Messages to Kentarou Miura: Satoru Akahori (2)

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Part one of this translation is available here.


One day, I called him for a late night drinking session, expecting that he wouldn’t be able to make it, but surprisingly, he came. We sang many animation songs and then our group of several people even barged into his workshop.
Living like that regularly, he continued his work. His madness (1) was way beyond what we thought.

Years ago, on a rare occasion, I wrote a serious historical novel. The protagonist was a man who fought with the madness around him, but he himself was progressively getting possessed by it, standing for an ideal that was considered to be impossible.

Scratching my head over how I should handle the cover (of my book), a creator (Miura) came to mind. Despite thinking it wouldn’t work out, I asked him for a favor through the editorial department. However, both of them gave me their approval. Although the book was published by Kodansha, Young Animal’s editorial department consented to his inclination. One illustration was good enough, but I remember that he said he would draw a few pages.

The novel didn’t sell well because of my lack of ability, but at least the cover is of the absolute highest level. I have included it here, hoping that as many people as possible will see it.

Look, here’s a genius.
A humble person like me doesn’t have to say anything, here are the drawings that make us recognize he’s a genius simply by looking at them.
How much talent on Earth did the Heavens grant him?
However, coldheartedly, they summoned him.
Maybe they thought…
This level of talent is too good to be allowed to stay on Earth.
O heavens, don’t covet him!

Note: Akahori uses language that is complicated to understand for non-Japanese speakers, so I've simplified it while keeping it accurate. The last paragraph is especially poetic. Regarding the very last line ("don’t covet him"), I’ve kept it literal, but what he’s implying is to "return him".

Note 1: "Madness" isn't pejorative in this case, it's meant to underline that Miura was exceptional.