Hinoki Kino & Kyoko Aiba Interview | Otakon 2024

This year at Otakon, Manga Mavericks Editor-in-Chief Varun Gupta had the opportunity to speak with manga artists Hinoki Kino and Kyoko Aiba.

 

📣Hello!!!!
Kyoko Aiba（@kyoko_ar
）and　Hinoki Kino（@kinokokko
） will attend Otakon（@Otakon
） in Washington, DC.
We will be doing live drawings and other activities. We look forward to seeing you at the event! pic.twitter.com/eGlRbtN6O6

— 木乃ひのき🦋ルプななコミカライズ (@kinokokko) July 24, 2024

Since 2020, Hinoki Kino has been drawing the manga adaptation of the light novel series 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! by Touko Amekawa, which is currently serialized on Overlap’s Comic Gardo web platform. Other notable works from Hinoki Kino include Setsuna Graffiti and the manga adaptation of No. 6.

Kyoko Aiba has worked in manga for over a decade, best known for her BL (Boys’ Love) and Josei series such as Derail and Kamisama Darling. She is currently serializing Oji Tensei ~Akuyaku Reijо̄ Kareinaru Seikatsu (Oji Tensei ~The Villainess’s Days of Aging Gracefully) on Shogakukan’s Sunday Webry, as well as Okuda no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road of Okuda) in Shueisha’s Grand Jump Mecha.

You can read the full interview with both creators down below:

 

Let’s start by asking both of you what inspired you to pursue becoming mangaka? 

Kino: Back when I was a child I’d draw manga in my notebooks. Not necessarily fully formed stories, but I was more interested in the serialization aspect, so I’d draw mock color pages and manga covers, maybe one introductory page and that’s it. That ultimately led to me wanting to be a mangaka and get serialized.

Aiba: My origin is different from Kino-sensei’s. Originally I wanted to be a designer more than a mangaka, but way back I was working part-time at an editorial office, and one time was asked to fill in for someone who was on break, and that’s how I got my start.

What are your biggest manga influences?

Kino: Probably Fullmetal Alchemist? 

Aiba: For me, Detective Conan (Case Closed) and Rumiko Takahashi’s works.

Kino-sensei, how were you approached to work on the 7th Time Loop manga? 

Kino: I was approached via email with a request to draw the manga for 7th Time Loop from the author of the light novel. So I read the novels and was immediately drawn in and immediately wanted to work on the manga version.

When drawing the manga, how much input do you usually get from Touko Amekawa-sensei?

Kino: We talk pretty extensively via Discord or X (formerly Twitter) direct messaging. We have group chats between ourselves and the editor.

Aiba-sensei, you’re currently serializing Oji Tensei ~Akuyaku Reijо̄ Kareinaru Seikatsu on Sunday Webry. How did you come up with the concept of the series?

Aiba: Reborn or reincarnated-themed stories are hugely popular in Japan –and generally speaking upon rebirth you get all kinds of overpowered skills or upgrades. Being the contrarian I am, I always question “Why do these characters get so powerful and live such easy lives? Shouldn’t there be more suffering?” So I approached the story from the point of view that being reincarnated isn’t supposed to be easy.

Both of you are drawing series based on villainess-related leads. What do you think is important in making a compelling villainess story?

Kino: I don’t necessarily see Rishe as a villainess per se. She’s just a girl who’s in the unfortunate role of playing a villainess. So for me, I think I’m drawing Rishe as she is: a girl with many positive qualities.

Aiba: For me, it’s more about how a villainess comes to regret and repent in her wicked ways than reveling in doing bad things. Rather, I look at a villainess on the outset as the beginning point of a story rather than the end. So for me, while I might use the villainess template to start, it’s more about their character development from that point onward.

Kino-sensei, while you’re working on a manga adaptation of an existing work now, you have in the past drawn original works such as Setsuna Graffiti. What kind of different approaches do you have for drawing an adaptation versus an original story?

