#pika human

[pikaman-fan]

#pikaman #tumblr #tumblr ad #tumblr staff #pikachu man #pika human

[iris-polaris]

#pika #pikas #animal meme #animal memes #meme #memes #cute #animal #animals #wildlife #iris human memes

[ishipgenfics]

You and Your Human: Part 1

You are small. You have tall ears and a long tail you use for balance and to carry things. You are covered in orange-yellow fur. Standing on two legs, you are about three feet tall, but you do not usually stand on two legs. Your front legs have opposable thumbs. Your language is a series of chirps and squeaks.

You are very, very smart. You were a member of your species first space venture. You were sent as a doctor. In the years since, you have worked on nearly twenty different ships. You discovered you have a natural knack for languages. You know everything you would ever need to know.

But... you do not understand humans.

You have heard the stories, of course. Humans are very new to the galaxy, even newer than you, and they are feared. They are strong, able to take levels of pain that would kill even a Xephala. They choose the things they care about, and will destroy anything else without hesitation. They are unaffected by mental tortures, seeming to suppress memories that would make any other species break. They are deadly, and to be avoided at all costs.

But personally, you don't really see it. Your human is bigger than you, of course, but you know that you are small. It rips fabric easily, but it as gentle with you as a Kaysbury beetle. Terror flashed in its eyes when you tried to give it a medical examination. It shrieked like a nestling when it accidentantly cut itself on a bolt.

For Saint's sake, this thing can't even handle spice! How could this possibly be a threat?

You cannot speak with your human. Though you know many languages, you do not know the one it speaks. You are trying to learn. You have never yet found a language you could not master. Until then, you find other ways to understand him.

Your human is tall, obviously compared to you, but even compared to the pictures of other humans you have seen in books. It is good at projecting a confident aura, but it has tells. Its hands shake, just a little, when it is in an enclosed space. It clenches its paws when a Cervilian comes on screen. And it hates medical equipment. Its breathing speeds up noticeably when it is forced to be near such.

You record all your observations with a keen eye and a yellow notepad, and adjust your behavior accordingly.

Although your human seems uncomfortable around others, you need your crew back. This flight was supposed to be a test drive, trying out some of their duties in the new vehicle. You got distracted by your human, but the deadline is swiftly approaching. They will assume you dead if you do not return soon.

Your human is sleeping. You do not know if it has gone at light-speed before, and you do not have the words to explain. You hope it will not awaken.

You hop up into your captain's chair. It was made for a creature taller than you, but it will serve. You tap the appropriate command and passcode into the panel at your side. It glows and hums in acknowledgement. Your human has never been here. It does not like bright lights. You will have to ask Meritha if she can adjust it once you get back.

To your relief, the light-travel goes off without a hitch. It's always a dangerous procedure, no matter how many pamphlets they pass out, and you know it. You also know you aren't the best pilot in your crew. The only reason you were sent was for your diplomacy. You might not make it back, but at least you won't start a war.

You knock on your human's door and it emits a low beeping frequency until your human wakes up. Its lips are pointed downward and it is slumping. Your human dislikes being woken up.

"Thing? What-is?" your human says in your language. You shake your head (means negative, negate action). You know its language better than it knows yours, and you already have to translate for your crew. You have explained countless times that it is simply easier for you to learn rather than it, but your human is persistent. It is... endearing. In its way.

"New place," you explain. "New people. You okay?"

"Why?" your human answers. It looks uncertain. You jump up onto its shoulder and run dexterous fingers through its hair. Your human likes touch.

"Ship," you hesitate. "More safe with them. Them here, than you safer. Us safer."

"They are good?" your human asks. Its voice is low. It is being vulnerable, showing its emotions. You are so proud.

You nod. Your tail is swaying, your eyes are bright, your ears tall. It's honestly a little embarrassing-- you are glad your human can't read Pyrican body language. "Good. Safe."

You land upon the planet, your human by your side. It is wrapped up in tight clothes and a mask. It did not fight this, although you did not have the words to explain why. Your human never seemed to need the explanation that being a human was a dangerous thing in this galaxy. It knew.

Your crew is not here. This is the meeting spot. You checked, and double checked. It is in an isolated location, but with a mountain to serve as an easy sign if you land in the wrong place. This is the right spot. And you are here and they are not.

