景、それに人物で言うと鑑識とか名前のない警察はアシスタントに任せて、名前のある人物については僕がやるという分け方です。<br>
 
A: There was one time when I almost got it. I always had strong pressure on the pen, so I'm the type who easily gets tendonitis. I've changed my drawing style since then. I use a thin marker and trace over the same line many times to make it thicker. I use the PIGMA 0.1mm pen. That way, I don't have to put much pressure on the arms. Except for background and unimportant characters, I draw everything. Meaning, I leave things like backgrounds with cars, CSI's and police people without names to assistants, then draw the characters who have names myself.<br>
 
<br>
 
絵に関して、影響を受けた漫画家さんというと誰でしょう?<br>
 
Q: On the art, which manga artist did you receive influence from?<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 「ルパン三世」のモンキー・パンチさんですね。コナンがお酒を飲んで元の身体に戻るときがあるでしょう?あの「白乾児(パイカル)」というお酒は、「ルパン三世」に出てくるすごくかっこいい魔術師の名前なんです。あとはあだち充さん、意外なところでは少女漫画家の松苗あけみさんかな。それから大友克洋さんは世代的に、僕らの年齢だとみんな多かれ少なかれ影響を受けているんじゃないかな。<br>
 
A: Monkey Punch, of Lupin III. There's a time when Conan drinks some alcohol and reverts back to his former body, right? The alcohol called Paikaru comes from the name of a magician that appears in Lupin III. I would also say Mitsuru Adachi-san, and surprisingly a shojo manga artist named Akemi Matsunae-san, I think. And people my age all received influence to some degree from Katsuhiro Otomo-san, I think. (Ha ha, I wonder if Miyano Akemi's name comes from Matsunae Akemi's . . . it sounds like it does, doesn't it?)<br>
 
<br>
 
先生は独身ですが、結婚したら今の生活は続けられないですね。<br>
 
Q: Sensei is single, but if you marry you can't continue living like this, can you?<br>
 
<br>
 
青山 無理でしょう。生活が変わっちゃったら、今のペースは維待できない。最初にコナンを立ち上げたときも、「これは大変だよな」と思いました。で、実際やってみたら本当にあまりに大変なんで、もう上の人からどうこう言われるんならやらない。勝手にやらせてくれなきゃいやだと言ったぐらいです。そうやって、生活も作品も好き勝手にやっているから続けていけるんでしょうね。コナンをドイルにしろとか、服部を純然たるライバルにしろとか、そういうことは言われてきたけど、それは僕が考えてることと違うので。そこは作家として主張してきました。だからずいぶん好きなようにやっています。好きなことを、好きなように・・・・・・心身ともに大変ではあるんですが、結局はそこに尽きると思っています。それで、そうやって生きていける自分はやっぱり幸せなんですよね。アイデアが枯れてもう何も出なくなるまで、もしくは読者から「おまえはもういらない」と言われるまで、漫画家としてずっとやれたらいいと思っています。口では「あー、もうやめてえ~!」と言うことはあってもね。<br>
 
A: No, I can't. If my lifestyle changes, I can't continue the current pace anymore.* When I started Conan, I thought that this would be a lot of work. When I actually started, it was truly so much work that I don't do what my superiors say. I even said that I won't do anything unless they let me do whatever I want to do. This way, I can continue because I'm doing whatever I want in life and in my work. I was told to change the name from Conan to Doyle, to make Hattori into an absolute rival, things like that, but that's different from what I'm thinking. In that aspect, I insisted on my way as the artist. So I've been doing whatever I want. You should do what you like, as you like . . . This may be quite troublesome to both mind and body, but in the end I think that I want to be consumed there. Therefore, I'm happy, after all, because I'm living this way. I think I want to continue being a manga artist until ideas run dry, or readers tell me that they don't need me anymore. Though I might say "Aaaah, stooop!" from time to time. *There seems to be a typo here - I can't find the meaning of 維待anywhere – so I guessed at what it meant.<br>
 
</spoiler>
 
  
Raw Images
 
<spoiler>
 
[[File: Conan Drill Interview 1.jpg|520px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 2.jpg|300px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 3.jpg|300px|]]
 
<br>
 
[[File: Conan Drill Interview 4.jpg|280px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 5.jpg|280px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 6.jpg|280px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 7.jpg|280px|]]<br>
 
[[File: Conan Drill Interview 8.jpg|280px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 9.jpg|280px|]][[File: Conan Drill Interview 10.jpg|280px|]]
 
 
</spoiler>
 
</spoiler>
  

Revision as of 16:45, 22 December 2018

Contents

Gosho's Official Commentary and Interview list

Interview

Mid 90s Newtype Interview

Unknown issue of the magazine "Newtype"
Pictures from: http://ayase.blog4.fc2.com/blog-entry-803.html

