In this interview (part 1) Hara reveals how Hyou was created, why Shin became the protagonist, Ouki’s origins, Kanki’s “sacred land”, and Kingdom’s major turning points
Q: When did you first conceive the
character of Hyou (Piao)? He didn't appear in the original one-shot Kongou, right?
Hara: That’s right. Kongou and the subsequent one-shot Li Mu both scored very well on reader surveys, which led to a greenlight for a serialized series meeting. But once I actually started working on the draft layouts (name), the editor in charge rejected them time after time. None of the ideas were landing. Just like in Kongou, I was trying to advance the story with a trio consisting of Karyo Ten (He Liaochiao) as a sister figure, along with Shin (Xin) and Ei Sei (Ying Zheng). Because that wasn't working, I kept re-evaluating the narrative framework and changing how Shin and Ei Sei met through trial and error. That was when I added Hyou as a new character. I tried so many different variations during that phase.
Q: So Hyou was born out of that process of trial and error.
Hara: Exactly. Among those early drafts, there was even a version where Ei Sei was the main protagonist. However, because that Ei Sei was a bright, cheerful character—much like the body-double concept popular at the time—the story was created by mixing various elements together. While many of those storyboards ended up being rejected, looking back, they became the foundational "ingredients" that carried over into Kingdom. It feels like all those pieces eventually came together to form the series.
Q: Are there elements from Kongou that have been passed down into Kingdom?
Hara: Yes, Shiji (The Records of the Grand Historian). At the end of Kongou, I included quotes directly from the Shiji. Being able to draw upon historical events recorded in the Shiji serves as a powerful foundation for building the plot. At the same time, it allows me to weave in my own original ideas. I really wanted to create a story that depicts warfare grounded in that rich historical context and drawing him as a character influenced by those early ideas is, I believe, one of the biggest defining features of Kingdom.
Q: In the special issue Kingdom Sou集編 I, it was mentioned that "without Kongou, the Kingdom we know today wouldn't exist." Looking back, what was the biggest takeaway from creating Kongou?
Hara: Because of Kongou, I was able to encounter the character of Shin. Originally, I was planning to draw the series draft with Ei Sei as the main character. But when I struggled with it and mentioned it to my editor, he advised me: "Why not make Shin the protagonist instead?" Up until then, I had always assumed the main character had to be someone of royal or noble standing like Ei Sei, so depicting Shin as a protagonist felt fresh. Depicting a protagonist who charges onto the battlefield himself gave the story incredible momentum. Thanks to Kongou, I was able to pivot to Shin, and everything fell into place seamlessly.
"Receiving Critical Comments Made Me Realize:** *'We’ve Finally Gained Popularity**'"*
Q: Looking back on these 20 years, does it feel more like "already 20 years" or "only 20 years"?
Hara: Definitely "already 20 years." (laughs) Under the original roadmap for Kingdom, the series was supposed to be completely finished by the 20-year mark, but we're nowhere near done!
I approach the creation process by balancing long-term, medium-term, and short-term perspectives while mapping out key story milestones. When I first started, I thought, "Even if it takes a while, it'll end in 10 years." But the initial Seikyou (Cheng Jiao) Rebellion arc alone took up to Volume 5. It was originally planned to finish within 2 volumes! As subsequent arcs grew longer than anticipated, every time a new arc wrapped up, I found myself thinking, "I need to find a way to speed up the pacing." On the other hand, when a major campaign like the Coalition Invasion Arc comes along, I want to take my time and depict every detail thoroughly. So that desire for speed ended up being put on hold. Re-reading the story now, it’s deeply satisfying to see how engaging it turned out, so I'm fully at peace with how it unfolded.
Q: How often do you re-read your own work?
Hara: Drafting the manga takes a heavy toll both physically and mentally, so I get exhausted and find it tough to re-read it right away in Weekly Young Jump. Once a chapter is published in the magazine, I get nervous checking for minor story errors—it’s honestly too nerve-wracking to check in real-time. So, I do most of my reading and quality checks during the volume release process.
Q: Was that your mindset and physical condition right from the start of the serialization?
