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Black Clover Spinoff Artist: 'Most Manga Artists Don't Realize What Their Work Means to Others'
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Setta Kobayashi, the artist of the Black Clover gag manga spinoff Asta-kun Mahōtei e no Michi (Asta's Journey to Wizard King), posted a message on his Twitter account on Tuesday reflecting on the lack of feedback manga artists often receive on their week.
He said that he recently went to a concert, and realized that unlike live performers, many manga artists live a lonely and reclusive lifestyle. "For some people, their only human contact per month is their editor, so it's hard for them to get a sense that they're working as part of a team. They live alone in a tiny apartment, hardly eating or sleeping. Quite a few artists can't sleep because of anxiety about the future and cry as they work." He noted: "Most manga artists don't realize what their good points are, or what their work means to others."
Kobayashi urged fans to express their appreciation for manga artists however they can. "Artists jump for joy when fans send them letters or reply to them with praise!" He added, "The best way to show support is through buying the comics, but if you can't do that, it's fine to just retweet an artist's posts or recommend them to your friends. If you do that, someone may end up buying their work."
Kobayashi began serializing the Asta-kun Mahōtei e no Michi manga in Shueisha's Saikyō Jump magazine in February last year. Yūki Tabata first launched the Black Clover manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2015, which inspired a television anime in October 2017.
