P3-------------------------------- "Hydrangea" by Naomi Harada P4 Takahashi-san... P6 "G, Good morning, Takahashi-san." "What are you doing?" "Good morning, Tsuchida-kun. I was smelling the hydrangeas." P7 "Do hydrangeas have smell? What kind of smell?" "Yes, they do! Smell of the rainy season. Give it a try!" 'Smell of the rainy season' ? "I'd say---smell of grass." "What! Grass?" "Well, I guess you have a point. " " I know, right?" P8 I really like her laughing face. And I also like the look on her face when she was smelling---. "Hello?" "Oops!" P9 "So, uhm---did you watch the TV drama last night?" "Sure! Kimutaku was super cool." "He is yoyr fave, right?" "Yap! I also like Kusanagi." Only I know that expression on her face. P10 * -------------------------------- -Background of the work and points of interest: I moved to a new house during the rainy season in June near a street full of hydrangeas, so this story came about naturally while looking at the beautiful hydrangeas. I'm not good at drawing backgrounds, and I always skimp on them, but the point of this story was to draw the hydrangea and its scenery in a way that would convey how beautiful it was to the readers, so I took pictures of the background with my phone while I was out walking, and I drew the hydrangea and the background carefully and beautifully. I hope this work will remind readers of the rainy season air and the beauty of hydrangeas every time they read it. "I moved in June this year. I moved to a new house in June this year, and I'm working on my artwork in a room full of cardboard boxes, digging out what I need. Come on, clean it up! It's me." -Reading and chatting I like the distance between them. It's nice to read a story before romance! The background and plants are very lively. The cover and the plants are in focus, and they are another main character. There is a sense of depth from the near to the far view. I can feel the colors, and the focus on the smells adds depth to the work. P11------------------------------ "Seasonal word - Autumn" by Satoshi Ogawa P12-------- "Mackerel sky" "---Hot." "Global warming. Give me a break." "My cousin told me that her college has summer vacation till the end of September." "Seriously!?" P13 "Junior high schools should also have summer vacation till the end of September!" "Yes, they should!" "Oh, look." "Autumn clouds---". "Traitor!" P14-------- "Mantis" "Mantis, a super predator in the insect world--- but not in the human world. Hahaha---" "What are you going to paint for the art club exhibition?" "Um--- portrait, as usual." P15 "How about you, Akiha?" "Mantis." "? We're talking about paintings, you know?" "I'm going to paint a picture of a mantis." "I want to be strong!" "What's going on!?" P16------------- "Pumpkin" "Oh, no. Party animals." "Kotone!" "Huh?" "Yui?" "Trick or treat!" P17 "So what did you get?" "Puccini. It says it's an edible pumpkin." "You were taken in by her." "I wonder what adult is." "Right." "Achoo!" "Bless you! Got a cold?" *In Japan, they say you start sneezing when people talk about you. P18 * ---------------------------------- This is the third installment of my seasonal words series. When I made the main characters a group of three junior high school girls, I wanted to make them as limpid as autumn. but I think this is the way to go. I wasn't sure if I wanted to reflect the Corona disaster, but I ended up just adding a masked girl. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. "I'm working on a manga called "The Call of Cthulhu 1969" for the e-zine "ZONE of CTHULHU" at a cattle pace. It's not quite the same as the one I draw in "hitotu", but I hope you enjoy it." -Reading and chatting This is focusing on three people in three different works. The seasons are really moving forward! -In the first one, she's wearing summer clothes, and it's the end of summer, maybe in September. -In the second one, they change to winter clothes and the mantis is still alive and well. -In the third one, it's Halloween and the end of the month. The silver grass is fluttering. It's chic not to show a full moon in autumn. Oh! I would use full moon! P19------------------------------ "A house with no address" by Pen Yokoyama Go into an alley at the tobacco shop, turn left, turn right--- then a dead end. You'll find a house with no address P20 A house where the signal doesn't reach. 2000yen per night. I'm a regular. I don't do anything in particular--- P21 "Hey, bud. Wake up. It's my turn." "Oh, is that the time?" "Look at the mess. Wash the dishes right now." "OK, I will." "Are you Mr.xx by any chance?" "Exactly." "You book a room so often that I can't." P22 "I remember there is no limit on the number of reservations." "Don't you care about others?" "What do you do anyway? Why are you staying here?" "What a stupid question. This is a house with no address, you know?" "We don't belong to anywhere while we are here." "Have a coffee before you leave. You made it, didn't you ?" "Yeah." P23 "I love this kind of unknown places. You too, right?" "Well--- kind of." A few days later--- Thank you for everything. Landlord P24 "I feel so empty." "Oh, bud!" "I'm sure there is something up ahead." "At the end of this alley---" "I won't let it pass." "You're such a strange person." The End P25 * ------------------------------------ -I can't help feeling that there is something deep in the back of the alley. I drew this picture with the feeling that it would be nice to have a space like this in between. -I drew all the pictures by hand without using tones in order to put heat into the original pictures. The text was also cut from printed out paper and pasted with glue. The result is a manuscript with a slightly bent appearance. -I'm interested in a small, different world that's a bit out of the ordinary. I am a small person, so I don't have the courage to go to other worlds that are far from my daily life. I look for a small other world and take a short break there. When I return to my daily life, I feel a little refreshed... I like stories like that. "I love telegraph poles at dusk, steam rising from a pot, the light on someone's windowsill... I love the night world where I can feel the sense of life. I mainly create illustrations with acrylic gouache." -Reading and chatting The first poetic sentence draws me into the world of the work. The dialogue is also good. I think the synergy between the pictures and the dialogue makes the manga very complete. I like the feeling of having one foot in the other world instead of two feet. P26------------------------- "Bed head " by Gogatubyou I have nowhere to go. I have nothing to tell you. I don't need any empathy. I want to be myself. That's all I want---. P27 * --------------------------------------- "Fumiko-san" Nakomin Tsuruya "What are you talking about?" "You're the one who called me." "Kanako-san, I knew you liked this man..." P28 * "Takeru-san, are you home? Are you studying properly?" "I've been taking a short break." "Take-san, you've actually been slacking off. You need to become a doctor like your father and take over the hospital. You need to work harder and more diligently." P29 * ----------- "You have the same perfect brain as your father. You have the same perfect brain as your father, but to become a doctor, you have to work hard. You have to be more aware and study harder. Okay?" "I wanted to read this book so badly, but it suddenly faded away when my mother got angry with me." P30 * "Damn it!" "Oh, I'm sorry." "Oh, my God, what did you do? I feel sorry for the book." "What a sensual book." "Give it back!" P31 * "Who are you, coming into my room like that?" "I'm Fumiko, your housekeeper. Please take care of me." "Fumiko, please don't tell anyone about this! If my mother finds out that I've been reading sensual novels, I'm sure I won't get away with anything. Please do!" P32 * "Don't worry, I won't do anything rash like that... Your Mother seems to be a bit strict." "You heard ... Yes." "Is she always like that?" "She says I have to be perfect, just like my father. Don't slack off." P33 * "But I'm not studying to be a doctor. I like novels, so if possible I'd like to study literature. I'm not perfect at all. I'll never be what my mother says I am." P34 * "Let's open the window. A cool breeze will come in." "It's lonely because a truly perfect person doesn't know forgiveness. She doesn't know that, does she?" "You just be you." P35 * "You are a strange person. But my mother would never forgive me for that." "It's okay. It's okay." "What are you doing?" "You're cute, Takeru-san." "Don't say "cute."" "Don't you like it?" P36 * I fell asleep before I knew it. I wanted to talk more with Fumiko-san. None of the other housekeepers knew her. Only my mother was surprised. P37 * She showed me an old album. "Oh!" Fumiko looked very much like my mother's sister who had died when she was young. P38 * I drew "Fumiko-san" by adding a punchline to what I saw in my dream. In the dream, the