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Fans lined up early and abandoned the crowded Atmosphere dealer lobby opening, welcome Kafka · Asagiri at the JW Marriott Hotel .
presents the creator of the series to an enthusiastic audience. The author has always been very low-key, but when he first appeared in the United States, he seemed to be in good spirits. Joining him is Kato Hirono of Kadokawa
, who has been Jumping right into Asagiri’s early beginnings as series editor
, he attributes his interest in manga to a childhood love and passion. Those characters and their mottos drew him to the iconic series, an aspect he stresses he pays close attention to, even in Hollywood films. Apart from manga and anime, Asagiri enjoys international movies and TV series, especially The Avengers and The Dark Knight . When asked what exactly he loves about Western media, the author bluntly replies that its accessibility is what makes it so appealing. In particular, American media can be widely disseminated in Japan through different platforms.
Turning to a writing career, he reflects that his interest stemmed from a game called
. Being able to form stories for the games he created drew his interest in this art form. Like many adults, Asagiri worked an office job first before pursuing her dream of being a writer. Inspired by a line from the villain Ibraha in Inspired by the words, he decided to focus on something he was passionate about. “Our life is not determined by work, but by the way you live.” These words prompted him to give up the job he was not interested in and turn to his current career. Still, Asagiri concealed Ibraha’s occupation as a terrorist.
When asked about the creation of “The Story,” the author explained how he wanted to express the relevance of classical literature in the story. Part of his motivation for creating the series was the desire to bring readers into the worlds of these authors, creating a passion for original historical literature. Just one look at the enthusiastic fans in the room shows that his efforts have paid off. Not surprisingly, Asagiri’s favorite book in the world is Dazai Osamu of. Because he found how relatable the experience of not feeling human anymore and questioning the emotions behind it was, he felt compelled to replicate that feeling when he read his novel.
When it comes to the characters of “” “, the guests turned to the topic of how he shapes the soul of the characters. He calls the process “mysterious” because it can take him two to four days to decide on a character’s background. “In the first chapter, I already decided to include Atsushi and Dazai, but I couldn’t think of a third character.” interesting character. The idea came to him one day while he was walking. “I suddenly thought of someone who was obsessed with taking notes. I thought of someone who was very conscientious, studious and planned to the last detail.” The character will be Kunikida, whom Asagiri described as someone who “suffered alongside Dazai.” Role.
It’s hard to talk without looking at the vast expansion of its universe, including manga adaptations, animations, and he straight up says that these stories exist because Kadokawa just held out his hand to him. The themes he wanted to explore were characters before character development, especially “ Osamu Dazai” in Dazai. and dark ages. “I wanted to explore how he started as an assassin and became a detective.”
After his deep dive on Asagiri, he asked viewers to look forward to the upcoming anime season Sigma. In case it wasn’t clear, Sigma is one of Asagiri’s favorite characters in the series. After the cliffhanger of season four, anime viewers can’t wait to see what happens next. Comics readers are also waiting with bated breath to see how these fans will react to the upcoming story.
There is still time for an interesting fan Q&A before the panel wraps up. Cosplayers
run to the microphone fast and furiously. Switching back and forth between plot and character-related questions, the best ones have to face Asagiri’s penchant for showing children and bombs. He laughed, but was unapologetic about his choice, as he “had to let them explode”. Even the director Takuya Igarashi yells at him for doing it so often .
Wrapped up his panel with a commemorative selfie, fans bid him farewell and turned the page on Asagiri’s first visit to LA.
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