Chapter 268: Interview Anecdotes and Announcement
Ren's words immediately shocked all the manga fans present.
It turns out... Makima's prototype is a parasitic creature.
Meanwhile, Ren enthusiastically continued, "The circular eye shape that the trematode Leucochloridium paradoxum forms when it invades the zombie snail's eyestalk is a biological phenomenon called aggressive mimicry, resembling the appearance of a writhing caterpillar."
"This implies that one organ disguises itself as another to attract prey. Next, the Leucochloridium dominate the snail's brain, exposing it to hungry birds and turning the zombie snail into a delicacy."
"After these dominated snails are eaten by birds, the Leucochloridium reproduce in their intestines, excreting their eggs in the birds' droppings, which in turn become food for other snails, thus completing the strange and cruel life cycle of the Leucochloridium."
As Ren described this, the manga fans imagined the strange, terrifying, and cruel transformation of the life cycle, and even imagined the circular eyes of the zombie snail, similar to Makima's.
They instantly felt nauseous.
But if you think about it carefully... Makima's actions really resemble those of Leucochloridium, controlling the ultimate "voluntary" deaths of Aki Hayakawa and Power, all to achieve the same result as controlling Denji.
It really is... to say it's a prototype is truly convincing.
"But everyone is right. Makima's role as a devil-controlling devil does correspond to that of a mother," Ren added. "She is equivalent to Denji's mother, but the prototype is more closely related to the Leucochloridium."
"Amamiya-sensei is a great expert," said the host with a smile. "So, let me ask the chief editor, what do you think of Chainsaw Man?".
"It's an excellent work..." Ayumi began to express her feelings.
The host continued to question Ayumi, who immediately recounted some interesting events that occurred during the serialization of Chainsaw Man.
For example...
"...In fact, the sensei's assistant called me and told me that the sensei was in the hospital."
"I was really shocked at that moment," Ayumi said helplessly. "The sensei was admitted to the hospital for gastroenteritis. I was very worried at the time. The key was that the sensei didn't say what he had eaten that caused the gastroenteritis."
Ren scratched his head, embarrassed.
"And what happened next?" asked the host with a smile. "We are also very curious to know what exactly happened to Amamiya-sensei's gastroenteritis at that time. What did he eat to end up in the hospital?".
Ayumi said with a laugh, "Later, the sensei told us... that on his way back from a book signing, we found an injured bird on the road."
The fans in the audience pricked up their ears, listening intently to this unknown story.
"The sensei took the bird home to raise it, but then he released it of his own free will," said Ayumi. "But then the sensei said that a wild cat in the community bit it to death. The sensei happened to see it when he was returning from buying groceries. After chasing the cat away, he saw the dead bird... He took it home and ate it, and then was admitted to the hospital with acute gastroenteritis."
At that moment, she couldn't help but laugh.
The group of manga fans in the audience also laughed. Although bewildered by Ren's confusion, everyone thought, "You deserve it."
It can only be said that it's correct not to understand Ren's thoughts.
After all, Ren is a mental patient. How can normal people like them guess the thoughts of a mental patient?
"So, sensei, can you tell me what you were thinking at that moment?"
Ayumi looked at Ren, embarrassed, with a hint of cunning in her eyes and asked.
"Well..." said Ren with some awkwardness. "Actually, I thought that if I buried it outside, the wild cats would dig it up and eat it, so it would be better for me to take care of it... That way, when I ate it, it would be considered to be living with me in my body."
As soon as these words came out, the entire audience was stunned.
No... Did you say this was taking care of it? Your way of taking care of it is a bit strange, isn't it?
And... this, this, this, this is exactly the same as the plot where Denji ate Makima with love, right? But Denji ate Makima because he wanted to bear her sins.
And Ren ate the bird that was bitten to death, thinking that this way the bird would live with him in his body?
Suddenly, the faces of the manga fans in the audience were not quite right.
"Amamiya-sensei... is seriously ill."
"That's right... I always thought the online meme about Sensei Ren as a mental patient was excessive, but now I feel..."
