{"id":43813,"date":"2025-04-18T21:45:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T04:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=43813"},"modified":"2026-05-06T18:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:04:40","slug":"high1course1177","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/high1course1177\/","title":{"rendered":"High 1st Course<\/em>, November 1977"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A close-up of Leiji Matsumoto<\/h3>\n

The anime film Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is incredibly popular. The art direction for the film was handled by Leiji Matsumoto, the manga artist behind Otoko Oidon<\/em>. We spoke with him about the themes and appeal of this work, as well as his own memories of his youth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I want to ride on it<\/h2>\n

Leiji Matsumoto, the manga artist who depicts true love and courage<\/h3>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is undoubtedly a kind of frontier drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cYamato<\/em> is a great navigator. Just like how many adventurers set sail on the unknown oceans during the age of discovery, space is an unknown ocean of the future. Actually, I wanted to call it Spaceship Yamato<\/em>, not Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>. It didn\u2019t need to be a fighting ship. A spaceship that sets out into the unknown world, carrying many people. I wanted to put a lot of people on a spaceship, venturing into the unknown, and have them work together, sometimes selfishly clashing with each other, but doing their best. I wanted to make a space opera that was very human.\u201c<\/p>\n

“Rather than a story about a handsome, slender-legged, superhero, a drama about ordinary, relatable people, would be more fitting. That\u2019s why I really wanted to include someone like Chikame with his bow-legged stance. But it had to be a cool guy for TV, after all. If I were to draw something next, I\u2019d like to put Otoko Oidon<\/em> on board Yamato<\/em> and make it a grand space romance.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, while the crew of the Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> may not have the occasional bow-legged character, there are no special superstars among them. Each and every one of them possesses a strong personality and is a living human being with an irresistible charm.<\/p>\n

The gentleness hidden within a man\u2019s romantic ideals<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What Leiji Matsumoto depicts here is undeniable love and adventure, a grand scale masculine romance. However, there is also a profound sadness that transcends mere science-fiction and action.<\/p>\n

When the Planet Gamilas is destroyed, Yuki Mori is heartbroken.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can no longer face God. Not after this.\u201d<\/p>\n

This single phrase encapsulates the tragedy of conflict and its consequences, while at the same time succinct expressing Leiji Matsumoto\u2019s tenderness and cherishing of life. And it also seems to ask us, in return, \u201ccan we still face God?\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowledge amid the post war turmoil
\nSurrounded by nature, manga, and movies<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Kurume city, Fukuoka prefecture in 1938, Leiji Matsumoto was surrounded by nature, manga, and movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the chaos of the post war period among porters, street children, and Americans, I feel like I grew up in a chaotic but vibrant era, marked by things like food shortages and a flood of comic books and movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was a pilot, so we moved around a lot, always settling wherever there was an airfield.”<\/p>\n

During the war, Matsumoto was evacuated to the mountains of Matsuyama, Shikoku. He spent his days running around in the fields and mountains, getting covered in mud. He believes that the robust physique that supports his current irregular lifestyle of staying up all night was forged during this time.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dissecting insects and fishing in sunken ships<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Another topic is from the repertoire of manga artist Leiji Matsumoto. Insect-related content is a crucial part of his work, and it was during his time in Shikoku that he developed a deep interest in them and became intimately involved with all kinds of insects.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was engrossed in observing insects, dissecting them, and being amazed and impressed by the complexity and precision of their structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, after the war ended, when he was in third grade of elementary school, he moved to Kokura in Kitakyushu.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to live in a place called Sunatsu, and it was surprisingly close to the sea, so I would go there almost every day. The port facilities were left in ruins. It was like a giant jungle gym in the sea, and it was an absolutely amazing and exciting place for a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a Chinese cargo ship sunk a little offshore, which was a perfect spot for Gobi fishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would measure my distance and swim as far as I could, but even then, when I got really absorbed in it, the shore seemed to get incredibly far away. I would swim back as fast as I could. I still remember that there were a lot of copper coins there that were inscribed with Ming Dynasty Year 15.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Around that time, just like the sea, the allure of movies and manga captivated young Matsumoto and wouldn\u2019t let him go.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of movies, Snow White<\/em> and Gulliver\u2018s Travels<\/em> left a strong impression on me. In manga, Osamu Tezuka\u2019s works were particularly memorable. However, at the time, I felt that every movie I saw made a powerful impression, and was deeply moving.\u201c<\/p>\n

From Yonemachi elementary school to Kikuryo junior high, Matsumoto enrolled in Kokura’s Minami high school. As a high school student, his passion for manga deepened.<\/p>\n

Even as a high school student, I still frequented rental bookstores<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

