Young writers and creators flocked to Yoshimoto Kogyo’s Laugh & Peace school for a talk event on “How to Make Works that Become the Next Big Hit.” They gave big rounds of applause to welcome the two speakers: performer and writer Toshiyuki Itakura spoke with creative agent Ryohei Sadoshima.

Both of them work in several different fields. Itakura got his start 20 years ago with the Yoshimoto in comedy duo Impulse. His working writing skits for the group lead to a career as a writer of detective novels, as well as a novel based on the popular Gundam animation. Sadoshima began as an editor and now runs the Cork Agency, which represents writers, illustrators and people in other creative fields.

Itakura said that through his own career he has found that it is not enough simply to think up an interesting story. “Today a writer must also think about how stories may be marketed,” he said. “And they have to take part in that process.”

Sadoshima said that as the head of an agency handling creators working in different fields, he has seen the power of stories that can be free adapted to various forms, such as novels, comics or animation.

Sadoshima said that it is important how creative people manage their own work, explaining that many companies see 2019 as a year to reform the working style, cutting overtime and inefficient practices. “We all need to do this on an individual level as well,” he said.

The two innovators talked about the influence of artificial intelligence in creative fields, and how it is creating misconceptions such as “free thinking and creators are no longer needed.” Both agreed that creative thinkers are needed now more than ever.

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