EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Poro, the Manga Writer Behind The Vermilion Mask

The Vermilion Mask is a new kind of shonen action series. Focused on its two heroes, Peru and Sona, the series takes place in a world where powerful masks can imbue the wearer with supernatural abilities. Peru is an apprentice mask maker on a mission to destroy the legendary masks his master once crafted. He joins forces with Sona, a runaway princess who decides to help him.

Now a television anime, The Vermilion Mask is the brainchild of writer Dr.Poro and artist Nabana Naba. The duo launched the series in Shōnengahōsha's Young King Ours magazine and now boasts nine volumes in print in Japan. The emaqi manga app hosts the series' first eight volumes in English.

Dr.Poro recently launched a new series in Young King Ours, currently available in Japanese only, titled GOAT'S GAME. In our interview, Dr.Poro and ANN discuss The Vermilion Mask's beginnings, how the characters reflect their creator, and why Dr.Poro always chooses the healer in RPGs.

The Vermilion Mask manga began running in Young King Ours magazine in 2021. Can you talk about how you developed the series' story? And did the mask idea come first?

DR. PORO: I was thinking about this story and came up with the original idea when I was in college. I started drawing it to apply for an award from a publisher. But I didn't finish that story, and I put it aside. For some time. But then later in life, I wanted to create something new. And then I remembered the story I was thinking about back when I was in college.

Was there something that was going on in college at the time that helped inspire the story?

DR. PORO: Honestly, that was over 10 years ago, and I don't remember exactly what inspired me to come up with a story about masks.

Well, when it comes to the series, you're working with artists. Nabana Naba-san. Did you already know each other from working on manga? Or how did you come to create this series together?

DR. PORO: When I talked to Kimura-san, my editor, about The Vermilion Mask idea, I was working on other stories and other projects, so I couldn't do all the drawing myself. I asked Kimura-san to find someone, and he looked everywhere for an artist for my story. I looked through different people's drawings and artwork, and one potential artist was Naba-san. Naba-san gave us character design drawings, and they were really well drawn. So Kimura-san and I discussed it and decided to work with Naba-san.

As you've begun working with Naba-san, how has that process gone? Do you discuss the overall arc of what's going to happen with Naba-san? Or do you create the scenario and then Naba-san adapts that with their art?

DR. PORO: We have basically a complete separation of labor. So I single-handedly come up with a story, hand it to Kimura-san, and then he contacts and communicates with Naba-san. Then Naba-san creates the drawings for my story.

That's very interesting. So, just out of curiosity, have you two met in person, or has this work relationship been entirely remote between the two of you?

DR. PORO: When we started to work on this series, we met once. Then after that, we used to meet once a year. And then after that, we started to have anime meetings [once the production started] and would meet once a week. Through those weekly meetings, I started to get to know their personality and what Naba-sensei is all about.

So could you say that the announcement of the anime adaptation has helped bring your working relationship even closer?

DR. PORO: Yes, I feel that way. I don't know how Naba-sensei feels, but I think so.

Were you surprised when you learned that this manga series would be adapted into anime?

DR. PORO: I think there was a talk about possibly adapting this into anime right after we published the first volume of the manga. Kimura-san brought this idea to me, but he also told me not to have high expectations because there's often talk about adapting into anime, and out of 20 opportunities like that, maybe one becomes reality. So he actually set the bar kind of low for me not to expect too much of this. When the anime adaptation was finalized, it wasn't such a surprise, per se, because Kimura-san was managing my expectations. But what surprised me most was that they told me it takes about three years to adapt a manga into an anime.

Wow. Yeah, it can take quite a while. It sounds like Kimura-san is a good editor trying to save you from potential heartbreak. Is there a scene from the manga you're most excited to see animated?

DR. PORO: What I want to see in animation is any scenario where characters are moving; I think it'll be very attractive in anime. While this wouldn't appear in the current anime season, the latest chapters of the original manga include a character who manipulates gravity. And I think that is going to be very dynamic too.

That could be very interesting. One thing I was wondering about, and part of this is because I just read a manga by Shigeru Mizuki-sensei, is that masks carry a lot of symbolism in Japanese culture and cultures around the world. Maybe an obvious example is Noh masks in Japanese theater. So when you worked on this series with Naba-san to create the masks, how did you decide on the look? Were there any real-life mask types that inspired you?

