Triggered and Spoiler

There is less racial diversity in Denmark - though that is slowly changing ... so the majority of rapes there is by white males (My dad had never seen a person of any colour other than white until he was 20! He is also kind of racist - perhaps due to lack of exposure in his youth) The funniest thing about theft rates in Denmark? Most revolve around stealing bikes - mind you that is a main transport vehicle there LOL
Yes! I would rather see a woman breastfeeding than showing off ample cleavage, men seem to forget that the primary function of breasts is for feeding children, secondary is as sexual differentiation and third for sexual attraction, but men are free to show off their 'breasts' (and some men need a bra for those puppies!)

Yes, there is, Anon. A scanlation group on LJ translated the full interview and did a really fine job with it. It was quite lengthy, too, and very interesting.
One of the question the interviewer asked was that according to an inside story Fei was kept alive in the Finder series thanks to the readers. She didn't confirm or deny it but said that "the readers were so very fond of him" and that she herself also "developed a strong attraction for him while drawing the conflict between him and Asami". She said that "Fei's mixed feelings of hatred and adoration for Asami really drew me in".
She also talked in length about how tough it was for her in the beginning when she had just one room and a kitchen in her flat. Her three assistants would work with her in that one tiny room and sit on the bed, working, while sensei was working at the desk. At one time, she woke up lying under the desk while her three assistants had fallen asleep on her bed! She eventually got a somewhat bigger apartment with one room more so that the assistants at least have a place to sleep.
One thing I noticed: She puts herself under a lot of pressure (not sure if that's a cultural thing or just how she ticks). She remembered how the worst thing that ever happened to her was missing a publisher's deadline. She really beat herself up over it and described it as "all my fault" and a "bitter experience" and said that the "despair I felt when the editor said 'let's stop here' sounded like a death knell" to her. And when she went to a convention in Germany she did zero sightseeing and instead stayed at her accomodation because she had to finish the drawings for the Fei novel. She also apologized to fans for the slow progress of her work caused by her "health issues and other situations". She also says she wants to draw more erotic scenes so that the manga will be "more interesting" (she was laughing at this point).
She talks a bit about her concept for Akihito. How she wanted Akihito to be unlike some other ukes (who always need protection), she wanted him to be a rather manly uke with a backbone.
She says she often gets request for the characters or situations within the story and often tries to incorporate them from time to time, but knows she has to draw a line and be careful there not to depend to much on that or else she risks distroying the characters.
She talks in length about the earthquake/tsunami, how it affected her and her mindset (this part of the interview was really intense) and the drawings she made to commemorate the victims. Like the one with angel Akihito and Asami with a baby in his arms and another picture with Mikhail and Fei coming to Japan with bookets of roses, to morn and show their respect for the victims. You can really tell from the interview how much it affected not just her, but the entire nation, how traumatic it was.

Have you read that limited edition of Angel Akihito and Asami with a baby?

Mmmh, the pressure I'd say steems from "artist culture" in general. She's pretty much describing what I'd feel/do in those instances.

Manga publishing is a business.

One does not simply miss a deadline. They're ultimatums. Miss it and you'll be causing trouble to your client (which probably promised that there would be a chapter from her series already in said issue, will be messing up the editorial department that will have to readjust the number of pages of the magazine etc.).

And it seems like she either procrastinated or she put way too much time in polishing her pre-production.

It's basically seen as extremely unprofessional. It's the sort of thing that can get you fired.

So I don't see how her not going sightseeing to finish her art on time is being too harsh on herself. Not giving it on time isn't really an option...

