The origin of the explosion Gantz and standard models.
In his first chapter published in No. 31 of the Weekly Young Jump 2000, Gantz has generated much discussion and work has become a must for fans of manga. But why this way he aroused such enthusiasm among readers? In this section we let the author Hiroya Oku speak freely and perhaps understand us and the secrets of Gantz. For starters, it explains firstly how much he wanted to Gantz for many years ... In short, Gantz is a story I have in my head since high school. At the time, I loved the Hissatsu series and I began to imagine Gantz wondering how we could implement them in a modern context, even science fiction. The fact that the hero dies at the beginning for me it was inspired by a SF novel by Robert Sheckley entitled Time murderer in which the hero dies in a car accident to be resurrected in the future. I borrowed this book from the library and he so passionate about this idea of teleportation when the die is probably coming from there.
Another thing I can remember is the American series The Greatest American Hero. The hero becomes a "superhero" and does its best to fly when it puts a sort of coat he keeps in a briefcase. If the combination of Gantz does not fly, the fact that we can make huge leaps probably comes from there. That and the fact that the hero knows nothing of the use of costume. I found this lack of "cooperation" with the hero's fun, and it seemed interesting to see how to master the possibilities of the meeting.
But when I think now I'm wondering how I could have this idea at the time. Of course, the end result is a little different than I had imagined, and far more works that have influenced him. Regarding the work of a student, there were actually many things that did not work ... And I compensated with current techniques. But apart from that, the basic story remains the same.
Screenplay for the construction of Gantz, it "betrays" the reader in the proper sense of the term insofar as it contains many twists that take the "standard" against the foot. Thus, characters of Kato and Kishimoto believed that "major" die, the Martians landed in the real world, Sakura is presented as if it was the new main character, and finally, Tae Kojima appears on the screen sphere ... But after Oku, all these twists are carefully calculated.
It is often said that there is a "curse" that makes the SF never work in manga for teens and adults. So I posed the question of how to make it mean, and I came to the conclusion that it had to be unpredictable and break the rules. If I did not want the players get tired right away, I had to propose a frame that had never been seen in any manga so far. And I think I succeeded on this point, particularly as regards life and death of characters.
In the history of Gantz, the biggest twist is that the mission of the turbulent and angry Martians, whose end had been written well in advance.
At the meeting before this episode with my release manager, I announced that all the characters die in probably the exception of Kurono. And I just answered him: "Oh yeah? Well, why not? "" Okay, go "(laughs). And although I expected to die Kato from the start, however I settled the fate of Kishimoto the same time. Actually, I started anyway to get tired of the situation while it is true that I am just "dropped" across.
The importance of the concept of "reasonable" and the work of "simulation" in the development of characters.
After the story, now turn to the construction and the establishment of the characters. If the scenario Gantz is based on the principle of "breaking rules", the introduction of the characters on it is before any account of the "coherence". Regarding Kurono is just my eyes a representation of the student through the present day. Since then he is led to evolve into a good guy, he was therefore initially very limited in describing the character to preserve the surprise entertainment. Facing him is therefore a counterpoint character "reasonableness" of Kato. So when it disappears and then comes the character of Izumi, the fact retain Kurono identical to that preceding the death of Kato had been slipping the tone of the series because no element more "reasonable" would then was present.
Regarding the secondary characters, my approach has not been the same. I thought it would be more interesting to introduce characters fundamentally bad history to sow a little confusion in the established situation. If all were choir boys, they have spent their time to ask questions and hesitation. Instead, with bad personalities, we can expect anything and it creates a narrative tension. That's why I always tried to introduce, because it is more interesting to have these dissonant elements within the group. In the background are very special missions Gantz, other characters outside the "bad" have been inserted to make the "spice" to the group. I really do not calculate the addition of any character in the group, I am content just to show there. For example for Juzo Togo, I wondered what would happen if a professional shooting was emerging. I then extrapolated into the conduct of such a character as means checking all weapons to choose the most efficient, then deduct its combat strategy, namely the sniping. Just a word as he is concerned it is a soldier of the SDF, not a killer to "Golgo" as can be read on the Internet (laughs). As for karate abroad, I was curious to see what it would look on the ground. Ditto for the big fan of "survival game" Akitoshi Okazaki or intellectual spectacle Kiyoshi Miyafuji. In a sense, it amuses me to do this kind of simulations while drawing.
