A mangaka to the Kore
Ancient legends influence the work of Kore Yamazaki, creator of The Ancient Magus’ Bride manga.
THERE’S a saying that the best ideas come from last minute panic. Nothing gets inspiration flowing faster, after all, than an upcoming deadline.
Noted manga artist Kore Yamazaki can testify to this. Faced with an upcoming publishing deadline, the Hokkaido-born creator found herself stymied by a lack of story ideas; in desperation, she decided to go with a story she had written for a personal project some time ago.
Little did she realise just how big her idea would become .... That personal project proved to be the keystone of The Ancient Magus’ Bride (TAMB), a fantasy manga that ended up a rip-roaring success, not just locally, but worldwide as well.
Her work has reached five million print copies sold as of December 2017, and in 2015, was ranked top in a survey of over 2,360 bookstore employees in Japan to determine the year’s top 15 manga series of under five volumes. Volumes Two to Five of the series have charted on The New York Times bestselling manga lists, with Volume Four even making its debut at No.1. Her manga was also turned into a popular anime series in October 2017.
“I didn’t know it was a New York Times bestseller! My father and friends had to tell me about it. I was very shocked, of course. But knowing that it has such a wide reach, not just in Japan, I feel I need to put more effort into my story,” Yamazaki, 28, said through a Japanese translator during a recent interview at Suria KLCC.
Yamazaki was in Malaysia recently as a guest artist of 2017’s Comic Fiesta, in collaboration with the Aniplus Asia satellite TV channel. It was the mangaka’s first time in this country, which she found very interesting: according to her, the highlights of her visit were the Central Market and Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur.
At a panel session with her fans, Yamazaki spoke about her work, as well as her life and the complexities of being a mangaka.
It seems almost destiny that the artist would grow up to create fantasy worlds: as the youngest of four siblings, with a substantial age gap between each of them, young Yamazaki often found herself playing by herself. To amuse herself, she would play outside or take a hike in the nearby woods.
“I think because I had these experiences, I got to see and hear things I wouldn’t normally have. I think this comes out in the manga,” the artist said.
Young Yamazaki also enjoyed reading, losing herself in books of fairy tales, as well as manga such as Sailormoon and Gegege No Kitaro.
“Part of me wanted to be a writer when I was younger. But I found it was a bit more difficult when you just have your words to create a setting. I found it was easier to get a reaction with a visual element,” she said.
A long-time art fan (Yamazaki remembers drawing since she was three or four years old!) creating manga was the next logical step. She uploaded some of her work online, where it was discovered by a Japanese publisher who signed her up. A pretty admirable achievement, considering Yamazaki is a self-taught artist with no formal training at all. Most of her experience in the industry, however, the artist credits to her year spent as an assistant to a manga artist.
“That was one of the most difficult parts of becoming a mangaka,” Yamazaki said with a laugh.
Her hard work paid off, however, and Yamazaki soon found herself creating many manga titles, including Frau Faust, Futari No Renai Shoka, Transparent Museum ,and Denpatou. The Ancient Magus’ Bride, however, is probably her most successful work so far.
For those not in the know, Yamazaki’s manga is a shonen manga (ie, aimed at male teens) telling the tale of Chise Hatori, a poor girl who is sold into slavery. At the slave auction, Chise is bought by Elias Ainsworth, a mysterious man who appears to have the head of a beast. He turns out to be a powerful magician who wants to make Chise his apprentice – and also his bride.
TAMB contains elements of magic, fantasy and folklore; much of its plot contains elements from traditional fairie myths. This was intentional, Yamazaki said, as she had long been fascinated by these subjects.
“I really enjoy reading fairytales and mythology. I’m not an expert on them but just learning about these stories from other cultures is really interesting. What I particularly find fascinating is that many cultures have certain stories which overlap. I really enjoy finding those, and so want to know more about mythology,” Yamazaki said.
Apart from her two main characters Chise and Elias, Yamazaki said her favourite character is Alice, a former street urchin and magician’s apprentice who the artist describes as “a very honest character”.
Questions about the future of the story or characters were explicitly banned by Yamazaki’s handlers, sadly – however, the mangaka did reveal that she has a definite vision for the end of her series.
“I have an idea of how the resolution of the greater plot should be. Now, however, I am exploring all the different path ways that could lead there,” she said.
If her ending lives up to the standard of her acclaimed series so far, it’s probably a safe bet to say that Yamazaki’s fans are in for one heck of a ride.
New episodes of The Ancient Magus’ Bride are on Aniplus every Sunday at 3am, with encores at 11pm. The Aniplus channel is available through AstroGo’s Variety Pack.