13th Manga Division Critiques

HOSOGAYA Atsushi

I joined the panel of jury this year. The screenings took place at a turning point of the government's pop-culture policy, and I recently joined the teaching staff of the manga division of a university. These events made me think a lot about manga. There are many amateur manga artists who support today's manga culture. The daily media orientation of the readers is shifting from paper to digital media. Hence, we can expect the rampant rise of non-professional or non-book works from applicants in five to ten years. When I think of this trend, I feel I am not the only one who worries a sense of foreboding about the small number of applicants in the field of Web manga or independent categories. The number of manga schools and manga divisions is increasing, but I feel that not enough effort is being put to promote them.

Profile

HOSOGAYA Atsushi

Associate Professor, Tokyo Polytechnic University

Born in Tokyo, 1963. HOSOGAYA Atsushi graduated from the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University, and was a member of the Manga Kenkyukai (Manga society). Currently he is an associate professor in the Department of Manga of the Faculty of Arts at Tokyo Polytechnic University. He is also a manga researcher, and as a curator at Kawasaki City Museum, he has organized many manga exhibitions. He is a board member of the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics. Books he has written or edited include "Nihon Manga wo Shirutame No Book Guide" (A Guide to Books on Japanese Manga, Asian Manga Summit Japan Executive Committee) and" Asian MANGA Summit" (Kodomo no Miraisha). He is on the selection committee for the TEZUKA Osamu Cultural Prize and the Yomiuri International Cartoon Contest. He is very knowledgeable about comics and cartoons from around the world.