Shonen Jump Exec on How Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Editors Shaped His Success

Tatsuki Fujimoto became a legend in the manga world in record time. The Chainsaw Man creator isn’t just responsible for creating Denji and his devil-hunting allies but also the likes of Fire Punch, Goodbye Eri, Look Back, and more. In a recent interview, Shonen Jump Shihei Lin was more than happy to talk about working with Fujimoto and how that relationship helped the mangaka to create some of the biggest works in the manga publication. As Chainsaw Man continues to release bloody new chapters, it doesn’t seem as though Fujimoto is slowing down any time soon when it comes to Denji’s world.

Shihei Lin has been a big part of the Shonen Jump world in recent years. Aside from editing Chainsaw Man, Lin was also responsible for editing the likes of Dandadan, Spy x Family, Blue Exorcist, and many more. When it came to the Chainsaw Man anime, Lin was a major fan and had the following thoughts to share, “Everything was high quality, and I thought this anime would go down in history. I am very happy with the voice actors, all of whom were very well-suited to their characters. Now, when I reread Chainsaw Man, I can hear their voices playing in my head.”

A Chainsaw Future

When asked in a recent interview, Lin discussed the idea of a “school of success” for Tatsuki Fujimoto and stated the following, “How to put it. At that time, it was a moment when everyone was evolving. Rather than saying it was Fujimoto who taught the others, I feel more like these evolutions resulted from exchanges between each other. Moreover, I feel they had a relationship of equals, not a master/student relationship. It was Tatsuki Fujimoto’s first series that taught him many things.”

Lin continued, “The basic principles of staging on a page, inking, and even how to provide instructions for creating backgrounds and screentones. For me, it’s this peer relationship, where they even became friends, that allowed each of them to reveal their best by drawing from each other what they might have lacked.” 

Want to see when Denji will return to the screen for the Chainsaw Man movie, Chainsaw Man The Movie: The Reze Arc? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook for the latest updates on the bloody shonen series and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.