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House of 1000 Manga - Poverty, Princesses and Zombies




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lebrel



Joined: 16 Oct 2009
Posts: 374
PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 11:43 am Reply with quote
Fun topic for the column. It's always interesting to see the manga industry from the inside; there doesn't seem to be that many people willing to tell all about the industry as there are in the various branches of American media.

Quote:
To the extent that I'm writing about it now, on this site, it's successful, but readers seeking insights into the day-to-day life of a mangaka (rather than manga industry sales figures and business expenses) might find more to enjoy in Sato's English-language blog.


This link goes to apple.com, for some reason.
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 2:53 pm Reply with quote
lebrel wrote:
Quote:
To the extent that I'm writing about it now, on this site, it's successful, but readers seeking insights into the day-to-day life of a mangaka (rather than manga industry sales figures and business expenses) might find more to enjoy in Sato's English-language blog.


This link goes to apple.com, for some reason.


Wh-wh-WHAAAAAT? O_o Wink

My mistake! Here's the correct link:

http://shuhosato.mangareborn.jp/blog/
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noblesse oblige



Joined: 22 Dec 2012
Posts: 277
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 2:55 pm Reply with quote
Nice writeup on these three inherently different perspectives of the manga industry. I'm so glad you shined a spotlight on Manga Zombie, which is such a great online resource for people interested in the genesis of pulp comics in Japan. Manga Zombie is an incredible look into manga's past, going in depth on the careers of famous alternative artists like Takeuchi Kanko and George Akiyama. You can tell that Takeo and Sato are both motivated by the desire to bring recognition to talented artists who they feel were over-looked and taken advantage by the ever evolving manga machine.

Sato's "Manga Reborn" truly is a marvel of will-power and a strong sense of justice. Anyone can complain about the state of manga, but like the Garo artists of the 1960's, Sato actually went out and created his idea of an alternative. His manga is actually really good too. "Say Hello to Black Jack" is about a young doctor dealing with a corrupt medical industry, but I think there are a lot parallels to be drawn from Sato's frustration with the manga industry that he chronicles on his blog and in "Manga Poverty". Both are stories essentially about those who are higher-up selfishly wielding their influence over those at the bottom. It's a good read and anyone can read it for free over at Manga Reborn.
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justsomeaccount



Joined: 24 Oct 2014
Posts: 471
PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 3:16 pm Reply with quote
In this case I haven't read any of the three works, but I know Syuho Sato and he is an interesting author. Few authors are this critical and loud about the manga industry and condemning it without mercy, sometimes going to such extremes that you don't know what to think of it or trust him too much (I don't get either why he needs 5 asistants for his work, sometimes the overabundance of lines goes in detriment of the drawing result of his works imo. Anyway~~), but it's a point of view that is usually missing. Sort of like "Say Hello to Black Jack", well intended and has good points of view (the last arc of the first series about the impact of public perception on mental illness is fascinating), but geez can it be melodramatic and extreme.
He even made a manga called Bokuman because he was so disappointed with Bakuman that he wanted to do his own depressing pesimistic version! But he left after chapter 2 (probably discussions with his drawer and editors) and the series ended with three chapters.

Quote:
it's especially fascinating if, like me, you believe that the most interesting thing in a work of art is the way it reflects the psychology of the author.

LOL, then I cannot wait until you review Shintaro Kago's works. I don't know if they are licensed in USA, but you mind is going to blow with this, let's say, 'particular' author (trigger warning: ero-guro and some of the most disgusting things you will ever see drawn on paper).
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 3:19 pm Reply with quote
justsomeaccount wrote:
Quote:
it's especially fascinating if, like me, you believe that the most interesting thing in a work of art is the way it reflects the psychology of the author.

LOL, then I cannot wait until you review Shintaro Kago's works. I don't know if they are licensed in USA, but you mind is going to blow with this, let's say, 'particular' author (trigger warning: ero-guro and some of the most disgusting things you will ever see drawn on paper).


Awww man, I don't know if I *dare* write about Shintaro Kago! Seriously, I quite like his stuff, but his most characteristic works (not counting "wimpy PG-13 Kago" like the stuff he did for ComicLoud) are so horror-porn I don't know if I wanna discuss it in this column. >_> I'm not like I was in my 20s when I was too disgusted to even read his stuff, but it's like "Where do I begin...." -_-

(Now, Beauty Labyrinth of Razors... THERE'S something I'm STILL too scared to read...) Wink
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 3:20 pm Reply with quote
justsomeaccount wrote:

LOL, then I cannot wait until you review Shintaro Kago's works. I don't know if they are licensed in USA, but you mind is going to blow with this, let's say, 'particular' author (trigger warning: ero-guro and some of the most disgusting things you will ever see drawn on paper).


FWIW, a tiny bit of Kago has been licensed in the USA in the old Viz book "Secret Comics Japan" (and of course ComicLoud, and maybe there's other stuff I'm forgetting)... also, I have an amazing Greek edition of one of his books!!! (I don't know about other countries Wink )
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fuuma_monou



Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 1816
Location: Quezon City, Philippines
PostPosted: Fri May 08, 2015 2:53 am Reply with quote
For some reason Mike Toole is credited with writing this week's installment.
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4410
PostPosted: Fri May 08, 2015 10:52 am Reply with quote
I can empathize with Lano's situation since my job has me frequently waiting for others to act while there are deadlines pending. I don't necessarily mind putting in crunch time, but I hate not knowing if it will happen.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Fri May 08, 2015 11:51 am Reply with quote
Maybe I'm weird, but I think Sato's book sounds AWESOME. I would LOVE to read about the "nitty gritty" numbers of trying to be a successful mangaka. I get that lots of people can have their eyes glaze over thinking about math, but really I'd appreciate something that goes into those specifics, since often THAT piece of the details is what people are "afraid" to discuss and is usually the one point everyone has to speculate or imagine about.
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Wandering Samurai



Joined: 30 Mar 2014
Posts: 875
Location: USA
PostPosted: Fri May 08, 2015 3:22 pm Reply with quote
These are some pretty interesting views, I may try to pick up Lano's Princess of Tennis. I would love to read the aspect from a non-Japanese view, since we've been seeing more and more of these it seems.
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