Manga artist Sekaiichi Asakura has three types of fans: Those who enjoy his work purely for the humor; those who read philosophy and world religion into his comic strips; and those who claim that they are as weird as him.
"I get letters from people who tell me that they are really weird and that I am their kindred spirit," says Asakura, seeming both amused and annoyed. But even he cannot really blame them for thinking so.
"Sarami-chan From Hell," a motorcycle chick with vipers for pigtails and "Frankenkowaijo," a comic-strip series about kids with Frankenstein and Dracula tendencies, are hardly whimsical children's fantasies or exploits from workplace incidents. Whether it is making fun of dead bodies, the buttocks of monkeys or one's first love, there are no taboo topics in Asakura's comics.