(no subject)

[telophase]

cryogenia, who translated the interview with Ohba Tsugumi, the writer of Death Note, over on death_note gave me permisson to post her translation of the interview here, with the spoilers for the latter half of the story so far cut out, so that you guys who are interested in seeing one manga writer's methods for writing and collaborating can read it without spoiling yourself.

I've noted where the interview is cut.

Originally printed in the Japanese Shounen Jump manga weekly.



Special Interview: Tsugumi Ohba

The person who brings us “Death Note”; the marvelous story-teller Ohba Tsugumi.
We get the inside scoop on the secrets behind the story!

Caption: Thrills and suspense that turn the usual boy’s comic format on its
ear!
This is how Death Note was created!

The sole illustration on the page is Light poised over the Death Note,
looking thoughtful.
Caption: The brilliant Yagami Light, possessor of the Death Note. The
magnificent drama to date is due to his exceptional wit.

Main interview

Q: How did “Death Note” get its start?
A: Well, I suppose it started when I first started thinking about trying my
hand at writing a manga. I thought maybe one of these stories I’d been
kicking around for the past couple of years would work, so I submitted two
sample scripts [to Shounen Jump magazine]. Of those, the one titled “Death
Note” caught the editors’ eye. After refining it multiple times, it finally
went on to become a proper pilot.

As far as the illustration went, I wanted the art to be high-contrast with
delicate linework, so it would really stand out. That was right about the time
Obata Takeshi-sensei was finishing up Hikaru no Go, and the editors were
kind enough to ask him if he’d give this a try. I didn’t actually expect him to
say yes! Thanks to his talent, the pilot was very well received, and we started
talking about serialization. Looking back, the whole thing really was kind of a
Cinderella Story.

Q: Where did you get the idea for “Death Note”?
A: ...I don’t think there was anything in particular that got me started on it,
at least, no specific “hint” or what have you. The “Death Note” itself really
isn’t that original of a plot device, even. It was just something floating
around in the back of my head, and gradually the Reapers, and the specifics of
the Note’s usage, and so on started coming together...eventually, I started
thinking there was enough material for a story.

Q: High-tension suspense stories like this have been rare in boy’s comics
lately. Why did you choose to publish this story in Jump?
A: Well, it’s true that usually you draw the young male audience with
battle-centric comics. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I had that kind of story
in me. But even though the magazine’s main focus is fighting comics, I started
thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try something a little unusual,
like this suspense story...specifically because it WASN’T battle-centric.

Q: Tell us how a chapter is developed, from start to
finish.
A: First off, I write the dialogue/monologues and roughly divide them into
panels. I do a rough draft of the layout with very simple sketches, just as
placeholders. The editors check it over, and once it’s okayed, I turn it over
to Obata-sensei, and he makes another draft with his illustrations. At this
point the illustrations are basically done, and the final lettering is put in
place. I leave all the camera work and character facial expressions and so on
up to Obata-sensei.

Q: Is there anything you have to be particularly careful about when creating
a rough draft?
A: Probably the scripting - I have to be careful to watch the pacing and sentence
length. In “Death Note”, the panels tend to get too many words in them. To some
extent, though, that’s just something you can’t avoid when writing an intensely
plot-driven suspense story like this. You have to weave in little tidbits of
information in the dialogues so that people can follow the story.

However, I really do try to be as concise as possible. Of course the editors
help me iron out each chapter, but in the end the pacing is just something I
have to grapple with as I go along.

Illustration: A panel with a good deal of internal monologue.
Caption: No matter how many times it’s edited, the panels still contain an
excessive amount of lines. However, this also stands testament to how profound
the story is.

Q: How do you draw the rough draft?
A: First, I have a meeting with the editors and get a rough idea of how the
chapter is going to flow; then I sort out how to work in specific ideas. Once
the basic plot has congealed, I start laying it out in my head and developing
the plot into comic-form. Usually, this happens while I’m lying in bed, or
otherwise relaxing. For each new chapter, I’d say it takes maybe three days of
planning to think everything through.

