Aizawa-san Interview

9/16/26 (Post Chapter 35)
https://manga.yulyrical.com/aizawasan-interview/
--Can you tell us how you came up with the idea for "I See You, Aizawa-san!"? Where did it start?

Odoroo Dorothy-sensei (Henceforth Odoroo Dorothy):
"I started with posting short manga on social media for fun, and one day I simply wanted to draw a yuri horror manga. I thought, "what if you had to ignore a ghost but the worst part was she was actually cute and not scary at all?" and it built up from there."

--Parts of your manga seem like homages to other horror manga, such as the Hibari Shobo style illustration on the inside cover of Volume 1, chapter titles such as "Kogafes ~Eko Eko Azarak~" or "Lovesick for the Dead", and the sign at the culture festival for "Kyofu no Yakata DX". Was there a reason you chose to include these elements?
*TL note: I missed the reference originally but Kyofu no Yakata DX was a monthly shojo horror magazine in the 90s. Eko Eko Azarak and Lovesick for the Dead are manga and Hibari Shobo a horror mangaka.

Odoroo Dorothy:
"Well I love parodies so I've been plugging them in whenever I can get away with it. But I wanted to show: this manga was born from someone who read those works! Aizawa-san lets out all the things that have influenced me, not just horror, which is how it ended up this way. I mean that out of respect. I might owe a lot of apologies..."

--Could you tell us what horror works are your favorites and which have influenced you? It doesn't have to be manga.

Odoroo Dorothy:
"In manga, my main influences have been the works of Kojima Miyako-sensei, Noroi Michiru-sensei, Hiyodori Sachiko-sensei (Uguisu Sachiko), Osada Not-sensei, and Shiina Umi-sensei. I think Aizawa-san's portrayal of the "voiceless beauty" was inspired by Hayakawa-san from 'Shibito no Koe wo Kiku ga Yoi,' and the plotline of Aizawa-san gradually transforming into something horrific is inspired by 'Aono-kun ni Sawaritai kara Shinitai"'

I'm also a fan of Sawamura Ichi-sensei's novels and director Shiraishi Koji's films. Mockumentary horror and net horror have really been taking off lately!"

--What stands out about your manga is how, with just a flip of the page, it can jump from a silly school comedy to serious horror. It's often said horror and comedy are two sides of the same coin. How do you go about maintaining that balance between the two?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"Striking that balance is my top priority. I want those who are bad with horror to feel comfortable reading, so the central thread is lighthearted and I make sure to follow up horror scenes or dramatic scenes with a brighter tone shift soon after. This gap in tone also helps raise the shock factor of horror scenes, so I want to keep emphasizing the balance between the two."

--Your manga starts with Michi, who had no friends, building bonds with Kasumi and Honda thanks to Aizawa-san being there. Did you always plan for Aizawa-san to have an effect on the whole cast and not just Michi?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"I remember explaining that to my editor in our first meeting, that this was the type of manga I wanted to make. From the start I wanted to show how the story unfolds and friendships form because of Aizawa-san's influence, someone who's already gone. And I wanted to explore the nuance of how people meet each other through supporting their idol."

--There was a memorable scene in chapter 11: the apology to Kasumi fell and wet ink stained her face, which looked like blood. It was the sort of visual effect that only works in black and white. Was that an effect you consciously tried to produce?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"One of the nice things about black and white is you can layer imagery like that. Especially when it comes to horror; I draw a lot of scenes where the form of something is unstable or unclear (like Aizawa-san when she deforms) and I like to think the coloring being undefined too helps the readers' imagination run wild."

--Some scenes are pure horror, like the ghost in the storage room in chapter 8 or the abrupt transformation Aizawa-san undergoes in chapters 16+23. Can you tell us what you focus on when drawing horror scenes?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"When working on a new horror moment I want to make sure it feels distinct from old ones. I try to give each a certain beauty that makes the reader pause on it, and not make it too grotesque to look at either. Since not everyone's comfortable with gore I've been trying to avoid it lately. I'm also thinking about the pacing of a scene, whether I should slip something frightening in quietly and subtly or build tension into a huge impact when the page turns. A horror scene works for me if, when I'm finished drawing, I can look back and think 'Wow that felt great, how cool!'"

--Michi is bound by the restriction she mustn't let Aizawa-san know she can see her. How do you convey this frustration of "seeing but being unable to respond?"

Odoroo Dorothy:
"That restriction's really difficult to work around. What I want to get across is the bittersweetness of a one-sided love, and the feeling of a connection that's already cut because the other person is dead and their existence intangible and fading. I especially wanted to add a sense of danger to their mutual obsession deepening precisely because they cannot interact, which is where the story of Aizawa-san has headed. I think about this non-reciprocal relationship, where your identity is dependent on another's existence, and yet you can't truly be sure who the other person actually is, and how all that could apply to any relationship between an idol and fan."

--In the afterword of Volume 3 you revealed you thought the manga might end around Volume 2. But with more volumes you began digging deeper into characters like Masaki and De:Lphinus. Did anything change from your original concept for the series?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"My original outline had a breakneck pace. I even wanted to introduce Masaki in Volume 1... But I was told to give the plot more room to breathe, so I drafted the current story outline where events can play out strongly with deliberate foreshadowing. Still, I did decide on the ending from the earliest stages. I'm fortunate to have a lengthy serialization which lets me build on characters, their relationships, and backstories. I've drawn plenty of scenes that weren't in my original idea, but I am still essentially progressing towards that ending I decided on at the start."

--Most of the horror scenes in your manga involve ghosts, but with Masaki's introduction you began leaning into the "human horror" of ordinary people's craziness and cruelty. Did you decide to start incorporating a variety of horror?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"I couldn't have said it better myself!! I created Masaki to show a different side of horror. And I wanted to teach Michi, who's only just started forming deeper connections with the people around her, that 'there are people you just won't like or people you can't make it work with no matter how hard you try.' Seta told Michi the theme of Masaki's arc: you should choose your friends carefully."
*TL Note: After ch28 Dorothy mentioned Masaki also tapped into sexual horror. With the light-ish tone and the characters being minors Dorothy was limited in what she could do, but Masaki ultimately opened a pandora's box of different horrors on Michi.

--Were there any chapters or scenes from your manga that particularly left an impression on you?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"This isn't only something in Aizawa-san, but I love a nighttime atmosphere so all the scenes at night linger with me. Chapter 6's dream sequence, Honda walking Michi home in chapter 21, when Tear comforts Non in 25... They all have this unique atmosphere, like sharing a secret or having a conversation they normally wouldn't, which I love how private it feels. The scene between Tear and Non stands out most since I was able to draw such sensitive emotions between them, and how it led to what happened next in chapter 26."

--There are still a great deal of unanswered questions in your manga, such as why Aizawa-san became a ghost or the mystery behind De:Lphinus. Care to tell readers what they can look forward to in the story?

Odoroo Dorothy:
"With the arrival of a key character, Mizushiro Nagi, it's like I've finally played my hand! The story is around its turning point. From here on out I think you'll start learning the truth, see major twists, and find even more mysteries. As we advance towards the ending the core story will be all the more serious, but I don't want to forget the comedic elements either, so hopefully you can all continue enjoying the manga as a romcom too."

--To finish off, please give a statement to your readers.

Odoroo Dorothy:
"As always, thank you! I really am only able to keep the manga going this long because of you all. I've been thinking lately how amazing it is people find and read my work. It's enough that I have lots of readers, but it's especially motivating how many thoughts and messages of support you've shared, from overseas readers too. I'll work hard to bring you an even more exciting manga!"

--Thank you for joining us!