As Japanese manga has become a global phenomenon, its popularity is inspiring artists from around the world to test their skills in the field of sequential art. These artists are also creating works very much inspired by the styles and techniques of Japanese manga, while at the same time adding their own stylistic elements. In a number of countries, however, the works of domestic artists are overshadowed by the popularity of licensed manga, ending up overlooked by the world market and rarely making their way back to Japan
Literary agent Yukari Shiina and her agency, World Manga, aim to make the manga world more of a two-way street. Her process is two-fold: take international works to the Japanese market, while introducing manga readers around the world to titles that are inspiring the Japanese manga community. A professional translator for the Japanese manga industry and a judge for Kodansha's Morning International Manga Competition, Shiina has witnessed the a generation of international manga artists developing and believes the time has come to share them with the world. Shiina has translated American comics artist Fred Gallagher’s Megatokyo series (it is slated to be serialized in Faust, Kodansha's literary/manga magazine) and she helped another non-Japanese artist, MBQ creator Felipe Smith, land a spot in Kodansha's new alternative manga monthly, Morning 2 magazine, and his comic will begin appearing this month. PWCW spoke with Shiina about opening the Japanese manga market to a new generation of non-Japanese creators.
PW Comics Week: What is World Manga's mission?
Yukari Shiina: Our mission is to introduce foreign comics/manga and foreign artists to Japanese publishers and readers, and to introduce Japanese artists who are interested in working with foreign publishers to publishers outside Japan. Basically, we would like to read more interesting comics and manga from all over the world.
In order to have more interesting works, we think that we need to have a more international flow of artists and works across national boundaries. As for manga and comics in Japan, [the creative influence] currently flows in one direction—outward. Japan currently exports its manga to many countries, while it is not so open to foreign comics and manga, as, say, North America is. Having non-Japanese artists in the Japanese manga industry will bring more diversity to the manga we read in Japan, and vice versa. We hope that, as a result, we will help bring forth more interesting and exciting comics and manga all over the world.
PWCW: What motivated you to create such an organization?
YS: There are so many talented artists overseas, and the number of interesting comics/manga outside of Japan is also very high. Unfortunately, few Japanese manga readers know about these artists or read their works.
PWCW: What is your background with comics? And given that experience, how would you rate the level of talent that is out there?
YS: I've been a translator in the anime and manga industry. While I've never been a manga artist, I've enjoyed reading manga for a long time. I think that there are a number of great artists out there who stay unrecognized.
PWCW: When did you become aware of the global interest in manga creation? Are many international manga releases available in Japan?
YS: We became aware of the global interest in manga creation when I noticed that there were many non-Japanese manga artists' communities online. Actually, we haven't had many international or global manga published in Japan. Some titles are available here and there, but not many.
PWCW: What titles caught your eye when you developed World Manga?
YS: A number of titles attracted our attention and motivated us to ask their respective artists to be our clients. Felipe Smith’s entry for Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga contest really amazed us.
PWCW: Why are you searching for talent when Japan already has a large talent pool of comic artists?
YS: It's certainly true that Japan has a large pool of talented artists, but it's also true that there are many talented artists outside Japan. What we expect non-Japanese artists to show us in Japan is something that our local artists don't have. We hope they will bring with them a certain something that will stimulate Japanese artists and vitalize the Japanese manga scene in new ways. As we said, in order to continue to create interesting works and to develop manga the manga industry, we believe we need more diversity.
PWCW: How are publishers in Japan reacting to works by foreign artists?
YS: At this moment, there is not much demand in Japan, although there is some interest in foreign works. However, things have been changing little by little in the past couple of years. Kodansha and the foreign ministry respectively launched international awards for non-Japanese comics/manga in 2006 and 2007. I believe that as more foreign works are available in Japan, more readers will be receptive to those stories.
PWCW: How many artists are you representing? Where do they come from?
YS: We represent fewer than 10 artists now. They are from the U.S., Canada, England, Italy, France and Spain. We are considering increasing that number.
PWCW: Are there any challenges to working with artists abroad?
YS: No. With the Internet and e-mail, we've have no problems working with them. When it comes to communicating between artists and editors, that's another story. If the artists and editors can meet and talk in person, that would make things easier. But it's too much to ask. Actually, some of our clients voluntarily came to Japan this year, and we were able to introduce them to some Japanese manga editors. At the same time, it is not realistic to think that every artist who is interested in publishing their works in Japan can afford to come to Japan timewise and moneywise.
PWCW: How would artists get in touch with World Manga?
YS: I'll start looking for more artists soon, so if you are interested in our World Manga, please e-mail us at animecomics4u@ybb.ne.jp. Although our Web site is now under construction, we plan officially to start it this summer. I hope you can visit our Web site later.
