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Getting to Know Ashihara-Sensei |
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Thoughtful Words from the Creator of Sand Chronicles |
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by the SB staff |
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A self portrait by Hinako Ashihara.
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Sand Chronicles characters speak to the heart and from the heart, thanks to the emotional intuition and expertise of its creator Hinako Ashihara. We caught up with her to ask her how she does it and how she got where she is today.
Shojo Beat: Ann and Daigo love each other, but they can't seem to communicate well enough to make their relationship work. This is heartbreaking to watch. Why did you create their tension this way? What lesson do you want your young readers to learn?
Hinako Ashihara: Expressing your feelings to someone you love, sharing love for each other, and struggling with impulsive emotion and ego deep inside of you...I think that nurturing love requires outstanding communication skills to build up interpersonal relationships. It's the same for adults. Ann is a girl who tries hard to live every moment, and at the same time, she herself is having difficulty understanding herself. I wanted to portray how such a girl would cope with the emotion of love in a rich context.
[My advice] especially for young readers: it is natural to get hurt while we are alive, so don't be afraid. I hope you will be able to stand up on your own after that experience. This is a lesson to myself as well.
SB: Several of the characters in Sand Chronicles fight emotional inner demons in a way that seems true to life. How did you get into the mindset of those characters in order to be able to portray them realistically?
HA: I have always been very interested in understanding people's inner feelings. I wonder, why do people say such things? What kind of surroundings and situations could create personalities like those? I constantly think about these things. Such a daily habit might be reflected in my work unconsciously.
SB: How would you characterize your artistic style, and how did you develop it? Did other artists inspire you?
HA: This is a shame, but before Sunadokei [Sand Chronicles], I had no idea what I could draw or what readers would be expecting from me. No clue. From romantic comedies to sports stories, I hastily mass-produced any type of manga I could lay my hands on, but Sunadokei brought me back to basics. With a true understanding of what shojo manga really is, I decided to draw characters' feelings carefully, and yet exaggerated a bit, so that readers would be able to understand the characters' emotions clearly. I believe that this is my current artistic style, but it's boring to keep repeating the same style, so I would really like to work on new titles, changing my current style but in a good way.
I am a mangaka, so I was certainly influenced by experienced manga creators before me rather than by artists in general. I can say that I was influenced by all the manga titles I read while growing up, a few elements from each title.
SB: Describe your career path as a manga creator. Many of our readers would like to learn from your experiences.
HA: To tell you the truth, I did not have any difficulty in becoming a mangaka. When I was a young student, my manga art was very amateurish, and lines were drawn poorly. But a manga editor saw my work and thought, "She still does not have a developed drawing style, so there could be potential to grow" and picked me out right away.
The problem was that I did not have any knowledge or experience in drawing. I did not have any drawing skills when I debuted as a mangaka, so it was miserable. Those who faced some hardship before they made their debut would have also had time to accumulate knowledge and experience. Even hardships can be nourishment for a manga creator. The good thing about this occupation is that any of your experiences can be useful, so please be patient and do your best.
SB: If Sand Chronicles were to become a Hollywood live-action movie, which celebrities would you want to star in it?
HA: Not only is Sand Chronicles set in Japan, but its location is in the local countryside, so I cannot imagine having a live-action movie overseas. It is such a splendid idea. (Laugh) This title is simple, with no glamorous elements in it, so I would like to see some up-and-coming individuals with simple and honest personalities.
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"Getting to know
Ashihara-Sensei" has been edited for shojobeat.com.
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