Talk:Tōru Fujisawa

Varification on alternative name Mari Aizawa

Hi, I'd just like to request some on advice on how I can verify Fujisawa's former use of the pen name Mari Aizawa sufficiently.
What type of information do I need to reference and how should I provide it?

One can tell that Fujisawa and Aizawa are one in the same as their art styles are identical in appearance, but I doubt this is hard enough evidence for wikipedia's verification standards. However, I have found a few sites that concur with my declaration that Aizawa and Fujisawa are the same person.

Please see the following:
http://dorabibi.net/?pid=16050505
http://www.mandarake.co.jp/information/column/iwai/report/cmp001/index.html
http://tsuiseki.sakuraweb.com/manga-ka/a/aizawa_mari.html

When requesting verification, DAJF raised his doubts by mentioning that Mari is a female name. To my knowledge it is indeed most commonly (if not exclusively) a female name, but it is not unthinkable nor unheard of for a male artist to write under a female pseudonym and vice-versa. In fact, in volume 7 of Shonen Takarajima (30th of January 1987), Aizawa actually notes that he is a male in the author comment section. The original quote reads as follows: "あ〜っハハハァ〜といつも美しい笑い声。私は男です。".

There is also an Easter-egg which can be found in volume 9 (page 132) of Fujisawa's Shonan Jun'ai Gumi which can be considered a secret nod to his previous work as Mari Aizawa. This comes in the form of a labeled sketch of his work Tokyo Sex-y Club, which is hidden amongst other items that are unrelated.

Now, I realise that aside from the websites these points of evidence are not very clear cut, but it's rather difficult with this type of thing. It's not as if Fujisawa would have made a public statement that he would no longer be operating under a pen name when he decided to make the change. The very purpose of a pseudonym is commonly to avoid one set of works influencing the opinion of another. Making the change common knowledge through such an announcement back then would have defeated the purpose.

Certleg (talk) 01:07, 17 November 2010 (UTC)