Just saying :)

I didn't say she was too harsh on herself though. Only that she seems to put herself under a lot of pressure. Which she does. Other than that, I just quoted verbatim (from the translation) what she said about it in her own words. Hence the quotation marks. :)

P.S.: I've been working in Publishing and Market Research for the past 25 plus years, so I know a wee thing or two about the power and the dread of the deadline. ;) You make some good points. And perhaps one has to read the whole interview to see what I was referring to and the overal vibe you get from it. It wasn't the pressure of the deadline as much, but rather how she deals with pressure (and criticism/feedback) and approaching deadlines. For example, she talked about how the reviews for the release of her first book weren't that favourable: "It made me quite depressed to the point where I couldn't even get out of bed. I thought to myself that I didn't want to end up like this." From the whole of the interview, it was my impression that she is both very sensible (for example, she also talked about how meeting fans at signing events brings her to tears) - but also, that she is quite the perfectionist. And sometimes perfectionists can be their own worst enemy. Like the "polishing her pre-production" part you mentioned. I think that's quite right. She seems to have a tendency to get lost in fine tuning and honing certain parts of her work at certain stages to the nth degree and as a result she is getting lost and is losing sight of the big picture, aka the looming deadline. It's a typical sign of a perfectionist, wanting everything to be absolutely (and overly) perfect and losing sight of the end goal/deadline. And of course the procrastination you mentioned is another sign commonly associated with perfectionists. ;) Some would beg to differ, but as a perfectionist myself, I know both of these aspects only to well, the tendendy to get lost in perfecting details and the procrastination. Over the years I have of course learned techniques on how to tackle and beat them. But it took some time and experience to do so. Let's just say that setting realistic, achievable goals, a good project management, a lot of discipline and getting friendly with the good ol' 70/30 solution with the occasional dash of "quick & dirty" helps. :)

Yeah, well I pin-pointed those two because I'm a perfectionist as well :P. And I did read the whole interview.

Having something that have defined steps you have to have set in stone before beginning another, that's the worst. It really is. It's not made for everyone, and I'd say it's even worst when it comes down to art.

There are ways to cope with it, especially with experience, but I believe there are some lost causes.

I'm diagnosed with ADD and Giftedness. "Twice exceptional", talk about something not easy to cope with in such a world on the emotional level. I've been diagnosed for less than two years myself, and well it has been such a life-saver to finally understand I wasn't that much of a failure after all xD.

Perfectionism is already a nightmare, add to that undiagnosed ADD (with enough IQ so that it can't be clearly discerned), you're getting into horror movie level ._.

Like, as a perfectionist, without an extremely well organisation it's extremely easy to do more than necessary. By spending so much time in doings things perfectly, other priorities get pushed aside.

And when the deadlines loom and you're anxious you're not going to make it, people typically have that going in their mind:
Option A – I’ll just have to muscle through this. I don’t really have a choice now.
Option B – Well, I could fess up that I can’t really do it.
Option C – I can’t deal with this now. I’ll think about it later… Right now there is other stuff I have to do!
Option D – I guess I could get some help.
Option E – There has to be another option, right?!

But of course, to the perfectionist (especially without much experience), the only right answer is A. With medication, which personally seems to be the only way to cope with it, I get a much clearer thinking and include the rest of them as actual possibilities aha.

See, my perfectionism was fueled by the failures I lived because of ADD. Like, you know you clearly have the capabilities, but you couldn't, which is extremely frustrating. When you don't know the reason, that's when people make the assumption and tell you you're lazy, etc. and that gets to you. I kind of went on a "Got to work harder then! Who cares about sleep and eating!" mode for a few years.

Personally, I simply got the hint I wasn't made for production. Actually, anything I can't come back a few steps to relieve my perfectionism without destroying everything else. So post-production it is :). The workflow fits me so damn well, and as an artist I was exceptional in image composition, discerning everything that feels wrong down to small details.

Let's just say, I've actually more than once destroyed international competition by sending clearly unfinished demo reels (deadlines... xD).

Oh, and over-sensitivity is also linked to Gifteness as well as ADD. Basically, the overexcitability of all senses.

I kind of relate to that quote, here's in a nutshell:
"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them... a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death.
Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off...
They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating."

Now now, not saying you have to be highly sensitive to be a great artist necessarily, that I can't pretend to be knowledgeable about that (though I'd say it helps).

Bottom line, I wonder how much sensei actually could be living the same things. She's the only mangaka I know that the volumes are that much different from the magazine releases. I really do wonder if on top of her perfectionism there's not something else... Because she clearly sends such signs, in my perspective.

As someone who was used to strict deadlines in the art world (as a student) I can empathize with the pressures she faces. You always want to deliver the best possible work and you only have a certain amount of time to do it. Nerve wracking!