About the Scenario
I’m writing this down as a way to record my thoughts.
※ This is about a story (scenario) that no one has seen before, so it might not make much sense or be particularly interesting.
※ Feel free to take this with a grain of salt. But if, by any chance, you find it intriguing, I’d be happy.
STRAYARTIST is a title that means “the stray artist” (a coined term, perhaps?).
It’s a story about a young artist. In other words, it’s a story about myself.
Structurally, it’s a story that depicts the lessons I learned from a mentor I deeply respect.
That essence is presented in the form of an SF fantasy about a young protagonist chasing after his master and growing along the way.
I’ve written it with the intention that various metaphors will come across naturally.
(For now, all I have is the scenario and some test drafts.)
Now, setting that main theme aside for a moment—
As you can see from the visuals, the protagonist is a cyborg with a machine-integrated right arm, and the story (plot) revolves around him using that machine in action.
But this mechanical arm isn’t a weapon for killing—it’s a machine for drawing.
…Now, where should I start explaining? I’ll think as I write.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ve been deeply influenced by Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA).
So, I do think this work has an FMA-like feel to it.
A young protagonist using a mechanical arm to create things and fight—that’s the kind of shōnen manga image I have in mind.
Since I’m clearly influenced by FMA, I consciously try to make it different.
I feel like I’m getting off track…
Anyway, it’s not a weapon—it’s a machine for drawing.
In FMA, the protagonist often uses his alchemy to create spears, blades, or guns from his prosthetic arm and point them at enemies. Those moments serve as major highlights of the story.
However, in my story (maybe I should start abbreviating it as “SA”…?), I deliberately never include that kind of scene.
Throughout the entire story, there’s not a single moment where a weapon is created and pointed at an enemy.
Since the machine is for drawing, it’s not a weapon for killing (I may be repeating this too much).
I probably expressed this idea unconsciously.
The story revolves around creating things—spaceships, flowers, giants, etc.—and wielding them as a form of power.
But what the protagonist (and his allies) create is always art.
That power is not military might.
For example:
- Disassembling cannonballs to defend oneself
- Turning a massive war hammer into something completely absurd, forcing the wielder to retreat
- Manipulating music to liven up a festival
- Shattering an iceberg to protect a ship…
There are all sorts of moments like these, but none of them involve brute force.
Even though I’m writing a shōnen manga story, it has naturally become a collection of episodes like this.
Looking back, I realize that I must have had an unwavering philosophy deep inside me.
I didn’t even get to the main point I wanted to talk about initially, but this is getting long, so I’ll stop here for today.
I’ll continue writing more next time.
Also—I’m going to make this properly!