EX: So you never went through those manga school/award programs in magazines?

HK: I've never gone through applications, and never have received any awards. Although, I have to add to the last question—I remember doing one small piece for some anthology during my apprenticeship, and it made me swear that I would never work for a small publisher ever again.

EX: Oh? How so?

HK: They rejected some of my ideas as worthless, and it left such a bad taste in my mouth that I swore I would only work with larger publishers.

EX: How long were you in Matsumoto Izumi's studio?

HK: I spent approximately three years there. Many of the people there grumbled when there was lots of work to do. Since I loved to draw, I was very happy to be there and learning techniques.

EX: Did you make many friends during your apprenticeship that we would recognize?

HK: Actually, most of my friends in the industry I befriended after I debuted. The only one I can really remember off the top of my head is Okazaki Takeshi (of ELEMENTALORS), who ate from the same pot I did at Matsumoto-sensei's studio.

EX: Speaking of which, whatever happened to Okazaki-sensei?

HK: He quit drawing manga, and is now studying to become an accountant.

EX: Getting back to you and your roots, was there any artist that particularly influenced you into drawing?

HK: The first work that comes to mind is Nagai Go-sensei's DEVILMAN. As a child, I grew up reading and knowing only DORAEMON; in that aspect, my finding and reading DEVILMAN in junior high school probably influenced me much into entering this field.

EX: Do you have any other authors and/or works that are particularly memorable?

HK: Junior high school was about when I started reading KING on a regular basis; that was the first magazine that I bought on a regular basis, unlike MAGAZINE that most people back then started with. In that aspect, Moriya Tetsumi-sensei influenced me a lot. I know that Moriya-sensei is drawing ladies' comics under another pen-name; I've been looking for tankoubon of her earlier works but I can't find any. Let's see... I've always loved Matsumoto Leiji as well. I loved GALAXY EXPRESS 999.
I remember reading shoujo manga back then as well. I read every issue of SHOUJO COMIC and BESSATSU MARGARET; my little sister and I split the costs for those two magazines, and read them together. (laughs)
Although I spent a very poor childhood, I also started reading shounen manga around then. My favorite series in KING was WILD 7, and when I started reading JUMP, my favorite author was Eguchi Hisashi.

EX: Now going to the present... BASTARD!! has been made into an anime. What are your honest opinions about that?

HK: The anime is a completely different thing compared to the manga, so I went in with no expectations. I was happy it was made, and that I thought Gara's story in Episode 4 was done well, but I will leave it at that.

EX: So we won't see any more of your works made into anime?

HK: Back when I was in school, I was in the animation division. So I would like to make my own anime someday.

EX: What kind of anime would you be making?

HK: That depends on the staff that I can gather. A new work utilizing a great staff would be interesting, but it would depend on how people react with one another. Creating anime works is like a chemical reaction, but instead between people—it really doesn't matter what is made, as long as there is that reaction going on between the creators.