Claymore norihiro yagi interview

CLAYMORE

Schooling Young Mangaka in the Secrets of Manga

Yuuji Kaku of Jump SQ interviews Norihiro Yagi (author of Claymore)

General comic tips from a successful author/artist:

  • Prioritize telling the tales of the protagonist over world concept and setting.
“Even if there is a wider world and stories beyond the main focus, I don’t think it’s necessary to end with the protagonist having been involved in everything.”
  • There are times when creating a character’s ‘flaws’ will allow them to move more easily.
“It’s not interesting if too much has been set in stone. Perhaps forcing characters to move towards a goal takes away from their vividness.”
  • Storyboard while deciding your characters’ actions and development.
“I guess the tradeoff is that I have a lot more freedom when making decisions about my characters. Even so, without writing a single word, I’ll just draw storyboards. Over and over.
  • Storyboarding: the quicker the easier.
  • Even above impact, prioritize showing what kind of scene a scene is and making it easy to follow.
“I try no to disrupt how characters are arranged in terms of who’s on the left and who’s on the right.”
  • Misc: “Close the story properly” and “Add twists.”
  • Many artists who do long serializations have their work time increase.
“I’ve probably gotten slower at outlining. Things like being able to see places that are lacking, or that the bar you set yourself has been raised, or finding I’m not ok with backgrounds I once drew when I revisit them now…”
  • Make a copy of the draft and compare it to the manuscript while doing the pen outlining.
“It’s common to find that pencil drawings look more spectacular than manuscripts.”
  • When you’re stuck, take a shower.
  • If you draw something you find interesting, then it will turn out just fine.
“I don’t really think about stuff like that (to what extent your work is affected by things that are popular).”
  • Stay away from cliches and events which unfold as expected.
  • Draw something no-one else has drawn before.
“Even if it’s not very good, I think it’s important to bolster the strength that preserves your individuality.”