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The following is a production note from the comic magazine Evening.
There will be so much content from Evening this fall! We will be coming at you with five new series starting from the 19th issue out on Sept. 10! In-depth interviews with seven creators with extraordinary new manga will also be published just in time for our release day. Look forward to plenty behind-the-scene production information and highlights of new work.
Part one: Interview with Mao Morishita, creator of Osananajimi wa Onnanoko ni Na-a-re, the new series starting in Evening issue 19 (on sale on Sept. 10).
From a Genshiken-like group via Comitia to a Cinderella debut! (Now!) A powerful challenge toward the theme.
“What is a cute heroine?”—redefining the meaning of “moe (deep fascination of cuteness)”!
―Please tell us the sequence of events that led you to having a series published in Evening.
I had been active in the doujinshi (fanzine) world, participating in Comic Markets and releasing original content at Comitia. This series was originally released there. A staff member, who eventually became my manager, discovered me by chance when I released the second chapter in May of this year. There is a space where people can read sample booklets at Comitia, and my manager, Mr. M, supposedly read my material there. After that, he made his way over to my booth. Unfortunately, I was away from the booth at that time, and he left his business card there.
My friends who were filling in for me at the booth scolded me for “Not being there at the worst time possible!” (laughs). When I called Mr. M at a later date, he asked me if I could write more issues of this manga. I had so many stories to tell, so I said, “I would like to very much.”
―When did you start drawing manga?
I have always been doodling manga characters since I was little. However, the first time I made a formal manuscript was at university after I joined a manga club. My senior schoolmates taught me so many things.
―That is very much akin to Genshiken!
That’s right! Our club published books, so I started going to doujin events (fanzine events)
and thought it was so much fun. And 10 years passed since then.
―Where did you get the idea to create a story about a “childhood boy play friend who became a girl”?
Once when I presented my work to the Comitia editorial department, I was told that “the heroine is not that cute.” That made me wonder what makes a heroine “cute,” and the question “what would happen if a boy became a girl?” hit me.
―Personally, I felt that you were searching for a new type of “moe.”
The story is basically about “What is a cute heroine?” so I try to keep to that theme. I don’t have any intentions of focusing on “moe,” but if my readers feel that way, I’m happy.
―For our last question, please tell us your future ambitions for this project.
In any case, I want this manga to be fun, so envisioning yourself as the opposite sex or imagining how the surrounding friends might feel and getting a laugh from that—I hope the readers will just kick-back and enjoy it. Please check it out!
About the story…
On one particular day, a high school student, Shuichi, saves a magical fairy Sylphy from drowning in a pond. When Sylphy offers to grant one wish out of gratitude, Shuichi immediately asks for a “cute childhood girlfriend.” Sylphy then turns Shuichi’s childhood male friend, Iori, into a girl…! The newly female Iori is surprisingly cute…!
Source: EVENING Official Facebook
