It is a rare opportunity to see two legendary mangakas discuss their likes and dislikes. So when Jump Giga rounded up Masashi Kishimoto and Yoshihiro Togashi, you can bet it was an interview to remember.
In the following discussion, the legendary mangakas discuss not only their individual works but also their shared experience as mangakas. From how to make manga more relatable to the worst tropes in serialization, it has it all.
Masashi Kishimoto and Yoshihiro Togashi Were Warned Against This Mistake
In the interview with Jump Giga, both Masashi Kishimoto and Yoshihiro Togashi found the chance to geek out about everything they loved about manga. Both of them bonded over their love for drawing and Kishimoto got the chance to reveal that he is a sucker for drawing long distance and wide-lens shots.
The discussion slowly shifted to making fantasy worlds relatable and some of the big no-nos of the manga industry. One of them being explaining the setting of a fantasy manga on the very first page. As soon as the context arose, Togashi jumped to say that he loves those text-heavy panels.
“Togashi Sensei: I love it when the first page is packed with caption boxes that explain the world.
Kishimoto Sensei: I did that for my one-shots.
Togashi Sensei: And then the next two pages are the spread. Man, that’s my favorite!“
However, both the authors recounted that their editors had warned them against the style. Kishimoto added that it counts as a negative feature in the manga-award judging section. Apparently, it is because too much text in the beginning tends to stress out the reader.
How do Kishimoto and Togashi bring reality to their fantasy manga worlds?
Masashi Kishimoto answered that he throws in a few elements from the real world to make it seem more relatable. For example, chapter 1 of Naruto had electric poles in the background and Harry Potter used trains to connect Hogwarts to the muggle world. So these modern inventions help readers stay attached to a fantasy world.
However, if it is a complete fantasy world with no human features, then Kishimoto loves to introduce struggles that also occur in the real world.
“A common mistake is to give the characters the kind of struggle that can only occur in their world. If you can’t relate, then it’s hard to be interested…The way to bring reality, or rather, to allow the reader to enter the world you created is to make them feel empathy.”
According to Naruto’s mangaka, once the reader feels an emotional connection with a character, they can feel the reality of the story, no matter how fantastical of an element appears. This is also why fantasy manga should not begin with fantasy themes right off the bat.
“Kishimoto Sensei: Hunter x Hunter starts with Gon fishing, right? That’s a connection to our world right there. And Gon has an issue with his father. And other small details, like receiving mail.”
Togashi sensei explained that when he began Hunter x Hunter, he based it on his elementary to middle school life. However, he slowly input cell phones, then smartphones in the series. According to the writers, it never has to be something complicated. Just common daily practices, when included in the manga at the right time, can make readers connect the manga with reality.
You can read both Hunter x Hunter and Naruto manga on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