atmosphere was very gloomy. "Would you like to express your feelings a little more?" So I asked the characters to express their emotions a little more and made it into a manga. I think it's easier to see than in my dream. "Hello, my name is Nakomin Tsuruya. I've written a manga called "Is There a Place for a Men's Esthetician in This Society?" from KADOKAWA. I hope you enjoy it." -Reading and chatting I feel like there was a lot going on between Fumiko and Takeru's mother in the past... I'm sure there were. P39 * ---------------------------------------- "Camellia(Tsubaki)." em [Maki]. "Camellia. Don't sleep here. It's getting cold." P40 * "Hey, Grandpa," "You're awake." "Please pet me a lot." P41 * "Camellia likes to be petted by Grandpa the most." "I see. I'll pet you as many times as you like." "When Camellia grows up, she will become Grandpa's wife." P42 * "I wish I will have Camellia as my wife, I'm 66, Tsubaki is 6, and if we get married at 20, it will be 14 years later. If you add 14 to 66?" "Well, 80?" "Correct. I may not even be alive when I turn 80." P43 * "No! Grandpa, don't die." "No, I think I'll be alive for a while yet." "Still, grandfather and grandson can't get married by law." "No! The law? What's the law?" "The law is a promise made by a great man to be kept by all." P44 * "If I become a great man, can I make laws?" "If you become the prime minister, you might be able to make laws." "Then I'll become the prime minister and change the law so that I can marry my grandfather!" "Oh, that's a good idea. You'll have to study hard. " "I'll study a lot!" P45 * "Then I'll try my best to live longer." "Good luck, Grandpa!" "Good luck, Prime Minister." "Yes, I'll leave it to you." P46 * "Camellia, you'll catch a cold, won't you?" "Grandpa, please come back to pet me. Will you come back as a ghost, Grandpa?" "I've been petting Camellia all day. though you doesn't know it." P47 * This story was inspired by the image of a Japanese house, camellia, grandfather and granddaughter. This is the beginning of the story of Camellia, a girl who grows up with memories of her grandfather. It will be followed by a longer story. I'm posting information on Twitter, so please check it out if you're interested. Twitter ID : @em_makiweb "After I left manga after "Watermelon," which appeared in "hitotu" of the six issues of "hitotu", I resumed manga in 2018 and continue to do so. After resuming, I started to draw essays, BL-style, girls' manga, etc., and came up with many other ideas. I also started to draw color illustrations, which I didn't do in the analog days, thanks to the change to digital drawing." -Reading and chatting The depiction of light and shadow on the porch is beautiful and has good depth. Oh, you can also see the shadows of the shoji lattices. The camellia flower is greatly described. The main character's name is also "camellia". .. Is there something in his character or way of life that overlaps with camellia? I wonder... As you can see in the postcards, she's drawing the rest of the story, so please check it out on Twitter~. P48------------------------- "To the Island" by Minoru Ichinohe One day, I got a letter from the cat which I had before. She said she wanted to see me. Actually she was not a pet cat. She used to come to my place for food and go somewhere for a while. I decided to go see her. To the island where she lives P49 "Hi, it's been a while." "Meow." "You came in human figure for me, didn't you." "Meow." "What are you looking at?" "Shellworks." "For me?" "Thanks." P50 "I've missed you so much since you left." "Meow." "Are you happy now?" "Where are you taking me?" "Meow." "Take a guess?" "Ocean." P51 "You're really popular as always." Oh, this is paradise here compared to my everyday life, She says that how about I become a cat and live here with her. It made me think that would be nice. P52 "I should get going." "Meow." "Why? Well---." Will I be able to live in this solitary island? I'm not sure if I'll be able to love you as one of many other tomcats. P53 "Why don't you come to my place and live together?" "--" "Oh, well---." Then she tried to put on a happy face and transformed into a cat. The shellwork she gave me... It's a whistle. I'm sure I will come to see her. P54 * ---------------------------- This is my second article. Recently, a manga artist told me about the advantages of digital, and I thought it was fate, so I started this as a fifty-year lesson. This is my first digital work. I managed to complete it in tears. It gave me the confidence to continue drawing manga in the future. I hope to continue to give shape to the stories that I have in my mind. "I've been hooked on this kind of flea market for about ten years, and it's helped me meet a lot of people. In the last few years I started drawing manga for the first time in over 30 years." -Reading and chatting I like the way the extraordinary world is not completely separated from the real world, but has a strange feeling of being right next to it. I like how the way to get to the island is by train and bridge, and how the cat looks like a person, but somehow communicates in cat language. The fun of lightly overcoming illusion and reality is supported by the realistic and attractive cityscape and scenery. In the end, the two are attracted to each other, but they choose to return to the original world. I feel that it is good that they choose to return to the original world, but it seems that people of different times and ages may want a different ending. I felt as if I got a shout out from the fantasy side to my everyday life. P55----------------------------- "Eternal Girl" by Haruna Tsumikusa P56 "I can't turn the page of the story." P57 "Snow falls silently and piles up on the page." "I'll stay a girl forever." P58 * ------------------------------- I've been drawing digitally since last time. It's easier in every way, but I miss the work of cutting tones with a cutter. I'm looking forward to seeing how people will interpret this work, but I'm imagining the struggle of a woman who can't move forward. It was a bit of a struggle to get the draft down, but I'm relieved that I managed to give it shape. (I think a different title would have been better, but...) "I like boys and girls, celestial bodies, cats, forests, children's literature, and anything that opens up a secret world. I also used to make prints (currently on a break). Since I realized that I wanted to draw not so-called manga, but poetry and writing combined, I have been contributing to one once a year. I'm very grateful for this opportunity." -Reading and chatting It's a mysterious and beautiful work. There are times when the experience of reading as a child comes back to me with a sense of that time, and that may be one of the eternities. I also felt a lingering feeling that there is still a part of me in my teenage years that is hesitant to change, wanting to know or not wanting to know what happens after I turn the page. P59 * -------------------------------------------------- "The Last Supper" by Nobuo Itagaki "The Last Supper" is an illustration essay that was published on a website called "Digital Comic Fantasy". I had actually planned to publish six more essays on that site, but the administrator passed away suddenly, so I ended up publishing them in a half-hearted manner. I'm going to publish those six essays here on "hitotu". P60 * Mushrooms. I am fond of mushrooms. There is a description in a book of the Ming dynasty in China, "The Five Elements". If the fungus is made into a soup, and the shadow of a person does not appear on the soup, it is a poisonous mushroom and should not be eaten. This kind of bizarre description can sometimes be found in old Chinese books. This is why it is interesting. In ancient times, mirrors were a luxury that could only be owned by a nobleman, and this was true in both Japan and China. Therefore, the common people may have used the surface of the water of fresh water as a mirror surface. If that is the case, the description above may have been meant as a training exercise to use the surface of the water as a mirror surface, while pretending to check for the presence of poisonous mushrooms. No, I don't know what it really means. ...... By the way, I was born and raised in a mountainous area of Hokkaido. I was born and raised in a mountainous area of Hokkaido, so many times when I was a child, I picked up some delicious looking mushrooms in the mountains and ate them without checking them carefully. That is something I should not have done. There are only a few mushrooms that are overtly poisonous, such as the "Benitengtake" mushroom, and most mushrooms cannot be judged as poisonous or not just by looking at them. I was lucky. P62 * "Eggs." The king said, "I want to eat something different." This is a line from Marcel Xuob's "The Tale of the Egg," in which a king of a certain country, disgusted by the fact that he is fed only egg dishes on Easter devotion