Paper Talk Special: YOSHIHARA Rieko's interview (1989)
“Riki is an almost full-grown black panther”
YOSHIHARA Rieko has written in a wide variety of genres, from high-school stories to fantasy and science fiction. If there is one thing her characters, like Aki and Kacchan or Iason and Riki, have in common, it’s their impressive charisma. We had the opportunity to ask her more about Ai no kusabi in this interview.
Profile
Pen name’s origin: My birth name. My family name changed when I got married, so I thought “nobody would know it’s me!”.
Date of birth: October 4th, 1954
Blood type: B
Place of birth and residence: born in Fukuoka Prefecture, living in Kumamoto Prefecture
What made you send your manuscript to the magazine: It had been a long night…
1. What made you start writing Ai no kusabi?
I didn’t really… want to write about “pure love” in a science fiction setting (ah ah ah), because I wanted to write about an “encounter” than would not just be casual, the bonds it would create and the various feelings they would draw along.
2. Which character can you empathize with the most?
Probably Riki, as one could expect. Because, even though he has a sharp tongue and is quite mature, his way of thinking is fundamentally straight. Him running around struggling yet unable to act, because he’s caught between two feelings of different natures, makes him seductive, I like it.
3. What is your favourite scene? And what is a line you like?
My favourite, hmm… It would have to be the scene where Katze cries while stifling his voice. But I also cannot put aside the scene where Riki is kept waiting in vain in the rain by Guy… As for the lines, those would be “there’s no way I’m letting him die alone” or “you may be able to look the other way despite everything, but I… wouldn’t be worth more than trash if I did. I couldn’t go on living.”
4. Could you tell us about the creation process of the characters, like Riki and Iason? (size, weight, blood type, date of birth, etc.)
I had their personality roughly figured out, so I didn’t think about their finer characteristics, but…
Riki: Because he’s a slum mongrel, I pictured him as an almost full-grown black panther. Not frail, but slender and lithe. As for his appearance, his intelligence shines through the strength of his obstinate spirit, that’s all.
Iason: Since he’s an absolutely perfect member of the elite and the Black Market’s king, he should definitely be like the God of the Sun Apollo, but raised in the depths of the sea (or something). He’s shrewd and good-looking, incredibly proud, and wouldn’t collapse under any circumstances. Regarding his height, all things considered, he’s a head taller that Riki.
Guy: In my first draft, he was a tolerant and broad-minded herbivorous felid… that was my intention, but I wonder where and how things went wrong.
Raoul: His looks, intellect and handsomeness are on par with Iason’s. He has a sense of humour and, even more than Iason, nerves of steel.
Katze: Went from being raised in the slums to being a Furniture in Eos to being a broker on the black market. Putting aside the protagonists, he’s the one with the most dramatic life, so that’s probably why I gave him a tragic handicap, like being a scarface or being a man without manhood…
Kirie: Representing slum dwellers in their late teens, he’s overconfident and reckless. He has a very limited worldview, so he’s the most fragile yet also the most dangerous character.
5. Concerning the way you chose the characters’ names, you previously said you were “drawn to the “dragon” kanji”, were you fixated on something like that for Ai no kusabi?
This time I wanted to give them names that would fit their character, so… I gave Riki a name conveying “power” (riki is one of the few ways to read the kanji meaning “power”), I named Iason after a hero from Greek mythology, and Guy after the goddess of the Earth, Gaia, for his ability to embrace everything. But when you list them, they’re not consistent. All things considered, you could say they’re just far-fetched choices, ah ah ah…
6. Writing Ai no kusabi, what did you enjoy? What did you find difficult?
For the most of it, the story was ever changing with the characters’ feelings, so until I had reached the ending, I had fun worrying (somehow) while writing. Difficult things that would bring wrinkles to my forehead, I tend not to think too much about them.
7. A number of different types of Pet Rings appear in readers’ four-case mangas, but how do you picture them yourself?
No, well, when it comes to Riki’s, its basic image was something like Sun Wukong’s circlet. Looking at it like this makes Journey to the West quite salacious too… don’t you think?
8. Could you tell us your thoughts about the cassette adaptation?
I thought “Are you sure we can really do that?”… but when it became real, well, I mean, ah ah ah, what could I say? As you know, this work involves many human relationships, some violent lines, and it’s quite heavy on that. “How can we make all that fit in 60 minutes?” I wondered… When I heard the tape for the first time, it dawned on me that letters and voices are truly two completely different things, obviously. I wrote it, so it’s weird for me to say that, but I thought “can I really make Mr SEKI and Mr SHIOZAWA say those things?”… on the other hand, when I wondered what faces they made then, Tokyo felt so far away… So those were my thoughts. But everyone used their beautiful voice to give impassioned performances, so I’m very happy!
9. And lastly, what is June to you?
A breather between child rearing and house chores, a teatime friend… or something like that.
(October 1989)
The Ai no Kusabi x Cafe801 Collaboration Event 「間の楔」×「CAFE801」コラボイベント「間の喫茶」 was held 14 March 2010–11 April 2010 in Tokyo. During the event, the café was decorated with the AnK theme, and even had a menu inspired by the series. Goods were sold both at the café and by mail. Source: Ai no Kusabi Wikia
(Promo poster)
(Clear file, set of 3)
(Tosho card)
(2/6 illustration cards, randomly assigned with purchases)
Links for more info:
Full Ai no Kusabi × CAFE 801 collection on myfigurecollection
メルヴィルの『バートルビー(Bartleby)』を読んだ。ウォール街の中心で、代書人として雇われたバートルビーは、真面目に仕事をこなす一方で、「そうしない方が好ましいのですが」(I would prefer not to)と言って機械的にすべての頼みを拒み続ける。思ったのは「I would prefer not to」の訳が訳者によってそれぞれ違うということで、杉浦銀策の訳だと「その気になれないのですが」だった。