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DGM Character Book - Katsura Hoshino Interview

First, your thoughts on the popularity contest results.

I was shocked by the Earl’s low placement, which I even wrote on the [back] cover. The contest was announced at the same time as the 202th Night so I secretly tried to draw the Earl’s sleeping face in a cute way- or so I thought since it didn’t seem to have any effect. Old men aren’t so popular. But he beat Leverrier so that’s good.

It has been seven years since D.Gray-man was serialized, and the comics has sold over 20,000,000 copies. What are your thoughts on coming this far?

The plot hasn’t advanced as far as I thought. Together with the editors, the story kept expanding so the finale I was imagining has gotten further away. However, if I wrote the story the way I had in mind when the series was first serialized, I don’t think it would have been popular so I’m very grateful for the editors.

Is there any character that developed outside expectations?

Probably Johnny. At first I treated him as a minor character, but he and the Science Division became my support so they began to stand out. D. Gray-man is a heart-breaking story, but there are normal people such as the Science Division who acts as a saving grace. Even for the superpowered exorcists, they are able to remain human-like because of characters like Johnny.

How did you feel after having finished the Alma Arc?

It feels as if I got rid of heavy baggage. It was the story that was requested the most by readers so I’m glad it was written. At Jump Festa a while ago when D. Gray-man was featured, I wrote a letter to the fans that I was planning on writing Kanda’s backstory soon. I was actually present when the letter was written and felt the reaction of the audience to its core. That’s why I held on to the feeling of, “I want to write it quickly, but the foundation of that story hasn’t been set up yet… sorry!” before writing the Alma Arc.

Did you have the idea of the Alma Arc from the beginning?

No. Kanda’s backstory in the beginning was completely different. I was thinking of artificial exorcists from the start, but Alma never existed during the planning stages in 2008. Initially “that person” was the real owner of Kanda’s heart who became an AKUMA. I was thinking along the lines of Kanda finding her before her soul was disappearing and then saving the soul as an exorcist. There were too many inconsistencies for the story so I left it. Then one day, Alma’s existence suddenly popped into my head so from there I was able to arrive at the current Alma Arc smoothly.

It seems as if Kanda’s backstory was changed since the beginning.

During serialization, I was always thinking about the connection between Kanda and “that person”. The reason why Kanda’s character design was feminine in the beginning was because he was supposed to be the reincarnation of “that person”. In that story, his motive in searching for “that person” wasn’t satisfying to me. I was having trouble with the [story’s] foundation until transferring to SQ.

Why did you want to tell Kanda’s episode at that moment?

Personally I wanted to write it as soon as possible, but I thought the readers might hate the Order if I brought out its dark side too quickly. Kanda and Alma for obvious reasons, but I also wanted to develop characters such as Leverrier, Renny and the Thirds first. Since the actors were set, the story was finally established and was able to move on to the main event. Kanda’s backstory was not just about the Order doing something terrible long ago; it was also a stepping stone to progress Allen’s story as well so that’s why I was having quite a few problems with it.

Was transferring to monthly magazine the catalyst of starting the Alma Arc?

Yes. The overall structure was never formed enough during the weekly serialization so I was a little worried about doing this story. I was able to have enough time to plan out the characters so it was probably because I transferred to monthly that I was able to do this story. If I continued in a weekly, it might have had a completely different conclusion.

Starting from the Noah, there were a lot of new characters in the Alma Arc.

It was really hectic because a lot of new characters were created, and I was also thinking of the story. The editor for the comics thought that there were too many characters and told me, “They can’t all fit on the character page!” I knew that Allen would leave on a journey after this arc so there would be much less characters afterwards- I wrote the story while consoling myself with that thought.

A small scene with the original forms of “that person” and Kanda was shown as exorcists- will they appear again later on?

I have no plans to write about those two. I’ll leave it up to the readers’ imagination.

Is there any meaning to the lotus illusions that Kanda saw?

It was one of the things that his original self saw in the past so there’s no particular meaning. Kanda thought that if the flowers sank in the dirt, his life would end. He began to see those after destroying Alma so he probably thought of it as a curse. The flowers multiplying and withering away was an unlucky symbol for him. Since Kanda has no memories of his original body, seeing the flowers becoming more vivid was very tough for him.

Alma became an AKUMA with a different form from the usual ones, right?

Normal AKUMA are captured souls that are inside a magically crafted body. In Alma’s case, he still retained the memory of himself as a Second so “that person” became the soul inside the body. Dark matter trapped the soul, and his body itself became the crafted body. The Earl saw through that and triggered Alma’s AKUMA form, but he was an AKUMA created in an unconventional way so his body is very brittle. That’s why [Alma’s body] fell apart in the end.

Why did you choose Martel for where Kanda and Alma escaped to?

The Ark Gate can only open to places Allen knows so if it was where neither the Order nor the Earl would find them for some time, it would be the ancient town, Martel. Kanda and Alma overlapped with the image of Guzol and Lala in my head. It’s the resting place for a doll so I chose it thinking that it was a pretty good choice.

Have you thought about bringing Martel back after Volume 2?

Yes. Martel is the story I like even today so I always looked for opportunities to bring it back. A certain amount of time has passed since Volume 2 so there would be less pillars that characterized Martel and more trees and insects. I wanted to show that after Guzol and Lala’s death, there were small traces of life appearing.

There was an extra story in Volume 20. [TN: 193.5]

I really wanted to show that scene. The reason why Fo didn’t protect anyone during Alma’s rampage was missing so I asked for a few pages when the volume was being made. Other than Fo’s story, the reunion between Alma and small Kanda while he was carrying Marie was shortened: originally Kanda was supposed to go to Alma while discovering Edgar and the other corpses one at a time. Because of page number constraints, it ended up with the single horrific image of Alma stabbing Edgar- it was shocking for me even as I drew it. I really liked Edgar. I also wanted to write the words Twi left to Renny after [the latter] escaped- I had lots of things I wanted to write. However, the pacing of the story would be badly affected so I was tearfully giving up.

