Makoto Tateno Interview - Publisher's Weekly

I just came across this interview with Makoto Tateno from a couple months ago.

These questions in particular made me think of Backlight:

PWCW: Now that you are a creator, why do you prefer BL?

MT: I don’t feel I am trying to work primarily in the BL genre. I like BL and shoujo equally and I try to continue creating titles in each genre.

PWCW: Which comes first for you, the story or the characters?
MT: Generally speaking, the story comes out first and then I make the characters to fit the story, but occasionally I begin a title with the creation of the characters, and in my experience so far I have found that when the character comes out first, the series tends to go on longer.

Check out the interview for more interesting info from Tateno-sensei!