Since the days of "Shinjuku Swan," I have been drawing the clothes that characters wear with MMJ in mind (Wakui)
From his work, I thought he might be a scary person, but he has a very kind demeanor (Homma)

-First of all, could you tell us about your relationship?

Ken Wakui (hereinafter, Wakui)
Originally, I was a fan of Mastermind Japan (MMJ). My drinking buddies and friends were wearing MMJ here and there, and they told me about it, saying things like, "That's cool. Where's that from?" That's when I got into it. I'd seen Mr. Homma here and there in storefronts, and that was probably the first time I'd had the chance to say hello to him.

Masaaki Homma (hereinafter, Homma)
It's the store that used to be in Daikanyama, right?

-What was your first impression?

Wakui
"That's scary" (laughs). He's a quiet guy, but he has a really aura about him. And above all, for us fans, he's the designer who makes the clothes for our favorite brand.

Homma
It was the opposite for me. One of our staff is a manga fan and recommended "Shinjuku Swan" to me, saying, "This is really interesting!" So I read it and I thought, "I wonder if he's a scary person" based on the image I got from the work, but he was a very kind person, totally different from that (laughs).

- (laughs) Your first impressions were completely opposite to the image you each had of the work.

Wakui
So, we first spoke in 2013. At the time, I was serializing "Shinjuku Swan" in "Weekly Young Magazine", and when the "Young Magazine Original Art Exhibition 2013" was being held, we decided to make a collaboration T-shirt to be sold at the venue. I think that was when it happened.

-For MMJ fans, this is truly a dream come true.

Wakui
Of course, I was so happy!

-So from then on you became friends?

Homma
It was a while after that, around last year or two ago, that we had our first meal together.

Wakui
Yes. I have a friend who is also a big MMJ fan, so I went with him. At first, I had made plans to have dinner with Fujita (Masahiro Fujita, partner who launched MMJ with Homma) but then suddenly Homma said he would be there too. I was honestly a bit surprised, like, "What!?" (laughs).

-After actually talking to him, did anything about your first impression change?

Homma
All I thought was, "What a kind person."

Wakui
Just as I felt at first, it was really...

Homma
"That's scary," right?

Everyone (bursts out laughing)

Wakui
That's right! No no (laughs). But when we talk normally, he's a quiet and kind person, but when we work together, I think, "Wow, he's really vocal!", and that was difficult (laughs).

- We'll talk about that later (laughs). Do you usually wear a lot of MMJ clothes?

Wakui
There are a lot of them. At one time, I was not only too fond of them, but also too lazy to go to other shops, so there was a time when MMJ was the only thing in my closet. On the other hand, I had so many MMJ items that I was embarrassed to go to the MMJ store (laughs).

-What is your favorite item in your MMJ collection?

Wakui
I like them all, so I don't have a favorite, but when I meet Mr. Homma and I have item that he is wearing, I get really excited and say, "I have that too!" (laughs).

Homma
I see. Then next time I see you, I'll have to dress in a way that makes it seem like you definitely don't have this.

Everyone (laughs).

-A fashion designer and a manga artist. Do you feel there is any sympathy between you two in terms of your creative pursuits?

Wakui
I've always admired him, so it's a little embarrassing for me to say this. I've always loved clothes, so even back when I was working on "Shinjuku Swan," I was really conscious of MMJ when drawing the clothes the characters wore.

Homma
I'm really happy to hear that. In manga, you draw pictures while constructing a story, right? It's a world we can't imagine, and I think it's really amazing. I'm starting to wonder if it's okay to treat someone who is gathering support from all over the world so normally.

Wakui
No, no, that's what I should be saying (sweat).

-I wonder if "making clothes" and "drawing manga" have something in common in terms of the creative environment or system.

Homma
In the case of manga, the illustrations and story of the author, Wakui, are absolutely necessary, and I think that's amazing. In my case, I just leave it to the staff to say "I want to make this," and then before I know it, the clothes are finished, like "That's great!"

