Ask John: Can American Artists Work in the Manga Industry?

Question:
I’m an avid fan of manga and manhua, and I’ve realised that there are very few American and/or European professional manga artists. I have been working on a manga for some time now and I would hate it if manga companies turned me down simply because my name doesn’t match the original culture of the comic style. What’s your input on this? Is it a lack of artists, or a prejudice of nomenclature?

Answer:
I don’t want to discourage anyone or shatter dreams, but I think it’s important for Western anime fans with hopes of becoming a manga artist to be aware of the difficulties they’ll face in realizing this dream. The reason why there are so few Westerners producing manga or working in Japan is because it’s exceedingly difficult for a foreigner to break into the manga industry in Japan. First and foremost, if you’re interested in creating “manga style” comics, there’s no need to live or work in Japan. Numerous American comic book publishers including even Marvel Comics are increasing interested in hiring American artists that can draw in Japanese style. The smaller, typically less stressful American comic book industry is also easier for a native American to break into than the Japanese manga industry. While the Japanese government is more supportive of exporting anime and manga, and more responsive to the idea of manga being a respectable contemporary art form, it’s still not easy for a foreigner to move into Japan and take up manga as a profession. Japanese customs and immigration laws are very strict on foreigners living and working in Japan. For example, foreigners may not apply for a Japanese work permit while in Japan. The common practice is for Americans searching for work in Japan to travel to Japan, find an employer, fly to Taiwan for several weeks to complete the application process for a work visa, then move back to Japan after receiving a work permit. Further complicating the process, the Japanese customs agency is notorious for refusing to issue work permits for foreigners seeking employment in “non-essential” Japanese industries like the comic and animation industries. With Japan being the small, crowded and ethnically homogenous island nation that it already is, some remnants of the ancient isolationist attitude still remain. In parctical terms, Japanese publishing companies and the Japanese customs office will not accept or employ foreigners to do the same jobs that native Japanese citizens can do.

Talent, and familiarity with Japanese language and culture are also a vital necessity. Japanese publishing companies are staffed by native Japanese who speak only Japanese. Under present conditions, if you don’t speak, write and comprehend Japanese language with at least native level fluency, your chances of finding work in the manga industry in Japan are even smaller than they already are. Beside that, regardless of ethnicity, any prospective manga artist in Japan has to face a staggering amount of competition. Most American comic book and manga fans really have no idea exactly how big the manga industry is in Japan. In terms of prospective manga artists, according to Metropolis Tokyo Magazine, Japan’s Comic Market convention draws over 30,000 amateur exhibitors and artists alone among its more than 500,000 attendees. (By comparisson, the biggest comic book convention in America, San Diego Comic Con, draws roughly 50,000 attendees counting both exhibitors and visitors.) That’s over 30,000 native Japanese manga artists a year whom foreigner manga fans will need to compete against for sales and paying publishing contracts.

Especially with the increasing international demand for manga, there’s no telling what opportunities will arise for American artists to find work in the magna industry in years to come, but at the present time, especially with American comics only a tiny and difficult to acquire niche market in Japan, immense competition for positions as professional manga artists even among native Japanese, and the technically difficulties facing foreigners seeking work in Japan, only the most diligent, determined and talented American artists should seek employment in the Japanese manga industry.