Inspiration For the Story


Inspiration from the story comes directly from Japanese folklore and tales that I read during
the period of time of conception of the story. During the course and making of the book, other
influences were the films of Akira Kurosawa. My aim was, in some subtle way, to create a western
Manga. The term 'Manga' simply means 'comics' but the themes it encompasses are also touched
here. Stylistically, I consciously tried to distance myself from Manga as much as possible and
let myself influence by a wide variety of adventure novelists, such as Moebius and Hugo Pratt,
to mention the classic ones.

Some of the violence scenes are also inspired by the more violent adult Manga that may mix a
sort of horror and folk, with reality and human vulnerability. There is however, a clear influence
from Kaidan, or Japanese Ghost Stories. These stories accept supernatural elements as a natural
aspect of daily life due to its relation to Buddhist religion.

The mood I wanted to create for this story could be compared to a walk in the countryside: mostly
calm and serene, but there's an adventurous spirit to it. Not in a Hergé sort of way, and not totally
in a Moebius way -the story isn't Sci-Fi, but there's hopefully a somber element to it and a
Corto Maltese coolness to it.


What the Story Isn't

The story isn't Princess Mononoke. In conversations with people, I was told that this story reminds
them of Princess Mononoke, the animation. Due to its influence of Kaidan and Akira Kurosawa, the
story obtains an essentially Japanese mood to it.

The story isn't 'Rashomon' or 'The Hidden Fortress'. I only saw these movies a year after the story
was made. What I did see was 'Kagemusha' and 'Ran'. This tone might have influenced the story in
one way or another but not in a conscious way.



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