Manga Doesn't Need to be Made in Japan, Says KADOKAWA Overseas Manga Department Chief

Publishing giant KADOKAWA outlined its global approach to manga creation and proliferation in an interview this month, following the conclusion of its overseas-oriented Wordless World Manga Contest in April. KADOKAWA’s head of the Global Comic Department and editor-in-chief of the new Overseas Manga Editorial Department, Noboru Segawa, states that there’s a lack of Japanese artists capable of drawing manga adaptations of original source material (often light novels).

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Rather than jump into the fierce competition for artists domestically, “we focused on discovering aspiring manga artists from overseas, a blue ocean at the moment,” Segawa adds.

This led to the Wordless World Manga Contest, which received 1,126 submissions from 104 countries. The eight winning works can be read on the contest website; the Silver Prize-winning work, Heartsteel, for example, was praised for the cuteness of its female characters, battle scenes, and the creator’s choice to opt for a sci-fi series, with sci-fi described as “complex not only in terms of art but also in terms of story structure” and a genre that Segawa says many domestic artists opt not to do in contests due to its complexity.

The creators of the eight winning works will work with editors to debut under a KADOKAWA label. This will be in Japan. Segawa says, “We will fully support their dream of making their debut as manga artists in Japan, using KADOKAWA’s editorial know-how. However, we believe that it doesn’t have to be Japan where their work takes off. With Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, creating manga targeted at Japanese readers will be commercially challenging, especially for works aimed at younger audiences.“

“However, in Southeast Asian countries, for example, many countries have a youth population that is over 50% young, making it possible to create works aimed at younger audiences. As a result, if we don’t limit ourselves to Japan, we have more options for genres and target audiences.“

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KADOKAWA has established bases overseas, including in Europe, North America, China, and Southeast Asia. Segawa added, “In the longer term, we are also preparing to set up local development and editorial departments at our overseas bases, which will enable us to create works. We hope to connect our overseas bases borderlessly and create a global editorial system that breaks down language barriers within the next few years.” The Overseas Manga Editorial Department that Segawa oversees is the first step toward this. He voiced his gratitude toward the entrants for their respect for Japanese manga, but again added his hope that they’ll also target global readers in the future.

“If a global hit is born from this, it will surely lead to even more positive development in global manga culture. We hope to deepen our communication with talented creators from all over the world so that the Overseas Manga Editorial Department and the global editorial system we are envisioning for the future can become the source of this,” Segawa concluded.

Source: Oricon
©Reki Kawahara / KADOKAWA / SAO-P Project

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