Top Mangaka: “Manga is in Decline”

Uhh so if your planning on becoming a mangaka in the future, is this a good thing or bad? He says new artists are rare and needed, but he also says only "pantsu manga" are gonna do well. Hrrmm.....so maybe it's good if you're planning on being a mangaka, bad if you're a fan....Q.Q
Well hopefully they're fine with Hanjin like me...

With every boom comes the fall.
Eventually this moe crap that the industry is going through will fall through, and eventually they'll start making other anime and manga again. But until then, we'll just have to wait it out.

I find this opinion shows Tamiki Wakaki's bias. Yes it's true "moe" is in and that if you aren't doing it you're not going to be very "successful" but it's not as bad as he makes it. Comments like this just get under my skin and it just hurts creativity, I think.

I also find the idea of "new artists (I assume he is talking about "good" ones)" not being found, to be they same thing anyone says when you are riding on your coat tails of how successful THEY WERE/ARE. There could be a bit of a lack in talent, BUT if you're not giving people a chance, and don't pay them enough to support themselves, and discourage change, yeah the talent isn't going to appear as obvious. Most people that want to make something of themselves, they will go independent by, working for a company to get better at drawing then LEAVE and make their own. I would guess that's how a lot of today's "successful" artists and producers did it back when they were considered "useless and un-talented"

Is moe going to go away? I think it's here to stay, it's becoming a "standard" in how you do anime, but it will decline and stop being the focus. Moe-ism will still be seen in a lot of anime, but it won't be as blatant as it is now nor the focus. This is it's time to shine before something new comes along and the anime market shifts, as it will regardless of what anyone thinks. That's what art does, it never stays the same. It's an interesting tug of war going on right now; stay tuned to see what happens next! Will they stay the same by standardizing anime or will it break out and change into something new? :3

Ok enough talking ... I'm done ... >_>

I guess HE CAN ALREADY SEE THE ENDING (of anime and manga)

Its only their fault, magazines are so desperate for the money they put pressure on the editors and the artists to keep doing their jobs and drag them on, make them longer.

Then we get shit like Bleach.

Novels are doing better as they don't support so much a system of constantly releasing shit and get more originality.

wut. I don't want no next Evangelion

i feel bad now, not only do i not buy these manga. i still read them for free. ;(

well good thing im going into this industry :D

"fresh blood" may be true, but the otakus need mangas!!!!!!! need moe characters!!!!!! T_T

I think everyone should read "Bakuman" (if you haven't already done so..."

这不 只有神知道的世界（神之境界） 么

Did he just seen the ending?

If only we can harness the power to create a story that's never been thought about before. Maybe just maybe we can see the light in the dark & hollow tunnel.

All genres have been played out.

Let's talk serious here people. Entertainment-wise. The Economy.

As I see, it goes something like this:

Much like what happened to the movies industry, anime and manga is going the same way.

We have an increasing number of titles coming out.

Lots of them will appeal to the greater crowd, as the idea is to profit from it.

But in the same way Hollywood is today, we will always have directors, mangakas and a public for stuff that is not mainstream.

If people are worrying with money not being given to non-mainstream projects, don't.

Because that's how things always worked.
People gets desperate because they don't see projects like Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion coming out every month, or at least with the same rhythm as light hearted comedies... but this was never a fact, and will never be.

You see, it's the same with good deep movies. When something becomes mainstream, what happens is that lots of companies goes after the easiest path.

In this case, could be appealing to moe, fanservice and ecchiness.
But this also won't kill other themes. In fact, it'll probably make investors interested in the whole thing, even if only slightly.

The problem is expectation. Since the market is growing, everyone keeps expecting that their favorite anime and manga genre also gets a boost, but it doesn't work that way.

We only have to remember how long it took, how much money was put into, and how the directors described the process of making classics such as Ghost in the Shell and Eva.

They are unique. It wasn't easy. They didn't have that much money. It was not a mainstream thing and never will be.

I myself like some moe and an occasional more deep and complex story. The thing is: we tend to label things according to expectations.

You see, we grow accostumed to quality, and then we tend to demand more and more.

Take for instance K-on. I have no doubt in my mind that if K-on was released some 5 to 10 years ago, it would be revolutionary and receive God-like status... much like Haruhi.

But only because we already have Haruhi and tons of other moe animes, by comparison some people label it as "just another moe anime" and let it go, frequently without even watching it.

Now, about serious themes, there were a few good ones (as there always was) in recent years.
Of course it won't get as much attention from the mainstream market, but they're there.

I just wish moe dies out soon. I've gotten over stuff that has all moe and no storyline, or in fact use moe to cover up the lack of storyline.

