[Full text] Farewell party for Mr. Saito and Mr. Tetsuya Chiba

A farewell party was held at a hotel in Tokyo on the 29th for Takao Saito, known for works such as "Golgo 13" who passed away in September last year. Machiko and Osamu Akimoto read condolences.

This is the full text of the condolences of the three.

Full text of Tetsuya Chiba's condolence message

Takao Saito

in memory of Takao-chan .

It was September 24th last year when I heard the sudden news of your passing, so it's already been a year.

Even a year later, I never thought that I would see off Saito-san, who was so energetic.

You were a little older than me, but I used to call you "Takao-chan" affectionately.

It overlaps with his representative work "Golgo 13", and this portrait of the deceased is very smiling, but he is usually a little scared and has the impression of being a difficult person, so most people would freeze up if he was stared at through his sunglasses. I think not.

But, despite your appearance, you were a very kind and thoughtful gentleman who cared more than anyone else.

Takao-chan loves golf, and even though we didn't have much time together, we would often get together and play golf together.

Takao-chan's skill is considerable, and when he was in good health, until recently, he was driving the driver so well that he was scolded by the group in front of him who was walking far away, and when he got on the green. My favorite was the Calamity Jane, with a wooden shaft. I used a classic putter freely, and cast ridiculously long putts calmly like the sniper you imagined. Did you roll up?

Yes, despite her frightening appearance, she was very kind to Caddy and the women around her, so she was quite popular here and there.

Golgo 13 and Takao are bold and sensitive in both work and play.

To me now, the two of them seem to be one and the same, and in my memory, they overlap.

When producing graphic novels, I was one of the first to introduce the same way of thinking as when making movies, and put the end credits on the last page of each work, including the name of the scriptwriter, staff, and the person in charge.

He is a pioneer who has created many works by thoroughly dividing roles such as directing, directing, and collecting materials, and respecting each process very carefully. was

For more than half a century ago, comics were read only by children. I kept insisting.

There is no doubt that you have created a genre of comics called Gekiga, and that you have nurtured Japan's Gekiga culture so far.

The sense of loss in the manga world that has lost such an author is deep, heavy, and immeasurable, but the excellent staff of Saito Productions, who Takao-chan trusted from the bottom of his heart and worked with Saito-Takao, Please be assured that Mrs. Teruko has taken over the world, and will continue to do so.

These days, I'm sure you're drinking your favorite sake with Shotaro Ishinomori, Fujiko Fujio A, and Mitsutoshi Furuya, who were great friends during your lifetime.

Surrounded by many beautiful women.

I envy you.

Takao-chan.

I'll be there soon, so please wait for me.

September 29, 2020 Representative Tetsuya Chiba

Machiko Satonaka's condolence message

His life as a playwright was about 66 years.

It is not hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for him to meet the expectations of the world as a professional for such a long period of time.

To describe his achievements in a few words, it would be said that he pioneered the graphic novel field and established a production system.

But they are not as easy to build as they look from the side.

Many manga artists rely on the help of assistants to finish their work.

It's a physically demanding job, so I can't make it in time if I draw alone.

I work with my assistant like an old-fashioned apprentice.

However, the production system built by Mr. Saito is a complete division of labor, just like filmmaking.

Story, scenario, composition, animation, each professional finish their own work, and finally finish it as one work, that is Saito Pro's work.

Professor Saito leads and is involved in all of the above fields, but much of it is entrusted to staff in each field.

This is not something the average cartoonist can do.

This is because manga artists want to express their own image.

I borrow the power of the assistant because it doesn't come true physically.

I have asked my teacher.

"Isn't there times when you want to draw from corner to corner by yourself?"

The teacher said, "There are many people in the world who are better at drawing than I am. Manga artists are required to have everything: story, scenario, composition, characters, drawing. There is no such thing as a wasteful story.We gather the fields where we are good at and create one work.I want to make use of the talents of people who are better than me.”That was the answer.

Only when you restrain yourself can you make the most of everyone's power.

