Interview: Speaking with Jyanome, Author of Twilight Out of Focus - Part 2
7/1 Update: Now is your chance to win a one-of-a-kind shikishi board signed by series author Jyanome! See the official contest page for details.
Hurry, the contest ends on July 18th!
Earlier this year, Jyanome—the author and ultimate director of the cinematic BL series Twilight Out of Focus—sat down with Kodansha USA Publishing series editor Alexandra McCullough-Garcia to talk about the manga artist's creative journey and the world of the Midorigaoka High School Film Club.
Now, to celebrate the world premiere of the Twilight Out of Focus Box Set, we’re offering fans a special behind-the-scenes peek into their chat!
In this final part of this series, they discuss Jyanome’s characters, having Twilight Out of Focus translated into English, the message Jyanome would like to share with her fans overseas, and more!
Just in case you missed it, here's a link to part one of this exclusive conversation: Interview: Speaking with Jyanome Author of Twilight Out of Focus - Part 1
This interview has been translated and edited for clarity and length.
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The Boys Next Door:
Getting to Know the Friendly Neighborhood Film Club
Editor: If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask more about these “neighbors” of yours. Do you know Mao, Hisashi, and Giichi’s favorite movies?
Jyanome: Yes, and they’re definitely Japanese films. But, how do I put it, these guys are all high schoolers, so their favorite movies wouldn’t be anything too niche. Speaking as a manga author, you want your readers to have a general understanding about the movies that come up in the story, so I think I choose their favorite movies based on what people might be familiar with.
So, Mao and Giichi, for example, would say their favorite movie is Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai, and that they’re fans of [director] Yasujiro Ozu. That’s what I picture in my mind. But also, Mao has a poster of [actor and producer] Toshiro Mifune in his room. I specified that to the anime producers, too.
Aside from that, I do actually pick out the movie that plays in each specific scene where there is one on. Like, Giichi and Jin were watching Lawrence of Arabia [in volume 2]. I chose it because it’s a longer movie, but when we were working on the anime everyone told me, “Yes, it’s long, but it’s not quiet at all. It’s so loud!” And it’s true. There’s always, like, a “bang bang!” or some other sound of warfare going on. (lol) I wanted to argue, like, “There are still some quieter scenes, though!” But the second half is mostly super loud. It is a war movie, after all. Part of me is like, “Yeah, fair enough, maybe there were other long movies I could’ve chosen,” but I really like the beginning of that movie. It seemed fitting for these two. It’s also a movie I personally really love. I never expected I’d get called out for it being a noisy film, though. (lol) That surprised me a bit.
Editor: Huh! So, how was it that Mao got into film?
Jyanome: Oh, this I know for sure. What happened was, Mao’s father was very into photography and had a proper camera, so at first Mao used that to take pictures of their family. He started out liking photography. But pretty soon, he got really into the video function on the camera, so he began taking home videos with that. And that’s where he got this desire to get better at it. From there, he fell more and more in love with video and film. In my mind, it wasn’t like with Giichi where he saw a movie that really moved him and decided he wanted to make his own. For Mao, he had this feeling inside him that he wanted to film something, and that’s what put him on track to join the film club.
Editor: Then, how do you think Hisashi feels about becoming an actor?
Jyanome: That’s a tough one. I think the desire to act is something that’s still in its early stages within Hisashi, like a young leaf, or a bud that’s just forming. But, I do think he feels a little like, “Huh, I’m better at this than I’d thought.” And this isn’t exactly a good thing, but there’s a bit of a liar in Hisashi, so I think it comes kind of naturally for him to sort of become someone else and say things he doesn’t mean at all. And I think he’s a little surprised at how good that feels, to be able to do that.
But, I do hope that going forward he takes a more positive outlook on acting and starts to have fun with it. I think for now, he’s still at the stage where he’s figuring out that this might be something he’s good at.
Honestly, though, Hisashi is mostly motivated by a desire to have Mao compliment him. He just wants to be loved by the guy he loves. So, I think more than anything he figures that Mao won’t get tired of him as long as he stays involved with the film club in some way, so that’s what he does. It’s very calculating. (lol)
Editor: What about Giichi? What was the first BL manga he read?
Jyanome: To tell you the truth, I totally projected onto Giichi for this, but his first BL manga was definitely a school love story. I do have a few specific titles in mind, but I’ll keep those off the record, in part because they’re from a bunch of different eras.
But in any event, I think it was a heartwarming kind of school life BL. And that’s why he got the idea to make a BL movie with Hisashi and Honjou.
Editor: Giichi is very open about his love for BL. He never tries to hide it. Was he always that way?
