Q: Could you tell us how you came to be in charge of Kitoh sensei’s Bokurano: Ours?

A: The previous editor quit, so one day the editor in chief suddenly came to me and told me to take over. There wasn’t the usual transition procedure, and I didn’t even know what Kitoh sensei looked like, so I was a little uneasy. I liked the manga, though, so I considered myself lucky.

Q: How closely do you and Kitoh sensei consult with each other on Bokurano? Regarding the main developments in the story, did you talk with him early on about the work as a whole, or do you discuss each chapter individually?

A: I became involved toward the end of Volume 5. If you consider the entire length of the series, it was about half finished. When I became the editor, Kitoh sensei explained to me what he had in mind for the rest of the story, and we proceeded, hardly diverging from that at all. So I hardly offered any input on story development at all.

Q: Bokurano is one of the best-selling titles from IKKI. Why do you think it has gained such popularity?

A: I think there are lots of reasons, but one is probably the appeal of the fifteen protagonists. Usually, if you had fifteen main characters, it would be difficult to identify with each of them, or even to remember all their names, but the characters in Bokurano are drawn in such a way that they really grab your attention. I think readers can project into each character their strong self, their weak self, their bad self, or their ideal self.

Of course, another big reason is that so many people learned about the manga from the anime.

Q: Would you say the mecha and monster (kaijuu) genres have made a comeback in recent years in Japan? Or are these genres always popular in Japan?

A: I think the whole world was overflowing with mecha and monsters during Kitoh sensei’s childhood, but I wouldn’t say they have regained popularity in recent years. It’s just, while some people may not have actually watched Ultraman or Gundam, everyone has heard of them, so for Japanese people, words like “mecha” and “monster” are a kind of common language.

Q: Bokurano has an appeal that extends beyond that of a simple mecha manga. Is there anything in it—messages or foreshadowing, etc.—that you think readers from overseas who are unfamiliar with Japanese language or culture might not understand on a single reading?

A: There is lots of foreshadowing scattered throughout, but I think anyone can pick up on it. However, one of the main characters says their current situation resembles that of another manga (which remains unnamed) and a military character mentions a favorite anime… Elements like this don’t affect the heart of the story, but will certainly please the Japanophiles out there.

Q: If IKKI’s editorial staff was chosen to operate Zearth…what would become of Earth?

A: We would bring a young mangaka in the cockpit and afterwards have him document the battle via a manga. If you knew your battle was going to become a manga, you’d be careful not to mess up. Even if you got into a tight spot in battle, you would know that it would make the manga more interesting and fight on with a positive attitude.

A realistic, documentary-style portrayal of Zearth’s battles would definitely sell, and the result would be an Earth in which IKKI sold like crazy. Well, probably, anyway.