They... left you.

You have left ships before, of course. When you would get a new assignment, if you saw a better opportunity, if they did something you could not tolerate, if they asked you to do things you were unable to do. You are not a criminal, but you are a freelancer, which means you have run in the same vein as criminals before. Every time you left, it was professional and communicated clearly. If a fight broke out after that, well, that wasn't really your fault now was it?

You have never been left like this. You did not realize quite how much it would hurt.

You feel a gentle tap on one of your front legs, and turn around to see it is your human. It is bent down, with an expression you do not quite recognize on its face. "You-safe?" it asks. "Body tesned. Mind tensed. Me worried you?"

You are too tired to tell it to speak its native language, to not bother itself for you. You are one of the few species that can safely produce adrenaline, and although it doesn't make you a saints-damned killing machine like it does with humans, the crash is just as bad.

"Expected outcome not," you try to explain. Your small body shakes with heavy breathing. Light-travel is stressful and adrenaline is a void of a drug. "Crew should be here. Crew not here. Alone."

Your human wraps you up in a gentle embrace. You feel certain that if it just squeezed a little tighter, it could pop you like a balloon, but it does not. "I am here."

Whimpering and snuffling, you bury your face into your human and let yourself cry.

#second person #story #story snippet #just a couple oc's of mine #exploring the galaxy #languages are fun!!! #i don't really know much about them #but they are #humans are space orcs #Part 2: You Go Get Some New Crew Members Idiot #also have you seen a pika? #that's what 'you' looks like #but bigger #and with taller ears and a longer tail #writeblr #you and your human

[beanmaster-pika]

Yknow? With the Xianzhou’s curse of the Abundance and the issues they faced with overpopulation and stagnation because of the undying before they began walking the path of the Hunt, there probably isn’t a ton of cultural pressure to get married and have kids which is absolutely wild considering how leaving behind descendants and the continuation of your bloodline is a whole big thing in Chinese culture

#yeah I stumbled on this thought while thinking it’s funny that jing yuan is an 800yo bachelor #who’ll probably get taken away by the ten lords commission any year now but just suddenly decided to take on a disciple/adopt a child #mind your business. #but seriously. the man’s gorgeous and has a high status and canonically has a lot of admirers #but he decided to skip the marriage step and headed straight to fatherhood (his peers are probably great-grandparents by now) #they both have gold eyes I wonder if people speculated whether yanqing was an illegitimate child #and whether jy’s admirers resent him. not only does he get to take up the general’s time he also has the energy of an angry chihuahua that #will bite you for looking at its human funny #pika’s ramblings #honkai star rail #hsr #xianzhou alliance

[eden-west]

Throw - Pikachu :3

#digital art #digitalart #digitalartwork #made by human #digital painting #digital illustration #no ai art #noai #stylized #illustration #pokemon #pkmn #pikachu #PIKA #electric type #lets go pi #ink art #ink drawing #inktober

[pikakitty]

Pika's human form

#Pika-The-Cat #my art #my character #main sona #cat #human form #Pika #Ref #reference used #<3

[pikablob]

Do you ever wonder why Luz attended human school in s3 and after?

Yeahhh - TBH it's my only remaining criticism of Camila following S3, because I think it's probably her doing? Luz definitely doesn't want to be there, and pushing her back into school after what she'd been through was just not good for her; we saw in the show itself how it backfired. It does feel like the kind of mistake Camila could make while trying to help her daughter adjust to returning to Earth, and I don't think she's a bad parent for doing it, but it is something I wish had been explored more - possibly a casualty of S3 being cut so short.

#ask pika #the owl house #camila noceda #luz noceda #to be clear camila is my favourite character in TOH #but I think she made a bad call on this #she's v human that's part of why I love her #trying to do right but not always getting it right

[pikapikabloom]

Part 2 of the humanization!!

I knew I was gonna do it on said tomorrow but take this with a grain of sugar that these were a bit late

#bugsnax #wambus troubleham #triffany lottablog #snorpy fizzlebean #chandlo funkbun #also this was posted on Wednesday so #wambus wednesday #i guess #humanization #pika arts

[switch]

now that i have moriarty bond 10 hd the curse has been lifted and i will successfully roll np6 moriarty without burning through all of my sets of safety pity sparks. i will.