day, says to his minister, the head cook. The minister replies. "Your Majesty must eat eggs at Easter. This is a ritual representing the Lord's resurrection." The following list of egg dishes is the small highlight of this story. "Would you like your eggs to be hard? Shall we make a scrambled egg? If you wish, I can make caviar with eggs in oil or vinegar." A certain man asked me, "How do you like your eggs cooked and eaten?" I prefer the simplest "fried egg" and "boiled egg". In both cases, I prefer the whites to be firm and the yolks to be soft and half-boiled. However, it is not easy to do so. It is because the yolk tends to harden first. I would like to take this opportunity to ask if anyone knows a good way to do this. P64 * Kappa roll (cucumber sushi) This is a simple question, but I don't know why kappa rolls exist in this world. Probably there is no one in the world who likes or dislikes Kappa roll. Because Kappa roll is just sushi with raw cucumber wrapped around it. I can understand if it was asparagus or burdock root, but why did they wrap cucumber around it? Anyway, the name "Kappa roll" is very interesting. It reminds me of the following scene. After the heat of summer has passed, at dusk on an autumn day, a kappa orders "the usual one" at a sushi restaurant. The owner silently offers him a kappa roll and sake. He takes a bite and slurps it down. "Oh...this one here is excellent. ...... They think that as long as it has cucumber in it, it's a kappa roll these days. ...... I'm not kidding." It's not as if kappa rolls are there to make me have this kind of delusion, though. *Kappa (monster) likes cucumber. P65 * "These Kappa rolls are delicious. It's the real thing, after all." P66 * The Sushi Program Many people, even those who are not connoisseurs or enthusiasts, seem to be particular about the order in which they eat sushi. It seems that the order of eating sushi is different for each person, whether they eat their most favorite food A: in the middle or B: at the end. Unless you're a kindergartener, it's unlikely that you'll eat your favorite food first. It seems to me that whether A or B is the case, it is because the person wants such a life program in ..... In other words, I think that person A is a person who wants to reach a climax in the prime of life, and person B is a person who wants to reach a climax in the later years of life. Of course, it is not always possible to live such a life just because you want to, but that is the difficulty. P68. * "Flix Gum." This gum was a common item in the old candy stores. Even now, you can find this gum in supermarkets and convenience stores, so this gum has had a surprisingly long life. I like the illustration, which looks very cheap and American. And the artificial strawberry flavor, which looks bad for you, is fine in this case. I have fond memories of Felix the black cat. I once saw one of Felix's early animated films in a small hall near Suidobashi station in Tokyo. It was an old-fashioned 8mm film. The film was shown in old-fashioned 8mm film, and to make it even more old-fashioned, there was an activist benshi who spoke in a loud voice. It was like the origin of anime, with its funny and ridiculous movements. .... Those who praise only the pungent anime born under the influence of "Gundam" should go back to this kind of origin once again. ...... I'm going to stop here because my story has gone off in a complicated direction. So I'll stop here. P70 * "Shichimi Pepper." I don't understand why shichimi pepper exists. But if that's the case, just use a small amount of shichimi pepper. But if that's the case, you can just use a small amount of ichimi pepper. When I was in elementary school, there was a stall at a festival fair, and as many spectators watched I remember that there was a store that sold shichimi pepper powder in a small gourd-shaped container. I think that was a good one. In old China, the shape of a gourd was thought to encompass the universe. That day's fair gave birth to the "shichimi pepper school" that preferred shichimi pepper over ichimi pepper. After a long time, the Shichimi pepper people formed the Secret Club Shichimi and went about their business in every corner of the world to create the ultimate Shichimi pepper. If you think about this kind of world, this world is not so easy to abandon. What do you think? "ichimi Pepper" is made with red pepper. "Shichimi Pepper" is made up of seven kinds of spices, including red pepper. P71 * The magic of sucking into a gourd! P74 * ------------------ Roedenbach's Butterfly In the poem "The Tomb" by Roedenbach in French literature, there is a scene of a butterfly dancing on a stone monument. The butterfly is described as having black and white wings. I had imagined the butterfly to be a gorgeous Taiwanese butterfly, but in the illustrations in other books, it was an ordinary small butterfly. I don't know what kind of butterfly the author actually imagined. Some books seem to say, "The Greeks used the butterfly as a symbol of the spirit." P75 I had imagined the butterfly in the poem to be a Taiwanese swallowtail butterfly like this one. The butterfly in the illustration was an ordinary butterfly like this one. P76 * ----------------------------- "Swallowtail Butterfly" Hisuirokan When I was in elementary school, I wanted to observe swallowtail butterflies, so I planted prickly pear trees in my garden. I harvested the eggs and raised them in a box. The larvae ate a lot of food and grew quickly. When they were ready to pupate, they slipped out of the box. The pupa was killed by a parasite. P77 * After that, I continued to raise swallowtail butterflies. I learned how difficult it is to hatch a swallowtail butterfly when I had "hatching failure". Finally, I was able to successfully hatch a swallowtail butterfly. It was so beautiful. The adult of the yellow swallowtail butterfly is similar to the swallowtail butterfly, but the larvae are much different. P78 * The black and blue color of the Aosui Swallowtail reminds me of an anime character I saw a long time ago. I watched the TV animation "Galaxy Express 999" with great fascination when I was a child. When I look at that anime now, I can see various rough edges, but it seems that there were many harsh stories. P79------------------------------------- "Insects and I No5 Small Stag Beetle" by Naoto Akimoto "Kenta! Wait!" "Leave him alone." P81 Nothing scared me when I'm with you. You're tiny, weak but cool. P82 Look at your red tongue. You're hungry, right? I guess it can't be helped. P83 * ------------------------------- I remember having stag beetles, beetles and birds when I was in elementary school, but I have no memory of how they disappeared from my house. I guess my parents dealt with them on a case-by-case basis and they slipped from my memory. I am sorry. I don't think I have the talent to raise something well. I drew this in full digital. I'm getting used to it. I've been drawing manga for almost 40 years, and this may be the first time I've drawn a manga without a woman in it. I'm sure it's because I'm old (laughs). "I draw lyrical comics and global environment comics in a small way. I'm a fan of DIY and other random handiwork, and as an extension of that, I'm a bicycle modification fanatic." -Reading and chatting I don't want to ask the author directly, but does he always wear sandals? No, I think he was in a hurry. Even if he's in a hurry, he carries the stag beetle with him (laughs). I think he must have been worried about being alone... Did the boy run away in the common barn? In the old days, apartments used to have storage rooms in the basement or yard. In recent apartments, it's probably indoor storage, so it may be difficult for younger people to understand. It may need some explanation.... I'm sure it's all right, because children have their own places to escape to. P84-------------------- "Roll Rabbit Ears 3" by Yoshimi Nakase "Last One" P86 "Heavy" "FULL" P87 Onlene Shop P89 "FULL" P90 * ------------------------------- I started late this year, but when I had some free time, a subject came to mind that I wanted to paint, so I did. (1) What inspired you to create this work? This is the second year that I've been living in hibernation under the influence of Corona. I wanted to convey that even in such a situation, "fun can be created ". (2) What I was particular about in creating the work, and the production environment I was given a loose deadline, so I tried to draw in detail, while focusing on the living space and small objects in the scenery. (3) Explanation of abstract works and stories of other worlds I've tried to summarize as simply as possible, without excess or deficiency, a slice of "ordinary " life. "I have been living within 5km of my house since last February. The biggest event of the year will be the vaccination." -Reading and chatting The cookies I bought by mail order were not in metal tins, but paper wrapped cookies, and you