Wakui
No, no, that's not possible! (laughs)

I haven't read the final chapter yet, so I'm really looking forward to the final volume 31 (Homma)
By incorporating things that they felt were cool, the style of "Higashi-Liber" was completed (Wakui)

Now that we know the relationship between the two of you, I would like to ask you about "Tokyo Revengers". Thank you for your hard work on the final episode!

Homma
thank you for your hard work!

Wakui
Thank you. Even though I feel like I've finished drawing the piece, I don't feel like my work is completely finished yet, and I'm still working on something every day, drawing various materials for the project I'm going to be working on.

-Honma-san, have you seen the final episode?

Homma
Actually, I haven't read it yet. I downloaded the digital version of volume 30 and have been reading it ever since, so I'm really looking forward to the final volume 31, which will be released on January 17th. But there's been a lot of talk about the final chapter on social media timelines and online, so even though I'm thinking, "Wow... I want to read it...", I'm trying to avoid that kind of information as much as possible (laughs).

-That's true, the ending of volume 30 had an incredible pull towards the next volume.

Wakui
As the final twist is the most interesting part of the volume, we had a lot of difficulties creating it even during meetings.

-If you had to pick one favorite character from "Tori Liberation", who would it be?

Homma
I want to say everyone, but maybe Mikey (Sano Manjiro). I think everyone has at least a little bit of good and bad in them, so I like how this work focuses on that fundamental part and portrays it in an appealing way. However, I haven't read the final chapter, so my opinion of it might change depending on that (laughs). By the way, I'd like to ask Wakui-san, do you decide all of the character settings, such as their designs and personalities, before the series starts?

Wakui
No, I haven't decided anything yet. So I was feeling my way around every week, drawing nervously (bitter laugh).

Homma
But in the end, everything comes together, including the characters that appear along the way. I think that's really amazing. I'm always doing things on impulse.

Wakui
(laughs). I'm the same. With a weekly serialization, there is often no time to set up all the settings and other things before starting, so when it's announced that the "project has been approved," the serialization has already started. That means that in weekly meetings, we look at the results of reader surveys and consult with the person in charge to provide what we think is interesting. In that process, the characters are created as we go through this and that. If we decide everything from the beginning, we won't be able to move the characters, so we don't often do that.

-All the characters are charming, but even the names really appeal to the "middle schooler heart" of boys.

Wakui
I really value my "junior high school heart". However, I'm pretty arbitrary when it comes to naming. I don't consult with my editor, and I make characters with cool names, so I decide on my own, like, "Maybe I should make this one more gag-like." For example, Shiba Bajie. This is the inversion of Shiva, the god of destruction in Hindu mythology.

Homma
I see.

Wakui
So I was planning to make him more of a God of Destruction type of character. I always show the name to my editor once it's already been decided, so they don't know about that kind of setting. Even in the official character book, they don't really touch on the character creation part.

-In terms of character creation, I would love to hear about your attention to detail in the fashion worn by the characters in the work.

Wakui
I pay attention to the overall look, but I try to pay particular attention to the cover of the book. I also pay attention to things that are particularly visible, such as original art exhibitions. When it comes to fashion in the work, it's the opposite; I try to incorporate the taste of fashion that I like, while being conscious of the fact that "for a boys' magazine, it's better not to be too fashionable."

-It was striking that the boots worn by the Tokyo Manji Gang members were different from the typical image of biker gang members.

Wakui
It's true that boots with buckles on the back are not common. The owner of the motorcycle shop I interviewed used to be a member of a biker gang, and I heard that the team he belonged to wore those types of boots, so I thought they were unusual and cool and decided to incorporate them into my style. By incorporating anything that I felt was cool in this way, I feel that the "Tohribe" style has been completed.

-Mr. Homma, what do you think of the fashion at "Toribe"?

Homma
She has a great sense of balance between the character and the clothes, and it's clear that she knows and loves fashion.

-I think the costume design is quite distinctive, with the large hood and neckline of the parka and the boxy silhouette.

Wakui
That's simply a matter of personal preference (laughs).

