”I couldn't even figure out how to split the panels” - Creative Way One (Topic)

When you watch One-Punch man or Mob Psycho 100 from One, it's hard not to recognize the awesomeness of everything you see, from the divine animation to the approach to the characters and their story. Therefore, when you first google who One is, it comes as a surprise to many that this person does not even know how to draw, and all his cult projects were originally banal web comics. Today we'll take a look at One's creative journey.

Strange faces in the notebook

At the beginning of his career, One was a rather mysterious person, and there is little information about him. Anyway, we took all the information in this material from his interview.

One was born in 1986 in Konosu, Saitama Prefecture. Even when he was in elementary school, he began to think about becoming a manga artist. Then he was a fan of Crayon Shin-chan and wanted to draw something similar. For Wang himself, it was not just an attempt to draw manga for the first time, but also a way to test himself, to make sure that he can do it at all.

“I think all my thoughts were focused on whether I could become one of them or not. It was then, as a child, and having drawn my first comic strip, I determined my future, "One says in one of his interviews.

In high school, he continued to draw and constantly visualized ideas in his notebook. It was completely filled with stories with funny dialogues, unusual faces and interactions between characters. What One liked the most was that he could put all his ideas on paper and create, as it seemed to him, not bad stories, while someone else just drew kawaii girls.

In middle school and high school, peers were usually fond of football, video games, or other popular and cool activities. Wang was afraid that in the eyes of those around him his small work would not look so cool, so during his school and student years he drew manga for himself, did not show it to anyone, even to relatives and friends.

“In school and college, I had friends who read manga, but I didn't know anyone to draw it on their own, so I felt embarrassed about my hobby. In the end, I went through my entire student life without showing my manga to anyone or even telling people what I was drawing. One day my parents saw one of my notebooks with a hega manga "Middle-Aged-Man Man" and started getting angry because they thought it was stupid. In fact, by that time I had about 50 such notebooks. ”

It was not that his relatives considered his occupation stupid, but that he had to hide his hobby that gave him genuine pleasure. However, he realized for himself that this was the only right decision. Although, One himself admitted that he found a certain charm in this, when he kept a secret from everyone who did not like this "forbidden fruit" hidden in the pages of his works.

In college, he did not want to join the mangaka club because he did not feel like a part of this community. Besides, all the people there tried to paint realistically. One, in turn, continued to visualize his crazy fantasies. However, he admits that if he tried to do the same as the club members, he would now draw much better.

All these reflections led him to the Internet, where he was looking for young manga artists and artists with the same problems as his. So, searches led him to a webcomic site.

One deflection and you're dead

One originally uploaded photos from his phone to a free website, only the words in the comic for the 2009 phone camera were too small, and any accidental hand movement while taking a photo caused them to blur. Then one of Wang's acquaintances invited him to check out his comic on the Nitosha website.

There he found thousands of web comics that could be adequately read on a computer screen, and most importantly, they were no different from those published in magazines.

“I thought this was a great opportunity, so I bought a PC, tablet, Comic Studio (manga drawing software) and started working. It was much easier to read than when I photographed with my phone. I decided to start with One-punch Man. It was my first practice, so I couldn't even figure out how to split the panels, ha ha, ”One recalls in an interview with Sugoi Japan.

The idea of creating One-Punch Man came from a passion for the manga artist from Shonen Jump [one of the most popular manga magazines in Japan, specializing in the genre of shonen, on its pages at one time there was Naruto, Death Note, Bleach "," Dragon Ball "," One Piece "and others].

All stories in such a manga told about the growth of the character, how he gets stronger, and you knew for sure that in the end he will appear before you all-powerful. One thought it would be funny if he started the story with a hero who had already become omnipotent. This idea became the starting point. People appreciated this, so they got the impression that they had already reached the climax and began to read the story from a completely different, unusual point of view.

Since 2009, Wang has been actively publishing his webcomic. Since he never showed anyone his work, it was a good motivator and a surprise for him that thousands of strangers read his comic strip and left comments like: “This is very cool, keep going, I need more!”.

At the same time, a Japanese illustrator addicted to Wang's manga posted a post on his social media page with positive reviews about "One-punch Man". It so happened that he had a famous and professional mangaka Yusuke Murata as his friends. He checked out Wang's comic and got really hooked on it after reading it overnight. One himself found out that he had such a big fan when Murata made a joyful tweet about the comic update.