DR. PORO: For the design of different masks, we look at Pinterest and other publicly available pictures and images as a reference. But I feel like it's very difficult to share the image or talk about the image that we both have of the masks because it's different from, say, designing a character. If it's a character design, we would go over the personalities of these characters, what they're like and what they do, how they are. But that was difficult for mask design. Basically, Naba-san designs most masks, but sometimes I design one myself and then share it with Naba-san.

There are quite a few characters in the series. Obviously there's the main character, Peru, but different mask users and villains show up throughout the series. Looking back on your characters, were any challenging to write, or did any character, as you created them, lead you in a particular direction you didn't originally intend?

DR. PORO: I don't have a particular character in my story that is difficult to describe because all my characters are part of me, or reflect who I am. So my policy is not to create characters I don't understand well. And I think the character that actually changed over time within my story is Mok Sharib. The reason is that when we decided to work with Naba-san, I was reading their other work, and I anticipated and tried to create this character, Mok, so it would be easier for Naba-san to depict. I ended up with a character I wasn't familiar with myself. So that was one of the more difficult characters to describe for me.

So then, over the course of the series, Mok has actually transformed into a character that's closer to me.

Can you tell us how the main characters Peru and Sona relate to you?

DR. PORO: How are they similar to myself? Okay, I think people usually evaluate themselves based on what they hear others say about them, but when I look at and compare myself to those characters, I see that I like to support and encourage other people. I think I get motivated when I do something for others, not for myself. Maybe that's one reason I'm in the entertainment industry, because I want to make other people happy and bring excitement and joy to their lives. I think that prioritizing or caring for others is one of the things that makes me similar to those characters.

I'm not sure if you play video games, but I'm curious: if you do, do you always play a support character? Like the healer, maybe?

DR. PORO: Exactly. You're right. I always play the healer or the character who supports the main characters or the party. And then oftentimes I go to rescue or help other people, and the teammate and I die. I kill myself in the game.

Someone needs to protect you a little bit too, then.

DR. PORO: Yes, definitely.

Going back to your characters, how do you think Peru, a character seeking redemption on his quest, and Sona, a runaway princess, balance each other as the story's protagonists?

DR. PORO: So as I mentioned earlier, Peru is a very selfless person who would always do things to help others. I think that kind of character type is a fictional sort of character. And Sona is there to support Peru being who he is, and she probably finds meaning in supporting others. So I didn't really think to make these two characters complementary, but as the story progresses, I think they grow more and more into a relationship where they support each other.

Looking back at the early chapters of The Vermilion Mask, because we're already beyond six volumes at this point, what is the biggest creative lesson you've learned on this journey?

DR. PORO: I learned so many lessons through the creative work on The Vermilion Mask. Of all those lessons, I think the most important was communication. Every chapter, I would submit it to Kimura-san without explaining what would happen next. So I had an image of which direction the story was going to take, and Kimura-san wanted to go in a completely different direction. So there were some discrepancies between what I was thinking and what Kimura-san was thinking.

I wouldn't call it a fight, but we had some conflicts and friction, and that friction came from both of us wanting to make this work better and turn it into a really good manga. Once we realized that, we also realized we were looking at two completely different pictures of the destination for this cooperative creative work. Once I started communicating, I explained more about what I was thinking, what was in my head beforehand rather than at the last minute. Recently, I launched a series [titled GOAT'S GAME], and the main theme is communication.

I chose that theme because of my personal experience with Kimura-san.

Focusing on communication for a series is really interesting. I think there are a lot of ways you could go about that that could benefit people.

As the series writer, how do you plot long-term mystery arcs? How do you give hints without giving the big twist away before the reveal?

DR. PORO: I think the most important thing that we have to keep in mind is the order we reveal information in our work. I'm always thinking about which information to present in what specific order. I try to look into the reader's mind and consider what assumptions or inferences they'll make when I present a particular piece of information, and in what order. Through my communication with my editors and others involved in this story, we learn how readers react when we present this information. So I think it's something you acquire through trial and error.

How do you gauge the reader's reaction? Do you look at social media, or do you receive fan mail?

DR. PORO: In the early phase, I was actually sharing my work on social networks or other social media. Then people reacted in comments to my posts there. So that was one way. Later, I gauged how readers would respond by communicating with editors who read my work and gave me comments, feedback, and their thoughts.

If you could own any mask from the series, which one would you choose and why?

DR. PORO: I would choose the Mask of the Bird. Since it's physically impossible for me to just go out and fly, I would like that mask so I can experience what it's like to soar through the sky.

The Vermilion Mask anime series premiered on October 10 and is currently streaming on Crunchyroll in North America. The manga series is available in English on the emaqi manga app.