about the author


as probably generally known by now, kareshi kanojo no jijou started off as a manga serializing in hakusensha's monthly lala under the hana to yume label. the author who came up with this is tsuda masami.

name (last, first): tsuda masami
birthday: july 9th
sign: cancer
blood type: b
hometown: kanagawa prefecture

manga by tsuda masami

interviews

fan views on the tsuda masami panel at comic-con
(posted with permission... will be taken down upon request)

The rumors may in fact be true: I had the pleasure of meeting Masami Tsuda, who flew over there to visit her fans-- sadly, not as many people showed up as I'd hoped-- I mean, there were hundreds of people... but that just wasn't enough! She signed my book! She bowed at me! She's totally awesome-- silent, but powerful. She didn't talk all that much, but when she did, it was like friggin' THUNDER! I could write about her forever... I could describe every single detail-- but I can't!

...It just... hurts to much to be away from her. ;_; I love Masami Tsuda so muuuch! [/schoolgirl mode] - george alexopolous of studionj
~.~.~.~

This will probably only interest other people who love Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, better known as Kare Kano, a japanese manga and anime. The manga is currently being released through Tokyopop, and the anime is available through The Right Stuf International. It follows the story of 2 people, a girl named Yukino Miyazawa, and a boy named Souichiro Arima. Both are presenting public faces that are not necessarily who they really are. I don't want to say any more, because this is a story where the less you know going into it, the better. I love it, even though I have to admit that the anime ends with a bit of a whimper -- a situation made more bearable by the fact that the manga progresses the story far past the point where the anime ended.

Anyway, the point of all this is that Tokyopop flew Masami Tsuda, the artist (manga-ka) who created the series, from Japan to appear for a panel and signing at San Diego. I attended both. I wanted to take a photo of Miss Tsuda, but we were asked to put our cameras away. Apparently, in Japan, Tsuda is considered a bit like a rock star -- she never has her picture taken, and no one there knows what she looks like. During the interview she gave, I took copious notes, and I thought I'd share some of what she said.

Tsuda began reading manga in junior high and high school, and was inspired by that to begin creating her own.

Kare Kano runs 21 volumes. When asked what she thinks is part of the manga's appeal and staying power, she said that she didn't think it would be so long, and that it had originally been planned as a 3 chapter story. She said the characters gradually became more human, and began to grow on her. It became quite natural to her, and she simply drew everything that came to her.

Kare Kano, while not directly inspired by her own life, is based mainly on her observations of other people in high school. Tsuda would watch people in her school, and create stories in her mind about why they behaved the way they did. Kare Kano grew out of these stories. Many of the peripheral characters in the story are inspired by her friends. She is very interested in what causes people to become friends, and Kare Kano explores a lot of that.

Tsuda has a HUUUUGGE Johnny Depp crush. :P

When asked if she had ever thought of having the remainder of the manga animated, Tsuda said that, early on, she and Gainax had made the decision that the anime would grow separately from the manga. I guess this means, no, we ain't never gonna see the rest of the story animated.

And finally: sprinkled throughout the manga are Tsuda's author's notes, which include a "chibi", or small, sort of deformed looking character which represents her. She said that her family considers this loveable little character to be an accurate representation of her inner spirit.

My friend Kelly and I both attended the panel, then snuck out 10 minutes early to wait in line downstairs for the signing. Since I had not known ahead of time that Tsuda would be at Comic Con, I didn't have any of my manga on me. Luckily, Tokyopop had about 40,000 Kare Kano manga available for sale, so I was able to buy #15. Tsuda signed it in English, which I thought was cool. Kelly and I thought it was well-worth the hour wait -- after all, who knows when she'll be in the country again? - leigh dragoon