Kagurabachi Manga Creator Takeru Hokazono Shares His Inspirations

While the Kagurabachi panel featuring creator Takeru Hokazono wasn't advertised as one of Anime NYC's biggest events, you couldn't tell by the crowd size, as the room was stuffed full of one of the most enthusiastic audiences at the convention. The truth is, Kagurabachi's popularity was there from day one, when the manga debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in September 2023. In the following years, it reached two million copies in circulation and took home the Next Manga Award in the print category last year.

The story follows Chihiro Rokuhira, the son of a famous blacksmith who crafted six "Enchanted Blades" from the rare Datenseki ore. The swords became crucial in ending a war, but the blacksmith's family became hunted by ruthless sorcerers who stole the Enchanted Blades. Chihiro vows revenge and to obtain a secret seventh blade that will help him wipe out his family's murderers.

The manga's strong action hook is only half the story behind its claim to fame. After its chapter debuted, internet jokesters took to making memes about the manga, initially overhyping its qualities to an absurd degree. Perhaps even more strange is how what started as jokes eventually evolved into a true-blue fandom that genuinely appreciates Hokazono's storytelling and art. These were the fans filling the Anime NYC panel with hopes to learn more about Kagurabachi's creator.

Hokazono took the stage alongside his editor, Takurō Imamura, who spoke briefly about their time in New York City, including going to a local shooting range. Hokazono drew the character Samura live on his iPad. Hokazono's preferred drawing tool is his drawing tablet. Hokazono stated that while he currently works on a weekly schedule, it had taken him about six months to complete the first chapter of Kagurabachi. He also revealed that he looks at both Western and Japanese comics for influences in his art. For Japanese comics, he admitted to being a fan of Katsuhiro Ōtomo, the creator of Akira, and has databooks of Otomo's art in his office that he uses as reference materials. As for influences from Western media, he stated that one of the biggest influences for Kagurabachi was actually the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and said there's a bit of Bucky in the character Sojo.

Hokazono mentioned that when it came to the choice to include a goldfish for the protagonist Chihiro's sword, Enten, he's always thought goldfish could be cool. When he was coming up with the series, he really wanted to include one. As for action scenes, he said that his favorite fight that he's drawn so far is the one between Chihiro and Sojo, and that it was a lot of fun to put together. However, he tends to feel the most nervous about his work whenever he's drawing a climactic sword battle between Chihiro and one of the other Enchanted Blade users.

Editor Imamura also briefly discussed his job and how he works with Hokazono to review his manuscripts. He claimed that his favorite part of working on Kagurabachi is when Hokazono's manuscripts end up becoming a lot more elaborate than he imagined.

We sat down with Takeru Hokazono to find out more about his work on Kagurabachi.

What made you decide to become a mangaka? And did you have any favorite manga growing up that influenced you?

Takeru Hokazono: Growing up, I was a very big fan of Naruto. My whole family actually enjoyed it. It was around that time I also first thought I would want to be a mangaka, but it was only about three, four, or five years ago that I decided to actually try it out.

What was the inspiration behind the creation of Kagurabachi?

HOKAZONO: For the series' worldview, a big inspiration for Kagurabachi was the Hollywood version of Japan*, which always seemed cool. I wanted to make a story in that kind of setting.

*Hollywood's depiction of Japan often emphasizes and exaggerates traditional elements, which is different from reality.

The series features a lot of sword duels with a lot of emphasis on technique. Did you have a lot of familiarity with swordplay prior to the series, and how much research did you end up having to do for it?

HOKAZONO: In the first chapter, one of the first scenes is where you see how one of the swords is made by a blacksmith. I actually went to a blacksmith to see how swords were made and observe the process in person. As for the battles, though, I don't really concentrate on realism, and I want to make them feel more dynamic. Because it is a manga, you don't have to be realistic, so you can basically go all out.

Working on a weekly manga serialization can be difficult. What's your usual work schedule, and what do you do to keep yourself from getting burnt out by work?

HOKAZONO: For the work schedule, basically, when the finished manuscript is done for the previous week, we immediately have a meeting for the next one. And it takes me a while to do the draft—about six days to do the draft, actually. Then I spend one day just basically finishing up the whole thing and finalizing it. To take a break or relax, I watch movies.

Hakuri, at one point, refers to Chihiro as a samurai, and his moral code of wanting to use his sword to slay evil feels very reminiscent of protagonists from classic samurai films. How did you come up with Chihiro's character, and did you take any inspiration from stories about samurai?

HOKAZONO: I don't think I got too much inspiration from samurai films for him, but when I looked at all the other characters in Shonen Jump right now, I wanted to make the character slightly different from them all. That's basically how I came up with him.

We see a few characters struggling from the legacy of their parents, such as Chihiro seeking revenge in the name of his father Hakuri, trying to live up to the prestige of his family line, or Samura distancing himself from his daughter Iori because of his past. What made you want to touch on that subject?

HOKAZONO: Obviously, the story centers around Chihiro and his revenge for his father. However, to spread it out and add more characters, I thought it would help the story progress if there were other characters he could also relate to, which would make the whole story a little more dynamic.

Although Chihiro claims that he wants to use his sword to defend others, his desire for revenge has also turned him into a killer. And that's something he struggled with. What do you think of his character? Do you think his desires are noble or self-destructive?

HOKAZONO: At first, Chihiro's motivation is his rage and his hatred, but the more he gets to know the other characters, the more that starts to change. I think that's one of the most appealing things about Chihiro's character.

Kagurabachi has already become a very popular manga overseas. How has that affected your work on it and has it put any extra pressure on you?

HOKAZONO: Overall, popularity overseas hasn't really changed things for me, and it's not making me any more nervous. But on the other hand, since there are even more readers because of the foreign audience as well, I want to work on making it even greater because of that.

What theme do you most want readers to take away from the series?

HOKAZONO: When I'm working on the series, I consider familial bonds as a huge theme of the story. As that spreads out more and more, I hope it resonates with readers. Love is another significant theme.

Thank you to Hokazono-sensei for answering our questions. Kagurabachi is available to purchase in English through Viz Media, and new chapters are released digitally every week through the Shonen Jump app and MANGA Plus.

MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA is an app and global manga platform available in nine languages with the latest chapters added at the same time as release in Japan. Fans can read Kagurabachi on MANGA Plus here.

ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2025 is sponsored by Yen Press!