Due to the ongoing precautions currently occurring in Japan, the originally scheduled Shaman King Exhibition occurring in Aomori has been postponed. In addition to this event, Hiroyuki Takei’s editor was going to host a “Shaman King Exhibition Fan Meetup” and specialty tickets were being sold. This event too has been postponed from it’s originally scheduled April 30th date.
While smaller in scope and not to be setback by these difficult times, Hiroyuki Takei’s editor, Y-san, has decided to open the “Shaman King Exhibition Fanmee Twitter Venue. (Fanmee being short for Fan meetup). From some of the fan questions submitted, in addition to other thoughts, he’s using the Twitter #シャーマンキング展ファンミTwitter会場 to post his answers. Below is a rough English translation to his answers in order they were posted
- I want to see XXX! Many questions came in like this. I hope you can wait [until the Exhibition]. I am preparing to have fun events there. It’s only the coronavirus in the way…
- Thoughts on the new “Shaman King Macros” manga in the May issue of [Shonen Magazine] Edge? I have many. Glasses. The review has already been completed (final check before printing). The team in the editorial department were all excited.
- I received many question about my favorite characters and chapters, but I can’t answer that. There is no top pick. To be honest, I like the entire Shaman King series, the creators who support it, and the fans.
- The bracelet of the hospital that was on the mannequin of Takei-senei at the Shaman King Exhibition was his idea. Don’t worry, he is fine.
- This is a reminder to Takei-sensei and Jet Kusamura-sensei, I will always accept [your work] up to the last deadline, but let’s not reach that. We are all professionals, but we still need to leave time for corrections, right? So is it done yet? Surprise me!
- Some of the questions were about my history… I joined Kodansha in 1998 and was assigned to Comic Bonbon. In June of the same year, the serialization of Shaman King began. When Bonbon concluded I was transferred to Monthly Shonen Rival until it’s conclusion. Then I launched with Shonen Magazine Edge. I have no “hometown” department anymore.
- It has been a while since I first met Takei-sensei, but it was a mysterious meeting. Someone wanted to hang out while drinking and bring a friend. “Who was coming [, I asked]?” And his reply, “Shaman King’s Hiroyuki Takei.” I pretended to be calm, but that was impossible. From there, I worked with him that led to the serialization of “Nekogahara.” It really was surprised by this chance encounter.
- What were some new events to look forward to at the next Shaman King Exhibition? I was originally planning on some additional drawings to be added. I’m sorry the Aomori venue has been postponed. Please wait for more information.
- I’ve been asked and answered before, but I wake up around 10am and start replying to e-mails from my PC, then stop by a different bookstore everyday before going to work. I can’t sleep well because the number of e-mails always increases. I still do supervision work in addition to replying to e-mails. We have a lot of work to due! Coronavirus!!
- We had prepared a lot, but due to the impact of the new coronavirus we were forced to cancel or postpone the Aomori venue. When thinking of all the fans support, including all of you, postponement was the only option. Thank you for your cooperation to enjoy this special presentation.
- Also… please do not resell the Shaman King Exhibition goods. It kills me inside. Please look foward. Smile!
To chime in with another story on how they met Hiroyuki Takei, Fukushima Toru, who previously has worked with Hiroyuki Takei on book layouts, cover designs, and logos for the series added his story:
- “I wrote this previously, but it was LEGOs that introduced me to designing with Takei-sensei. I first designed the Jumbor logo at UJ [Ultra Jump] through the editor of S [Shueisha] Company (who happened to be a LEGO friend) through another editor (who became my LEGO friend) at the Brick Fan Town display at Nasu Highland Park in 2008.
Prior to starting the Fan Meetup on Twitter, his editor also posted that they still have the prints of the train station ads (from Tokyo and Osaka) at the Shonen Magazine Edge editorial offices in addition to the ones from Aomori. He needs to see how much they would cost to ship, but he may give them out as prizes.
Additionally, he also chimed in with his Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates. Before starting the Twitter posts he donated his fossils and sold 3 tarantulas. His native island fruit is pear. He got an apple tree grown the other day and his palm/coconut trees have been planted. Rex is moving into his town tomorrow and he will focus on catching insects when he gets back home.
Article image is a modified picture of Y-san from his vacation at the end of 2019 in Xian, China where he visited the location of the Terracotta Warriors.
