Q: So what exactly is Monkey Square?
Surt: Monkey Square is a company that I founded to bring talented artists and writers from around the world together to create high quality global manga. That's our long-term vision but at this moment, we’re concentrating on Kasumi.
We think that a lot can come from meshing together world cultures, art and stories. We want to create something new, that breaks boundaries of what is considered to be typical shojo, typical shonen stories. There are so many ways we can explore what manga can be.
Q: So were there ways that the story changed from its original vision because you two collaborated and exchanged ideas?
Surt: Yes, to some extent. I always welcome and encourage Sugimoto-san’s input and additions to Kasumi. At times the story/action scenes might change from the initial script, but overarching plot and vision doesn't change.
I write with detailed descriptions when I create the chapter scripts, right down to the camera angles that I want in some scenes, but I generally leave it to Sugimoto-san to decide on how he wants the scenes to flow.
We're very open and critique each other's work because we both want the best for Kasumi. I actually find that if we disagree, it makes the story more robust, because we discuss how we can make it better.
Q: Sugimoto-san, when you first took on this project, did get any comments or advice from your fellow manga artists?
Sugimoto: Yes, I got a few, and they were slightly pessimistic about it. A few predicted that this project would start, but would never get completed.
Surt: He mentioned this to me before. I guess this is quite common. In Japan, there are a lot of people who dream about being manga-ka, who want to get their work published. It's not easy – it's very competitive.
Q: Sugimoto-san has a lot of experience as a professional manga artist, doesn't he?
Surt: And he's very talented! He actually started late in the manga industry. He started out in his mid-twenties, which is pretty late, since most artists start in high school. But immediately, he won several awards. He's been doing it for about ten years now.
Q: Has his work been published in many magazines?
Surt: Sugimoto-san used to work for Wrench Studio, a top manga studio that works with several Japanese manga publishers. He also worked on a Japan-South Korea joint production, RUN=DIM, which was later broadcast on TV in Japan.
After some years, he went freelance and while doing coloring manga cover art and illustrations of other artists, he searched for opportunities. He started to think about working on projects overseas, and created his own website (www.h-sugimoto.com). It was at that time when he received an email from me.
Sugimoto-san, were your friends shocked when they saw Kasumi listed for sale on Amazon.com?
Sugimoto: Ahh, yes. Although I didn't really understand why, I got a lot of compliments from people in the manga business when that happened.
Q: It'd be really cool if you could visit the U.S. when Kasumi Volume 2 comes out in February 2009.
Sugimoto: We haven't made plans yet. However, I would like to visit the U.S. by any means if the opportunity and conditions present itself.
Publishing Kasumi has been a dream comes true, but if it becomes popular with readers, we are hoping to reach for even bigger things. Of course, if the opportunity arises, it would be great if Surt's story can be read and enjoyed by Japanese readers, and maybe manga fans in Europe too.
Surt: That's my dream too! I would love to see Kasumi published in Japan. I've been trying, but I think it's harder to get manga published in Japan than it is in the U.S.
On the surface, because Kasumi is so Japanese-centric, I think it's more exotic and appealing to American readers than Japanese readers, as that kind of high school story is quite common in Japan.
Q: As I was reading Kasumi, I was struck by how Japanese it is; the settings, the traditions, the characters. I wondered to myself, would this story work if it was set in America instead?
Surt: Frankly, I think that's what's appealing about Kasumi. Manga is also about Japanese culture, and this is a fantasy version of what we might think a Japanese high school is like.
GOING FROM INSPIRATION TO PUBLICATION
Q: So tell me a little bit about how Del Rey Manga picked up this story.
Surt: We initially started by pitching Hanabi, the josei manga that we were working on, to several publishers. I managed to contact Ali Kokmen (Del Rey Manga's Marketing maven) and I pitched Hanabi to him, because we already had two chapters completed.
I was already writing Kasumi when I first proposed Hanabi to Sugimoto-san, but we opted to go with Hanabi first, because it was a story I was more comfortable with, something that was closer to my heart. It's a love story about a girl who lost her parents, and she's searching for a red flower that's a symbol for many things – her happiness and her past.
The folks at Del Rey Manga were really interested in Hanabi, but they said that they were looking more for a shojo type of story. So based on the feedback, I pitched Kasumi to them, which they were immediately excited about. I’m really thankful and happy to be working with Tricia Narwani, my editor at Del Rey, who believes in us 101% and has been a great support for us all along.
Q: Do you still hope to finish and publish Hanabi someday?
Surt: I think we're just going to focus on Kasumi first, and wait until the American market is ready for a josei story like Hanabi. I still think it's a very good story. When we had to switch gears, all of us were so sad. Even Harumi, our translator was bummed too, maybe because the lead character in Hanabi happens to be called Harumi too! (laughs).
