1. While drawing X, please tell me what is pleasant and what is painful.

The fun part is the “agglutination”^[1] between dream and reality. Especially in the dream part, we try various experimental things.

As for the painful part, we guess it would be the screen tone work? (laughs)

2. Is the ending decided?

As for all our works, the ending is definitely decided, so it is a “YES”.

3. As a reaction from fans towards X, what was impressive?

We received many letters indeed about Fuuma’s transformation and Kotori’s death. Then, the reunion scene between Subaru and Seishirou seemed to have everyone thinking in different ways (laughs), so there were a lot of long letters.

4. Please tell us about a memorable episode in the making of X.

After all, is it an episode when Mokona adding pen when she was sleepy? She was almost sleepless and was working on the pen lines, but for a moment her vision went dark and she heard someone’s voice from somewhere. “Uh? Who are you?”, while she was saying it, she looked closely and saw that they were dressed like Tibetan monks (laughs). “You can’t ……[do this] while you’re sleepy,” the monk said over and over again, but when she thinks about it now, she can’t help it because it seems like it was a grateful advice, “You can’t add pen while you’re sleeping” (laughs).

5. Please tell us about the future development of X.

“Could it be that Kotori comes back alive near the end?” There were many people who sent us letters saying that, but that can never happen. In the world of X, dead humans never come back to life. There are reminiscences and appearances in dreams, but it’s not a story about conveniently reviving with somehow unknown mysterious powers (laughs). So we would be happy if you would watch over Kotori’s death, how Kamui-chan will take it and what to do, and what will happen with Fuuma.

6. Please send a message to the fans who are eagerly waiting for the release of the X movie.

We are looking forward to this movie together with everyone. The long-awaited Vista vision size. 35mm. I think it would be great if you could meet Kamui and the others at the theater.

CLAMP’s Daily Life and Opinions

1) We’ve heard that the four of you live together. How do you divide up rooms, cooking, laundry, and cleaning?

Each of us has our own room. Everyone does their own laundry. We take turns cooking and cleaning, though if someone really can’t do their turn, someone else substitutes for them (laughs). No matter how busy we are, we always make sure to eat properly, take baths, and keep the place clean, so the only time we get overly confident is when we’re really hungry (laughs). That said, we don’t use assistants, so it’s really just the four of us being overconfident together (laughs).

2) Do the four of you have any “rules” you’ve agreed upon?

Since we create works of art, we never lie about them. We don’t say flippantly with each other’s private lives unless someone is asking for advice or opinions. Trust others and trust yourself. Always keep promises.

3) What are your thoughts on doujinshi based on CLAMP’s works?

We read everything that’s sent to us. We’re truly happy when someone sees our work and feels inspired to create something of their own—”I want to make something!” or “I want to turn my ideas into a book!” Creating something is hard work. So it’s an honor to hear that our work has become a source of motivation for someone else.

4) Have fans’ requests to change a character or storyline ever influenced your work?

We’re sorry, but no.

CLAMP decide the overall flow of a story from the beginning of serialization. Changing the plot or characters halfway through would ruin all the foreshadowing and the narrative structure we’ve built.

Also, for every opinion, there is always an opposing one. Even if someone says, “You should’ve done it this way, and I hope you go this way in the future” (and we’re grateful for such feedback), there will always be someone else who says, “I liked it the way it was; I hope it continues like that.”

If we were to steer the story based on one reader’s response, it would inevitably alienate those with the opposite view.

A story that satisfies everyone is an “ideal,” but in reality, that’s difficult. We are the “senders” of the story.

We hope that at least one of our readers will enjoy the stories we send out, but above all, we believe it’s our responsibility to stand by what we create.

Still, the feedback from readers gives us joy and encouragement. “All right! Let’s work hard on the next chapter!!” That energy gives us the strength to push through sleepless nights. In that sense, perhaps the readers’ voices help generate the “motivation” and “drive” behind our work.

5) Are you afraid of ‘the end’ or ‘destruction’?

Not really. More than that, the thought of not being able to meet someone you care about is more painful.

Besides, if everything has an end, that means it had a beginning, too.

6) If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

“Are you happy?”

7) A recent manga you liked?

Jigoku no Shi (Poems of Self-Torment) by Yoshie-sensei

Death, Her, and I by Madoka Kawaguchi-sensei

8) A recent novel you liked?

Moonlight Magic Academy by Hirai Kazumasa-sensei

9) A recent game you liked?

Twilight Syndrome (PlayStation)

Pokémon (Game Boy)

10) A recent TV program you liked?

Countdown TV

11) A recent movie you liked?

Eko Eko Azarak II

12) Will you continue CLAMP’s work even after getting married?

We will (laughs).

13) What’s the happiest thing that’s happened recently?

Our cat started letting us hold it. 

Notes

^[1] Maybe a type of intersection. CLAMP mean here the transition scenes between reality and dreams.

Translated from Japanese by sickreader. ChatGPT was used in this translation.

Source

Interview published in Puff August 1996 issue (Zassosha), released on August 1, 1996. Original text available upon request.

If you found mistakes in this translation or would like to contribute with translating other interviews, please contact me.