What is your favorite thing about the character (Kadoc) you illustrated?

My favorite part about Kadoc is...well I suppose it would be that he's asymmetrical. I wanted to make him look like he's pushing himself in every aspect, and so I focused on his pierced ear, his hair, and his layered clothing to show only on one side. But I think the thing I'm most proud of is not his appearance, but his expression. Kadoc's roster of expressions expanded as the story progressed, and so I always kept the scenario and story in mind as I worked on the illustration, and I think it resulted in a drawing that really captured Kadoc.

What did you focus on when designing the character, and did you need to make any design changes
once you received guidance from the writers, setting, and reference documentation?

Kadoc had the look of a typical protagonist during his initial design phase—like sporting blonde hair—but I later received instructions that he should be a thin young man with silver hair, which gave us the character design we all know today. As Kadoc was going to be the first enemy to be defeated, and since he comes from a mage family with little in the way of history, I knew I couldn't dress him up in a fancy outfit. I was also told that his partner Servant's color was a pale white, so I tried not to have them overlap in that regard as well. Ultimately, when Kadoc and Anastasia stand side-by-side, I feel like they give the players an impression of chilly cold, which seems fitting for Lostbelt Russia.

Other than the Servant you designed, which FGO Servant is your favorite?

This Servant may not be one of the inaugural characters in FGO, but my favorite Servant would have to be Amakusa Shirou. Initially I didn't have a strong lineup and I constantly relied on my Friends' support in battle, but then Amakusa came to my Chaldea in a random gacha pull. Since then, he's been a great help to my party even in high difficulty battles, so I have a very strong attachment to him. I was even more starstruck after I watched Apocrypha. He's been my absolute favorite since then. He was also a great inspiration for me to start creating fan art, and it's strange to think that I may not have worked for FGO, let alone be giving this interview, if Amakusa hadn't answered my summons back then...and it's reminded me of my infinite love for him. Plus he's so cool in his Phantom Thief Spiritron Dress too! Yay!

What inspiration or themes did you keep in mind when creating this memorial illustration?

In this memorial illustration, I wanted to highlight Kadoc confronting his enemy, and I focused on his hostile glare and his clenched fist with all the excessive force it captures, all while reflecting Kadoc's earnest resolve in using his Command Spell. On top of that, I wanted to create this narrative that, like the protagonist, Kadoc was also fighting for his world and his partner, his lone Servant. I was afraid I packed in too much information when I submitted my rough draft, but I was thrilled when I received the green light to proceed.