#humanity restored-pika #switch speaks #fate//

[rogueishly]

The maintenance man gave me and my coworker child-sized Pikachu walkie-talkies. Our offices are right next to each other. If this isn't what adulthood is, I don't want it. /Over/

#pikachu #pokemon #walkie talkies #adult work #adult human female #funny #misc #pranks #pika pika

[thedarkmistress16]

wtf is going on with tumblr ads?? 😵‍💫 first, it was the lady with a sword. we thought she only have one photo but they seem to have an entire pictorial with her in different poses.

I surprisingly, haven't come across what you're describing. I barely give ads a second glance on tumblr when I'm scrolling.

#ask for moi #human pika and their knowledge of his cringe is haunting enough #but also the fact there's a tumblr store tho oof

[pikaman-fan]

#pikaman #tumblr #tumblr ad #tumblr staff #tumblr ads #staff #pika human #pikachuman #pikachu man

[thereissomethingunderthestairs]

Lesser known small mammals (or mammals whenever i bring up people have no idea what im talking about)

Quoll ..a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia that spends most of the day sleeping in its dens. there have been 111 recorded events of quolls eating human remains (x) (pictured here is a spotted-tail quoll)

Numbat..an insectivorous marsupial from Australia that is diurnal (or is primarily active during the day). unlike other mammals that primarily eat termites, they have a jaw with 50 very small teeth. they live in tree hollows and block the openings with the thick hide of their rump

Hyrax ..a small thickset herbivorous mammal that is more closely related to elephants and sea cows than pikas and marmots. theyre found in africa, and they have rubbery paw pads that help them climb up rocks (this is a rock hyrax)

Solenodon... a venomous, insectivorous little mammal that is easily provoked into a frenzy of squeaking and biting. it uses echolocation to compensate for its poor eyesight, and females have two teats almost located on its backside (above is a cuban solenodon)

Sengi (elephant shrews (or better known as the get a look at the snout species))...is another insectivore that is more closely related to elephants than true shrews. they live in southern Africa and have relatively large brains for their size (a respectable 11 inches) (this is a black and rufous sengi)

Tenrec..omnivorous little mammal that lives in land, sea, underground, and in trees. there are many different subspecies of tenrec that can look like hedgehogs, opossums, rats, and shrews (this is one is a lowland streaked tenrec from madagascar)

#i was going to include binturongs but compared to all the other guys its much larger #So i decided to just keep the list about small weird mammals #These of course arent all the small mammals out there.. just the ones i can remember offhand #mammalia #long post #quoll #spotted-tail quoll #marsupials #tenrec #streaked tenrec #elephant shrew #sengi #solenodon #cuban solenodon #hyrax #numbat #mammals #biology #zoology #animal facts

[chillyfeetsteak]

5 facts about rabbits you may not know

rabbits are not rodents

this is the one people find the most surprising, and it makes sense. rabbits are small, furry prey animals with ever-growing front teeth who like to chew. while they fill similar ecological niches, rabbits are actually part of the order lagomorpha, which also includes hares and pikas.

one of the differences is in their dentition. as you can see in this hare skull i use to threaten my rabbits occasionally, there is a second row of upper incisors (called "peg teeth")

on rodents, no such teeth exist (this is a muskrat skull I think?? can't remember)

the other differences include rabbits being obligate herbivores while (most) rodents are omnivores, the lack of a baculum (dick bone) in lagomorphs, and the lack of visible paw pads (their feet are fuzzy all the way around)

rabbits sleep with their eyes open

a lot of people don't know this until they see it in person. it's weird. sometimes they DO close their eyes (if they are feeling extra comfy or safe or sleepy), but as a prey animal it's better to keep a literal eye out for movement that might be danger.

here's rhubarb performing his favorite "roadkill" position for sleeping and looking like a freak.

rabbits sleep in bursts of about 20 minutes at a time rather than in one chunk, and are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk)

rabbits make noises

generally speaking, rabbits are silent, but there are a few noises they make for special occasions. horny (unfixed) male rabbits make a kind of hooting/honking noise out their nose. they growl when they are annoyed, angry, or territorial and it sounds a little like a pig snorting (bonus does this a LOT and it is usually because i'm not feeding her fast enough). the worst noise they make is a scream, and it is only heard if they feel death is imminent or if they are scared beyond belief. it's an awful, awful sound a bit like a human child screaming, and i hope you never have to hear it in person.