Jyanome: The thing about Giichi is, he says a lot of things I wish I could say. Like, for so, so long I hid the fact that I liked BL, and I think he’s kind of the polar opposite of that. It’s not like I think he and I are very similar in personality or anything. He’s not, like, my clone. To me, he’s a completely separate person. But there are many things about him that I admire. So, I think he’s partly doing things that I wasn’t ever able to do. I could never say the kind of stuff that’s sure to get other people angry at you like he does—ever. (lol) I envy him for that, for how he doesn’t hide his love for BL. I wish I could be like, “Read this! Read it!” and go around handing people BL manga. Like, “This one’s amazing! And have you seen the movie Twilight of the Warriors?!” If only. So I envy him for that.
Editor: Can you tell us anything about Jin and Rei when they were kids?
Jyanome: They actually go back way before that, basically to birth. Their parents are close enough friends to be family, and must’ve been childhood friends, too, so Jin and Rei were essentially raised as brothers or as cousins. I think they have a pretty unique relationship, one that hasn’t really changed much over the years. They both need each other, but neither of them has exactly realized that. I think they’re also a little co-dependent.
To me, there was never anything BL-like about their relationship, but my editors have always harbored suspicions that there might be. (lol) So I’m determined to never have them get together. I mean, of course not! They each have a boyfriend!
[Cut for spoilers!!]
So yeah, to me, I think their friendship is adorable. They’re basically family, friends that are related by everything but blood.
As for Rei, he’s always been a sub-culture nerd. And it’s not that he’s into video games or movies in general, but he just really likes the stuff that’s up his own alley, anything that’s sci-fi. So, I don’t think he would’ve thought to get into making movies or into that whole world if it hadn’t been for Jin who dragged him into it. He probably would’ve pursued video games instead. But Jin said he wanted to make movies, so Rei went along with it. Wherever Jin goes, Rei follows. That’s the kind of childhood friends they are. I bet Rei used to follow Jin around everywhere when they were kids. He still does, of course.
Editor: Shion is kind of unique for a BL character in that he comes straight out and announces he’s joined the film club to find a boyfriend, and even goes through a whole bunch of other clubs to that end. Has he always been that self-confident?
Jyanome: I’m honestly surprised I was allowed to write a character like him. (lol) I’m grateful I was, but I thought there was a chance not many people would like him. I thought BL fans particularly might dislike him, in fact. The thing is, most of us, myself included, have so little self-confidence. I mean, it’s so hard to say, like, “I’m super cool,” or “Look at how awesome I am!” right?
So, I thought it’d be nice to have a character who gives off this, “I’m amazing!” aura, even if they don’t necessarily think that way. How do I put it… I think Shion is a character who believes in himself. But that’s not to say he’s super self-confident or arrogant or anything. In fact, he probably doubts himself as much as anybody else, but just doesn’t voice those worries. Out loud, he’ll always say, “No, I know I’m cute!” but inside he’s just like everybody else. You can see that in The Evening Monologues, where he gets kind of down on himself, so I don’t think he’s too different in that sense.
I just, I think I’d like people to feel that they can be more like him. I think most people tend to fixate on their failures and put themselves down, and that makes them hold back. So, I thought it’d be nice to see this boy who refuses to do that and instead tries to enjoy his three years in high school to the max. He’s the type of character that I’d like to always be cheerful and happy.
Most of my characters are nothing like that. They’re almost all kind of dark and gloomy. There’s really nobody who’d want to go for student council president, or whatever. None of them have any desire to hold a position of power over other people. So, I thought it might be nice to have one character like that for a change, and that’s how Shion came to be.
But, I had no idea this was how he’d turn out. My editor at the time, Oriuchi-san, suggested I make a character who’s a striking beauty, adorable, and who everyone thinks is really handsome—a really magnetic person. So that’s what I tried to do. It’s not something I would’ve… To be frank, I think he’s a lot like Oriuchi-san. The kind of person who can come right out and specify, “I want you to make a blinding beauty who can be totally obsessed with himself!” But I think I twisted her request a bit and made him kind of an oddball.
Editor: Personally, I love Shion. Especially how he’s so open about what he likes and wants.
Jyanome: Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear. I love him, too. Drawing him gives me so much energy. He’s just such a go-getter. I get the feeling that he’s the kind of person who doesn’t make silly slip-ups. Like, he’s not the kind who’d forget to ask for a guy’s number and end up unable to contact him. He just slips right in and is like, “Hey, could you give me your number, please?” He tends to anticipate problems in a way I can hardly keep up with myself. He’s sort of mysterious.
Editor: That’s true! The fact that he thinks he’s so cute could make him seem arrogant, but he’s actually really good about greeting his elders and is very polite.