Once I’ve got everything finalized in my head, I sit down at my desk and
finally start drawing. I do the early drafting in a fresh notepad, and just
work on positioning the dialogue, shaping the storyline. Most of the time, I
don’t pay enough attention to the spacing, and wind up over my page count. As a
result, I end up rewriting the script two or three times, taking out
unnecessary parts or rewording sections, until everything fits properly and I
feel like I’ve found a good pacing for the chapter.

No matter how many times I actually edit, I always seems to use up the whole
pad of paper, so I tend to just omit the cover page. After all, since the real
illustrator is Obata-sensei anyways...the readers are all looking forward to
his drawings, it would be a shame if my art usurped his vision :D

The other thing I have to make sure to do is read back over the previous 2-4
chapters each time I write a new part in the sequence. Even if I remember them
completely, even if I just skim through, I still reread. After all, it’s not
just plot consistency that’s important, but the feeling of the work, and the
way the tension builds from chapter to chapter.

Q: Do you set up every last detail of each new character before handing them
over to the artist?
A: The character’s internal details, like Light being a outstanding student, or
his methodical personality, I write all that into the script itself. Their
faces, hairstyles, visual things like that – I don’t really direct those much
at all. I leave the art up to Obata-sensei. Actually, counter to what you’d
expect, I think it’s more common for the characters to solidify after I have
him draw them for me.

For example, I left the physical appearances of the eight members of the
Yotsuba group to Obata-sensei. To be perfectly honest, in the rough draft of
the script they were little more than character sketches. However, when I saw
his illustrations, I started thinking “Now, this man looks like he might be the
type to do THIS...” and so on. I got a better sense of who the characters were,
and it opened up a lot of possibilities for dialogue; new directions to take
things in.

Q: And are there times when the art you get back from Obata-sensei isn’t
what you’d envisioned?
A: No, very rarely. Even if the character doesn’t look exactly the way I’d
pictured, the minute I see them I feel that “this is exactly the way the
character has to look”. That’s how convincing his drawings are.

Little surprises like that are very stimulating for me. Finding an element of
the character that doesn’t fit into the scheme I’d dreamed up actually brings
new life to them. In truth, that’s really what helps me flesh them out and give
them depth, I think.

Q: Does Obata-sensei have any influence on the story other than character
development?
A: I’ve started to base my initial panel divisions, and the way I work with the
script, on the way he does his art.

For example, when we were working on the very first serialized chapter, the
script concluded with L’s debut. However, that first big draft was 55 pages
long and had enough material for two chapters crammed into it. From my
standpoint, looking at the main focus of the story, it just wouldn’t be
interesting until we got to the L vs. Light interaction. Thus, I plowed ahead.

Around that time, when we were talking about having Obata-sensei do the
artwork, the editors clued me in on a better idea. If we combined
Obata-sensei’s artistic talent with bold, well thought out panels and adequate
spacing, we could really jazz up the storytelling. Which is to say, I’m STILL
working on reducing the density of the panels, but Obata-sensei has certainly
helped me improve my layout...he’s more than a good ‘influence’, he’s my savior
;D

Illustration: Light punching L.
Caption: Obata-sensei’s artwork is one of Death Note’s big draws. The
character’s movements are powerfully illustrated!

Insert: Beloved, unusual L! The key to his creation was collaboration?
Ohba: I gave Obata-sensei advance notice when I was about to roll out L. When I
did, he asked me, “Do you mind if I don’t make him good-looking?” He threw out
his own version of what the character should be like, and it turned out to be
exactly what I had envisioned! After that, I just left the details to him.

Incidentally, L’s bare-footedness, strange sitting habits, and listless manner
were things I had asked for; the dark circles under his eyes and sloppy dress
all came from Obata-sensei. I am proud to be able to say that L is the fruit of
both of our labors.

