Mangas about samurais or ninjas are legion, and yet artists continue to produce original works. Yuka Nagate explains to L’Internaute how she approached this universe with her manga Butterfly Beast.
Arrival in the libraries of French-speaking readers via his manga The Legend of Tokithe spin-off of Hokuto no Ken (Ken the Boy Who Lived), Yuka Nagate has since established herself with more personal series Gift+- published by Komikku editions and the excellent Butterfly Beast published by Mangetsu editions. It was the latter who, in the summer of 2022, invited the author to their first Japan Expo, the perfect opportunity to learn more from a mangaka who is clearly not allergic to hemoglobin.
Linternaute.com: how did you become passionate about manga?
Yuka Nagate : In my childhood, there were a lot of manga around me, but I had very strict parents who never bought me any. I read those of my friends. I went from manga reader to manga artist. Maybe my parents’ opposition kindled a kind of flame in me, of interest in manga.
Is conflict with authority important to you?
I don’t know if it’s important but I would say it’s something that suits me. If I was asked to do a romantic comedy, I don’t think I would be able to.
What are your influences and the authors who marked you?
I will quote right away Galaxy Express 999 (masterpiece of Leiji Matsumoto, Editor’s note). That’s what made me want to start a career as a mangaka. At the stylistic level, I would quote Mutsumi Inomata (chara-designer and animator who worked among others on The Empire of Five And Brain Powerd, Ed.).
How do you document yourself for your manga?
There is little documentation on the entire early Edo period while there is much more on the end of this period. So I went looking more at the end of the period and I adapted a little. I also learned a lot about Yoshiwara (the pleasure district, editor’s note) and the persecution of Christians. In particular, I read novels on this subject and I looked at the bibliography of these novels to find out in my turn. I also went on a scouting trip, notably to Shimabara in the Kyūshū region.
The reigns of Nobunaga and Tokugawa are the most represented periods in manga. For what?
I think the Sengoku period (1477-1573), of the warring provinces, is the most extravagant period in terms of events, with all its warlords, its samurai. I think there are a lot of fans of this period and this explains, in my opinion, the success of this theme.
Can you tell us about your first years as a professional?
When I was a sophomore in college, I offered boards to the Shōnen Magazine and I won a contest. My editorial manager offered me to be an assistant for a mangaka who was starting herself, it will have lasted six months in parallel with the end of my thesis (Editor’s note: on Osamu Tezuka) at the University of Fine Arts.
What did this teach you?
As this mangaka was also a beginner, I didn’t learn a lot about how to work. I would say that I really had fun drawing with her. I learned teamwork. If my editorial manager made me work with this mangaka, it was so that I could learn to work with assistants myself, so that I could see how things work.
When working on a fictional work with characters who have existed, what are the pitfalls to avoid?
What is dangerous is to try to be too faithful to the history that has existed, to want to rely on biographies, on dates. It’s important, but we must not let ourselves be locked in by it and risk that the manga will no longer be entertaining. You also have to have fun doing it, that’s important. We must not allow ourselves to be confined by the veracity of historical events.
Have you documented yourself specifically for Butterfly Beast?
There is little documentation on this period (1635, heart of the Edo period, editor’s note). As for the culture of prostitutes, courtesans, the clothes they wore, it was quite complicated to gather documentation.
With a woman who punishes the depraved, we have the impression of being in the series dexter. Have you seen her? If that didn’t inspire you, what did?
I know the series but I saw it after drawing Butterfly Beast. So there is no direct influence on it. Originally, I really like stories about spies, ninjas, but when we deal with ninjas in fictional stories, we see super attacks, very flashy powers, when in fact they were mostly shadow characters, who were hidden. They were not extravagant, but rather austere. I realized that there were very few fictional works on this side of ninjas and spies and that’s what made me want to do this manga.
Is this what pushed you to direct heroines?
There is no ideological aspect at all in Butterfly Beast, of feminist thought. It’s just that I’m a woman and maybe I wanted to draw some. So far, I’ve only drawn male characters. By drawing women, I also wanted to play on the ambivalence between the strong side and the fragile side.
Why was it important to feature normal people and not people with superpowers?
When we have superstars, celebrities, we say to ourselves that they are apart. Rather than treating geniuses as geniuses, it is more interesting to talk about their weaknesses so that we can identify with them more easily.
Why is it important to show that Kochô is always on the edge of the dark side?
It’s easier to build drama out of that. Characters like Devilman or works like Berserk speak to me a lot and I think that’s why I’m attracted to this theme and this kind of characters.
When we read your manga, in France, we think of The dweller of infinity, echoing the darkness and the quality of the drawing. Have you read it?
Of course I read it, I was a huge fan when I was in college! I love Hiroaki Samura’s work. Before him, I have never seen a manga that is so artistically beautiful.
We have the impression that the theme of Kôchô’s revenge with his companion comes later. Did you already have the end of the story when you started it?
Yes, the end was already thought out at the start of the design.
How did you feel when you had to stop your manga? How did you manage to stay motivated?
When the journal went out of print, I was really upset. That’s why I contacted other journals to be able to continue. Luckily, the magazine Comic Bunch from Leed editions has kindly published the sequel. We were able to push to volume 5, but unfortunately the sales did not follow too much and the series was interrupted. I said to myself that I shouldn’t stay focused on this failure, otherwise I couldn’t move forward. I want to go to the end of this series, but first I have to produce results with other works. That’s what I do with Gift+-but I’m thinking of ways I can finish Butterfly Beast.
Did you expect it to be translated in France and elsewhere?
I expected it to be translated. It was a little in Italy then in France. On the other hand, I did not expect the volumes to be reprinted. I did not expect to have such a warm welcome from the French readership.
You work on both action scenes and sentimental scenes. Which do you prefer to draw?
It’s more the sentimental scenes that I prefer to draw.
After a very emotional scene, you often break the rhythm with a funny scene. Why this gimmick?
When there is too much tension building up, it can be tiring for the reader. So I try to bring it down.
How do you balance a manga when you’re pre-published and you know it’s going to be released in volumes?
I think of both. The series that I draw at the moment is weekly, so I draw 20 pages. I pay attention to the rhythm, to the ease of reading, I make sure that the double pages do not tire the eyes too much, I avoid having too many texts. I am thinking of reading comfort.
Have you taken into account that many read digitally?
No, I’m not thinking of the smartphone format, but in the future I think that will have to be taken into account.
What would be your dream for a new manga?
I have just finished Gift+-. My next projects are not finished yet, so I don’t know.
If there were no commercial constraints, what kind of subject would you like to tackle?
There are really styles of works that suit me and others that don’t. Each time, I go to fairly serious works. It’s not that I want to or not, I go naturally. Maybe I could go for something softer, softer, but I think it’s the serious style that suits me.
Butterfly Beast And Butterfly Beast IIby Yuga Nagate, Mangetsu editions, €7.90