Creator Stamp Battle (EN)

Tsushima:
I’d watch a lot of robot-related shows on TV, so I was happy when I got the chance to work on the comic versions of them. But when I draw a manga, I really do my research, so all of my works are very memorable to me, robots or not.

Tsushima:
Since I was a kid, I had this vague admiration for manga artists. That admiration became a reality when, back when I lived in Osaka, I brought some of my art in to show a Tokyo publisher. I was fortunate enough to meet a good editor there, who encouraged me to move to Tokyo if I wanted to go pro. They connected me with a job as an assistant artist, and a year and a half later, I made my debut at age 20. That was how it started.

Tsushima:
More than the battle aspect of it, I was interested in making SNS stickers, so I thought I’d give it a try. LINE stickers are something I use every day, so I worked on mine with the hopes that people would find them handy and fun to use. Being that I like robots so much, I considered using them in my designs for the stickers, but I thought that on a small smartphone screen, a clear design would be better than something with a lot of fine details, so I went with the ninja.

Tsushima:
Since the stickers haven’t been fully revealed yet, I’m not sure, but I’m curious what they’ll come up with. I’m a little wary of them, but also simply excited to see how they turn out. This is a battle, though, and I’d like to win it.

Tsushima:
I often text, “Don’t wait up for me” (when I’m late to a meal). I think a lot of people could use a sticker for that? I squeezed in as much as I could from stickers I thought people could use, so I hope they’ll play around and have fun with them.I especially recommend the “Lonely Me” sticker!

Tsushima:
Don’t knock it till you try it!

Iwamoto:
I was interested in youth comics, so one day I brought my work into the Comic Bom-Bom office. Apparently amateurs like me were pretty rare, so the Bom-Bom staff were surprised. They probably spoiled me a bit.
When I went to their office, I told them that I was a fan of the Kamen Rider series. Upon hearing that, they were nice enough to give me editing jobs on the SD Rider series. After a while, I received an honorable mention in the New Face Award, and I made my debut on the Comic Bom-Bom special issue.
Wait a minute… Did I debut before I received an honorable mention? I can’t recall…

Iwamoto:
It’s a bit difficult to say. They’re all pretty memorable for me. If I were to choose, I would go with Rockman X (Megaman X), my first continuous series.

Iwamoto:
A person I met an event asked me if I was interested.

Iwamoto:
I don’t use LINE, so the whole concept was new to me. I first needed to look up what sort of situations these stickers are commonly used.
There appeared to be no definite rules, so I decided to think of a character and imagine his reactions to certain events.
I may have ended up with a few stickers that kind of don’t fit into normal conversations.

Iwamoto:
Anything else… Let me see.
A few of the stickers I made introduce characters other than the main hero. If people become interested in who they are and what they do, that would be great. I guess that’s not exactly what someone would expect of a set of LINE stamps.
Dear Madoka Akanuma,
Hi!
Your art is so cute!
Even though our first work together is a battle, I hope we can both do well!
Dear Naoto Tsushima,
Good to see you again.
Wow. You look great in that samurai outfit!
What? That doesn’t matter? Oh sorry, just got carried away.
The ninjas are so cool!
I can’t wait to see all of them!

Iwamoto:
I designed these stickers the same way I draw manga: I wrote a story first. As for the characters in featured in the stickers, they maybe clumsy, they may not be super-awesome, but they’re nice and give it their best. I hope people will view and like them.
It’s very rare for me to work on something completely original, so it would be wonderful if the characters could also appear in other work outside the stickers.

Akanuma:
I wanted to be a manga artist since I was in junior high school.
I had looked up to the manga artist Naoko Takeuchi, who is famous for Sailor Moon.
I first found work when I applied to Kodansha’s online manga contest, and I was chosen out of 100 contestants. I had a series called Earth Ranger.

Akanuma:
Something I’m really fond of is Rainbow Star, which I’ve revised several times and have been drawing since my debut in 2007.
It’s an important work for me, as it allows me to think about what is so important for me, enough to continue drawing for eight years.

Akanuma:
When I read Fancy Mate (Mana Takemura, Yukashinamon, publisher: Gambit), I had a creative inspiration. I thought, “I want to do that, too! I want my character to leave an impression, and I want people to have an interest in it!”
That’s how “Super Retro-Gumi” was born.
I got several tweets from people saying that they want LINE stickers of the character, so when I was offered the opportunity, I thought the timing was perfect, and I jumped right in.

Akanuma:
・Don’t copy and paste!
・Don’t get sloppy!
・Make sure all 40 are interesting!
・Don’t give the same impression!
These are some things I was particular about.
Previously, when I made LINE stickers of my original character “Kyoryu no Mogu,” there were some points I wanted to refine afterwards, so by keeping those in mind, I think I was able to make some great stickers.
Kyoryu no Mogu:
https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/1173882/en

Akanuma:
I hope that my stickers remind people of the 80s, and that they get hooked on the era. I really look forward to seeing the other artists’ stickers, what they’re saying, and to see their ideas.

Akanuma:
I think that they can be easily sent to friends, and just sending them can be a joke, and people can say things like, “I remember these from back then! These bring back memories! That’s so nostalgic!”
Please enjoy the stickers.