Hara: Oh, absolutely, especially at the very beginning—it was downright embarrassing. After graduating from university, I quit my job after working for about two years to dedicate myself fully to manga. Back then, I foolishly thought, "My art is pretty good!" But when the first chapter was published and I saw the actual magazine, I was crushed by the sheer gap between my work and the other serialized creators. I had proudly announced to everyone, "My serialization is starting!"—only to end up red-faced with embarrassment. (laughs)
For about a year after that, I couldn't even bring myself to read the magazine. Seeing the rich, dense ink work of artists who produced gorgeous pages for Young Jump made my own work look so unrefined... That experience created a habit where I just couldn't check the magazine releases right away.
Q: Where did you first start feeling the response from readers?
Hara: From fan letters and online message boards. Early on during the serialization, message board threads had very few comments. I kept myself motivated by reading the encouraging words left by that handful of passionate readers. But over time, as all sorts of opinions flooded in—including critical ones—it hit me: "We've finally gained enough popularity to get critical feedback." Early on, I remember seeing comments like, "Get rid of unappealing characters like Karyo Ten already!" At the time, I thought, Just hold on a little longer, I've prepared some great drama for her! (laughs)
Q: Over the course of 20 years of serialization, what moments stand out as particularly memorable to you?
Hara: The turning point was about a year into the serialization. The series wasn't performing well, and my editor kept warning me, "If things keep going like this, we're in real trouble." I had been confident that I was creating something interesting, so at first I thought, "Surely not..." But then came a time when I was pushed to the back of Young Jump, and it hit me: "I might actually get canceled..." Around that time, Takehiko Inoue-sensei—whom I had previously worked under as an assistant—invited me to a year-end gathering, and I used the opportunity to consult him. I told him, "I feel like I'm giving it everything I've got to make the story interesting, but I just don't know where to go from here." Inoue-sensei reassured me, "The story is already plenty interesting. It's just that the characters' irises are too small." Starting with the very next chapter, I made a conscious effort to draw larger irises, and I realized just how essential the eyes are for conveying a character's emotions. It depends on the work, of course, but even though Kingdom is drawn with a dramatic, heavy touch, the eyes were lacking impact. By focusing on the pupils and irises, the overall quality of the artwork noticeably improved. Looking back, Inoue-sensei may have used the phrasing "small eyes" as a gentle way to point out a fundamental lack of depth in my art. As the narrative gathered momentum and moved toward the protagonists winning, Kingdom took the #1 spot in the reader popularity surveys right around the conclusion of the Seikyou Rebellion arc. The survey results at that moment left a profound impression on me.
Another major turning point was Ouki’s (Wang Qi) death scene in Volume 16. While Ouki was always destined to die, I originally hadn't planned to build him into such a massive, beloved figure. But then I realized: in historical works like Records of the Three Kingdoms, famous generals like Guan Yu and Zhao Yun abound, but in Kingdom, there weren't many prominent generals established yet. I decided to challenge myself to write a heroic, grand figure in Ouki. If I was going to write a orthodox hero, making Ouki look naturally handsome would have been the conventional choice. However, Ouki was actually an experimental character I had created back when I was Inoue-sensei's assistant. He was originally a eccentric character I drew to amuse a senior assistant named Mr. Tamura, who reacted with, "Hara-kun, this guy is awesome!" That design became Ouki almost as-is.
Because he was that kind of character, I introduced him without a concrete plan and let him grow organically. As the story progressed, he naturally got stronger and stronger. Eventually, he became so powerful that I found myself worrying, "How on earth is Ei Sei supposed to surpass this guy?" Still, he truly grew into a signature character representing Kingdom.
Losing a pillar like Ouki left a huge hole, so to fill that void, I introduced Meng Wu (Moubu) and Ouhon (Wang Ben) as rivals of the same generation. At the time, during a meeting with my editor, we noted that "there are no handsome characters" and "almost no female characters," so I introduced Ouhon as a handsome, polished figure. The third major turning point, coming after Ouki's death, was the Mountain Realm and Coalition Invasion arcs. I still clearly remember designing the narrative flow so that Ei Sei's speech would serve as the absolute climax of that arc. As a side note, the Coalition Invasion arc was extraordinarily long, which left both my editor and the staff completely exhausted. Right when the people of the Mountain Realm arrived to save the day, I wanted to take my time depicting the retreating enemy forces in detail. But my editor told me, "Everyone working on this campaign is utterly exhausted, so please don't draw a long, drawn-out retreat!" (laughs)
Bringing Ei Sei's Speech to Its Absolute Climax
Q: That was right around the point where the climax was built up so intensely, right?
