Some Masked translations

[mezzo-marinaio.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm still in the process of translating Ishida's pages - though for now they don't seem to be particularly interesting, just a brief recap. *sighs*

In the meantime, here, have some more of Kubo's interview! :D

 

破面篇を通して変化したことはありますか？

“While you were going through the Arrancar arc, were there any changes made?”

 

久保・元々、破面篇を描き始める時に、敵をちゃんと殺す戦いを描こうと思っていて。尸魂界篇は誰も死んでいないんです。信じるものの違いだけでぶつかる、善か悪かではない戦いが尸魂界篇なんですが、ちゃんとした悪を描きたいなと思ったのが破面篇です。だから、敵がほとんど死んでいるんです。人が死ぬバトルっていうのを、今まで描いたことがなかったし。で、死ぬバトルを描いたんですが、特に“死んだ感”がなくて。それが発見かな。物語の中では、完全に死んでいるキャラが何人もいて、今後彼らの出てくる可能性は“０”なんです。だけど例えば、ノイトラだったらこんな時はどうするかな、とか、ちょっと考えてみたりしますよね。それって、実は“死んだ感”がないのかな、と。完全な悪で、殺さなければいけない敵という意識を持って描いたのに、描く側の愛着が変わらなかった、というのも発見ですね。他の先生たちがどういう意識で描くのかは分からないですが、すごい嫌なやつとして出てくると、「嫌な奴」って思いますよね？読む側がそういう意識を持つということは、描く側もそういう気持ちで描くのかなって思っていたんです。

 

Kubo: “Originally, when I started drawing the Arrancar arc, I was thinking of drawing some battles where the enemy is properly killed. In the Soul Society arc no one died. The Soul Society arc was an arc of battles with no clear-cut good or bad, where people clashed with each other simply because of the differences in their beliefs – but in the Arrancar arc, I wanted to draw what you would call bad. That’s why most of the enemies are dead. Because up until now, I hadn’t drawn any battles where people die. So, I drew battles where people died – and yet, they don’t feel particularly ‘dead’. That may have been a discovery. In the story there are some characters who are completely dead, and the possibility that they will appear again from now on is zero. But still, Nnoitra for example… what will I do with him from now on? I’m thinking a little about things like that, you know? I mean, I think there may not be really a ‘feeling of being dead’. Even though while I drew I was aware of the fact that some enemies are completely bad, and that I should kill them – the love held by the part of me that draws didn’t change… that too was a discovery. I don’t know if the other sensei draw with this kind of awareness, but… if someone appears who is terribly bad, you think something like ‘bad guy’, no? So I was wondering… if the part of me that reads holds this kind of awareness, would the part of me that draws write with this kind of feeling too?”

 

そんなことはなかった？

 

“And there was no such thing?”

 

久保・はい。描く時も、結局、最後まですごい嫌なキャラはいなかったですね。悪いところを描いていても別に腹が立たないんですね。だから、好きなところの範囲が広がったんじゃないかなっていう気はしているんです。キャラの良いところを描くって、実生活で悪いところでも、そのキャラにとっては良いところだったりする。その範囲が、尸魂界篇だと顕著なのがマユリとかで。マユリの中の意地の悪いところだったり、実験をしたりするところって、マユリの良いところでもあって。だけど、世間一般では悪いところ。それを良いところだなっていう認識で描ける範囲が広がったんだと思うんです。破面篇を描く上で。

 

Kubo: “Yes. Even when I was drawing, ultimately… there were no terribly bad guys up until the end. Even if I wrote them doing bad deeds, you don’t especially resent them, you know? So, I have this feeling… that maybe the scope of their likable parts has expanded? And when I write good sides for the characters… well, even if they would be considered bad sides in real life, for those characters they are good sides. Talking about that scope, a conspicuous example in Soul Society would be someone like Mayuri. There is the bad side of Mayuri’s will… the side that did those experiments and similar things – but he has a good side too. That in the common world would still be a bad side. I think with this ‘Ah, those are good sides’ realization – the range of things I can now draw has expanded. On top of writing the Arrancar arc.”

