We at TOKION asked Peppe to create a manga series to find out what an Italian man thinks of Japanese culture. In the series, Peppe will experience Japan’s unique culture and introduce it in the form of a short manga story. For the 6th edition, as a spin-off, we asked Peppe, who is currently back in Italy, to try a popular ramen dish in Milan.

–This time, since you are in Italy, we asked you to try ramen, one of the most typical Japanese foods. How was the taste when you actually tried it at a restaurant that is said to be delicious in Milan?

Peppe: Hmmm……….If you want good food in Milan, you would definitely be better off going for the risotto! So far, I have been impressed by it no matter where I’ve eaten it or what ingredients were in it.

–What flavor was the ramen you had this time?

Peppe: It was hard to choose because all the ramen had strange combinations of ingredients, not like in Japan where they are categorized into miso(salty soy bean paste), shoyu(soy sauce), tonkotsu (pork bone), and shio (salt). I was surprised to find sashimi in some of them. I tried the vegetarian ramen this time.

–Is there any kind of ramen that is unique to Italy? 

Peppe: The restaurant I went had peperoncino ramen, so I guess that would be it (laughs).

— Do you remember the first time you ate ramen in Japan? 

Peppe: I remember it well. I had champon ramen at a famous Chinese ramen restaurant in Nippori called Bazoku. It was really delicious and brought tears to my eyes. I took a picture and even wrote “Thank you, Champon” on Facebook.

–When you come back to Japan, what would you like to eat first?

Peppe: Rice. I want to eat good rice. Since I haven’t eaten it for a long time, I long for that first bite of warm, soft, and delicious Japanese rice. Oh no! I think my taste buds have totally turned Japanese.

Translation Shinichiro Sato

The post How good is Ramen in Milan? : Italian Manga Artist Peppe’s Encounter with Japanese Culture Vol. 6 appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

We at TOKION asked Peppe to create a manga series to find out what an Italian man thinks of Japanese culture. In the series, Peppe will experience Japan’s unique culture and introduce it in the form of a short manga story. In the fifth installment, Peppe goes to Sumida-ku, Tokyo, to experience for the first time the design of “Edo Kiriko” (a generic name for faceted glassware produced in Tokyo from the end of the Edo period to the present). Discover how it turned out.

–This time, you tried your hand at designing “Edo Kiriko,” a traditional form of Japanese glass art designated as one of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s traditional crafts.

Peppe: I was truly committed to it for an hour and a half, so it was just as or even more tiring than when I concentrate on drawing manga. Or it was probably because I am just getting older (laughs). I had a vague idea of what “Edo Kiriko” was, but it was great to know that this is how it is made.

–How was it to actually sharpen and design the glass?

Peppe: At first, as a manga artist, I was really worried that I might cut my hand on the machine. So this time I tried to express that fear in the manga as well (laughs). But in reality, I was able to work safely. And just as I had expected, it was fun to create things with my hands.

Just like when I drew manga for the first time, I couldn’t do it right at first. I really wanted to try a more complicated design, but I thought I must not fail, so I decided to keep it simple this time, using the form of a bamboo thicket. Now that I know how to do it, I would like to do it again after developing a specific design.

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We at TOKION asked Peppe to create a manga series to find out what an Italian man thinks of Japanese culture. In the series, Peppe will experience Japan’s unique culture and introduce it in the form of a short manga story. In the fourth installment, he visits the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, Tokyo. The museum restores historic buildings from the end of the Edo era to the beginning of the Showa era, and visitors can experience what life was like in the past. What did Peppe feel at the museum, which he went to use as a reference for his next manga?  

–We visited the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum because you wanted to use it as a reference for your next manga. How was it? 

Peppe: I’m thinking of depicting the early Showa era in my next manga, so I really wanted to visit the museum. I found it so helpful. There are many photos of the exterior of [the buildings], but I’m glad I could witness the details, such as the reconstructed interior, tools, and advertisements. It was bigger than I expected, so I got exhausted (laughs). 

–I see. I went there thinking it would be an easy trip, but I was surprised by how spacious it was. The museum’s seven hectares big. You took so many photos of the buildings. Which ones stood out to you? 

