Last December I suddenly had to opportunity to go to Japan for Winter Comiket. The *first* thing I did was find the table with the circle known as Jesus Drug, and was, at last, able to meet one of my favorite manga artists, Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei. I proceeded to be a blithering fangirl at her. (It was painful to watch, no doubt. ^_^;)

In any case, I was absolutely 100% sure that the next interview I wanted was with this woman who has inspired me in a hundred different ways and who makes me laugh until I hurt. I am, therefore very pleased to present to you an interview with creator of Hayate x Blade, Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei. Yay! \(^_^)/

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Q1: Please tell us about yourself
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Hello, my name is Hayashiya Shizuru. Before I grew up [and became a manga artist,] I was a character designer and original art planner for an adult game company.

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Q2: How did you get started in manga?
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When I was a child, I sort of vaguely thought I’d have something to do with working in comics. While working for a company drawing pictures, I was already getting more orders for personal work I was doing outside the company, so I was able to slowly but surely shift to supporting myself with manga.

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Q3: Which artists have inspired you?
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As far as manga goes, Fujiko (FA) Fujio-sensei and Takahashi Rumiko-sensei; as for illustrators, Nishimura Kinu-sensei and Yuki Nobuteru-sensei.

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Q4: If you were not a mangaka, what kind of work would you be doing?
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I’d be a bike racer or a nurse. Definitely! ….Maybe!

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Q5: What were your motivations for creating Yuri Manga?
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The truth is, I really don’t think about Yuri or drawing Yuri comics. For myself, I think of this the same as a heterosexual love comedy, or love story. From my teens on, Yuri and gay existed within me, like air. There wasn’t any special throb of excitement, it was just there.

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Q6.1: Please tell us a little bit about your process.
How long does a chapter take to draw?
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If we’re talking about a chapter for a serialized story, as opposed to a book to be read all at once, from storyboard to finished product the process takes roughly 2 weeks.

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Q6.2: How many assistants work with you? What is the first step in your process? What is the last step?
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I have one assistant. The first thing we do is the “Name” (the storyboard). The last task is when I kneel on the ground in front of the publishing company’s editorial staff and humbly hand over the manuscript. Just kidding. The last thing is when we apply screentone.

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Q7: Do you read any Yuri manga? If so, what series do you read?
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I like Oku Hiroya-sensei’s “Hen”.

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Q8:  Your work contains a great deal of physical comedy. What are you thinking when you’re creating it? What feelings do you want to convey?
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If, for instance, someone is feeling tired or is in a slump, when they read it, I want them to cheer up, raise up their spirit, so I want to draw characters that convey the feeling of “Come on, let’s play together!”

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Q9: Do you have anything you want to ask overseas fans?
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My manga, it’s probably full of a lot of gags that are only comprehensible to Japanese people, and there’s a lot of words but, I worry about to what extent overseas people can understand the humor and find it funny.

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Q10: Do you have any message for your overseas fans?
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By changing publishers, I caused the English edition of Hayate x Blade to be suspended. However, I would like to read the translated version. Therefore, please demand a continuation of the translation from Shueisha. These are comics for you to accept and read. And, one day I hope to come and visit an overseas comic event. Thanks for your support!

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Thank you, Sensei, for taking time to answer our questions and for drawing manga that raises up our spirits and makes us laugh!

You can write Shueisha to demand more Hayate x Blade in English at this address:2-5-10 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8050 JAPAN. (Don’t be shy – they may or may not be able to read the whole letter…but they will definitely be able to read “We want Hayate x Blade in English!” ^_^)