Chapter 167: Interview or Public Display of Affection?
Seeing Kaede and Eriri agree to the interview, Izumi Kaori happily took out her voice recorder, turned it on, and said, "I will record the content of the interview. It's okay if your answers are casual. I'll re-organize it later and send it to you for approval before submitting it. So, I'll start asking questions now!"
So, she had already prepared the questions?
Kaede smiled and nodded, "But Editor Izumi, please don't ask any questions that are too difficult."
"Don't worry, don't worry, it's related to the manga."
Izumi Kaori smiled and asked the first question: "So, first, I want to ask Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, how did you initially think of transitioning to become a manga artist?"
Sure enough, the initial question would definitely be like this.
Eriri thought for a moment and said, "Well, at first, Kaede-kun brought it up and asked me if I planned to only be a doujin artist in the future. Then I started thinking about it. After careful consideration, I decided to give it a try. Of course, my first submission, as expected, failed."
Izumi Kaori listened, looked at the silent Kaede in surprise, and continued to ask, following Eriri's words, "So, after your first submission failed, did you feel disappointed or think about giving up?"
"No, I didn't," Eriri shook her head and said, "I actually somewhat expected the first failure because the script really wasn't very good. It was fine for my own amusement, but for serialization, it was normal for that quality to be rejected. Now that script has become a dark past for me, and I won't let anyone know about it."
"So, later you found a partner, and the two of you collaborated to create manga?"
At this point, Eriri blushed shyly, glanced at Kaede, and said, "Hehe, actually, Kaede-kun gave me this script. When I saw the script, I was startled. I didn't expect him to have already prepared it for me. I was originally wondering how I should prepare the next script."
She learned some unknown secrets, but Izumi Kaori felt that if this interview were released, it would give her a guilty feeling of spreading dog food widely.
But then she thought, she couldn't be the only one suffering, so she decided to temporarily change the interview questions and make them even more extreme.
Looking at the two in front of her, Izumi Kaori said, "By the way, since this is an interview for both of you, would it be possible to reveal your current relationship at that time?"
"Eh?"
Eriri didn't expect to be asked this, and she looked at Kaede, a bit at a loss.
Kaede, however, had no objections. He smiled and said, "Eriri, you just said that. If we just copy and paste it and release it, people will naturally guess our relationship. So, it's better to just say it now to save readers from constantly guessing or asking us on Twitter."
"Ugh... That seems to make sense."
Eriri thought about it, and indeed it was true, so she nodded in agreement, "Alright, then we won't hide it."
Having received permission, Izumi Kaori's smile became even brighter: "Don't worry, I'm just bringing up that information. I won't ask about specific details from now on; I'll only ask about manga creation. So, next, I'd like to ask Kurenai Momiji-sensei, why did you choose to create a story like Nurarihyon no Mago?"
Kaede considered for a moment before replying, "Actually, when I was choosing the subject, I made many considerations, combining the current serialized manga in Jump and manga from recent years. Since the goal is serialization, I couldn't choose a theme that was too homogeneous. After much thought, I settled on the yokai theme. Firstly, as folk legends, yokai are still widely spread. Many legendary yokai, even if people don't fully understand them, they generally know their names, like Karasu Tengu and so on. Then, using this theme as a base, I gradually expanded the worldview and decided on the tone of the story."
"So, Kurenai Momiji-sensei believes that the theme is very important to get a serialization slot? How does that compare to drawing skill?"
"Both need to be balanced," Kaede said without hesitation, "Manga that succeed based on a good story without relying on drawing skill are extremely rare."
Eriri said without hesitation, "Are you talking about One-Punch Man?"
"Yes, ONE-sensei's drawing skill is relatively...Um, abstract. But undoubtedly, the story is excellent. However, such success is truly rare. If someone wants to rely solely on drawing skill or solely on story, it's really difficult. For manga, at first glance, the mangaka's drawing skill creates the first impression, but to make people keep following it, whether the story is captivating is truly very important."
Seeing that Kaede had a lot to say, Izumi Kaori took the opportunity to ask a few more questions about the creative process.
Gossip was necessary, but professional questions couldn't be omitted, after all, they weren't a gossip magazine, but a manga magazine.
The interview lasted for about an hour. All the prepared questions and impromptu questions had been asked. Izumi Kaori didn't drag it out and directly ended the day's work.
After confirming that there were no omissions in the voice recorder's content, she smiled and said, "Thank you, both sensei, for your time today. I'll organize the text version and send it over once I get back."
Without lingering, Izumi Kaori immediately bid farewell and left the apartment.
After seeing off the guest, Eriri let out a big sigh of relief and leaned back on the sofa: "Ah, finally done. Another manuscript submitted."
"Don't slack off, Eriri."
Pouring Eriri a cup of tea, Kaede sat beside her and said, "There's not much time left in the summer vacation. Let's work hard and draw more in these remaining days so that we can be relatively relaxed after school starts. Then, we can also occasionally take some time out to play."
"Mm-hmm, exactly!"
Holding the cup and taking a sip, Eriri raised her small fist and said, "Our goal isn't just serialization; we can't give up on the magazine rankings either. We must push upward!"
After resting for a while, without Kaede needing to remind her, Eriri pulled him to the studio and began the day's work.
After the initial period of adjustment, Eriri and Kaede's partnership was now well-practiced. As long as their condition was good, their efficiency was very high.
After working for more than two hours, as evening approached, it was time to prepare dinner.
The two stopped drawing, stretched their bodies, and went to the kitchen, taking out ingredients from the refrigerator.
Just after washing the vegetables, Eriri looked up at the window and exclaimed, "Kaede-kun, it's going to rain!"
"Hmm?"
Kaede looked outside, and indeed the sky had darkened. He took out his phone, and sure enough, there would be a shower coming.
After some thought, Kaede suggested, "Eriri, if the rain stops quickly, how about we go out for a walk and buy some clothes afterward?"