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.
this show’s dedicated to all the weebs that have their birth year start with “19” bc the youth need to understand that anime was far from being socially acceptable back then and the only people that were open about liking anime were people like this back in the 2000s/early 2010s
Aight im currently in Silver Springs, MD. If there’s anybody in the area that wants to ride with me in the Civic while we listen to the album let me know. I got new speakers for this. Please be in the vacinity of silver springs, ima come pick you up with ib, then we can go scoop 1 more person, then we press play.
First 2 people I pick up will listen to disc 29 with us. Next 2 people will listen to disc 39. Don’t send your address until I reply to you and follow you, then you can DM. Lemme know
There have been small, meaningful projects resurfacing. Real people emailing me about things I believed forgotten. It’s reassuring to know the care I put into my effort still reaches people.
As an artist, that’s all I hope for. As a person, that’s all I want.
so funny to see history repeat itself. men who wear slim fit and stretch denim—both of which were once considered strictly for women—criticizing kendrick for wearing flares bc they were on the women's aisle. in ten years, you'll be in flares clutching pearls about something else
Would you spend $40 on a meal? A workout class? To chat with a stranger about their life experience for half an hour?
The last is the business model behind Fello, a new app that pays people to tell their life stories to others going through the same stuff https://t.co/jemc6uP0pZ
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade marched into its second century on Thursday despite a brief disruption from pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Here's what to know about the protests and arrests
https://t.co/j0l08ilOvG