Interview: Breathing Life Into a Zombie Apocalypse With Kotaro Takata

Kotaro Takata, the talented artist behind the captivating manga Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, appeared as a guest of honor at Anime Expo 2023. With an impressive array of vibrant illustrations and a unique storytelling style, Takata-sensei has captured the hearts of manga fans around the world. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Takata-sensei at the convention and discussing his creative process, inspirations, and challenges that shape the apocalyptic world of Zom 100.

Your previous works, particularly Hallelujah Overdrive!, have many colorful volume covers. Zom 100 also stands out due to the bright neon colors. Do you gravitate towards this color aesthetic, or what was the decision behind the saturated colors for Zom 100?

When it comes to colors, I have been influenced by works like JoJo. When we were developing the original concept for Zom 100's cover, we weren't given a specific direction. Aso-san suggested that the cover should be scary, but not too scary. So, for the first cover, we decided to take a more pop culture approach and chose colors that hit the right balance between scary and approachable. It was important to find that sweet spot between the two.

If you notice, volume 1 of Zom 100 doesn't feature any zombies on the cover. We made volume 1 cover friendlier to a wider audience because we wanted to encourage not only men, but women to pick it up as well. Actually, I completely forgot about the absence of zombies on the volume 1 cover until our editor mentioned it just now.

That's very interesting!


The two key visuals for the anime are also very vibrant and colorful. What are your thoughts about them?

It differs from the manga, but I think the zombies are really colorful and the way they "move" is interesting. I like it, I think it's good.

How does it feel to see your work being animated for the first time?

I'm watching it and thinking, "Wow, these characters that look really similar to my work are moving now." I thought, maybe they can just replace me. Just seeing the characters moving made me think it was amazing. The promotional video had a lot of dynamism to it. It's fantastic.

Is there a certain scene that you are looking forward to being animated?

One word–shark. There's a live-action and anime version, and both had the shark scene. Aso-san and I made a point to watch it, and when the shark appeared, we thought, "What the heck is this?" But it's a compliment. I found it interesting, and it was moving properly, and I think I like it. They did a good job of adding movements to it.

Can you describe the process behind creating the character designs for the main cast?

Initially, Akira actually had a subtly different character design. Basically, Aso-san and I had different visions for Akira. We actually did the entire first chapter, looked at it, looked back, and redid his face, specifically the eyes. At first, his eyes were a little bit sharp, and the impression was that he was kind of a scheming character. In order to make him look like a nice guy, we went back and made his eyes a little bit rounder. He was actually the most difficult of the main cast to work on. But in the end, Akira became the easiest character to draw.

Editor shares a draft of panels of what Akira initially looked like according to Aso-sensei's impression.



Oh, that looks very different!

So, at that point, the eyes were still a bit sharp. Right now, it's round.

I think that the round eyes fit Akira's personality very much.

What are your thoughts on the anime character designs done by Tanaka Kii?

My first impression is that there is an overall softness, but then when I think about it, during the chaos in the zombie world, there was actually a good balance between the actual environment and what Tanaka-san came up with.

Which character do you enjoy drawing the most?

Kencho, his muscles.

Is it challenging to draw zombies, and did you draw inspiration from other zombie-related media?

It was quite difficult to draw zombies at first, but once I got used to it, it became easier. In the Korean movie, Train to Busan, I found the movements of the zombies to be really interesting. I like those movements. Although drawing them in that static way on the page is hard in the manga world, I really like my zombies and the movement which I captured.

Do you also have a bucket list like Akira does in the story?

Yes, I do have my own list, I made one, although I don't have 100 items on my list. And I realized I kind of need a lot of money.

Editor's Note: In the panel, Takata-sensei mentioned making fresh soba, putting on the Captain America shield, and riding the Batmobile (the Robert Pattinson version) among his bucket list items.

You mentioned that you like Captain America and the Batmobile. Did you ever want to become a superhero like Akira?

Definitely not. [laughs] I think it's a little troublesome to be a superhero.

What do you believe makes Zom 100 charming?

Aso-san's message—to quote the manga—is definitely that, "We could die today, or we could die 60 years from now. Either way, there's never enough time to do all the things we want. Life's too short to avoid taking risks." And that's how the bucket list starts–that's what makes Zom 100 interesting.

I read the manga too, and I thought that this was a very powerful scene.

Do you have a message for your fans?

Make sure whatever you want to do in life, do it before you turn into a zombie.

Interview was conducted through an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.

ZOM 100 © 2019 Haro ASO, Kotaro TAKATA/SHOGAKUKAN