He spent his days hanging out at a nearby rental bookstore, and there\u2019s an anecdote about the owner scolding him, saying, \u201cYou\u2019re a middle schooler, and all you do is read comics,\u201d to which he replied, \u201cI\u2019m a high schooler,\u201d much to the owner’s astonishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I ever wrote that was printed was probably in the city’s public relations magazine or something, and I think it was a comic strip promoting tax payments. After that, I started getting a part-time job drawing for the Mainichi Elementary School Newspaper. Back then, I didn\u2019t get paid anything, and 15% of it was deducted for taxes. The Mainichi Shimbun<\/em> was in Moji, and the round-trip train fare from Kokura was 60 yen. I remember that very clearly.”<\/p>\n

It was during this high school period that his submitted work, The Adventures of a Honeybee<\/em>, was published in Manga Shonen<\/em>, and he also started his first serialized work, The World of Insects.<\/em><\/p>\n

While he continued to draw manga, he hadn\u2019t yet decided to make being a manga artist his profession. On one hand, he felt he wanted to be a manga artist, that he had no other choice. But on the other hand, he also had doubts, thinking there must be countless other aspiring manga artists like himself.<\/p>\n

The joy of receiving a job offer was short-lived\u2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t come to a decision about my future career path, and as graduation approached, the editor-in-chief at my part-time job offered me a contract position after graduation. I was totally set on it, but then he was transferred due to a personnel change, and he didn\u2019t hand over the administrative details to the next editor-in-chief. I was fired in a flash. It was around this time that I stopped believing in verbal promises from adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, he spent a year lounging around at home, wrote a few one-shot stories for girls magazines, and then moved to Tokyo relying on a single serialized story. This was in 1957, when Leiji Matsumoto was 18 years old.<\/p>\n

Go to hell, handsome man! The youth of Otoko Oidon<\/em><\/h3>\n

Leiji Matsumoto\u2019s youth after moving to Tokyo directly overlaps with the large 4.5 tatami mat room in Otoko Odion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Six years spent in a large 4.5 tatami mat room<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it was the end of the good old days of boarding houses. The landlady was nice and never complained, even if I was late with my rent, but she would get really angry if I went to the pawn shop without telling her why I didn\u2019t consult her first. I\u2019m the type of person who likes to settle down in one place, so I ended up staying there for six years, and my lifestyle during that time is reflected in various ways in Otoko Oidon<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

The stories in this manga are mostly based on fact, although there are some exaggerations and modifications. For example, the story of the monkey mushroom growing on underwear originated from the fact that small mushrooms actually grew on worn out clothing that had been thrown aside.<\/p>\n

A protagonist with beady eyes, short legs, and bow legs appears<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The protagonist of Otoko Oidon<\/em>, Tota Oyama, is a nearsighted, short-legged, and bow-legged boy with an unremarkable appearance. He\u2019s always hungry and short on money, but he\u2019s optimistic about the future, thinking, \u201cjust you wait and see.\u201d He lives in a bright and carefree life in his large 4.5 tatami mat boarding house.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this work, the protagonist is a character completely opposite to the unrealistic superheroes that appeared in many manga up to that point, and it seems that this has been well received by many readers.”<\/p>\n

Otoko Oidon<\/em> lacks the hypocritical lies and the suspiciousness of overly cool characters. The anxieties and worries of being in the prime of youth, and the hope for the future that feels certain while lacking any concrete basis, are all conveyed with Matsumoto\u2019s unique pathos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an endless grudge against handsome men. I feel a strong aversion to typical protagonists who are good-looking, tall, and so on. Looking at myself and my friends, there aren\u2019t many who have had a good experience. You could say that my complexes and all sorts of resentment gave birth to that character. I drew him in a lighthearted and fun way to vent my frustrations.\u201c<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“Youth” is a treasure trove of infinite possibilities<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“If I were to say one more thing about this work, it shows what\u2019s so wonderful about youth. Don\u2019t sulk just because you\u2019re 20 and don\u2019t have money. It\u2019s still just the beginning of life. Living in a boarding house, lying around with no job, no money, and no prospects for the future. Even the firm beliefs I held when I left my hometown had become uncertain. At that point, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of anxiety and loneliness. But I want readers of my generation to know that even with nothing but being young, this is truly a wonderful time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s OK to be unattractive, just go all out!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a matter of belief, but any person can be brave. However, even if you\u2019re no match for an enemy, if you are cornered, I think it goes against the way of life to run away. You have to give it your all, even if it\u2019s clumsy or embarrassing, and just go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This earnestness and straightforward passion for his work are what makes Leiji Matsumoto so appealing, and they also define the charm of the protagonists in his manga.<\/p>\n

(Interview and text by Mitsuhiko Yatomi)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

Return to previous article<\/a><\/p>\n

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