{"id":25708,"date":"2017-05-15T16:15:28","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T07:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/?p=25708"},"modified":"2017-05-15T16:17:16","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T07:17:16","slug":"the-road-to-alefgard-interview-with-dragon-quest-creator-yuji-horii-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/feature-en\/2017\/05\/15\/25708\/","title":{"rendered":"The road to \u201cAlefgard\u201d Interview with Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Waseda University has produced many creators of Japanese culture. One of these is Yuji Horii, a pioneer in video game design and creator of the beloved RPG (role-playing game) series Dragon Quest<\/em>, a long-running franchise celebrating its 30th<\/sup> anniversary this year. Horii is a former member of Waseda\u2019s 60-year-old circle Manga Kenkyu-kai (Man-ken) and his experiences at Man-ken and the people he met there have greatly impacted his life. Today, we are joined by current Man-ken members and members of Waseda\u2019s video game development circle Waseda Computer Entertainment (WCE) who will interview this legendary creator. Part 1 focuses on Horii\u2019s life before Dragon Quest<\/em>, devoting particular attention to his life as a university student and his memories at Man-ken.<\/p>\n

*Alefgard is the name of the setting of the original Dragon Ques<\/em>t game<\/p>\n

(Caption) From left: Mizuho Uchino (third-year student at School of Humanities in charge of Man-ken general affairs) and Wataru Mukoyama (third-year student at School of Commerce and director of Man-ken)<\/p><\/div>\n

1. Meeting lifelong friends and creating culture together at Man-ken<\/h4>\n
<\/div>

Yuji Horii<\/p><\/div>

Both of you are in Man-ken? So that means you\u2019re my kohai!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

Yes. I am very nervous about meeting a legendary senpai such as yourself!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

(Caption) From left: Daichi Ishida (second-year student at School of Advanced Science and Engineering and WCE vice director) and Keita Ishihara (third-year student at School of Fundamental Science and Engineering and WCE director)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Keita Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

We are from Waseda\u2019s game development circle.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I see, a video game circle. How many members are in each of your circles?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

WCE has just under 40 members.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

Quite a few members I see. What about Man-ken?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

As of now, Man-ken has around 80 members.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

Wow, that\u2019s a lot. When I was a student I think there were around 30 to 40 members.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

As one of your Man-ken kohai, I would like to hear about your time as a student. As one of our main activities, we publish a biannual magazine called Waseda-man that we distribute at Comic Market and the Waseda Festival. We also draw street portraits at the Waseda Festival to help cover costs.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I also did street portraits.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

It\u2019s a tradition!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

That\u2019s right. We always did that at the Waseda Festivals. I think we charged around \uffe550 for one portrait. How much do they go for now?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

\uffe5200.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

They\u2019ve raised in price I see [laughing]. Back then we made a total of \uffe520,000 to \uffe530,000 so I think we drew quite a bit. There might be someone out there who still has one of my portraits. Man-ken\u2019s fundraising methods haven\u2019t changed and funds raised are still used to publish Waseda-man. However, in my day there was no Comic Market. The late Yoshihiro Yonezawa, the mind behind Comic Market, was a friend of mine and a writer for Gekkan Out, a monthly publication that was famous for its anime parodies.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

You knew the person that started Comic Market?!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

Yes I did [laughing].<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.From \u201capprenticeship\u201d to Waseda student: Moving to Tokyo in high school in order to become a manga artist <\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I had wanted to become a manga artist since high school, which is why I joined Manga-kyu. In the summer break of my third year in high school, I took my manga to Tokyo where I stayed with my older brother. One day I barged into the office of Kiyoshi Nagai, a manga artist famous for works like Mazinger Z, and said, \u201cPlease make me your assistant!\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Everyone<\/p><\/div>

Really?!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I had assumed Nagai would reply, \u201cAll right! You\u2019re hired!\u201d but instead I was politely turned down. I thought, \u201cAll right, now what am I going to do?\u201d Working a job while drawing manga seemed tough so I decided to first enter university and join Man-ken. There, I figured, I would be able to draw to my heart\u2019s content. That\u2019s how I ended up at Waseda.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

Even though you intended to be a manga artist, you ended up becoming a game creator. Which of these do you think was the better fit?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I\u2019m glad I went with games. I think it\u2019s a better fit.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

What aspects of games fit you?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

Probably the interactivity of games. I\u2019ve always enjoyed messing with people, and rather than the one-way interaction of manga, the process of making a game and imagining the interaction between a game and players is fun. This impacts how I write scripts for games. My mind generally leans in the direction of science and technology. Although I entered the (former) School of Humanities and Social Sciences with intentions of becoming a manga artist, I had been always been good at mathematics. When searching for a program that would allow me to experience the humanities through mathematics, which I was good at, Waseda stood out. This was a pretty good source of motivation for me to pass the entrance examination [laughing]. It was also for this reason that I wasn\u2019t turned off by computers. During the student protests and the entrance lockout \u201ceveryone did whatever they wanted.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