rabbits eat their own poop

okay so it's not TECHNICALLY poop but. it's brown, it smells, it comes out of the butthole. rabbits digest their food twice to get as much nutrients out of it as possible, much like other grazers. however, they are "hindgut fermenters". what this means is that instead of ruminating (regurgitating food and chewing it a second time) like cows or deer, they produce a substance known as cecotropes alongside their poop that they eat straight from the source. they have an extremely delicate digestive system and producing and eating cecotropes is an imperative part of it. nasty tho

rabbits don't see in 3D

like many prey animals, rabbits' eyes are placed on the sides of their heads so that they have a very wide range of view. this means that they do not have stereoscopic vision like us, and so judging distances is harder.

look how soulful and demure rhubarb's eye looks from the side...

ridiculous dot-eyed fool from the front.

they compensate by bobbing their heads up and down in order to create a sense of depth. they also "periscope", or stand up on their hind legs, which is fuckin cute

there's lots of other cool things about rabbits that many people don't know, like that they are unable to vomit, they generally live 8-12 years if well-cared for, and that they litter train themselves if given the option. if anyone has any burning questions, feel free to hit me up! i have known and cared for rabbits for 26 years.

#rabbits #bunnies #rhubarb #bonus #i'm unemployed and i just like talking about stuff

[president-alpine]

The Autobots and Decepticons play "Guess the animal" and the humans have a great time

Silly idea, but like imagine how weirded out the armies would be just looking at all the animals that exist on earth. From common animals like cats and dogs to the weirder ones like Pika and Tibetan Fox

To help them get used to animals on Earth, the humans decide to play "Guess the animal" to help them get used to it

What happens is the most chaotic learning time

First off, the two armies learn that there is WAY more animals classified under "Dog"

Human: (Showing pictures of a Samoyed and a Corgi) "Alright which one is the dog?"

Megatron: "That's easy! Neither!"

Human: "No, they're both dogs."

Megatron: "What."

Next they show a Tibetan Mastiff and well...

Optimus: "This can't be a dog, it has to be a bear with all those markings and size."

Human: "Actually, this is a dog!"

Optimus: "I'm sorry what, they get that big?"

Next the humans show a Chihuahua and none of the mechs don't know what to say.

Ironhide: "Is this a giant possum?"

Skywarp: "It has to be a squirrel that lost its fur!"

Blaster: "I say it's a rabbit."

Human: "It's a dog."

Cue the mechs trying to comprehend how does a Chihuahua, Samoyed, Corgi, and Tibetan Mistaff fall under "Dog"

Next thing you know, humans decide to throw in "Guess what does the animal eat"? into the mix

Human: "Okay, true or false. Killer Whale eats Moose"

Starscream: "This is a joke, it's in the water how can it eat something on land! So false"

Humans: "Wrong, it's true"

Starscream: "HOW, IT'S ON LAND?"

Human: "Moose swim and sometimes get eaten by Killer Whales"

None of the armies don't know what to say at this point, and it keeps going. Examples but not limited to,

Starscream and the fliers reacting to a Sugar Glider.

Starscream: "This thing isn't real, this is just a napkin with eyes that someone made for an art project"

Human: (Holds one up) "It's real!" :D

Starscream: "You've got to be kidding me."

Skywarp: "IT LIVES!"

Next is showing a guinea pig to the mechs.

Megatron: "Okay, and this furry potato?"

Optimus: "How should I know, it's just hair."

Humans: "Times up, it's a guinea pig."

Optimus: "How's that a pig?!"

Human: "Well, it's not actually a pig, it's a rodent."

Megatron: (Flips table) "Who the frag is naming these animals?!"

I can see the humans putting this on YouTube for the world to see the mechs struggling to comprehend animals.

They showed them a platypus, and the video is just them trying to figure out if its real or not, some are even phoning the smartest mechs they know to help, and Shockwave hasn't been okay after being sent the image and is currently 404-ing

#transformers #maccadam #optimus prime #megatron #starscream #blaster #ironhide #skywarp #shockwave #transformers ideas #silly idea

[keikotwins]

Mokumokuren

Birds of different feathers flock together

Noticed online by head-hunting publishers, Mokumokuren hasn’t waited very long before polarising the attention of Japanese readers. With strange The Summer Hikaru Died, horrific bromance dealing with body dispossession, the mangaka signs a series of sophisticated oddity, that sets itself apart from the predictability of current fantasy productions.

