Takehiko Inoue Talks about Visit to Kinokuniya

topTakehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk, Vagabond and REAL, visited the newly opened Kinokuniya bookstore in New York City on November 19, 2007 to draw a special wall art.

An interview with Takehiko Inoue was recently published in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine.

Below is a brief translation of the interview:

Q: Were there some new things you could find when you drew this wall art?

A: I used to draw manga on a desk; this time I enjoyed this experience when I made the mural in front of the crowd. I remembered how enjoyable it was to draw pictures.

Q: What was the hardest thing?

A: I had to step back to watch the balance of my art.

Q: How did it feel to draw a mural in front of the American people?

A: I forgot everything when I started concentrating, but when I turned back and found so many people were watching me, I thought, "Geez."

Q: When did you decide the design of your mural?

A: I had checked the spot I had to draw in the previous month. I decided to drew Musashi And Otuu. Details were decided on the spot.

Q: Wasn't feeling important to the creation of the art?

A: I decided my ideas when I checked the walls I had to paint. I had an idea to draw a sea behind Musashi, but I changed my plan and draw a grass field.

Q: How important was improvisation to making the mural?

A: Planning was 90 percent, improvisation was 10 percent.

Q: Your title, Real, will be published in the U.S. Why did you pick up this theme, such as basketball by players in wheelchairs?

A: I saw a basketball game by handicapped players on TV. It was impressive.

Q: How do you suppose readers of Real in the U.S. will feel about it?

A: I hope they feel "Real" is a story that could happen to any real person; that it's not a fantasy.

Q: How about for the readers of Slam Dunk?

A: Beside the interest on the story such as "What will come next?" I want readers to feel achieving something, or love of the sport.

Q: You say people in all countries can feel such things.

A: Yes, We have the same reason to play sports.

Q: Were there some changes to your feelings for manga between your younger days and nowadays?

A: I feel a change in myself – when I was a younger, I was just moving and running ahead on my way. Now we understand that a loser can get his second chance, or you can stand again even after a bad set-back. I can see various things.

Q: How will you describe this trip to people around you?

A: "I washed up all things that bothered me; I got fleshed up."

Q: Do you want to draw a mural again?

A: Sure, if there is another chance I'd do it.

Various other English websites have also published interviews with Inoue during his visit to NYC:

Photos of the event can be found here and here.

Interview translated by T. Ohara

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takehiko inoue mural gallery

hello! thanks for the link back to my interview w/ Inoue-sensei. Just an FYI -- I posted a photo gallery of Inoue-sensei painting and the reception event as well here:

http://manga.about.com/od/imagegalleries/ig/Takehiko-Inoue-Mural-Gallery

enjoy!