WIND BREAKER and The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Creators team-up for a unique illustration & interview
With another season of the WIND BREAKER anime completed and the debut season of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity anime just beginning, Kodansha thought it a perfect time to check-in with both manga creators Satoru Nii and Saka Mikami for a collaborative interview!
Not only that but both series creators have teamed up for a fun and cute crossover illustration with series stars Haruka Sakura and Kotoha Tachibana from WIND BREAKER, locking arms in friendship with Rintaro Tsumugi and Kaoruko Waguri from The Fragrant Flowers Blooms with Dignity.
Fans of both series can read the interview conducted by the Kodansha English manga editors from both series below with answers by both creators imagining how the characters from each series would meet and more!
Conversation with Satoru Nii, author of WIND BREAKER:
Kodansha: The story of WIND BREAKER has a lot to do with strength and the fighting ability of all the rival gangs — but beyond the action, what would you say that WIND BREAKER is about?
Satoru Nii: I believe that it is a work about the importance of being with another person, and the communication needed to maintain that bond.
Kodansha: How did you feel when approached about this collaboration promotion with fellow mangaka Saka Mikami-sensei?
Satoru Nii: I felt incredibly grateful. It’s actually my first time doing a collaboration illustration in general, so it was a new challenge for me—one that I enjoyed doing.
Kodansha: Is there anyone from The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity that you think would be friends with Sakura and the rest of Bofurin?
Satoru Nii: All the characters in The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity are good kids, so I think they would get along with Sakura and everyone in Bofurin. I think they’d become good friends, actually—as long as the Fragrant Flower characters aren’t too intimidated by the guys.
Conversation with Saka Mikami, author of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity:
Kodansha: The bad relationship between Chidori High School and Kikyo Academy forms an important basis for the story. What inspired you to build a story around this concept of feuding schools?
Saka Mikami: Since this is essentially a shonen manga in terms of genre, I thought that having an obvious conflicting relationship would make it retain more of that shonen manga feel, in addition to making the story easier to understand. I decided how intense to make that conflict through discussions with my supervising editor.
Kodansha: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity explores different types of human relationships: romantic, friendly, and familial. Were you always planning to explore all these types of relationships? Or did some themes get added as the story developed?
Saka Mikami: I did intend to explore them all along. Although the romantic relationship between Rintaro and Kaoruko is the catalyst for the story, one’s range of emotion broadens the more one interacts with others, and it didn’t feel right to ignore that fact.
Of course, being able to explore these elements to this depth is made possible by the support of the readers, for which I’m very grateful.
Kodansha: Rintaro and Kaoruko make a cute pair, and we see how much they care for each other as the story unfolds. What do you find most interesting about developing their romance?
Saka Mikami: While there are moments when it feels like I’m watching from a distance, there are plenty of times I find myself so drawn into their feelings that I cry or get embarrassed—it’s quite a strange sensation.
Moreover, I have nothing but respect for them and how they make me want to be someone who can care for and cherish another person like that.
Kodansha: The anime adaptation is just around the corner. For fans discovering this series for the first time, what do you hope will get them hooked?
Saka Mikami: I think the number one thing I want them to notice is the importance of communicating things to other people. After all, even if you understand that concept mentally, actually doing it isn’t so easy—enough that it’s an act of courage.
Meeting someone you want to know more about and care for is such a precious thing. It would be nice if this series could help people see that, remind them of it, or inspire them to seek it out.
Kodansha: Regarding this latest collaboration with WIND BREAKER, which characters from Furin High School do you think would get along with Rintaro, Kaoruko, or their friends?
Saka Mikami: Putting Rintaro and Kaoruko anywhere near Sakura would activate his romance sensor like crazy, which I think would be a lot of fun to see. Overall, though, all the main WIND BREAKER characters are good people as well, so I can picture everyone getting along with each other.
Own the Kinokuniya-Exclusive Art
If you’d like to own this crossover illustration for yourself, as well as replica shikishi featuring recently created art by both mangaka, you need only visit a Kinokuniya store and online:
How to get these Kinokuniya-exclusive shikishi and poster:
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Purchase any volume of WIND BREAKER or The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity in English in store or online to receive a shikishi from the purchased series.
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Purchase at least one volume each from both series, and receive both shikishi boards and a mini poster with the exclusive collaboration art.
*Please note that each shikishi and mini poster are limited to one per person. // Only applies to English book purchases. // Available while supplies last.
Interview answers from each creator were translated from the original Japanese to English with Kodansha’s thanks by The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity translation contributor Lindsey Clifford.