Jyanome: Yes, exactly! You know, when we were working on the anime, there were a lot of places in the script where he talks about how cute he is, but then it came time to cut things down and at first they cut all the sections where he’s being polite or thanking people. I had to ask several times, like, “Please don’t cut all those parts, or you’ll lose the good sides of him!” But honestly, I think they found a really good balance and depicted him in a really cute light. I was happy with the result.
A New Key to the World: Breaking into English Translation
Editor: Can you tell us what you thought when you received the offer for an English translation?
Jyanome: Oh, I was beyond thrilled. I’m always happy to receive offers for my books to be translated into any language. It blows me away that there are people overseas who want to read my work, and publishers in other countries who want to publish it. To be honest, the English edition came kind of late. The series came out in a few European countries first, as well as in Taiwan and Korea. In fact, I kept wondering out loud, like, “Will we ever get an English adaptation…?” So when the offer did finally come, I was really happy. Sincerely happy. I told everybody I knew the news. (lol) I was advertising it everywhere.
The thing is, there were people that speak other languages who’d been saying they wanted to read the story in English. English is something even people who don’t speak it as a first language can read to a certain extent, and some of my fans were telling me that they’d love to read it in English. So, yeah, I was thrilled when this version came out, and I’d love for everyone to read it.
Editor: Do you get many messages or comments from overseas fans?
Jyanome: Oh yes, loads. So many that it makes me feel like maybe I have fewer fans in Japan than overseas. Honestly! My posts on X always seem to get more impressions late into the night.
Editor: Because of the time difference?
Jyanome: Yes, exactly. That’s why I wonder if I have a bigger fan base overseas. Especially on Instagram, for example, most of the comments I get are from overseas. And that’s such a gift. I wish I could respond to them, but I can only do it through translation, so it’s hard to really communicate. That’s kind of disappointing—I mean, I’m disappointed in myself. But they make it really easy to appreciate that I have readers all around the world, and that the translations of my work are what make it possible for them to reach out to me.
Editor: Is there anything you’d like to express to your international fans?
Jyanome: Yes! I say this all the time, but I want everyone to know that your support is something I have felt very deeply and that I’m truly grateful for. I wish I could express that more regularly, but that’s not always so easy, which is why I feel so blessed that I get to do interviews like this that will be translated into another language. I’d like to take this moment to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me and read my work. I’m going to keep writing many, many more manga and will do my best to create opportunities for those books to be delivered to all of you, so please keep following me if you’d like to see more!
Editor: Thank you for that! One last question: Could you please share your thoughts on the Twilight Out of Focus Box Set ?
Jyanome: My thoughts on the box set? The design is absolutely amazing! Seriously! Nothing like that even exists in Japan! In fact, I think it’d be nearly impossible to make a box set like this here—especially not one this beautiful—so this makes me incredibly happy. Honestly, I’m dying to show it off to everyone here, but it’s not out so I can’t do that just yet. But once it does come out, I can’t wait to brag about it to everyone in Japan, even though they can’t buy it. (lol) So if you are able to get one, I’d highly recommend you do!
Editor: Thank you so much!
Thanks for Reading:
Thank you for joining us for this special interview series! We’d love to hear what you thought. Reach out by tagging us on your social media platform of choice: X, Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky or Facebook. And don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Twilight Out of Focus Box Set, available now.
Just in case you missed it, you can read the first part of this exclusive conversation here: Interview: Speaking with Jyanome Author of Twilight Out of Focus - Part 1
Come back next Tuesday, July 1, 2025, for another exciting announcement!
Jyanome in Her Own Words:
Get Your Twilight Out of Focus Box Set Today:
Twilight Out of Focus Box Set
By Jyanome
AVAILABLE NOW!
For the first time ever, volumes one through four of this cinematic series are now available in a beautiful collector's edition box set! As an added bonus, each box set comes with a special booklet featuring exclusive cover art, never-before-translated manga pages, and gorgeous full-color illustrations!
Go back to the dorm room where it all began...
Film enthusiast Mao Tsuchiya and his lone wolf roommate Hisashi Otomo make three promises:
① That Mao will never tell anyone that Hisashi is gay and has a boyfriend,
② That Hisashi will never approach Mao “in that way,” and
③ That they’ll respect each other’s “private time.”
The second-years’ ground rules should ensure a peaceful life together in their dorm, but reality is never as simple as it seems in the movies, and some things are not so easily promised…
Rated: 18+
Read a FREE chapter 1 of Twilight Out of Focus
Where to order the box set:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Walmart | Target | Books-A-Million | & More
And don’t forget, you can still download the special Twilight Out of Focus digital wallpapers—based on the box set artwork—for your mobile device and computer by visiting the exclusive digital wallpaper page.
For a limited time only, enter for a chance to win an autographed shikishi board signed by series creator Jyanome! See the official contest page for details.