Peppe: I took about 2,000 photos (laughs). I’ve seen the exterior of the House of the Leader of the Hachioji Guards from the late Edo era, but the interior was bigger than I imagined. There was a recreated bathroom as well. I was happy to see a glimpse of the world of Vagabond because I like that manga. I enjoyed how the House of Kunio Maekawa, built in 1942, had a blend of the East and West. It made me want to live there. 

–What do you think is the difference between Italian and Japanese architecture?  

Peppe: In Italy, people don’t rebuild buildings frequently like in Japan. Most of the buildings there are old. There are many skyscrapers in one part of Milan, but not as many as in Japan. There are just so many in Shibuya. I personally like old Japanese houses with tatami mats and sliding doors.  

Translation Lena Grace Suda

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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 a short manga story. For the third installment, he visits a Japanese sake brewery in Okutama, a town located an hour and a half away from the center of Tokyo.

—You’re from Italy, a country known for wine, but have you had experience drinking sake before?

Peppe: I had my first Japanese sake in Japan. I once had too much wine when I was in university in Italy, and ever since, I get sick just from the smell of it. So I can’t drink wine. In Japan, I often get embarrassed as people say, “I can’t believe you’re Italian and don’t drink wine!” [laughs]. One day, I found a small bottle of Japanese sake at a convenience store and tried it, but I didn’t like the taste at all. But I started liking it after I asked and learned about fine sake from a sake connoisseur. By the way, Atsukan （roughly translates to “hot sake”） is one of my favorites.  

—Did you know anyone in Italy familiar with Japanese sake? 

Peppe: Wine is more common in Italy, and none of my friends knew about Japanese sake. But I think if they tried, they would like it. So I want to introduce sake to my friends in Italy someday. 

—Great! How was the tour of the Sawanoi sake brewery in Okutama? 

Peppe: When I went, it was just after the shikomi phase [the initial mixing of ingredients to be fermented], so it was a shame that I couldn’t see the actual process. But I got to see inside the cellar and learn about the procedure of sake crafting.

—How was the tasting you did after the tour? You tried two different sake, “凰 (Kou)” and “蔵守 (Kuramori).” 

Peppe: “凰” (Kou) was easier for me to drink. But I was drunk after two cups.[laughs]. Gotta be careful.

Translation Ai Kaneda

The post “You Can Drink but Don’t Get Drunk” Sake Brewery Tour Manga Series: Italian Manga Artist Peppe’s Encounter With Japanese Culture Vol.3  appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

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. For this installment, he shares his experience of Pachinko which does not exist in his maternal land of Italy. 

——How was your first experience of Pachinko?

Peppe: We have casinos in Italy, but it was a completely different vibe. First, when I entered the pachinko place, I was shocked at how it was way louder than I’d expected.

——I know it’s hard to get used to the loudness when it’s your first time. So how was it playing the pachinko?

Peppe: I didn’t know how to play it in the beginning, so I was copying what people around me were doing, but it didn’t work out at all. I started understanding a bit after I was taught how to play, but I used up 1,000yen worth of balls in a second. After that, though, I kept trying and hoping I would win the next round, but it was only to spend another 1,000yen. I spent all the money I had really fast. Now I know that I’m just not cut out for gambling.

——[Laughs]. So I guess there was no beginner’s luck.  

Peppe: Thanks to this experience, I don’t think I’d ever get into Pachinko. I’m never going to play it again [laughs]. But I’m still curious about the TUC shop—it remains a mystery to me.

Translation Ai Kaneda

The post “The First Experience of Pachinko—How did it go?” Manga Series: Italian Manga Artist Peppe’s Encounter with Japanese Culture Vol.2 appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

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

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Hailing from Italy, Peppe is a manga artist and model living in Japan. After arriving in the country in 2015, he worked as a model first and rose to popularity after appearing on Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020. Simultaneously, Big Comic Spirits began serializing Mingo: Itariajin ga Minna Moteru to Omou na yo (Shogakukan) in 2019. He’s released four volumes and is currently working on structuring his next one.  

