First off, please introduce yourself.
Oki Matsu: Hi, I’m Oki Matsu. I draw manga. I'm originally from Hiroshima. Nice to meet you!

The Late-Night Lounge: The Perfect Spot for a Change of Pace
Eileen: Do you use the lounge pretty often?
Oki Matsu: Yeah, I do. Though in my case, it's usually in the middle of the night (laughs). My sleep schedule is pretty flipped, so I often sneak down here by myself around 2 AM or 3 AM.
Eileen: What kind of image did you have of share houses before moving in?
Oki Matsu: Before coming here, I was actually living in another share house with about 50 people, so I didn't have any negative biases at all. Plus, a friend of mine told me about "Social Residence Fussa," so I was mostly just super excited to move in. And hey, I don't mind chatting with people!

Eileen: You mentioned your previous place had around 50 people, but this place has well over 100 residents, making it a massive property. Did you feel a big gap between the two?
Oki Matsu: Oh yeah, I definitely felt a difference. In my last share house, literally everyone was an aspiring manga artist. It was a space where everyone shared the exact same goal.
But here, it’s the complete opposite. People have all kinds of different hobbies, jobs, goals, and ages. I get to chat with people I’d honestly never cross paths with in my regular life. It’s a totally fresh and fun experience for me.

Drawing All Day Long Makes the Large Communal Bath Heaven
Eileen: What’s your absolute favorite part about Social Residence Fussa?
Oki Matsu: Put simply, just living in a huge house gets me hyped! Also, the communal bath is amazing.
Because of my job, I’m glued to my chair drawing for over 10 hours a day. Soaking in that huge tub at the end of the day feels absolutely heavenly. It’s easily the best perk of living in this building.

Eileen: Is there a big difference between "living with other manga creators" and "living in this current environment"?
Oki Matsu: It gives my life a great sense of work-life balance. Before, everyone I saw was a manga artist, so we all shared the same struggles and could help each other out. On the flip side, though, I could never really turn off my "work brain."
But here in Fussa, I can completely forget about manga for a bit and just enjoy normal conversations.

Eileen: Ah, I see. So it feels like you can finally "step back into the real world"?
Oki Matsu: Exactly (laughs). The current environment does a much better job of letting me refresh and clear my head.

What Inspired Him to Become a Manga Artist and His Current Work
Eileen: By the way, how old were you when you first started drawing manga?
Oki Matsu: Hmm, my earliest memory is probably from when I was in the 5th grade. I remember showing a manga I drew to a girl I liked, and she totally rejected me (laughs).

Eileen: Oh no! (laughs). So, what was it that made you seriously want to become a manga artist?
Oki Matsu: I think that was also back in elementary school. My mom happened to get copies of volumes 2 and 4 of ONE PIECE—I think they were hand-me-downs or prizes from something. I read those two volumes over and over again, and that’s when I realized, "Wow, manga is so cool."
Later, I read a comment by the author, Eiichiro Oda-sensei, saying he had decided to make a living through manga ever since he was a kid. That made me realize, "Oh, so you can actually do this as a profession. I want to try drawing, too." That was the real trigger.

Eileen: That’s wonderful! Drawing is so tough since your fingers don't always move the way you want them to, so it’s amazing that you can bring so many different worlds to life.
Oki Matsu: Oh, trust me, I struggle with those technical hurdles every single day.

Eileen: Could you tell us about the genre and theme of your current work?
Oki Matsu: It’s in the genre known as "Isekai Tensei" (reincarnation into another world). There’s an original light novel, and I work on the manga adaptation as the illustrator. Actually, the serialization just kicked off last month (around January 2026). I’m in charge of Chapter 5, and a new chapter will be published every month.
Eileen: Oh wow! I am absolutely going to check that out!

Feeling the Impact of the Manga Event: A Unique Share House Experience
Eileen: The other day (on the 7th), you hosted a manga event right here in the house! I thought it was such a wonderful project. What inspired you to do it?
Oki Matsu: First off, I just genuinely love drawing. On top of that, it’s been about 6 years since I moved to Tokyo, and during this time, I’ve always made an effort to participate in events where I could get a chance to draw. Interacting with people through events is just so much fun, and honestly, nothing but good things come out of it.
When I heard there was an opportunity to draw on the walls of the house this time, I raised my hand without a second thought, like, "I want to do it!"

