Boichi
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Name: Mujik Park ボイチ aka Boichi
- Age: 40
- Birthday: January 29, 1973
- Zodiac: Aquarius
- Place of Birth: Seoul, South Korea
- Place of residence: Japan
- Hobbies: cameras and food.
Biography: Intended to be a manga artist from his childhood days, majored in physics in college as preparation to draw science fiction works, and also to learn the technology of performance and imaging, went on to graduate school to major in image technology.
In 1993, while still enrolled, debuted in a Korean shoujo manga magazine. Since then, he is gaining popularity releasing a number of works, and publishing books on how to draw manga targeting a wide range of reader.
In 2004 he stepped into the world of Japanese manga. His “Ultimate Space Emperor Caesar”, serialized in Monthly “Comic Gum”, was his first tankobon in Japan.
In 2005, 9 out of Boichi’s 11 hentai one-shot serialised in Comic Aun were reunited under the volume titled “Lover in Winter”.
In 2006, he released two science fiction one-shot, “Hotel” and “Present” in “Morning” which will be in 2008 compiled in a volume titled “Hotel” along other one-shots such as “It was all for the tuna”, “Stephanos” and “Diadem”.
2006 is the year of Boichi’s first serialized manga: “Sun Ken Rock” in the bi-weekly magazine Young King. This manga will also have a gaiden based on Yumin in 2011 and one based on Pickaxe in 2012. 2012 will also see the serialisation of “I want to feed Yumin”, another spin-off of Sun Ken Rock based on Yumin and serialised in “Monthly Young King”.
Boichi also worked on a 5 volume long manga titled Raqiya and written by YAJIMA Masao were he was in charge of the art and published in 2009. He also only did the art of the Brutality one-shot by Takeda Yuusuke in 2007.
In later 2011, he started the serialization of another manga titled “H.E the hunt for energy” in a new monthly magazine: JumpX.
As of today, Boichi has 3 titles serialized for 4 publication every month: Sun Ken Rock (bi-weekly), I want to feed Yumin (monthly) and H.E the hunt for energy (monthly).
Boichi is also an accomplished humanitarian, As to express his sentiment toward Viet Nam and apologize for Korea’s action during the war, Sun Ken Rock volume 2′s royalties were donated to the humanitarian organisation “Child of Viet Nam”. He also launched action such as making the Korean mangaka draw a support page for Japan about 2011′s big earthquake and giving the royalties to the Red Cross. He also donated the money he planned to use to buy a new car at this occasion.
Interview extract from the one published in Shonen Gahosha :
- What are your favorite movies and those that you would recommend to the readers ?
Boichi : I love cinema. I learned lots of things watching movies and reading books about cinema. Besides, in university, my final study memorandum was about the seventh art. I’m really fond of SF movies. To tell you the truth, I always dreamt of drawing a SF manga. My favorite movies are : 2001, Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the third kind, Star Wars, Terminator, Alien. As for those that affected me the most, I’ll say Predator, Robocop, Alien – Resurrection. I watched those three when I was in high school and I can tell you that it was a huge shock. That explains that they had a huge influence on my work. Beside SF, there is a movie that I recently found and which really took me in, it’s called Black Hawk Down. I learned a lot of things while watching it. I really liked the story !
- What influence had cinema on your work ?
Boichi : When I start a new manga project, I buy lots of DVD’s, which serves as documentary support. It happened when I started Sun Ken Rock, for example. The action happens in Korea and is centered around a Korean gang. So I bought some korean movies around that subject. That’s why, if you watch those movies, you might understand Sun Ken Rock even more. If I had to recommend some movies useful to the readers of Sun Ken Rock, I’d say : Number 3, The President’s Last Bang and A Bittersweet Life. There is also a Japanese serial novel, Sunadokei (« The Sandglass ») which really helped me. Obviously a movie like The Godfather also influenced my work on Sun Ken Rock. For me, it’s the best gang movie ever, because it takes into account State and Society. As for me, I am trying my best to make Sun Ken Rock a work of that kind.
- A lots of fans are impressed by your characters charisma, starting with Ken. What is, for you, the definition of a charismatic figure ?
