We've got another interesting interview for you today. Tachibana-sensei (also known as lita426t) is living and working as mangaka in Japan. She kindly took the time to answer some of our questions. She talked about her work and explained how she got into streaming. She nearly reached 90.000 followers, who watch her streams on Twitch and Instagram.
In the following we will shorten ourselves with MP and Tachibana-sensei as Tachibana. We hope you enjoy the interview.
For all German readers: A German version is also available at the end of the interview!
MP: Hello Tachibana-sensei, and thank you very much for taking the time for this interview.
Tachibana: Thank you for this opportunity too! I'm sorry it took me so long to send you answers, as my English is still at a baby level. Thank you for your time!
MP: How long have you been drawing, and how did you get into it?
Tachibana: I think my earliest memory of drawing is when I was 3 years old. I have been drawing something almost all my life. As a frail child, I spent most of my time playing in the house, and drawing naturally became a part of my playtime.
My father was the first to notice that I liked to draw, and he generously gave me various art materials (colored pencils, pastels, watercolors, acrylics, PC and pen tablets, etc.) and many books on historical art. I didn't have to think about anything else, I was just absorbed in drawing.
I started to be aware of drawing manga style when I was about 5 years old, and often drew four-panel manga. My first short story manga was when I was 10 years old. Then, when I was 15, I submitted my first short story manga to a manga publisher and got paid for it for the first time.
MP: You work as a full-time mangaka – has this been your dream all along?
Tachibana: Being an mangaka is not my dream. It's because I love drawing manga. I'm currently taking a break from being mangaka for various reasons and am drawing illustrations mainly, but I'm getting ready to publish my manga on the Internet by myself little by little.
MP: Do you have any inspirations for new works? Do you have any role models?
Tachibana: I'm often asked about it, but I don't really have it. I have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a type of autism, and because of this, I have more sensory sensitivity than others and synesthesia. I often have lucid dreams, so I often draw in my dreams. And I also see manga stories in my dreams. Because of these, I can always see, hear, and smell something, and I live in a state where I always want to get it out by drawing something.
MP: You draw both traditionally and digitally. Which do you prefer, and what advantages do you see in both approaches?
Tachibana: As I mentioned above, my goal is to draw, so I am not particularly particular about whether to use tradtional or digital. However, there are times when I choose tools to save time and reduce the burden on my body.
I choose tools based on how much and how fast I can finish my current work and start the next one in the limited time I have in my life.
As for traditonal art materials, I can't use anything with a strong smell. Especially oil and acrylic paints. The smell of Copic is the biggest problem for me right now. I have been stuffing tissues in my nose to draw with, and I am gradually shifting to Kuretake watercolor pens, which are odorless and it can be painted like a Copic.
MP: How did you get started with Twitch, and when did you start streaming regularly?
Tachibana: At first, I was livestreaming on YouTube on very rare occasions for my Patreon patrons. A few times I was asked, "Aren't you going to do this on Twitch?". and I wondered why everyone was recommending the Minecraft Modpack downloader.
Then, one day, I found out that Twitch is also a streaming service, and I only needed to rewrite a few settings in OBS to be able to broadcast. So I just pressed the "Start Streaming" button, and that was the beginning of my amazing encounter with the Twitch streaming world and my new life with new world.
I was surprised to see so many people coming to watch and give comments my first Twitch stream. (on YouTube, there were only 2 or 3 people and no comments at all) Then, naturally, I started to stream almost every day. Because drawing is something I do every day.
My first Twitch stream was in the middle of September, but in October, I had inktober and streamed every day without taking a day off. At that time, people around me strongly told me to take a break. At first I didn't understand why everyone was telling me that, because I draw every day....
Then I got sick and took some days off, and after getting advice from my husband, I finally understood what it meant to "Streaming". Now I've settled down to a schedule of 3 to 4 times a week. Of course, I draw on my days off as well.
MP: You have been working as a professional mangaka for long years more than 12 years – how has your attitude towards your work possibly changed?
Tachibana: My professional debut and serialization of manga on monthly manga magazines at a time when my brain damage was not known caused a major depression.
This led to the discovery of Asperger's and ADD, and I was able to find a good doctor and take medication that allowed me to live a rather normal life. However, due to the depression and the time off from work due to depression treatment, I gave up trying to get involved with Japanese manga publishers.