At the same time, Wang got a job and took a break from his work. A year later, he published the following post on Twitter: "I am thinking to quit my job and devote myself entirely to manga, but my friends discourage me completely and convincingly, so I do not think I will decide on this."

“I read this post and thought with horror:“ Oh no, Mr. One will no longer draw manga! ”. Even when I first read his work, I wanted to cooperate with him, but then it seemed to me that it would be suspicious if I just call and offer him to cooperate, but that post changed everything, and I immediately contacted him "- says the artist Yusuke Murata, who later drew a detailed version of the manga.

But there was a small problem - he was tied by a contract with Shonen Jump. Yusuke was very ill then. His illness was so severe that he had a real chance of dying. One day of illness, he realized for himself that before he died, he would most like to visualize Onе's work, so he tirelessly began calling various publishers who would agree to publish a new manga regardless of his contract with Shonen. He eventually found Tonari no Young Jump and after he recovered he and One got to work. Although at first One himself really took it as a joke ....

This is how the real One-punch Man manga was born, and its success led to the fact that it was filmed in 2015. Anime has become an icon of cool animation.

The success was due precisely to the unusual concept and thoughtful lore in which the action of the manga unfolds. In addition, Saitama, like Dragon Ball's Goku, was simply charming and could always solve any problem. The success of the anime is due to the fact that a bunch of geniuses worked on it. As Murata once said, for any artist, no matter how talented he is, to come up with a story, and even such that people themselves would like to read it to the end, and then ask for more is very difficult. And it was One who was able to do it. Murata, in turn, like a god, transferred this whole story to the pages of the manga, and the talented animators from the Madhouse studio simply approached the creation of the anime with love and sense. They didn't have a big budget - only desire and skill.

Mob Sob 100

The second, no less cult, but at the same time different in concept, was the web comic "Mob Psycho 100", which tells about the most powerful psychic boy who always has difficulties expressing his emotions.

The publication of Mob began in the same 2009 and the story became almost as popular as One-Punch Man. In 2012, when views reached almost 8 million and the webcomic itself had 111 chapters, Yusuke invited Wang to do Mob as well.

When he came up with a comic, he wanted to touch on the topic of kindness and connections between people. And although the manga turned out with an abundance of battle scenes, the creator claims that, according to the original idea, it was a story about life, in which there was a little super power.

“The mob is not pretending; he is a conscientious good man. He's an almost perfect protagonist. In situations that I run from, I want my hero to stay and face the threat; In those days when I gave up my ventures, I want my hero to continue. And I feel like I gave Moba those heroic traits, "Wang said in an interview about the anime release from his comic.

And he did it, because the first and second seasons of the series touch upon rather deep topics: a person's acceptance of himself as he is, aggression and toxicity of society, manipulation and the value of relationships between people. And in the comics, in the manga and anime - all this was fully revealed.

One has created a character that changes people's lives, makes them the best. This is clearly seen in the relationship between Mob and Reigen, Mob and Ritsu, or Mob and Teru. All couples interact in very different ways, but they are very similar thematically.

Mod Psycho 100 was a huge success with charming characters like Arataka Reigen, great visuals from Bones, character designs by Yoshimichi Kamede who worked on Fullmetal Alchemist, as well as amazing seyu, music and jokes - as we see again work professionals.

Other projects

Mob and One-Punch Man are famous works of One themselves, however he and Murata are actively working together, although Wang himself has independent works.

Makai no Ossan / Old Man of the Underworld

This is the next webcomic by Wang, about a family from the underworld who go about their daily routine. Typical of the underworld, of course. The sight is as stubborn as it is funny.

Dotou no Yuushatachi / Heroes of Fury

Single from Wang and Yusuke. This is a rather mocking story about the Middle Ages, dragons, and also, as the description says: the moral principles of heroes that have rusted through the centuries.

Dangan Tenshi Fan Club / Bullet Angel Fan Club

The plot of this single is often compared to One-Punch Man, but they are not so similar. According to the plot, in one class, the guys are not at all interested in club activities, and even more so in romantic relationships. More, they constantly hold secret meetings. The girls get bored, and then Daichi is transferred to their class - a real ideal. He is inundated with love letters and among them he finds an invitation to the boys' club. He goes to find out his secret.

Gokiburi Buster

Just a short manga about how a group of superheroes hunt cockroaches. That says it all. Spend 15 minutes of your life reading it and be satisfied.

That's all, but One's career is not over here.

The Topic of Article: ”I couldn't even figure out how to split the panels” - Creative Way One.
Author: Jake Pinkman