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Manga Answerman - Why Do So Many Manga Artists Avoid Being Photographed?

I don't now about anyone else but I am not sure I would even want to publish under my own name. What if you hit it big with a super work and then any time you try to publish a work afterwords it is constantly compared to it.

Another problem with having your real name and face published is then everything you say and do is being but under the microscope and even the most innocuous comment you have is being scrutinized for possible double meanings and triple meanings. I can imagine it being hard having to live that.

animalia555 wrote:

I don't now about anyone else but I am not sure I would even want to publish under my own name. What if you hit it big with a super work and then any time you try to publish a work afterwords it is constantly compared to it.

Then you have won. The real tragedy for mangaka is doing a new series that completely falls of the radar and no one talks about it anymore (and sometimes it gets canceled). There is a HUGE list of mangaka that have had their creation animated, sometimes they even get a movie but no one know the manga they did afterwards (i.e. no one knows the name of the manga Naoko Takeuchi or Akira Toriyama did after their world famous series without googling it).

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Another problem with having your real name and face published is then everything you say and do is being but under the microscope and even the most innocuous comment you have is being scrutinized for possible double meanings and triple meanings. I can imagine it being hard having to live that.

Forget hidden meanings, any opinion you publicly express down the line is a liability since the more famous you are, the higher the chances someone disagrees and will bring back said comment at the most damaging moment.

I imagine it's just a narcissism thing. Most Japanese creators are pretty humble and consider themselves normal people. Meanwhile you got American comic book writers who sell only like 5000 copies per issue yet act like they're the hottest thing in the industry and are the revolutionary voices of a generation and culture.

At one time, I complained about how awful the storytelling in majority of American comics and my illustration instructor pointed out that writer/artists are just putting out story on comic book format in hope get noticed by Hollywood and hope to start a career as bona fide screenwriter or as concept designer. I think getting noticed by Hollywood makes them to brag about how awesome they are even though the comic itself sold few thousand copies.

Your instructor is correct. That is pretty much Mark Miller's entire MO. Making a quick, cheap book and then rush to get a movie deal and focusing on that is a common tactic for comic writers.

Huh? If they demand people take their picture how would privacy laws apply in any way? Are you suggesting that appearing in public with your face exposed is consent to be photographed? It's not. The law in Japan agrees. The law elsewhere unfortunately doesn't.