Animazement - Friday - Yuu Watase

Fushigi Yuugi is not Yuu Watase's latest series, but he's best known effort in North America because of the anime version. Now, fans will have a chance to see her latest work, Ayashi No Ceres, in animated form - although they'll have to be patient. When Watase appeared at her Animazement panel discussion on Friday afternoon, her fans were quick to ask questions. Twice she was asked how she got started as a manga artist, and twice she told how she won an art contest in high school and advanced from there to a professional career.

"When I was a child, if I was drawing instead of studying I was told to study," Watase reflected. "Now that I'm a professional artist, I'm scolded if I don't draw." Is it just a coincidence that Miaka, the schoolgirl in Fushigi Yuugi, has trouble studying? Watase had to do some studying of another kind to create that series; it look her four months to create the plot, and even then it was changed several times by the editor handling her manga.

Watase had complete control over the Fushigi Yuugi manga, but she had less control over the animated version. "After the middle of the series i knew t was a production I could trust, so I left it up to them," she said in referring to the animation studio that handled the job. Watase did insist on the actor who handled Tamahome's voice, however.

Unlike other Watase works, the Aya No Ceres manga has some sex scenes. "My mother saw it and I got scolded," admitted Watase. Still, the artist is not ashamed to having two characters (male and female: it's not that kind of story) making love. "Ceres is a story about life between men and women. I felt it was necessary to have the scene...it was a scene between two people who are in love, and I didn't want there to be any regrets about it."

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