Connichi 2005 in Kassel, Germany --- Sanami Matoh
Mission accomplished!
It worked!
I had the opportunity to ask many questions to Matoh-Sensei. And I told her that there are many people in Germany and the States who love Fake and would like her to write more. She did NOT know she had so many fans abroad!
1) What is your favorite character of all the characters you drew?
Matoh-Sensei: Bikky!
2) Do you have any new projects?
M-S.: There are not yet any concrete projects.
3) Are you going to draw other artbooks?
M-S.: Like I said, not yet any concrete projects, but there are ideas about a character like Bikky.
4) How did you get the idea for Fake?
M-S.: Originally it should have been a normal shojo manga. I like American detective stories a lot, so I had the idea to draw a manga with a police story. Then I got the offer from Be-boy and combined yaoi and the original idea of the detective story I got from American movies.
5) When did you start as a mangaka?
M-S.: At the age of 16 I started as a mangaka, but I was drawing before.
6) Will there be any new movies on Fake?
M-S.: That is not my decision.
7) What do you do with fanarts?
M-S.: I thank the artist and keep them.
8) Is there any ´possibility you go back to the Fake story-line? (this question was asked 3 times!)
M-S.: I will see. (Comment of the translator: it seems that if Matoh-Sensei gets a lot of letters of fans asking her to go back to Fake, she might eventually do it!)
9) How much time did pass in the Fake story line during the 7 volumes?
M-S.: 2-3 years, without the side stories, they have a different time line.
10) Have you any plans to send more of your works to the US, such as Trash, Rai, Access?
M-S.: I did not know I had so many fans in the States. I will go to the States next year.
Maki-San: There are negotiations with a publisher for Trash in the States, but they are still open. A representative of Byblos will come to the Frankfurt Bookfair for further negotiations in Germany. Then there will be more projects.
11) Do you plan on doing anything else along the lines of "Until the Full Moon"?
M-S.: In Japan there already is a 2nd volume. But not yet a third.
12) Do you know fanfictions of Fake and what do you think about fanfictions?
M-S.: I saw some.
13) Do you know that there are huge fanfics with more than 600 pages, like that of Kracken?
(She did not know and was really astonished.)
(At that point I told her, that the fans would really like her to join the mailing lists, so she could see, what people think of her work and which kind of stories they are writing beyond the regular FAKE story line. She did not know that the groups existed. So I handed over a paper with the names of the mailing lists and the some fanfic authors like Kracken, Mori Ryoshi and Wildefyre.)
14) How do you find your characters?
M-S.: First there always is the story-line, the plot. Then the characters and the character of the characters. I have the best ideas in the bathroom.
15) Considering FAKE, did you already go to the States?
M-S.: No. This is the first time I am in Europe and I left Japan for a western country. I collect informations from books, novels and movies to get what I need for the mangas.
16) How did you like and collaborate for the FAKE OVA?
M-S.: I read the script and gave tips.
17) How did you like Germany?
M-S.: I liked it very very much. It is sooooo clean.
18) Now that you have been in Germany, are you going to draw a manga situated in Germany?
M-S.: (sweet grin) Nothing concrete yet, but we are looking for nice German names.
(Comment: No problem we will help you with huge lists of nice names!)
19) Do you still like to draw anything besides mangas, your job?
M-S.: I don't have much time, but as I studied art, sometimes I still like to draw scetches.
Well, it is not that exact wording of what she said, because we were asking the questions in German, the translator translated into Japanese and her answer into German again... and I had to take quick notes with a mic in my other hand... and translate into English what I scribbled down into German. But it should be more or less the content of what she said and what I understood!
As well, I did not ask all of the questions myself, but there were some 5 other persons asking her questions as well and I included those here. Credit goes to those persons as well, but unfortunately I don't know their names (but one: Hisoka44, it was nice to meet you!)
It worked!
I had the opportunity to ask many questions to Matoh-Sensei. And I told her that there are many people in Germany and the States who love Fake and would like her to write more. She did NOT know she had so many fans abroad!
1) What is your favorite character of all the characters you drew?
Matoh-Sensei: Bikky!
2) Do you have any new projects?
M-S.: There are not yet any concrete projects.
3) Are you going to draw other artbooks?
M-S.: Like I said, not yet any concrete projects, but there are ideas about a character like Bikky.
4) How did you get the idea for Fake?
M-S.: Originally it should have been a normal shojo manga. I like American detective stories a lot, so I had the idea to draw a manga with a police story. Then I got the offer from Be-boy and combined yaoi and the original idea of the detective story I got from American movies.
5) When did you start as a mangaka?
M-S.: At the age of 16 I started as a mangaka, but I was drawing before.
6) Will there be any new movies on Fake?
M-S.: That is not my decision.
7) What do you do with fanarts?
M-S.: I thank the artist and keep them.
8) Is there any ´possibility you go back to the Fake story-line? (this question was asked 3 times!)
M-S.: I will see. (Comment of the translator: it seems that if Matoh-Sensei gets a lot of letters of fans asking her to go back to Fake, she might eventually do it!)
9) How much time did pass in the Fake story line during the 7 volumes?
M-S.: 2-3 years, without the side stories, they have a different time line.
10) Have you any plans to send more of your works to the US, such as Trash, Rai, Access?
M-S.: I did not know I had so many fans in the States. I will go to the States next year.
Maki-San: There are negotiations with a publisher for Trash in the States, but they are still open. A representative of Byblos will come to the Frankfurt Bookfair for further negotiations in Germany. Then there will be more projects.
11) Do you plan on doing anything else along the lines of "Until the Full Moon"?
M-S.: In Japan there already is a 2nd volume. But not yet a third.
12) Do you know fanfictions of Fake and what do you think about fanfictions?
M-S.: I saw some.
13) Do you know that there are huge fanfics with more than 600 pages, like that of Kracken?
(She did not know and was really astonished.)
(At that point I told her, that the fans would really like her to join the mailing lists, so she could see, what people think of her work and which kind of stories they are writing beyond the regular FAKE story line. She did not know that the groups existed. So I handed over a paper with the names of the mailing lists and the some fanfic authors like Kracken, Mori Ryoshi and Wildefyre.)
14) How do you find your characters?
M-S.: First there always is the story-line, the plot. Then the characters and the character of the characters. I have the best ideas in the bathroom.
15) Considering FAKE, did you already go to the States?
M-S.: No. This is the first time I am in Europe and I left Japan for a western country. I collect informations from books, novels and movies to get what I need for the mangas.
16) How did you like and collaborate for the FAKE OVA?
M-S.: I read the script and gave tips.
17) How did you like Germany?
M-S.: I liked it very very much. It is sooooo clean.
18) Now that you have been in Germany, are you going to draw a manga situated in Germany?
M-S.: (sweet grin) Nothing concrete yet, but we are looking for nice German names.
(Comment: No problem we will help you with huge lists of nice names!)
19) Do you still like to draw anything besides mangas, your job?
M-S.: I don't have much time, but as I studied art, sometimes I still like to draw scetches.
Well, it is not that exact wording of what she said, because we were asking the questions in German, the translator translated into Japanese and her answer into German again... and I had to take quick notes with a mic in my other hand... and translate into English what I scribbled down into German. But it should be more or less the content of what she said and what I understood!
As well, I did not ask all of the questions myself, but there were some 5 other persons asking her questions as well and I included those here. Credit goes to those persons as well, but unfortunately I don't know their names (but one: Hisoka44, it was nice to meet you!)