Interviews

Below is the translation of various interviews that were conducted with the author of the *Beastars* manga, Paru Itagaki, throughout her career to the present.

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* Angoulême International Comic Festival (France)
* Hall of manga Barcelona (Spain)

1- Interviewer: BEASTARS IS YOUR VERY FIRST SERIES. THANKS TO HER YOU WON THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS IN JAPAN, YOU ARE PUBLISHED ABROAD AND INVITED TO THE BIGGEST COMIC BOOK FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD… HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND AT ONLY 25 YEARS OLD?

* Paru: In reality, as I work for a weekly magazine, I constantly receive positive or negative comments on my work. So I work with constant pressure which I have had to get used to over time. Honestly, it is not so new to me to have this pressure from the public vision, critics and prices. I live it well, even if it takes a lot of effort not to disappoint the ever-increasing expectations.

2- Interviewer: ORIGINALLY, YOU WEREN'T DESTINED FOR MANGA AND HAD STARTED STUDYING CINEMA… WHAT MADE YOU CHANGE?

* Paru: I have always loved cinema, and it seemed like a natural path for me. On the other hand, I realized that to make a film, you had to have many other talents than just being a storyteller and inventor of history. You have to be able to lead a big team, for example, to convince people to invest in your film… and I don't think I have those skills. That's why I reoriented myself towards the manga. So that, I can control everything and focus on creating my story. This is what I prefer and that I master more than anything.

3- Interviewer: HOWEVER WHEN YOU PUBLISH IN A WEEKLY IN JAPAN, IT IS NOT A LONELY JOB, You ARE ASSISTED BY ASSISTANTS…

* Paru: Yes, you are right, it is the norm to have assistants when you work for a weekly, otherwise you could never keep up with this pace. I have three, and I bring them three days a week. They take care of making the decorations and laying the frames.

4- Interviewer: AND SUDDENLY, IT IS NOT TOO HARD TO DELEGATE, LEAD A TEAM... WHAT YOU FEARED A LITTLE IN THE CINEMA?

* Paru: It is true that it is not always easy. But finally it allows me to give instructions through the image, and that, I get there year after year, because it is my favorite field.

5- Interviewer: AND LIVING ON YOUR DRAWINGS WAS AN IDEA THAT HAD BEEN RUNNING THROUGH YOUR HEAD FOR A WHILE OR YOU DO HAD NEVER CONSIDERED MAKING A JOB FROM IT?

* Paru: I've been drawing since I was a little girl. It is something that is extremely natural to me and that has never left me. I made a detour to the world of cinema, but in reality, for me, it's a bit like coming back to the world of origins when I got into the manga.

6- Interviewer: WHY DIDN'T YOU GO STRAIGHT INTO THE MANGA THEN?

* Paru: In fact, at the beginning, I had rather the idea that the drawing referred more to the trade of painter or illustrator. It seemed limited for me because what I wanted above all was to tell stories. The first idea that came to my mind was to make films, but it was ultimately a path that did not suit me…

7- Interviewer: AND WHAT DO YOU RETAIN FROM YOUR CINEMA STUDIES?

* Paru: Manga and cinema are very similar. Even though these are two different ways of telling stories, there are a lot of things that bring them together. From my cinema studies, I mainly retain the use of photography. Light is essential in cinema, and I use it a lot in my pages to highlight the feelings of my characters. The acting is also essential, and in manga we are fortunate to be able to combine all the trades of cinema in one. I am at the same time director, costume designer, screenwriter…

8- Interviewer: YOUR NARRATION AND YOUR SENSE OF STAGING ARE VERY INSPIRED AND ALREADY VERY MATURE FOR A FIRST WORK. DOES THIS ALSO COME FROM THE CINEMA?

* Paru: At first, I am very happy that you compliment me on the first two volumes, because now that I have advanced a lot in the story, I am a little ashamed of what I did in the first volumes. I think I was mostly influenced by the cinematographic staging rather than by mangakas. Certain directors obviously influenced me. I am thinking, for example, of Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry, Denis Villeneuve and Sylvain Chomet.

9- Interviewer: BESIDES, YOU SAY THAT YOU WERE INSPIRED BY AN ACTOR, MATHIEU AMALRIC, FOR YOUR MAIN CHARACTER. IT'S FUNNY TO HEAR THAT FOR FRENCH PEOPLE, BECAUSE IF THIS ACTOR IS TALENTED, IT IS NOT THE FIRST THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN WE THINK OF CINEMA. WHY THIS CHOICE? WHAT WAS INTERESTING TO EXPLOIT ON THIS CHARACTER AND HIS PHYSIQUE?