are replacing them. The cookie version of shampoo and other refills! Is there such a thing? I did a little research on the internet and couldn't find the exact one, but it would be nice if there was. It's important to recycle! The expression of the rabbit ears was even sharper! The expression of the bunny ears was even more sharp! They stretched out horizontally and straddled the panels. It's fun. There are two scenes where you pour drinks from a pot, but the pot is higher after you get the cookie. It's true! It's an expression of being happy and excited, isn't it? The fact that they are slowly savoring the cookies across the season must mean that they are eating them carefully as a reward for their hard work. If it were my family, they would be gone in a week (lol). P91 * ---------------------------- "Spring daylight" by Ryu Kurimoto P92 * I was called to come to this world. It's not too hot, it's not too cold, there are no fireballs, magic, curses or flesh and blood flying around. The sun is warm. "Hello, this is home delivery." "Thank you very much." P93 * "It feels good." "Yes, this is delicious..." "Delivery from your grandmother..." "Oh, that came to the house a while ago." P94 * "Where did you guys come from?! Get down now!" "No!" "Where's your father who was playing with you?" "He's in the kitchen." "What? Doesn't he eat these sweets with you?" "He took the big box. I'll take the big box." "What? Why don't your father eat this candy with us?" P95 * "Spring daylight: Papa's Situation" by Ryu Kurimoto Dad was in the kitchen sorting through the many things that had come by courier. There were no large sweets. "The kids want this big box, so I'm in the kitchen sorting it out." "The kids were up on the roof by themselves." "They resisted and screamed when I took them down." "They might think you're abusing them and report them." "I think I'll exaggerate this story when your mom gets home from work." P96 * This is a sequel to "The afternoon when the guardian is absent for a certain reason," which appeared in "hitotu 2020". I wanted to draw a lazy day in a warm sunny day. I used 3D. 3D is for buildings. All the houses on the second page and the background on the fourth page are also 3D. I took them directly from the materials collection. I didn't use 3D for the characters because it takes a long time to get the 3D bodies to pose. I'll have to get used to it. I'm hoping that the 3D application will be able to handle it on its own. "I'm a "mystery man" as I like to call myself. I like it, so let the mystery remain a mystery." -Reading and chatting. I wanted a big box when I was little, too. Is that so? What do you use it for? Well, didn't you play in the box? Oh, I did, I did. It's my base. As usual, the kids are going at their own pace. It's interesting to see how fast-paced the children are, and how the adults get pushed around. P97 * ------------------------------- "Color" by Roba On the long journey from my hometown, I saw the color of a dazzling flower. But there was no color in the land where thousands of people were carried. Coal mines. A world of blackness and darkness. Blasting in the darkness to break it down and deliver the coal to the world of light. Those who tried to escape to the world of light were subjected to a merciless example. P98 * The first color I've seen in a long time is the "red" of my people. The world of color and light P99 * Gas Explosion A shard of darkness cuts through me. What color was I? P100 * This country was then burned by war, but was later rebuilt by the war in my hometown. It wasn't until 70 years later that the light shone on us again. It's beautiful. At last I am in a world of light and color. But this country that carried us into the darkness doesn't want to see us. This is a lily of the valley, native to Hokkaido. The flowers turn the fields yellow in summer. P101 * The subject of this issue is "Conscription". The case won by the Korean Supreme Court was won by a steel worker. The story is about a coal mine. Kushiro's text says that the Korean workers were "forced to work in domestic mines, which is an indisputable fact". The description of the explosion and the show is also something that was written properly, though presumably because of the original text. (The explosion of the book in Kushiro occurred after the war, but many Korean workers were killed in the fall.) However, the location of the work is fictional, and the description of the flowers is based on the Soya region. By the way, you may think that once South Korea is taken care of, all postwar processes are over, but there is still North Korea left. (The right of claim is confirmed in the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration.) It's been over a century, but World War II is still not over for Japan. "Hello. My name is Roba. I'm an old man who likes to travel, and I'm a windbag who leaves footprints in the graffiti books of various stations. I often go to Hokkaido, probably because I am possessed by the Northern Fox. But the most I've been to is around the Diet. (laugh). I also like electrical engineering, but I haven't been able to publish anything recently." -Reading and chatting It seems that there are many terrible stories about coal mines. It is sad that the last sentence, "This country that carried us into the darkness will not look at us," is often seen as a tool for political games rather than a human rights issue. P102----------------------- "The Clay & The Umbrella 2" by Manokosakana P104------------------------- "Moan " by Hiroki Something is wrong. I can't start drawing. I have a clear image and lines so I usually start making it right away. What's wrong with me? What do I lack? Well then, Iguss I've got to use a special move. It doesn't work. "SLOWLY SLOWLY" P105 Are they coming? Let's see---. A bit more Almost- They're coming. They're coming- Oops! They've gone--- "Ahhh, it was close! Oh, my cutie!" "GOBBLE!" Well then, I'll do it tomorrow. "Let's me go!" P106 * ---------------------------------------- I hadn't used a tone in a few years, and I didn't know how to use it properly. I hadn't used tones in a few years, and I didn't know how to use them properly. I'm sure I'll forget the pace if I don't continue. "Okay! That's good! If I don't make up my mind somewhere, I'll never be able to finish..." "I've been living in seclusion to the point where I don't have anything to say about what's going on." "By the way, I've recently taken up sewing. I've been working hard on making masks and eco-bags. I'm realizing that the foundation of drawing is junior high school mathematics. I've already given away all the masks to my relatives, so I'm looking for people who would like to receive them." "The cat is here! I'm already in a family meltdown. No wonder there are so many people who write cat comics. I'm sure I'll be one of them soon. But cats are difficult!" -Reading and chatting The fin of the fish in the image, It's interesting that the image of the fish's spine is like a sticky note or a line. It's hard to joke that the fish that got away is big. Some people might say that, but... (laughs) Making manga is hard work. How about a manga about the joy of finishing a manga for her next work? If we could draw normally, we wouldn't need to express it. P107------------------------- "Calling " by Ryouko Tai Hello! Is anybody there? It's dark. I can't hear anything. Wait, I can hear the regular sound in my heart-and sometimes faint sound in my ears . They are the sound of myself.-----Here I am. I am here. I wonder if someone is here. My feelings with no answer. And the feelings are pilling up in my heart. P108 Someday they will overflow and turn into words and voice. Then fly away from me- to distance places. From me to you! P109 * ------------------------------------------- When I was able to draw it, I realized that it was no different from what I used to draw when I was in my twenties, and it made me realize my true nature. From now on, the only thing I can do is to keep throwing away the extra decorations and keep grinding away the extra meat. It's been a long time since I stopped working on the Shanghai chapter of "Memories of the Stars" with two more stories in mind, but I'll finish it next time. I'm sorry. "I couldn't say "I'm drawing manga" for a long time, and I was wondering how it would go, but I'm finally back." -Reading and chatting The flow of vertical panels, from the description of the flames to the bird flying into the wide ocean, gave me a sense of the depth of the world, and I felt the power of the picture. I like the small "TODOKE!