As one of Japan's most acclaimed fantasy illustrators, Jun Suemi has wowed
audiences worldwide with his two illustrated books, "Gen" and "Haku". In fact,
years ago I picked up "Haku" at a local Japanese book store because I was so
enamored with Suemi's art style. Little did I know that years later our paths
would cross and I'd actually have a chance to interview him!
Anime fans may also recognize his name. Aside from his artbooks, Suemi also
served as the creature designer for the popular Patlabor WXIII movie (which
was actually shown in theaters here in America). And with artistic credit ranging from GameArt's awesome Silpheed series to Ascii's Wizardry RPG series,
Jun Suemi is no stranger to video games. Last year, Hudson tapped Suemi's
unique art style for Rengoku 1 and this year Suemi has once again lent his
talents as Rengoku 2's lead designer.
We recently sat down and had a chat with Jun Suemi about his work on Rengoku 2
and his distinctly dramatic art style. Enjoy! 
HUDSON: How did you approach Rengoku in a design sense? Were you given free reign
to do what you wanted or did the game designers have a specific vision you had
to adhere to?
SUEMI: On this particular project, the game director and producer at Hudson had very
clear vision. The world, the style, the characters - they wanted something
that was truly dark and stylized. They felt my artwork style would have been
great for this new game. So, I built the visual imagery as close as I could to
their vision. In the end, I think the overall look and tone works very well
with this type of game.
HUDSON: You've had a long career in the industry. What work are you most proud
of?
SUEMI: That is a difficult question! I get quite attached to all my work, so it's
hard to pick just one. But personally, I like drawing fantasy worlds filled
with a medieval-times style, stuff like monsters and angels. That is something
I am particularly fond of. I will say that I am especially proud of the cover
artwork I created on such projects, and of the cover artwork I worked on for
various books of mine that collect my drawings.
HUDSON: The Rengoku series seems to play a lot off of the Christian mythos, did
this aspect affect the way you designed the characters and enemies?
SUEMI: You would think that since the concept of 'Rengoku' pulls some themes from
Christianity - that it might have affected my approach to creating the world
around the game. But I was not necessarily conscious of it when I designed it.
Rather, I infused my personal style and interests in fantasy themes, with the
game's take on a futuristic and dark world.
HUDSON: A lot of your art and mecha designs are very organic. How did you come up
with this style?
SUEMI: It's just a style that I developed. I enjoy designing such a look with a more
organic flowing looking. I'm sure that's why the game director and producer
wanted to work with me, because they distinctly pictured an organic style for
the game. It's interesting to see how it all came together because it really
followed their vision very closely.
HUDSON: Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans in America?
SUEMI: I am very happy that people from all over are enjoying my work. I'm happy to
know that people really love this particular view of the world I created with
this game.
For more information and wallpapers of Rengoku 2 by Jun Suemi, visit our Rengoku 2 game page now!
All images are Copyright 2006 Jun Suemi
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