Free Talks --------------------------------- COVER FLAP: Watsuki (panting heavily): The peak is high, the road is long, but nevertheless!! Tomoe: ... isn't it good to rest at least once a while to avoid getting nuts? (look at my example...) THE 20TH VOLUME Finally, the 20th volume is out there, after spending whole four years. Don't think I've had enough -- there's still a "hunger" lingering around. I want to draw better. I want to tell better a story. I want to create better characters. I know I may be asking just too much, but I can't stop being a manga artist right now. No, now it's just the beginning! --------------------------------- FREE TALK - Hi, it's been a long time. I've got three months to move out, but I can't find a new workplace yet... what I'm gonna do... - Starting suddenly with the usual figure talks. The figure I chose to talk about in this volume is the "Assault Apocalypse" from X-Men. Although common people may feel that the figure is kinda strange, I like it personally and its gimmick is simply great. It's quite a simple gimmick, where you push a button on the back of the figure and missiles are launched, but until it launches, no less than FIVE steps to open the hatch! FIVE steps just to launch a missile! This sheer stupidity! Man, this is great! This fun you can't get in the McFarlane toys. - About the games, as lately I've been busy, I haven't played them. Nevertheless, I've finally seen the Washizuka ending in "Last Blade", from SNK. I was a bit surprised because the ending is exactly as I had imagined. I've bought the Neo Geo CD version also, so in the long run I intend to see the endings of all the characters. On the other hand, as the local video game center hasn't brought the "Samurai Spirits", from SNK, I haven't played it yet... so I'm expecting it to become available in video games instead...and another game I found interesting recently is the "Shiritsu Justice Gakuen", from Capcom. One of my assistants is crazy about this game and he says something about finishing the game with all the characters. As I was waiting to play the "Last Blade", I decided to try it and although I couldn't get the grip, I quite enjoyed it. I've got to move out, and such and such, so time will be precious and I won't have time to play it. Thus, I await for its release on video game. - Besides figure and game, another thing I've got to enjoy besides drawing manga is "bicycle". Yes, "I want to ride my bicycle"! I've had a bike before, but six months ago one goddamn guy messed up with the key and so the bike became scrap. So, this time I spent a lot of money and bought a mountain bike. Well, to tell the truth, it's not a real one, for only the front wheel has got suspension... (the real one is too expensive for me to afford it...) I was planning to ride for two reasons: one, to exercise and distract myself a little; two, to shorten the time I spend to go buying figures, manga materials, etc. But before I could do such, my butt started aching! So, I'm avoiding bicycle rides for a week. I should have bought the real one, instead... - About the manga, there are many things I'm thinking about, and I intend to change my drawing style slowly. My goal is to achieve a style that can express nicely without too much traces. It's a hard one to master, since it envolves true dominion on design skills and sense of deformé, but I'll try (although it'll be gradually done, I do neither want nor can change that quickly). In the Shonen Jump, the manga has reached its second major turning point. Now there are two more left and after that, there will be a diverging point. So, let's meet again in the next volume. S P O I L E R S ( d u h . . . ) The "second major turning point" Watsuki's talking about is Kaoru's "death", and the first was Tomoe's death/the origin of the cross scar.