"And you say you're not Denji, you bastard? How do you explain that? Your way of thinking is identical to Denji's!"
"Amamiya-sensei... are you still drawing manga in this state? It makes me cry, you are a man of iron will!"
"Are you moved? I'll reward you with a plate of ginger braised pork."
"No... I don't like meat."
...
The host also felt that Ren was a bit disoriented, but he continued to work.
Maintaining his professional ethics, he continued to support the interview.
"By the way, Sensei Ren, what do you think of the online interest in you?"
He asked, following the protocol.
In fact, he was also surprised to see the question.
He had also seen the revelations about Ren's past on the internet, as well as various online analyses and speculations about Chainsaw Man and his past.
There were stories about the tragic massacre of Aki Hayakawa's family at the hands of the "Gun Devil," a metaphor for Ren's past, when his brother used a homemade gun to take his parents away.
There were stories about Aki Hayakawa as Ren's past self, and about Makima as his mother...
and so on... and he felt that if these online stories were true, they would make sense.
So, wouldn't raising this question be a sensitive issue?
However, since the process was already established, the host had no choice but to ask.
After all... work was important.
However, this interview was precisely about this topic; Ren was there to deny the rumors and announce the suspension of Chainsaw Man.
"Thank you for your concern," said Ren indifferently. "And I want to say that Chainsaw Man actually has nothing to do with the original... uh, my past."
This statement surprised the fans present, including the hosts.
This... Ren's answer was direct, and he paused... What did the word "original" mean? Was he referring to his former self?
But no one cared. For them, Ren was really sick.
"Really? Only after reading everyone's analyses did I realize that this was the reason I drew Chainsaw Man," said Ren with a chuckle. "Okay, I'm fine, relax."
The fans were speechless. "So you're fine, relax."
His subsequent words only increased their disbelief and reinforced the online interpretations of Chainsaw Man and Ren's past as true.
After all, Ren had just acknowledged that Makima was the character corresponding to Denji's mother.
Wasn't that a tacit admission that the online interpretations of Chainsaw Man were correct?
It's fair to say that people only believe the answers they want.
Sometimes, disgruntled fans label the original author as "the one who knows nothing about 'XXXX'."
The host answered a few more questions to Ren and Ayumi.
The interview finally came to an end...
"Our interview will end soon," announced the host. "But Mr. Amamiya has an important announcement for everyone...".
Suddenly, all the fans in the room fell silent, listening intently to what Ren was about to announce.
"Everyone, look at me!".
Ren stood up and made a gesture, "I have something to announce!".
All the fans obediently turned their gaze, anticipating his next words.
Finally, Ren announced, "After the release of the final chapter of the first part of Chainsaw Man this week, Chainsaw Man will have a temporary hiatus...".
This caused an immediate uproar in the room.
The hiatus of Chainsaw Man after the first part?
This caught the fans off guard.
After all, Chainsaw Man is a long-running manga, so it shouldn't be so short. A second part was natural.
With The Gods already in its third part, Chainsaw Man should have continued with the second or third, right?
But now... after the first part, is it simply... on hiatus?
Suddenly, something occurred to them and they began to talk about it.
"Could it be that... Mr. Amamiya has a mental health problem and is taking a break to receive treatment?"
"Probably for that reason... Mr. Amamiya has always been very hardworking."
"Well, it's true. After all, health is the most important thing."
"With Mr. Amamiya's mental state, he needs to rest and receive treatment."
"Oh no! They keep asking for Mr. Amamiya to receive treatment, and now he's leaving! It's their fault!"
"If Mr. Amamiya receives treatment, who's going to fill the gaps in my manga?"
Just as the fans thought Ren would take a break for treatment, Ren suddenly announced, "But after Chainsaw Man retires, I'll start a new series!".
"It's called... Parasyte!".
Immediately, the entire audience was paralyzed and exclaimed:
"Huh?!".
- - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Great news! Starting today, Thursday, October 23rd, and running through Friday, October 31st, all subscription tiers on my Patreon will be 50% off.
Use the code 26DEA at checkout to activate the promotion and get access to hundreds of advanced chapters!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee