Japanese Manga Authors Opine on Direction of Manga in Japan

Japanese manga authors Bow Ditama and Tamiki Wakaki have opined on the state of manga in Japan and the future direction of the medium.

Wakaki, an author affiliated with Shonen Sunday has expressed concern over the perceived decline of the industry in its current form thanks to the uniformity of the anthologies, the rigorous treatment of new artists leading to high turnover and the rigid reliance on erotic/parody/bishonen/bishoujo manga stories to drive manga sales instead of nurturing new artists and encouraging experimentation, citing Japan’s low birth rate as a wake up call to publishers to change their ways.

Author Bow Ditama is conversely more optimistic about the situation, citing subculture magazines, ‘deep’ manga magazines and work as an assistant to a professional as a means for aspiring authors to eke out a living if they are uninterested in drawing stories in the four staple tropes.

Ditama also mentions the increasing popularity of online assistants or assisstants who work remotely and submit manuscripts to their master electronically, rather than being physically present in the traditional manner as another way to break into the field.