Takeru Hokazono, the creator of Kagurabachirevealed in a recent interview published in the November issue of Da Vinchi magazine that his decision to speed up the pacing of the manga was significantly influenced by two contemporary shonen juggernauts: Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man.
Reflecting on his creative process, Hokazono noted that reading these series changed his perspective on how fast narratives should unfold, prompting him to alter the structure of his own story.
Hokazono acknowledged that initially, he had reservations about accelerating the pace of Kagurabachi. However, after reading JJK and Chainsaw Manhe changed his views.
“While drawing, I thought it might be early, but when I read Jujutsu Kaisen, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s fast!’ and then when I read Chainsaw Man, I thought, ‘As expected, that’s fast!’ (laughs). I realized this is the recent sense of speed. One of the appeals of Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Kagurabachi is that I strive to keep readers engaged and actually speed things up more,” he said.
This approach led Hokazono to bring in the first main villain of the series, Genichi Sojo, much earlier than originally planned.
The manga’s breakneck speed is also evident in its early chapters, where Hokazono introduces several major plot elements within a short span of time.
By the seventh chapter, readers are already introduced to three out of the seven enchanted blades that exist within the Kagurabachi universe, including the prized weapon Shinuchi.
This sword, regarded as the masterpiece created by Chihiro’s dad Kunishige Rokuhira, was initially intended to appear much later in the series.
However, Hokazono opted to bring it into the story early to exceed reader expectations and maintain narrative momentum.
“Because I wanted to catch the readers’ interest, and I strongly felt the urge to introduce the masterpiece immediately,” Hokazono explained.
Hokazono revealed that he had stocked up on various ideas while he was preparing for the manga. And having a tighter pacing would ensure that the ideas he had won’t go to waste, and will instead be included in the manga.
“During the preparation period before starting the serialization, I stocked up on various ideas. If I hold back, they’ll just go stale, so I want to use them up and quickly empty my drawer,” he shared.
The influence of the two manga, especially Jujutsu Kaisenmight come across as concerning to some section of readers as the series has faced scrutiny over its pacing and direction towards the end.
Many fans expressed concerns that Jujutsu Kaisen had begun to focus too heavily on fight sequences, sacrificing the character interactions that had initially endeared the manga to its audience.
Interestingly, in the current interview, Hokazono mentioned that he intended create an action oriented story, which, combined with his comments about the pacing, might make it seem like Kagurabachi has too many similarities with JJK.
“I didn’t want to make it too entertaining; I wanted to create a story about people fighting each other,” Hokazono said.
But Hokazono has expressed his desire to study the previously popular works. And while he does want to carry forward some classic themes from these, he noted that young creators like him always thought of approaching their works innovatively, setting them apart from the works that preceded them.
Kagurabachi has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since September 2023. The first tankobon volume was released on Feb 2, 2024.
The series’ third volume was published in July 2024, with Naruto author Masashi Kishimoto recommending Kagurabachi manga in the volume. The fourth volume released in October 2024.
Viz Media and Shueisha’s Manga Plus platform are publishing the series in English.
The manga also has its fair share of accolades – winning the Tsugi Manga (Next Manga 2024) award and being chosen as the best up-and-coming manga on Shueisha’s Manga Plus app by fans during Anime Expo 2024.
Source: Da Vinci magazine (translated by Kagurabachi Br)
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