= from me to you" delivery at the end. I feel the power that comes from the bottom of heart. P110-------------------------- "A Boat at Night" by Gogatubyou I've just been drifting in the darkness by myself since that day. I don't know where I'm going and I forgot the cape is. I'm just drifting. P111------------------------- "The Raven" by Karon Ono Go down this stairs and you'll find the coffee shop. I was stuck at that time. P112 As I go down to the dark basement, I'm wondering how far these stairs are going. ---Will I be able to get to the shop? I know it sounds silly but I feel uneasy. P113 The shop is full of music. Nobody speaks to me. I sit in the same corner seat. Then I blend into the atmosphere. P114 Dark lights, just bitter black coffee. If you have a song request, put a note on the counter. The album of the song is placed ---and I enjoy the music. P115 This is one of the few cozy places for me--- "Charlie Mingus." "You seem to be in despair, huh?" "You're just a nobody." P116 "Although you are seized with uncertain feelings you are afraid of knowing where they come from. You are running away from it.." "No. I'm searching." "Searching? ---then you came to the wrong place. This is the place where you long for the things you lost and immerse yourself in their memories and regret." P117 "I once met beautiful things and got them---then lost them. No matter how much you mourn, the joy and the happiness won't come back.." "Nevermore." "Get out of here." P118 "Search it. Chase and get what you really want. Then lose it." "Hunt it down till the end of the earth. You'll do the same thing. Gain and lose. Once you lose it, you'll never get it back." "--and one more thing Pithecanthropus erectus" P119 "It's my favorite song." P120 "I'm taking a step forward. I won't go back there. ---Nevermore. " P121 * -------------------------------------------- "The Raven" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. I visited a shrine in the city where I live for a reason, and the object of worship was a "raven". This gave me an association with it and I wanted to use it as a motif. The setting is a jazz cafe I used to go to when I was young. It was a long time ago, and it's really "Nevermore" now. You can read "The Raven" by searching the Internet. The word "Nevermore," which appears in the poem, is a phrase that the raven repeats in the poem. Charlie Mingus is an American jazz musician famous for his work against racial discrimination. "I've read the much-talked-about Hagio-sensei's "One and Only Story of Oizumi"... The timing was just right, or maybe I was in the middle of the name, but it was so powerful that it brought out my own black history. The battle to protect your world. It made me think a lot. That's how I feel." -Reading and chatting. It's a work with a certain charm. I like "just bitter coffee" in the store, no need delicious. I like the part where he receives the sunglasses. The stairs are white when you enter the store, but when you leave, they are black. It may be because the light is coming from outside the store, but I think it corresponds to the change in feelings. There are local music, pop songs with classical music, and so on. I've been thinking for a long time that by using existing famous motifs like this manga, you can create a manga that spreads deeply to the reader. Since last year's "hitotu", you can add an explanation of the work right after the manga, so it might be worth a try without worrying about the lack of explanation. P122---------------------------------- "A Poet at Night" by Gogatubyou Every night, I walk around to pick up some words from alleys from a black cat like a silhouette P123 from Sirius that keeps burning from a calm and quiet expressway. Then I roll my cigarette with these collected words and light it. That's how I compose a night poem. P124---------------------------------- Please tell me! --- Vivian Lee & Rita Lee I had an interview by e-mail with Ms. Vivian Lee and Ms. RIta Lee who live in the US. Please enjoy this interesting interview of doujin manga in the US. Q1: What have you influenced your drawings and comics? -A1: Ms. Rita Lee I grew up with newspaper comic strips, X-Men, and American cartoons like Disney, so I started out only drawing animals and animal people. Once I discovered anime/manga, however, I started learning how to draw people. Story-wise, I grew up on adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi, and adored wuxia dramas, along with samurai dramas, and cowboys. Eventually I branched out into all kinds of superhero stories, mysteries, and crime procedurals. But despite the genre dressing, it's still telling stories about people, and I end up drawing heavily from my own life experiences and whatever emotions I see portrayed on TV to make the characters feel real. -A1: Ms. Vivian Lee For art, my strongest comics influences were American Marvel comics, American indie comics artists (Paul Pope and Ashley Wood), and several manga artists (Taiyou Matsumoto, Tsutomu Takahashi, Urasawa Naoki, and Natsume Ono are a few). There are many others, but I think these are the ones I've absorbed the most from. For story-telling style and genres, I was heavily influenced by serial mystery novels and old kung fu tv dramas from Hong Kong. Later, I became interested in Japanese rock and had a collection of music videos from different singers that I liked because they had a wide range of visual styles and a good way to express stories in a very short period of time. These days, I'm watching many dramas from different countries and also listening to podcasts and internet radio dramas. They all have very different story-telling styles and content and I find the way the pacing changes from country to country to be very fascinating. I really love fictional 'documentary' format that is used in podcast radio dramas. The idea of using one format to mimic another format is very interesting to me. I also draw inspiration from old illustrators and painters like Leyendecker and John Singer Sargent. A lot of the current video game concept artists are heavily influenced by them and I love seeing their work and how painterly they are even in digital media. P125 Q2: What tools do you use to draw? -A2: Ms. Rita Lee I haven't advanced with the times! Though I haven't drawn comics lately, I still stick with manga paper/bristol, mechanical pencil, various inks, and watercolors. I used to use dip pens, but now they make my arm hurt a lot because I have tendonitis, so I've switched to using a brush pen or Staedtler liners for any outlining. -A2: Ms. Vivian Lee I still use brush pen and ink because I developed carpal tunnel and learned to manage it by drawing quickly with brush. But I also use digital a lot too because it makes many things more simple. I am currently using Photoshop, but as it continuously updates and the software becomes bloated, I am now looking for another software program to use instead. Haha. I don't believe in brand loyalty - I only believe in what makes me feel less effort! I am a collector of fountain pens and have recently discovered that fountain pens with fude nibs can be used to create similar, but more strict, lines that are somewhat similar to brush strokes. I am playing around with that because I love how alive ink is. Q3: What does the US indie manga/comic market look like from your perspective? Here is an interview with Vivian Lee, who is familiar with this. -A3: Ms. Vivian Lee The US indie comics market... interesting. I feel like it is in a transitional phase, so it will be interesting to see what will happen now that there are new technologies and story-tellers that are coming onto the market and pushing for change. For perspective, I think it's important to understand what is currently happening in the mainstream comics market. Right now there is a lot of discussion of the dominance of Marvel and DC movies and TV media taking over and how the major comics companies are no longer interested in comics--- they are toy companies that make movies and the comics produced for these genres are considered very niche and are used as a launching point to create toys and ideas for their movies or streaming web shows. A similar thing is starting to happen in the book industry too, where movie and media production companies are turning to books before they're even finished to create shows and movies. So the same is also starting to happen with the bigger name indie comics. P126 So right now, there are two ideas of what 'indie' comics are. The 'big name' ones are graphic novels that are published by small companies like Oni Press and book publishers. Because these companies have money, they have a lot of titles and famous artists creating graphic novels for them. The rest are what you can call "independent creators". These are single artists building their own web presence through web comics, patreon, and social media (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc). They sometimes participate in group zines with other up and coming single artists which are funded by kickstarter and is a good way to increase visibility and public support for their artwork. These independent creators also use public crowd sourcing to build online stores with their own merchandise, like pins, tote bags, shirts, etc. The bigger they become through