INTERVIEW: Hell's Paradise Creator Yuji Kaku on His Creative Journey

Hell's Paradise

 

In coordination with Twin Engine, Crunchyroll is proud to present an English translation of the first part special interview with Hell's Paradise manga creator Yuji Kaku, originally published on the official anime series website. The original interview in Japanese can be found here

 

The following is the translated interview.

 


 

The Creation of Hell’s Paradise: Manga Author Yuji Kaku’s Characteristics and Creative Journey to Becoming Pro

 

What kind of manga did you grow up on?

 

Kaku: I'm the third of four children. By the time I developed a sense of self-awareness, the illustrated yokai and monster books my older brother and sister had purchased already lined the bookshelves of our room. I read Mizuki Shigeru-sensei's Gegege no Kitaro and Akuma-kun as a small child. However, it's possible I thought of them primarily as character merchandise rather than manga at the time. In that regard, the first work I consciously read as a manga was Itagaki Keisuke's Grappler Baki.

 

How old were you then?

 

Kaku: Early grade school. I remember something unusual from around that time as well. At the time, there was a parking lot near our house, and I'd cut across it to get to school. There was a young man who probably ran the parking lot. He'd wave me over and give me a 500 yen coin every time I passed through.

 

What? Nothing scary happened to you, right?

 

Kaku: No, not at all. But I don't remember ever having a proper conversation with him. (Laughs) The bubble had burst then, so I remember thinking it was wastefully extravagant. I'd accept his 500 yen without any suspicion and head to the bookstore with the coin in my hand. Thanks to the patronage of the mysterious and well-off parking lot man, I was able to purchase the roughly 20 volumes of Grappler Baki that had already been published by that time. Perhaps because there were four of us kids, our parents didn't know exactly what was on our bookshelves, so they never found out where the money was coming from.

 

The fact that you bought manga instead of snacks makes you seem different from other children.

 

Kaku: Now that you mention it, I suppose so. (Laughs) At the time, it was popular to snack between meals while the teachers weren't looking, but I was indifferent to snacking and bought manga instead. The first volume I bought was volume 14. I still remember seeing the horizontally-oriented cover of Baki and Hanayama Kaoru facing off and thinking, "What is this incredible illustration? It's so expressive!" Once I finished collecting those, next came Iwaaki Hitoshi-sensei's Parasyte. I bought volume 5. There was a parasyte with a deformed face on the cover opening its huge mouth. I bought this one based on its cover, too.

 

All the titles you've mentioned seem like they would frighten an early grade school-aged child. You weren't bothered by them?

 

Kaku: Actually, I kind of thought scary things were cool. For example, I think Sadako from The Ring is cool. I told Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei (known for Chainsaw Man) and Tatsu Yukinobu-sensei (known for Dandadan) about it while we were drinking, and they told me I was weird. (Laughs) Getting into Mizuki Shigeru-sensei's works and preferring the monsters in Ultraman and Kamen Rider was probably a preference instilled in me as a child. I was a scaredy-cat, though.

 

(Laughs) Even though you think scary images are cool?

 

Kaku: I clearly remember in my third year of grade school reading Ito Junji-sensei's collection of short stories Long Hair in the Attic (adapted into Netflix's Maniac in 2023) at a bookstore I frequented. A woman proud of her long hair suffers heartbreak and is found headless in her room. Nobody knew where her head went, and that was the scariest thing I'd seen in my life until that point. I think that broke my fear gauge, and I thought I'd never experience anything scarier in my life. (Laughs) Since then, I've felt an affinity for scary things. Intellectually I understand that makes me a little eccentric, but when drawing the covers for Hell's Paradise, even when my editor asks me, "Don't you think this is a little scary?" I respond, "How is it scary? It's cool" (Laughs)

 

Hell's Paradise Manga Volume Covers


Miura Kentaro-sensei's Berserk, another formative work for you, is horror as well. You talked about that in depth in 2019.

 

Kaku: I didn't think about that being written as an article and spoke as though I was sharing drinks with a more experienced author. A relative who read the article later told me, "That was less of a promotion for Hell's Paradise and more like an interview about Berserk." (Laughs) I was able to speak that freely, and Berserk has had an enormous influence on my own work as well. I still remember that conversation with Miura-sensei as though it happened just the other day...

 

Yuji Kaku x Kentaro Miura Jump Plus
 

Readers’ Reactions Are a Source of Motivation
Even Beginning to Draw Manga in Kindergarten!

 

When and how did you start drawing your own manga?