-To celebrate reaching 1 million followers on the official Toman Twitter account, an illustration was uploaded showing Toman members wearing MMJ skull-designed clothing, which became a hot topic among fans of both groups.

Wakui
To begin with, the MA-1 jackets I dress my characters in are designed with MMJ in mind, and I often upload them to Twitter and incorporate them into my illustrations. In manga, I can freely dress my characters in clothes that I think are cool but don't think would suit me, and I dress them in them so much that I'm satisfied with them (laughs).

Homma
It makes me happy. When I read manga, I'm the type of person who gets into the world of the work, so I don't realize that "they're drawing my clothes with my clothes in mind," but rather, when I look at it, I think, "This character's standing posture is really beautiful," or "How can I create clothes that are balanced like this?" And then, I wonder how I can copy it without being noticed... and use it as a reference (laughs).

"You can do anything you want," he said, which put me in a difficult position (Wakui).
In one word, I felt that we were a perfect match (Homma)

(laughs). They're both influenced by each other. So this dream collaboration between the two of them and Bandai has come true, and pre-orders will start on January 17, 2023, the same day as the release of the final 31st volume of the comic! Today, we've brought along some samples of the figures and apparel, so please feel free to take a look.

Wakui
(Picking up the figure) Wow, it's so good. BANDAI SPIRITS 's quality is so high that I never have any complaints. On the contrary, the high quality of their figures makes the bar for what we expect even higher.

- When you turn a 2D manga character into a 3D figure, which part do you check the most as the creator? For example, depending on the sculptor, there are some parts that are changed from the original work.

Wakui
It's simply a matter of "does it look cool?" When I draw the cover art, I draw the character with about 10 heads to body ratio. I also pay close attention to details such as the color of the eyes and piercings. And as Homma-san mentioned earlier, the way the character stands. I try to be conscious of things like standing with the hips forward, like a delinquent. (Looking at the figure from all angles) But this is really amazing.

Homma
Yes. The quality is extremely high. The moment I saw the sample figure, I thought, "I want to take it home as it is" (laughs). Bandai's figures are always of a high quality, and I have collaborated with them on various other anime for a long time, so I have a lot of trust in them. This time, too, the finished product is exactly like the manga, and by adding our design to it, I think that people who have not yet read "Toribe" will be very happy, and it will also be an entry point for them to learn about the goodness of the work.

- This time, the set of three figures, Takemichi, Mikey and Draken, comes in a special box. It is designed to create a sense of luxury and excitement when you pick it up.

Wakui
I'd like to display it in the box. The skull-adorned kamikaze suit is great, but this collaboration version's boots are black and have a skull on the front, which is nice. It's very MMJ-like.

-The idea for the detailed design that can only be achieved through a collaboration was apparently from Homma-san. Did Waku-sensei himself also provide any ideas?

Wakui
Regarding apparel, I told him when we had dinner together that I wanted to make clothes like this, and clothes like that, but I didn't have any specific suggestions. More than that, I just had a strong desire to collaborate. Moreover, I was also in charge of the skull design this time, so the pressure from that was also incredible. Mr. Homma told me, "You can do anything," which actually put me in a difficult position (laughs). I'm a fan of MMJ myself, so it was a big part of my life, and I thought, "I have to work hard on this!"

-To Homma-san, what did you think about mashing up the worldview of "Tokyo Liberation" and the worldview of MMJ?

Homma
In one word, I felt that we were a great match. I've done a lot of collaborations up until now, and sometimes I thought we would be a good match at first, but when I actually started the design process, it turned out to be different from what I expected and more difficult. In that respect, when I saw the finished product of this collaboration item, I realized once again that I was able to smoothly incorporate the ideas proposed by Bandai into the design. After all, "whether it's fun" is very important.

-Were there any parts that you found difficult?

Homma
Of course, I wanted "ToriLibe" fans to wear it, but even before that, I had the thought that "I shouldn't release something that the designer, Wakui, doesn't like," and when proposing a design, I also felt pressured, wondering "Does he really think it's good from the bottom of his heart?"

