Pointing to the Future of Manga

I am struck by the fact that, in all genres today, there are so many works of manga that are not available in paper form.I have heard that, even for large publishers, finding artists and writers via the Internet is now becoming a significant part of a company's business model. I'm re- alizing that we are coming to the end of those graceful, slower-paced times in which companies nurtured cre- ators so that they would eventually yield great profits.I believe this trend is probably advantageous for the artists, but also for the publishers, who can acquire works with profit potential right away without having to nurture the artists. I suspect that this will perhaps ulti- mately lead publishers to gradually lose their individual flavors in exchange for their survival.With regard to the content of the manga, I was re- lieved to be able to confirm that no matter how the times change, what is considered important by the people who create the manga and those who read it remain unchanged. And this, I was also able to reaffirm, is something that most aligns with the dispositions of not any other country or people but those of Japan.I believe this is truly demonstrated by metamorphose no engawa, for which I wrote a critique. There are some who want to see manga go global, but the greatest sig- nificance of manga is to be enjoyed by the people of the country it was created in.This work underscores this belief of mine.I believe the future of manga lies not on the outside, but within the readers and creators.