Art Features Interviews

Q&A with Shintaro Kago: There Are Many Strict Regulations That Censor Cruel Expression

We speak with Shintaro Kago about his influences, adapting his work into animated shorts, his work on the releases of Midori Implus, ero guro art, "Princess of The Never Ending Castle" and his future projects.

(駕籠 真太郎, born 1969) is a Japanese manga artist, independent filmmaker and toy maker. He is a pioneer of the ero guro genre whose distinct style of distorting reality, deforming the human body and turning the ordinary into the absurd has given him a rather significant cult following also in the West.

Panos Kotzathanasis and Adam Symchuk questioned him about his influences, adapting his work into animated shorts, his work on the releases of Midori Implus, ero guro art, “Princess of The Never Ending Castle” and his future projects.

When and why did you first start making art? What are your most important influences?

I started back when I was a high school student. These would be: Katsuhiro Otomo, Fujiko F. Fujio, Eric Idle, Yasutaka Tsutsui.

 Is there a difference between the way you draw manga and covers?

Cover illustration requires more attention than drawing manga.

How did you become interested in adapting your work into animated shorts?

Originally, in the past I didn't want to be involved with manga, but instead, I wanted to make films. That's why I work on anime or live-action movies.

Can you give us some details about the concept behind the cover?



I saw the visuals of the characters using their own hands as weapons, and I decided to use it as a central motive.

Can you give us some details about the concept behind the Toxic Insects cover?

That's the image of the characters trying to kill each other.

Do you feel that ero-guro nansensu art is accepted in Japan? Have you ever faced issues with having your work censored or removed because of the content?

Since I've published my manga work in many erotic-themed magazines, I must say that there are many strict regulations that censor cruel expression.

Princess of The Never Ending Castle” contains some experimental panel work to tell the story of two realities folding together. How did you come to this decision to present the story this way and how important is it to you to experiment with conventional manga narratives?

I've been dealing with experimental forms since I remember, but this manga represents my fresh take on the experiment.

What are your current thoughts on the manga industry in Japan, and how have you seen it evolve or devolve since your debut?

Everything went digital. The number of digitally releasing manga artists and digital books have significantly increased.

Are there any projects you are working on that you would like to discuss?

I release a new manga in April. Also, I may have an Italian release of the sequel for “Princess of The Never Ending Castle” around Autumn this year.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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