 

例えばノイトラが殺戮を繰り返すのも？

 

“For example, even Nnoitra’s repeated massacres?”

 

久保・ノイトラという人物としては良いところ。それがなくなってしまうとノイトラではなくなってしまうので。そういうところが、ルピだったり、ザエルアポロだったり、ロリだったりにもある。

 

Kubo: “For someone like Nnoitra, that is a good side. If that were ever to stop, it would be because it has stopped in Nnoitra too. That kind of side is present in Ruppi too, and in Szayel Aporro, and in Loli.”

 

 

 

 

Comments

[peca-06.livejournal.com]

Thanks Mezzi for the translations ^_^ <333. It does answer some things and raises other questions. I've became attached to some arrancars and I didn't care for others. I really hope some of those who have a not so clear "death" be brought back, we'll see what sensei does. I do like that he decided to actually kill this time around, as sad as it would be, or it wouldn't be "believable" that it is a true war (like when the Quincies had their demise and even Ishida said that their deaths were justified, because they were unbalancing the way the "worlds" work, the souls not being purified , etc... Even though I have a hard time thinking that about wars -___-. Kubo and his moral dilemmas and ambiguities...) and people is always ranting "nobody dies in Bleach", this sure clears that up. Some won't be coming back and them being true "baddies" justifies their deaths as well and I guess we'll have to just enjoy their time on Bleach and their bittersweet and downright beautiful and tragic stories about their past. Also some of the good guys have lost limbs, were tortured mercilessly and have been maimed. It has definitely been carnage left and right if you think about it.

I'm not sure about some of the statements and what they mean like:
"Kubo: “For someone like Nnoitra, that is a good side. If that were ever to stop, it would be because it has stopped in Nnoitra too. That kind of side is present in Ruppi too, and in Szayel Aporro, and in Loli.”
I wonder if it means that these types are just unredeemable and would never change their twisted ways, no matter what you'll do to change their minds and they just bad to the core??? So it is consistent with their modus operandi and personality?? That is how I took it, but I'm not totally sure :/ . It is up to their reedemable qualities if Kubo decides to bring them back or not for some of these arrancars it seems.

[mezzo-marinaio.livejournal.com]

Lol, if it makes you feel better, I was scratching my head the whole time while translating that part - and the whole discussion about good and bad sides too! XDDD

I do THINK he may mean that in Nnoitra's point of view his actions are good... and that if his actions were ever to change, it would mean that something had changed inside him as well.

But that's just my own interpretation. XD

[lennan.livejournal.com]

That's what I got from it too, myself.

I'm not even sure if the part where he talks about some characters not being "dead" like Noitora isn't just him musing to be honest. He may decide to bring someone like Nnoitora back, but the whole "だけど例えば、ノイトラだったらこんな時はどうするかな、とか、ちょっと考えてみたりしますよね。" sounds more like he's experimenting with the idea of "what would happen if I continue X character's story? Therefore, thinking like that makes the "death" not give off the feeling of a death. It could conceivably be authorial musing. So if this is a hint, it's an extremely vague one.

[mezzo-marinaio.livejournal.com]

Oh, believe me, I'm not taking it as an actual confirmation that Nnoitra will surely be back! XD

Especially since I love him so much, and I'm purposefully keeping my expectations low so as not to be disappointed.

What DOES make me think that Nnoi might still be alive, however, is the juxtaposition of the sentence you quoted and the one preceding it... I mean, he spends an entire sentence underlining how SOME characters are deadly dead dead and will never appear again, and then starts talking about Nnoitra not feeling dead with a big だけど to separate the sentences...?

Yeah... even while I'm keeping my expectations low, I cannot help feeling a little elated. XD

And if nothing else, I can now rest assured that he hasn't forgotten about him, and that he's planning to resolve that plot thread. :P Joy!