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Interview: Inio Asano




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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:52 am Reply with quote
He seems to have a rather pessimistic view of the state of (mainstream) manga atm. Not that I would disagree.
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Via_01



Joined: 24 Aug 2014
Posts: 551
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:55 am Reply with quote
That was a very interesting interview! I've never stopped to think about how sex is usually not portrayed in such a casual way in manga unless it's the focus of the story. A lot of manga tends to stick to what's expected of their genre, and it's nice to see Inio Asano trying to break that mold a little. I really admire his work!
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DontmesswithKarma



Joined: 07 May 2015
Posts: 491
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:15 pm Reply with quote
Lemonchest wrote:
He seems to have a rather pessimistic view of the state of (mainstream) manga atm. Not that I would disagree.

Its scary how its very similar to Seiji Kishi's view of mainstream anime. Interesting
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Themaster20000



Joined: 05 Aug 2014
Posts: 863
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:02 pm Reply with quote
Via_01 wrote:
That was a very interesting interview! I've never stopped to think about how sex is usually not portrayed in such a casual way in manga unless it's the focus of the story. A lot of manga tends to stick to what's expected of their genre, and it's nice to see Inio Asano trying to break that mold a little. I really admire his work!


That's also an issue in anime in general. It's usually portrayed in such in juvenile manner.

This was a quite interesting interview. Am pretty new to Inio Asano's work having just started Goodnight Punpun,but I can definitely see why he is given so much praise
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TheAAA



Joined: 03 Feb 2016
Posts: 59
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:41 pm Reply with quote
I'm a huge fan of Asano Inio. He's easily one of the top comic creators out there today (not just in Japan, but all over the world) and he's one of my favorite recent authors, period. I'd rank him up there with someone like David Foster Wallace or Mark Danielewski in terms of his insight and his ability to create atmosphere and write stuff that resonates and sticks with you.

I haven't read PunPun yet (it's in the mail) But I really think DDDD is his best work. It just blows my mind every time I read it, and I've re-read what's out so far several times and noticed new stuff each time. I hope it gets an English printing.
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
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Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:57 pm Reply with quote
The only thing I've read from him so far is A Girl On The Shore, but that was enough for me to know that I am in love with his writing. Inio Asano is a brilliant creator. And clearly a very clever and intelligent person. I hope he continues to grow in popularity. Starting to read Solanin today and I have Good Night PunPun pre-ordered. I guess I should check out Kengo Hanazawa now too.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:35 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for the interesting interview, i love his works.
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tsvkkis



Joined: 21 Dec 2015
Posts: 87
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:09 pm Reply with quote
When I saw the banner on the top of ANN highlight this interview, I was honestly really excited. I especially love Oyasumi Punpun, Solanin, and Nijigahara Holograph because they're all striking in an eerie way. All of his works are a gift honestly.
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Paiprince



Joined: 21 Dec 2013
Posts: 593
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:29 pm Reply with quote
At least he's willing to adapt and not come off as a contrarian hipster unlike a certain old fogey at Ghibli...

I read Punpun by Asano. It was interesting, but you have to wonder how much of a "colorful" life he has led if he relied on his own experiences while making this manga. Certainly not normal that's for sure. By the way, didn't he get a sex change? He still looks like a guy from the pictures.
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CoreSignal



Joined: 04 Sep 2014
Posts: 727
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:09 pm Reply with quote
Great interview with Asano. I've only read two of his works, What a Wonderful and Solanin but they were both pretty good, especially Solanin. I'll have to check out PunPun. I totally agree, and find it sad, that many mangaka nowadays have to often simplify the story or make the artwork "cuter" to attract readers. Tsutomu Nihei immediately comes to mind as he greatly simplified his style for Knights of Sidonia in exchange for mainstream success. In any case, I think Asano does a great of writing broken, realistic characters.


Via_01 wrote:
That was a very interesting interview! I've never stopped to think about how sex is usually not portrayed in such a casual way in manga unless it's the focus of the story.

Yeah, Asano made a great point. Unless it's a hentai or some seinen/josei titles, you rarely see couples in a typical romance manga have sex or even talk about it casually. It's really ironic because while boob-grabbing and panty shots are common, actual sex, even implied, seems to be a big no-no.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11355
PostPosted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:59 pm Reply with quote
Naoki Urasawa devoted one of his manben episodes to Asano. If you want more about his ideas and how he creates his manga, it's well worth the time.
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Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:49 am Reply with quote
Great interview, glad I decided to read it. I've not read any of Asano's works, but many of them have interested me. I've mainly stayed away because, from what I gather, many do have "realistic" endings. I usually steer clear of the kind of work that can leave me feeling empty once I get to the end of it.

But, after this interview, I think I'll be checking out Punpun, as I've been on the fence. I do know some of the darker things that happen in the manga, but just reading what Asano has had to say in this interview, it has intrigued me. I may end up checking out A Girl By The Shore too.

Quote:
For me, the most natural way to portray reality is to lean on these sexual characterizations, so someone can appear having lunch in one scene, and then appear later having sex just as naturally.

While sex isn't something that I look for when reading manga or watching anime, I do agree with the point Asano is making. There doesn't seem much out there that is mature enough where it can be treated casually.
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TheAAA



Joined: 03 Feb 2016
Posts: 59
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:11 pm Reply with quote
Paiprince wrote:
By the way, didn't he get a sex change? He still looks like a guy from the pictures.

Nah. There was a whole to-do about it a while back over whether people should start using female pronouns for him, but he clarified that he is a he and intends to stay that way. If I remember correctly it was more of a "sometimes I think it might be nice to be a girl for a while" kind of thing, more for vaguely sexual reasons than concretely transgender reasons.
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JD76



Joined: 24 Mar 2016
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:30 pm Reply with quote
Great interview. I'm still new to his work, but I really enjoyed Solanin and Nijigahara Holograph. Punpun got delivered a few hours ago so I haven't started it yet. I hope his name continues to spread so we get more of his work translated.

Quote:
One of my ambitions is to maintain that young people read my work. I don't mind if they don't understand the story in its entirety. Years will pass, and then those readers will be older and more mature. Maybe then they will read the manga again and understand it in a totally different way...

While it's kinda unfortunate that this is the case, I admire his outlook here.

Regarding the whole sex thing, I find it strange considering all the accidental groping, partial nudity and what not in manga. You'd think that there'd be no problems including actual sex scenes. Confused
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