Were there also scenes you couldn’t include apart from the “Alma arc”?

Yes! There are still tons of unwritten moments. It’s like I want to reveal them all here. It would be nice if I could show those scenes eventually.

After the Alma arc, the Apocryphos appeared.

Originally after the Alma arc, a prominent person at Central was supposed to appear opposite Leverrier. While I was discussing it with my editor, that character evolved and finally ended up as an Innocence. I wanted to write the story about the Heart soon and create a character from [the Heart’s] side.

After the Cardinal’s appearance, Leverrier’s image also has changed.

Leverrier’s standing increased exponentially after he knelt down in the 205th Night; he led everything in that chapter. My image of Leverrier has always been like that so it was natural having him kneel for Link. Before drawing that panel, I looked at pictures of various poses. I thought quite a bit about which angle would be good.

How did you feel when drawing the departure scene between Allen and Lenalee?

I was thinking, “Allen exceeded Lenalee’s height!” while drawing it. They were about the same height in Volume 1 so it was deeply touching to see Allen maturing.

It’s been a while now, but you went to New York for a research trip?

Yes. That was my first research trip. I love the buildings in New York. It’s not pretty but there’s a certain flavor to it. I like everything from how it stands to the design. Its influence is more more evident in the one-shot, Continue, than D. Gray-man.

Where did you go?

After I got off the plane, the first place I went to was a graveyard. I never really had any resources of graveyards for D. Gray-man so I couldn’t really grasp at the balance of foreign gravestones. That’s why I took a lot of pictures.

Which place left a deep impression?

Ground Zero where the Twin Towers of 9/11 used to stand. It wasn’t rubble; there was reconstruction going on. The tour guide’s interpreter said that when the building fell, there was a metal bar that stood resembling a cross. That story left a great impression and inspiration. I was also really interested in the Metropolitan Art Museum, but there were time constraints and physical limits so unfortunately I couldn’t go around the whole place. I want to go there again as revenge. The corner streets and small shops in New York have a lot of interesting designs so I was moved no matter where I looked.

How was the first national signing event at JF 2011?

It was really fun and gave me more motivation to draw. Before the event, I was really nervous and regretted accepting the offer. After the event ended, however, I was glad I participated. The hand holding the mike was shaking when I was on stage, but I lost all nervousness after hearing the warm applause from fans.

You got to talk with the fans at the signing event.

Everyone was nice, and I received words such as, “Don’t worry too much” or “Live more comfortably”. I was really grateful. I’m not sure if they could tell from the work, but they saw right through my personality of worrying too much about everything. I really felt that I was supported by the fans. At the previous signing event in Germany, there were a lot of hugs being given so I would have given some in Japan if there was a request. However, things are a lot more reserved in Japan so I felt that it would have been nice if there was a little more [physical] interaction.

There was a live stream on Niconico Douga [TN: Japanese YouTube] where you drew.

The camera was really close so I couldn’t really draw a rough sketch. The pen I drew with unfortunately didn’t really work. While my hand was shaking, Allen’s pentacle was drawn incorrectly so it became a spotty drawing. If I could go back in the past, I would have redrawn it- it was really embarrassing.

Editor: Okay! Let’s do it again this year!

Hoshino: Huh!? I… I never meant it like that!

Apart from the singing event, there’s also a new challenge for SQ.

The SQ editors gave a lot tasks I’ve never done before, and one of them was drawing a cover for The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes. It was my first attempt at this job so I’m anxious to hear the thoughts from readers. I have no doubt that Holmes has sharp eyes in my mind, but there might be people who think otherwise so I would like to have a discussion with those people.

[TN: Holmes looks like a hotter version of Cyril/Sheryl. #notashamed]

How did you feel participating in “Cross X Square”?

It was my second time, and I really enjoyed it. I choose the illustrations seriously so it’s not just my personal interest but the composition of the work.

What are some criteria in selecting the postcards?

I don’t really care about how similar they look to the characters. Instead, I’m drawn to a picture with a strong uniqueness. I have a hatred of coloring, but I’m drawn to pictures that utilize it well.

There’s going to be a new series presented at the magazine “SQ. LaB”.

At first I was planning to write it for D. Gray-man as a side story, but the editor said that it has no freshness to it and was rejected. That’s why I decided to write it as a new story.

What kind of story are you planning with the new story?

I’m aiming for the complete opposite of D. Gray-man. It’s something light-hearted that you would read quickly. The current idea is that it’s taking place in a town in the present day with a superhero theme. The place where the main character resides is at a soba restaurant. I’m not still too sure if I could continue with this concept so please read the result in LaB!

D. Gray-man is also entering a new arc.

Even though Allen left the Order, he’ll still have comrades. He won’t be alone. It’s D. Gray-man so sad stories will continue although it can’t be helped because the theme of the series is “tragedy”. I want to write it in a fun way though.

Lastly some final words for the readers.

Lavi -who never really appeared after transferring to monthly- is in 3rd place in the popularity results; I’ll take it as the reader’s wish for Lavi to have more screen time. There’s a big ordeal waiting for Lavi and Allen so I hope to write it in a way so the readers will enjoy it. After having done the popularity contest, I hope to include more characters and advance the plot. Lastly, if there’s another chance to have a popularity contest, I would be very happy if everyone is a little more attentive to the Earl’s charms. *laughs* As well as for the various characters, I wish for your support!

This book was released on July 4th 2011, the same time as chapter 206.

#sick to my stomach #dgm

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