 

Kaku: I actually didn't have any kind of powerful experience like wanting to devote my energy to it after seeing something in particular. When I was in kindergarten, I saw Ultraman G in theaters and drew something manga-like based on that. My teacher complimented my work, and I remember thinking, "I might be able to make a living doing this."

 

Since you were that young?

 

Kaku: Between high school and college, I felt like actually supporting myself drawing manga was a distant dream, but aside from that, I never stopped drawing. So I don't feel like I have a specific starting point.

 

Were you creating your own panel layouts at that young age?

 

Kaku: Yes. But since I was a child, they weren't even proper rectangles, but more like circles. The more I drew, the more blank space I left. My parents told me to fill the whole space.

 

I imagine most children simply trace or copy a single image and don't even attempt panel layouts. Why do you think you were able to do that?

 

Kaku: I think creating panel layouts is a type of copying. I got really into JoJo's Bizarre Adventure during grade school and drew manga with Kakyoin Noriaki and Hierophant Green as the protagonists in my notebooks. My panel layouts at the time were influenced by Araki Hirohiko-sensei's unique, bold layouts. (Laughs) I think that's why I left so much blank space.

 

How passionate were you about manga once you graduated from grade school?

 

Kaku: Until high school my interest was straightforward. I wasn't thinking about whether or not I'd debut. I was just showing what I drew to my friends.

 

How did the people around you respond?

 

Kaku: They enjoyed my work. Their reactions encouraged me to continue. I think this continues to be both one of my strengths and weaknesses, but to some degree I can't draw without imagining an audience. Naturally, there are creators who can express what's inside them without that. But I kind of think I didn't end up that way because in middle and high school, I'd show my work to my friends, then be inspired to draw more because they enjoyed my work, and repeat that cycle.

 

Did you draw in pencil at the time?

 

Kaku: Sometimes. Sometimes I'd draw in mechanical pencil, other times in ballpoint pen.

 

When did you begin using pen nibs?

 

Kaku: I first consciously began using them after graduating college, getting a job, and then quitting that job to become a manga artist. At the time, I had made my debut, but in order to study fundamental skills, my editor introduced me to Ikeda Akihisa-sensei (known for Rosario + Vampire, currently publishing GHOST GIRL with Shonen Jump Plus under the name Saike Asahisa). I worked as an assistant in his studio, where I learned to use a pen and how to draw lines.

 

Do you use digital tools?

 

Kaku: Yes. I draw the line art for monochrome pages analog, but it's not uncommon for young assistants to not have analog tools, so lots of backgrounds are done digitally. Finishing touches like blacks and tones are done digitally. I still draw color pages such as covers analog. Ultimately, if I had to say, it's about what's fun for me, but I'm an all-or-nothing kind of person, so if I started working digitally and it became easier than working analog, I'd probably switch to digital completely. But it would cease being fun if I pursued efficiency too hard, and I think I might lose some things in the process. That would have a negative impact on my work, so I use fun to measure what I should be doing, even if it's a pain in the neck.

 

How do you approach inking and coloring color pages?

 

Kaku: I used a combination of Copic markers and acrylic paint for volumes one through five of Hell's Paradise. Before that, I used only Copics. When working analog, you get to enjoy periodically changing what materials you use. Since Jigokuraku Kaitai Shinsho (fan book published in 2021), I've used a combination of Copics and acrylic. I'll use different paper when working with watercolors and even change up my materials if it's fun. Fun is more important to me than efficiency when it comes to materials.

 

Hell's Paradise Manga Volume Covers


The Difference Between What Does and
Doesn't Influence Manga Artist Yuji Kaku

 

How do you feel like your work has changed?

 

Kaku: In middle and high school, my art leaned realistic. Not Inoue Takehiko-sensei's style of realism, but more like Tajima Shou-sensei. The lines are a little cold, but the proportions are realistic. I never went to art school or received any special art instruction, but I was very interested in sketching at the time and read anatomy books for reference. I still do.

 

It seems like you must gather a lot of references, not just for Hell's Paradise.

 

Kaku: I do. Looking at it objectively, I probably gather more than I need to. (Laughs) When new books come out, I can't help picking them up. I even read Western books while consulting dictionaries. When I find decent-looking analog materials, I think about how much fun it would be to use them and buy them, although sometimes I don't end up using them. (Laughs)

 

I'd like to ask about what inspires you next. Aside from the media, manga, and related content you consumed during grade school, was there anything that had a major influence on you—for example, novels or plays?