Eileen: Thank you so much for stepping up! Now that the event is done, what was the most fun part or the most memorable moment for you?
Oki Matsu: The best part was definitely getting real-time reactions. Since I was drawing directly on the wall, residents walking down the hallway would stop and strike up conversations, asking things like, "What are you drawing right now?" or "What’s the concept behind this?"
Normally, when I’m drawing alone in my room, I obviously don't talk to anyone. But through this event, I had these new realizations like, "Ah, so this is how other people see my art," or "Wow, they’re interested in this specific part." It was truly a priceless experience that you could only get in a share house.

Wait, There Are Actually 9 Manga Artists Living Here?! Why He Recommends Massive Properties
Eileen: There are actually other manga artists living in this house right now, too, aren't there?
Oki Matsu: That's right. Counting myself, there are about 9 of us living here at the moment.

Eileen: What?! Wow, did everyone move here from the same previous share house just like you did?
Oki Matsu: Yeah, we actually did a massive group migration (laughs).

Eileen: In that case, you absolutely should have used the "Affiliate Registration (Referral Program)"! If you refer friends and they move into an Oakhouse property, the person who made the referral gets PAO (Oakhouse points)!
Oki Matsu: Wait, really?! I am definitely doing that from now on (laughs). For this move, our lease at the previous house was ending right around the time we heard a rumor that "there's a crazy good share house in Fussa." So we were all like, "Well, let's just all move over there together," and made the transition.

Eileen: Please make sure to use the referral system next time! (It'll save you some living expenses!).
If you were to recommend Social Residence Fussa or Oakhouse to other manga artists and creators, what kind of perks would you want to highlight?
Oki Matsu: There are tons of smaller perks. As a baseline, it's just super easy to live here because it's close to the station and easy to get daily necessities nearby...
For example, a manga artist friend of mine hits the on-site gym hard for strength training. Manga artists inevitably end up lacking exercise, so having a fully equipped gym right inside the building that you can use anytime is the absolute best for your health. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, the communal bath is amazing for physical refreshing.
On top of that, having daily conversations with people of all different nationalities and careers gives you a fresh sense of inspiration and excitement that you just can't get in an all-Japanese community. I highly, highly recommend this property to aspiring creators who are interested in global exchange.
Also, if I can talk about something a bit more practical... (laughs). Since there's such a massive number of residents here, you can just share your work in the house's group LINE chat like, "Hey, I drew this, check it out if you'd like!" and instantly get eyes on it from a huge crowd of people. That is a massive advantage unique to a large-scale share house.
Especially getting real reactions from general readers who don't draw manga is so important. Realizing, "Ah, so this is how the general public sees it," is a huge help when it comes to creating my artwork.

What "A Place to Live" Means to a Generation Born in the 2000s
Eileen: As a digital native born in the 2000s, what kind of meaning do you think "a place to live" will hold moving forward?
Oki Matsu: In this day and age, as long as you have the internet, you can connect with anyone no matter where you are in Japan—or the world, for that matter. My hometown is in Hiroshima, and honestly, you can draw manga anywhere now as long as you have a computer. Everything with my editor and manga artist friends can be wrapped up online. Because of that, there was a time when I thought, "Worst-case scenario, I could just go back to my parents' house in Hiroshima."
But after living in a share house for the past year or so, I really felt the absolute joy that you can only get by meeting people face-to-face, as well as the warmth of real, in-person communication when you're struggling.
Precisely because we live in an era where you can talk to anyone with just a smartphone, I feel like the actual meaning of making an effort to meet in person, and the special value of sharing the same space and being close to one another, will become more important than ever.

Eileen: That’s so profound...! Alright, to wrap things up, if you had to describe Social Residence Fussa in just "one word," what would it be?
Oki Matsu: "En"—Fate, or human connection.
Because this is a place where such a diverse group of people live, unexpected relationships and unforeseen connections are born.
Freelance artists like us aren't company employees, so we have to grab work through our own feet and proactive actions. When I drew the mural in the hallway this time, the manager, Mr. Yasuda, told me, "If the owner likes this mural, it might lead to a brand-new job offer down the road."
I get so excited every single day feeling my world expand through those kinds of unexpected connections.