Recently, Japanese website, ITMedia, posted a long discussion between Love Hina author, Ken Akamatsu, and co-creator of the Comipo! manga creation suite, Kentatro Takekuma, on the future of manga. An English-translated version of the discussion is up for viewing here (via MangaBlog).
ITMedia stated that the discussion was a message meant for the manga industry, the publishing industry, and fans of the medium as well. Considering the discussion lasted for seven hours, it’s a lengthy read, but it’s filled with little interesting facts and tidbits, such as how the fee manga artists are paid per page has remained more or less the same over the years,
despite a rise in the cost of living.
Takekuma also mentions that one place young editors employed at publishing companies look for fresh talent is Pixiv, a Japanese online community for artists, hoping to find people they can start to work with immediately.
