The
manga invasion of the U.S. comics scene has become a rout, as the 21st
century has begun with tankobon-style compilations flooding comics
specialty stores and mainstream book stores. Manga importers such as
Viz and TokyoPop have scored sales successes, and their Japanese
product has changed the comics market, all but ending the era of the
monthly pamphlet. However, what seems revolutionary and successful to
Americans appears to be a declining art to a Japanese artist and
critic. When Tetsunoke Inaba spoke on the second day of Katsucon, he
said that manga isn't as good now as it used to be, and he was
concerned that sales were declining because of what he called a drop in
quality.
Stories
and art have driven the worldwide popularity of manga, but Inaba said
the art is better than the stories. "The new manga artists are
interested in refining their art rather than improving their
storytelling," he said. So what's the main storytelling weakness among
manga artists? "They can't really convey to their readers what they are
drawing about. The shortcoming of Japanese manga artists is exactly the
shortcoming that other manga artists in Asia are facing - they don't
understand the basics of manga. They start with imitating manga, but
when it comes to the deeper elements of storytelling, it's something
they can't imitate. It's a medium of self-expression, and you can't do
that by imitating."
Inaba
sees a growing problem in what he describes as the shrinking number of
young manga artists who are becoming major commercial successes in
Japan. The top manga artists continue to have lucrative jobs, but Inaba
said fewer debut artists are joining those ranks. He looked at one of
the major manga periodicals, Shonen Sunday, and saw that only a a few artists - out of hundreds who apply -
have joined the ranks of creators who regularly produce stories for
that book in the last couple of years. That might seem to be nothing
unusual or unique for American artists who say it's tough to break in
with the U.S. major companies such as DC or Marvel, but Inaba said a
lack of young top-level manga talent in Japan shows that young artists
aren't being developed by manga publishers. He feels that manga editors
are poor at developing new artists, and that those younger artists are
more interested in art rather than making popular stories.
The
manga invasion of the U.S. comics scene has become a rout, as the 21st
century has begun with tankobon-style compilations flooding comics
specialty stores and mainstream book stores. Manga importers such as
Viz and TokyoPop have scored sales successes, and their Japanese
product has changed the comics market, all but ending the era of the
monthly pamphlet. However, what seems revolutionary and successful to
Americans appears to be a declining art to a Japanese artist and
critic. When Tetsunoke Inaba spoke on the second day of Katsucon, he
said that manga isn't as good now as it used to be, and he was
concerned that sales were declining because of what he called a drop in
quality.
Stories
and art have driven the worldwide popularity of manga, but Inaba said
the art is better than the stories. "The new manga artists are
interested in refining their art rather than improving their
storytelling," he said. So what's the main storytelling weakness among
manga artists? "They can't really convey to their readers what they are
drawing about. The shortcoming of Japanese manga artists is exactly the
shortcoming that other manga artists in Asia are facing - they don't
understand the basics of manga. They start with imitating manga, but
when it comes to the deeper elements of storytelling, it's something
they can't imitate. It's a medium of self-expression, and you can't do
that by imitating."
Inaba
sees a growing problem in what he describes as the shrinking number of
young manga artists who are becoming major commercial successes in
Japan. The top manga artists continue to have lucrative jobs, but Inaba
said fewer debut artists are joining those ranks. He looked at one of
the major manga periodicals, Shonen Sunday, and saw that only a a few artists - out of hundreds who apply -
have joined the ranks of creators who regularly produce stories for
that book in the last couple of years. That might seem to be nothing
unusual or unique for American artists who say it's tough to break in
with the U.S. major companies such as DC or Marvel, but Inaba said a
lack of young top-level manga talent in Japan shows that young artists
aren't being developed by manga publishers. He feels that manga editors
are poor at developing new artists, and that those younger artists are
more interested in art rather than making popular stories.
