Yun Koga
**Interview excerpt **
Q: What did you think when it was decided that your manga was going to be made into an anime?
K: The first thing I felt was that if they couldn’t reproduce what I had drawn, it was pointless to make an anime…if you think this can’t be done or that can’t be done, then there is not point in doing it, right? That was my initial reaction. But the editorial department of course had the attitude that it’d be pointless to make something like that and if they were going to make it then everyone needs to make up their minds and do what they can. They would say that this can be done, but this would be difficult but this much can be done. One by one the worrisome parts were resolved and I came to think that if they were going to do all of that, then by all means I’d like to do it. I also strongly felt that the producers and other members of the staff understood the work very well.
Q: Were you quite involved with the script and other things?
K: I prefer to leave it to the staff once I understand how they will go about doing things. It isn’t my style to meddle with the details.
Q: We have questions from our readers as well. “Are there characters who appear more in the anime than in the manga?” (Kyoto-fu/Akakage)
K: Yes. Yayoi-san’s appearances have increased. His character pops up…Um~he’s become the comic relief (laugh). Humor is desirable, so I think it’s possible. It’s intense for myself and the readers when I persist in seriousness in the manga. Even in reality, things that are funny and sad like being unable to stand because your legs fell asleep at a funeral go together. I felt that they really understood that kind of thing.
Q: “Will we be able to see Soubi’s pervertedness in the anime as well? What about my particular favorites such as the piercing scene or the needle in the hand?” (Aomori-prefecture/Mitsuru)
K: This person’s spirit is very close to mine (laugh). The piercing is OK, but the needle might be overdoing it…which reminds me, this manga has no H.
Q: The premise is erotic, isn’t it? How could you say that kind of thing to an elementary school student?…
K: But Minagawa-san manages it very well. If Soubi’s eroticism prevailed, it’d be really pathetic, or rather pitiful. But when Minagawa-san voices Ritsuka, she half accepts and half rejects him. Konishi-san is mercilessly erotic, you see (laugh). But while Soubi is mercilessly erotic, Minagawa-san brings a wonderfully refreshing impression. If she was simply swept along with Soubi, it’d end up with terribly lewd scenes, but I feel that Minagawa-san makes the scene delightful in a different way instead of ending up delectable in a BL way. I believe that Minagawa-san is someone who has great comprehension of the material.
Q: “Did you suggest anything to the staff regarding the fight scenes?” (Kanagawa prefecture/Kodou Rena)
A: No, though I did ask them to use words.
Q: It must be hard since you have to think about things beyond the story, since the battles are with words.
K: That’s true. If I don’t firmly plunge into the battles and properly construct them, it becomes a big problem in the anime, so I feel that I have to brace myself up. But this time the director put things nicely in order. You will have to watch it…
Q: “Will the end of the anime be different from the manga’s ending?” (Ishikawa Prefectura/Nira Ouji)
K: The anime will not even reach the part of the manga being serialized now, so I believe it will follow the progress of the manga and reach it’s own ending.
End in three more volumes!?
Q: Have you decided how “Loveless” will end?
K: I have, but…
Q: But…?
K: But, my editor is objecting strenuously to it and we’re currently fighting about it (laugh). Basically about who dies and who survives…
Q: Then that’s about the very last part. How about which mysteries are resolved in what way?
K: Well, the general outline…
Q: How far has the story progressed?
K: Um…I think about halfway. About three more volumes?
Editor: It sounds like only one third of the way through from what I’ve heard.
Q: How far has the story progressed, in abstract terms?
K: When I counted the number of chapters left I thought there was about half, but each chapter is really long! (laugh) When I think about having those two people settle things or this person doing that….Plus, there’s no one that can rival Soubi yet.
Q: That is a big point, isn’t it.
K: Right, there’s no big, strong man around twenty around, right? The truth is, there is. A person who can grapple with Soubi on an equal basis. He’s at least about the same height as Soubi (laugh).
From Wikipedia:
Risa Yamada (山田理沙 Yamada Risa?, née Kimura, born July 9, 1965 in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan), better known by the pen name Yun Kōga (高河 ゆん Kōga Yun?) is a female Japanese manga artist. She is married to fellow manga artist Tatsuneko. She is a graduate of Mita Senior High School, Tokyo. She currently lives in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, and also has a daughter.
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