Jun Watanabe criticized that fees in the manga have not increased in decades

The creator of the Manga franchise Take emblem 2, June Watanabe posted an update on Twitter wondering if it was okay for new manga writers to receive the same manuscript fees that he received thirty years ago. His post wrote:

«Thanks to the use of electronic devices, Manga sales are said to be at an all-time high. But for new manga artists, manuscript fees have been largely unchanged since my debut more than 30 years ago, though it depends on the magazine. In some cases, like in web magazines, the payments are even lower. I suspect there could be several reasons for this … I feel like it’s difficult for writers to be successful in such a situation … Is this really the right direction for the manga world?».

It should be noted that in recent years, along with the increase in digital manga sales, Kimetsu no Yaiba It sold record sales, more than double any other manga series in a year, and boosted the entire solo manga market. And those stats are related to physical sales, digital aren’t that common. This market-sustaining phenomenon of a single series has continued with Jujutsu Kaisen and Tokyo Avenger.

What June Watanabe refers to the base pay new manga creators receive at the beginning of their career as such for each page. Typically, manga creator fees start at 10,000 yen (about $ 88) per page, depending on the magazine, the presentation of the chapters, and of course their contracts. Manga creators also charge royalties for every sale of compilation volume, in addition to royalties for anime and live-action adaptations, although this fee has not been increased in the past for the biggest hits.

It’s hard to prove that what Watanabe is claiming is completely true, as the contracts between the two manga creators are a closely guarded secret (unless they disclose the amount themselves) and digital manga sales are not going up tracked the same way as physical sales. But one thing is for sure, manga creators deserve to be paid, and 10,000 yen was way longer in the 1980s than it was in the 2020s.

Source: Official Twitter account