Much ink has been spilled in recent years about the international boom of Japanese pop culture. Anime, for instance, is now a phenomenon that sets global box-office records on top of its domination of streaming services such as Netflix. Where does that leave manga, on which a large portion of anime is based?
While Japanese comics have long been exported and localized in foreign markets, a recent development in the industry is giving manga an even more global dimension. Kodansha, one of Â鶹´«Ã½ top three manga publishers, is scouting for talent abroad, resulting in publications such as ¡°,¡± a collaboration between American artists Vinnie Hacker and Shakira Pressley with Japanese creator Hiroto Oishi, ¡°Liason¡± by Korean artist Yeong-chan and Japanese writer Yusaku Takemura, and ¡°,¡± penned by French writer Izu and illustrated by Italian artist Hagane, both pen names.
¡°My main assignment is to find talented artists in Spain,¡± says Ayane Chiba, an editor at Kodansha currently on assignment in Barcelona.
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