Hanasaka Tenshi Tenten-kun creator Kazumata Oguri, whose gag manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1997 to 2000, revealed how much he earned following the impact of his series’ 1998-1999 anime adaptation. Shinpei Miyashita directed the anime series at Nippon Animation.
Oguri said that around the time the anime adaptation was decided, his editor at Shonen Jump advised him to move to a larger house to take advantage of tax benefits. He revealed that in his best year, his income was just under 100 million yen annually. While Oguri doesn’t specify the year, assuming 1999’s average exchange rate of 1 USD:113 yen (via Macrotrends), that comes out to around $880,000.
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Nevertheless, Oguri says this stemmed mostly from manga sales royalties following its boom in circulation rather than the anime itself. Disappointingly, he says the royalties from the broadcasting rights fees (which he had been looking forward to) were something “like the price of one new domestic car” if it were to air for an entire year. (The series was 43 episodes.) He adds that he only received a small percentage from merchandise royalties, like those from clothes, towels, and plush toys. “The reality is that unless the product becomes a massive hit, it won’t bring in much income.“
Manga circulation data for Hanasaka Tenshi Tenten-kun isn’t readily available, but $880,000 for his series raises interesting questions for titles whose circulations are known (and huge — e.g., One Piece, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball). On a related note, Dr. STONE creator Boichi revealed in April that royalties are typically 10% for print and 15% for digital, in addition to page rates.
Shueisha announced in 2024 that its minimum page rates for Weekly Shonen Jump were 20,900 yen for one black-and-white page and 31,350 yen for a color page.
This was Part 14 from Oguri’s blog, so feel free to check it out. He also discusses his reaction to the anime, the story’s development, and his experience being a descendant of the famous samurai and statesman Tadamasa Oguri, who will be the focus of the 2027 taiga drama Gyakuzoku no Bakushin.
Source: Kazumata Oguri’s note blog
© Kazumata Oguri/Shueisha © Kazumata Oguri/Shueisha, Nippon Animation
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