Image via Shonen Jump After just celebrating two years of publication in Weekly Shonen Jump, the Kagurabachi manga series has made a splash in the manga fandom, becoming one of the most popular series running in the magazine to date. The series has since won the top honor at the 2024 Next Manga Awards, as well as received a 2025 Eisner Award nomination in the United States , which is even more notable as it is the creator's, Takeru Hokazono, first serialized work. Hokazono made his way to Anime NYC this year to celebrate the fandom and during the convention, Crunchyroll News had the opportunity to sit down and talk about his inspirations behind the series, his journey into creating manga and even talk about his favorite John Wick movie. Editor's Note: This interview has been edited for clarity. First, thank you so much for meeting with me today. Is this your first time in New York? Is there anything in particular you are most excited to experience while you’re here? Takeru Hokazono : It’s my first time in New York City. In the four days I’ve been here, I went to Broadway and the Blue Note. You have talked about how you really started drawing manga during the COVID-19 pandemic (both detailed in your editor Imamura-san’s MANGA Plus interview and your interview with the Asahi Shimbun ). What do you feel like was the biggest challenge for you in learning how to draw in a manga style? Hokazono: Basically, all of my manga is drawn on one device. In that sense, I didn’t have any difficulties at all. During COVID though, since I couldn't really do much else, that did help me learn. I think it’s also very inspiring that you were able to get into your art and find success, even in a time when the world was very uncertain. Do you have any advice for anyone who may want to change course and pursue creating art, or manga, at large? Hokazono : I started pursuing drawing manga in college. It’s fun, but it is difficult. I ended up giving my all to manga, rather than college. I was told, though, I really shouldn’t advise people on doing the same change I did [laughs]. Image via Kagurabachi X (formerly Twitter) ©Takeru Hokazono/SHUEISHA You’ve also been open with your fandom of Naruto (both detailed in Imamura-san’s MANGA Plus interview and your interview with the Asahi Shimbun ). I can also see this within your work, as Naruto was a formative series in my childhood. What is it about Naruto as a series that you are so drawn to? Hokazono : I really like the composition of the character designs and the setup of the whole series. But also the characters are very passionate, and I could very much relate to them all. I also read through the interviews that you are a fan of the John Wick movies. Those are also revenge stories, but are there other aspects to that movie series that you're a fan of? Hokazono: It’s not only that I like it because it’s a revenge story, but the action scenes, camerawork and fight choreography are also impressive. It felt like the staff were really trying to do something new. It was exciting to see one action scene after another and see how it all played out. Do you have a favorite out of the four? Hokazono : I like John Wick 4 . I really liked Caine and the action scenes he was in, especially when he used his hearing to sense the people around him. Image via Kagurabachi X (formerly Twitter) ©Takeru Hokazono/SHUEISHA I know fans usually like to hear what their favorite creators are reading or watching, so is there anything recently you have experienced that you have enjoyed? Hokazono : For movies, the ones I’ve seen recently are Sinners and Superman . I haven’t seen F1, but I’m going to see it soon. I don’t know too much about the sport, but I’m a fan of the team behind Top Gun: Maverick . Brad Pitt is also really cool. I'm personally reading Kagurabachi week to week, but if there is one thing you think I should pay attention to the most, what would it be? Hokazono : Everything [laughs]. I’m trying to make everything as high quality as possible, so I would say everything. Is there anything else you both would like to say to international fans of Kagurabachi about what they can look forward to for the future of the series? Hokazono : Even after the Rakuzaichi arc and battles with Samura, things are already getting big and exciting. I’ll be working hard to make sure they are even more so from now on. All chapters of the Kagurabachi manga can be read on the MANGA Plus platform .
