Hello, this is Milgray, the author of the manga “Black Sword” and there are some things I would like to tell you about myself.

The love for manga and anime appeared in my life quite late – at the age of 21. I don’t know why this passed me by as a child, I read a lot of comics, wrote fan fiction, played the drums and dreamed of becoming an actress. But as soon as I graduated from acting university, I realized that I absolutely did not like doing this. Having fallen into depression due to the wasted time and effort, I started watching Naruto and that’s how the story began.

The more I immersed myself in manga and anime, the more I realized that this is what I really want. Ideas came to my head and kept me awake at night; I had never felt such inspiration and excitement in my life. But there was one small problem. I didn’t know how to draw. At all. Absolutely. I never even tried because I thought I wasn’t born for this. And that I’m too old to start learning something new. And this is how this story could have ended.

But external forces intervened in my life. My husband gave me a sketchbook and pencils, so I had to stop complaining about fate and start trying and learning. Of course, I went through all the possible mistakes of beginner artists and (and still stumble upon them), but within a year I was somehow able to start making my own manga. And that’s what I still do today. And no matter how difficult and exhausting this path may be, I love doing it.

Probably the most important thing I love about manga is the opportunity to escape from reality. Despite the fact that any story, even if it’s fantasy or whatever, is a reflection of reality, it helps you temporarily escape from your world and your problems and immerse yourself in another one, where you don’t have to do anything. Your favorite hero is attacked by a monster, but you don’t have to fight it. You can get inspired by this and defeat your monster in real life. Such works for me were Berserk, Evangelion, Devilman, X and many others.

Why Otabushi?
I realized that we have one similar feature – you also came to this profession after a completely different one. And I think that means that you approach it meaningfully, and that you really can’t live without it. It seems to me that this is why we understand each other well – we are in a similar situation and are trying our best to make our dream come true. And what is also very important is that I see your sincerity and your true desire to support aspiring manga artists like me. And you succeed, because your support really helps me.