Kino: For Setsuna Graffiti, it was about writing a story around something I really like –in this case fireworks. So I approached my editor about writing a story based around them, and that’s where it began. While drawing drafts for the story my editor and I realized there aren’t many stories written about the craftsmanship of fireworks and thought it would be interesting to do so we went for it.

Aiba-sensei, Oji Tensei and Okuda no Hosomichi are serialized simultaneously. How do you maintain a consistent work schedule on both and do you think you approach both serializations differently?

Aiba: When I complete the manuscript for one of them, and send it to the editor for review, I’m working on the other one. Then when that goes for review, I’m working on the other series.

Since both manga are published by different publishers: Shueisha and Shogakukan, do you feel like the editorial process is different for both?

Aiba: The process between publishers isn’t all that different, but since the manga are different genres, a comedy versus something more serious, my approach on them changes. Though overall, it’s the same for both in regard to submitting a manuscript to the editor and waiting for a response.

In recent years the demand for Shojo, Josei, and BL manga has only risen. What do you think makes these stories more appealing now?

Aiba: In the past, shojo manga were generally about getting into relationships or romance. Nowadays however, they don’t limit themselves to romance but rather overcoming challenges. So there are far more variety and interesting things being done in the genre now.

Kino: Romance is still very popular, but now it’s romance plus something else –maybe fantasy, exploration, reincarnation, sports –it’s the addition of that extra element that attracts more audiences. It’s something similar to adolescence themed manga, but not quite –though the overall trajectory of someone pursuing happiness via working hard is what people relate to. It’s the Shonen Jump tenants of “Friendship, Effort, Victory” but with romance thrown in there too. Or maybe replace friendship with romance? (laughs)

Aiba-sensei since the release of your manga Young Carer it appears you’ve branched out from Boys’ Love manga to writing more non-BL stories. What lead to this change?

Aiba: I didn’t set out to write Young Carer intentionally. Rather, it just ended up that way while working with the publisher and my editor. As a mangaka, you’re always looking at the next work. As I was talking with the publisher, I wanted to write something a little more serious, but when it came time to work with Shogakukan I wanted to write something different. So, it comes down to just me writing what I feel like.

Do you feel the readership for your previous series are still attached to your current work? Or do you think you’re reaching a new audience with your recent series?

Aiba: It’s about half-half, I think. There are obviously people who come specifically for the Boys’ Love, but then there are also those who are interested in me as a mangaka. Even when they see me writing something that isn’t BL, they decide to look into it and there were of course people who are completely new to my body of work coming into these non-BL series too.

For Kino-sensei, what was your reaction when you heard 7th Time Loop was green-lit for an anime?

Kino: Amekawa-sensei and I were ecstatic and celebrating.

Amekawa-sensei is very vocal with her international fans on social media. Have you had more interaction with international fans yourself?

Kino: I want to interact more with overseas fans! I see lots of comments and such on social media but since I don’t understand what they’re saying sometimes, all I can do is support their replies with a like.

What is your favorite thing about each other’s work?

Kino: I look at Aiba-sensei’s work and just think “The person who’s illustrating this is a genius! I could never draw something like this.” Her works are very easy to read.

Aiba: I think Kino-sensei’s works have a refinement that I admire. Furthermore in my opinion, people who can illustrate manga of other author’s works have a spark that stands about them. Also, Kino-sensei’s panelwork layout is incredible.

What’s a manga premise you two would like to try that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

Aiba: I’m already trying something novel with Oji Tensei, so something I’d want to try in the distant future that I haven’t? Maybe Shojo manga?

Kino: Maybe a battle manga or sports? Or an adolescence manga.

Aiba: I’d maybe do a high-fantasy manga.

What would be your advice to newbie mangaka?

Kino: Draw, draw, draw a lot and compare your old sketches to what your ideal work looks like.

Aiba: Involve yourself in reading a lot, and experiencing different types of stories and genres. One shouldn’t read just one kind of story or stay within one type of medium either.

Thanks again to Hinoki Kino, Kyoko Aiba, and Otakon for making this interview possible!

Transcription and translation clarity provided by Sakaki from Weekly Shougakukan Edition