Have you perhaps already read Skip and Loafer, Wandance, The Darwin Incident or Vinland Saga? All of these manga couldn't be more different and yet they come from the same manga magazine from Kodansha – Afternoon. The monthly magazine is generally assigned to the seinen target group and therefore focuses on stories for young men. In the past, classics such as Oh My Goddess!, BLAME!, Blade of the Immortal and Knights of Sidonia have also been published in the magazine. The sister magazine good!Afternoon has also produced numerous series that many fans in this country are certainly familiar with. These include Magus of the Library, Ajin: Demi-Human and Drifting Dragons.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Akira Kanai, editor-in-chief of Afternoon magazine, at the end of 2023 to find out more about what he thinks makes Afternoon manga so special, philosophize about what distinguishes Afternoon magazine from fast food and the extent to which illegal pirated copies have an impact on the globalization of manga. Prior to his current position, Kanai-san worked in the editorial departments of Morning magazine and Weekly Shounen Magazine and has several decades of experience in the manga industry. As an editor, he has overseen works such as Vinland Saga, Planetes, Ajin: Demi-Human, Fragile and Maria the Virgin Witch in the past. The full interview can be found at the end of the article.
© Misaki Takamatsu / Kodansha Ltd. | © coffee / Kodansha Ltd. | © Shun Umezawa / Kodansha Ltd. | © Makoto Yukimura / Kodansha Ltd.
Kanai-san has been working in the seinen and shounen manga editorial department of publisher Kodansha for 30 years. It all started when he simply didn't want to be a “normal” employee, but a mangaka. Yes, a mangaka! He originally applied to become a mangaka, but then mistakenly believed that becoming an editor was actually easier – what a twist of fate. Today, he is editor-in-chief of Afternoon, good!Afternoon and the manga webzine &Sofa, and oversees original manga for the COMICDAYS platform. To do this, Kanai-san juggles several different workflows at the same time.
When asked about the differences between the various editorial teams in his career, he explained that there is a big contrast between a magazine for boys (shounen) and adults (seinen). To his astonishment, the mindset that children are always pure and righteous and adults, in contrast, are rather corrupt, was very common at the time. This was one of the reasons why the hero of a shounen manga had to be a boy. After all, it was the boy who embodied purity and innocence.
However, Afternoon is aimed at an adult readership and, according to the editor-in-chief, wants to offer a variety of innovative stories that make readers think and, if possible, not jump on a trend. He considers it a priority that readers do not stop thinking for themselves, because that is the only thing that is “healthy”. Manga works that only stimulate readers for a short time are like eating fast food, which Kanai-san at least would not put his daughter through in the long term.
Reading the same stories over and over again leads to people no longer being able to approach things from different perspectives. If the stereotypical hero is always the good guy and wins against the (supposed) bad guy, then sooner or later this will be transferred to the real way of thinking and people will only see everything as black or white in conflict situations. This is why the editor-in-chief would like Afternoon manga not to have a clear ending.
Kanai-san names the current trends on the market as isekai for men and boys love for women – this will probably continue for another five years. Both genres allow readers to escape reality and are simple. With Afternoon, however, Kanai-san wants to consciously work away from trends as far as possible and continue to show reality. Because if you fail in reality, “that's just the way it is”.
The fact that Kanai-san thinks globally is made clear not least by the fact that he spends hours every day watching news from all over the world. However, this does not mean that he would adapt a work for international readers – apart from certain codes – in order to do justice to “political correctness”. Rather, on a human level, people around the world are on the same wavelength: the insecurity of Mitsumi from Skip and Loafer about moving from the village to the big city is felt by everyone, regardless of origin.
Kanai-san also sees no need to adapt in the course of digitalization and with a view to webtoons. Manga can already be read on all kinds of digital devices anyway. What is missing is translation into other languages. When it comes to expanding abroad, he is not in line with the publisher's management. While the latter primarily wants to expand into international markets due to the demographic fact that the Japanese population is shrinking, Kanai-san sees manga globalization differently.