We at TOKION asked him to create a manga series for us. Peppe will depict how his encounter with Japanese culture made him feel. Before his manga for TOKION kickstarts, we spoke to him about what made him interested in Japanese culture and why he wanted to become a manga artist.  

—I’m sure you get this question often in different interviews, but how did you become interested in Japan?  

Peppe: Anime and games I consumed in my childhood. When I was a kid, Japanese anime would often be playing on Italian TV. There aren’t too many original Italian anime, and I didn’t really like animations like [those on] Cartoon Network in America. Japanese anime like Fist of the North Star, City Hunter, Death Note, Naruto, and One Piece were much more fun. Also, I used to play many Japanese games like Pokemon and [those from] Konami and Capcom. When Japan came up in history class at school, I silently thought, “Oh Japan! The country that makes anime!” (laughs). Then, I started learning about Japanese history, like the samurai, little by little. 

—It seems like many people develop an interest in Japan because of anime. 

Peppe: Yes. Most Italians my age grew up watching Japanese anime. I think there are a lot of Italians who like Japanese anime. When I studied Japanese history in university, my professor said, “Japan created anime and games to advance into the world.” I don’t think it was strategic, but that’s how it went. Maybe it’s similar to art, like traditional Italian fashion and soccer.  

—How did you discover manga?  

Peppe: I discovered manga when I was 16 years old. I was so shocked to find out that you could draw manga by yourself. You need many people with different skills to create games or anime. But with manga, you only need one or two. I felt like I could do it too, and so I aspired to become a manga artist. I’ve been consistently drawing manga since I was 16. I would draw a new non-serialized manga every year and show it to my friends.  

—Which manga works did you especially like? 

Peppe: Naruto; I used to watch the anime version first. When I found the manga, I was like, “It’s the same story!” and I looked it up and read it all. I also liked Bleach, One Piece, and Hunter x Hunter. I’ve probably read all of the manga in Shonen Jump. After that, I immediately read manga for young adults like Vagabond and Real. I also read City Hunter, which I liked as anime too.  

—Did you read the Italian versions? 

Peppe: Yes. I couldn’t speak Japanese then. I still have my collection at my home in Italy. But I read the original versions now that I can read Japanese. Similar to dubbed films, there are more things I could pick up on in the Japanese version than the Italian version. I have over 1,000 manga books in Italian, but I want to switch those with the Japanese ones (laughs). 

Being model scouted at Hachiko in Shibuya   

—Did you study Japanese at your university in Italy? 

Peppe: Yes. Aside from the Japanese language, I studied Japanese history and culture and took exams for those. In my three years at university, I became able to write in Japanese quite well. But I couldn’t speak it at all, so I learned conversational Japanese when I got here.  

—Did you come to Japan right after graduation? 

Peppe: Yes. I came to Japan in 2015, right after I graduated. It’s hard to get a visa in Japan, so I went to a Japanese language school and wanted to find a job quickly so I could draw manga.   

—When you arrived in Japan, did your image of the country change? 

Peppe: My image of it did change. I grew up from the first time I came to Japan as an otaku. Not only did my idea of Japan change, but so too did my image of Italy. Once I left, I started liking some things about Italy which I previously didn’t. I also became uninterested in some things once I started living in Japan. 

—You also work as a model, right?  

Peppe: I started modeling because I got scouted at Hachiko in Shibuya. Thankfully, I could work as a model to a certain extent and also have some free time. So, I chased after my dreams and strived to become a manga artist.  

—I imagine aspiring manga artists become assistants to professional manga artists. 

Peppe: I would’ve done that if I could get a visa, but it was hard to get one as an assistant. So, I modeled and drew manga little by little.  

—In a different interview, you mentioned how you showed your manga to Big Comic Spirits because the magazine had featured serialized works by people like Taiyo Matsumoto and Kengo Hanazawa.  

