Peppe Peppe is an Italian manga artist who has won his first serialization with the manga Mingo: Itariajin ga Minna Moteru to Omou na yo(English title|Mingo: Don’t think that all Italians would be popular with the girls!) (Shogakukan). Peppe is also active as a model, appearing in Japanese reality television show Terrace House Tokyo in 2019.
We at TOKION asked Peppe to create a manga series to find out what an Italian guy thinks of Japanese culture. In the series, Peppe will experience Japan’s unique culture and introduce it in the form of short manga story. In the first installment of the series, Peppe will experience Kabuki for the first time at the Kabuki-Za Theater in Ginza, Tokyo. Let’s find out how Peppe feel about Japanese Kabuki .
——How did you find your first Kabuki performance?
Peppi: Just like the first time I went to a Japanese movie theater, I was quite nervous because I was wondering if my Japanese proficiency was good enough or not. And I just realized it wasn’t good enough at all in the first few minutes. Haha. I didn’t understand the words, but I decided to concentrate on watching the performance. When I was watching it, I thought it was similar to an opera. It was an amazing experience.
——Did you enjoy it even if you didn’t understand the language?
Peppe: There was an explanation of the story in English in the pamphlet, so I was able to enjoy it even if I didn’t understand conversations among the characters.
——Would you like to see it again?
Peppi: Since it was all so much fun, I would like to see another Kabuki perdormance next time. I also became curious about Bunraku, so I’d like to try it if I have a chance.
Translation Shinichiro Sato
