April 2024 - Kyunghyang Shinmun Wayama Yama Interview
Translation by nag2n on Twitter. Original translation post can be found here. Translated from this article.
THE YAKUZA AND STUDENT WHO MET OVER KARAOKE... GOES TO THE FAMILY RESTAURANT
Translation by nag2n, typeset by me.
CAPTION: A scene from author Wayama Yama's new work "Let's Go to the Family Restaurant." Satomi is on the left and Kyouji on the right.
Satomi Oka, head of the Morioka Middle School choir, felt a strange gaze following him during a choir competition. It felt like someone was boring holes into him. As he descended from the stage, a man he'd never seen before approached him with a broad smile and said, "Let's go to karaoke!" The business card that the man handed over read 'Fourth Generation Matsuribayashi Wakagashira Assistant, Kyouji Narita'. It meant he was yakuza. A desperate look on his face, he had one request for the boy trembling with fear: "Can you teach me some tricks for singing better?"
Wayama Yama's manga Let's Go Karaoke! centers around the yakuza Kyouji receiving singing lessons from the middle schooler Satomi before a karaoke competition hosted by his boss. The story following an almost 40-year-old yakuza who – despite his seemingly carefree attitude – wants to avoid the 'tattoo penalty' if crowned the Sucky-Song King, and a teenage middle schooler who callously points out to even a yakuza that he has "an ugly falsetto", exploded in popularity after its 2021 publication and was even adapted into a movie.
Let's Go to the Family Restaurant., sequel to Let's Go Karaoke!, was published on the 1st by Munhakdongne. As of the 15th, it ranks 2nd on Kyobo's overall bestseller list—a rarity for manga. On the 6th, we were able to interview author Wayama Yama, who was visiting Korea for a fansign event.
CAPTION: The Korean covers of "Let's Go Karaoke!" and "Let's Go to the Family Restaurant."
IF THIS ISN'T LOVE, WHAT IS?
The driving force behind the series's immense popularity is the relationship between Kyouji and Satomi. In Let's Go Karaoke!, the two appear like uncle and nephew, or like friends with a large age difference. Kyouji is surprisingly playful contrary to his 'profession', while Satomi has a cynical flare. The classic bromance-like atmosphere between them undergoes a notable shift in Let's Go to the Family Restaurant. as Satomi enters adulthood. The 'complicated feelings' that Satomi has towards Kyouji are delicately portrayed.
Satomi, a college student approaching his 20s, works part time at a family restaurant while attending school. He occasionally meets up with Kyouji. Between months without any contact, Kyouji will appear out of nowhere to buy him an expensive meal before disappearing again. Though Satomi is unhappy with their current arrangement, he can't stop thinking about Kyouji, finding himself getting pointlessly disappointed. The $13,000 watch that Kyouji takes off and hands over without a second thought while Satomi toils away for a pittance frankly incenses him. Cracks form within Satomi's monotonous but otherwise peaceful daily life every time his mind wanders back to Kyouji.
Translation by nag2n, typeset by me.
CAPTION: In Let's Go to the Family Restaurant., Satomi, a college student approaching his 20s, meets up with Kyouji from time to time to have a meal. Kyouji, who lives in Osaka, comes to Tokyo to see Satomi.
Many fans interpret their relationship as one of romance, saying, "If this isn't love, then what is it?" That said, there are precious few scenes where the two appear together, not enough to really be considered BL (boy's love, a genre centered around gay relationships). Satomi's emotions could also be seen as a kind of adolescent confusion typical for someone around his age.
The author doesn't clearly define the relationship between the two. "Though I created these characters, I'm also seeing them from a third party's perspective. It can't be said for certain yet what kind of relationship the two will end up having. I'd be happy if the readers could watch over them while imagining multiple possible interpretations."
Wayama's approach to character creation is to first come up with an appearance, followed by imagining their hearts and unraveling its contents. "From the start, I didn't think of it as a story where Satomi had a crush on Kyouji. While drawing, I find there's a part of me that's still coming to understand Satomi's feelings."
Official English translation.
CAPTION: A scene from Let's Go Karaoke! where Satomi evaluates the singing skills of Kyouji's yakuza friends. With each song, Satomi's criticisms grow harsher.
The author's first iteration of Kyouji's career was of an elementary school teacher with a gangster background. Though she had plans for a story about a gangster becoming a teacher, she was never able to complete it. The current story was established after she changed his career to a yakuza instead and came up with another character after thinking that the furthest thing from a yakuza was 'a middle schooler'. Kyouji's appearance was based off the Japanese actor Tomoya Nagase. Satomi wasn't based off of anyone in particular.
The ending of Let's Go to the Family Restaurant. has already been decided. The author said, "I am worried about how the readers will feel about and take the ending," but also added to, "Please look forward to it."
MY FAVORITE AUTHOR IS JUNJI ITO
CAPTION: Author Wayama Yama was doing autographs for Korean fans at a fansign event on the 6th. The author is currently working without revealing her face.
Having grown up with a lot of manga in her home, she decided on her career path in her 3rd year of high school. Debating between becoming either an illustrator or a mangaka, she ended up choosing the latter. After enrolling in her university's manga program, she eventually made her professional debut in 2019 with Captivated, by You. This work would go on to win the 24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in the short story category.
Although she mainly draws stories about the mundane yet humorous happenings of everyday life, the artist who's had the greatest influence on her is surprisingly the master of Japanese horror manga, Junji Ito. She liked his art style and recalls copying it. "Though the content of my manga is light-hearted, there were quite a few people who thought it was horror based on the art alone."
CAPTION: A Let's Go to the Family Restaurant. illustration signboard erected to commemorate author Wayama Yama's Korea visit.
In an era saturated with an abundance of media, this is what she considers to be the appeal of manga: "From the actors to the directors, dramas and movies are the culmination of the combined talents of many; manga, however, is a world created by a single person. Manga is where an author's 'personality' is able to shine through the most. Though everyday life is filled with exhausting and painful moments, I want to leave behind works that allow you to forget about those things, even if just for a moment."