this, the more likely they will be able to get illustration jobs from various magazines and maybe even be picked to be published at one of the book companies or indie publishers. Most independent comics artists come from concept art, animation, and illustration backgrounds. Both of these groups are the ones you will see at indie comics conventions like MOCCA and SPX. But within the community, there is controversy over whether it's fair to give more space to the big name companies with more money, or to allow more space to the tiny independent creators to promote their works. These conventions are not big enough to be able to rent a large convention hall, so they have to limit themselves to the space available at hotels. There are also artist alleys at other conventions for comics, science fiction shows, and things like that. These indie artists will also go to those shows to sell prints of their artwork and merchandise that fits the themes of that convention. There are a lot of professional publishers that go to these conventions, so this is a way for artists to possibly become known. Also, they can make some income by selling their stuff --- even if someone doesn't know what the characters or stories are that the artist is working on, they will buy pins or bags if they like the way they look. One thing I noticed from when I started going to conventions to now -the production values of the indie scene has improved dramatically to professional level standards. When I was in college, people still made things by hand. Now, it is expected to fund via kickstarter or out of their own pocket so the books can be professionally printed. The printing options that exist these days allow for this, I think.I remember when I first became interested in comics zines, we had to find someone at an art school with access to a screenprinting lap to sneak us in to print our own covers using school materials. Then xerox all the hand drawn artwork and hand cut each book. That kind of handmade book is rare now. There are also the Chinese and Korean web comic platforms that is slowly gaining popularity as a way to earn some income. The push toward digital programs and visibility for small size mobile devices like phone, as well as integration of animations means the art style has been moving to very clean and precise style artworks. I think this is also strongly influenced by how many digital artists work in animation -- so the artists further influence each other. Sadly, very few artists work in the more painterly styles anymore and I find that I miss it. I guess I should try to keep this style alive! There are no comics contests in the US anymore. There used to be ones through the US manga company Tokyopop because they were trying to establish a similar system to what was being done in Japan -- they were originally famous because they were the first company translating manga into English, but later they saw they needed to create their own content to replace this model, because book publishers and Japanese manga companies were starting to also do translations. This was a good idea, but it was discovered that their contracts were very bad and was considered a large step backward from the minimum standards established within the US comics industry. Artists stopped contributing and the company collapsed anyway. I'm not aware of any company attempting similar contests since. I remember Kodansha once had an international contest... but that also closed down. P127 Q4: What activities have you been involved in? What kind of activities do you plan to do in the future? -A4: Ms. Vivian Lee I have not recently had much time to draw, but I have been listening to many story podcasts and trying to figure out what stories I want to tell. I have so many stories swimming in my head. Trying to write them is hard. I want to tell and share my stories. I'm not sure what format I prefer. I don't have many plans right now - I just want to poop my stories out so they aren't stuck in my head anymore. -A4: Ms. Rita Lee Due to COVID, I've experienced a brief but intense reawakening of creativity, and wrote quite a few fanfics for two Korean dramas, "The King: The Eternal Monarch"and "My Country: The New Age". I even managed to take out my rusty art skills to illustrate some of the chapters! Now that I've recently finished a 67,000 word story, however, I'm resting and doing anything but writing. For example, I'm slooooowly working on translating Japanese actors' interviews into English, sewing quilted curtains, and working on different embroidery projects. One day I'd like to learn how to sew clothes, and I have multiple shirt and hanbok patterns waiting for me! I'd also like to start writing original novels. But I try not to plan too much, because my day job is ramping back up as we slowly return to the office. P128---------------------------------- "These are some illustrations for a story I was writing. The story is set in the early Joseon era of Korean history." by Rita Lee P130----------------------------------- "Slow man" Akihiko Tsuyama 1 Oh, a flower--- A dragonfly--- I've caught one. That's all for today. I'll go home and check the name of the flower and the dragonfly. 2. Airplane Bullet train Local train Nothing beats walking after all because I can feel the change of the seasons. P131------------------------------- "The days of copying" by Hisuiroukan When I became a high school student, I set a goal. To be able to draw pictures of the images that come to my mind. But when I tried it, I found it difficult. "I can't." "I can't." "I can't." I couldn't do it right away. P132 After thinking about it I started copying. I copied photos. I drew everyday items. As I wasn't good enough to create by myself, I copied existing things. I kept drawing every single day. I was so into it. P133 While copying. I gradually added my own way. "Done!" I got near-sighted at that time. "I know!" Come out of the vase. Now, I'll draw a proper background for them. P134 If they have friends like these, it would be fun. The world like this would be interesting. I want to meet them, so I'll keep on drawing. P135 * -------------------------------------------- I started drawing manga in earnest when I was in junior high school, because one of my classmates said she wanted to be a manga artist.... I thought it sounded like something interesting, so I copied her. I drew a lot from high school until I was about 20 years old. At that time, I didn't realize that my drawings were not very good, so I enjoyed drawing every day. "In March this year, I started a Twitter account, and I've been gradually drawing comics for the Haruna series, as well as posting my morning glory observations. Also, I've been playing with VR (Virtual Reality)! This is fun!" -Reading and chatting It's interesting to know that even a unique person like Ms. Hisui had to imitate a lot at first. I like stories about the process of making things. The black-and-white drawings that her drawn so far with a crisp, organized style are good, but the slightly relaxed drawings like this one are nice because they give a sense of familiarity and warmth. If you have a chance, please take a look at the e-book "hitotu", because you can read it with the rich colors of colored pencils. She also drew Creamy Mami! P137 * -------------------------------------------- "The Winter Retreat of a Doujin Couple" by Ume Kozuhata "Oh, the event has canceling!" "I guess I'll just have to be patient." "Well, I'm off to work." "Oh, me too." P138 * "I didn't think the event would be canceled for a year..." "Hmmm... I can't get motivated unless I have a place to publish my comics." "Welcome back. - What's the matter?" "- I just realized something." P139. * "What?" "In the past year, I've lost touch with people outside my family. Without events, I've become a stay-at-home person." "Well, well, well. You have me." P140 * "Come on, let's draw comics! Put on your computer..." "You have no place to show your comics, but you draw them?" "You seem to enjoy drawing them." "Well, maybe it's because I don't show my comics to people." "Are you sure?" "If I don't show it to people, then I don't have to adapt it to them. I can draw exactly what I want." "Hmm, I don't get it." "When you first started drawing comics as a child, you didn't show them to anyone, did you?" "I liked to show people my comics." (laughs) P141 * "Either way, it's good to get back to basics." "What's wrong?" "The manga I'm working on right now has a lot of immature parts that stand out." "Maybe that's part of what brings me back to my roots." "Some of it is good, some of it is not." P142 * "Show it to me." "Your teaching is so strict that it makes me depressed." "What?" "No, no...." After that, both of they were able to successfully produce a book. We hope that kind of future will come. P144 * When I was working on a manuscript that I had nowhere else to publish after the Corona , I thought to myself, "I miss this