Two small illustrations, both taken from the manga.
Light: And back here, nobody will wonder why you’re sitting so strangely. Hehe…
L: Ah,
L: But I’m afraid I must sit like this. If I sit in the usual fashion, my
powers of deduction decrease by 40%.
Caption 1 (pointing at upper picture): A panel that illustrates L’s peculiar
nature. He sits in a strange position in order to do his best thinking; says a
lot about his personality. (Whether or not that’s scientifically grounded or
not is another question entirely…)

Caption 2 (pointing at lower picture): “L munching on sweets” was a sort of
visual running gag that developed as the series went on. It was always just
snack food, but the artist worked hard coming up with something new every time.

********************************
Page 5
This page gives us our first (sketch) look at Mero and Nia! As well as a
single illustration of L, and a small insert in the upper-left hand corner
about Misa.
Insert: With the addition of a female character, Misa, the visuals and plot
were also enriched!
Ohba: The decision to make the second Kira a girl was both because I wanted to
make the visuals more flamboyant, and because I wanted to try writing a pure,
devoted sort of love. Thanks to Misa, not only did the comic become more
visually attractive, but I got to add more elements of love to the story.
Developing that was what led to the idea that Reapers die if they fall in love
with a human. And based on the hints I dropped at the end of part one, you can
be sure I’ll be working with this theme in things to come (laugh).

Two small pictures, with captions.
Illustration: Misa beating on Light.
Caption: Misa also allows for the inclusion of the occasional joke, and love
comedy.

[snip picture and caption for spoilers]

Q: Regarding the original one-shot manuscript, what sort of things did you
consider in order to develop it for serialization?
A: The first thing I envisioned was turning it into an omnibus with “Reapers”
and “Death Note” as sort of keywords/touching points. But since I finally had
the chance to serialize something, I wanted to venture into creating real
characters, and show their thoughts and emotions over a longer span of time. I
started mulling over that, and that’s how we got L and Light, and the various
humans and Reapers that get drawn into their conflict.

Illustration. L sitting in front of a keyboard (first volume illustration).
Caption: L, the force in opposition to the Death Note, was developed in order
to turn the story into a serial comic.

A (continued from above line): Also, although the one-shot stood on its own
with just the gimmick of the Death Note, I didn’t want to try and stretch that
out over an entire series. So even though I’d thought about basing the story
around the concept alone, once it got serialized the nature of the beast
changed on me, I suppose you could say.

Q: You’re writing for a weekly magazine, so you have to put in
mini-cliffhangers and hooks to keep the reader with you. Has it been difficult
working this kind of suspense story into small pieces like this?
A: I handle it by thinking of the ending of each chapter first, and the
contents second. I first decide how far into the larger storyline I can get in
one chapter, and write a draft that punches ahead to that point…that’s what it
feels like. I use this process because I want lots of development so the
readers can stay excited about the storyline.

The only problem with that kind of writing is that it doesn’t give me very much
peace of mind. Especially at the very beginning of the comic’s run, I was just
brimming with ideas, and I felt compelled to put them all on the table at once.
“If I don’t advance the story to THIS certain point, no one will like it enough
to read it!” I worried about that constantly. At any rate, I still put
my heart and soul into every script, so that the story will be fit for my
wonderful readers’ consumption.

Q: So that’s why Death Note developed into such a roller coaster of a
thriller?
A: Actually, I think that’s because I’m no good at dragging the story out. If I
come up with a fun idea or plot development I like, I can’t resist throwing it
in there immediately. If I had to go back and look at this first part
objectively, I’d have to admit that the plot moves way too fast (laugh). Still,
I just can’t hold out on my readers. I want them to see the fun stuff as soon
as possible!

Q: How did you decide on the rules for the Death Note?
A: Most of them I set up at the very beginning, but of course there were a few
I came up with as the story progressed.
It’s no surprise that the rules are central to the story’s development, so each
chapter I have to make sure I’m writing according to my own rules...it’s really
a struggle (laugh).

Q: When the comic first debuted, what kind of directions did you consider
taking the story in?
A: I had lots of vague ideas about what I could do with it – not much solid.
However, the second Kira and Rem were two elements I wanted from the very
beginning. Actually, I wanted to roll them out even earlier, but the editors
kept telling me “Just hang in there until the story is a little more
developed”. They stayed my hand.

[snip rest of interview for spoilers]