INDEX
Opportunities Often Sprout Unexpectedly from Connections
Kawai: When I was younger, I had a lot of part-time jobs. Then, I found a nursery school that was looking for an assistant nanny, and they said it was OK even if you were not qualified, so I worked there for about two years.
Okaya: Oh, so you worked as a nanny while performing with Super Monkey?
Kawai: Yes. I was in charge of a class for 3 to 5 year olds, and it was a lot of fun. I think I’ve been able to do almost anything I wanted to do, thanks to part-time jobs and the kindness of people around me.
Okaya: You also draw manga, don’t you?
Kawai: Yes, that’s right. Of course, it is not my main job, but I am grateful that people read my manga in one way or another. I also had a book of palindromes and illustrations published (“Kai-bun-do,” Shinchosha, 2003). When palindromes became popular among my friends, we would send them to each other by e-mail, and one of them was an editor who said to me, “Kawai, let’s serialize this.
Okaya: That sounds great. But work can come out of nowhere through some kind of connection, like that.