The fresh blood have no interest in the manga magazines because they walready know what kind of series they show.
For example, WSJ: generic shonens like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, etc. And Medaka was good in the begining but now have come more shonenlike thanks to the magazine.

needs more anime like casshern sins, skullman or maybe hellsing

1. Japanese consumers are changing their preferences to something more interactive.

2. There's always manhwa (Korean version of manga) as alternatives. They tend to be drawn 'darker' and more focus on the story. Before people say manhwa is a copy of Japanese manga, manhwa is a product of Japanese colonialism.

[I'm not a Korean. Just happens to love Korean stuffs.]

the manga industry will be revamped by me in 2 years

I honestly have to agree that we have a problem on our hands, people don't really recognize anymore that something doesn't need to be ecchi or pervy to work. just havinga rich story and strong plot points should get the job done and be a more rewarding read, what's wrong with intellectual, philosophical and deep meaning behind a manga or show? why flood it with fan service if it flushes out the substance?

QuirkZ

There are plenty of american artists that can draw cool looking males, I understand its an issue for mangakas of modern day but if they do like for example Masakazu Katsura, he's an avid fan of batman, if you have read Zetman its basically his answer to a Batman Superman story. Its very good too btw talks about helping the needy and the differences in social heirarchy and at the same time a fight against man made monsters that want to live how they want.

Manga and anime industry is famous for not giving sure profits. The creation of these rigid categories is just an attempt of the industry to pursue sure earnings by giving the public more of what they are *sure* to like: ero, parody humor, moe, etc.

I don't see how this flow could be changed other than with a drastic shift in economy, capable to give fuel to the dreams and hopes of both the authors and the investors...or perhaps with the appearance of a genial author capable to awaken the authors to the highest possibilities of manga and anime....

ah, daydreams.

Funny you should mention Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell. I didn't particularly enjoy either of those.

this makes me think of bakuman x]

Death of manga sounds terrible. Maybe state sponsored Manga? A stable of 10 to a 100 artists could be maintained/regularly identified by the government to maintain for 3 to 30 year periods (depending on their popularity) so they can continue churning out manga?

Nothing is better than MOE

nooooooooo

The only one whining louder than this "top" mangaka are all the goobers who are seriously bemoaning the "moe boom".

Get off my underanimated, tsundere-flattened lawn, you darn whippersnappers!

Funny... this is how like Americans switched from Books to Television. :D

I still believe that the industry can still produce the next Evangelion but that would be a difficult task especially with the Moe Boom and not to also mention the Fanservice era that the industry is in...

"Is such an industry capable of producing the next Evangelion or Ghost in the Shell?"

well i'd rather see more average rated animes per years than waiting for an excellent anime to appear once every few years.

If we drew a cause of problem chain, the one thing at the root of all problems would be Japanese women demanding too much.

Maybe manga would be liked a little more if it weren't in black and white, sure some are coloured in but the majority are black and white, it turns me off a lot IMO.

I'm surprised they aren't blaming the decline on scanlators.

Globalizatiion is killing the japanese pop culture, no doubt, the remanent time for manga and anime as we know not exceed forty years, in the most optimistic case. As the art movements (romanticism, realism, modernism, et all....) the age of manga and anime had counted days. In the decadences, the study of this art form its very necesary for the next generaton.

At this time, fewer and fewer people read, watch movies, hear new music. Going to be really an uncertain future.

(Pardon my English, I am self-taught).

Balam Mandos, Comunication & Visual Design. UNAM. MX.

what they need in manga's is exploration into the new. You might say "what is the new?". Manga's and their stories to me follow a simple template if you deconstruct it the frame of the story; they are either romance, action, comedy, tragedy or a combination. it's all been played out

This article feels particularly intelligent. I hear only wise words being said.

Just another guy overreacting.
And of course the next Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell can't be made that easily because they wouldn't be such masterpieces if it was possible.

Hopefully this might open the doors for foreigners to start submitting their work in the japanese market but with how negative they are towards foreigners it might hopefully start creating some competition.

Much of this current stagnation is in part to the declining economic state as well. In these dire times, companies want to market something they know will sell. If they have a choice between a new series who's fate is unknown and a series that appeals to a large audience already, they're going to go with what's going to make them more money.

A sad truth, but hopefully we'll see more refreshing content once the economy starts to liven up again.

fine ill move to japan I can draw and write a good story

It is due in part to the general decline of the economy as well. As the economy worsens, fewer and fewer original ideas are being created because companies want things they know will sell. If a company has a choice between marketing a new series over something that already has major popularity, they're going to choose the one that they know will make them money.
While it does seem like it's the culture that is changing, economic influences affect the industry as well. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more refreshing shows and series once this economic stagnation passes on by.

I am hoping that this "Moe Boom" over the recent years is but a stage/era which the industry and even the culture itself has to go through but will eventually die off in favor of something next.