Answerman

Why Do Manga Artists Prefer To Stay Anonymous?

Federico asks:

Why in recent years are manga artists so obsessed with privacy, to the point we know next to nothing about them? Decades ago they had no problem in being interviewed, filmed, photographed, and mostly anyone who was interested in their works knew who they were. Now they hide behind pseudonyms, never let others take pictures, and in some cases we fans don't even know their real names or their genders. For example, we still know nothing about the Death Note authors. Why is that? Are they afraid of being stalked? Has the mangaka job became something one should be ashamed of? Are they ashamed of being regular guys/girls and thus hide themselves in order to appear "cooler"? I don't quite get it.

I don't agree with your statement that manga artists were once public figures. While there are famous exceptions (Osamu Tezuka being the biggest), the tradition of manga artists being more or less anonymous goes back quite far. Masamune Shirow, for example, is a pen name, and nobody really knows what he looks like. Most manga artists are not public people, and the majority do not publish photos of themselves. Some of them occasionally depict themselves in silly cartoon form, either in the sidebar "notes from the author" column or afterwards in the graphic novels. But that's pretty much it. Many anime directors also tend to shy away from cameras.

Being a manga artist is generally not thought of as a glamorous job. Most of the artists prefer to have quiet lives, keeping their private life separate. You must remember that the majority of these people spend their lives hunched over a desk in a small office, drawing either manually or with a tablet. For the majority of them, they are not rich enough to hire assistants, so the hours are long, and the deadlines are never-ending.

So on the rare occasions that they do go out, the last thing most of them want is to be recognized. Otaku can be scary. If they stay anonymous, otaku won't hassle them or their family over whatever series they draw, or approach them on the street about a character, or their choice of story arc. It really is a profession for a quiet art nerd, who would much rather keep their head down.

Or at least, that's the stereotype. Obviously sometimes successful manga artists become prominent in the media, and become higher profile. But this is rare, and even most the ones who break out and have a huge bestseller keep a pretty low profile. Video of Rumiko Takahashi is very hard to come by, despite the fact that at one time she was one of the most popular manga artists in Japan. The manga artists I've interviewed tend to be pretty shy people, and don't engage in things like interviews.

One must also remember that the Japanese press is a lot less cavalier than Western media about showing pictures of someone without their permission. Unless the artist and/or their corporate representation approve of an image being used, most press outlets won't print it.

Anonymity is also something that Japan as a society seems to crave much more than Americans. The country's preference for using anonymous usernames on social media is often cited as a major reason why social network mixi got such a head start on Facebook in the country. While the desire to have some level of personal notoriety is hardly restricted to America, our trademark individualism makes us the opposite of Japan in that regard.

Do YOU have a question for the Answerman?

We want your questions! Send in as many or as often as you like. We can only pick three questions a week (and unfortunately I don't have ALL the answers) so if you haven't been chosen, don't be discouraged, and keep on sending.

However, there are a few tips you can follow that will make it far more likely that your question gets answered:

• Questions can be submitted by email only. (Tweets with industry questions get ignored.)
• I absolutely cannot answer questions about whether a show will get another season. New productions are closely guarded secrets until they're publicly announced, so there's nothing I can tell you that Google can't.
• I cannot help you get in touch with any producers, artists, creators, actors or licensors. If you're trying to pitch an idea, you should read this.
• I will not do your homework/research/report for you.
• Keep it short! If you find yourself breaking up your question into multiple paragraphs, it's too long.
• Proper grammar and punctuation are your friends!
• Be specific, and give examples when possible. I get a lot of questions asking me about some perceived pattern someone sees in a bunch of unrelated shows, and often I just don't get what's being asked.
• Check the archives! I may have already answered your question!

Got all that? Great! The e-mail address is answerman (at!) animenewsnetwork.com. And thanks!!

Justin Sevakis has worked in the anime business for nearly 20 years. He's the founder of Anime News Network, and owner of the video production company MediaOCD. You can follow him on Twitter at @worldofcrap.