Rather, it is the possibility of producing manga internationally across national borders that is important and fun. The fan community can now grow across the globe because more and more manga are being published in different countries. Readers should also support this by making purchases instead of consuming pirated copies. Ultimately, however, both of these factors lead to an increase in interest in manga and drawing manga, regardless of the country in which you live.
These self-drawn manga from all over the world can then be submitted to Afternoon. A good example of this is the Shiki Prize, which takes place every quarter and is open to aspiring mangaka from all over the world. If you dream of publishing manga in Japan and are inspired by Afternoon's motto – “challenge for something” – you can find more information about the Shiki Prize and how to enter here.
We would like to thank Kodansha for organizing the interview and Kanai-san himself for his time. We would also like to thank all the Kodansha staff involved for making this interview possible. The following interview, translation and transcription are by Manga Passion. We abbreviate to MP.
MP: Hello Kanai-san and thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us today about your work at Kodansha.
Kanai-san: I am delighted to have this opportunity.
MP: Can you start by briefly introducing yourself to our readers? How long have you been at Kodansha and in what position? Which works, among others, have you supervised?
Kanai-san: I joined Kodansha in 1994. I was assigned to the weekly Morning magazine, which still exists today, for about seven to eight years, after which I switched to Weekly Shounen Magazine in 2002. I've been on the editorial staff of Afternoon magazine since 2006, and I've been in my current position as editor-in-chief of Afternoon magazine since 2015, so I'm in my eighth or ninth year now.
In terms of supervised works, I worked with Makoto Yukimura on Planetes during my time at Morning. Others are Ajin: Demi-Human, Vinland Saga and Fragile, a story about a doctor. But I don't know if Fragile is available in German. There's also Maria the Virgin Witch by Masayuki Ishikawa and others. I've only ever worked in the manga editorial department, it's been 30 years now. It's been 30 years! (laughs)
As a student, I didn't want to become an office worker and tried to draw manga myself. Back then, Afternoon and Morning were still one editorial team. I actually wanted to submit my manga to Afternoon, but there was no contact person for Afternoon magazine, which had just become independent. So I applied to Morning. I was assigned an editor from the former Morning, who looked very tired from sleepless nights and gave me – sorry for the choice of words – meaningless advice. I myself was totally hungover and thought to myself, if you can make money for such bullshit, then it's easier to have manga drawn than to draw them myself. That's why I started at Kodansha. (laughs) But I felt a bit cheated, because when I started I realized it wasn't that easy. (laughs)
MP: You have worked for several different Kodansha magazines. Have you noticed any difference in your work for each magazine or would you say that the work as an editor is similar, apart from the target audience?
Kanai-san: There were both differences and similarities. During my time at Weekly Shounen Magazine, I actually felt a big difference. It's a label aimed at teenagers, so I was very aware of that when creating the works. The way you address teenagers, i.e. minors, was different from Afternoon or Morning, between which there were hardly any differences.
There is a big difference between a magazine aimed at teenagers and one aimed at adults. In Japan, there is a perhaps unique mindset that young people are very pure and righteous. In contrast, adults are the ones who are mistaken, greedy and power-hungry. The idea that teenagers or children are in the right was very dominant and I couldn't get used to it at all.
I found my time at Weekly Shounen Magazine a bit difficult. I believe that children are pure, but they need education, don't they? I was very surprised that the adults in the editorial department there thought of themselves as kind of dirty. (laughs) If you look at Japanese history, there have been quite a few cases of teenagers becoming the King of Rebel and declaring war on the country.
The idea that there is justice in childishness – what is that like in Germany? But perhaps there used to be something like that in Germany too. I was a little surprised to see that this way of thinking still exists in Japan. I don't know if it's still like that. But back then, when I was there from 2002 to 2006, that was the case. That's exactly why boys are chosen as the main characters in shounen manga. Of course, the readers are also boys and there is a division between shounen and shoujo. I found that interesting. And at the same time, it was very different. That was probably the biggest difference.
MP: You have been editor-in-chief of Afternoon magazine since 2015. The titles in the magazine are primarily aimed at a more adult audience. In your opinion, what makes Afternoon magazine special – and what status do you think the magazine has within the Japanese manga industry?
