Peach-Pit
by Bamboo Dong, transcription: Sean Broestl,
Even though this quiet duo of girls are relatively new to the manga scene, they've already acheived great success with titles like DearS and Rozen Maiden. Both have already been made into anime series, and there's even a DearS game for the PlayStation 2. Getting their humble start from doujinshi, they quickly developed a huge following with their gorgeous artwork and their cute characters. It's a wonder that such a shy group of artists can make such loud and outgoing characters!
(Note: While Peach-Pit is definitely two girls, they're so close that they even clamoured to answer the questions together and finish each other's sentences, so all answers are written as one voice.)
Where did you get the name “Peach-Pit” from?
We were big fans of Beverly Hills 90210. The main hang-out in that show was Peach Pit.
How did you two meet?
We grew up together. We went to the same elementary school and have been friends ever since.
What made you decide to start working together as Peach-Pit and doing manga?
We were both doujinshi manga artists, but not as Peach-Pit. We were scouted by Dengeki Gao, a video works magazine. That's how we started Peach-Pit.
With a lot of the series you have, like DearS, Zombie-Loan and Rozen Maiden... they all have different styles and atmospheres. Do you like experimenting between different genres?
We're happy to hear that you noticed that we use different situations. We do purposely create a variety of situations. It keeps them interesting.
Do you ever find it hard to work together? Do you have arguments?
We fight all the time. We are happy to be together, though. More often than not, we tend to help each other in difficult situations.
What tasks do you each do?
We both create stories together, but depending on the title, we take turns doing art.
I've noticed that with a lot of your series, there's a lot of emphasis placed on clothing. Where do you get the inspiration for all the clothes?
In general, we're always looking out for different things from magazines, television, or movies depending on the theme, like in DearS, aliens, or in Rozen Maiden, dolls. We saw ideas that we like, and use them.
Do you have any favorite styles or fashion designers?
Anna Sui is one of them, but we don't really have any other in particular.
Ever thought of cosplaying as one of your characters?
Never.
Why not?
It's more fun to draw.
Most female manga artists draw a lot of beautiful men. Yours have a lot of beautiful women. Is it easier to draw women, or do you just prefer drawing them?
Our main audience is boys. If we were to draw handsome men, we couldn't relate to the audience.
Have you ever thought of doing a shoujo manga?
If there is a shoujo manga project, we would be happy to. But it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, with DearS' main audience being boys. Zombie-Loan is more for both audiences, but right now, we don't have any plans to do any shoujo stuff. But, if there was a chance, we'd love to.
Who decides what projects you're going to do?
Both of us.
What are you working on right now? What are your plans for future series?
We're just working on three titles: Rozen Maiden, Zombie-Loan, and DearS. That's pretty much keeping us busy, so we don't have any specific plans for the future.
Of all the different personalities in DearS, which one do you think you relate to the most?
We don't have anyone in particular. In every character we draw, there's some elements in them that we try to portray parts of ourselves in. Though, there are some characters who are rather hard for us to draw.
Do you even see yourself in the teacher?
To a certain extent, yes.
What has been your favorite project so far?
We love all our works equally.
Do you ever watch the anime series that are made from your manga? Do you like them?
Yes, of course. We were happy with them, and happy just with the fact they became anime.
So far, what has been the biggest challenge in your careers?
Drawing is hard, but the most important thing is the development of the story and when we do get stuck, that's the most difficult thing.
If you had the chance to go back and change something you've done, what would it be?
You know, it's just like life in general. There are things we wish we could go back on, but because we know we can't go back, it's not something we think about.
Being relatively new to American fans, do you have any messages you want to give your American readers?
We would like to continue creating things that both audiences will enjoy, Japan and here. So please keep reading and enjoying our work in the future.
(Note: While Peach-Pit is definitely two girls, they're so close that they even clamoured to answer the questions together and finish each other's sentences, so all answers are written as one voice.)
Where did you get the name “Peach-Pit” from?
We were big fans of Beverly Hills 90210. The main hang-out in that show was Peach Pit.
How did you two meet?
We grew up together. We went to the same elementary school and have been friends ever since.
What made you decide to start working together as Peach-Pit and doing manga?
We were both doujinshi manga artists, but not as Peach-Pit. We were scouted by Dengeki Gao, a video works magazine. That's how we started Peach-Pit.
With a lot of the series you have, like DearS, Zombie-Loan and Rozen Maiden... they all have different styles and atmospheres. Do you like experimenting between different genres?
We're happy to hear that you noticed that we use different situations. We do purposely create a variety of situations. It keeps them interesting.
Do you ever find it hard to work together? Do you have arguments?
We fight all the time. We are happy to be together, though. More often than not, we tend to help each other in difficult situations.
What tasks do you each do?
We both create stories together, but depending on the title, we take turns doing art.
I've noticed that with a lot of your series, there's a lot of emphasis placed on clothing. Where do you get the inspiration for all the clothes?
In general, we're always looking out for different things from magazines, television, or movies depending on the theme, like in DearS, aliens, or in Rozen Maiden, dolls. We saw ideas that we like, and use them.
Do you have any favorite styles or fashion designers?
Anna Sui is one of them, but we don't really have any other in particular.
Ever thought of cosplaying as one of your characters?
Never.
Why not?
It's more fun to draw.
Most female manga artists draw a lot of beautiful men. Yours have a lot of beautiful women. Is it easier to draw women, or do you just prefer drawing them?
Our main audience is boys. If we were to draw handsome men, we couldn't relate to the audience.
Have you ever thought of doing a shoujo manga?
If there is a shoujo manga project, we would be happy to. But it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, with DearS' main audience being boys. Zombie-Loan is more for both audiences, but right now, we don't have any plans to do any shoujo stuff. But, if there was a chance, we'd love to.
Who decides what projects you're going to do?
Both of us.
What are you working on right now? What are your plans for future series?
We're just working on three titles: Rozen Maiden, Zombie-Loan, and DearS. That's pretty much keeping us busy, so we don't have any specific plans for the future.
Of all the different personalities in DearS, which one do you think you relate to the most?
We don't have anyone in particular. In every character we draw, there's some elements in them that we try to portray parts of ourselves in. Though, there are some characters who are rather hard for us to draw.
Do you even see yourself in the teacher?
To a certain extent, yes.
What has been your favorite project so far?
We love all our works equally.
Do you ever watch the anime series that are made from your manga? Do you like them?
Yes, of course. We were happy with them, and happy just with the fact they became anime.
So far, what has been the biggest challenge in your careers?
Drawing is hard, but the most important thing is the development of the story and when we do get stuck, that's the most difficult thing.
If you had the chance to go back and change something you've done, what would it be?
You know, it's just like life in general. There are things we wish we could go back on, but because we know we can't go back, it's not something we think about.
Being relatively new to American fans, do you have any messages you want to give your American readers?
We would like to continue creating things that both audiences will enjoy, Japan and here. So please keep reading and enjoying our work in the future.
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