But as I introduce the characters a little on the spur of the moment, sometimes I wonder what took me (laughs). One of my ugly faults: I feel the need to rebalance my group of characters and to add what seems to miss the moment, without even thinking about what I'll do next. As such characters as Homo / Hojo Inaba or have just been added because I found that the group lacked beautiful kids (laughs). And since I had revealed, I am tortured brains trying how I was able to develop. A new character design for a new course of history.
In what follows the mission of Mars Minus the characters present are not mere subjects of "simulation". The process of emergence and their profiles are more searched than "characters in the moment" occurred so far. I wanted to "elevate" this group of characters with the greatest possible care. Indeed so far, my priority was to further develop the story as characters. What eventually make me build the characters more "powerful", more attractive. But maybe I've still been a little hard with Daïzaémon Kazé. Frankly, wherever one looks for a guy like him can not exist (laughs). My approach was the same with Sakura and Sakata, using the world of Gantz powers denied to ordinary humans. Indeed, they had fought conventionally, it would have had nothing interesting and so I tried to bring a touch of originality in the way they fight, while respecting course limits the universe of Gantz. What is the origin of the fear inspired by Gantz and Mars?
All these characters are facing unknown presences ... First Gantz, then Mars, which obey specific design regulations. I'm looking for obviously the fear that one side feels things irrational, insane. The use of an incomprehensible language is also in this sense, to emphasize the side "incomprehensible" of these figures. Same for the character and language that appear on the screen of the sphere: they are distorted to reinforce the belief that we are dealing with a foreign entity. The sensation is comparable to that of tourists visiting a restaurant that offers specialties of their country on a map purporting to be written in their mother tongue, but this word and bizarre characters, forced and artificial.
Initially, I thought to introduce a little humor in this language with a few "winks" that only those who know have known, but I finally changed his mind and opted for something decidedly weird.
In parallel, the conversations with the thousand-armed Kannon or the Martian Minus aimed to reveal the nature of the enemy gradually. In fact, I find it too childish that the enemy is, as usual, a huge organization with evil designs. I think rather that to fight an enemy whom we know little and learn a little about him as and as is more interesting. Finally, when I say "the enemy", it does not mean that the Martian Minus Leek or have any connection whatsoever between them. Because we do not even know if it really aliens! With the rough side is known to Gantz, it is not surprising that the name "Mars" comes only from him. There is no certainty on this subject yet. Creating a manga with graphics in 3D.
Finally, Gantz has a great feature: that of basing its designs or drawings of his characters on graphics. Before Gantz, I drew a manga called Antipas 01 - Zero One. But even drawing the futuristic world that I had in mind to explain it to my graphic, I found myself with as many interpretations as assistants, with no result match what I had in mind . I then started looking for a way to standardize everything, and I finally got the idea to use a 3D design software.
By creating an accurate 3D model, and I did more than change the camera position freely to recreate an accurate picture of this futuristic world! So I poached a classmate with a box of 3D design for it to become my assistant and he creates buildings that I had in mind. We therefore embarked on the design phase.
But all cost lots of money and savings that I made with my previous title have virtually disappeared Hen ... To top it off, 01 - Zero One has not been successful. The situation is critical, I had no choice but to seek the arrest of the series. My editor agreed but obviously asked me what I intended to do next, implying that it was this time, success is the appointment. So I had a pressure could not be more specific on the shoulders, and I finally decided to make Gantz I matured very long time. Assemble a new team is not easy at this point, we started on the basis of the team of Zero One, and 3D images have been selected for the logical design process.
As a manga drawn by computer graphics, the testing phase was very long and the questions from numerous expert 3D ... Besides the need to continue to pay the team to keep mobilized, what has been costly. But through these tests, the developed and the practice team, the result was much better, less "computer" than Zero One. We finally had the impression of reaching the goal.