Kanai-san: To put it in terms of the food industry: I think the good thing is that we are not so much aiming for fast food. We want to offer delicious food, but nothing that, if you consume it constantly for six months or a year, is harmful to your health. We want to be a magazine label that contains many delicious and healthy works.
I think that Japanese publishers – because those manga sell so well – really want to be like a fast food chain. But I think it's very important that the meal is tasty and healthy. I don't want to publish or offer works that may sell well but are not healthy. In some cases, they may not sell well, but if they are healthy for the heart, emotions and mind of the reader, I want to offer them. I think that's very important.
In my eyes, it's an unusual magazine. I think that's what makes Afternoon special. Of course I want it to sell well. And it would be good if it made a lot of money. But I also want it to be a label that has a more important priority than sales figures. I wonder if I was able to get that across well. Fast food is generally seen that way in Germany too, isn't it? (laughs)
MP: Yes, it's the same. Food from fast food chains is probably the same all over the world. (laughs)
Kanai-san: Oh, really? (laughs) You don't want to give it to kids to eat day after day, right? I think manga are very diverse. I can decide in the story that this character is an evil and strong enemy. The main characters work really hard and defeat this enemy. That can provide a great catharsis for the readers.
But if you only offer that, the children or readers are probably educated in such a way that they can only take sides when problems arise, as can be observed in relation to Israel and Hamas, for example. Another example: a cute girl appears and if she is approached in a certain way, she might fall in love with the protagonist and even get married. There's no such thing! (laughs)
There aren't always such happy stories. In short: if you defeat the strong, evil enemy, you'll feel good. And if you do your best to look good in front of the beautiful, sweet girl, she'll like you. Both ultimately stem from desire and libido, and it's easy to stimulate them. But these are lies.
Of course, it's like drugs or fast food. These works sell very well and become big hits because they stimulate the libido of the readers, and that's perfectly fine. But if you consume it all day, every day, then you probably stop thinking. And that's harmful in the long term. I think it would be good if Afternoon at least publishs works that deal seriously with a topic that doesn't have a clear answer or makes it very difficult to find an answer.
MP: As editor-in-chief, you are certainly very busy. Can you tell us a little about what a working day is like for you? What routines are there in your area of responsibility?
Kanai-san: I don't know if German readers are interested in that. When it comes to my routines, I get up between six and half past six in the morning. My daughter is now in the first grade of middle school* and is 13 years old. Because she has to catch the school bus at 7:40, I wake her up at half past six. After that, I'm busy making sure she's ready for the 7:40 departure.
When she has left the house, I take about two hours to watch news from all over the world – news from Germany, Great Britain, France, China, South Korea ... I try to watch almost all the news from all over the world that you can receive in Japan in the morning.
On October 7, the situation of Israel and Hamas was reported on all channels around the world all the time. It felt like I was gradually fainting. While I watch news like this, I take care of the household. Around lunchtime, I come to the office or work from home.
I can't explain in detail the different kinds of workflows I do at the office, but I still supervise mangaka and as the editor in charge, I have appointments with them. I also do some final proofreading for the magazine and have a lot of meetings. I go home around eight or nine in the evening.
It's difficult to explain my working day. With weekly magazines, there are clear routines: On Monday this has to be done, on Tuesday that, by Wednesday this and so on. Since I've been working for a monthly magazine, I've found it difficult to develop a fixed work routine. That's why I still don't have one.
In my work at Afternoon in particular, I oversee different media with different workflows with Afternoon, good!Afternoon, the manga webzine &Sofa and the original manga from COMICDAYS. It feels like playing four different games at the same time. It's difficult to develop a fixed work routine. It's not just me who doesn't like it, but also the other Afternoon employees. But that probably can't be changed.
