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Community Spotlight: sometime

Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight: sometime

Team TokuNet interviews sometime, creator of Superwomen in Love, for this Community Spotlight in congratulations for the series’ conclusion!


Superwomen in Love is a tokusatsu-inspired manga series centered around the relationship between Hayato, also known as Rapid Rabbit, and Honey Trap, a former general of the enemy organization Antinoid. The series began in 2017 and concluded in July 2022 with its final volume published in August 2022. The series is currently being published with an English translation through Seven Seas Entertainment. The first volume was published in April 2021, and the fourth volume was just published in English in July 2022.

To celebrate the series’ conclusion and promote Superwomen in Love, Team TokuNet interviewed the series’ creator sometime for more information about the manga and the creative process!

Introductions

 

sometime

Hello! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is sometime (pronounced “so-meh-chi-meh”). I picked this name because the word “sometime” was written on one of my clothes when I was a child. I’m a manga creator that enjoys tokusatsu and yuri (“girls love”). Thank you for having me here.

What inspired you to become an artist?
I used to upload my manga to Twitter as a hobby, but I got a lot of praise and caught the attention of Yurihime, one of Ichijinsha’s comic magazines. Before I knew it, I’ve been a professional manga creator.

What do you like about tokusatsu?
If we’re talking about children-targeted tokusatsu, I love how there are many ways it draws viewers in such as through the toys’ intricate mechanisms and characters’ extreme personalities. Speaking about tokusatsu as a whole, it’s so interesting how it melds reality and action.

It’s a little hard to explain, but for example, we know as viewers that the actors are wearing costumes. However, within the world of the show, those characters are truly heroes and monsters, and we watch as if we’re in that world too.

Unlike with anime and manga where everything is drawn, tokusatsu breaks away from what’s possible in reality to convince the viewer that they’re looking at real monsters and heroes. I think that’s what makes tokusatsu so engaging.

About Superwomen in Love

What inspired you to write this series?
As I mentioned before, I like yuri and tokusatsu, so I wanted to make a story that combined both interests.

Left: Hayato, Honey // Right: Honey Trap, Rapid Rabbit

Did you borrow elements from real life that served as an inspiration for the story?
Of course, I took inspirations from real life, but in my case, I also found inspiration watching interesting movies and shows.

What is your process when writing a chapter? Did you know how the story would end?
I’ll try not to give too much away, but generally I cram in all the things I want to do and connect the pieces to form a story. I usually think two to three chapters ahead, but I consider how I want the story to conclude as I go along.

Is there a particular moment in the series that stands out to you?
Rapid Rabbit CP’s debut in chapter 15. The design was a struggle to draw, but drawing the battle was fun. More than any of that, though, it was so exciting that the heroes were getting a power-up.

Rapid Rabbit CP

Which character/design was most difficult to draw?
I mentioned Rapid Rabbit CP, but the design for the giant robot Shirayuri-Oh (scheduled to debut in volume 5) was very difficult. It was so hard puzzling out in my head how the transformation and combination would work three-dimensionally, but the greater the struggle, the greater the joy when you resolve it.

Which character do you identify with?
That would be Cool Down. She’s a character that looks at stories from a big picture perspective, so I think she’s closest to the creator’s point of view.

Cool Down

Now that the series is over, what’s next?
I’m drawing a new manga for serialization although it’s not for Yurihime. It’s not another hero story, but it will probably include tokusatsu-inspired elements.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I want the power to take my ideas and form them in reality exactly as I imagine them.

How do you feel knowing this series was licensed for distribution by Seven Seas Entertainment?
I was very pleased to hear that Superwomen in Love also garnered a big response overseas. Especially in English-speaking countries, a lot of people take note of the hero designs and have different reactions than Japanese fans do, so that’s a lot of fun.

Closing

How can fans follow you and your work?
I give updates through my Twitter account and on Pixiv. I would appreciate it if you followed me there.

Do you have any messages for readers overseas?
Thank you very much for allowing me this interview! The manga has already finished here in Japan, but there are so many amazing moments up to the end of the story. To all of you living outside of Japan, please enjoy Superwomen in Love!

And thank you for letting us interview you!

Reminder: volumes 1-4 of Superwomen in Love are available to read with English translations courtesy of Seven Seas Entertainment. Please keep an eye out for the series’ conclusion in volume 5 when it becomes available in English!

Superwomen in Love, volume 5 (JP Cover)

Synopsis (From Seven Seas Entertainment)

When the villainess Honey Trap defeats the superheroine Rapid Rabbit, she sees her nemesis’ face for the first time…and falls head over heels in love! Refusing to kill Rapid Rabbit, Honey Trap is cast out of Antinoid, an evil organization with plans of world domination. Luckily, a kind soul takes her in: Rapid Rabbit herself! Now Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit have teamed up to take on Antinoid. Can Honey Trap defeat her old colleagues and seduce the heroine at the same time?

Superwomen in Love, volume 1 (EN Cover)

TeamTokuNet editor/translator living in Japan who also enjoys karaoke, papercraft, and dramas.

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