Peppe: Yes. I liked Hanazawa-san’s I Am a Hero and so on. I met Taiyo Matsumoto-san for the first time when I arrived here. Ping Pong is my favorite manga of all time. It’s unavailable in Italy, and I was surprised to find out that there were still so many manga books out there. I looked it up and found out that it was serialized in Spirits. The aesthetic of Ping Pong and I Am a Hero is very different, so I thought Spirits might accept my style as an Italian person, which is why I submitted my work. I brought it in, submitted it to a competition, won the lowest award, and received 10,000 yen. That made me happy, so I then showed them my non-serialized manga and got an award that was one level higher; 50,000 yen. I was like, “Yay!” I could tell that I was getting slowly better at drawing. And then I got to a point where they could serialize Mingo.  

—You were on Terrace House around the same time, yes? 

Peppe: Once the serialization of Mingo was confirmed, Terrace House approached me. I confided in everyone, and they said, “You can do anything, so you’ll be fine.” So, I felt like I should give it a go and went on Terrace House and started the serialization too.  

—Were you hesitant to go on the show at all? 

Peppe: I had made a promise from the start that I was going to “graduate” after a while. I felt like I should try it out because I had their word, even if it was hard. But once the serialization began, I realized it was impossible to continue doing Terrace House. So, as promised, I graduated.  

The difficulty of creating one’s first serialized manga  

—What was it like coming up with your first-ever serialized series?  

Peppe: It was super tough. I never want to publish manga weekly again (laughs). Terrace House started before the serialization, so I couldn’t prepare properly. Usually, you have around ten okayed manga volumes in stock before the serialization begins, but I only had about three. It was grueling. I didn’t give up and put out four Mingo volumes, but I thought it would’ve been better if I had prepared more. So next time, I want to get well prepared.  

—As you said, three weekly manga stories aren’t a lot. 

Peppe: It finished so quickly. I knew I had to draw the next one, but I also had the pressure of Terrace House on me, so it was hard.  

—Did you create Mingo with the ending in mind? 

Peppe: I had a good idea of [the ending] while I was drawing it. Communication is the main thing about Mingo, so I didn’t think of a detailed story. Every week, I thought about a topic that would make people laugh and drew [the manga]. 

—Is it based on your personal experiences? 

Peppe: The events are inspired by things that happened to me or my friends or their friends. Everyone might think it’s all true, but half of it is probably fiction. I think I found a good balance.  

—Until I read Mingo, someone like Girolamo Panzetta came to mind when I thought about Italians. But my image has since then changed. 

Peppe: Italians that come to Japan get told that Italians are good at hitting on women. People said that to me because I worked in the modeling industry, and I got fed up with it every time. With Mingo, I wanted to show people that there were other types of Italian people. Like my friends. I feel like I accomplished that with Mingo.  

The importance of manga and personal life 

—How did you feel after you completed Mingo?

Peppe: I was satisfied with it, considering it was my first serialization. I can’t believe I was able to put out four volumes. During the serialization, I thought I couldn’t do it and cried over and over again. I cried once a day. But I’m glad I drew my first serialized series at that speed. I’m going to give it my all so that my next work will have higher quality.  

—Did you show Mingo to your family? 

Peppe: I did. The three volumes are available in Italian right now. It was in many different newspapers, and people talked about the manga because it was drawn by an Italian manga artist working in Japan. My family was delighted thanks to that. My family had heard about it, but it didn’t feel real to them. So, when newspapers talked about it, they were proud. It made me glad knowing that it made my mother 100% happy. I grew up in a small countryside town, and it seems like the whole town is happy for me.  

Because of Terrace House and Mingo, I’ve had many opportunities and experiences. I’m grateful for that. I want to try doing other things, not just manga. But I’m still not completely satisfied because I’ve only published one manga. I hope to put out better work and live a nice life.  

Peppe  
Born on December 24th in 1992, in Abruzzo, Italy. Peppe became enamored with Japanese culture, especially manga, and enrolled in Japanese Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. He came to Japan alone in January 2015, dreaming of becoming a manga artist. He entered the modeling world to earn a living and appeared in various magazines and TV commercials. Peppe also went on Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020 and became a popular figure. He began publishing Mingo: Itariajin ga Minna Moteru to Omou na yo in Big Comic Spirits on October 12th, 2019. Four volumes have been published thus far. 
Instagram：@peppedesu

Photography Yohei Kichiraku
Translation Lena Grace Suda

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