Mashima Hiro long interview translation (part 2)

thefairystales:

This long interview with Mashima Hiro is published in Magazine Pocket. The interview was carried out right after the storyboard for the final chapter was completed. The interviewer was Hashimoto, who had previously served as Mashima-sensei’s editor for 2.5 years. Mashima-sensei’s current editor was also present at the interview, and the responses labeled with “editor” are from him.

The interview is really long, and I have broken it up into 3 parts. Part 1 has been posted here, and part 3 will come later.

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Translated by thefairystales | DO NOT EDIT OR REMOVE SOURCE
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On Erza

What about Erza?

She’s someone who does things without considering any objections to it. I had originally intended for Gray and Erza to be series characters. However, they both grew in popularity and became regulars. For this reason, Erza gives the impression of being a character who is raised by the readers. She grows together with them.

She’s strong.

“Strong” comes to mind when speaking of Erza. In a sense, she’s a character that symbolizes what I picture as “strength”. That might be her greatest identity. There were various reactions from the fans because of that. There are people who think “I never want to see Erza losing!” as well as those who think “Erza is too strong. She should lose occasionally.”

She also has a feminine side.

She likes sweet things and cute clothes, and I personally feel that this side of her is charming.

Do you have a profoundly memorable episode involving Erza?

“Pandemonium” in the Grand Magic Games. It was one of the occasions where I depicted Erza’s strength extremely prominently, and it’s a favorite of mine. It also received a lot of comments from the readers. Erza also has a side where she’s a “big sister” character, and I’ve liked this type of character since a long time ago.

It’s the first time I’m hearing about this.

I’ve always longed to have an older sister since I was a child. That’s why I’m motivated when it comes to drawing characters like that. Haru from RAVE has an elder sister for the same reason.

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