An interview with MUTUPO author Kudakwashe Rwizi, presented by Noir Caesar

What were your inspirations to create MUTUPO and the main character, Shingai?

It all came to me in a dream! Believe it or not, I had a dream that I was in a tournament where people could use the power of their animal totems and everything was being broadcast live through this futuristic technology. When I woke up, I wrote the idea down and after some extensive rewrites, it developed into what it is today. I wanted a very relatable main character so exaggerating my own desires and flaws seemed like a good basis for that.

I struggle with my health and I felt like it would be interesting to give Shingai the same struggle manifested differently - by having him lose an arm early in his life. That way his character arc can be centered around his feelings of physical inadequacy and trying to overcompensate to fill that void. I can relate and I can explore that in great depth.

Shingai is a character that faces many of the same trials and struggles faced by teenagers all over the world. But his life is also complicated, and often aided, by his superpower or totem. Heroes always struggle to balance their powers with a sense of right and wrong and using power for good. How did you find this balance in Shingai?

I’m kind of a boy scout but like everyone else, I’m not perfect. One of my favorite things to explore about Shingai is the fact that he’s definitely not a boy scout but he’s also not like an anti-hero. He plays up his good qualities to get approval from his guardian and avoids addressing his less-favorable qualities. His story is actually about finding that balance of trying to be a ‘’good person’’ while being honest to himself and the people around him about his moral failings.

Growing up in Zimbabwe, what first attracted you to comics and animation?

It was pretty simple - TV! South African TV channels like SABC 2 and eTV had anime like Yu-Gi-Oh and DragonBall. Instantly fell in love with the medium and as the years went by, I would emulate that style of drawing. The rest is history.

What made you want to pursue it professionally?

I spent most of my time in high school being at home, sick. During that time, I got super into the Bleach anime. It helped me through that and many other tough times. It inspired me to take comics a little seriously and start doing digital art. After high school, I had more hours logged in writing and drawing than academic work. I loved doing it and I thought I could get good at doing it. So I did. Completely discounted any chance of doing anything else and I just threw all my weight into comics, and then later, animation.

What role did your sister Rutendo play in the creation of MUTUPO?

She’s kind of my unofficial editor and babysitter.
She makes sure I don’t make stupid decisions. Both in the story and in my life. She keeps me focused and supports me any way she can. Artistically and financially. I actually owe her money right now! She works incredibly hard to make sure we meet all our deadlines. She makes sure I eat and sleep when I need to. She pulls more all-nighters than I do to turn in her work. She does all the colors, the toning, and everything the team misses during production. Without her, none of this would be possible.

What is the comics scene in Zimbabwe like?

It’s really hard to do comics in general and in Zimbabwe, the market is incredibly small. Despite that, the really small community we have does so much. The dedication to make things work where they shouldn’t is unparalleled. We’re still young and we have a lot to learn, but there’s so much ahead of us.

What influences do anime and manga have on your art style and storytelling?

I started making comics because I wanted to tell animated stories , but I couldn’t. So putting the stories on paper was the next best thing. It’s only after I started making my own comics that I started reading comics & manga to teach myself to tell those stories better. So for me, it’s always about approaching the manga like it’s already animated. I love doing a series of panels like a scene. In the reverse, I also love referencing back to manga when I animate. The two are inseparable. I have more freedom to explore the story in depth with manga, but animation brings in all the other visual and auditory elements that just blasts your senses with the essence of the story.

More and more African creators are gaining global exposure and success and using them to celebrate African culture and myths. What do you think stories like MUTUPO bring to a global audience?

I think MUTUPO & stories like it have the potential to do what anime and manga has done for the last several decades. It’s a big world, there’s so many stories to tell and that can be done in so many different ways. I’m so attached to the manga/anime of it all because they tell their stories unapologetically. They just express their view and culture(for themselves) and it’s up to everyone else to meet them on their own terms. I hope Africa will have the same relationship with the global audience. I wanna see creators like me just do what they wanna do and for everyone to see the context we bring to our own stories.

Who are some of your favorite artists and creators?

Tite Kubo, creator of the Bleach Manga. Hajime Isayama, creator of the Attack on Titan manga. Sam Esmail, writer and director of things like Mr Robot & Comet. More directors like David Fincher & writers like Aaron Sorkin. Everyone who brought the show ‘’How to Get Away with Murder’’ to life ! Character artists like Phil Bourassa & Coran Kizer Stone. Comic book writers & artists like Mark Crilley, Dexter Soy, Scott Lobdell, Jorge Jimenez, Yoshihiro Togashi.

I’m also a huge fan of pretty much all the artists, writers, voice actors, actors, animators and musicians I’ve ever worked with to create something. They inspire me.

What is next for you creatively? What projects can we look forward to?

MORE MUTUPO. Looks like I’ll be working on the manga for years and I hope I can achieve my goal of making it an animated series. I have other stories and I’ve made a couple animated adaptations for others but I feel like MUTUPO needs my full attention for the foreseeable future so it can reach the heights I dream it will.