{"rewrite":{"id":"r_d7bb07ed9d4b446998586ee5","clusterId":"c_e18a5a4b6895ed6c44bf0a27","slug":"akiko-higashimura-marked-25-years-as-manga-artist-and-now-wants-historical-drama","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Akiko Higashimura Marked 25 Years As Manga Artist And Now Wants Historical Drama","summary":"In a new interview, Akiko Higashimura said March of last year was her 25th anniversary as a manga artist, with more than 130 published books. She also discussed her move into live-action directing with Vacance no Hōsoku, which she ideated, scripted and directed, and said she now wants to write a historical drama.","whyItMatters":"An artist with more than 130 published books is saying she has run out of manga material and is moving into live-action directing and historical drama, which shifts how her audience should read her next work.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eHigashimura says the anniversary passed quietly: March of last year, by her own count, more than 130 books, a number she says she has stopped tracking. The interview is less a retrospective than a list of what she is doing instead. A friend in comedy asked her to host a live event, which grew into a comedy production, and then into Vacance no Hōsoku, which she ideated, wrote and directed after initially refusing.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer argument about adaptations is blunt. A manga artist should write the script and get involved early, she says. On new material, she names sci-fi as a genre she doubts she can pull off and historical drama as the one she wants, including a story about the Hawaiian princess Ka\u0026#39;iulani.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Akiko Higashimura wrote and directed Vacance no Hōsoku herself. Directing her own script moves her from adapting panels to controlling performance, which is the skill a historical drama will demand if she writes one.","twitterPost":"Akiko Higashimura ideated, scripted and directed Vacance no Hōsoku. Writing and directing the same project is the step that precedes a historical drama.","threadsPost":"Akiko Higashimura's 25 years and 130 books are the résumé. The turn is that she ideated, scripted and directed Vacance no Hōsoku herself. Directing her own script puts her in charge of performance and pacing, which is what a historical drama needs from a writer who wants to move into one.","newsletterBlurb":"Akiko Higashimura puts her career at more than 130 published books, with the 25th anniversary falling in March of last year. She now has a live-action directing credit, Vacance no Hōsoku, and a stated interest in historical drama. She also says manga artists should write the scripts for their own adaptations.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2026-10-16/princess-jellyfish-manga-artist-akiko-higashimura-celebrates-25-years/.242847\",\"title\":\"Interview: Princess Jellyfish Manga Artist Akiko Higashimura Celebrates 25 Years\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4756,"outputTokens":606,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792419730,"createdAt":"2026-10-19T14:16:28.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-19T14:21:06.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T14:21:06.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_e18a5a4b6895ed6c44bf0a27","canonicalTitle":"Interview: Princess Jellyfish Manga Artist Akiko Higashimura Celebrates 25 Years","representativeArticleId":"a_608dc4d2d753bd425a2de300","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[\"Princess Jellyfish\"],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Akiko Higashimura\"],\"type\":\"op_ed\",\"domain\":\"manga\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-19T13:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-19T13:00:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T14:21:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2026-10-16/princess-jellyfish-manga-artist-akiko-higashimura-celebrates-25-years/.242847","title":"Interview: Princess Jellyfish Manga Artist Akiko Higashimura Celebrates 25 Years"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":["Princess Jellyfish"],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Akiko Higashimura"],"type":"op_ed","domain":"manga","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}