Interview by Fausto Fasulo. Original translation: Aurélien Estager. English translation: “Keikotwins”. Bibliography: Marius Chapuis. Thanks: Camille Hospital & Clarisse Langlet (Pika), Yuta Nabatame, Mayuko Yamamoto & Mana Kukimoto (Kadokawa), Chiho Muramatsu (Tohan)

(T/N: Interview given to ATOM in winter 2023; 2 volumes were out in French.)

-

In an interview given to the CREA website in November 2022, you confided inventing stories since very young. Did your first fictions resemble the ones you draw nowadays?

It’s true that there are quite a lot of common points between the stories I imagined when I was a child and the ones I tell nowadays in my mangas. Especially a specific motif, that has been haunting me since the time when I wasn’t really aware of the world surrounding me: the presence amongst us of “non-human” beings, that nonetheless have a perfectly normal, ordinary appearance…

And how was this “obsession” born?

Precisely identifying the origins is complicated, my memories are too blurry, I think… What I can tell you is that I’ve always been fascinated by “creatures”. For example, I remember being very impressed by Peter Jackson’s bestiary in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. By the way, still in a fantasy register, I am also a big fan of Harry Potter adaptations… (She thinks.) And I’ve always liked yōkai stories, you know. I think that what I like in all these mythologies is the idea of species classification: each has its own characteristics – physical, biological – its own way to apprehend its environment.

In Japan, yōkai are integral part of regional folklore. Did the place you grew up in have some specific beliefs?

I was born and grew up in Tokyo, and, as you must know, yōkai are mostly associated with rural areas. I was thus never really bathed in this type of regional fantasy folklore. There are all kinds of yōkai and we can perhaps see in some more contemporary urban legends the echo of certain past beliefs? (She thinks.) I am a bit frustrated, because I believe that I could remember a legend that would have impacted me, but nothing comes to mind immediately, sorry!

You have already said so in an interview and it’s quite obvious when reading your work: you are a big amateur of horrific fiction. What has been your first contact with the genre, all medium included?

It was television that introduced me to horror: special shows, television films, series, I was watching these programs with a mix of fear and enthusiasm, a confused sensation that particularly delighted me! (She thinks.) And amongst all the aired shows, I will remember two titles: Hontō ni atta kowai hanashi and Kaidan shin mimibukuro*.

* Inspired by the homonymous manga magazine published by Asahi Shimbun, Hontō ni atta kowai hanashi (lit. “Scary stories that really happened”) is a series produced by Fuji Television that has been airing more or less weekly since 2004. Derived from literary material (a series of compilations of hundreds of short stories by Hirokatsu Kihara and Ichirō Nakayama, published from 1990 to 2005) Kaidan shin mimibukuro is a series made of several short movies depicting ghost stories based on real testimony.

Did you read horror mangas when you were young?

Let’s say that I was more interested in live-action productions. Nowadays, I obviously appreciate some horror manga authors, without pretending to be any expert in the subject. For example, I like Junji Itō’s work, but I am far from knowing it for a long time… (She thinks.) I could also talk about Shigeru Mizuki, who I also appreciate a lot.

The mechanics of fear aren’t the same in occidental and oriental fictions. You like American horrific productions – like Ari Aster movies – as much as ones from Japanese origin – you notably quote Ichi Sawamura novels and Kōji Shiraishi feature films. Can we say that you are tying these two perspectives with The Summer Hikaru Died?

My relationship with horror is more imbued with oriental sensitivity. But what I find remarkable in occidental horrific productions is work on image. In The Shining like in Ari Aster movies, for example, there is real research made on frame composition and choice of colours. I also try to follow this aesthetic reflection in my work as a mangaka.

In Ari Aster’s work, beyond the very precise staging, there is this permanent desire of ambiguity. Do you try to dig this same equivocal trench?

Absolutely. I try to tell complex feelings as well in The Summer Hikaru Died, like fear dyed with nostalgia or attachment, repulsion mixed with fascination, with attraction…

How do you “sort out” the shots that inspire you in cinema?

