The international success of the manga industry has raised some very important questions regarding the content that is being portrayed in the anime and manga series. However, the most important question is whether the Western influence on the manga community is affecting its core essence or not.
This question was answered by Akira Kanai, the current Editor-in-Chief of Kodansha’s Weekly Afternoon manga magazine. Kanai has worked on many important projects, like Ajin: Demi-Human, Fragile, Vinland Saga, etc. He is a big name in the industry, and his extraordinary work as an editor speaks for itself.
According to Kanai, he does not let Western influence take away anime and manga’s core essence, as he is not easily influenced by the particular scenarios of Western countries and rather focuses on what feels intriguing on a global level. Thus keeping the roots the same with different narratives and storylines in manga and anime.
Akira Kanai Does Not Make a Big Deal About Western Influence
The Editor-in-Chief of Afternoon was recently interviewed by Manga Passion, where he expressed his opinions about the growth of the manga and anime industry on a global scale. When asked about the influence of the audience from outside of Japan, Kanai revealed that the influence from Western countries does not much affect his work.
Kanai stated:
I don’t allow myself to be influenced by so-called political correctness abroad and design the works accordingly. I think that if it’s interesting, it will usually be understood, regardless of whether you come from Africa, Chile or Greenland. I’ve never made a big deal of it so far.
Talking about the roots of manga, Kanai pointed out:
But even if a work takes up a very Japanese theme, for example, or a German work a German theme, a Chinese work a Chinese theme – in the end the root is the same, I think.
According to the editor, the main focus of manga creators is to keep their works interesting for every kind of audience, no matter where they come from. As long as everyone finds their work interesting, it doesn’t matter about the theme or the influence around which the story is based. The only thing that matters is to keep the roots interesting.
Akira Kanai Thinks Politically Influenced Works Won’t Appeal Anywhere
Talking about the Western influence, Kanai stated that people who read manga generally don’t have a problem with what kind of message the manga is portraying or what kind of community it is representing. He even confessed that he wonders which kind of entertainment works better internationally.
Kanai explained:
Stopping a work because it deals with a problem that is too Japanese, or specifying to do something – that hardly ever happens. More specifically, I wonder if there is a difference in Japanese entertainment content between works that are internationally successful. Is it the works that focus more on the Japanese market or a global market? I don’t think it’s possible to create works that are exactly in the middle, nor would such works really appeal anywhere.
The Vinland Saga editor also explained that if any work is in the middle (following one specific region), it won’t appeal to anyone.
People like versatility, and they want to learn more about things from different regions. Therefore, if the editors and manga creators let themselves be influenced by Western countries, they would lose that versatility.
You can watch Vinland Saga on Crunchyroll.
