Astral Contract: A Chrno Crusade Fansite
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Biographer
Daisuke Moriyama (born on September 1971), despite being relatively new in the manga industry, quickly gained fame and recognition with Chrno Crusade, his very first serial work, which quickly became one of the most popular manga titles that ran in the old Comic Dragon and later in the current Dragon Age magazine. He began his career with videogames, and made several illustrations for the magazine Comtiq. His first important job was in 1996, when he made the character design and the cover for Alice in Cyberland, a science fiction story that came out as a videogame, anime and drama. He also won an award in 2003 for Koko ni iru Suiren, a compilation of short stories. He was working as an illustrator for "Monster collection" cards when he joined Fujimi Shoubo, the company that publishes Chrno Crusade in Japan. He likes anime like Vampire Hunter D, Rurouni Kenshin and Black Jack and follows Gadguard, Konjiki no Gash Bell and Kamen Rider Ryuki among other recent series.
Chrno Crusade, the tale of the quest of Chrno and Rosette, is settled in the exotic, nostalgic time period of the Roaring Twenties in the United States. This was a deliberate decision by Daisuke Moriyama, who found that time and place to be particularly fascinating. He read a novel by H.P. Lovecraft (the famed writer whose work redefined horror) in his childhood, and felt inspired to write something about this time period ever since. He also chose the decade of the 1920’s because there was a deep feeling of nostalgia, of a time long past. Moriyama says that the fans like the Chrno Crusade manga because there are few or no series based in that time period. It was Moriyama's decision to make Rosette, the lead character, look like a nun, but not a traditional one, but a fighting nun. He found an opening in his favorite fashion items and incorporated that into the character by adding a pouch to make her look more like a soldier. While Rosette has a cute and appealing appearance, there's no doubt that she's a fighter: "For Rosette, the most important thing in her life is to find her family. It's something she has to do, even if she has to sacrifice herself and shorten her life. That's what she must do, and that creates conflict in her life." The outfit which looks like a nun's habit also helps to highlight the humans-versus-demons part of the manga storyline. This also means that Moriyama has to draw lots of cute girls, handsome guys and monsters. While it’s easier for him to draw guys, he’s also conscious that most of the manga readers’ buy it for the girls, so he had to be very careful abut the way he drew the girls. Moriyama Daisuke also had a rather strict schedule for Chrno Crusade. He developed the plot in one week, drew the draft in another week and inked it the next ten days. The rest of the month was for the color. His favorite paper is Muse, by a rather important paper company in Japan. To draw and color, Moriyama uses G-pen nibs (very popular among mangaka) and acrylic. For CG, he uses Painter 6 on his computer. When asked about who his favorite character was, he replied that it was Rosette, mainly because he looked up to characters like her while he, himself, relates to characters like Joshua and Chrno. He particularly identifies with Joshua: "This character is sickly, but he has big dreams. That blocks his way toward his dreams, but by trying to pursue his dream, I can feel for him." For those who noted Moriyama's appreciation of Lovecraft, you also might want to consider that he said, without much hesitation, that his favorite animated series when he young was the U.S. cartoon Tom and Jerry. "In my comics, I like to relive my childhood and bring in those funny little fights," said Moriyama. "I like to bring out the best in my characters."
Chronicle of Moriyama’s first visit to the United States (May 30, 2004) Daisuke Moriyama was a guest of honor at Pacific Media Expo in Anaheim, California. It was his first time in the U.S. and appearing at an anime convention. The panel started out on an enjoyable note as a very nervous and shy Moriyama greeted the crowd of fans and enthusiasts of his rather popular series. As Moriyama introduced his series to those who may not be well aware of it, he also thanked his fans who knew his work. Moriyama then added that he was quite ecstatic that he finally got to visit the country that he based Chrno Crusade in. He then asked the crowd if they had any questions regarding Chrno Crusade and he is willing to answer any questions. Adding to that note, he commented that he was very nervous so he might be a bit slow to answer and the crowd must bear with him for a bit. Many questions were asked to Moriyama about Chrno Crusade, among those why did he choose that particular place and time. Someone asked him about the nun thing and religious stuff, and he replied that he mostly got things from movies and books he had read. He apologized for things that seemed made up about Christianity, which he had molded it to suit him really. He was asked about his favorite character and he said it was Rosette, because he looked up to characters like her while he, himself, relates to characters like Joshua and Chrno, stating that many of the male leads were a bit weak because of his own self-doubt. Questions were raised about what it takes to be in the manga business, how he started off, how he is living right now and well, does he get paid for royalties. Moriyama stated that he started out as game developer during the 16-bit times and was paid to fill in dots one at the time. At this time, the crowd chuckled at the apparent tedious task. Moriyama then said that as time went on, he got out of the lower ranks and managed to work with some illustrators. That’s when someone realized Moriyama’s talent and some time later, he got into the manga business. He then said something about the way he works (draws one day, edits, tones and whatnot, with the help of his assistants). He was asked if he knew other mangaka, and he replied that he's a lonely type of guy and doesn't talk to many of them. When the question about his living conditions came up, he replied that he lived in a small apartment/studio that could only fit in three people or so. He said that now that his series is ending and he finally has some money, he plans on moving to a bigger place. He also added that royalties give him a bit of pocket change and would love it that more people are willing to support Chrno Crusade. He thanked the fans again and continued to answer the question about what kind of manga artists are out there. He identified that there are two kinds of manga artists, the type with hundreds of connection/friends, and then there are the loner types where they only have a handful of friends. He then quickly added that he was the loner type with a handful of friends. Someone asked him what he wanted to do in the U.S., since it was his first time and he replied he wanted to shot things (like... with a gun @_@). One of the funniest questions, or just amusing, was about cosplaying and if he liked people cosplaying his characters. He replied that he was happy to see them, and then his manager stepped in saying "he's ecstatic!" and the translator said, "he's so happy he wants to cry". ^_^ Also, in reference to the doggy thing, he said it was actually a friend who first made that up and he thought it would be a good picture to use to represent himself (he does resemble his doggy persona a bit). ^_^
As the panel went on, a question
about an art book came up when his manager replied that Moriyama didn’t
have enough illustrations at the time and no one had proposed the idea to
Moriyama yet. Although there is hope in the air for one, nothing is
definite yet (his manager came up and said
something to the degree of "you guys should encourage him to make more...
then you can have an art book!"). When asked
what he was going to do since the manga was over and if he had any plans
to make another series, his response was that Chrno Crusade wasn't over
for him yet. He also emphasized that even though the manga had
ended in Japan in May, Chrno Crusade was still going on in his mind. He
hoped to finish it, and possibly do another ending for the graphic novel
that was going to be released in September. When another question popped
about whether he will be doing doujinshi, he stated that he would like to
do something under the table and very well, something a bit different than
Chrno Crusade. Moriyama then stated that he didn’t want his fans to think
that he only does one type of manga and that he wanted to be known for
different types. He then proceeded to state that this is what fans
sometimes do when a manga artist is then known for his or her work and
they, in a way, want to the mangaka to stick by it. Moriyama then gave an
example as to how would you feel if Akira Toriyama started drawing a bunch
of girls. That’s right, you won’t really feel like it’s his work and
possibly even wonder why he’s so “weird”. The panel ended shortly
afterwards, with Moriyama thanking the fans for reading Chrno Crusade.
Sources for this article: Chrno Crusade Super Guide http://www.artmanorg.com/gallery/moreyama/ (translated by Israfel) Doragon’s PMX report (at the Astral Lines Forum)
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