BDE (French) Interview RE: Japan Ai

[aimeekitty]

bdencre.com interviewed me recently about Japan Ai! French, actually, is the only language that Japan Ai has been translated into so far!

You can read bde's interview (in French) here.



Please mind that the interviewer's first language is not English (He sure does better in English than I do in any other language! <3 )
Thanks BDE! I hope I get to visit France soon!

Bulle d'Encre : Hi ! For a few months, Japan Ai has been published in France. Was it a surprise to see a french translation ? In which countries are you also published ?
Aimee Major : So far, only France! There is a lot of interest from other countries, but not yet.

BDE : Do you think that American and European readers will read your book the same way ?
AM : I imagine that folks who are into animation and Japanese culture have similar feelings no matter what country they live in. But everyone has their own life and perspective.

BDE : When you decided to go to Japan, did you immediately have the idea to make a travel book ?
AM : In some ways, yes. Before I went, I had read some travel journals and sketchbooks and I thought it would be fun to do my own take on that. I didn't know that the book would be published, but I planned to just do a small print run myself (in black and white) and sell it at comic-con perhaps. So while I was in Japan, I took very detailed notes about what happened and what was interesting to me. I took lots of photos and did small drawings in my book. I did most of the writing and drawing while we were on the train from place to place. When I got back from Japan I started to do the drawings, a couple a day until I had several hundred of them. At some point, Go! Comi saw them and was interested in publishing it for me.

BDE : You made this travel in 2007 (is that right?). Went you to Japan a second time ? Do you want to return there soon ?
AM : I made the trip in spring of 2005, actually. I went back again in 2006, and the combined experiences of those are what the book is made of. I then went again (for fun) in spring of 2008 with my husband. I really love visiting Japan. I would like to go again, soon, but I don't think I'll be able to for another year or so, due to how busy I am, and how much it costs.

BDE : Go to Japan was a dream for you and your friends. Was this country close to your dreams or did you discover some surprising things ?
AM : I think you can tell from the book that we had a really great time! I'm very fascinated by other cultures and Japan, even just normal things are slightly different from how they are in the USA. I find all that fascinating. Our trip was really wonderful and I would say that I enjoyed it as much or more than I was hoping before I went. Japan, actually, was the first country that I visited (I had never left the USA before.) I'd like to see more countries now. Last winter my husband and I went to London. I'd like to see some of France, Italy, and some other places, too. (I really really really want to see Versailles!)

BDE : What was your biggest surprise ? And biggest disappointment ?
AM : Waking up the next morning in Kyoto to the outside being completely covered in snow was a pretty magical surprise. I don't even see snow in California, where I live, at all, so it was very fun. But we had lots of accidental discoveries. It's kind of impossible to choose one off the top of my head.
The biggest disappointment would be me taking the wrong train and missing having dinner with VOLKS (the doll company). But then it worked out later,...

BDE : During this trip, did you imagine your future book like a guide ?
AM : No, not during the trip. During the trip, I was just concerned with remembering what happened.

BDE : If there was one thing to do or one place to go, what are they ?
AM : That's a very difficult question. During those particular trips that Japan Ai was based on, I would say going to the onsen was a really wonderful thing. It was very peaceful and a nice bonding time with my girlfriends. The location was gorgeous and it was the type of thing you really only experience in Japan.

BDE : Did you prefer to write the notes or to draw ? What did you do when you came back at home ?
AM : I did both. It's not possible to draw everything very quickly though, and still have the drawing have all the information I would need to do a detailed drawing later. If I spent all that time drawing, I wouldn't have time to have a fun vacation, too. So I did some drawings as I felt like it, but mostly I took notes and photographs.

BDE : In the future, do you think it will be possible to see another book of another country ? You'll be welcome in France !
AM : I would love to do a book about visiting France, but I would have to get a publisher to pay for it... ha,... so perhaps if enough people wanted to see it, it would happen! Books always depend on how many you are able to sell. (So, the more I sell of Japan Ai, the more likely it is that I can do another book later, etc...) If it was up to me, I would quit my "real" job and just travel to various countries and draw cartoons about my trip all the time! That would be the best. I love to travel so much and I love learning about other countries. I know I will visit France sometime in the next few years though. I will just have to save up my pennies.

BDE : Thank you very much !!!
AM : Thankyou!


OUI!! Je suis un enorme gateau! HA HA yaaaaaay. (Pardon, I don't know how to make the accents on my keyboard.)