Mini Documentary: Secret of Creation

青山剛昌ふるさと館(青山剛昌の仕事部屋 創作の秘密)
Video shows Gosho drawing File 593, which was released Dec 2006
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f7SLxnVPI0


New Years Postcard list RAW

「青山先生の年賀状」まとめ
Collected postcard list from 2014 and 2015
http://conan-4869.net/post-24061

Interviews

The interviews listed here are ones that I found listed on the DCW Translating interview thread. It would be preferable if we could find more interviews and get them located here. http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/forum/topic/1555-translating-interviews/

1997

Mystery Museum Interview

Date: June 10th, 1997


2003

Complete Color Works Interview Aoyama x Takayama

Date: May 1, 2003

Conan Drill Official Book

Date: May 1 2003

2004

Love Conan (Rabu Conan) Interview RAW

ラブコナン―名探偵コナンオフィシャルファンブックforガールズ,2004/3/31
http://conan-4869.net/post-19909
Raw Text

Translation by Yunniechan : link

Raw Images

Partial Translation
Source from yangti1674 ( link )
text copied from Chekov's post ( link )

Conan Vs Kaitou Kid Perfect Edition RAW

Detective Conan vs. Kaitou Kid Perfect Edition pg 169
Posted by: skyechan

Translation by Yunniechan : link

RAW IMAGES

2005

Unknown Fan Gathering 2005 (partial text) (no raw)

Unknown interview 2005 Fan gathering
Translated by: justwantanaccount

2006

Anime 10 Year Anniversary Interview 1 (WITH RAW)

読売新聞 「親子で夢中 コナン10年」
Translated by Startold
""It was published on NTV's website in 2006.""
January 6th 2006
http://conan-4869.net/post-19657

Raw Text

Asahi Newspaper Interview "the boss's name has already appeared" (WITH RAW)

朝日新聞夕刊 (Asahi Evening Newspaper), published January 13, 2006
Posted by: Cindy Xin
Comment from Chekhov: "The last file before this boss's name has appeared interview was 551 (Nail and Snake)
and was in Shounen Sunday issue #5-6 2006 (a double issue with a week break afterwards) which was published January 4, 2006."
Fully Translated by Startold

Raw Image

Raw Text

Erlangen, Germany Interview (WITH GERMAN)

Press conference in Erlangen, Germany on June 17, 2006
Video: link (may cause you to wait 45 secs to view)
Translated by: Aki-kun

Original German Text

Anime 10 Year Anniversary Interview 2

Aoyama Anime 10th anniversary interview in 2006 on the Yomiuri Television (YTV) website
Original link : http://www.ytv.co.jp/conan/index_set.html (page died)
Posted at : https://reiarashi.wordpress.com/2006/09/10/aoyama-10th-anniversary-interview/

Raw text

10 Year Cinema Guide interview

Aoyama Long Interview, 10 Year Cinema Talk 2006


2007

Magic Kaito Volume 4 Interview RAW (images)

The volume was released sometime between Feb and Mar 2007
There are 4 pages, the first 2 seem to be an interview and special message
and the next 2 are a recap of all of the Kaito heists up to that point.

Urusei Yatsura Volume 21 Interview RAW

うる星やつら(新装版)21巻のインタビュー September 18th, 2007
A Detective Conan website had this listed as an interview
so it must have some relevance
http://conan-4869.net/post-19866

The poster also had this to say about things from much later
in the Conan series like Rum and volume 85 (Scarlet Series)

Translation by Yunniechan : link

Akigoro Interview RAW

2007年秋ごろのインタビュー 「最終回の構想できている」
Unknown interview
http://conan-4869.net/post-5412

Translation by Yunniechan : link

2008

Conan and Kindaichi Files Interview #1 (WITH RAW)

名探偵コナン&金田一少年の事件簿01 (Detective Conan & Kindaichi Case files #1), published April 10, 2008
Translated by: justwantanaccount

Raw interview images

Otona Fami Interview #1 (no raw)

オトナファミ6月号 (Otona Fami or Adult Family June issue), published April 21, 2008
Partial information below recovered from 2008

2009

Shonen Sunday 50th Anniversary Interview RAW

少年サンデー1983 (Shonen Sunday 1983, a special issue commemorating Sunday's 50 years of publishing), published July 15, 2009
http://conan-4869.net/post-19901

Raw Images

Conan and Lupin Interview #1 (MIXED IN RAW)

Aoyama & Monkey Punch interview from 2009
Translated by: justwantanaccount

Shonen Sunday Interview #1 (no raw)

週刊少年サンデー17号 (Weekly Shonen Sunday #17), published March 27, 2009
no script

2010

Gundam Ace Interview (MIXED IN RAW)

ガンダムエース3月号 (Gundam Ace March issue) between Ikeda Shuuichi and Aoyama Gosho, published January 26, 2010
Partially Translated by: justwantanaccount

