Author Gosho Aoyama: 'I want to draw Conan for the rest of my life'

Gosho Aoyama - the father of the famous detective Conan series, said he has always been full of inspiration for creating characters for the past 30 years.

Detective Conan is one of the longest-running manga series in Japan, first released in 1994, to date 105 volumes have been released, with no sign of ending.

Late April, radio NHK To air a documentary about the life of Gosho Aoyama, the writer agreed for the first time to film for a long time at his home and office. Filming began in May 2023 and was completed in seven months, as Gosho Aoyama interrupted many times to concentrate and refused to have cameras in the room.

The artist lived alone, his room was messy, surrounded by manuscripts, brushes, watercolors, snacks, scissors, drinks, and books. He worked with editors, they read Gosho Aoyama's manuscripts, supported him in his experiments, exchanged scientific knowledge, and went out to collect information and images.

The writer said that the first thing to do when creating a comic is to think about the core of the case, how the perpetrator committed the crime. Over the past 30 years, Gosho Aoyama has come up with more than 300 crime methods, he never wants to repeat the old content, so the work becomes more and more difficult. To find new crime methods, Gosho Aoyama and his editors watch magic shows, read documents on chemistry and physics, then conduct experiments to test their feasibility in real life.

After coming up with a method of committing a crime, Gosho Aoyama envisions the characters, the conflict between the perpetrator and the victim, and the setting of the story. If the setting is a shrine, he and his editors will go to the shrines to collect images, avoiding the comic being too far from reality.

Gosho Aoyama draws the characters Shinichi Kudo and Ran, celebrating the series' 30th anniversary. Photo: Jump

Before 2015, Gosho Aoyama slept for about three or four hours a day because of the high intensity of his work. In 2015, the writer was seriously ill and had to stay in the hospital for a long time. He thought he would never be able to hold a pen again. But the images of Shinichi Kudo (Conan in the Shrink) and Ran always appeared in his mind, urging the writer to live on and continue writing stories about them. The drawing pen was always next to the artist's hospital bed. During that period, countless letters of encouragement from fans moved Gosho Aoyama.

Returning to work after a serious illness, over the past nine years, the artist has reduced his workload by half compared to before, but the pressure has not decreased. Many times he feels like he is running on the edge of the roof of the highest floor of a building. Sometimes he is out of ideas, stressed, and in a bad mood. The artist demands that he improve with each collection of stories. At the age of 61, he is always troubled by the question: "What will I draw?"

But when he passed that stage, the artist was enthusiastic, working day and night. There were times when Gosho Aoyama did not go out for three weeks, and even forgot to shave his beard. He cut off all contact with the outside world, only staying at home to complete his work. After that, the artist edited the draft on the computer, each picture. Some people told Gosho Aoyama that there was no need to edit because the detail was too small, no one would notice, but the artist replied: "Others do not see it, but I do."

Artist Gosho Aoyama in his office. Photo: NHK

For Gosho Aoyama, the scariest thing is forgetting the moods and emotions of children, because his job requires him to use the eyes of a child to observe the world. He still thinks he is not mature. Having been a professional manga artist since the age of 23, Gosho Aoyama has been attached to manga for half of his life, he has no other desires or interests.

The artist once thought of releasing the final part of Conan, but gave up the idea because he saw that many readers were still waiting for the new chapter. He only put down his pen when he felt more tired and exhausted than happy. The artist said: "Right now, joy overwhelms the feeling of suffering. I want to work until I die."

In the documentary, Gosho Aoyama's parents revealed that their son showed his creative talent from elementary school. For example, in class, his teacher assigned him to draw his mother, while other students drew her from the front, while Gosho Aoyama drew her back while cleaning the kitchen, because she was always busy. Gosho Aoyama's father said that his son always seemed to want to surprise and delight others.

Trailer for the 27th Conan movie. Video: Toho Movie

According to NHK , more than 270 million volumes of the Japanese Conan manga have been sold, and the work has spread its influence through the film industry. For the past 27 years, a Conan movie has been released every year, creating a fever at the Japanese box office and creating a buzz in many other countries. The latest movie, Million Dollar Five Pointed Star, Released in Japan in April, the film grossed over 15 billion yen (over 94 million USD) and attracted over 10.5 million viewers. It is among the top 10 highest-grossing Japanese films in box office history.

Detective Conan was first published in Vietnam by Kim Dong Publishing House in 1995. According to Mr. Dang Cao Cuong, representative of the Publishing House's comic book department, the average circulation of each volume is 200,000 copies. In recent years, many audiences have complained that the story is dragging on, becoming less and less interesting, and the plot is predictable. However, the series still maintains its appeal because it has loyal fans and attracts new audiences. Reader Le Vo Huong Giang, 35 years old, Thu Duc City, said that she has been reading the story since she was seven years old, and until now she is still passionate, not missing any journey of the famous detective through the story and cartoon.

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