What was Waseda\u2019s atmosphere like at that time?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I entered in 1972 when the student protest movements were still active. That year there was an incident that forced the University to lock its doors for one year.*This incident refers to the murder of student Daisaburo Kawaguchi.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

Did that spark some sort of motivation?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

Yes. I didn\u2019t have to study or go to school. It was unthinkable really. I spent most of my time playing mahjong [laughing]. The landlord of the Takadanobaba lodge that I was living in got so angry over the noise my friends and I made that they eventually kicked me out. The people I played with were all from Man-ken. Now that I think about it, that lockout might have turned me into a bad person [laughing].<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Everyone<\/p><\/div>

[erupts in laughter]<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

What was Man-ken like at that time?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

Hmm, we did discuss manga sometimes, but we definitely spent more time drinking and playing mahjong. Manga artist Yasuyuki Kunitomo, whose notable works include the manga 100 oku no otoko, was a fellow classmate, and one of my senpais was Kenshi Hirokane, the creator of the manga Kacho Kosaku Shima. Still, Man-ken was laid-back. It was basically \u201cWaseda Festival, Waseda vs. Keio Game, late-night nabe!\u201d That\u2019s all we did. I don\u2019t have many memories of vigorously drawing manga because we just did whatever we wanted. We created a movie that was shown at the Waseda Festival, formed a \u201cstudent manga federation\u201d with manga circles from other universities such as Hosei and Rikkyo, and basically just fooled around.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

What kind of manga did you draw at Man-ken?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I was a fan of the alternative and avant-garde manga that appeared in the monthly manga magazine Garo. Garo was filled with what seemed like non-commercial material, and after reading works such as Tsuge Yoshiharu\u2019s Neji-shiki and Seiichi Hayashi\u2019s Red Colored Energy, I drew some of my own that followed in the same vein. By the way, what\u2019s popular at Man-ken right now? Attack on Titan?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

Yes, Attack on Titan is popular. So is Weekly Shonen Jump.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

One Piece for example? Or, are there people like me who avoid major releases and drift towards minor works?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

Overall, it\u2019s hard to pin down a particular genre that everyone likes. There are a lot of people that drift towards more minor works.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.Penning a Man-ken book in school and becoming a freelance writer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

When I was in Man-ken many of my senpai ended up going into the publishing industry. Perhaps it\u2019s this way now as well. I received a lot of work from them to write articles, more so than manga, and therefore gradually began focusing my efforts in that direction.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

I see.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

My senpai that was drawing and writing for Sankei Sports asked me for help. From there I began writing more and more. It was easier to write than to draw but sometimes I inserted illustrations into my writings.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Mukoyama<\/p><\/div>

So first you were a professional freelance writer.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

That\u2019s right. I also produced a book of playful ideas under \u201cMan-ken\u201d titled Itazura ma (Bestsellers \/ Wani no mame hon Publishing). This book sold considerably well and from there I began receiving even more writing work. I also did some broadcast writing work for Katsura Bunshi VI\u2019s television program Itazura kamera da! Daiseiko. However, in my fourth year at university, I had a motorbike accident that ruptured several internal organs and forced me to take six months off from school. I was unable to partake in job hunting activities and spent a total of six years as a university student while I contributed to Gekkan Out.\u3000However, at that time I was doing considerably well as a writer and thought I could get by without getting a nine-to-five. Therefore, I continued being a freelance writer. Now that I think of it, there were many people from Man-ken that didn\u2019t go the nine-to-five route. In terms of illustrators there was Mitsuru Ebina and Seisuke Ogawa.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

You had an incredible student life.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I wouldn\u2019t go that far. People tell me it was \u201cincredible,\u201d but for me I was just drifting along [laughing]. Still, because of this I had many different types of experiences and had lots of fun.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Ishihara<\/p><\/div>

Do you draw manga at all now?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

I will draw pictures of \u201cSlime\u201d when I give signatures. But other than that, not really [laughing].<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Uchino<\/p><\/div>

In our circle\u2019s room there is an issue of Waseda-man from your time as a student. There may be a manga of yours in there.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>

Horii<\/p><\/div>

That would be embarrassing. All I drew were self-indulgent Garo-esque manga. Please don\u2019t go looking for them. They are part of a dark past [laughing].<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yuji Horii<\/p>\n

Yuji Horii was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1954 and graduated from Waseda University\u2019s former School of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1978. Horii became an active game designer while working as a freelance writer. He created unique and successful titles at a time when the video game medium was dominated by action games. He then went on to establish the Dragon Quest<\/em> RPG series, a bedrock for Japanese RPGs that significantly impacted the entire industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waseda University has produced many creators of Japanese culture. One of these is Yuji Horii, a pioneer in vid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3614,"featured_media":25870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-25708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-en","tag-news-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25708"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27466,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25708\/revisions\/27466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}