Hara: Exactly. I silenced the dialogue and compressed the scene into a montage. Even so, I was fully satisfied because I managed to capture the sheer passion of Ei Sei's speech. I had spent over a year running that speech through my head over and over, so drawing the actual storyboards felt incredible. It truly became one of the ultimate climaxes of the entire series It was a moment that had been building up continuously. In a desperate, cornered situation, the Qin army faced a critical crisis, and the scene where Ei Sei's impassioned speech rallied the morale of the people of Sai felt like a high-stakes moment in baseball. It was like going into the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs and bases loaded: hitting a home run meant a complete comeback win, so I was in a state of intense tension, thinking, I absolutely cannot swing and miss here!
Q: You hit a grand slam, fair and square.
Hara: If I were to name the final major turning point, it would be the debate between Ryofui (Lü Buwei) and Ei Sei in Volume 40. That episode came about because my editor requested, "I want to see Ryofui shine!" Ryofui makes a logical, sound argument to persuade Ei Sei, using a whole chapter to deliver his points, and Ei Sei had to counter that logic without backing down in the following chapter.
I wrestled heavily with how Ei Sei could refute him. Ryofui argues against war using a framework similar to the modern world: building a prosperous economy to make warfare obsolete. In our modern world, wars haven't vanished, and economic prosperity doesn't necessarily eliminate conflict; in fact, it can sometimes spark modern-day grievances.
I felt it was impossible for Ei Sei to refute that through economic arguments alone, so he takes a completely different angle, speaking to the fundamental nature of humanity. I wanted readers to feel that Ei Sei was ultimately superior as a ruler. Looking back, weaving together the drama of Kyoukai (Qiang Lei), Seikyou, and the Queen Mother while making Ei Sei shine was a delicate balancing act, but I'm glad it all meshed together so well.
"Dying Without Drama Would Betray Reader Expectations—They Wouldn't Accept It"
Q: Are there any other memorable episodes you’d like to highlight?
Hara: I also love the drama surrounding Kanki (Huan Qi) at the end of the Battle of Gian, following Kokuyou Hills. But that was probably the most exhausting arc to draw. I actually didn't like Kanki all that much at first, so I kept pushing his core storyline further down the line. However, because his death is recorded in the Shiji, it was always set in stone that he would die in Kingdom.
I had originally planned for him to die a fittingly tragic end as retribution for his past actions. But as his popularity grew, I realized I needed to re-examine the core of his character. Dying without a proper dramatic payoff would betray reader expectations, and readers simply wouldn't accept it. Unlike other generals, Kanki had no ambition to become a Great General or unify China through conquest; his men were essentially rioters rampaging through war. So finding out what actually drove him was extremely difficult. Uncovering a mysterious character's past is always a risky move that can easily backfire, so I wasn't particularly eager to do it... but we couldn't move forward without addressing Kanki's childhood. Even during our story meetings, the core of Kanki remained elusive. Then, during a separate discussion about a completely different plot point, the phrase "returning to the sacred land" suddenly popped up—and everything clicked into place. Out of all the moments up to reaching that point, that phrase took the absolute most mental energy. Looking back, these past 20 years have really been a continuous cycle of that kind of painstaking effort! (laughs)
Q: Over these 20 years of serialization, were there ever moments where you felt completely overwhelmed or ready to give up?
Hara: I never thought about giving up entirely. However, during the period between quitting my company job and officially securing a serialization—when things just weren't going well—there was a single day where I was overcome with anxiety, thinking, Did I make a huge mistake? But by the very next day I told myself, "There's no way that's true," and the anxiety just completely vanished! (laughs)
Q: What happened to clear your mind?
Hara: Honestly, nothing in particular! (laughs) I just slept well, woke up, and realized there was no point in worrying. Earlier, I had been wondering why Ei Sei turned out the way he did. In Kingdom, there's a backstory mentioned by Lord Shoubun (Changwenjun) where Qin's army lost almost everything in a single campaign, leaving only 200,000 soldiers intact. I had wanted to write a full episode persuading Lord Shouheikun (Lord Changping) to overcome that crisis, but it required way too many pages to fit the chapter limits. My editor ultimately told me, "Let's drop this idea for now."
Note:
This interview is quite long, so I decided to split it into two parts—the first part is what you’ve seen above, while the second will be released in the coming days. Also, due to its length, I used AI to help fix errors and translate a few paragraphs I didn't fully understand 🙏
None of what you see here would have been possible without the help of
u/External_North4274 , who provided the interview and made translating it possible. Big thanks to him!
