@Greg:
Of course. If I find the print version. The j-sites have the particular phrase posted everywhere and it's basically the manifesto of the site I posted in the Japan thread a while back which is dedicated to getting Oda fired.
The funny thing is he's right. In English it's just a matter-of-fact statement but in Japanese it's like raping Togashi's wife and forcing her to have an abortion then eat the fetus.
Or not.
But it's still pretty harsh. He basically says (paraphrasing) "I believe we should have popularity rankings for comics because I work really hard and I can't believe that some others are even allowed to be called 'mangaka'."
ouch.
Did he mention Togashi by name? No. But everyone and their mother instantly replied either:
"How can he say that about Togashi!!!!!!!?"
or
"lol He's talking about Togashi."
The interview itself is in the Liar Game equivalent of YELLOW. If I remember correctly it's 'Liar Game INVITATION'. I've been searching for it at bookstores and second-hand places for months.
edit:
In that SW interview I can't be sure but it seemed like he was taking a pot-shot at Kubo (Bleach's JUMP Festa Stages have been ((every year I've been)) dominated by teen and tween girls squealing at that ice man-child). I can't imagine he'd actually aim at a regular in JUMP though. (Togashi obviously not in that category)
God, you still have that avatar
Someone passed that interview blurb along to me and I just wanted to comment and/or ask some things.
Mainly because I doubt he's talking about Togashi. It could be anyone, I think
In the context of "popularity rankings," I was talking with a friend and he pointed out that a bunch of manga magazines have NO popularity rankings whatsoever, and that Weekly Jump is the only magazine with some a strict one.
And also, it's not like HXH is unpopular. It's immensely popular, on the same level as the "big three". Otherwise, Togashi would not be able to get away with so many vacations (in addition to him being a "legend"). So it's not like HXH is only sticking around because Togashi plays racqetball with Torishima
It's also Togashi's level as a "legend" that makes me really doubtful that Oda would slight him specifically like that. He's someone who seems to be immensely respectful to his peers and to the artists who preceded him in the magazine. He's also apparently really friendly to most of his Jump colleagues (but what you posted about him and Kubo Tite is really interesting. I never knew that) from his weekly comments in the magazine. So I doubt he'd attack any of them in public like that
(especially since, from my understanding, the politics at Jump are really sensitive and he could get a lot of hell from the editors for saying something like that)
These are just my impressions. You have a much better perspective on the culture and the situation, so I could be very wrong. I just wanted to point these things out, to see if I'm on the right track or not