* Paru: I discovered Mathieu Amalric's work through Le Scaphandre et le papillon, a film in which he plays a completely paralyzed character who can only get his messages and his emotions through the eyes . And Legoshi is a character who speaks little, so I had to find a way to make him expressive by the look. And I think that it was this point that interested me a lot in the work at eye level.

10- Interviewer: AND AT THE MANGA/BD LEVEL IN THE BROAD SENSE, WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS?

* Paru: In reality, I have read very few manga... A mangaka who marked me a lot during my childhood unfortunately died a short time ago : Momoko Sakura. She had written Chibi Maruko-chan, a cult title in Japan. I also like French authors like Nicolas de Crécy, Bastien Vivès or Pénélope Bagieu.

11- Interviewer: EVEN YOUR VERY FIRST STORIES FEATURE ANTHROPOMORPHIC ANIMALS. WHY DID YOU CREATE A WORLD POPULATED ONLY BY ANIMALS? THIS IS NOT A COMMON PRACTICE IN JAPANESE COMICS.

* Paru: Since I was a child, I almost only draw animal characters. I almost never drew human beings… It was therefore obvious for me to make my manga in the same way

12- Interviewer: IN BEASTARS, THESE ARE CHARACTERS WHO HAVE ACCOMPANIED YOU SINCE CHILDHOOD…

* Paru: Not all, but certain characters like Legoshi, I have had them in mind since my adolescence. They have evolved since then, I have gradually created a story for them and Beastars is the perfect opportunity to stage them.

13- Interviewer: WE MUST TELL YOU OFTEN, BUT THE GRAPHIC ASPECT OF YOUR SERIES IS VERY SIMILAR TO ZOOTOPIA AND BLACKSAD. IS IT A COINCIDENCE, A MAJOR INFLUENCE?

* Paru: I do know Blacksad. I discovered it when I was in high school and I really like this comic book. For Zootopia, it is completely by chance, in reality. The film was released in Japan when, for my part, I had finally finished preparing all my work before the start of pre-publication. Because of this unfortunate timing, they kept telling me that I had copied the film ... Anyway, these two works did not influence me directly.

14- Interviewer: THE VISUAL OF BEASTARS IS VERY EXPRESSIVE, VERY LIVELY AND CONVEYS A LOT OF EMOTIONS. HOW DO YOU KEEP THIS SPONTANEITY, THIS FRESHNESS BETWEEN YOUR FIRST SKETCH AND THE FINAL VERSION?

* Paru: I work in a traditional way. I must return 20 boards in 7 days. I create the structure of the chapter in one day, then I do the inking of the characters in two days. For the next three days, I bring my assistants to take care of the sets and patterns. On the last day, I give my work back to my editor, and we start talking about the next chapter. My storyboards are already very detailed, because I have a precise idea of ​​the final result that I am looking for from this stage. During the finalization of the boards, I focus on preserving the dynamism and original expressions.

BEASTARS © 2017 Paru Itagaki (AKITASHOTEN)
Thank you to Victoire de Montalivet for the implementation of this interview and to the two interpreters of this interview: Kim Bedenne and Kae Byoga.

INTERVIEW BY RÉMI I.

Translation From French to English by SoundFox.

* Possibly, Paru Itagaki’s presence in the city’s event may be one of the most memorables in its (the event’s) almost 25 years of history. Mainly, for the mask inspired on one of her characters, Legom the chicken, which she donned to keep her identity private in public acts. However, when we had a chance to talk with her we found ourselves facing a author with professional attitude and, above all else, conscious on her role in society as a mangaka.

* Beastars is published in the teenage magazine Weekly Shonen Champion of Akita Shoten since 2016 and, to this date is comprised of 14 volumes. This story develops in a world of anthropomorphic animals that live in perfect harmony, starts with the murder of Tem the Alpaca. Instantaneously, all focus shifts to the carnivore closest to the young one that is no other than Legosi. however, the grey wolf is sensitive and reserved person incapable of killing anybody, representing the total opposite of a ferocious carnivore. <<Despite the tragic stories that can be seen in this work, I want to send a message of hope to the readers>> For this reason, the history is lead by a character such as Legosi, whose vision of the world, the author recognized, <<reflects faithfully the message I want to communicate>>

<<At any point in time there’s always been discrimination and prejudices in human society>>

* Despite the splendid drawings, the story touches themes such as bullying, discrimination and prejudice... from a very realistic viewpoint despite the animal appearance of its characters. <<At any point in time there’s always been discrimination and prejudices in human society>>. For this reason, the author confesses that she wants to draw a story that revolves around universal themes, above all conflicts <<they are themes that not only can't be avoided, they have to show up>>

* One of the most eye-catching aspects of the manga is the artstyle, with a pretty unique style and mainly for the animal appearance of its characters. <<since I was little I’ve been drawing animals. Now that I'm adult I feel more comfortable drawing animal characters instead of human ones>>. For this reason,it's a weird occasion when she is seen drawing human characters in her social media accounts, where the author is very active.

* When the time to pick a species to include comes, the author has different priorities to keep in mind. On one hand, the number of herbivores and carnivores <*>. On the other hand, the development of the story itself. <<For example, depending on the story I want to tell, I pick the animal that fits the best>>. Paru told us that one such example was in volume 8, where the plot took a dark turn. Due to this, she had the idea to include a cheerful and handsome character to add a touch of comedic effect. Thus, Pina the goat was born.*

<<My objective is to make each character find their place in the world>>

* This way, one can see how there's a harmony among all the different species, from carnivores to herbivores. Despite everything, Itagaki affirms that she always tries to face this <<utopia>> with new conflicts for a very concise reason. <<My objective is to make each character find their place in the world>>

* To this moment, Beastars has harvested several important awards such as Taisho manga and the Kodansha Manga award, something Paru feels very grateful for. And she took those big titles with humility. <<What's really important for a mangaka is not to receive awards, but to keep drawing day by day the same way and keep going on their own paths.>>

* We conclude the interview, not before asking how many tomes she thinks Beastars will have <<I’d like the this work to have at most 20 tomes>>. Which means that the ending is drawing ever so near. Regardless, the impact of this manga will be quite deep, be it for its aesthetic, its characters and mostly it's message. We have still much to learn from the cute Legosi. For this, we thank Paru for the time she spent doing this interview.

A big thank you to the person who translated the interview from Spanish to English!

** Paru's Tumblr
* Otaquest

Due to the slight lewd content of the interview, we recommend reading directly from reddit (Link in the references).

1- SEKAI: I first read “BEASTARS” when I found it in a bookstore back when its second volume came out… Can you imagine I was pretty shy when I was a student, not to say that I’ve changed much.

* Paru: (laughs)

2- SEKAI: One of the quiet, brooding types. Seeing Legoshi’s taciturn tendencies reminded me of my days in high school. I wonder if people used to be afraid of me. I was in the dance club where all the other members were girls, but with me being shy and lacking for social skills… I’m still shy, mind you.

* Paru: (laughs)

3- SEKAI: Anyway, I felt a real connection with the main character, so I was able to project myself onto him. Oh, and a long time ago, I played Simba in the “Lion King” musical.

* Paru: I’ve seen it.

4- SEKAI: That’s why the true-to-life depictions of animals were one of the things that got me hooked on BEASTARS. I’m just a fan, to be honest.

* Paru: Glad to hear it. I’m grateful. I’ve seen a lot of live stage performances, and I always wonder about what the performers do behind the scenes. I’ve always had an interest in their personal drama, and I wanted to write about it. I could never imagine myself getting up on stage. Manga is something you do alone, so you can always make mistakes. If you feel the story’s getting boring, you can always go back page one and redraw entirely. But there’s no going back in dancing, it’s all live. Your actions have immediate responses. I don’t think I could take that kind of strain on the heart. (laughs).

5- SEKAI: I know that feeling. I’ll probably die young, y’know.

* Paru: I bet. (laughs) Anyway, that’s why I focused on the thrills and tension from the early part of the story.

6- SEKAI: There was one time on the Lion King stage when I forgot all my lines.

* Paru: Terrifying!!

7- SEKAI: Even worse, it was the scene where Simba’s dad is dead and he’s cornered by Scar.

* Paru: The most dramatic scene. (laughs)

8- SEKAI: That was an experience I’ll never forget…

* Paru: What happened?

9- SEKAI: As a 5th grader, I racked my brain and ad-libbed everything.

* Paru: That’s an incredible experience.

10- SEKAI: So when the scene was over, off-stage I ran into the actor for Scar again. He took acting very seriously and I was certain he was going to chew me out, but instead, he complimented me. “You did good getting through that,” he said. I felt, “so this is what it means to be a pro.” On stage, you have to take action or everything grinds to a halt.

* Paru: You have to think on your feet, as it were.

Due to the length of the interview, we invite you to see it completely through the link in the references.**No Translate
------------*** Weeklychamp
* Livedoor

Interview only in Japanese.

Interview only in Japanese.**References
----------**1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Beastars Reddit
2. ↑ Otaquest*