Full raw text
http://conan-4869.net/post-6208

Otona Fami Interview #2 RAW

オトナファミ6月号 (Otona Fami or Adult Family June issue), published April 20, 2010
Raw Images

Masters Of Manga Interview (no raw)

Masters of Manga, published July 6, 2010
Text submitted by: Chekhov

2011

Mystery Magazine Interview RAW

ミステリマガジン6月号 (Mystery Magazine June issue), published April 25, 2011
http://conan-4869.net/post-5413

Raw Images

Magic Kaitou Treasured Editions: Playback Episode Interviews (no raw)

Released at the end of the Treasured Editions through out 2011
Translated from German to English by : Cocoa moth / Cocoa

Otona Fami Interview #3 (MIXED IN RAW)

オトナファミ6月号 (Otona Fami or Adult Family June issue), published April 20, 2011
RAW IMAGES: http://imgur.com/a/m7Qen
Proof of Origin: http://www.famitsu.com/blog/otona/2011/04/post_687.html
Included with a section called "Detective Conan Best Episode File 50"
(Alternate translation found here)
Below Translated by: justwananaccount

Nihon Uiversity College of Art Lecture Interview (2ch RAW ONLY)

2011/06/24
various collected posts by: justwantanaccount at the bottom of the
DCW interview list forum post : link (see bottom of first post)

Club Sunday Interview RAW

『クラブサンデー』青山剛昌先生へのインタビュー
October 28th, 2011
http://conan-4869.net/post-5847


2012

Monthly BLT Interview RAW

月刊BLT 6月号 2012 (Monthly BLT June issue of 2012), published April 24, 2012
http://conan-4869.net/post-20045
Raw text

Translation of a fans-rephrased version (MIXED IN RAW)
Translated by: justwantanaccount

Sankei News Interview RAW

『産経ニュース』のインタビュー 「転機 話しましょう」
June 23rd, 2012
http://conan-4869.net/post-7967

distant photograph of newspaper Raw

Gosho's True Intentions Interview RAW

剛昌先生の本音 ─ ホントの声
November 2012
Posted at : http://andantets.blog90.fc2.com/blog-entry-550.html

2013

Interview with Aoyama Gosho and Shibasaki Kou, Movie 17 (WITH RAW)

柴咲コウ&青山剛昌『名探偵コナン 絶海の探偵(プライベート・アイ)』
コナン史上、最もハードでダイナミックな作品
Original Japanese version: http://www.cinematoday.jp/page/A0003661
Interview occurred around April 2013
Translated by : http://meitanteikonanplot.blogspot.com/2013/04/special-post-interview-with-aoyama.html

RAW text

Shonen Sunday Special Booklet File865 (WITH RAW)

少年サンデー33号特別付録の作者インタビュー
Shonen Sunday interview July 17th, 2013
http://conan-4869.net/post-14509
File 865 Shounen Sunday Special Booklet
Post organized by : Chekhov
Partially translated, comment by Chekhov: """(DCTP translation page no longer exists). Since in its current form it is likely to be disarrayed,
I have organized the text here. Credit goes to the translators which include Fujiwara, Zenthisoror, and Wakarimashita."""
Heiji, Kaitou, Yaiba, and Drawing Conan sections translated by: Cocoa, from German

File 865 RAW text and images

Otona Fami Interview #4 RAW

オトナファミ6月号(2013)
June 2013
http://conan-4869.net/post-20020

Shonen Sunday Lupin Vs Conan Secret Report RAW

少年サンデー51号|ルパン3世 VS コナン SECRET REPORT
November 20th, 2013
http://conan-4869.net/post-17477

Lupin the Third VS Detective Conan: Money Punch and Aoyama Gosho interivew

ルパン三世 VS 名探偵コナン『モンキー・パンチ&青山剛昌☆作品がひとり歩きしていくのもいい』
December 04, 2013
Source: link
Link includes video interview with Monkey Punch and Aoyama Gosho
as well written interview with soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura, a guest star in the movie

Monkey Punch and Gosho Aoyama Special Talk RAW

モンキーパンチ先生×青山剛昌先生のスペシャル対談
Unknown 2013
Special talk on the official website of "Lupin the Third VS Detective Conan The Movie"
http://conan-4869.net/post-19729

Original link : http://lupicona-movie.com/specialtalk.html (page died)
Webpage screenshot


2014

AnimeAnime Interview RAW

劇場版「名探偵コナン 異次元の狙撃手」公開直前 原作・青山剛昌先生インタビュー
(before) April 18, 2014
http://animeanime.jp/article/2014/04/18/18340.html
http://conan-4869.net/post-20166

Da Vinci Interviews (WITH RAWS)

Leaked interview notes from the May issue of the magazine 「ダ・ヴィンチ」 (da Vinci) with the Japanese actor Takeru Satoh, leaked April 13, 2014
Leaked interview notes from the May issue of the magazine 「ダ・ヴィンチ」 (da Vinci) with the fans/reporters/whatever, leaked April 15, 2014
Translated by ALAKTORN

So apparently a large chunk of this interview was never typed up AND this is only the cross talk with Takeru Satoh,
not the "LONG INTERVIEW" from this issue of the magazine.

