Isaiah D. Colbert

A screenshot from Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory. Gabumon says "Thespian? But I thought you liked guys?"

I'm fucking crying lmfao

This is incredible I think a friend of mine mentioned it too on a recent group rewatch of Fist of the North Star.

Kenshiro should have raised those crops lol.

Everyone in my neighborhood goes super early in the morning and I guess just clock in to work late as hell

io9: As a creator who’s inspired many, are there any series you grew up with that sparked your desire to become a mangaka and write a tale like Vinland Saga? Yukimura: Every time somebody asks me that question, the one series that really comes to my mind is Fist of the North Star. It’s a little bit different from simple admiration, but I had chapters two and three of Fist of the North Star always hung up in my mind. I analyzed myself, [saying] that was a big contributing factor that led to me writing a story like Vinland Saga. (Laughs) Don’t worry, I will explain this.

In chapters two and three, the main character, Kenshiro, meets this old man who has a handful of rice grains that he wants to bring back to his village. This old man is getting attacked by bad guys, and Kenshiro fights them off. But then, unfortunately, this old man gets beaten and killed by these bad guys, so Kenshiro has to get after them again. Just when he was about to pass away, the old man says to Kenshiro, “Please bring these grains of rice back to the village so people don’t have to fight over food anymore.” What does Kenshiro do? He did not bring the grains of rice back to the village and start growing them! (Laughs) I could not believe this. When I read these chapters of Fist of the North Star, I was maybe six or seven years old. I was thinking, “Why Kenshiro? Why didn’t you stop by and bring the grains back to the village, make a rice field, and bring water? This could really have changed the outlook of this society! For Kenshiro being such a strong man, why didn’t he do this?” I really didn’t understand why this was the case, and for some 20-some years, I had this question within me, which brought me to writing the story of Vinland Saga. I don’t want any confusion, but I do really like Fist of the North Star, though.

Much of why Makoto Yukimura wrote series like Planetes and Vinland Saga the way he did, with hope, kindness, and pacifism in mind, stems from his childhood reading Fist of the North Star and having a playful gripe about how its first two chapters unfolded.

the best part is that planetes is also like that and they just started releasing the deluxe volumes this year (next one in december)

"Humans are immature, but we can mature. To become mature is to become kind."

Fine I'll fuckin read Vinland Saga eventually sheeeeesh. Knew nothing about it so I didn't know Yukimura knew ball like that.

isaiah connecting the stars as always!!

Funny you mention that

The Vinland Saga artist seems as cool as you'd hope he'd be.

Vinland Saga Creator's Sci-Fi Anime Is the Perfect Chaser to Cowboy Bebop Planetes is a space anime that hits too close to home.

Yea, verily
gizmodo.com/vinland-saga...

Can I offer you a nice dancing Pochita in this tryin' time?

It's really cool and important that he says here that he's just portraying what's normal to him.

I'm very annoying, keep track of things moving and shaking in anime and manga circles, reach out to publishers and creatives, and brandish by past works to sell why I'm a good get as an interviewer.

I'd been hounding for that Vinland Saga interview since January 😅 Helps to be stubborn, have a body of work to refer back to showcase why you're as much of a get as they are, and industry folks you've worked with in the past to give you a ringing endorsement to expedite things!

I'd been hounding for this interview since January 😅Helps to be stubborn, have a body of work to refer back to showcase why you're as much of a get as they are, and industry folks you've worked with in the past to give you a ringing endorsement to expedite things!

"if you have a problem with me representing marginalized groups, well, you can just ignore my art" my GOAT

io9: Your portrayal of Indigenous and transgender characters—like the Lnu tribe and Cordelia—stands out in a media landscape where such representation is still rare outside of series like Golden Kamuy, Skip and Loafer, and Paradise Kiss, where they’re often mishandled. What impact do you hope these characters have on expanding the narrative terrain? How do you see your storytelling challenging the ethnocentric lens that dominates much of mainstream media when it comes to that representation?

Yukimura: I did have written characters in [Vinland Saga] from a marginalized ethnic group [and] who are LGBTQ featured here. I actually wanted to portray a character with a disability in the story, too. However, because of the setting, I really couldn’t find the right place to incorporate such a character into the story. One thing I really don’t understand, though, is why do people attack such folks? Is it because they’re different? Why do they just focus on bad things about these groups and generalize them? I truly don’t understand why people do such things. I plainly feel sad when it comes to the way people treat each other.

To me, it’s quite normal for people to have uniqueness. It’s almost needless to say that we all individually have a uniqueness that might be considered different than what is the majority. For example, I grew up in an era where higher education was considered to be the most important thing in society in Japan. You almost had no paths in life outside of that structure. I actually do live outside of that structure, and I’m living perfectly fine. I really want to say that uniqueness is okay. I don’t understand why people are making those judgments to say, “This is okay, but this is not okay.”

I haven’t really thought about what this type of storytelling or character would have an impact on society at all. I’m just writing, drawing, and portraying society as I see it and what I think is normal from my eyes in the manga. If people don’t agree with that version of what I think is a normal society, then oh well. (Laughs) That’s too bad. Those people don’t have to read my manga.

Also, Makoto Yukimura said trans rights.

someone call the etsy witches this is a fucking emergency

Makoto Yukimura following me on Twitter.

GRAAAAAAAHHHHH

"To become mature is to become kind" is such a beautiful sentence.

Every time new Nana stuff drops, an angel gets its wings.

"To become mature is to become kind" is actually beautiful.

Yukimura is such an incredible and heartfelt author. He also produces gems like this.

Makoto Yukimura was worried that Vinland Saga's farming arc and "I have no enemies" moment was a gamble that readers wouldn't like. I told him about the J. Cole meme from the Kendrick Lamar and Drake rap beef. This is how he reacted.

Came a long way from
kotaku.com/vinland-saga...

I had to finally buckle down and catch up on like 30 chapters ahead of my interview.

We spoke for an hour and 20 minutes, btw.

Makoto Yukimura and I cheesing during our interview.

Makoto Yukimura and I cheesing during our interview.

Makoto Yukimura and I cheesing during our interview.

Makoto Yukimura and I cheesing during our interview.

😀

'Vinland Saga' Creator Makoto Yukimura Looks Back on Writing His Pacifist Viking Epic The mangaka talks to io9 about the risks, inspirations, and aspirations behind his creation.

DREAM INTERVIEW ACHIEVED
I spoke with Makoto Yukimura about penning the final volume of Vinland Saga. We also spoke candidly about the J. Cole "I have no enemies" meme, my procrastinated tattoo idea, the state of the world, and how being strong means being kind. gizmodo.com/vinland-saga...