CITAZIONE
Yoshihiro Togashi is an author who has always set his sights on 'how a writer should be', and has continued creating his works strategically. Yu Yu Hakusho, his big hit that took the Jump world by storm in the 90s, was written from the very start to evolve from a 'heartwarming story' to a 'battle manga'. His next project, Level E, was where he displayed a different side of himself to his readers -- he subverted the image he had created with Yu Yu Hakusho, and developed a work of science fiction with an incredible story potential.
And then in 1998, he created Hunter X Hunter, which is still going strong even today.
"This might be an unpleasant way to put it, but back then I thought that my next work should aim to 'hit' since I was writing for Jump and all. I had been watching readers' polls closely since the latter half of Yu Yu Hakusho's serialization. I was looking at not only my own standings, but also at things like who's number one right now with what kind of story, etc. Analyzing everything, I concluded that the popular works were about sports or battles -- stuff where there were clear winners and losers. Then I thought that if I was going to write something next, it had to be a battle manga after all."
And thus Hunter X Hunter was conceived, and while a straightforward battle manga, it is also a work that fully exhibits Togashi's trademark ability to inspire his readers to hyperanalyze. The protagonist Gon, for example, looks deceptively cute but has absolutely no hesitation to battle. He is a unique character that can convey even a feeling of infinite 'fearsomeness'.
"At first, I wanted to make Gon a good boy that would dominate the polls for 'characters you want to have as a son'. But as soon as the serialization began... or rather, as soon as I started writing my draft, I felt like that wasn't quite it. A boy who proclaimed that he would abandon his foster mother to become a Hunter isn't quite a good son, is he? I started thinking, 'This is one really crazy kid' (lol). But I thought it couldn't be helped that he would behave that way, as he was in turn the son of a father who did indeed abandon his child to become a Hunter. To me, he was a natural character."
He said that having a 'crazy kid' as protagonist was in line with the story's direction.
"If I had made my protagonist a 'right proper lad' and drawn a battle manga with it, it would have raised complications when he had to duke it out. That per se would have made for a fun story to write, but I thought that wasn't where I wanted to go with this story. I did not want to alienate my readers who would read for the fights. Thanks to making a 'crazy kid' like Gon the protagonist, I was able to write battles without having to depict moral conflicts within the character."
There are still things left that I would enjoy writing
"Basically, I am doing it my way."
Togashi's stance on his current serialization is that it is both a strict challenge and somewhat fun.
"From an outsider's perspective, the series I'm writing right now might look like it's a serious chore, but personally I am enjoying it very much. When I was younger, I used to be barred from doing things I'd really have liked to. Now I finally get to do stuff that I enjoy."
So there is also an element of 'revenge' for the stories he couldn't draw in his youth.
"I am talking about romantic comedies (lol). But well, I am too old to write for that genre, and besides, I also think it would be best if I left the drawing to another person. Just as the manga last year for which I only wrote the script (Akuten Wars, illustrated by Hachi Mizuno), if having another person draw the pictures makes for a better work of art, I have absolutely no objections to it. I also thought that I would have liked a more realistic artstyle to go with Level E anyway. Depending on the genre, I really think that I can legit just be the scriptwriter."
Imagine the characteristic worldbuilding that only Togashi can do, brought to life by an artist who can best realize its potential. The day where we can see one such work after another might not be too far away.
"Still, that aside, I need to finish writing Hunter X Hunter. It has come to a point where either the story concludes first, or I die before that happens (lol). But I do intend to finish it. Although you can say that at one point in the story -- where Gon meets Ging -- I have completed the story once. I believe that some readers must have thought 'Wasn't that supposed to be the endgame?' and I did write it to seem that way. Still, I did not intend to cut off the flow of the story there, and I hope my readers could see that there was still room for continuation. As a reader of Jump myself, I also remember having thought 'Shouldn't this manga have just ended here?' and feeling pissed when it went on and on. I want to always be in touch with that feeling as a reader. But Hunter X Hunter as it is now has a lot in it that makes me want to keep on reading, even from my own perspective as a reader. And from my perspective as a writer, there are still many things in it left that I want to write, that I would enjoy writing. And so if anyone would be willing to enjoy this ride with me, that is all I can hope for."