I don’t draw while freeze-framing during specific scenes. I would always rather watch a movie as a “focussed” spectator. However, I pay a lot of attention to the way the director composes their frame. I sometimes take some notes, but I most often simply keep it in a corner of my mind.

Could you tell us when and how the story and characters of The Summer Hikaru Died appeared to you? Have they matured a long time within you?

I’ve started thinking about this story when I was preparing university entrance exams. I was aspiring to join an art uni, and I was drawing every day. I can’t really say I made my characters “mature”: back then, I wasn’t thinking that the drawings I was making would one day end up being published, way less being serialised! I innocently created characters close to me, without guessing that one day they’d become manga protagonists.

One of your foundational reads was Sui Ishida’s Tokyo Ghoul manga. Can you tell us how you discovered it and what effect it had on you?

I don’t really remember how I discovered this series, but what I know is that I became crazy about it at first read. What I liked – and what I still like – is this idea of telling a story that confronts humans to these “different” beings while following the point of view of a character that represents alterity. Beyond this strictly dramatic aspect, Sui Ishida’s storyboarding and character design have had a strong impact on my work. However, I want to add that Tokyo Ghoul isn’t the only title I took inspiration from, I obviously have other references…

Do you do a lot of researches to define the design of your characters? You seem to draw them easily, in a very natural gesture…

I haven’t spent a long time defining my protagonists. First, there are few in the manga, then, they evolve in a rather realistic universe. My goal was rather simple: they had to look believable in the reader’s eyes. I wanted people to be able to imagine crossing them in the street, you see?

It’s after seeing illustrations posted on social media that depicted the future characters of The Summer Hikaru Died that the publishing department of the Young Ace Up magazine noticed you. How have you reacted when approached?

I was very surprised, because I absolutely wasn’t trying to become a mangaka. I would have never projected in such a future, you see. And, very honestly, if they hadn’t suggested working on this series, I don’t think I would ever had pushed the doors of a publishing house… I am then very thankful towards the persons who have allowed me to enter.

And what would you have done if you hadn’t been solicited?

Back when I’ve been contacted, I was considering – still vaguely – working in the video games field. But I wasn’t really proactive, I wasn’t contacting anyone, wasn’t sending resumes…

Did you want to do chara-design?

Why not, yes. What I like in video games is the range of possibilities they offer. You can then create an entire universe and this is rather exhilarating.

So you’re a gamer…

I have dropped my controller since I’ve started drawing manga. But yes, when I had more time, I played rather regularly, especially Nintendo productions…

Even if you play rather little nowadays, do video games influence your work?

I can’t say whether it really is an influence, but the Undertale game has left a big mark on me. I felt its creator’s strong will to surprise players, to make them feel unprecedented sensations…

Horror manga only relies on art and storyboard to provoke fear, whereas cinema and video games can also rely on sound. Is it from this observation that you have decided to particularly work on your sound effects?

Absolutely. I have thought a lot about the way to introduce and stage sound in The Summer Hikaru Died. The sound effects that you can find in the manga are indeed the result of this approach.

In an interview given to the Realsound website, you mention the use of the シャワシャワ (“shawa shawa”) sound effect. Knowing that occidental readers are way less sensitive to these graphicoustic details, can you explain its meaning?

“Shawa shawa” expresses the song cicadas make in western Japan. It’s a very special noise because in the different regions live different species that make specific sounds. So when I choose this specific sound effect, I convey a geographic and temporal piece of information to the reader, who can then guess the location and season the action takes place in. (She thinks.) When using this sound – that we especially find in the beginning of the manga – my goal was to play with silence, particularly when the song stops. I thus had the idea of representing this sound effect with an easily readable font, so the reader would make no effort to decipher it, as if the sound was asserting itself naturally, you see? I hoped to suggest a saturation they couldn’t avoid and that, when it’d stop, would immerse them in absolute silence.

The Summer Hikaru Died transcribes very well this particular atmosphere of Japanese summers…

Yes, I really wanted to signify this languor in my manga. And the cicadas’ song we discussed earlier contributes to creating this atmosphere: it’s an overwhelming sound, sometimes irritating, you cannot escape from in summer – Japanese readers obviously know what I’m talking about. (She thinks.) I also gave special attention to shadows: summer light being very bright, shadows are very sharp, very deep.

