isaac (SCREWBALL OUT NOW!!!!)

When we look at people around the world who dream of building a manga industry, their goal is often Weekly Shōnen Jump. As someone who is part of Shōnen Jump, I am very grateful for that. However, if your goal is Shōnen Jump itself, you cannot build a strong and vibrant manga industry. That is because Shōnen Jump is not the cause of a manga industry—it is the result of one. The true strength of manga does not lie in a few massive hit titles, but in its diversity and richness. Only by understanding this can a country build a manga industry and a true ecosystem—and use it to powerfully develop its cultural sector. The comics industry, including manga, can produce about 2,000 serialized titles per $100 million in advanced markets. In developing countries, it can produce up to 5,000 serialized titles per $100 million. If a market reaches $1 billion, it can generate around 50,000 new IPs every year—an astonishing number. But for this to be truly meaningful, MANGA(漫画) must be diverse. If all the works being produced resemble those from Shōnen Jump—in art style, characters, themes, storytelling, or ideas—then what is the value of producing 10,000 or even 50,000 such works every year? That would be nothing less than a disaster. Well, Films can afford to be somewhat similar to each other. This is because fewer films are produced, their budgets are high, and the risks are significant. In fact, films tend to be more similar to each other than manga. Unlike manga, films do not have characters ranging from two-head-tall figures to fifteen-head-tall figures, right? From a mangaka’s perspective, films often appear quite similar—the outlines of subjects are alike, and the frames are standardized, such as 16:9 or 2.35:1. When I talk about the manga industry with others, there is one manga I always show and mention. It is a manga work I deeply love—a manga about raising cows. The mangaka is someone who actually raises and loves cows. More than any manga I have drawn, this work is a living example of the true power and potential of manga. Manga allows for endless possibilities: a story about cows, created by someone who raises them; a simple yet refined rural food story, told by someone who has lived in the countryside; the story of a poor robot living alone in human society; narratives about great philosophers, religious figures, or social activists; and even works drawn from personal experiences with illness, such as kidney stones. That is why mangakas serve as IP creators. A rural food manga was later adapted into a remarkably well-crafted and emotionally rich film. Such a challenge is only possible because there exists a powerful original manga that resonates with many people. And it is precisely this diversity—in style, subject matter, thought, and life experience— along with the countless acts of pure human creativity, that ultimately give rise to Shōnen Jump and its hit titles. Shōnen Jump is the result. If you truly want manga to exist in your country, don’t aim for Shōnen Jump—aim for diversity in manga.

I would love for a Western manga/vertical comic publisher or a Japanese publisher who has interest in making big moves for manga in the west to adopt this mindset. The publishers who are at the top of the game outside of japan have such a low barrier of entry in terms of comic quality as well as general ability to work as hard as you need to in order to produce a weekly series. I have experienced this personally. With the biggest Japanese publisher, it will take countless tries and countless rejections to be accepted and serialize and even when you are, the standard for keeping your series afloat is so high. It sucks and it makes it really difficult to achieve your dream but it does so for the purpose of preserving the quality of the series. It makes shonen jump a reliable source for amazing series time and time again. Scrolling comics have such a bad reputation. Mainstream manga readers disrespect webtoons and Western manga so often because there are so few that manage to break the mold and excite people. Countries outside of japan who are trying to produce lots of weekly series know how to make money and they know how to advertise but I need one of them to take the risk and try to move in the direction of making comics that people truly love. I love what France is doing and I'd like to see more of that in the English speaking world, it would make a huge difference.

just finished soul society arc 📖