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Flipped! Original Archives: Going International
posted December 11, 2007
 



By David P. Welsh

The submission deadline for the second round of Kodansha's Morning International Manga Competition is fast approaching. Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2007, so budding manga-ka are probably putting the finishing touches on their manuscripts at this point.

Eijiro Shimada, deputy editor-in-chief of Kodansha's Morning magazine and editor-in-chief of Morning 2, is chief judge of the competition and was kind enough to answer some questions via e-mail. (And freelance publishing agent Yukari Shiina was kind enough to provide translation services for both of us... and to send me a complimentary copy of the issue of Morning 2 featuring the winner of the first round, Kage no Matsuri, by Bikkuri and Rem.)

DAVID WELSH: Why did Kodansha decide to sponsor this contest?

EIJIRO SHIMADA: This contest is part of events celebrating the 25th anniversary of a manga magazine Morning.

While the Japanese media often says that manga has become a major entertainment worldwide, I don't think so at all. Even if one manga sells over 200,000 to 300,000 copies per volume [outside of Japan], it's not such a big deal. In Japan, when we say that a certain manga is a big hit, it means that the manga sells over one million copies per volume. In Japan with the population of 100 million, when manga sells over one million copies, it becomes a social phenomenon. That is to say, when that happens, most of the Japanese people, regardless of age or sex, know the name and the story of the manga, even if they actually don't read it.

I don't think that manga has this power outside Japan. I believe that manga should have this big potential as an entertainment. In Japan, I sometimes feel that those who are engaged in producing manga and who are interested in manga overseas belittle the potential of manga without realizing it. I believe that the people who produce manga have to aim to create manga that sell like Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code.

In order for manga to demonstrate its true potential, it's necessary that manga becomes a global culture in a true sense. To many people, Japan seems to be an advanced country when it comes to manga. When one country develops a new culture, that country seems to be at the forefront. The culture, however, would never become a global culture as long as the country stays at the top. When another country takes over the lead, the culture can be said to be global.

I think football [or soccer, as it's known in the United States and elsewhere] is a good example. England is the country that starts football, but they are not necessarily at the top of the football world now. Through this competition, I'd like to contribute to manga developing in many other countries, and I hope those countries will eventually threaten the position of Japan in the global manga culture.

WELSH: How closely have you followed the evolution of manga in places outside of Japan?

SHIMADA: In Japan, the manga sections in major bookstores have a wide variety of manga from overseas.

WELSH: Could you give me some figures on the submissions to the first year of the contest? How many did you receive, and how many countries were represented?

SHIMADA: We received almost 300 submissions from about 30 countries.

WELSH: Could you tell me about the demographic breakdown of the contestants in the first round? What the percentages were of men and women, and if there was any predominant age group that took part?

SHIMADA: I don't get the exact number of the age and gender demographic of the contestants, but my impression is the male to female ratio is 1:1. Those in their mid-20s to their late 20s constitute the biggest age group. Although those in their early teens make up the second biggest age group, their works tend to have a lot of things to be improved. Manga contests for Japanese artists also have many such submissions by artists in their early teens, and they are likely to become professional in three to five years. We welcome the submissions from the artists who have confidence in their works, but we also welcome artists who regard themselves as just novices and not as good as professional artists. I want them to keep sending their works to our competition. I really want to give my review to every single submission as I usually do for "Manga Open." ("Manga Open" is one of the biggest manga contests for Japanese artists.) I'm sorry that I can't.

WELSH: Did any particular style or genre of story dominate the submissions? For instance, were there more romance stories than fantasy or action tales, or dramas instead of comedies?

SHIMADA: We have a lot of submissions that are strongly influenced by popular Japanese manga outside Japan, such as manga on ninja, actions, bishoujo, and so on. There were many works on romance as well. We welcome any manga including works on ninja, bishoujo, romance and even superheroes. Although the manga magazine Morning that holds this competition is considered to be for seinen (adult male), it's not necessarily true. Please don't think that submissions have to be targeted at the readership for Morning. Please submit your works that you really want to do now.

WELSH: What's been the reaction among readers to the winner of the first round?

SHIMADA: Generally speaking, it is favorable. Some people said that it's too "Japanese," but most readers seem not to be critical about the work, and to find it really interesting. We think it's important to listen to the opinions of readers with critical eyes, but the overwhelming majority of manga readers in Japan are those who don't read manga critically, and accept any manga as long as it's interesting. I assume that it's part of the characteristics of the Japanese manga market.

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By the way, Morning has been the launch pad of a number of really excellent series, including Gon, Planetes, and Vagabond. For more on the magazine, check in with MangaCast's Ed Chavez for his Morning Report columns.

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(Originally published Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007, at Comic World News.)