Messages to Kentarou Miura: Takashi Hoshi (4)

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Part 1 of this translation can be found here.
Part 2 of this translation can be found here.
Part 3 of this translation can be found here.

Also, I’m reporting to you that we had actually been elaborating a plan for an original work together (1), other than this one, until just before Miura-nii suddenly said to us “I’ll go first…”

Being on the alert for various opportunities, I’ve been thinking that I want to continue to create things so that I won't live in shame as a junior Miura-nii liked.

Dear producers who saw these illustrations, please contact the editorial department if you like. *laugh*

The animation project also vigilantly awaits the day when it will put the fantastic illustrations of Miura-nii in motion.

“To create.”
“To continue to create.”

And “to enjoy it.”

Miura-nii gave me things that are too big to describe here, and he’s the one who showed me his attitude as a mangaka, as a senior in monozukuri (2) and as a brother, for the first time.

Though to imitate his attitude just a little bit may already be a heavy burden for me, I want to continue to live my life while creating, since he showed it to me with much effort, as if guiding my hand from behind.

I want to do it so we can reminisce about that and other things, and create a new work when we meet again.

HOSHI Takashi
A day in 2021


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Note 1: He’s talking about the giant robot animation project, codenamed “Metabaron”, of which a dozen pictures are being shown at the Great Berserk Exhibition. It was led by Miura-sensei, and Umino Chica and Mori Kouji were involved as well.

Note 2: Monozukuri is a Japanese concept that can be summarized as “the art of creating things”. It appeared around 900 CE and is typically associated with the manufacturing of goods, but its meaning in Japan is wider than that. It’s about the art of doing things as perfectly and efficiently as possible and the joy it brings.


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Legends for the two illustrations

Illustration #1 (the one with a sea serpent pursuing the racers)

Post-apocalypse.

In a devastated world where the frames of nations still remain, riders and dragons compete together, taking on the prestige of their nation and (their own) ambitions in “D.RI.F.T, the dragon racing competition”.

Written by: SATO Junichi and HOSHI Takashi
Characters and creatures designed by: MIURA Kentarou
In the planning stage, color illustration of the unpublished work.


Illustration #2 (riders fighting, zeppelins flying above)

Miura-sensei’s unique drawing style – creating images that are severe but speedy at the same time, with the story flowing into it and even packed with the characters’ personalities – is exceptional.

The image illustrations included in the proposal for D.RI.F.T, an unpublished work.


Note: The word “image” (in Katakana) means “mental image” or “impression” in Japanese.