[I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability] A One-Man Color Machine – An Interview with Yosuke Kokuzawa – Part 1

Interviews #7th Prince #I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability #Yosuke Kokuzawa August 9, 2026

This article was originally published in April 2024.

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (7th Prince) is set to makes its anime debut in April 2024. In this interview, we sit down with Yosuke Kokuzawa, the artist of 7th Prince, to talk about behind-the-scenes info, his thoughts on the anime adaptation, and more!

A man who wished to strengthen his magical power is reborn with incredible power as Lloyd, the 7th prince of the kingdom of Saloum. Demons and devils, assassins and adventurers, even priests and angels wind up roped into his dash down the path of magical study in this reincarnation fantasy adventure!

Charming characters, thrilling battles, deep bonds of friendship and stunning color illustrations make 7th Prince a popular choice among readers.

Aiming to become a manga artist since birth?!

Kokuzawa-sensei, what made you decide to become a manga artist?

Kokuzawa:
There’s no real “reason”. I’ve wanted to become a manga artist ever since I was born.

─Before you were even aware of the goings on around you?

Kokuzawa:
That’s right. When I was in elementary school, I always knew that I would 100% become a manga artist.

Have you enjoyed reading manga since you were a child?

Kokuzawa:
I read a lot. My favorite manga is Doraemon. I liked the anime, too, and wore out the recorded tape I had of it by watching it so much. Also, I really looked forward to reading Weekly Jump, which my older brother would buy every week. I’m part of the DRAGON BALL generation. ONE PIECE and Zatch Bell! had a big impact on me, too.

Were you already drawing manga back then?

Kokuzawa:
I drew a lot of pictures, but I created my first manga when I was 19. I submitted my work to Weekly Shonen Magazine and won a prize.

──What made you pick Weekly Shonen Magazine?

Kokuzawa:
Weekly Shonen Magazine is the only publication without a page limit on submissions. The manga I had created at the time was pretty long, so I decided to submit there!

──Did you study manga creation all on your own?

Kokuzawa:
I attended a junior college art program where I learned the basics of the basics, but when it comes to manga, all of my learning was done by myself. I had no experience as an assistant either, so I started from zero, essentially. When my first editor asked about how I work, they got so mad when I told them I draw with a felt-tip pen [laughs].

──Your first one-shot was “Genshi no Hana”, right?

Kokuzawa:
Yes. Ah, that takes me back. After that, I submitted two other one-shots, Mahou no Te no Tama and Ohana Meisai, and after that, Choujin Gakuen was picked up for my first serialization.

Torn between two worlds…

Could you tell us about the lead up to the serialization of Seventh Prince?

Kokuzawa:
It all started when my editor told me that they were looking to start a serialization for an isekai series on Magazine Pocket (K MANGA’s Japanese sibling), and they wondered if I wanted to do it. I was happy to get the offer, but it was my first time doing the art for something that had a story I hadn’t written, and the pressure of the responsibility felt too great so I turned it down at first… But my editor gave me a little push, and I decided to challenge myself.

Editor:
Back in 2020, we were looking to launch more isekai manga on Magazine Pocket. We got Kokuzawa-sensei to read a bunch of original stories, and he chose 7th Prince from those.

Why did you end up picking 7th Prince?

Kokuzawa:
Actually, there was one other story I was considering. I spent a really long time thinking about it, and knew that I wanted to bring out the absolute best in the source work in manga form, so in the end, I went with the one that I thought would best suit my style. Seventh Prince had some hilarious moments and pretty intense battles, and this kid called Lloyd, who was really something [laughs]. I thought I might be a good match, so I put my offer in.

Expressing Lloyd’s imperfections!

What did you keep in mind while trying to bring the world and its characters to life?

Kokuzawa:
I put a lot of thought into bringing out Lloyd’s cuteness. He’s a powerful magic user, but he has absolutely no interest in anything outside of magic. He has his slip-ups, he makes mistakes, and relies on others. Those imperfections are really adorable, and I wanted to draw him in a way that made it impossible to hate him.

──In the manga version, that interest only in magic is really quite apparent.

Kokuzawa:
In the original story, during the fight with Pazuzu, a demon that had been sealed away, Lloyd says that “if you force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy, you won’t learn anything”. In the manga, I passed that baton over to Grim. I wanted to really drive home that Lloyd is only interested in magic, to the point where he wouldn’t think to say something like that.

──Seeing him enjoy magic so purely is really wonderful, isn’t it.

Kokuzawa:
Those around him might be shaking their heads at his antics, but they’re drawn to this kid who loves magic so much it’s all he can think about. Getting that atmosphere across in my art is always on my mind.

Your favorite character is… everyone?!

──Who’s your favorite character?

Kokuzawa:
It was the same for my previous manga, but I really do like all of the characters in my work. In fact, I don’t think I could draw characters that I don’t like.

──Come to think of it, even the bad guys are pretty loveable.

Kokuzawa:
That makes me happy to hear. They might be the villains, but I do end up growing quite attached to them. Tartarus, for example, was a total villain and I planned on having him meet his end as a purely evil character. But from the midway point, he shifted into a character who cared about Ydd, Lloyd’s clone. Guisarme, too. I’ve always loved him as a character.

──What do you like about Guisarme?

Kokuzawa:
I love cool villains. Guisarme is incredibly strong, I’d say he’s like the final boss who appears really early on in the story. That a character this powerful is inside Jade, the leader of the assassins – another powerful character – is really exciting.

──Guisarme is definitely pure evil. It’s a little surprising to hear that you’re fond of him.

Kokuzawa:
Guisarme is there to disrupt Lloyd’s world filled with kind, nice allies. Those types of characters are absolutely necessary in a story.

Loveable Lloyd and stunning Sylpha!

──Is there anything you focus on while drawing the characters?

Kokuzawa:
I do my best to ensure that my work stays as close to the original artist for the light novel covers, Meru., as possible. Meru.’s art has beautiful, soft lines and is very cute, so I focus on matching that aesthetic.

──What do you think about when you’re drawing Lloyd and Sylpha?

Kokuzawa:
I want the readers to really love Lloyd. I try my hardest to draw him as cute as possible, so cute that he looks like a girl. For Sylpha, I try to draw her beautifully! Meru.’s design for her is very elegant, so I try to stay true to that. I also work hard to make sure her sword-fighting scenes look cool.

──The successive attacks shown in Sylpha’s backstory were really jaw-dropping.

Kokuzawa:
That section is number 3 on my “Toughest Art Ranking”. [laughs] I had wanted to draw a section without any words, where it’s just taking down enemies.

──Where did the “one combo” kill idea come from?

Kokuzawa:
I like fighting games. In fighting games, if you can land the first hit, there’s a thing called an “instant death” combo where you can successfully chain all the following moves. That’s where it came from.

──Speaking of your personal ranking, what comes in at number 1…?

Kokuzawa:
Tartarus vs Lloyd, I think. They went to space and all. That and the battle with Guitane was pretty rough, from what I remember. Nowadays, I could probably finish the art more quickly, but I wasn’t fully used to doing the coloring back then, so it was very tough.