- Interview Location: Anime Expo 2026
- Interview Format:In-person, One-on-One
Anime Herald: What was the original idea for the story ofEleceed?
Jeho Son: I was thinking about what it would look like if a strong person turned into a fat street cat. That developed into a skilled protagonist who doesn’t know he has these awakened powers. Then, he meets a person who has to hide their awakened powers. The concept is what happens when these people meet.
Anime Herald: How competitive do you view the Webtoon platform given how many strong series there are on Webtoon?
Jeho Son: I wasn’t thinking about the success rate of Eleceed. I was confident it would bring joy and entertainment to people. ZHENA is a very popular illustrator in Korea, and I’m also very confident in my ability as a creator. With my story paired with ZHENA’s drawings, I was sure people would enjoy it. When I was pitching the concept to other people they liked it, so I had no doubt it would bring joy.
Anime Herald: Where did you get the idea to have one of the characters turn into a cat?
Jeho Son: There isn’t a particular reason. I’ve told other people I wanted to use a domestic pet as a street pet. Also, ZHENA is very good at expressive animals. She’s had cats for many years herself.
Anime Herald: What are your respective origin stories? How did you enter the entertainment field?
ZHENA: When I was young, there was no such thing as webcomics. I thought I would eventually work with a publisher for my comics. One day, I saw a Korean website called Naver. They had a banner “Naver Webtoon.” There were about ten series when I saw it, with 2,000 comics. Normally, when I write comics, I can’t tell who is reading my work. On the webcomic, you can see how they like it and how they are reacting to it. That made my heart beat and want to communicate with the readers. At the time, they had a challenge section for new comics. That’s how I got started.
Anime Herald: What is your artistic training? Did you study art in university, or are you self taught?
ZHENA: I read a book that taught me how to use a pen and find the right tones. I am self taught from that.
Jeho Son: When I was eight or nine, my dream was to be a creator. I thought about something I could do by myself. Writing books or drawing were ways to do that. Rather than drawing, I wanted to be a storyteller. I found webnovels, so that is how I debuted. After about four years of writing webnovels, I found Webtoon. Once I saw that I wanted to challenge myself to write a webcomic. Like ZHENA said, traditional publishers were the typical route. But for that, you need producers and funds. For Webtoon, no matter your skill level, you can do it yourself. The readers will choose, not the producers, and give you feedback. I really like that part about doing webcomics. Anyone can do it freely. That’s how I started.
Anime Herald: Did you receive any feedback that you took to heart and used for your future writing?
Jeho Son: The first thing people said was that it is too slow. They wanted it to develop faster. That’s something I took to heart. For webcomics, unlike traditional comics, you need speed.
Every week, I need to do eighty panels. I think speed is important. I didn’t change the storyline, but I did change the pacing.
Anime Herald: What would you like our readers to know aboutEleceed?
Jeho Son: Cool action is very important, but there’s more to it than that. I want people to follow the character development of the two protagonists. They have awakened powers. How they warm to each other. They are very powerful, with awakened skills. They are not normal people. I think how their love develops and how they mend their pain is important.
Anime Herald: I have a technical question. Is there a reason why Webtoons are generally full color, while manga is black & white?
ZHENA: I’ll explain. With comic books, people tend to read the text first and then look at the pictures. With Webtoon, people are viewing it on their phones. With phones as the medium, you see the drawing first. You want to heighten the optic senses, so color is important. Nowadays, some add music as well. For books, it is a different medium, so text comes first, and then the picture in black & white.
Anime Herald: Thank you, that was an excellent answer.
Do you have any questions for us?
ZHENA: I hadn’t thought about asking a question.Thank you for doing this interview with us. It’s hard for us to grasp how big Eleceed is overseas.
Jeho Son: I just want to say thank you. There are so many works out there. I am honored you took the time to talk with us.
Anime Herald: I have a confession. I, too, am partial to fat cats.
Jeho Son: We have a character like that.
ZHENA: My cat is also quite fat now. I take a picture of my cat and then I draw it.
Anime Herald: Thank you very much.
