TheOASG’s February 2020 Lab Reports

In English-speaking countries, it’s become almost a given to see manga on store shelves next to western comics. It really isn’t too much of a stretch to assume that readers expect a manga that becomes even somewhat successful in Japan to receive an English release at some point.

This is not the case in my home country of Denmark. While I remember manga translated into Danish being available on store shelves while I was a kid, I don’t see it around anymore. Actually, outside of the odd Donald Duck magazine, comics have been pushed firmly into the specialty shops by now. Still, I swear there was a time where I could go into pretty much any bookstore and pick up a volume of Dragon Ball, One Piece or Tokyo Mew Mew.

“What happened?” I often ask myself, as I look through my collection of old volumes. “Why did they disappear?”

Anime Herald: What are the psychological aspects behind the Boys’ Love works?

There are many interesting psychological angles one might take towards understanding the appeal of BL. For example, I am particularly interested in BL as a female-oriented erotica, given that most sexually-explicit material is produced with a male audience in mind. Hence, one important psychological – but also cultural – aspect of BL is that it helps us understand more about women’s sexual fantasy, at least of the sub-group of women who like this particular media. The fact that the main characters in BL are ‘men’ also facilitates insight into how, mostly young, people are exploring diverse gender identities via characters which can have complex and indeterminate gender presentation allowing readers to interpret them in different ways. To me, the fact that BL supports young people to explore the meanings and value of different genders and sexualities, and to engage with sexual fantasy in a safe way – at least knowing that no actual people are possibly being exploited – should be viewed as beneficial psychologically. Moreover, from what I have seen of the fandom, there is usually great sensitivity to potential triggers, and warnings are provided about sexual content.

One of the big reasons I have been holding out on getting extra platforms is that I frankly have too much to watch already. I have playlists of anime on all three of those platforms and they don’t seem to be getting much shorter or shorter at all. I’m hoping that trying to watch only shows I really like is going to change that but who knows. And I discover anime already in Crunchyroll’s archives all the time!

Essentially limiting my platforms has been a way to limit my each list and keep it reasonable-ish.

Normally, a manga gradually sells more copies throughout the anime’s run, but Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s sales shot up straight after the anime ended,” he said, indicating that a large number of people watched the anime through streaming services after it ended rather than watching it weekly. “The way people interact with anime has changed, and I feel like we’ve entered a new phase.”

Photography and illustration seem to be very separate art forms for you. Do you ever illustrate the things you see in daily life instead of reaching for your camera? For instance, images of objects or spaces that appeal to you?

VOFAN: To me, photography is mainly about realism. Meanwhile, illustrations are more about drawing out things that I’ve imagined. And so, something that doesn’t exist…Well, let’s say I want to take a photograph of something. It’s because of how real and unique that something is. I won’t think of drawing it, because if I draw it, it loses that “realness.”

So again, photography is about capturing reality, while drawing is about expressing the things in my mind. I think these two things are very different.

How do you think your background in architecture has affected your abilities as an artist?

VOFAN: In two ways, I think. One, it taught me how to pull all-nighters. And two, it helped me gain a good grasp on spatial visualization.

How would you say you are similar and different from Kokoro? If you had a big mansion like her, what would you fill it with?

Kokoro and I are similar in that we both like picture books and seeing people smile. An aspect that differs between us is that she is extremely positive. I’m not saying I’m negative, just not as positive as she is. If I had a huge mansion, I’d want to start an ice cream shop in it.

What kind of preparation did it take to perform the role of Kokoro in BanG Dream!?

I had many discussions with the [BanG Dream!] staff regarding Kokoro prior to voicing her character, so by the time we recorded I was prepared. She’s a rich girl, so she’s a bit out of touch with society; she’s positive, but there are particular feelings/sentiments she holds that differ from other people, and I took care in bringing this to the role.

What do you think a mangaka should have if they want to draw an ecchi manga? Maybe something many don’t realize?

Miura: Of course, you need a certain fondness for the material. Besides that, it is also rather important that you don’t focus on your own preferences but that you can understand and analyze why a pose is sexy or why a character design is appealing. You need some distance and you need to understand the What and Why so you can control it. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Is there something you would like to incorporate in Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs which was cut? Like a story, a character or maybe just a scene?

Miura: When you want to publish your manga in Shonen Jump, you have to hand in your first three chapters as storyboards for a conference. The second and third chapter were altered a lot afterwards. They went into a very different direction. The original second and third chapter showed how sad it is to be a ghost and what kind of challenges Yuna has to face – but then it was decided to put more focus on the comedy aspect. It is more fitting for the current series and setting of Yuna to be light-hearted and funny. And that’s what I want to give my fans; a good time and joy. I do think it’s a bit of a shame that I cannot incorporate the original chapters anymore as Yuna has changed. I don’t regret it, but it was a lot of fun to draw those chapters.

You’ve acquired several titles from lesser-known manga magazines, like Maiden Railways from the shojo/josei magazine Rakuen. Are there still a lot of cool smaller manga magazines out there in the shadow of the big ones like Shonen Jump?

There are. And even though a number of manga magazines have shut down over the last five years or so, new magazines are still popping up. Many of those new magazines cover more modern topics like yuri, BL or josei. Some might be very genre specific. But in most cases these new mags come from small or indie publishers, and finding them in stores can be a struggle.

Magazines like Hakuensha’s Rakuen or Kadokawa’s Harta are not so well known outside of specific manga circles, but the content they put out is visually unique and more importantly feature narratives that are thoughtful and innovative. So for me, these magazines are a priority when I look to acquire new titles, mainly because I want to do my part to keep these publications around.

With Kodansha, Yen Press, Square Enix, and Vertical all headquartered in New York, it seems like the center of the manga publishing world is shifting eastward.  Do you think that’s true, and do you think it matters?

I think it’s less about where the manga is and more that New York is still the epicenter of trade book publishing in North America. It’s not coincidental that most of the larger manga and comics publishers started distributing through trade book publishers. I cannot stress enough how important distribution and sales are. When publishing companies move to trade houses for distribution, they all see sales jump because of it. If you’re in the book market, that is of critical importance, and one of the distinguishing factors between manga and comic books is that manga is a bookstore phenomenon.

The most basic similarities between the two stories are obvious: both are novels. Both are isekai. But that describes literally hundreds of series. Take a closer look, however, and the common ground the two series share becomes remarkable.

In both cases, the protagonist is in a strange world with no allies, while a powerful, hostile individual conspires to keep them away from their purpose and their supporters. In Shield Hero, this protagonist is Naofumi, an otaku college student and the titular Shield Hero; in Twelve Kingdoms, it’s Nakajima Youko, a high school girl who is unable to connect emotionally to anyone around her.

Both Youko and Naofumi are betrayed early on, leaving them unable to trust anyone around them. When they are at their lowest points, they form an emotional bond with a demihuman, who are an oppressed class in their new world. Through that relationship, they learn to trust again and are able to take down those who conspired against them.