Boichi : Thanks ! I really appreciate it! It’s those kinds of compliments that give me the strength to go on ! Personally, I am convinced that I can do even better as a mangaka. For me, the charisma of a man comes first from his strength of character. Giving his all to fulfill his goal, he doesn’t hesitate to question himself… In short, to have a will. It’s something essential, be it in his dream fulfillment, in love or studies. But, it doesn’t mean that will is enough. Staying true to himself, it’s also a fight of every moment ! For me, a charismatic man needs to have the spirit of a warrior. Talking about Ken, he came from nothing, he didn’t had a dream, nor hope, nor will. And when he began to have a dream, he gave his all to fulfill it. But he also happens to have regrets or to do his introspection. Ken is someone who lives with a lots of remorse. It’s my opinion that is what give him so much charisma and the fact that I draw him with so much strength.
M. Boichi, thanks for answering our questions.
Sun Ken Rock © Boichi / Shônen Gahôsha / Doki-Doki
Translated from French to English.
I have a question Mr. Boichi I am a big fan of Sun Ken Rock that I am starting to review the manga on my youtube page but my question is
Do You Ever See In the Near Future of Sun Ken ever having its own Anime Series
Hmm, you are misunderstanding something: I’m the one making this website dedicated to Boichi but I’m NOT Boichi. Just a fan.
O ok cool man but I was just wondering that im pushing the hell outta Sun-Ken Rock on my youtube channel if you want to check it out its gtdaking I like doing chapter reviews for this manga
Hi man!! how I could contribute to this website? I draw but how I can send you my drawings to you in fanart space?
You can either propose your drawing for the fanart page: http://sunkenrock.com/fanart/
or you can also participate in the monthly Win a SKR contest: http://japanzai.com/index.php?topic=1889.0
Just send it via mail at: weaper@me.com
or as a PM on Japanzai.com to Weaper
thanks
I dont know if you also scan and translate boichis mangas, but if you are Id like to help you … Sun Ken Rock is – until now – the best Manga ive read so far and I would like to support Boichi … but as long as its not published in German or English I can’t even understand what Im reading so id like to help in other ways
Thank you for your reply
I’m part of Japanzai and also help Kotonoha. I’m pretty much working on every manga by Boichi (completed or on-going).
We buy the volume and magazine to scan and translate them from Japanese, French or Korean so you can’t help as a translator but that’s not an issue as we already have plenty of those.
What you can do is help with the editing, that means cleaning, redrawing or typesetting. If you want to join, try taking the applications test for either cleaner or typesetter here http://japanzai.com/index.php?board=92.0
But don’t worry, just enjoy our release, we already did every completed manga by Boichi in Japanese (except a oneshot where he did the art in 2007 and we have yet to find) and are working on the not complete ones.
All hail for Boichi’s awesomness!
here’s a freebie http://i.imgur.com/3XuuB.png
i was also wondering if they would make this manga an anime. i wish i could get in contact with Boichi-san and ask him…i also with i had the charisma to become a mangaka myself, but i’ll be a voice actress instead!! this manga has given me hope for my future!!!
sadly I didn’t find any news about an anime of it for now. Sun Ken Rock isn’t even super popular in Japan, it has yet to reach the 2 millions of books sold.
Anyways, I’ll be cheering on you for your career as voice actress.
stay strong
Hello. Advice please. To what address do I send a letter to Mr. Boichi could draw attention to it?
drawing attention to what? to the letter?
the only way is to send a letter to Shonen Gahosha with this adress: http://i.imgur.com/3yaoB.png
it needs to be in jap and it’ll go through Shonen Gahosha and Boichi’s agent (his wife) before reaching him.
I wanted to write to him the story of my dead friend. Maybe it would be interested in it. I think it would be the best way to honor the memory of my friend. Letter in English to him will not come?
well, sincerely I don’t know if it’ll do reach him or not but has it’s a service aimed at japanese reader and the mangaka publishing in japanese too, I believe this laguage would hold the best chance.
you can try in english too but that would mean for Boichi to either know enligsh or ask someone to translate it for him.
Thank you for your help. I will try. can you give me the correct link to the Shonen Gahosha. I just do not understand the hieroglyphs at all. Thanks in advance.
it’s not a matter of link, I gave you the adress. you have to write a paper letter and send it to the adress on that pic. I don’t know the adress, I just know that it’s on that bottom part
this is my dream. I will do everything I can
alright, good luck!
tell me if you get any answer and if I find an easier way I’ll post it as answer to this comment so you get a notification.