Newsgroup: it.fan.japan.adachi
Titolo: [WWW] Adachi a proposito della Takahashi

Volevo segnalarvi che nella pagina:
http://www.uark.edu/misc/julio/mi/adachi.html
si trova un articolo scritto da Mitsuru Adachi a proposito dell'amica
Rumiko Takahashi e pubblicato sul primo volume dell'edizione
"tascabile" di Urusei Yatsura.
Perdonate l'inesattezza del buon Julio (professore spagnolo
all'universita' dell'Arkansas) che scrive "Mitsuro"...
-- 
           Son Gohan, a.k.a. Great Saiyaman
   Segretario delle B.T. e Comandante Sez. Nord-Est
              The Fourteenth, Zelel               
 "God's in his Heaven, all's right with the World."  

Rumiko Takahashi 
massimo, potresti fare un copia incolla a beneficio di chi come me
legge offline i ng e ha scarsissimi tempi di connessione?
-- 
FRM
Fan di Adachi
"La verita' e' che non ho niente da fare dal mattino alla sera"
(Masato Wakamatsu, Miyuki)

Adachi on Takahashi
This essay by Mitsuru Adachi appeared in the first volume of the
"pocket" edition of Urusei Yatsura (Shogakukan bunko, 1998).
Adachi is a well-known manga artist, with series like "Touch", "Miyuki",
"Rough"... He was born in 1951, which makes him 6 years older than
Rumiko Takahashi. In the U.S., his short stories (from the "Short
Program" collection) are being published in Animerica Extra.
This translation was not easy, and I could not have done it without the
help of my Japanese teacher, Hatanaka-sensei; however, the final choice
of words is mine, and so are any remaining errors or inaccuracies.
The original essay is, I imagine, copyrighted to Mitsuru Adachi and
Shogakukan, as is the cute little self-portrait of Adachi which
accompanies it and which I have reproduced here. If any of the copyright
holders object to my posting of this translation, or of the accompanying
image, I will remove them at once. Conversely, this translation is my
intellectual property, done exclusively for non-profit purposes: please
do not reproduce it in any kind of commercial book, magazine, or
anything of the sort.
"Her involvement with shounen manga is an inspiration and a stimulus
forme"
Once upon a time, straying out of the path of commitment and dedication
to shounen (boys') manga, I went to
draw shoujo (girls') manga. Whereas in shounen manga I had felt like a
pitcher with a dislocated shoulder who is required to throw super fast
balls, on the shoujo manga grounds I learned to change my pitching style
to slow balls and change balls.
Originally I had no aspirations to become an "ace", and I had, from the
start, taken the attitude that doing really good shoujo manga was just
not within my powers, so I felt rather carefree (as long as I didn't
think about the future): it was, all told, not a bad way to make a
living.
...yes, this is about Rumiko-sensei, but I didn't meet her until later,
sometime, I think, after I started publishing my series "Nine" in
Shounen Sunday Special. It was on that same year (1978), in which I came
back to doing shounen comics after a few years' absence, that "Urusei
Yatsura" started out in Weekly Shounen Sunday. 
Now, in those days, there had already been many instances of male
artists (including myself) who did shoujo manga, so it was not an
unusual thing, but female artists who did shounen series were almost
non-existent. Moreover, unlike me, who was doing shoujo manga without
any great pretensions, this female artist was clearly aiming to become
an "ace" of shounen manga.
We eventually got to talk to each other at length sometime later, after
I started doing "Touch" (1981-86) in Weekly Shounen Sunday. The people
at the magazine planned for us to get together for a meal and talk about
various things; but, according to the then-editor of the magazine, the
tape that recorded our conversation showed almost nothing other than the
sounds of people eating meat. 
Now, it's true that we are not, neither of us, very talkative people,
and I don't remember a very lively conversation, but certainly we did
not just sit there in uncomfortable silence. To prove it, Rumiko-sensei
and I have often, since then, gotten the editor to join us for a meal. I
talk about the things I want to talk about, and so does she.
I sincerely believe that if she had not been at Sunday I would not have
continued to draw shounen manga for as long as I have. Her involvement
with shounen manga, and her hard work, have been an inspiration and a
stimulus for me.
As for "Urusei Yatsura", it was a series that made me pay attention to
it a little against my will-- I mean, almost every week it filled me
with admiration, that's all, you know. How could she create such
charming characters, how could she draw such good stories in a mere 16
pages, week in and week out... But, actually, it is in her later works,
and in her self-contained stories, where her greatness can be
experienced. Especially the self-contained stories show a multifaceted
talent in which I feel an overpowering strength, the kind that, if I was
a batter coming up against such a pitcher, and there was no one on first
base, I'd just as soon decline the challenge.
Talent, and a wonderful attitude towards manga. I can't imitate her
talent, but sometimes I wish I could somehow imitate her attitude. And
yet, this, too, is hard...!
Anyway, for a long time now we have both been pitching for the same
team, and without even noticing it I have come to be branded a
"veteran", somewhat to my chagrin. And yet, being a person who really
likes manga, for as long as there are things I want to draw I imagine I
will continue to rack my brains and go through the birthing pains. 
For my part, I have quite a few bad "children" (that is to say, works);
but the children you have given birth to are, every one of them, of the
highest quality.
Since, such as I am, I am a mangaka, I think I understand how hard it is
to continue to produce hits, and how great the pressure is, and I do
worry about your health, because you are a strong-willed girl from
Nigata, who will continue to work hard until you collapse from
exhaustion; and yet, as my ace number 4 hitter, please continue to
inspire and stimulate me, for as long as you like.
Let's try to get our editor to take us out for some really good food
again, next time.
Adachi Mitsuru
Notes
The tone of the essay is "informal/humble": Adachi uses the male,
informal pseudopronoun "boku" to refer to himself, and also, at least in
the first few paragraphs, the humble form of verbs ("oru" instead of
"iru"). 
The first paragraph ends with "to sa", which, according to
Hatanaka-sensei, makes it sound "like an old woman telling an old tale". 
Adachi is most famous for his baseball comics, and this essay is full of
baseball metaphors, of which at least a couple may require an
explanation. The one about coming to bat with nobody on first base
refers to the idea that if there is someone on first base you have an
obligation (to him) to try your hardest to get a hit, so that his effort
(to get to base) will not have been in vain; whereas if there is no one
on first base you are fighting only for yourself (presumably also for
your team, but I guess the Japanese don't see that as such a personal
obligation). The one about being the number 4 hitter refers to the fact
that the 4th batter in the lineup is usually the strongest one. 
People from the Nigata prefecture (the "Snow Country" of Yasunari
Kabawata's famous novel) are supposed to be
tough, because of the harsh, long winters they have to endure.
                    /--------------/
Ho corretto Mitsuro con Mitsuru, e chiedo scusa per problemi di word
wrapping vari.
Gastaman

legge offline i ng e ha scarsissimi tempi di connessione?
Mi ha anticipato il buon Gastaman.
Ti perdi soltanto un simpatico autoritrattino di Adachi. ^__^