 

Kaku: In college I was part of a puppet show club. I wouldn't say it's because of that, but I'm interested in stage plays, too. I've been too busy to see many lately, but I went to see lots of plays as a student, and I was influenced by them. Regarding novels, I read tons of mystery novels throughout grade school, high school, and college. Around middle school, I read everything, starting with foreign classics by Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle. While I was absorbed in mystery novels, I felt like they were subconsciously influencing my own work. Mysteries have robust structures, and that tends to draw the eye.

 

When it comes to other types of media, you also enjoy movies and even wrote some PR manga.

 

JUMP SQ.[SQ.MANGA Trailer]Yuji Kaku×007 Spectre

 

JUMP SQ.│[SQ.MANGA Trailer]Yuji Kaku×LA LA LAND

 

Kaku: That's right. I'm lucky I got to see early screenings under the guise of working. (Laughs)

 

Are your movie tastes related to your work?

 

Kaku: With regards to my personal preferences, I'll watch any genre, with no particular relation to the manga I draw. That said, I do enjoy horror. (Laughs) I talk about this with Fujimoto-sensei and the others all the time, but we agree it's best to keep your distance so what you watch doesn't influence your style. Like you're watching things for fun, and not because they resemble your own creativity. Of course, I will adapt individual elements or ideas that I find interesting into my own manga, but I only enjoy movies for fun.

 

Horror movies must be a treasure trove of ideas.

 

Kaku: They are. In that regard, movies are a composite art form made by a bunch of people, so they have a lot of layers. In contrast, manga tends to be about the power of one person's imagination touching a reader's heart, so I don't think it's a good idea to expect something too cinematic from manga. Of course, it's best if you can assimilate cinematic elements while preserving that balance. However, in the realm of shonen manga that I work in, I feel a narrow perspective works better, and I also differentiate between the two in this way. There are moments when I feel like writing a one-shot that leans fully into cinematic tastes. I might even be drawing some pages I never intend to publish anywhere while publishing another series. (Laughs)

 

I hope you do publish them. This is a slightly different question, but do you have any memorable travel experiences or encounters with other cultures?

 

Kaku: Recently I've been too busy to go anywhere, but in college I visited all kinds of places. I think everyone's experienced this while traveling abroad, but the sense of scale is different from Japan in all kinds of ways. When you come back home, you think, "Has my desk always been this small?" I feel like I've really been influenced by that bird's-eye view or values that allow you to see things in relative terms. What we see right in front of us is only one part of the world, and it might look totally different from another perspective. I experienced first-hand the idea of viewing things from another perspective when I went to Italy. It was a busy trip on which I visited scenic locations from the northern end to the southern end, but it was a memorable experience.

 

Did you see lots of paintings and sculptures?

 

Kaku: Yes. It was a tour program with lots of museum visits, so I got to see Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Commentary was included for Michaelangelo's David, which made it all the more impactful. They weren't just realistically depicting something, but projecting some kind of meaning onto their work. When I saw the statue of David and early Grotesque art (an art style originating in Ancient Rome that involves depicting strange people, plants, and animals with curved lines), I realized there are people who have been embedding concepts in their designs themselves since a long time ago.

 

People often say classics are the art that has survived. Those works shared by all of humanity still touch people's hearts in some way.

 

Kaku: They do, so I really like viewing classic art.

 

The Secret Origins of Hell’s Paradise
The Development of the Setting, Framework, and Characters

 

I'd like to ask you about the creation of Hell's Paradise. I heard you started with the setting, but do you always do that?

 

Kaku: I don't often start with the setting. For this work, I started with "several pairs of people whose interests aren't aligned are thrown into an enclosed space and forced to work together." That's the framework. In the very beginning, the story was about children sent to a youth detention center and the lawyers fighting for them. From there, through discussions with my editor, we dropped that setting but kept the framework and applied different characters to it. We kept the framework because I've always liked the way human relationships change and wanted to write a story about it.

 

I see. So the framework and setting were different at first.

 

Kaku: I thought the Shinsenkyo setting would work with any type of story and be easy to write. Developing the characters was a different process. Simply put, an immortal and powerful ninja is a cool concept. After returning to the "battle royal in a closed space" framework and while developing the idea, in a life-or-death scenario, I thought it would be more interesting if a character who isn't supposed to die finds themselves in a near-death situation. When considering how to clearly convey that to the reader, we came up with a ninja who doesn't die no matter how many times he's executed.

 

Readers experience catharsis when their expectations are subverted. What do you think makes Gabimaru the protagonist of this story?

