by With so many comics being adapted into films and TV dramas being made into comics, The Television Manga Club brings you the hottest manga information you’ll want to watch as an entertainment fan. This time, we’ll introduce Bluezakiyama’s “In Search of Crab Cappuccino,” a manga he publishes on social media.
The manga depicts the first time a high school boy with excellent grades becomes addicted to anime. When it was previously posted on X (formerly Twitter), it received over 5,000 likes. We spoke to Bluezakiyama, the author, about what inspired him to write the work.
Did he get hooked on an anime he happened to watch and have a dramatic change in his life? Akira Fujita, a high school boy who excelled in academics and sports, was only bad at drawing. One day, Akira happened to watch the late-night anime “Crab Cappuccino” and became a fan of the anime for the first time in his life. Akira is drawn to the charm of the main character, Ai, an anime about the leisurely lives of girls in the art club at a high school in the mountains. After that, Akira watched the final episode, but the plot was not fully resolved, and there was no announcement of a second season.
Akira waited for years for a sequel, but there was no news. He read interviews with the director and sent DMs to the official SNS account, but he could not get any new information. Then, one day in his third year of university, Akira vowed to meet the director in person, and after a fierce effort, he joined the production company of “Crab Cappuccino.” Readers have given positive feedback on Akira’s straightforward “love for Crab Cappuccino,” saying things like “It reminded me of the feeling of taking on a challenge” and “I was moved.”
“Crab Cappuccino” came to mind from “a strange combination of words that are somehow cute.” Please tell us the reason or inspiration for creating “In Search of Crab Cappuccino.” I started drawing when I was taking an online manga school and was given the theme of “Mania.” At first, I was only assigned to draw the first eight pages, so I didn’t think too hard about the content and came up with the title “Crab Cappuccino” (Kani Capuccino for short) because it was “kind of cute but a strange combination of words.” I was given eight assignments to draw at the beginning of the manga, but I was asked to choose one and pull it at the end. I thought that Kani Capuccino, which is based on an anime and is an episode that solves a mystery, was the most interesting, so I drew it to the end.
After drawing it, please tell us if there are any points you are “attached to” or “I want you to pay attention to this!” I tried to create a story that would make you want to read it and keep reading because you would be “curious about the next part” or “I want to know the ending.” I hope you will read it as if you were thinking and traveling with the main character, Akira. After Akira returns from his journey to find the meaning of “Crab Cappuccino,” there is one more episode at the company, so I would be happy if you could imagine the future ahead. If you like a scene or line, please tell us why. First, Akira’s catchphrase is “I see, I see.” I felt that this catchphrase helped me to become closer to the readers. I also thought a lot about what to do with the short message (words written on colored paper) that Director Yamashita sends to Akira and what kind of scene to draw after he receives it. At first, I thought about ending the story without him meeting the director and not knowing the meaning of “crab cappuccino,” but I thought that would not satisfy the readers, so I thought about it a lot. I hope that the readers will be satisfied with it.
I was curious, but how did you come up with your pen name, “Bluezakiyama”? The main reason was that I wanted people to remember it, so I made it an all-katakana pen name. I like the color blue, and in my favorite manga, there is a character with the nickname “Blue ○○ (surname).” I thought the word’s sound was good, so I tried to imitate it. I wanted people to believe that I was “friendly and would do something funny,” so I made it a bit of a silly name. By the way, the Zakiyama part has nothing to do with the comedian Zakiyama.
Please tell us your prospects and goals. While studying manga, I realized that it takes energy to draw a story, but readers also take the time and energy to face it. I aim to continue drawing manga that people will think, “I’m glad I read it,” and episodes that people can relate to.
Please give a message to readers. “In Search of Crab Cappuccino” is a 68-page manga, and it was a little long to read on SNS, but I’m thrilled that so many people read it to the end. Thank you for finding Kani Capu. Kani Capu will be released in e-book format on April 9th. I’ve added and revised it from the one I posted on X (Twitter), so please check it out. In addition to this manga, I’m drawing a story with the theme of “My favorite is precious, and my favorite activity is fun,” so I hope you will read it!
