(NOTE: The following is not an exact transcription of the interview. A translator assisted with the interview and the following is based on that person's translation. Yasuyuki Ueda, the producer for the Hellsing anime, was also on hand for the interview)
[Q] - Question
[K] - Kouta Hirano
[Y] - Yasuyuki Ueda
[Q] In the past, many fans have asked about the possibility of a second season to the Hellsing TV series. What made you decide to participate the OVA project? Was it your idea to begin with, or did someone else ask you?
[K] Mr. Ueda approached me with the idea.
[Q] How do you plan to incorporate the manga with the OVA project?
[K] It's basically based on the manga from the beginning. Since the manga is still an ongoing publication, we may change the order of the portions of the story that people have already read, but the OVA is very true to the original manga.
[Y] The OVA staff are very fanatical with the original manga, so I don't perceive anyone wanting to change much.
[K] I don't mind the staff changing the story, but the people working on the anime will probably be very true to the original manga.
[Q] It's been reported from a recent Rondo Robe event in Japan that you will be heavily involved in the OVA production, even including the casting. Is this true?
[K] First time I've heard that. But it looks like I'm going to.
[Y] When casting for the TV series, it was pretty much left to the staff, although they did seek for Hirano's advice. But this time around, there are characters who didn't appear in the TV series but did in the manga, so I would like to have Hirano sit on the auditions.
[Q] How heavily involved were you in the Hellsing TV series?
[K] I pretty much let the anime staff handle everything. The only thing I was involved in would have been the casting of the voice actors. As far as I'm concerned, I'm leaving the OVA to the people creating it, but I may be involved in a couple things as Mr. Ueda said. I trust the anime staff. I'm strictly a manga creator.
[Y] He knows more than he says. I was very impressed with how much Hirano knows about animation.
[Q] Hollywood movies based on American comic books are very popular currently. For example, Spiderman, X-Men & Batman. Have you seen any of these movies? If so, what's your opinion on them?
[K] I have seen quite a few of those movies, specifically Spiderman. I think Spiderman was well made. As far as comics becoming movies, I think it's a great thing. It's sort of difficult for me to imagine how the film makers in Hollywood can actually take a comic and make it into a movie, it's quite impressive.
[Q] There were rumors on the Internet years ago about a live action Hellsing movie under development. If a movie studio approached you with the project, would you be interested?
[K] If a studio approached me, I would immediately say yes. But I think that rumor is about Van Helsing.
[Q] For a typical Hellsing manga episode, how many drafts do you write before the story is finalized?
[K] I write after thinking things over and finalizing the story in my head. I don't really have drafts. By the time I write, the story is set.
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