I accepted that as the meaning.

The production system and Saito professional work were established precisely because there was a conviction, and because there was a determination to stick to that conviction.

It's not a system that anyone can imitate.

Even if you believe in the power of people, your own efforts were tremendous.

When he was nearly 80 years old, he said that his hand was not feeling well.

It seems that the nerve is stuck and it hurts a lot.

But with that kind of hand, I've been working on about 200 pages per month.

The work that was announced didn't make me feel that kind of pain.

There were times when people said, ``Because of the division of labor in the production system, I probably didn't draw much myself,'' but that's not the case.

I was taught the strength to not run away from what I should do.

If you remember these things, you may be misunderstood as a very strict teacher.

The teacher also loved soft talk.

In the past, I think there were a lot of stories like, "Why are women like this? Men don't understand."

At some point, I really fell in love with it.

From the beginning of his relationship with Mrs. Teruko, little by little she began to fall in love with him.

It might be easier for me as a woman to say something that would be embarrassing for a man to say.

More than anything else, I think he had the feeling that he wanted someone to listen to him.

It feels good to hear your crush.

The person is happy.

It's like I'm sharing the hem, and I feel warm even here.

About three years after you and Princess Teruko said,

“By nature, I feel most comfortable being alone. That is why I am not suited for marriage. However, when I met my current wife, I decided that even if she were a man, I would still want to live with her. A miracle of life. That's what he said.

Oh good

The teacher is really happy.

she was impressed.

I think she meets people.

In the manga world, we juniors have been helped by Mr. Saito and her many seniors with big hearts.

Thank you.

Teacher, I'm sure you're already with your friends over there, but please watch over Saito professionals, publishers, Mrs. Teruko, and us readers.

thank you.

We will continue to rely on you.

And I am looking forward to the continuation of the production system that the teacher left behind, and the continuation of the work that can be said to be the fruit of that.

Thank you.

September 29, 2020 Junior Machiko Satonaka

Full text of Osamu Akimoto's condolence message

Saito-sensei, I would like to speak in terms of the so-called Gekiga boys of our generation, when gekiga appeared in shonen magazines, when we were fascinated by them.

Today, as a fan representative, I will read it aloud.

Around the time gekiga appeared, comics that we had never seen before appeared in comic magazines.

I've never seen this story before, and the pictures are different from what I've seen before.

I really felt that manga is changing, turning into graphic novels and becoming books that adults can read.

So, I think that the number of manga with originals that I used to draw by myself increased around that time.

In short, I think it's an era when publishers and manga artists have steadily built up a manga that can be read by adults by producing manga with a few people.

That's why I wanted to become a playwright, so I became absorbed in drawing comic strips.

At the time, I was drawing about 100 pages of gekiga, but it was a heavy gekiga, so I drew "Kochikame" as a rest for the chopsticks.

When I applied for Kochikame, it won a prize, and from that year it was serialized.

So, at the time of serialization, I said, "Akimoto-kun's gag manga is good," but no, this is not a gag, but a graphic novel with humor.

After that, whenever I was asked about various things, I kept saying, "I'm drawing funny comics." It is," the latter half came to say.

After that, I made my debut in a gag manga, so I gave up because I had no more contact with Saito-sensei, but later, for some reason, I ended up working with him again in the number of comics.

At that time, there were various works with a lot of volumes, such as "Sazae-san" and "Sangokushi", and of course "Golgo" was at the top, but I thought that I was very happy just by putting this on the line with the teacher. However, the surroundings gradually ended, and eventually it became just the two of us.

It is said that the one that follows "Golgo" is "Kochikame".

I've always said that gags and graphic novels are completely different things, but in the end it became a showdown over which one was being read at the barber shop.

And when I say barbershop, the teacher's parents' house is a barber shop, so I thought in my heart that it would be a very rude comparison, but even so, every time I came for an interview, I was placed next to Mr. Saito, so I was happy. did.

So, the number of volumes was lined up.