Takeru Satoh x Gosho Aoyama Cross Talk translated (partial interview)



TAKERU SATOH x GOSHO AOYAMA CROSS TALK RAW



YUKI SUETSUGU x GOSHO AOYAMA CROSS TALK RAW



LONG INTERVIEW RAW

Detective Conan Character Visual Book Voice Actor interviews

Voice Actor interviews September 2014

Otona Fami Interview #5 RAW

オトナファミ1月号 2014 (Otona Fami or Adult Family January issue of 2014), published November 20, 2013
Raw Images

Monthly Conan Newspaper 2014 (partial raw)

March (part 1) 2014 and April (part 2) 2014 edition of the Monthly Conan Newspaper
Translated by: meitanteikonan blogspot page
Part 1: http://meitanteikonanplot.blogspot.in/2014/03/special-post-two-part-1-interview-with.html
Part 2: http://meitanteikonanplot.blogspot.in/2014/04/special-post-two-part-2-interview-with.html

Part 1 Raw

2016

Gosho Aoyama X Yomuri Giants Hayato Sakamoto (WITH RAW)

青山剛昌X坂本勇人SP対談(クロストーク)
Officially released in the March 16th, 2016 Shonen Sunday #16,
but happened the previous week

Raw Images

Movie 20 interview CimemaToday (WITH RAW)

「名探偵コナン」漫画家・青山剛昌インタビュー:劇場版で原作者として名前がクレジットされる意味
http://www.cinematoday.jp/page/A0004961
April 14, 2016

Raw Text

Gosho Singapore visit Interview

November 12-13, 2016

Q AND A SLIDE SHOW
Audio only : https://clyp.it/mwoiwshx (slide show and Q & A)

attempt at transcript of audio, stops at 19:23 of 57:52

(videos are missing some of the questions found in the above auido)
Slide show Qs part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGGhvkmku-c
Slide show Qs part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXJQWwhq4Io
Slide show Qs part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ODk__NhljE
Slide show Qs part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP8foBO6cPU
Q & A part 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6YqtasJmtE
Q & A part 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI0jANZcPeI

TWO COMIC ICONS AND POST MOVIE INTERVIEW
Text

GOSHO AOYAMA MEETS SONNY LIEW Q & A 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AofBjLCbJ4
GOSHO AOYAMA MEETS SONNY LIEW Q & A 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYFBZ9SPMh8
GOSHO AOYAMA MEETS SONNY LIEW Q & A 3 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otZFryt92a0

Post Movie screening Q & A 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKiGBa3KGx8
Post Movie screening Q & A 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzqEE7riqQg

Book signing part 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WDfaI9D20Q
Book signing part 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op9HON7v9Jc
Book signing part 3 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDF_ywmI0Y8

Akai and Amuro Secret Files Voice Actors Interview 2016

11/29/2016

20th Anniversary DVD collection guidebook interviews RAW

Pictures from: https://bbs.aptx.cn/thread-295749-1-1.html
Aoyama Interview

Aoyama Video Interview
Spanish post: http://tanteikid.blogspot.it/2016/08/detective-conan-20th-anniversary.html
Red Thread English post with video: https://www.facebook.com/DCTheRedThread/videos/1199107286807889/

Voice Actors

Staff

Song Artist

Movie 20 "Truth in Black" Booklet

Pictures from : http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4508220071

Animedia Gosho Interview

June issue of 2016
released May 10th, 2016
Issue has the phrase "Next Conan's Dream" across the bottom in pink cursive letters
Also has interviews with a few of the voice cast like Takayama Minami

Sources of the images http://imgur.com/a/3g1cj
http://tieba.baidu.com/p/4539147071

Gosho Interview

Complete Color Works Interview Aoyama 2016

Interview with Gosho from 2016 inserted into book after a reproduction of 2003 interview
images from : https://bbs.aptx.cn/thread-295984-1-1.html

20 Year Cinema Guide interviews

Interviews with the cast and crew of the movies as well as Gosho 2016.

Asahi Newspaper Interview 2016

「名探偵コナン」青山剛昌さんがエール July 16, 2016
Source: https://bbs.aptx.cn/thread-296434-1-1.html
Raw text

Raw image

See Also

  • ^ http://yesyunniechan.tumblr.com/post/149893527591/mystery-museum-interview-97-english-123 Part 1
  • ^ http://yesyunniechan.tumblr.com/post/149940982821/end-mystery-museum-interview-97-english-4-5