My disability is strongly based on the fact that I have difficulty communicating through words (especially sounds). I asked my husband to help me, but it didn't lessen the burden on me of dealing with publishers. I wanted to allocate that time to drawing.
I am still undergoing treatment, but I plan to regularly publish the manga I want to draw on the Internet, in English and Japanese (and more Spanish if I can). I'd be happy if I could get a publisher to contact me again from there, but I'm not holding my breath.
MP: You publish most of your works digitally and without a publisher on the platforms Patreon and Gumroad. To what extent is this easier for you now? What are the advantages?
Tachibana: When I went through a Japanese publisher, it was difficult to get an English version of my book published, although I guess it depends on the publisher. There are still no English editions of the books that I co-authored with my husband, and there are only German, Taiwanese, and Korean editions. As I had many fans overseas, this was a tremendous blow to me at the time of publication.
However, I can publish my own English version manga on Patreon and Gumroad. The physical edition is currently being withdrawn from Gumroad due to COVID, but I plan to resume selling the print edition as soon as the postal situation returns to normal.
I can publish at my own pace, in the languages I want, in the way I want to draw, in the way I want to publish. I think that is the biggest advantage of all.
MP: You openly talk about your illness on your social media channels. Does it have any impact on your work?
Tachibana: Maybe there is, but I don't know for sure. Maybe the things that my manga characters do normally are actually unusual behaviors.
MP: What materials do you use for work?
Tachibana: Digital tools:
[Software] Photoshop CC, procreate
[Hardware] Wacom Intuos 5 tablet (L size), Razer Tartarus pro, iPad pro 11inch
Traditional tools:
[Inking] Copic multi liner
[Coloring Watercolor paints] Holbein, DanielSmith, Winsor&Newton, Kuretake ZIG watercolor brush pens
[Coloring] Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils, Copic markers
[Papers] marman vifArt 242g/m2, Arche 300g/m2, Hahnemühle Anniversary Edition 425g/m2, Holbein whiteibis 300g/m2, Kent paper and etc.
[Brush] Holbein 500R resable size 2
MP: Do you have any tips for people who want to learn drawing?
Tachibana: Drawing is not something to learn. It is something to be enjoyed. If you don't enjoy drawing, it will show in your work, and you will miss the charm of your work. Please enjoy drawing!
MP: We realised that you are learning many different languages, including German. Are you simply interested in languages, or is there a particular reason for it?
Tachibana: Right now, I'm mainly studying English and Spanish, and German and Russian on a weekly basis. I am also learning to speak a little greeting every day in 30 different languages. My hearing skill is hopeless due to my disability (for example, I need subtitles even when I watch Japanese dramas), but I'm trying my best by making full use of Duolingo, YouTube and podcasts.
Each language has its own reasons for learning, but basically, there are people I want to go see and talk to in person. I've been studying Spanish for more than two years now, and when I visited the home of Nyacchii-san, a famous Mexican art Twitch streamer, for more than 10 days, I felt sad that I couldn't speak directly with her mother, she only understood Spanish!
The reason why I wanted to learn German and Russian was because I thought it would be strange to be playing World of Tanks with German and Russian tanks and not know any German or Russian. That's how I got started. And I want to be able to read the German version of my own manga! That's my German goal. I want to learn to read Russian, because I can't read in Russian the book on Russian historical painters that I recently bought out of interest! And I want to go see Dzikawa-san, a famous art Twitch streamer in Moscow, someday! That's my Russian goal.
Why do I want to be able to speak 30 languages just to say greeting messages. But to my great joy, the people who like my work are spread all over the world and there is no specific region. I want to at least say "thank you" to my fans in their native language.
Also, my depression treatment resumed last September, and the side effects of the antidepressants started to limit my eye movement. I used to enjoy playing games, but now I get motion sickness easily on the game screen. So T hought, what could I do instead? That's when I realized that it was language learning! Now, Duolingo is playing game for me.
MP: Do you have any plans for the near future?
Tachibana: I am still in the process of rehabilitation, but I am preparing a plan to publish my new manga in English on the Internet.
MP: Would you like to say a few words to your fans?
Tachibana: Thank you for always being so warm to me! I'm having fun drawing today, too! I hope you continue to enjoy my work!
MP: Thank you very much for your time and the interview!
Tachibana: I'm sorry if my answer is a bit of a jumble. I tried my best to answer in my own words as much as I could with Google transulator and DeepL. Thank you so much for giving me this precious opportunity!