Do digital tools allow you to get this result more efficiently than traditional?

I work on Clip Studio Paint, and it’s true that it sometimes allow me to save time. Consider the work on shadows: I never apply solid black because I like saturating space with hatches and, with digital tools, I can obtain the desired result faster because I can duplicate each of my lines.

Your use of hatches is sometimes reminiscent of Shūzō Oshimi’s…

I don’t know his mangas very well, but it’s funny that you mention him because I recently read his latest series, Okaeri Alice. In any case, I really like his style and I perfectly understand how you can bring his universe and mine together.

The Summer Hikaru Died relies on the concept of body dispossession, that obviously takes back to the Body Snatcher novel by Jack Finney and its movie adaptations. Did you think about it?

I don’t know this book very well, but I know its theme has been approached often, especially in movies. As I was saying at the beginning of this interview, my idea was to adopt the point of view of a non-human and tell his indecision, his moral questions…

We also find this idea in Hitoshi Iwaaki’s Parasite…

I haven’t read the manga fully, but I’ve watched the anime adaptation that was released a few years ago (R/N: in 2014). I remember rather liking it, even if I think I offer something different with The Summer Hikaru Died. What interests me is sounding the inwardness of my non-human character out and expose all his dilemmas. What is his place amongst men? Is he legitimate in our world? Here is the type of questions that pushed me.

One of the impacting scenes of volume 1 of The Summer Hikaru Died is the one when Yoshiki penetrated Hikaru’s body by shoving his arm into his torso. It’s a sequence that is both very sensuaI – to not say sexuaI – and also very horrific. How did you get this idea?

I wanted to put the readers in an uncomfortable position. A stressful situation that could take several forms because, according to your sensitivity, you can feel very different emotions in front of this scene: sexuaI arousaI, fear or disgust. For me, it was supposed to put the reader in some kind of catatonia, you see?

Do you chat a lot with your tantō, especially around these slightly “complicated” scenes?

I have free rein, you know, I can draw everything I want. My editorial supervisor has never asked me to temper some sexuaIIy connotated parts. My discussions with him don’t revolve around this kind of things, but rather around the structure of the scenario itself: where to place this scene in the narration? Is it better to put this sequence before this other one? Nowadays, I am more at ease with all the scripting layout but, at the beginning, I needed support.

What allows you to get, from a dramatic point of view, the mix between bromance and horror?

I wanted to show the differences in sensitivities and values between a human being and an “other than human”, and tell the misunderstandings this can cause when both meet. When Yoshiki “scratches” under the appearance of the one who is supposed to be his best friend, it creates a first point of conflict in the story. I then hoped to make his relationship with Hikaru – or rather with the “entity” that pretends to embody him – a kind of undefinable bond, that wouldn’t be friendship, nor love.

Do you know today where this strange relationship between your two heroes will lead you?

I know more or less how all of this will evolve, yes. I have decided on my story’s general plot since the beginning. I can only tell you that The Summer Hikaru Died won’t be a long series.

How do you explain the almost instant public plebiscite of your series in Japan? You perhaps cannot have perspective on it but, in a saturated publishing landscape, you have managed to stand out…

Hm… Indeed, I don’t really have precise explanations to give you about this success. Maybe the covers’ design has been in favour of the manga? I asked the person in charge of graphics to make sure that the visuals would be noticeable in bookstores. That’s why the books have this monochrome aspect, with the title discreetly placed. I didn’t want obvious advertisement banners, but something simple, like this blue background for the first volume, on which the character stands out. I also wished to create contrast between the jacket’s and the inner cover’s drawings. I thus had requirements that didn’t quite go alongside what we can nowadays see on the shelves of Japanese bookstores.

#the summer hikaru died #hikaru ga shinda natsu #/long post #I'm not a native eng speaker so excuse mistakes! #the fr version has fancy words that I simplified for the eng translation #Feel free to ask any question! #The og article had manga illustrations with funny comments as legends + a short analysis of the manga's narration that I didn't include #The og title was 'Qui se dissemble s'assemble' #which is a play of words saying the opposite of idiom 'Qui se ressemble s'assemble' lit 'who look alike go together' #so I went for a silly equivalent lmao