In this video I talk quite deeply about one of the main characters in my manga Future Saviors - Saki Endo: The Outsider.
For many years I have wanted to create a story about a strong minded independent woman who is very much on the fringes of society, an outsider that seeks the acceptance of society or at least a community that respects her and that she can respect in return, and maybe in time, come to truly embrace and accept herself.
In Saki Endo, a 24 year old headstrong Japanese skateboarder NEET living in rural coastal Iwate in North Eastern Japan is the realization of that. She has long harbored ambitions to leave her small town and head for Tokyo, and become a skate fashion designer and live out her life skating. It's what she loves the most. However, the events of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 will change her life forever... It's there that the universe of Future Saviors will be blown wide open and she will be leading the charge alongside my other main characters Hisao Sato and Kaito Seki.
I also discuss why Skateboarding is intrinsic to Saki and this manga and why it's not just a piece of chintz to look cool; and this relates to the overall character of Saki especially in the context of Japan's attitude to skating.
Also I answer why I wanted to create an outsider, what relation this character to me, and some of her other traits; and more importantly why. In the end I have laid my heart on the line in this video as Saki is such an instrumental character in this story that she will carry some of the most important messages about life that matter to me and how I see the state of affairs in the western world but also the world in general in 2021.
The conclusions of this discussion may surprise you, as it's not the message you may be expecting. For one, I never in a million years thought I may one day write what some may even consider straying into the sports manga genre; although Future Saviors will deal with much more than that.
A surprisingly emotional story to tell, and one that even relates to my sift away from talking only about pixel art, retro gaming and the Amiga computer on my channel believe it or not.
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