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Dedicating virginity to Soushi Ren Manga

on the TV animation adaptation of “Ren Soushi ni Dedicate Your Virginity”!

“I’ll give my virginity to Soushi Ren ~Let’s take it easy, let’s love each other” is a shy virgin female office worker and a teens love story woven by a mysterious yakuza she met on her travels. It has been pre-delivered on Comic Seymour, and two volumes are on sale. In addition, it has been decided that it will be animated as a new work of AnimeFesta, which is nicknamed “Monk Frame”, and will be broadcast from April.

Comic Natalie interviewed the author, Akira Murakami, as this work is attracting attention as it is being adapted into an anime. We listened carefully to her about her challenges in the yakuza genre, the fetishism she puts into her characters, and the fun she finds in drawing teens love.

How did the story of Soushi, a yakuza who perfectly fits the word “glamorous”, and Nagisa, an office worker who lacks self-confidence, come about?

I received a request from the editor saying, “Would you like to draw a yakuza story?” Basically, when it comes to my work, I give priority to the publisher’s requests. Because I really love my readers, and I want to draw what they want. And I believe that what publishers want is what readers want. Regarding “Ren Soushi”, the editor told me that my gorgeous screen creation and dramatic production would suit the story of the yakuza, so I said, “Let’s draw it.”

So you made a request from the editor into a form.

yes. However, I think it would be more interesting to incorporate things I like, so I create the manga while coordinating with the editor in charge. For example, I prefer smart and cool characters rather than eccentric characters.

That’s why Soushi is a gentlemanly yakuza who uses honorifics.

I wonder if the gap between the outlaw profession and honorifics is good. When Nagisa isn’t around, I think he’ll get offended and behave differently, but in front of Nagisa and the readers, I think Soushi’s charm is that he’s a gentleman.

Ren Soushi was born on November 21st and is 29 years old. He is 184 cm tall. His hobby is “Nagisa-san”, and his favorite food is “Nagisa-san’s home cooking (desire)”.

Are you familiar with the yakuza?

That’s absolutely…! As I wrote in the postscript of Volume 1, when I was asked, “Would you like to draw a yakuza?”

You also wrote that it was “a very challenging work for me”.

Drawing a yakuza can really be summed up in one word: “challenge.” I was almost ignorant, so I started by looking at various things and studying. I think the yakuza portrayed in the story is a fantasy, but I still feel like it’s a challenge. I don’t even know the word “Katagi”.

It’s certainly a word I hear a lot, and I kind of understand what it means, but when I was asked again… when I looked it up in a dictionary, the kanji for it was “katagi.” “Unlike the yakuza, they do not engage in entertainment or speculation, but rather have a steady job.” (Quoted from Shinmeikai Japanese Dictionary).

At first, I didn’t really understand from that line, but I draw with the feeling that Nagisa, who is an ordinary office worker, must be like this.

When I read “Ren Soushi ni virginity”, I can feel Murakami’s fetishism from Nagisa and Soushi.

Haha (laughs). Nagisa is packed with images of women I like. She is naive, positive, lively and healthy. Her tastes are also reflected in her visuals, and I made her a girl with a slightly plump, soft flesh to the touch.

The texture of Nagisa’s hair that hangs over her ears seems to be very soft.

I’m so happy! I take great care when drawing hair. I think the flow and movement of her hair are part of her facial expression, so I wanted to express Nagisa’s emotions there as well. Flick her hair for a look of surprise, or let it flow when she’s pushed down on the bed for a more sexy look.

Is Soushi the most popular character among readers?

Soushi is by far the best (laughs). But lately, I’ve gotten a lot of comments like, “I like Souji and Nagisa.” For me too, Nagisa shines and grows when she’s with Soushi, and I think Soushi’s charm comes out the most when she’s in front of Nagisa, so I’m really happy to hear that. is not it.

Nagisa has grown a lot in the story.

I’m glad you said so! At the beginning of the story, I was really worried that my personality would not be liked by the readers, and I was worried… But the editor gave me advice that I should show my growth in the future. From the beginning, I had a vision of Soushi, a very dangerous man, changing by being with Nagisa, and becoming more and more bonded. But now I want to depict how Nagisa changes when she’s with Soushi.

The real pleasure of serialization is being able to carefully depict the changes and growth of the main characters.

I agree. Actually, I also work as a designer at a company. That’s why I’m hesitant about long-term serialization due to my schedule. But at the time of “Koi Tachi”, I received an opinion that “I wanted to read it longer”, so I decided to serialize “Ren Soushi”.

So it was. The series, which started in March 2021, will soon enter its third year, but if you were to choose three episodes that left an impression on you, what would it be?

After all, the first episode is impressive in the sense that it started a long-term serialization. Actually, I originally planned to include the line in episode 2, “You’ve got the guts to throw the yakuza away,” in episode 1. I think that today’s readers will read the story as soon as it unfolds, so I try to pack as much fun and charm as possible from the beginning. But as expected, I can’t go that far with 24 pages… (laughs).

Soji Ren” is classified as teens love, but what is interesting about drawing TL?

I think the biggest appeal of TL is that you can see the future of shoujo manga.

Beyond shoujo manga?

In my opinion, TL can deeply depict both the connection between the mind and body of two people. In shoujo manga, the parts that are often left as “I’m sure it will be like this in the future” can be drawn with TL. I think it’s a wonderful thing.

Source: natalie.mu