The benefits of the creation of synthetic images are first quality visual designs, their definition. Followed by detailed designs once modeled, can take an hour to the phase of "rendering".
That took another week to draw by hand takes longer than two hours. The choice of the angle of view was also much more flexible. But there are limits and my team begged me to let go when we arrived at the scenes of Shinjuku or Makuhari (laughs). All buildings are not modeled in 3D, only the elements are similar. So we use the embedding of photos for background scenery. In contrast, the temple was made entirely in 3D and I think also we feel that all this could have been done by hand.
But there has not only advantages. As I wrote at the end of the first volume, you lose such a lot of natural, "warm" compared to a drawing done by hand. The created universe seems completely devoid of life. Note, we also derive advantage in a manga like Gantz because it reinforces a private atmosphere of "emotions". This "absence of life coupled with the presence of irrational Martian reinforces the impression that people can die at any moment. In Gantz, it is not only the sets which are dealt with in computer graphics. The characters themselves are drawn from exposures modeled in 3D-like models, and the wooden models used in design. But if it allows more realism, it also prevents deformation / distortion unique to manga. For example, if one draws a character in the process of pointing a gun with the barrel forward, and we want to draw a strain where the gun will take a third of the box, it will be impossible to use images of synthesis for this, unless you use a visual filter objective type wide angle. But if it does not, he must then draw the character and ignoring the modeling below to get the best vision possible. There has been a lot of boxes in this case. Finally, it is rather a sort of "hybrid" that is manufactured with a composition of sets very fair, and a technique for the traditional manga characters. Hiroya Oku was beautiful drawing a series compiled 3D image, it does not necessarily deny the traditional methodology of the manga. I wonder if the manga produced with computer graphics will really punch a day? After all, I am the only one currently using this technique ... No, actually I do not think others will follow this path? And then there is especially no assistant capable of drawing in 3D. While there are many students in special schools aspiring manga artist "by hand", but those in schools of computer graphics are not interested in manga and want to move more in technology image. Besides the initial budget and preparations pose serious problems. Just for a new setting, we must first take some time to get together before the model can truly speak of design, where the work at hand, a photo would have sufficed to get the drawing asked quickly. The performance is terribly low. In my case, I just keep using this method because now I'm running.
Anyway, what attracts the public to the manga is its quality of expression. And the lines of "forces" outweigh "the effects of contrails in the heart of readers. Perhaps if the decorative elements were coming free, the difficulties of implementation would be lower and the coup would develop this technique, but I still think that the probability that this way of spread is very low. What the future will probably be the manual method. The story, theme, and conclusion!?
Finally, Hiroya Oku talks about his vision following Gantz. For now, I want readers to continue to take pleasure in fighting against enemies and twists in the action. For my part, I create not only characters but also the story and drawings by trial and error, trying experiences. "And if dinosaurs were found in the middle of town?" Or "And they began to pursue a motorcycle, does it make good?". This is the kind of question I ask myself throughout the creation of Gantz. I'm not the type to plan everything from A to Z until the end of history.
If calculation on my part there, it is for example the fact the reader to relax at the end of the mission's Martian Bushman to make it better down her guard. And then there is the joy of the characters after defeating the boss Brakyo-san, I tell them delivers a shock by pretending to attack these intelligent beings and dressed in black suits that are vampires. Ditto at the end of the mission of the Rings Mars is filled smoothly: Tae is designated as the next target. Regarding the world of Gantz and secrets of his missions, avid readers share many assumptions, including the Internet. The rules of the room, the fact that there are some error and that the original is still alive, the "up there" there seems to be the enemies of vampires Gantz ... Gradually begin to emerge Information that could lead to the truth about Gantz ... At the current point, even collecting the pieces of the puzzle is still missing too much information to be able to deduce what really Gantz. In my case, I wish everyone still fun to follow chapter by chapter, the vicissitudes of history. I am often asked the question that I want to draw, to be transmitted. But what is of Gantz, I seek to draw anything more than what it is. I have no message or theme to get across. I just want, even though I am the author continue to enjoy myself much longer! Gantz, the author draws Hiroya Oku fun himself, has certainly not finished give us pleasure and thrills ...