I think weekly magazines are mainly only available in Japan, while daily newspapers and monthly magazines are available all over the world. Weekly magazines make you feel very busy, but because you have fixed routines, it doesn't drain your body as much. And if you don't like something, the deadline ends on Friday and you start again the next week. That's difficult to establish with a monthly magazine. In my opinion, the work routine is easier with a weekly magazine. However, I wouldn't want to start working for a weekly magazine again. I have a very confused daily routine. (laughs)
*Editor's note: Corresponds to seventh grade in Germany.
MP: How do you select the manga that are published in Afternoon magazine? What criteria are important to you in the selection process?
Kanai-san: As I mentioned before, I think that the works should preferably be not only interesting but also healthy – for the mind and mentality. Apart from that, I don't want to publish works that are not needed. What I mean to say is that someone, be it now or in the past, has already come to the same conclusion. It's true that you should value friends. But why are you now drawing a work about valuing friends? That's no longer necessary. It would also be better simply not to wage wars. That is true. But I don't think it's necessary to draw conclusions that have already been dealt with in manga.
I would like to see works that deal with the problems that exist not only in Japan, but also in other countries where there are probably people struggling with the same problems. No matter how I respond, it feels like a criticism. (laughs) But it's not really meant that way. I just think that Afternoon has always had works like this and I wish it was a magazine label that stands for “challenge for something”.
MP: Many people are also interested to understand to what extent are you involved in processes such as decisions about anime adaptations or similar?
Kanai-san: I usually don't say “no” to requests from the entertainment industry, regardless of whether they are anime or live-action adaptations. Even if the project fails, such an adaptation can open up new opportunities in another entertainment medium. If three companies make me an offer for a work, I will express my opinion, but I won't dictate anything.
For example, if my daughter says in the future that she wants to get married, that's fine. I think that's the type of father I am. Even if she brings along a boyfriend who I think is absolutely not right for her, I wouldn't say anything against it. She's still only 13 years old, but I'm already mentally preparing myself for it. (laughs) I don't know if my wife feels the same way. (laughs) It's no good trying to prevent things from going wrong, either with children or with manga works. I do give advice, but it's not a good idea to take away their right to fail.
MP: You yourself have overseen several internationally renowned works with titles such as Vinland Saga, Ajin: Demi-Human and Planetes. To what extent do you already think about the (potential) international success of a manga in the feedback you go through with the mangaka and perhaps try to make it more accessible to audiences outside Japan?
Kanai-san: No, not really. For example, there are various codes against the depiction of violence, against the depiction of nudity, whether male or female, or religious codes that I follow. However, I think that there are no fundamental differences in the population in terms of what they perceive as important – be it in Japan, Germany, China or South Korea. Even if it is the case on a political level.
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. 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.
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. Take Skip and Loafer, for example, which is about a girl who comes from the Japanese countryside and moves to the Japanese city of Tokyo alone to study at a good high school. I think people all over the world will certainly understand her feeling of insecurity in the same way. That's why such works tend to appeal to an international audience.
In this respect, I really don't think that works need to be adapted for audiences outside Japan. Although I'm not sure how it is for people from countries where there are no rural areas or no cities. I have no idea what it's like in Dubai. Maybe I'm biased. (laughs)
MP: Trends seem to be changing faster and faster, not least since the transition to the digital age. How does the Afternoon editorial team meet the challenge of responding to (constantly) changing interests?
Kanai-san: I don't think about that at all. I don't think there's much difference between reading on paper and reading on a smartphone or tablet. “Because it's read on a digital device, it has to be adapted in such and such a way” – I don't really do that at all.
People often talk about the rise of webtoons and how great it would be if more webtoon-like Japanese works were produced. But webtoons are webtoons, and webtoons are already established. People who want to produce and write webtoons can draw webtoons.
But saying that Japanese manga or Afternoon manga should be aimed at webtoons is almost like saying that anyone and everyone should make American comics because Marvel has sold well. I think that's pointless. Nowadays you can watch movies, TV series and stage plays and play games on tablets. Among all the entertainment options available on the tablet, it is also possible to read manga.
Since you can already read manga in the same way, I don't see any need for manga to evolve into something else. Of course, it would be better if they were quickly translated into other languages, but apart from that, I don't think we need to change the rules of the game in any way. I really don't care about that. I couldn't care less. I don't think we need to change anything because of digitalization.
