It’s more profitable to work with doujins than to be a professional mangaka, according to artist

February 8, 2024 Shiki 0 Comments 3 min read

A doujin artist recently took to Twitter to state that it is more profitable to work with doujins than to be a professional mangaka. His statements sparked a huge debate among Japanese users.

He highlighted in a statement that he dedicated most of his life to writing and drawing, and said that he was able to support himself financially in recent years working with doujin:

”I’ve dedicated myself to writing and drawing almost my entire life. The reason I can still live like this in recent years is, frankly, because I ‘kept drawing hent** and didn’t become a professional mangaka.

While in the amateur market you earn 50% to 80% of the value sold, royalties for professionals are only 5% to 10%. Most of the creators around me, who have this financial cushion, follow this pattern. It’s distorted.”

人生のほとんどを創作で食べてきた私が晩年もある程度生活に余裕があるのはぶっちゃけ「エロを描いた」し「プロにならなかった」からです。

アマチュア市場は売れた金額の50%〜80%入るのに対し、プロになると印税は5%〜10%

私の周囲で生活に余裕のあるクリエイターは大体このパターン。歪んでます。

— 姉太郎@万象森羅founder (@ANETAROU) February 4, 2024

It’s more profitable to work with doujins than to be a professional mangaka, according to artist

In another post, the artist also expressed his desire for the manga industry to evolve, thus allowing free creation for artists to do whatever they want:

”As a creator, I would like the manga market to develop more. I wish for an era where you can draw whatever you want and deliver it directly to whoever wants to read it.”

Check out some comments from Japanese users about the artist’s statements below:

“Seriously, the demand for erotic content is incredible, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but like anything else, once you can stand on your own in the business, there’s no need for intermediaries, they’re just taking your money for nothing.”
“Wow, sounds like they’re being exploited.”
“If you become a pro, you should be able to make money besides royalties, but you were probably drawing in a place with no popularity and no sense.”
“If you want to achieve the same dream as the authors of One Piece or Demon Slayer, there’s only one option: become a professional.”
“I saw on the internet that even relatively successful light novel authors often have another profession. It seems that even if you work hard, you’re not rewarded when the market is so niche.”
“If you draw erotic stuff, your life is over, that’s it.”
“It’s a shame that both voice actors and manga artists, if they can’t sell, end up having to resort to adult content. Blame it on this perverted country that is Japan.”

His post reached more than two million views and received many comments from users making the debate heated on Twitter.

via Otakomu

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