INDEX
Is Gao Yan Cut Out for Politics?
Okaya: But you look very proper yourself! You are always so polite, and even at the “Comic Beam” drinking parties, you bring a souvenir for each of us.
Gao: No, no. I’m very happy to see everyone and it’s a rare opportunity to meet everyone.
Okaya: Gao is really neat that way. That’s why you told me before that I could be a politician.
Gao: I’m embarrassed, so please forget it [laughs].
Okaya: The “Gap” that you are currently serializing is also a political manga.
Gao: Oh, that’s true. As a Taiwanese, I wanted to draw about Taiwanese history and politics someday. Although “The Gap” is a Taiwanese story, I draw it with the hope that young Japanese people will also become interested in politics and care about their own country. Politics is something that has to do with everyone’s life and future.
Okaya: I read the book because I think it’s great that you depict that head-on, and I think that’s great.
Gao: The great thing is not so much me, but the people who published this kind of manga. I think they might have been able to publish it because it was in Japan.
Okaya: Japan may still be free, but there is a strong feeling that if you speak out about politics, you will be criticized. But you can’t just stand there.
Gao: Yes. We live in an age where freedom of speech and democracy are taken for granted like air, but that is because of the history of people who fought hard in the past. We need to think about what we can do now.
Information
Gao Yan
The Song of the Greens” (top and bottom)
Now on sale
Price: Upper volume 858 yen (tax included), Lower volume 880 yen (tax included)
Beam Comics (KADOKAWA)