-What did you think when you saw the completed apparel designs?

Wakui
I'm still wearing it, but the Sukajan is very light and comfortable to wear. Also, in this collaboration, they paid special attention to the hood of the hoodie. I like the silhouette of the hoodies that MMJ makes, so I asked Homma-san about the secret of the silhouette, and I almost copied it... no, I used it as a reference (laughs). It's thick and the hood stands up well. This is easy to express in manga, but I think it's very difficult to actually express it in three dimensions as clothing. What I find attractive about MMJ item is that they are very well thought out for "men to wear". For example, the depth of the pockets. Men don't carry bags, they just stuff everything into their pockets, right? So they even calculated the placement, like "They know what they're talking about, they wanted the pocket here."

-It has both functionality that hits the spot and a stylish design, and it's also very sophisticated.

Homma
Furthermore, in order to get closer to Wakui's preferred silhouette, the silhouette is relatively boxier than apparel that Bandai has produced up until now.

Wakui
And of course, the iconic skull. When I was younger, I loved things with big skull designs, but recently I've started to like things with hidden skulls, so this is perfect. I'm an old man now, so I wouldn't wear this to pick up my kids from daycare... (laughs).

-And the skull designed by Wakui has a Draken tattoo on the side of its head.

Wakui
No, no, I didn't really need this Tokyo Revengers. In the first place, there are a lot of manga collaboration apparel that are "difficult to wear unless you're a fan." I told them to make the logo of the work small so that wouldn't happen. I want to wear it myself, don't I (laughs).

- Both "Toribe" and MMJ are loved by many fans not only in Japan but also overseas. Please tell us your thoughts on sharing your creativity with the world.

Wakui
I've never particularly thought about overseas audiences; I wrote my work hoping that the young people in Japan who are in front of me would read it, and for some reason it seems to have been well received. But I feel that we live in an incredibly blessed age, where the sensibilities I wanted to express in my work are being enjoyed as entertainment by people overseas as well.

-I think a big part of that is that it was accepted precisely because it was "Tokyo Liberation."

Wakui
That's right. At first, I was surprised and asked myself "why?", but I think it's because people found the worldview of delinquents and a time loop to be uniquely interesting, and more than anything, it's because they accepted my initial impulse to simply "make an interesting manga."

-What about you, Homma-san?

Homma
We have been holding exhibitions in Paris for about 20 years, but we were not able to make clothes at the level we are now from the beginning. Even though no one paid any attention to us, our desire to "make clothes that more people will be happy with someday" and our efforts bore fruit, and gradually more people came to understand us, which is how we are now. We are often influenced emotionally by various fields that are recognized around the world, such as Wakui's "Tohribe," and we always think, "We still have a long way to go. We need to work hard in fashion to keep up with the times."

-Finally, please tell us about your future plans.

Wakui
In my case, I'm still busy and haven't thought about the future at all.

-Mr. Homma, are you also curious to see what Wakui-sensei's next work will be?

Homma
Before being friends, I'm also a fan, so I can only wait with anticipation. I release new works twice a year, and the next one will be in mid- to late January in Paris, so I'm in the final stages of preparations for it. There, I'm wondering if there will be another collaboration with Wakui in a different form...or not.

-It's a little unclear (laughs), but I'm really looking forward to it.

Homma
Thanks to this collaboration, the flow is great, and even though you were busy leading up to the final episode, you went out of your way to accommodate our difficult requests so that our fans would be happy, so thank you so much!

Wakui
Honestly, it was really difficult (laughs). After all, I'm a manga artist, so I'm always thinking about things that are typical of a middle schooler, but when I put out something that I thought would be acceptable up to this point, it was like, "On the contrary, it's OK to go this far!?" It was a really good experience because it taught me the balance and the balance between fashion and what my fans want.

Homma
Well, if that's the case, then I'm also a middle schooler at heart.

-Finally, I clearly understand why we feel such sympathy for each other (laughs). Thank you!