Brief introduction for the audience

Hello my name is Nakaba Suzuki. I'm a mangaka. Thank you all for coming today.

Fun ice breaker questions

Can you tell us about your favorite manga when you were growing up? Was there a particular artist that inspired you to become a mangaka.

Favorite Akira Toriyama and I actually got to meet him, shook hands with him, got his autograph, and gave me lots of support.

If you weren't a mangaka what other profession would you have pursued?

I wanted mangaka since j was 4 years old. And I'm not good at the internet so I can't do anything other than this, haha.

When you aren't drawing, what hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?

So when I ain't drawing, I'm playing video games, or drinking, and sometimes movies and drinking at the same time.

I had a lot of scotch whiskey, and I was hung over, but I got through my autograph session.

If you could have any super power from 7ds, which one and why?

Full Counter, The power when the editor asks for the manga, and i ask him for more time.

Fun fact, fans might not know.

So I mentioned before I don't know how to use the internet. I don't have a smart phone, I don't even know how to send an email.

The journey of becoming a mangaka

Yeah so...I mentioned Dragon Ball and Doctor Slump. They made me want to write my own work. My parents and even teachers told me i need to study more.

Is it true you're pretty fast at drawing. Apparently, you've never been late to submit and to meet your deadlines.

Yeah, I am very fast. Usually other manga artists have assistants, I didn't have assistants until recently.

How many drawings can you get through in 30 minutes.

I'm down for the challenge.

Spidey Note: He ended up drawing 10.

How you knew being a mangaka was your calling. How did you make it a reality?

I didn't really have any reasoning, I just wanted to do this. I remember my teachers telling me to study more. I remember my hs teacher telling me what I'm gonna do for work. So I submitted mangaka, and I won an award when i submitted it.

Talk about your support system

I didn't have a support system as a kid. But now they, my parents, do support me.

Do you think reading a lot of manga helped you learn how to draw?

I really like drawing, I did as early as a kid. I just love manga, I'm just fast at it.

Your experience submitting

So it is true my hs teacher told me to prove that I wanted to be a mangaka to submit. I did get honorable mention, but after that, it was all downhill.

You answered a survey in japan a while about which manga was the best?

DragonBall Himiko

Follow Up: In your opinion, other than the muscles, why do you think these manga are the best?

Each is unique and different.

The journey to success in manga can be filled with challenges and setbacks. What advice can you give to those who aspire to be mangaka.

There are a lot of hard things, and I think my motivation is just that I love drawing manga. As a kid, I didn't love sitting and studying. I think at most it was 1 hr per year now it's 20 hrs of drawing. If you love this, keep your passion and make that your motivation.

Being a mangaka is a demanding career. When do you feel the happiest?

I feel the joy when I get letters from you guys when I get to see you guys in autograph sessions. I don't use online, so I don't see any of that, so seeing you all here it brings me joy.

Did you have an idea for 4kota when you were working on 7ds?

Like I already had that idea when I was drawing 7ds, first I wanted to draw about King Arthur, so I already had that in mind. I had already decided to continue when I was working on 7ds.

What inspired you to create Percival and the storyline for 4kota?

For the 7ds, it kinda started with Level Max. For 4kota, I wanted to start at level 1. With Percival, I wanted him to start with weakness and to show his character's growth.

How do you come up with the personality and background of your characters?

For the characters j think about what I don't have and what I want to be. For 7ds I was thinking of what kind of powers I'd want.

So sensei did you have a powerful grandpa growing up?

Yes that is true. I also want to be like meliodas, where I can drink a lot and not be hung over.

All right, next question. Your work is really renowned for its rich world building and compelling characters. In your opinion, which aspect is more crucial for the success of a Manga series, and how do you strike a balance?

Since I'm not a very serious person, I can't draw serious characters. I like to have fun, that's how I strike the balance.

Which character in 4kota did you create 1st and why?

Lancelot, because he is Ban and Elaine's kid, and I wanted to see how his face would be because, like for Tristain it was kinda obvious what kind of face he would be. So that's one of the reasons why.

Do you have any say for the va brought into the anime? When drawing do you visualize how they would sound?

I do have a say when selecting the voice actors. I do tell my opinion. I go to the studios when they select the va. I do imagine what the voiced will be like, sometimes they hire a different va for them and it works better. Like for merlin I was imagining a rich girl and posh but with the va she sounded more mature with her va.

What was the final tally for the character request for the autograph session yesterday?

1st Day - Ban

2nd Day - Ban Meliodas and Elizabeth

3rd Day - Meliodas

Were you surprised by the results?

I'm not really surprised because it varies by country. Merlin and Elizabeth because Elizabeth isn't that popular in Japan.