Starting today and at the end of every month, we’ll be highlighting a number of things that caught our attention in TheOASG’s Lab Reports. As this is a debut column you’ll likely see things expand or change as the months go on, but for now, expect to check out a couple of interviews, including interviews we ourselves have done, for the foreseeable future.
So, without further ado, let’s get this going!
It all started back in 2018 for Gladys, where she ended up meeting a particular staff at a local convention in the Philippines. That meeting led to more meetings, and eventually, her being a part of Manga Planet, which launched a few months ago to serve as an official source to read manga. Gladys explained her role with the company to me, and what’s in the store for the service:
Justin: Tell me a bit about yourself and how you got introduced to manga.
Gladys Angala: I’m Gladys and I work as a Producer for Manga Planet, as well as futekiya, which is Manga Planet’s sibling website that specializes in Boys’ Love (BL) manga. I’m from the Philippines but I’ve been living in Japan for almost ten years now.
I was first introduced to manga when I was in 11, I think. My friend lent me a copy of Blade of the Immortal published by Dark Horse Comics. I remember getting so impressed with the art style, which was so different from the anime they air on TV back then.
Manga Planet originally had a few titles, wrote articles and did some interviews over the past year or so, but late last year they launched officially with a mix of works. Can you describe what you knew about the company before joining as a producer?
Gladys: I joined as a Producer only in mid-September last year, but I’ve been working with the Manga Planet team since February 2018. I first met the team in January 2018, when I was helping out Cosplay Mania, the largest anime and cosplay convention in the Philippines. Back then, all I knew about Manga Planet was that they run a blog, as you mentioned and that they had a Facebook page with more than 900,000 likes. Out of those 900,000 likes on Manga Planet’s Facebook page, 150,000 were from the Philippines. They approached me asking about how Filipinos fans consume manga.
When I introduced the Directors of Cosplay Mania to the team, they became interested in Cosplay Mania and they decided to go and observe the event. I helped coordinate their first visit to Manila in September 2018. They saw the potential in the Philippine market so I have been helping them gather information about the untapped market ever since.
As the producer of Manga Planet, what will you be looking to do to help the service grow over the next couple of years?
Gladys: I am in charge of creating contents for the blog, so I do interviews, event coverage, make guides and such for fans of Japanese contents that will complement what we have in the Library. For example, we officially release Kia Asamiya-sensei’s My Favorite Carrera in English, so when Asamiya-sensei has a My Favorite Carrera-related event happening, I go and cover the event to promote the title. The same goes for futekiya.
What’s a typical day for you as a producer for Manga Planet/futekiya?
Gladys: I plan and schedule the contents for both Manga Planet and futekiya’s blog, assign topics to our freelance writers, edit the manuscripts that have been submitted and ask our web assistant to post them on the blog. If there are specific events such as exhibitions that are related to the titles in our Library, I contact the person-in-charge of those events and ask for permission if we can cover the event.
What type of titles would you say Manga Planet wants to have on their site?
Gladys: We are working very hard on building a manga Library with a very distinct collection of titles that you wouldn’t see on other platforms.
So Manga Library’s not going to be stuck focusing on a few genres, but will look to publish manga that’s also unique, correct?
Gladys: Yes, that is correct.
Can you share any particular focus at the moment?
Gladys: While we do have our eyes on titles that made a big impact on the overseas fans, we are also open to adding titles that we feel overseas fans can relate to.
What’s been some of the challenges of starting this service so far?
Gladys: Piracy. I think this is a common challenge all licensed manga service providers face. Scanlations turn potential subscribers away, robbing creators of the benefits that they should be receiving and therefore, hurting the industry. By giving readers access to licensed manga, we empower readers to support creators. We are at the starting phase of convincing manga fans to read licensed manga to support the industry.
Can you share how piracy has directly impacted Manga Planet since its launch?
Gladys: It has been pointed out by our sibling website futekiya that titles in our Library that are being or have been scanlated get fewer views than those that don’t. As a result, artists and publishers may receive less compensation for their work even if they are popular. Kia Asamiya, creator of My Favorite Carrera EV, one of the titles in the Manga Planet Library, remarked that he benefits from platforms for licensed manga, something that creators such as himself do not receive from scan sites.
What would you say are Manga Planet’s goals for 2020?