feeling". I realized that it was similar to the feeling I had from the time I was a sophomore in high school to the end of college, when I drew pictures because I wanted to, even though I had almost no intention of showing them to anyone. It was a mixture of passion and selfishness that I felt when I was drawing without thinking about showing my work to others. It was interesting to see those feelings again, so I decided to make a manga about it. When I asked my wife to look at the finished product, she said, "The people are gorgeous, but the background is lacking," so I added more tone to make the background more gorgeous than usual. The production environment was all analog, with cut and paste of printed text and pictures from computers and smartphones. I didn't write that the events took place between 2020 and 2021 in the story. If people who don't know what's going on in the future read this, they might say, "What? How can an event be cancelled due to an infectious disease?" I thought it would be interesting if people who don't know what's going on now would react like we did a couple of years ago (lol). "I'm mainly active in Niigata Comitia, but during the Corona disaster, Nakase's "creative doujin e-book distribution" will probably be the place I present my work for now. I've been addicted to Pokémon Swords and Shields for about a year now." -Reading and chatting How do you feel is the difference between these two peaple? I think I'm more like a protagonist, because I don't draw to show people, but rather I want draw. I think I'm more like the main character. It seems that not only in commercial magazines, but also in doujinshi, the style is consumed and people get tired of it. so I try to keep a distance from people's reactions. I hope that we will be able to publish books and participate in sales events as soon as we do. P145-------------------------------- "Tiny soliloquy" by Roman Tsubame "I don't see any humans today either." "They haven't been out much since a certain day." P146 "What are they afraid of?" "They believe it's safe to be home." "We don't have houses, though." "God has created half the world and humans have made the other half." P147 "In that world, we make what we need." "Secretly" "quietly" "enjoy life" "As there is no one here, the whole world has become very calm and quiet." P148 "Now, I don't need to worry about being seen." "My feelings become lighter a bit and so does my body." "However I still need to watch out for birds." P149 "Oh," " "Let's get together--- " It's unusual." "I haven't seen my friends for ages." "What important is not that I'm looking forward to it or not, but it's essential for me or not. Now, in this situation--- Yes, it's essential." P151 * ---------------------------------------- In the days since last year, when the world and everything around me changed inexorably, I couldn't avoid Corona when painting my works. Teleworking has become the norm, the office has disappeared, and I have refrained from traveling far. I am glad that I live in a city where there is still a lot of nature when I visit places within walking distance from my house. The Formosan squirrels that cross the power lines, the raccoon dogs that roam around at night, the owls whose only sound is their hooting... I tried to depict the feeling that something other than these animals might be lurking in the trees, in the shade of the trees. "I write more for novels than for comics. I enjoy improvising alone with my collection of wind, string, percussion and other instruments." -Reading and chatting When you consider that fairies are a product of human creation, it's very true that they are in between nature and people. And now that people are no longer gathering, what is the necessary purpose for fairies to gather? I'm curious. If it were a strange science fiction story, the fairies would probably start a war (lol). I'm sure it's a call to expand our imagination now that we tend to stay indoors. P152-------------------------------- "The summer I was 17" by Akiko Shimosato "Ah-it's hot!" "Hey!" P153 "Have you decided your major?" "Yap! Ta-da-". "What? Early childcare education? Are you going to be a nursery school teacher?" "Uh-huh." "Really. You'll be a nursery school teacher." "But-" P154 "I don't remember the face of my nursery school teacher." "Ms.---" "Ms.---" "Ms.---" "Yes, dear." "Me, neither. I only remember her eyes." "That's kind of sad---." P155 "Hey, let's go grab a bite!" Where do you want to go? July 2033 The summer I was 17 P156 * -------------------------------------------- I'm currently working at a daycare center. I wear a mask the entire time I'm at work, so the kids only see me from the eyes up. I feel that they often distinguish between the two, but I also feel disappointed that they will not be impressed. But I think that in 2033, twelve years from this year, what happened when I was small will have faded into the public mind. "This fall and winter, I'm planning to upload a free Kindle comic (an old one) every month. Please search for Akiko Shimosato. As for paper books, I've published a collection of cutout paintings, which is available on BOOTH. I've been releasing new books even though there are no events, and I'm about to be buried. In the summer and winter, when there was no Comic Market for two years, I couldn't feel the seasons, and I've been feeling empty. I can't wait to be at Comiket again!" -Reading and chatting I can only remember the faces of my kindergarten teachers from their pictures. Don't they take pictures now? Well, apparently, they gather together wearing masks, take them off only when taking pictures, and then put them back on right afterwards. Oh, that's right. In the future, it is likely that the impression of the person who actually sees it may differ from the impression of the photo. I'd like to hear what actually happened in 2033, when that time comes. P157------------------------------------- "In 2020, The Hospital was Closed till The Reception Hours" We are open at 8:30. Patients who have fever--- P158 They're here to see a plastic surgeon. "It's ridiculous that patients have to wait outside." My mother fell in the bathroom. "I fell down." She's got a bruise. "You don't have any pain? Ah, you don't feel it--." The right side of her body has been paralyzed for 10 years. X-ray "Please wait for a moment." "Her injury is sever?" If she gets surgery, she might need to be hospitalized- In the middle of COVID-19 pandemic!! P159 "You have a broken bone." "You're supposed to have an operation, but it's on the hemiplegic side-" She is going to set a cast and see how it goes. Wet the cast and leave it for 10 minutes, then it becomes hardened. "It's getting hardened." "Great." She was excited to try a new material. "Let me rewind the bandage." I just need to rewind it every after taking a bath. Sketching how to rewind P160 I've been thankful to the healthcare workers and caregivers. Now I want to say thanks to all the people who wear masks. Although we've been in a tough situation since 2020, I really feel bonds between people. As soon as we get home, take off our clothes and put them in the laundry basket. "Sanitizer" That's New Normal. P161 * ------------------------------------- I made a comic strip about my experience last year. A year that made me feel that humanity is in danger of extinction. So we are depicting it in the form of endangered animals. The cast includes coral eagles, white rhinoceroses, giraffes, Grevy's zebras, okapi, and giant pandas (with varying degrees of endangerment). It is ironic that humans, who have always prided themselves on winning the competition, have to think of others to maintain the species. The manuscript was traced with a B sharpie, copied and fixed, and then screen-toned. The text is all hand-drawn. "I used to publish "Recovery Rehab Hospital Manga" and "Copybook of Jazz Live", but recently I've been slacking off... I'm just playing the flute." -Reading and chatting So they were endangered animals! The hospital must have changed a lot with Corona. I wonder how I'll feel when I reread it in ten years. Let's read it again in ten years and talk about it (laughs). I hope that Corona is in danger of extinction! P162--------------------------------- "Far Out" by Gogatubyou I hear ringing in my ears. That means the bigning of the real night. I go out by myself to a deep and distant place. P163 The place is like a wilderness, and I've never seen the end of it. P164 * ------------------------------------ "I draw comics and make oddly shaped books. I want to give form to ambiguous things in an ambiguous way. Since the end of the year before last, my friend Morimoto-san of 42101 and I have been "playing" by creating a work on the same theme every month and sending it to each other. I asked Mr. Akimoto to edit the works. "Bed head". I wasn't aware of it when I drew it, but it became a work that is necessary for me now. -Reading and chatting I like the empty streets and the shadows of the bed head. "A Boat at Night" I drew this as a kind of reply to a previous work, but it seems to be still in its infancy. I hope I can reply to it someday. -Reading and chatting What time was it, and what happened that day? "a poet at night" I really like the song "Poet at Night" by Masato Tomobe, and I drew this picture while thinking of the song. -Reading and chatting You have one modifier for each picture. Nothing (modifier) Alley Keep burning (modifier) Sirius It's a poem when you express what you feel as a modifier to what you see as a picture, and connect them together. Oh! That's right. If you string those words together, you get a poem. You've made a poem! I like the fact that it's only when you put it into manga form that it becomes an attractive expression. "FAR OUT" I drew this about an intimate night. "Wilderness" is a recent mental picture. -Reading and chatting It's cool! The writing is good, too. The expression of turning upside down when going out into the night world is also effective. I love the small lights in the apartment room. P166 * ------------------------------------ Slow Man 3: My rice paddies are full of living things. Tadpoles. It's moving! Happy~! 