The Vega Dupuis editions surprise by finding a Chilean mangaka. Very mature, his series called Piravit asks many questions behind an approach to a classic manga shonen. Invited to Japan Expo 2024, the author granted us a little of his time.
French popular culture welcomed the manga with open arms. Designers, singers, designers, cooks … We no longer count the artists and craftsmen who refer to the culture taken from the Japanese comics. We are no longer surprised to see this culture everywhere in France. But, we underestimate how global this phenomenon is.
By discussing with Kenron Toqueen, the Chilean Manga author Piravitimpossible to be mistaken. Manga culture is indeed international. And the young artist like many French, German, Italian mangaka mastered codes as well as grammar.
Piravitthe hero is a ghost, sorry a “phantam”, who lives alongside Kimé, a volunteer taking care of an animal refuge. In this universe close to ours, not only do ghosts exist, but also demons, classified according to a degree of purity. But also humans who have developed a certain approach to magic called mages …
Behind the pitch of Piravitthe author features cultural and personal experiences in Japanese sauce. The whole allowing to address various subjects of societies: acceptance of difference, the quest for immortality, the question of mourning, the place of animals in our modern societies …
Interview with an esthete in love with Japan.
Linternaute.com: What is the flame behind your passion for becoming mangaka?
Kenron Toqueen: The reason that pushed me to become mangaka is this desire to tell a story to as many people as possible. It’s a story that is close to my heart, and I would like it to touch a borderless readership. Piraviteven if there is a touch of fantastic, is anchored on reality that my entourage and I live on a daily basis, here in Chile. And today manga is the ideal medium to reach the greatest number of readers worldwide.
Your manga is indeed very rich in metaphors …
Indeed, my work is rich in messages and metaphors. Piravit is, for me, much more than an adventure manga. It is a gateway to modern society. Its qualities as well as its flaws. There are messages far beyond the role of phantams For example.
The demons too, I imagine?
Obviously. Demons symbolize the dark part of humanity. It is really the incarnation of the deepest wickedness of which man is unfortunately capable.
We know Chile badly. What is the place of manga and animation in Chile?
Mangas and anime are extremely popular in Chile. There is a strong political movement to support reading in Chile. Therefore, reading must be as accessible as possible. In this context, manga is a perfect medium, it is a format that encourages young people to read. The climate is very favorable to the expansion of the Japanese manga in Chile.
And the virtuous effect of this popularity is the emergence of a new generation of creators, which is expressed with the vocabulary and the grammar of the manga. This expansion is seen both on the fanzine scene and at the level of national institutional publishers.
What did you publish before realizing Piravit ?
I published in Chile a manga called Nocta. It is also a title that enters the Shonen category. It is a title that mixes SF and fantasy with a very rich bestiary of characters. I love playing with the characters. It is on this series in four volumes that I built myself as an artist. I started Nocta Independent, via the fanzine, before being spotted by a publisher and being published in Chile at Visual Editions.
How was the project born Piravit ?
My French publisher, Frédéric Toutlemonde, has been following me for a while. Thanks to Noctawhich he had discovered in Japan thanks to Japanese contact that had brought Chilean manga to his luggage. He had contacted me on Twitter, we had exchanged by evoking this desire to achieve something together. Then I published a One Shot on the platform Mangaplus creatorsthis chapter is a bit the prototype of Piravit. At that moment the title was “how to become bad”. Frédéric offered to transform this One Shot into a standard project that he could present to the publisher Vega Dupuis.
Piravit Carries several messages. What is the first “high concept” of this manga?
If I had to limit myself to a main axis, the central message of my work would be coexistence between different species. This is the message that is most important to me. Each species has its specificities, its qualities that stand out from the lot. I like to show these interests that allow you to create an emulation between them.
Were you tempted to incorporate Chilean folklore?
For the moment I have not integrated elements of Chilean folklore. I focus on my ideas, on my creations. But I intend to put elements here and there that come or echo my country’s folklore.
Is Pisco Peruvian or Chilean? (laughs)
It is a question full of controversies between our two countries. I dare not answer this question too much. It’s really risky to take sides. I would like the answer to say that it is a creation attached between a Chilean and a Peruvian.
When you imagined Piravitwhat did you imagine first? Its graphic appearance? His personality?
Everything was born from his personality.
Has his personality influenced his design?
Piravit is a character that I wanted very simple. A protagonist who lives day by day, who lets himself be carried by the wind and focuses on the tasks in front of him. And it was this approach that helped me decide on his wardrobe, it is the paangon of the casual.
And to contrast with this banal outfit it was necessary to bring contrast to your face, your hair. This is why I particularly worked these two points. I wanted to have a whimsical, a little spectral visualization. This is what differentiates it the most from the rest of the bestiary. The shape of her hair is inspired by the maple leaves in my village in the fall.
Kime’s transformation is reminiscent of Sailor Moonsee more broadly at the Magical Girls. How did you imagine this transformation?
I love the Magical Girls. This transformation is a global reference to the genre, not in Sailor Moon. I love, in these stories, the moment of transformation. It is a ritual that I really appreciate.
Do you have a nod checklist that you want to put in your work?
Unconsciously I have a checklist. There is so much manga and anime that inspired me, who helped me become the one I am today. It is natural that this love for these works transpires at times in my manga. In any case, these stories greatly contribute to my inspiration.
Kamael, Sigrid, Thaban, the demons inherited from the names of Archangels. Is it to show that evil can reside in each of us?
There is a little irony in the use of the names of archangels for demons. It’s a bit like yin and yang. Good people can commit abuses, bad people are capable of good. The border can be very fine at times …
The fight between Piravit and Kamael enjoys wealth and originality in its staging. How did you work on this specific point?
On the fight scenes I try to watch compilations of anime fighting scenes. To also understand and soak up movements, staging. But the most important thing in my approach is to imagine me in the place of the combatants. For each blow given by the opponent, I try to think about how I would react as a character. And it is by managing to enter the psyche of his protagonists that we come to make scenes of interesting and original fighting.
There are a lot of female protagonists, even among demons. Did this representation be close to your heart?
It is actually based on my personal experience. In my life the presence of women is fundamental. The most important people around me, those who brought me the most, supported, are women. It plays deeply on my way of conceiving my universes, my stories.
Speaking of personal experience, what is the character who holds the most of you?
I’m like Piravit. I aspire to live a simple life, day by day. In peace with myself and nature. Today, being mangaka I live by doing what I like the most. I can no longer agree with myself.
The volume 1 finished on an incredible cliffhanger, at what time of writing in history did you imagine it?
I had imagined this passage from the start of the creation of my manga. For me, the arrivals of important characters must be made at key moments. And that’s why an end of volume is a privileged place to announce the arrival of a character.
Do you have an idea of the number of volumes of the first narrative arch?
I have a fairly clear idea on the main lines of the story I want to tell. I also have the concepts of my well -established narrative arcs. But I am sure that life will catch up with me and that I will change things here and there. A work necessarily evolves over time, with experience. For the moment I have no idea the duration of this manga. Today, we are working with my publisher as in Japan, that is to say chapter by chapter. Each chapter is designed to be attractive, bring emotion to readers.
Thank you to the author for his availability as well as to his publisher Frédéric Toutlemonde. Readers who have not yet discovered Piravitare fortunate to be able to devour the first two volumes. The second volume was released by Vega Dupuis editions on January 10, 2025.
Piravitfrom Kenron Toqueen, Vega Dupuis editions, € 7.35 per volume.