On Wednesday 1 November 2023, Hiro Mashima met the press on the occasion of this year’s edition of Lucca Comics & Games to discuss his past, present and future works. He arrived directly from the Rising Sun, for his first time in Italy. Mashima made kids dream all over the world with hugely successful series like Rave, Fairy Tail and Eden’s Zero.
His present is certainly represented by the very recent Dead Rock series, already particular within the author’s production as it is set for the first time in a school context. “
Mashima tells us:
“During high school I had a lot of fun and I have wonderful memories: I was pleased to write a work that talks a bit about this” explained the author, before recalling that the work is, at least in its programs, destined to be short.”
However, a story does not always adapt to its creator’s plans, and an author of Mashima’s caliber and experience is aware of this. He responds to one of the many questions from the press:
“Sometimes the story develops exactly as I have it in mind, but sometimes I find myself seeing it change along the way: for Rave, for example, I thought of everything from the beginning, in the case of Fairy Tail I found myself thinking how to proceed from time to time, and again for Eden’s Zero I had a very clear story until about halfway through”.
This is even more true for the characters, who in most cases change a lot, if not a lot, compared to the initial project; and the strength of Mashima’s works is often identified precisely in the characters, which range from strong female figures to funny mascots. This was his comment on the matter: “I have a particular passion for mascots”, he stated in this regard, and in fact they are never missing in each of his works: from Plue, a funny, unidentified creature from Rave, to Happy , the blue winged cat from Fairy Tail. “I thought adding wings to a cat would be really cute.”
The characters of this great Japanese master of drawing tend to stand out for their particular and recognizable designs: the secret, as Mashima himself explained, lies entirely in the silhouette: “It is from there that I create the characters, and I think that derive from truly important characters: for example, the character of Natsu in Fairy Tail is entirely characterized by his scarf, which he always wears”.
In his 25-year career, Hiro Mashima has become one of the most popular manga artists internationally. It is not always easy for a cartoonist to keep up with the continuous changes in the artistic field, from frequent changes in public tastes to modern problems such as artificial intelligence; but Mashima has perfectly managed to maintain the public’s affection towards him unchanged, both through his strong presence on social media and with rigorous time management.
As for the advice he would give to young people who want to approach the world of manga, even non-Japanese ones, Mashima stated: “The level of manga artists here is very high: I don’t have any specific advice to give to young people who are preparing to this profession. Often there are productions of such high quality that it is impossible to distinguish whether they are Japanese or European.”
Here are some images from the press conference: