SF Online Interview with Hagio (Part II-2)

(Continued)

Mizutama:

In retrospect, "On the Porch a Girl With a Puppy…" was also SciFi, as well as "Asobidama (Marbles)" [Note 1], but I think what really established you as a "SciFi cartoonist" in the public mind was, after all, "They Were Eleven." When I read it, I instinctively sensed, "Ah, Hagio-san is paying tribute to the 'SciFi' that she grew up reading." Perhaps it was because this work appeared to contain exactly all the symbolic elements of "SciFi" that non-SciFi readers have vaguely in their mind. At least that's how it seemed to me. (laugh)

[Note 1] An early and long-lost SciFi piece by Hagio; some say it is a prequel to Keiko Takemiya's "To Terra". My husband never got to read this, to his deep regret.

Sakai:

"They Were Eleven" was about young people fighting for their survival within a confined situation, but in its sequel the theme was like society doesn't get better through mere individual efforts—it turned into a rather disillusioned, or a rather more measured story, right? Was that because of the restrained viewpoint that you've mentioned, in response to a more positive view of the future like that of Asimov?

Hagio:

No, I wasn't thinking that deeply, because the idea first came to me in my high school days. The SciFi plots I did back when I was doing "They Were Eleven" were generally in that vein; there were lots of characters like those wholesome, young, male protagonists. So I was thinking of a lot of adventure stories for such characters, but when I finally penned "They Were Eleven," the "model student"-ness of the hero really got on my nerves and I didn't see this as a good thing. So I did the sequel thinking perhaps I could do better next time, but it still didn't work out. (laugh) I thought to myself that I couldn't keep depicting those wholesome characters, and I junked all the other SciFi ideas. So I think there is timing in everything, the right moment to do things.

Mizutama:

Ah, I see. So "They Were Eleven" was from the early stages of "SciFi" addiction, when you hadn't developed any resistance and had severe symptoms (laugh), that type of "SciFi" for you. Mmmm, it wasn't completely off the mark then that I saw it as "paying tribute."

Sakai:

What are you talking about? (laugh)

(Continues)

The Village of the Poes (Page 19)

The second episode in "Poe no Ichizoku" is "ポーの村 (The Village of the Poes)". This was first published in the July 1972 issue of Bessatsu Shojo Komikku, 4 months after the first episode.

1972 was the second and final year of the Oizumi Salon, which was a center of activities for Year 24 Group or Fabulous 49ers, so called because many of the influential shojo manga-ka from this group were born around 1949 or the 24th year of the Showa Era. The salon was formed when Hagio Moto, then living with her parents in Fukuoka, moved to a shabby apartment in Oizumi, Tokyo ("It was more like 'O-izumi Row-house'"), as Keiko Takemiya's roommate in October 1970. In 1972 the group went on their first trip to Europe for 40 days, returning in late autumn. Then Hagio and Takemiya moved into separate, but still close, apartments in Shimoigusa, Tokyo, ending the "Oizumi Salon" era. (Hagio's CV)

This was an important period for Hagio—gaining independence from her parents who were not necessarily supportive of her career choice, and switching publishers from Kodansha to Shogakukan. Kodansha pressured Hagio to follow proven formulae, and rejected many of her stories. Shogakukan, on the other hand, was more accommodating with Hagio's desire to try unconventional stories. It was not only Hagio who benefited from this new freedom, but the genre of manga in general took another leap forward from that point in what could be expressed in terms of story, mood, characterizations and so forth.

Hagio's ex-roommate, Keiko Takemiya's classic SciFi shojo manga "地球へ(Terra-e)" was picked up for US publication by Vertical, Inc. So maybe "Poe no Ichizoku" still have a chance for US publication if Takemiya's work stimulate interest in shojo manga classics. Takemiya also did "Kaze to Ki no Uta" (1976), which was the first major shojo manga work that focused on shonen-ai.