MP: What do you think are the trends that will determine the future of seinen manga?
Kanai-san: That's a difficult question. For example, Sirius, a Kodansha label, has made great sales through the isekai trend. I think that's a good example of how to pick up on a big trend. I don't think either myself or Afternoon have ever successfully picked up on a trend and made a hit. (laughs)
While I'm dejectedly looking for new manga, I think to myself: “That's the trend, how nice, enviable.” (laughs) It's not that I don't have an antenna for trends, it's more that I'm not interested in them. Because I want Afternoon to be very diverse. Following trends would definitely lead to a dilution of diversity, so I don't think about following trends with Afternoon.
In the overarching context of seinen magazines, I think the trend of isekai stories will continue among male readers for the next five years or so. For female readers, the boys love trend will continue for another five years or so. Both are easy to understand and you can avert your eyes from reality. If possible, we at Afternoon would like to deal with works that show that we should face reality, as much as we would like to avoid it. But if you fail, then that's the way it is. I want to work regardless of the trends.
MP: You can even take part in the magazine's Shiki manga competition from abroad. How did this come about and what is the background?
Kanai-san: It's not that we only accepted applications from Japan right from the start. In fact, the Shiki prize was simply not known abroad. So far, I haven't had many opportunities to actively promote it abroad myself. As an experiment, we published the call for submissions on the website in Chinese, English and French. Unfortunately, we had to pass on German because there aren't many people at Kodansha who speak German. But simply put, I think many people can translate the English and Chinese announcement into their own language.
I would like manga to come from many different countries. It's not that there was a particular occasion, but that we can gradually do more and more and therefore cope with it. In the current Shiki prize, there was also another manga from a country from which it was the first entry – I don't remember exactly which one. There's a new country every time, which is quite interesting. I always wonder how the person in question found out about Japanese manga or Afternoon magazine. Recently, there has also been an increase in submissions from people who have studied at a manga school in Japan.
MP: To what extent do you think global exchange is important for the medium of manga?
Kanai-san: I think it is very important. Kodansha's management believes that the number of children in Japan is rapidly decreasing and the domestic market is gradually shrinking, so we need to expand our markets. I think that's a lot of nonsense. (laughs) It's the same everywhere in the world.
I believe that the birth rate – except in Africa and India – is declining overall. I find it shameful to expand abroad because the domestic market is shrinking. (laughs) But thanks to advances in digital technology, people living abroad can now easily read manga from Japan.
At the same time, it has also become much easier to target the Japanese manga market directly from abroad. So I'm happy when people who find Japanese manga interesting write to us more and more, and when people who like Japanese manga read it, whether they live in Brazil, Antarctica, Tibet or Kenya.
It would be nice if they didn't just read the illegal pirated copies, but paid a bit of money for them. But if they don't have money and there are a lot of pirated copies, I think the pirated copy is okay for now – I could be beaten to death by a board member for saying that now. (laughs) First of all, it's important that manga are read.
Only when they are available is it possible for self-drawn manga to be submitted to Japanese labels. I would therefore be delighted if both the readers' and authors' sides were to become more global. But simply expanding into foreign markets because the domestic market is shrinking is really shameful and should be reconsidered. (laughs)
The mindset that Japanese publishers will get poorer and poorer if they don't expand overseas is pathetic and should be abandoned. Now that it is possible to read and draw manga abroad, I hope that the manga fan community itself will grow. No matter where they come from and no matter what religion they belong to. So when it comes to the question of whether I think globalization is important, I can say that it's much more fun this way.
MP: Finally, is there anything else you would like to share with our readership?
Kanai-san: If you are interested in Japanese manga, I would be happy if you read them. For example, people who want to draw manga, make movies or sing are always inspired by certain manga, movies or bands. They often start because they want to copy something. It would be great if you read Japanese manga first (i.e. works that were first published in Japan, the author doesn't necessarily have to be Japanese) and then get the desire to draw some yourself.
MP: Thank you very much for your time, Kanai-san.
