The Galaxy of Kon-Ki: Waking on Earth follows a gifted young martial artist whose unusual powers gradually pull him into a much larger conflict. Katsu serves as both a mentor and a father figure. Why was that relationship important to the story?

Katsu is the only family that Eiki knows, and he is responsible for the core of Eiki’s beliefs, motivations, and view of the world. It’s safe to say that without Katsu, Eiki would not be who he is and what he will become. As time goes on, many teachings that Katsu has given to Eiki take on a completely different light as Eiki reflects on them after learning more about who Katsu is as a person. Their dynamic ties into a theme of how it’s important for the older generations to set up the next generation for success, and to step aside and let them lead. That is only explored a little in this first book in Katsu’s speech, but as hopefully as time goes on, I’ll get to expand on that more.

I always had the core story between these two fleshed out, but Katsu started as a throwaway character to act as Eiki’s motivation. But as I worked on the book, I developed more of Katsu’s character to inform the world that surrounds these two, and it creates the heart and ethos of the story.

How did you create the different cultures, species, and political systems found throughout the novel?

I went to college to study history, and that’s how I first developed my skills as a writer. In that process, I also discovered the joy of researching about cultures and people, and mythologies. When it came to creating this world, I wanted to take various inspirations from our own diverse one. I’m not interested in trying to develop my own alien languages, so I decided to use other countries or languages as a basis to build on some of the alien cultures in the novel. It helps me focus on where I do my research for a culture and what I try to take inspiration from. I hope that this approach creates a new, yet familiar setting for the readers, and inspires them to look into some of these cultures!

The Chǔ Yǐng are a great example! I studied Chinese in middle school, so I wanted to incorporate that language and some of their culture into a race. I had the idea for their ability to swim through shadows, and as I fleshed that out, I asked myself how a culture with that kind of power would develop. I realized that if you didn’t have to dig through the crust of a planet to find valuable resources, that would give a huge boon to any civilization with a focus in mining. So, the Chǔ Yǐng became a race that lived under ground and traveled the galaxy to mine for valuable resources without needing to conquer other worlds or disrupt their planets. As I went about designing other things, I would look into what clothing or customs China would have to inform my own designs for the culture. Their basic military uniform is actually inspired by what Chinese miners wear!

Waking on Earth clearly introduces a much larger story. How far into the future have you planned the series?

I can comfortably say that I know exactly how I want this story to end. I know the overall journey I want these characters to go on, with particular conflicts in mind. I even know exact scenes I want to include! But, there’s a lot of branching paths I see as I look ahead, and a lot of details in between I have yet to consider. It’s like I know the stops along the route, but I’m building the roads I’m going to take as I write. That could manifest as new worlds, characters, powers, anything! So while I have a plan for where this story is going, I’m also open to letting myself discover new things in the writing process. It’s already happened as I’ve started to work on the second book!

Author Link: https://x.com/CDMangaka