Shihei Lin on Shaping DAN DA DAN, Spy x Family, and Chainsaw Man
The panel offers a rare editor's-eye view of how three major Jump Plus hits took shape, including specific creative decisions Lin made on SPY x FAMILY.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
At Anime NYC, The Japan Foundation hosted veteran manga editor Shihei Lin, current CEO of Mix Green and former Editor-in-Chief of Shonen Jump Plus. Lin discussed his long partnerships with creators behind DAN DA DAN, SPY x FAMILY, and Chainsaw Man, including a six-year development process for DAN DA DAN and nearly two decades of work with the SPY x FAMILY author before its serialization.
Shihei Lin's Anime NYC panel, hosted by The Japan Foundation, covered how he develops manga with individual creators. He said there is no specific criteria for new talent, since some mangaka excel at art and storyboarding while others are better with dialogue; what catches his eye is a creator who excels at their speciality.
On DAN DA DAN, Lin said it took about six years to develop the current version of the story with Yukinobu Tatsu, and that 80 to 90 percent of what appears in the manga was present in the original draft. He wanted Tatsu to make the manga he wanted rather than follow convention, and Tatsu continually updates art and dialogue on his own.
For SPY x FAMILY, Lin said he had worked with Tatsuya Endo for roughly 19 years before serialization, and the series followed a 7-year slump after Endo's previous manga, Tista. The spy husband, assassin wife, and psychic daughter concept existed from the start, but Lin suggested Anya read minds and insisted the family include the dog Bond.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.