EX: What was the hardest part of designing the BLUE SUB characters?

MR: The exact same answer is applicable to this question, to retain consistency in the lines.

EX: How did you "update" the character designs from the original manga designs?

MR: Since it was completely different from the original manga, it was more like I was coming up with new characters rather than updating the old ones. However, there was a character from the original manga, a scientist named Marunami, who looks like an octopus (laughs). So for him, it was actually an update rather than a new design.

EX: How did the fact that BLUE SUB had so much digital animation affect the design?

MR: The fact that it was a digital animation didn't really make any difference to me, because I heard and knew from the beginning that the characters were going to be animated in 2D.

EX: What are you working on now?

MR: I do the cover art for the magazine KAIRAKUTEN, and covers or pinups for ULTRA JUMP. I also have a serial in another magazine called COMICKERS. I usually draw characters most of the time, but for COMICKERS I do designs and illustrations of "things" such as bags and automobiles.
Other than these things, I still have work for the BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6 video games. Right now, I'm working on a reprint of my artbook. It had a long title last time, LIKE A BALANCE LIFE, but the reprint will have a short title, 0.5.

From left to right: an ULTRA JUMP cover, a page from COMICKERS, and the illustration book 0.5.

EX: What do you do in your spare time?

MR: I just lie about (laughs). I don't have any particular hobby, nor do I have any pets. But I do collect antiques. They are mostly mechanical things though, home appliances and machines for daily use such as cameras, telephones, electric fans, and televisions. I don't actually use them but have them as displays and decorations. I collect antiques Japanese or foreign. Or rather, Japanese home appliances are expendables and rarely left behind. So I have many antiques from abroad. I also have a collection of miniature cars, numbering around 100 of them. I have remodeled versions of cars called "Record Breakers"—they race on a straight course for speed records—which appeared in the trials.

EX: How do you come up with character designs?

MR: That's a difficult question. I start with wondering what kind of personalities the characters have. The character's facial expressions, such as the way character laughs or cries, differ depending on the character's personality. I first try to grasp such aspects, and then I start on the design. The appearance of the character is important, but what's inside the character—thoughts, feelings, personality and the like—is also very important for me.

EX: Who has influenced your character designs?

MR: I usually give this answer when I'm asked this question in an interview: I think I got influences from all sorts of things directly or indirectly. So I cannot pinpoint and say, "This is it!" I watch movies, but they tend to be visually modest rather than something extravagant. However, I may be inspired by the old machines that I have mentioned previously. They are apparent in my fashion designs. Rather than calling them futuristic designs, I think they're retro.

EX: Do you use computers in your work? If so, how?

MR: I use a Macintosh. I have Mac7600/132, but I have upgraded parts of it. I also have G3/466 and Powerbook. The recent ones have great digital processing capabilities and I especially like the design of the iMac. I normally have no interest in digital equipment and computers because they give impression of coldness. After all, just looking at a CPU doesn't give you a feeling of awe, does it? (laughs) But since computers with unique designs came out, I'm like "Oh, so perhaps computers are cool!"
The graphical application that I use is a bit old, Photoshop 4.0. This is not for major work, though but for final retouches such as changing colors at the end or putting something in the background. For skins, hair, etc, I hand paint all the colors on the paper. I have installed Painter and Illustrator, but I don't use them much, mostly because I'm not used to them as much as I am with Photoshop. But eventually, I would like to be able to utilize those applications.

EX: Thank you very much for the EX interview. It was a great pleasure to be able to talk to you.