Manga
artists don't have ordinary lives in Japan, so what must it be like
when two manga artists are married to each other? According to Mio
Odagi and Shimpei Itoh, they use up a lot of electricity. The married
couple appeared on Ushicon's first full day, and spoke about the work
they need to do and the long hours it takes to get that work done.
"When we're working together, sometimes I'm working and she's not, and
sometimes it's the other way around," said Itoh. "The electric bill is
high because the lights are always on - there's a lot of waste in the
bill." Answered Odagi, "It's because you always forget to turn out the
lights."
Being
a manga artist also means being a writer and storyteller, since manga
artists typically write their own stories. "It's just about timing,"
Itoh said. "If i finish it, I'm happy, but when I have writers block,
I'm not. Every day I feel different about writing a story. Manga
artists say, when they're done writing a story, `the gods have fallen
on our heads,' but I'm not a very spiritual person." Inspired by the
spaghetti western "A Fist Full of Dollars," Itoh would like to create a
story about a schoolgirl in a sailor uniform who carries guns in her
school bag and "...shoots all sorts of bad people..."
...while
Odagi wants to do a haunted fantasy series. She's inspired by a place
in Japan that has a lot of stories about dragon, and would like to use
her experience as a formally-dressed temple assistant in the story.
Despite her experience as an artist and writer, Odagi is mystified by
one part of American popular culture, Sponge Bob Square Pants. "Why do
some Americans watch anime and others watch Sponge Bob?" she asked. Mio
did get Shimpei to admit that he has to ask "very politely" when he
wants help from her with his artwork.
Thanks
to one of the biggest names in anime films, Hikeaki Anno, Itoh is part
of the team that brought the latest Cutey Honey live-action film to
life. As Itoh explained it on the convention's Saturday, Anno asked
Itoh to create a storyboard script for a Cutey Honey screenplay, which
he created. The concept lay fallow until 2003, when an actor was found
to play the lead role and the project moved forward. However, Anno
decided to use used another writer to finish the screenplay, so Itoh's
storyboards were turned into a new Cutey Honey manga. The new works
feature a new battle costume for Honey, and Itoh said "I had to
redesign the movie costume to fit my drawing. I made sure to follow the
design so I didn't have a chance to slip into the old one. I designed
the manga version so if it was offered to the live action actress, she
would refuse to wear it because it's so risqué."
Manga
artists don't have ordinary lives in Japan, so what must it be like
when two manga artists are married to each other? According to Mio
Odagi and Shimpei Itoh, they use up a lot of electricity. The married
couple appeared on Ushicon's first full day, and spoke about the work
they need to do and the long hours it takes to get that work done.
"When we're working together, sometimes I'm working and she's not, and
sometimes it's the other way around," said Itoh. "The electric bill is
high because the lights are always on - there's a lot of waste in the
bill." Answered Odagi, "It's because you always forget to turn out the
lights."
Being
a manga artist also means being a writer and storyteller, since manga
artists typically write their own stories. "It's just about timing,"
Itoh said. "If i finish it, I'm happy, but when I have writers block,
I'm not. Every day I feel different about writing a story. Manga
artists say, when they're done writing a story, `the gods have fallen
on our heads,' but I'm not a very spiritual person." Inspired by the
spaghetti western "A Fist Full of Dollars," Itoh would like to create a
story about a schoolgirl in a sailor uniform who carries guns in her
school bag and "...shoots all sorts of bad people..."
...while
Odagi wants to do a haunted fantasy series. She's inspired by a place
in Japan that has a lot of stories about dragon, and would like to use
her experience as a formally-dressed temple assistant in the story.
Despite her experience as an artist and writer, Odagi is mystified by
one part of American popular culture, Sponge Bob Square Pants. "Why do
some Americans watch anime and others watch Sponge Bob?" she asked. Mio
did get Shimpei to admit that he has to ask "very politely" when he
wants help from her with his artwork.
Thanks
to one of the biggest names in anime films, Hikeaki Anno, Itoh is part
of the team that brought the latest Cutey Honey live-action film to
life. As Itoh explained it on the convention's Saturday, Anno asked
Itoh to create a storyboard script for a Cutey Honey screenplay, which
he created. The concept lay fallow until 2003, when an actor was found
to play the lead role and the project moved forward. However, Anno
decided to use used another writer to finish the screenplay, so Itoh's
storyboards were turned into a new Cutey Honey manga. The new works
feature a new battle costume for Honey, and Itoh said "I had to
redesign the movie costume to fit my drawing. I made sure to follow the
design so I didn't have a chance to slip into the old one. I designed
the manga version so if it was offered to the live action actress, she
would refuse to wear it because it's so risqué."