4: I love to walk. Today I walked 20,000 steps. It's still spring, but it's as hot as summer. But sweating is good for some things. I find that the shade of trees is a natural air conditioner. P167 * ------------ "slow man" by akihiko tsuyama In today's world, more and more people are saying, "Hurry up! Hurry up!" I got fed up with the feeling that we are being rushed to "hurry up!" I tried to put the message of "Let's take it easy" and the small happiness I feel in my daily life into four panels. I drew the manga with a millimeter pen. I have PC for draw in full digital mode, but I'm too afraid to do so, because I'm too old-fashioned (sweat). In October 2000, I quit my job of ten years and became an independent cartoonist for children's environment. I have been drawing for Asahi Shogakusei Shimbun and Gakushu Kenkyusha. I became acquainted with Mr. Akimoto through his environmental dojin manga book and decided to participate in "hitotu"." Nobuo Itagaki "I've started to make small items to sell at flea markets. I also started working with old books. I'm glad I did, because I'm good at both." Manoko Sakana "I am living as a recluse. I hope the corona will end soon." -Reading and chatting I enjoyed the onomatopoeia in Tsuyama's manga. I don't know if you can call this an essay manga, but I felt it would look good in the pages of "Lyrical manga". Itagaki's writing is very stylish. I think our writing is strongly influenced by the literature we have read. That's right. I'm starting to worry about what will happen when I see all the short sentences with character limits on Twitter. P169 * ---------------------------------- impressions mail for "hitotu 2020" I feel like I'm slowly traveling through another time and space. Paper books are good after all! Each work has its own wind blowing, but they are not scattered, and as a whole, it was like a cool and pleasant wind blowing. I felt as if I had filled my heart with the air of the day when the weather changed from summer to autumn. I read it five times from beginning to end. The songs(works) in this issue are great, but the album(book) is also very complete. The author's comments and the editor's impressions are posted right after each work is read, so I read them and immediately reread them to get a different impression of the same work. This is a book that is more than just a thick book. It is interesting to see the different ways of expressing the night in different writers' works. Poetic sentiment, humor, and life... Each of them shines brightly in this collection of short stories. I am impressed by the steady continuation and activities. I can feel the fulfillment and steady progress, and I look forward to further enrichment in the future. -"Dream of the precipice" Yuri Matsuzaki I was very impressed with the way you introduced the characters in the first page, starting with the sea looking down on us, the wind sounding in the mountains behind us, and the casual conversation. -"Seasonal Words: Summer" Satoshi Ogawa I could feel the wind, the smell, and the temperature. I am looking forward to the next one in autumn. The second story, "Do bad kids go to hell?" made me feel as if I had been transported back to my childhood. -"The wind was always blowing from the sea." Kaori Tsuruhara It really touched my heart. I was also stunned in my heart. I thought that far someday I would forget that I had read the manga, but I would always remember how the wind rumbled in my mind. It was a lingering memory that I couldn't believe was four pages long. I read it over and over again. I think it will be a work that I will remember from time to time. It makes me feel like I have read a lovely piece of pure literature. I feel like there are not many literary works in commercial magazines these days that can directly touch my heart. -"Harunatsume" Shigemori Masami The master's pouting face is interesting. The tone of the situation and the background match each other, creating a fun atmosphere. I'd like to see Haruna when she was in a panic before coming to this coffee shop. I want to see Haruna when she is in a panic before coming to this coffee shop. -"I1m here" Gogatubyou The atmosphere of the poem and the pictures are very well matched, and I never get tired of reading it no matter how many times I read it. -"Escape into the Night" by Ume Kozubata I could feel the coldness and impatience from the night scene. The decision to face the situation if you can't escape is amazing.... I was relieved to read the postcards and know that Wake is going to be fine. -"Roll Rabbit Ears 2" by Yoshimi Nakase The part where the wife's ears twirl is so cute! It left the biggest impression on me. -"Key" Haruna Tumikusa The spread is beautiful. The boy's dignified face is impressive. -"Coffee beans late at night" Pen YOKOYAMA A manga that makes me sigh. -"Fish Don't Cry" Karon Ono This is a story that really conveys the feelings of Ryugusunokai. I'm glad he's alive! -"Gukkiri Hoshi" Hyakunen Sodeyama I think the children's drawings and letters are a nice accent. Children's drawings are really nice.... -"Road of Flower" Hiroki I felt that the line had both hardness and softness. When I read the postcard, I thought it was nice that you drew as if you were being guided. "Master, poem, aspiration," Roman Tsubame When I was reading this book, I thought it looked familiar, but when I found out it was UJ, I was convinced. I really liked it too. P170 * ----------------------------------- Editor's note: Things I like Since last year I have been subscribing to a magazine called The Big Issue, partly because of the interesting articles. In the latest issue (415), there was a special feature on "self-education" and one of the articles said, "In biology, there is a lot of room for amateurs. If you are a researcher, you can stay at the university and be a researcher. It was an example of how you can continue to do what you love and build up your achievements without making it your professional job. Manga has a huge commercial market and potential, and I am grateful to have been able to produce this book again this year, swaying on the edge of that huge wave. I am grateful for the luxury of being able to express what I like, not what others want me to. The Corona disaster that started the year before last and continues to this day. It has affected the works in this issue even more than the previous issue. Many coterie magazine sales events have been canceled as usual. Since last year, I've been able to exhibit and sell my doujinshi at the rental box, Bookstore Shichimi, in Abeno Berta, Osaka, which helps me a lot. I'm also grateful that I can publish my work in e-book format. As I mentioned in this interview, the webtoon (vertically scrolling manga) format, which is different from the conventional paper manga and is easy to read on a smartphone, will occupy a major position in the future. The situation surrounding comics is constantly changing, but I hope I can continue to express and publish what I like while enjoying it. In this day and age, if you have the skill to draw what you like in manga, there's no way not to take advantage of it! Thank you for your participation. Thank you very much for reading. Thank you for reading. For more information, please visit our website. Search for "Haiku Manga hitotu" or go here -> http://hitotu.main.jp/ [Spring has arrived again this year.] "We'll be doing "hitotu" again this year, and the deadline is the end of April." "Ha! April will be over before you know it..." ------------------------------------------------------------ Transleted by Mayumi Kawabata except Page with * and P124-P128. Pages wirh * are translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version). 12/01/2022 Naoto Akimoto