I ended up with the same number of volumes as Golgo, and when I met the teacher at the party at that time, I said, ``I'm sorry, I ended up with Golgo.'' Okay,” said the teacher with a laugh.

Then you pulled out "Golgo".

So, I said, "I don't care", but Saito-sensei really hates to lose.

When Mr. Ishinomori was said to draw 650 pages a month and was said to be the best in the manga world, he was seriously doing it, saying, "No, I draw more than Shotaro."

I thought he was a tough teacher when it comes to numbers, so I thought, "Oh, don't skip too many more," but I was relieved when I finally finished the 200th volume.

So, I thought that "Golgo" would eventually catch up with me, so every time I met with my teacher at the golf course, I tried not to mention the volume of the comic, but talked about the weather and clubs as much as possible. That's right.

Then, last spring, "Golgo" reached its 200th volume.

So, in the planning of the big comic, "How about the 200th volume interview?"

I couldn't be happier.

That's why, for us, Sensei was someone we admired about graphic novels, so when we met and thought of saying this out of the blue, Sensei said, "Volume 200 is a passing point."

"Oh, of course I know that too. I know all the books and autobiographies that the teacher writes, so I'm not aiming for 200 volumes for each teacher. I already understand that."

From that point on, we started to see what kind of influence Gekiga had on us, not only in the manga world, but also in those of us who were aiming to become manga. So, I was drawing a graphic novel every day.

Eventually, I thought it would be an opportunity to talk about graphic novels, the manga I had been watching until now, and I also like historical dramas, but the teacher's gag-style spy story I like it.

It's "Sugar", "Dingo", "Hawking" and "DOLL".

When I continued to talk about it, I got a reply saying, "Don't you know."

But I didn't say it at the time, but for us Gekiga boys, it's a Gekiga textbook.

It was natural for Gekiga Shonen to see it and know it because it was already a natural textbook.

My teacher was a very influential person.

After that, at last, when Golgo reached volume 201, he said, "Ah, this is finally good. Golgo is the best in the world both in name and reality."

So, after that, 201 volumes of "Kochikame" came out.

I didn't think it would come out either.

It says "No way 201 volumes".

I was most surprised.

I thought it would come out in a separate volume, but it came out again.

I thought, "Oh, I'm next to the teacher again."

I think that it will not be omitted at all in the future.

I have no intention of removing it.

From now on, I would like you to continue on the path of Golgo.

And now the big comic that is interesting is "Firearms Craftsman Dave".

This is like Golgo's so-called gun doctor.

Golgo comes to Dave again and yells at him.

22 caliber bullets with less gunpowder that can hit a target 1,500 kilometers away.

Dave was surprised, "Huh?"

Then he said, "I'll pay you $100,000 for bullets and $100,000 for your time, so make it."

Dave then stays up all night making it.

The next day, at noon, Golgo goes to find Dave tired and asleep, and there's only one bullet by his bedside, and Golgo pays him $200,000.

Can't even test fire, one shot.

I trusted him and took it, looked at Dave's face for a moment and didn't say "thank you", but took it with a grin in my eyes.

I love that Dave series.

Now it's time to start with Big Comic.

Furthermore, "Gene of G Girl Fanette".

This is rare in Golgo. My teacher used to write about things like Azuma Kensaku and who Golgo's mother was.

This is a Saito Pro original.

Maybe Golgo has a daughter, it's a very interesting story, and Mr. Saito doesn't write much about female protagonists.

The main character is usually a man.

From a maniac point of view, this is the first doll detective work since "Hotel Detective DOLL", so I'm really looking forward to it.

Mr. Saito often said, ``You don't draw a graphic novel alone.

Seeing fans drawing Fanette and Dave enthusiastically, the teacher probably has a lot to say, ``Ah, you guys are doing well. However, I think he smiles like this and says, "Ah, everyone listens to what I say and does their best" with a smile on their face.

The talented Saito professional staff trained by the teacher, and the excellent editor.

By all means, I would like to continue "Golgo 13" toward the dream volume 300.

Please do your best.