At Anime-Expo in Anaheim, California, TOKYOPOP had the pleasure of hosting manga creators Sendou-sensei and Ebara-sensei, the dynamic duo behind Peach-Pit. From their experience on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and witnessing curious canines to getting a hint of the behind-the-scenes in their studio, this dynamic duo was a sweet treat for all manga fans.

TOKYOPOP: So we heard you visited Disneyland—what did you think?
Peach-Pit: We had a great time at Disneyland! But we also went to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, where we saw the handprints in the Walk of Fame. It was different than we expected. L.A. is so pretty and filled with cool people. The city looks very sophisticated.

TOKYOPOP: Did you see any movie stars while you were there?
Peach-Pit: No (sighs) but we saw a Johnny Depp look-alike.

TOKYOPOP: Ha ha! Which movie stars did you want to see?
Peach-Pit: Christian Slater or Johnny Depp—the real one that is! He’s very popular. We saw lots of posters for Willy Wonka while we were walking around. His face was all over the place.

TOKYOPOP: Did you have any odd experiences during your travels in LA?
Peach-Pit: Nothing comes to mind immediately. We have not found people odd or strange here. Everyone we’ve met seems very cheerful and friendly. One thing we saw that was pretty funny was when we were driving. We kept seeing dogs that were really hyper and running around. One was obsessed with a tennis ball, jumping around while the ball was in its mouth; another pulled its owner all over the place, especially when they were crossing the street. (Ebara-sensei imitates a dog pulling its owner.) This can be dangerous in Los Angeles traffic!

TOKYOPOP: Glad you survived! So what’s Anime-Expo been like for you both?
Peach-Pit: We’re very happy to experience Anime Expo. Well, the booth next to TOKYOPOP’s was loud at one point, drumming and throwing out gifts, which startled us. We’ve never been to events where we interact directly with the fans, so it’s a bit new. We really wish we could speak English because the language barrier can be difficult to tell our fans how much we appreciate them. Fortunately we have good translators.

TOKYOPOP: If the crowds are any indications, they loved you. Did you meet any of our American creators? What do you think of their manga?
(We show Peach-Pit art from a few series, including Dramacon, Sokora Refugees and Steady Beat.)
Peach-Pit: Wow, we didn’t realize that some of them were American artists. We can’t tell the difference between your American artists and Japanese artists. It’s all very pretty.

TOKYOPOP: Thanks for the compliment. So, not to fish for even more compliments, but can you tell us what it is like to work with a U.S. publisher?
Peach-Pit: The obvious difference is the language. In Japan, we can talk directly with the publisher, but here there are layers that communication needs to go through. But we’re always very interested in how things are translated, especially when it’s something unique to Japanese culture. In the Japanese edition of DearS, the teacher is an English teacher, but for the U.S. edition, we were interested to see she was now a Spanish teacher. We also wonder how specific phrases and expressions could be translated and still be funny. We met the editor, Luis, and he’s very passionate about getting across the message in the manga.

TOKYOPOP: Speaking of DearS, how did you come up with the idea for the manga?
(Sendou-sensei and Ebara-sensei laugh.)
Peach-Pit: We sat down and wondered what it would be like for an outer-space species living in a human environment. We wanted to throw characters together from different worlds and look at how they would interact with each other. They have value systems that differ, of course, and each species is curious of the other’s culture. This lends itself to a lot of comedic episodes and situations.

TOKYOPOP: How do you work together?
Peach-Pit: It depends on the title. We divide the art and writing, depending on the series.

TOKYOPOP: But what about DearS?
Peach-Pit: Sendou does the original story concept and rough draft. Ebara does the panel layout and Sendou does the final art. For Rozen Maiden, Sendou did the layout and Ebara did the final art.

TOKYOPOP: What is the future of Peach-Pit
Peach-Pit: We are working on the three manga series that are keeping us very busy. DearS and Rozen Maiden, which TOKYOPOP is publishing in America, and Zombie Loan. We want to create these stories so that they will continue to be popular here and in Japan. Other than creating those manga, we have no immediate plans for the future.
(sighs)

TOKYOPOP: Thanks for your time. Looks like you have a big line of fans waiting for you!