Chainsaw Man is one of the most-watched anime in 2022. It’s mature, funny, and emotional, with lots happening beyond the action and gore. It’s based on a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto and follows Denji, a guy who merges with a devil and can turn his body into chainsaws.
Tatsuki Fujimoto is known for more than just Chainsaw Man. He has created other famous manga like Fire Punch and made some one-shot manga as well, including Look Back, Goodbye, Eri, and Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome.
However, during an interview, the mangaka hinted at not minding retiring as a manga artist. This statement may have had an impact on his own fandom.
Chainsaw Man Creator on Challenges of Serialized Manga and Retirement Hint
In a recent interview with Shueisha (translated by AnimeHunch), the creator of Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimoto talked about the difficulties he faces as a manga artist for a serialized series. Because he had to make 20 pages every week on a tight schedule, Fujimoto considered retiring from being a manga artist.
While discussing How Do You Live? and director Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement, the creator was asked if there is such a thing as real retirement. He answered:
“Hmm, I’m not quite sure, but I remember Akasaka Aka, the author of the original work “Oshi no Ko,” declared that they wouldn’t draw the illustrations themselves. I thought, “That’s interesting.” I even thought, “I want to do that too!” (laughs).”
Before this interview, the creator of Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Aka Akasaka decided to retire as a manga artist and focus solely on writing the story. Fujimoto expressed his desire to do the same and become a manga author like Akasaka.
The mangaka also added that he would never consider only drawing illustrations, stating:
No, not really. While there is certainly joy in balancing both the story and illustrations, and I believe there is joy in creating the story alone as well, when it comes to just illustrations, I feel it would confine the world I want to deliver to everyone.
Fujimoto loves drawing and wants to get better at it, but his busy weekly schedule makes it hard to balance writing and drawing. Moreover, he hasn’t hired new assistants in a long time.
The last time Fujimoto hired new assistants was when he made the one-shot manga Look Back, and he was only able to do so because of the money he earned from Chainsaw Man. Continuing to manage everything on his own while primarily drawing himself seemed financially impossible for him.
Tatsuki Fujimoto also Shares His Love for Ghibli Movies
Tatsuki Fujimoto talked about watching his first Studio Ghibli movie in theaters, which happened to be Spirited Away. The theater was so crowded that he had to stand while watching. Although he couldn’t recall exactly what impressed him about the film, he remembered feeling amazed by it.
Fujimoto also mentioned his fondness for Studio Ghibli documentaries and how he has watched Princess Mononoke many times. His Twitter account name was even inspired by the character Ashitaka from the movie. He liked Ashitaka because, unlike the usual “cool and composed” characters, Ashitaka was indecisive.
Source: AnimeHunch