 

Kaku: This is something I imagined from the start of publication. Both Gabimaru and Sagiri have the same values as someone living in the 2020s. This is also the reason the story is set in the distant past during the late Edo period. The people of that time had totally different ideas about ethics and human rights. Despite condemned criminals and executioners being difficult characters to empathize with, if they share our perspective, then we feel close to them, and they stand out as unique characters in an Edo Period setting. From the very start, I felt that made Gabimaru and Sagiri unique.

 

Gabimaru and his love for his wife make him an unusual shonen manga protagonist, but that's where it came from.

 

Kaku: That's right. Gabimaru's extreme attachment to love and Sagiri's concerns about being a woman are like what modern humans experience. This is true of all the condemned criminals in the series, but I thought making them that way would make them unique.

 

How did you approach the character designs?

 

Kaku: I know I'm someone who enjoys designing characters. Designing characters is difficult of course, but I enjoy the trial-and-error process. So I feel even more strongly about characters who had a difficult design process. Though I also enjoy introducing a character just to have them leave the story three chapters later. (Laughs)

 

Designing characters isn't unpleasant, and I try to express the character's personality through their design. Reality is different, but in manga, I think there's a firm connection between the inside and outside. I talked about that with Miura-sensei as well. I deliberately try give important characters strong designs.

 

What do you mean by strong designs?

 

Kaku: In simple terms, even if another artist were to draw a character, their characteristics would remain the same. No matter who draws Mazinger Z, its unique coolness and slight scariness would shine through. I think that's because those qualities are embedded in the design originally drawn by Nagai Go-sensei. I always keep that in mind when I design characters.

 

The idea of the middle way is incorporated in Hell's Paradise. How did you incorporate this into the work?

 

Kaku: I also discussed this a little with Fujimoto-sensei in Jigokuraku Kaitai Shinsho, but the theme of serial manga publication is that you'll always be exposed if you try to be something you're not. Writing a weekly manga is just that busy a job. So rather than choosing a theme for the work in advance, I think it's best to be honest about your own thoughts and feelings. At first, I drew without thinking much. I enjoy balance, so when something bad happens, I try to see the silver lining. Maybe that's where it came from. The series turned out the way it did because I honestly wrote what I thought. Just be true to yourself. Even if you think it might make a good story, if you don't really like it, then don't go down that path. While working in this way, the themes materialized on their own, and the middle way emerged.

 

Hell's Paradise

 

So an author has to honestly present what they feel.

 

Kaku: Yes. It's impossible to keep writing a weekly manga using cheap tricks. You'll be found out eventually. If that's the case, then be honest from the start. In that regard, at first I wrote the story with Gabimaru as the protagonist with a focus on his growth, but while writing, I realized the themes had shifted towards the middle way, paradoxes, and conflict. I thought it should be Sagiri who deals with those, so for me, Sagiri became the protagonist of the latter half of Hell's Paradise. That's what happened as a result of writing honestly.

 

A lot of manga artists talk about their characters taking on a life of their own, and I'm sure you've experienced it as well, but what you just described sounds like you experienced something more than that in the form of waves strong enough to affect the work.

 

Kaku: Yes! "The characters take on a life of their own." When I was a newbie, whenever that phrase came up in interviews with manga artists, I thought, "That can't be possible! After all, you made those characters!" (Laughs) But now I think that really is what happens. In fact, it's more interesting when it does.

 

What does it mean when a character takes on a life of its own?

 

Kaku: For me, there are several moments when that happens. One of them is when a character does something I didn't expect. When that happens and I think, "This character is their own person!" That's when I feel like their character has been defined. If characters only ever act as I expect them to, then they never extend beyond the page. They remain fictional beings. But when they do things not even I expect, I feel like they are their own person and that they're alive. When I'm able to express that a character has thoughts that are unknown even to me, that's when I feel like they've become defined. Then it's like building a Rube Goldberg machine. You prepare the environment, but where the ball goes depends on the ball.

 

Hell's Paradise

Kaku-sensei provided an example of a memorable scene in which a character took on a life of his own

 

You mentioned earlier that you try to write in a balanced way, but even you leave the story up to your characters.

 

Kaku: Perhaps that's the reason I do that. Because I really can create a world under my complete control, I want something unexpected to occur, and I can believe in those moments. That's something I want to hold onto.

 

Next Time
In the second half, we invite editor Sakakibara to talk about anecdotes from during the publication of Hell's Paradise.


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