Tatsuki Fujimoto is one of the greatest manga writers the anime world has ever seen. And he has proved his worth with Chainsaw Man. He is a Japanese manga artist, known for his works Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man. He is regarded as a genius for the story-telling style in his manga. The brilliant depiction of Denji, an impoverished young man who enters into a contract that fuses his body with that of a dog-like devil named Pochita, granting him the ability to transform parts of his body into chainsaws, captivated the world and has since become one of the best-selling mangas of all time.
However, his editor Shihei Lin, with whom he has a 13-year working relationship, had an alternate opinion of the author at first. According to him, Fujimoto did not strike him as a genius during their first meeting. Shihei Lin began working as a manga editor for Shueisha in 2006. He began his career in the editorial offices of Monthly Shonen Jump and Jump Square before joining the Shonen Jump+ editorial team, of which he is still a member.
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Shihei Lin’s First Impression of Tatsuki Fujimoto
Lin has been Fujimoto’s editor since the author first submitted his manga for consideration for an award. In an interview with Hobonichi, Lin said that When he first viewed Fujimoto’s work, he did not consider him a genius. Instead, Lin recognized the Chainsaw Man author as similar to the other young artists he had worked with at the time. He said:
“First of all, I can’t say that I immediately recognized him as a ‘genius’ when I first saw his work. Initially, he was just like any other young and talented artist with a high creative spirit. We went through the standard procedure of reviewing the storyboards, discussing ideas, addressing concerns, making adjustments, and submitting the manuscripts. We do this diligently every week, every month, every year. It’s not because he’s special; it’s just our routine,”
According to Lin, Fujimoto and him did not have any peculiar relationship with each other at that time. They just followed the routine and they kept doing it every day.
Shihei Lin’s Impression of Tatsuki Fujimoto Changed
As time passed Lin and Fujimoto started talking more and the editor found out that Fujimoto always had a wealth of ideas and that his creative direction was clear. They became such good friends that they started sharing recommendations for each other. He said:
“Since we’ve been working together for a long time, about half of our meeting time nowadays is spent discussing things like what we’ve recently watched or read, so it’s more like sharing recommendations,”
They have been working together for almost 13 years and they have developed a relationship where most of their time is spent discussing things that they have read or watched.
Read More: My Hero Academia Secretly Paid Homage to Chainsaw Man by Giving Denji a Cameo
Source: AnimeHunch, Hobonichi
