CREATIVE INFLUENCES
Q: What hobbies do you have outside of drawing manga? What inspires you to create?
YK: As far as other manga that I like to read, as far as how it influences my work, it influences the look, but it doesn't influence my manga, storywise.
Q: What manga inspired you when you were growing up?
YK: Doraemon! However, I had a traumatic experience related to Doraemon. At one point my father ruined some of my volumes of Doraemon comics, so I'm still kind of scarred from that! (laughs)
Q: What kind of manga do you like to read now?
YK: I like to read Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry), although that was originally a game. I played the game, which is unusual for me.
Q: Are there any foreign artists that inspire you?
YK: Sorry, I don't know much about foreign manga -- I haven't read much of it.
Q: Would you want to draw in a different manga genre, and if so what kind of stories?
YK: If I was to write in a different genre, I would do horror or suspense.
CHIBI VAMPIRE ANIME AND LIGHT NOVELS
Q: The anime of Chibi Vampire has been released in the US -- you mentioned that the second half of the anime series takes a different turn. Can you explain what happens, what changes?
YK: The first half covers Volumes 1 to 7, which focuses on the the story of Kenta Usui, his household circumstances, and Karin's one-sided love for him.
From Volume 7 to the end of the series, Kenta and Karin both start to love each other, and it starts to get into the secrets of Karin's bloodline and clan.
Q: With Geneon out of business, are there any plans for any other U.S. company to pick up the licensing to release the rest of the anime series?
Lillian Diaz-Pryzbyl: Kagesaki sensei is surprised to hear the news -- this is the first time she's heard this!
Q: Were you involved in the development of the anime very much?
YK: I did watch the Japanese version and the content varied quite a bit from the manga, but I liked it quite a bit.
Q: Can you talk about the Chibi Vampire light novels, and how they're created?
YK: As far as the novels go, I just give the story outline and the character designs to Kai Tohru and Tohru does the rest. And since I don't have the ability to write novels, Kai Tohru did a great job, and I'm very pleased with it.
HER NEXT PROJECTS
Q: Is Chibi Vampire your dream project? If not, what would be your dream manga project?
YK: As far as the ideal, dream work that I'd like to create, I don't know what it would be yet. But I think that as long as I'm doing the very best I can on everything I work on, I think that would be approaching my ideal.
Q: After so many years drawing a vampire story, are you sick of the genre, or would you consider doing more stories like this?
YK: I'm not sick of vampire stories, but If I was do another vampire story right after this, I'd run out of ideas, so I'm going to do something different next time.
Q: The last chapter was recently published in Japan. Do you have plans for your next series yet?
YK: As far as schedule or any plans, I will definitely do something with Monthly Dragon Age (Gekkan Doragon Eiji) magazine, where Chibi Vampire (Karin) was serialized.
I'll be doing a new series this summer, but no details on the new story yet. I'll be doing a few one-shot series then I'll work on a new series this summer.
IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA
Q: Is this your first visit to an American anime convention? What are your impressions?
YK: This is my first experience going to an anime convention in America. Coming here and seeing it has been really fun, especially seeing the cosplayers. it really brings it home to me how much Americans love anime and manga.
The fact Chibi Vampire has been so popular to me has been a complete surprise. Even when I got the sales figures, it didn't really hit me until I actually came here and met my fans.
========================
- See more photos from Sakura-Con 2008
- Visit TokyoPop's Chibi Vampire page
