INTERVIEW WITH TAKEZAMURAI

[Kinky-K]

Q. First off, I'd like to say hello to you, Take-san!
Before we get started, you should know, you're one of my favorite artists, and I've followed your work since about 2006, when I saw this article posted about you online: LINK

A. Hello.
Thank you for always seeing my artwork. I didn't know about that website where you found me. Wow~~!!


Q. Let's start with something easy. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Your favorite color?

A. I'm just a chubby guy who likes to draw. My favorite colors are pastels.


Q. Now, 'Itatigokko' is the name of your circle. I believe this translates to the English idiom "Cat-and-Mouse Game," yes? Can you explain why you chose this name?

A. When I was trying to come up with my circle's name, I found the word 'Itatigokko' in the dictionary by chance. I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to used it as my circle's name.


Q. How did you come to work with Dudedle Studio?

A. Punipen came and talked to me when he saw me tweet about wanting to make a game.


Q. You have such a unique style! How would you describe your various works?

A. If I had to sum up my artwork in one word, it would be "fancy".
It means "Kawaii-Kei" or cute style. That's what my boyfriend and my friends often say about my work.

An example of Take-san's cute style~

Q. An older work of yours called 大魔王化計画・改, roughly, "Great Sataning Project," in English, features a character resembling Prince Satan! Can you tell us about this doujin, and about Satan's early incarnation in your works?

A. "The Great Satanize Project - Kai," literally, "Reform," is a remake of a comic of mine published in a gay magazine ten years ago. The Satan character in this comic is from the land of sex. It's a story about his journey to the human world in order to become a master of sex.

"The Great Satanize Project - Kai"

Q. I've noticed Frey popping up in this and other works of yours pre-dating Sugar Shooter. Can you tell us about his roles in this title and "landmark"?

A. Frey was first featured in the original "Great Satanize Project". I like his design, and other people like him as well, so I decided to make him Itatigokko's mascot.

He had special powers in "The Great Satanize Project," but now, other than his role in Sugar Shooter, he's just a mascot character.


Q. Can you tell us something about the original bad-guys of "Sugar Shooter," now Satan's "wives," we might not know yet?

A. Sugarless and his friends are from a land where sweets are strictly prohibited. Sugarless is actually a prince, and the others are his subordinates.


Q. Same question for any of the characters in "Sugar Shooter 2"!

A. Thanks to Satan, after the events of "Sugar Shooter 2", Kibi quit the life of a thief; he is now living as an honest, good man. For the other characters, they are still working under Fuuma.


Q. There were some sketches you posted on twitter of possible character designs for "Sugar Shooter 3". There was a character with glasses, and there was a character in a kilt! Do you already have a theme in mind for SS3, like how you had a Japanese theme for SS2?

A. I've talked about this with Punipen. We're thinking about 'outer space' as a theme for the next "Sugar Shooter".

Character doodles by Take-san

Q. Right now you're working on a different game, though. You've posted some early artwork for it already! Aside from the fact it's a puzzle-game, are you willing to tell us anything about it?

A. I'm really sorry, but I'm afraid it's too early to say anything right now.

Early artwork for the new game.

Q. Although this is gay eroge, early on there was a picture of a girl posted for "Sugar Shooter 2". Can you tell us why she didn't make it to the final version of SS2?

A. I also like to draw women, but there wasn't really a role for her. In the end, Punipen and I decided that she didn't seem to suit SS2's world.

Unfinished art of Botsukyara ボツキャラ

Q. Let's lighten up, and talk a bit more about you! What got you into drawing gay doujin?

A. When I saw gay drawings on the internet, they inspired me to do the same thing.


Q. Any favorite artists?

A. I think I have too many to list.


Q. If you could have a harem like Prince Satan, would you?

A. A harem sounds like a lot of trouble, so I don't really want one.


Q. What's your biggest wish?

A. To continue drawing what I love.


Q. Finally, if you could have superpowers, what would they be?

A. I'd love to teleport anywhere I want in a split-second.


I'd like to thank Take-san for being an awesome interviewee. This interview took a while to happen, but a special thanks to Punipen for working on translating it from start to finish, and Dudedle Studio for being awesome in general. I'm KinkyKinniku (a.k.a Alex) as of late, and I hope you enjoyed the read!

[Candy Bear]

"Sugarless and his friends are from a land where sweets are strictly prohibited."

I'm actually pretty interested in the SS world now. I really liked the sex and characters, but this is pretty interesting.

[punipen]

I have to say I didn't expect some questions & some background on Satan and Frey characters are really great Also, good job on finding the pics! You should have included them in the tumblr post too. I think you can use html tag to embed images in the post.

[Arthur]

What a great interview! Lots of cool stuff. And how did I not know that there's gonna be a Sugar Shooter 3!? So excited. Day one buy for me!

Also, it makes me really happy to hear that Takezamurai-san has a boyfriend. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.