Shin'ichi Sakamoto's multi-volume manga has finally begun publication in the United States, with English versions of Innocent and #DRCL Midnight Children now several volumes in and The Climber announced to be coming soon. #DRCL, a dramatic reimagining of Bram Stoker's Dracula, was nominated for an Eisner Award earlier this year and won Best New Manga Series at the first annual American Manga Awards. We spoke with Sakamoto about his history in manga, his creative process, and how he felt about the challenge of portraying the world's most famous monster.
© 2021 by Shin-ichi Sakamoto All rights reserved.
You've been creating manga since the mid-1990s, starting in your current style with The Climber (Kokou no Hito). How has your creative process and approach to the types of stories you want to tell with your manga evolved over the course of your career?
Shin'ichi Sakamoto: When I was drawing for boys' magazines, my work was based on my dreams and hopes. Later, when I met my partner and went through the process of giving birth to a daughter and son, my venue for work changed from youth magazines to general magazines, and along with that, my work changed to express my thoughts about society and my unique perspective on life.
The Climber, Innocent, and #DRCL are all manga based on existing stories or historical or real-world figures. What is the reason for basing your work on these, as opposed to writing completely original characters and stories?
Sakamoto: With The Climber, an unexpected direction was created by using the novel as a [tài liệu nguồn] original. The authoritative text of the original novel by Mr. Jirō Nitta inspired me to try to illustrate precise metaphorical expressions and descriptions that do not rely on onomatopoeia like a manga. I believe that using non-manga content and history as themes will help expand the potential of manga.
Were you familiar with the original text of Bram Stoker's Dracula before you started working on #DRCL? What made you decide to adapt such a famous, well-known work?
Sakamoto: Like most people in the world, I knew Dracula through movies and manga, but I had never read the novel. After finishing Innocent, I was invited by Usamaru Furuya to make a doujinshi when I had more time. At that time, I decided to try drawing a horror story that I had always wanted to do, and I finished it alone in a one-shot called “Dorachu”. While looking for the next issue to start, I reread the original story and was struck by how the image of Dracula and the other characters, as well as how the message from 120 years ago was still relevant today, and I felt that it had to be adapted into a manga.
There have been countless other adaptations of Dracula throughout history. Are there any that you particularly enjoy, and have any versions of the story influenced your view of #DRCL?
Sakamoto: During my childhood in the 1970s, Japan was in the midst of a horror manga boom. Shinichi Koga's Scary Wolf Girl [恐怖のオオカミ少女/Kyōfu no Ōkami Shōjo] Shinichi Koga and Vampire Girl Karen [吸血少女カレン/Kyūketsu Shōjo Karen] Shinji Hama's]are films I particularly enjoy.
#DRCL is obviously not a direct, 1:1 adaptation of the events told in the Dracula novel. How did you decide what to keep and what to change from the source material? What did you feel was most important when adapting the novel?
Sakamoto: The late 19th century, the period in which the story is set, was also the time when capitalism developed and emerged, and calls for the expansion of workers' and women's rights began, giving birth to values that are still relevant today. In the original, Mina also reflects on the “new woman”. Lucy, “the most beautiful woman,” is courted by men, hunted by the Count, but Mina, who continues to record records with her own ability and will, continues to cooperate and fight with everyone to the end while the men who protect and fight for Mina are also suffering and vulnerable. I feel it is my mission to revive this message of Bram Stoker in our time.
© 2021 by Shin-ichi Sakamoto All rights reserved.
#DRCL, like Innocent before it, features some queer imagery and themes—the character of Luke/Lucy in particular crosses multiple genders and attractions. What were you interested in when exploring these ideas and themes?
Sakamoto: What I always keep in mind when creating my work is to remove preconceived notions and assumptions and portray things honestly as they are, without taking any perspective. It is easy to assume that love is born when there is a man and a woman, but the reality is more complicated than that. There are many different types of people on Earth and they live in many different ways. I want to continue to hold on to the belief that there is no such thing as a “strange” person.
Your approach to art and visual storytelling is different than many other manga. For example, #DRCL largely avoids sound effects in favor of text. What is your philosophy when it comes to visual storytelling in manga, and does it influence your working style?
Sakamoto: As for not adding sound effects, I wanted to believe in the power of art. I believe that readers will replay sound effects in their brains, such as the sound of breaking glass or knocking on the door, based on their own experiences. What I decided to do with the images was to avoid depicting grotesque scenes as reality. No matter how brutal the scene was, I drew it with a sense of beauty. Also, after hearing an Italian manga artist say that he studied anatomy to draw manga, I tried to draw with an awareness of muscles and bone structure.
In a 2020 interview, you mentioned that part of your life. The artistic process includes taking reference photos of your assistants while modeling clothes and costumes, some of which you sew yourself. Was sewing a passion and hobby of yours before, or did you learn it specifically to complement your manga creation?
Sakamoto: I'm not good at sewing at all (laughs). Until now, I've only sewn small items. For the dress in Innocent, a fashion designer handcrafted an 18th century French gown. The dress Mina wears in #DRCL is a late 19th century British vintage dress provided by a former editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine. As a side note, for The Climber, I asked a climbing equipment manufacturer to provide us with actual equipment to actually climb the 8000M peak. I'm grateful for the cooperation of many people in the realism of the drawings!
© 2021 by Shin-ichi Sakamoto All rights reserved.
The complexity of your manga creation process shows how impressively detailed your work is. Do you feel like the artistic process of creating these ornate illustrations has accelerated as you've continued to work on your craft, or has the amount of time you spend on it only increased?
Sakamoto: While digitalization continues to advance, #DRCL especially emphasizes the warmth and shimmer of 19th century craftsmanship. The process of adjusting digitally drawn pictures by intentionally blurring and shifting them has increased the workflow, which in turn increases production time. Digital technology is now indispensable in manga production, where deadlines are set. But I don't want to be dominated by digital technology, so I fight every day on the PC battlefield!
It’s only recently that your work has started to be translated and released to English-speaking fans in Vietnam. Even though manga like Innocent and #DRCL are based on events and works familiar to Western audiences, do you have any thoughts or feelings about your manga finally gaining an audience and recognition in this part of the world, including #DRCL being nominated for an Eisner Award this year?
Sakamoto: As my work continues to take place overseas, I am particularly interested in the reactions of Western readers. Twenty years ago, it was unthinkable that Japanese comics could be translated and published so easily. I was also delighted when a work serialized in a Japanese magazine was nominated for an Eisner Award. We live in an age where messages from fans can be received directly from all over the world. Thanks to online translation software, I can communicate with a boy in Brazil on the other side of the world, overcoming language and distance. I think that is a wonderful thing that the Internet has brought us.
#DRCL has been running since early 2021, and as of this writing has been collected into four volumes. What do you hope the series will take away from it as it continues, and for readers to take away from it as they continue to follow it?
Sakamoto: I consider my own interpretation of Dracula, the world's most famous monster, as a manga. Because the character is so famous, his image has been formed and imprinted in people's minds. I believe my mission is to destroy this most powerful stereotype and update it for the modern era while taking into account the purpose of the original work.