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Battan may have built her reputation on yuri manga, but her work cannot be boxed into any single category. Her manga is focused on the interpersonal dynamics and complexities that drive her stories and characters.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Battan debuted with the drama manga series <\/span>Nijiiro Complex<\/span>, which was published by Kodansha in 2016. Her other works include the 2018 manga <\/span>Ane no Yujin<\/span> and the 2021 <\/span>Soshite Hiroin wa Inaku natta <\/span>(<\/span>And Then There Were No Heroines<\/span>) manga series, which is currently being serialized on Futabasha\u2019s online Web Action platform and will be getting an English release.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Photo taken by William Moo.<\/span><\/p>\n Her works published in English include 2018\u2019s <\/span>Run Away with Me, Girl<\/span> and 2021\u2019s <\/span>Secondhand Sisters<\/span>, both of which have been released by Kodansha USA. Her other currently serialized manga, <\/span>Fatale Game<\/span>, is available in English digitally on the K MANGA service, and her 2022 one-shot, <\/span>The Golden Fly,<\/span> has been published by BDP Press.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Anime Trending spoke with Battan to discuss some of her past and upcoming works, as well as what makes her characters so complicated and compelling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Could you talk about your first exposure and experience with the yuri genre? Were there any specific works that inspired you to make your own yuri manga?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan: I don\u2019t really have a sense of noticing things and thinking, \u201cOh, this is yuri,\u201d at the very beginning. Looking back on the things I\u2019ve read, I think the first yuri I really encountered was probably <\/span>Cardcaptor Sakura<\/span> \u2014 specifically Sakura and Tomoyo\u2019s relationship. Obviously, at the time, I didn\u2019t think of it as yuri. It\u2019s only looking back on it now that I can say, \u201cOh, that probably was yuri.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In Run Away with Me, Girl, the main and side characters are portrayed with emotional depth and complexity. Why was it important for you to give your cast these dimensions as opposed to sticking to clich\u00e9s or stereotypes?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Battan: What inspired me to write this series was this guy I knew. He\u2019s actually the model for the husband character in the series. I was in a situation of power harassment with this guy, and he seemed to have a complex going on behind the scenes. I heard [there were] a lot of things going on inside of him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I realized that people express things outwardly on the surface, but then on the inside, their actual feelings are so much more complicated. I wanted to take a proper look at that in detail and not shy away from looking at those sides of people because I didn\u2019t want to leave anything out in that depiction. The thing is, I [just] really love people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Photo taken by William Moo<\/span><\/p>\n Characters like Midori and Momo seem to always be talking about running away, whether it\u2019s running away from responsibility or their current lifestyle. Why did you want to make the act of running away a central theme of the manga?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan:<\/span> The man I mentioned before \u2014 I had this feeling that I had to get away, that I had to run away from this person. That was my personal situation at the time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I was so depressed and down about that situation that I almost couldn\u2019t draw manga anymore. From my own personal experience and that situation, there was that desire in me to run away. Looking back on it now, I think that\u2019s where that comes from in the manga as well.<\/span><\/p>\n What is your process for developing story arcs for your characters and ensuring that they have an impact on your readers? Do you have a plan beforehand, or are you adapting the storyline as it comes?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan:<\/span> I\u2019m always inserting some part of myself into all of my characters. They\u2019re almost like avatars of me or split characters of myself.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s that in my character creation process, but when it comes to the story itself, I usually decide on the ending, and then I start the actual story. I feel like I can\u2019t actually start the story until I have the ending pinned down.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Your works such as Run Away with Me, Girl and Fatale Game often focus on female relationships. What\u2019s the appeal of exploring the dynamics and interactions of women in your stories?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan: When I first started drawing<\/span> Run Away with Me, Girl<\/span>, I hated my own femininity and femaleness at the time. I wanted to draw something to make me happy with my femininity and being female. By the time I finished that, I was comfortable with my femininity and was happy with it again. Drawing girl-on-girl relationships is almost like medicine for me, I guess? It\u2019s a chance to look at and reevaluate myself.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fatale Game is a current work of yours that explores the manga industry and the relationship between creator and editor. How much did you draw from your own experiences as you were developing the series?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Battan: I\u2019ve never heard any rumors of an editor like the one in <\/span>Fatale Game, <\/span>and I\u2019ve certainly never met anyone like that. In the manga series, there\u2019s not really a lot of talk about manga or the industry itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The main part of the story is the relationships between the people. So it\u2019s not so much based on my experience, but I do add in elements of drawing manga that have made me happy or times when I\u2019ve been so frustrated and down with my work. Then I get some readers telling me how much they love it, and that experience is also reflected in the [manga].<\/span><\/p>\n What can readers discover about the manga creation process in Fatale Game? Why should they give the series a chance to read?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan: There isn\u2019t a lot of talk about manga in [the series], so I don\u2019t know about that aspect of it. But I am drawing it with the intention of exciting the readers. I want them to feel good and excited about women. So I\u2019m drawing with that intention at least.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n What have you learned as a creator over the years that you would want to tell your younger self now or the next generation of manga artists?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan: I surprisingly have very little to tell anyone! I guess I\u2019d say, \u201cYou will have fun drawing!\u201d You\u2019ll enjoy it, maybe even when things aren\u2019t going well. Don\u2019t stop. Get together with a friend and cheer each other on, but just keep drawing. I think I would go back and tell myself that it\u2019s okay to have fun drawing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Beguiling\u2019s BDP Press is bringing The Golden Fly (Kinbae) into English for the first time. What should readers know about this work, and what can they look forward to regarding its release?<\/span><\/p>\n Photo taken by William Moo<\/span><\/p>\n Battan:<\/span> It\u2019s basically a work stuffed with all of my own sexual preferences, ideas, and the things I like \u2014 all of my personal habits, you could say. So anyone who likes my other manga will love this one too, and I definitely want everyone to read it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Could you tell me about your experience with the MINT program and how you joined it? How has it helped you as a professional manga artist?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan: Being part of the program has [allowed me] to participate in events like this and come abroad. I\u2019ve had exchanges with overseas fans on social media, but now I can meet them in person for the first time, which is great. My overseas fans are so passionate, and they have so much love for the work. I feel really fortunate to be a part of a project like this.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Is there a message you\u2019d like to share with your overseas fans that are here at TCAF?<\/span><\/p>\n Battan: Being a manga artist is a really lonely job. You\u2019re never sure if your fans are out there \u2014 there\u2019s always that anxiety. So getting those comments from overseas fans online and feeling their passion for the work has been so powerful for me. It really has helped me so much. I\u2019m going to keep drawing manga until the day I die, and I hope everyone will keep reading it.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Thank you so much for your time!<\/span><\/p>\n This interview has been edited for clarity and length.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Interpreter: <\/span>Jocelyne Allen\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can follow Battan on <\/span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a>. This interview was made possible with the cooperation of <\/span>Manga International Network Team<\/span><\/a> (MINT), a <\/span>Japan Creator Support Fund initiative<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n