Amin Abbas

Konishi Shinobu, a Japanese graphic designer, manga artist, suit actor and sculptor, spoke to Arab News Japan about his love for manga which resulted in him making a trip to Saudi Arabia as an international guest for a special event.

“I originally mentioned on social media that I wanted to go to Saudi Arabia and make friends with anime fans, and an overseas publisher noticed me and offered me a job.

“My first trip abroad was to Saudi Arabia. Even though I couldn’t speak the same language as the Saudis, I was able to become very close to them, as long as I treated them with love of anime and manga,” he told ANJ.

“They were very kind, had a lot of respect for Japanese culture, and treated me with a lot of respect. I was happy that we could have a lively discussion about anime,” he added.

Regarding his upcoming projects, Shinobu said, “I’m thinking of creating a character to liven up the city I live in, and then develop it into a video work. I want to work to help Saudi Arabia, and the city I live in, become friends.”

Shinobu was inspired by animations and his favorite anime is ‘Urusei Yatsura’. It was watching this series that made him want to become a manga artist.

 

“As a comedy manga artist, I get inspiration from the tempo of comedy shows and from popular illustrations and sculptures on the internet,” Shinobu said.

As a student Shinobu started working as a suit actor for action heroes, and after graduating his first job was as a graphic designer, creating advertisements for companies. He then made his debut as a manga artist, and also started doing sculpture, and before he knew it, that became his main job.

“I started when I was about 18 years old. As for manga, I tried to draw short, easy-to-read works with few pages. The first manga I drew was a comedy manga. I thought it was easy to draw because it had few pages.

“Now, I combine all of these experiences to produce events and festivals,” he added.

Konishi Shinobu is known as the author and creator of “Amigo Man” manga, which was published on Comic Comp (Kadokawa Shoten) in 1993.

“In Amigo Man, I tried to depict the unreasonableness of a man dressed as a hero who appears in everyday life and tries to forcefully become friends with people,” he said.

“I have some really loyal fans who remember even the smallest lines from my manga, and they give me lots of presents at every event that I attend,” he added.

He mentions that manga work has become less analog and has shifted to digital, and he is studying digital technology as a subject.

About his recommendations for those who want to do manga stories, Shinobu said: “I think it’s important to have a deep interest in things. That leads to what you want to express. I think the best thing to do is to think about how to convey that to the people you want to convey it to in an interesting way.”