Gladys: Since our Library is still small, we aim to acquire and release more titles to expand our Library within the year. We aim to have at least 3,000 titles and 15,000 subscribers by 2022.
The Various Reports Around The Web
- Continuing with Manga Planet for a bit longer: An interview with Mr. Moritsuka, Store Manager of K-Books Akihabara Hon-kan:
“Wow, so their knowledge of anime is very meaningful here and is regularly put to the test.
Mr. Moritsuka: Exactly. All of the staff are here in part because of their love of the titles and names so everyone is enthusiastic to learn. At the same time, everyone at K-BOOKS is a professional in their field, which I think is reassuring to customers. And in the case of language barriers, we use a translator device so we can meet all customers’ needs.”
2. An Interview with Ms. Watanabe, Chief of K-BOOKS Ikebukuro Doujin-Kan:
When did you learn about specific series/franchises?
Ms. Watanabe: From that initial training we undergo as a new employee. For example, you’d memorize the names of voice actors because you can’t help customers find their names if you don’t know them. Then they study the CD record labels they don’t know. They don’t know what it is, so they make an effort to learn it.
Everyone is working hard, we can tell.
Ms. Watanabe: It comes naturally if you like something.
3. Crunchyroll talked to popular voice actress Yui Horie at German anime convention Connichi:
Can you describe Miss Monochrome for those who are not familiar with her?
Yui Horie: First of all, thanks to Crunchyroll for streaming Miss Monochrome. I actually designed Miss Monochrome myself. She was originally intended as an enemy for my concerts, but over time, she became an idol in her own right and later even an anime. I think “Virtual Idol” is the best term to describe her.
4. Here’s an interview with Science Saru Co-Founder Eunyoung Choi at AnimeNYC:
Do you think it makes it easier or harder to adapt a series that’s about the process of making anime?
Choi: I mean, I don’t think it’s easier or harder, but it’s definitely really fun. We talk about the actual animators, how they do what they do. We put those ideas into the project and then…I don’t know, it’s fun. It’s very fun! And of course, sometimes we bring the hard reality into the series as well, but you know, that is reality. I think it’s a really unique project.
So how does Eizouken approach the issues in the animation industry? Do you think it’s fairly reflective of the challenges you and your peers face?
Choi: I mean, it’s kind of reflecting the industry, but as a high school student, it’s a little bit lighter. Also, they have such a positive attitude toward making animation. It’s good to see a high school student purely enjoying the process of animation. As professionals, that’s how it felt when we started, so it was good to see that whole process anew again. It’s a kind of pure enjoyment.
5. With Weathering With You’s premiere this month, a few interviews were posted with the band RADWIMPS:
6. Here’s MyAnimeList’s interview with anisong singer ZAQ.
7. An interesting interview involving the use of inkan in Japan:
So, your original plan wasn’t actually inkan?
That’s right. At the time we were thinking of big rubber stamps, like those that can be found at stamp rallies. When I got the first sample it was a brand new feeling to hold a stamp based on the data I’d sent. That gave me more ideas. I thought it would be even more interesting if we could do the same with many different illustrations. Since there are many companies out there that make rubber stamps of fictional characters, I came up with the idea of wood-carved inkan instead to bring a bit of variety. I inquired about it, and they told me they could do it as long as they receive the data, as they carve them by machine. So I asked them to make one. The finished inkan they sent me looked very nice and cute. I started to think from the objective point of view that people would be more likely to want to receive an inkan rather than a rubber stamp as a gift from a friend. We switched our perspective from ‘what is more interesting’ to ‘what is more appreciated’ to receive as a gift.
8. Anne Lee at Chic Pixel talked to Eric Roth, who was the conductor of New World: Intimate Music from Final Fantasy:
While Eric may have not grown up playing video games himself, as an adult, he has fallen in love with the creativity being expressed in video game music. He explained to me that he feels excited that there is a whole untapped world that is not historically a conventional source of great music, and he feels great about being able to work with it.
Continuing, he says, “I feel like I get to live out an ideal in my career when I get to work with video game music, and Final Fantasy music in particular. Great ideas, great art, great music can come from any origin, and there is no special knowledge or special test you have to pass to be able to make great stuff.”
Podcast Resource This Month
9. Girl Got Game (with Loyola Rankin): Fun episode that ended in the best way possible!
One extra note:
10. This tweet did, indeed, blow my mind this month: