Hello-lo. Your yearly visit with I the barely there webmaster of this blog starts now! This time around it's my birthday and I'll translate if I want to. Though no, it is I who owe you a present and this one is a pretty biggun, featuring the new chief editor of WSS, Kazunori Ooshima! I know we just translated Ichihara's interviews barely a year ago but times come and go fast! I learned a lot through this and hopefully you do too. As always the same disclaimers stand: I am not a pro translator so there might be some small errors. If you see any please feel free to tell us about it in the comments. Well then, without further ado, let's let the new big wig speak!
In 2015 Takenori Ichihara assumed the position of Chief editor of Weekly Shounen Sunday with the declarative statement “Starting now Weekly Shounen Sunday will begin to foster new artists and homegrown talent. Anyone in the editorial staff who opposes this will be dismissed without question.” Now in October 2021 he has stepped down from his position and Kazunori Ooshima has become the 21st chief editor of the magazine.
In terms of current Sunday, Detective Conan has become a hot topic in the news with the release of it's 100th volume, and newbie authors have spawned the hit manga “Frieren: Beyond the End of the Journey.” Meanwhile anime productions come one after another with “Komi Can't Communicate” and “Maiko-san chi no Makanai-san.” both of which are widely known and discussed manga. The print circulations of Sunday have been trending downward, but with the inclusion of digital and copyrights overall the brand has seen remarkable success.
Mr. Ooshima served as Vice Chief Editor during Mr. Ishihara's reign and started the “Sunday Webry” app. Though now as the leader of Shonen Sunday, what can we expect from him?
----The trouble shooter from Corocoro who ensured the success of going digital.
Q: Mr. Ooshima, why was there a change in Chief Editor?
Ooshima (To be known as O): The previous Chief Mr. Ishihara had served in the role for an unprecedented 6 years, so it was a matter of a changing of the guard. When the time came to make the transition I was nominated for the role.
As for why it was me, I can only hazard a guess but digging into my history with Shougakukan I was born in 1980 making me 40, and entered the company (Shougakukan) in 2003, and from then until 2014 worked in the editorial staff of Corocoro comics. Manga was the core focus, but beyond that I did work with Level Five's Inazuma Eleven, Gung Ho's Puzzles and Dragons and other related work. When I transferred over to Sunday I became the editor of Detective Conan merchandising and movies. I did extensive work in that department until 2016.
A year or so into Mr. Ichihara being the chief was when I was charged with working in digital manga. Basically whenever we had our weekly editorial meeting, I'd be on my phone the whole time playing Puzzles and Dragons. So one day Mr. Ichihara caught me and said “You'll do it” in regard to working in the digital department and that's how I got the job.
---- (laughs).
O: From there I experienced many twists and turns on the front-line of Digital Sunday, and the development of the “Sunday Webry” app. I believe it was a good experience as I learned the approach for selling manga in print vs digitally is very different, which will serve me well as Chief Editor.
Sunday as an institution has quite a history in regard of the editorial staff. The Chief editors and leadership are often raised from the ground up as new employees with the knowledge of the magazine driven into them, so it's been some time since there hasn't been an editor who hasn't just been around for a long time.
--- I take it that it's more of a personnel affair when considering the drop in print magazine sales vs the rise of digital manga and rights, correct?
O: That's about right. I've seen exactly as you said while working with digital manga and rights with Mr. Ichihara backing me up. I'd say the last couple of years have been important in regards to digital rights and practices. Beyond that, employing problem solving skills and reconsidering how to optimize our options while still keeping with what makes Sunday Sunday was also what Mr. Ichihara sought to preserve. To cultivate the new authors coming to us, create hit works, and expand on sales requires a monumental amount of strong teamwork and it became our jobs to think about how to make it happen.
The best and arguably only way for Sunday to grow as a brand is to create a cycle of new and interesting works that stand out.
(What is training for new recruits at Sunday?)
--- Can you specify how to strengthen the link between a new author and their new work?
O: There are many methods, but the foundation is enriching our rookie of the year award, and then taking said winners works and preserving them on Webry so that more people can see them. In Spring and Fall we've been having rookies works appear in Weekly Shonen Sunday one after another in what's called the SSGP (New Generation Sunday Grand Prix) and the authors that get the most favorable responses then move forward with the challenge that is a serialization.
In short a rookie author stepping up into the world of serialization is in part up to the readers of the magazine which is a matter of course.
Beyond that we're making moves to expand the page count of Sunday and renew the Webry page so that more artists works will be ripe for reading.
--- Sunday is a weekly Shonen magazine with many veteran authors which leaves very little room for new talent, I'd say. What do you think of that?
O: I feel there are many chances for new names to debut in Sunday. The most important matter is having works in the magazine that attract readers so having veterans and newbies supporting the core that is Sunday is for the best. After all veterans are newbies who say “I want to draw shonen manga forever.” And we want to show that Sunday is a magazine with a unique charm like no other where they can do just that.
---What kind of works do you mean?
O: There are two types. The first is one where the mangaka and the editorial staff have the conviction to believe a proposed story is “truly good.” It's of my opinion that readers will be able to sniff out a series that was made to cater to current trends than it's own merit. That being said there's also nothing wrong with having conviction that a series inspired by what's trending will interest readers too.
The other is “A series with strongly written characters.” While yes there are other publishers who have works that are massively popular, I think Shougakukan fosters manga that don't stop at just “selling a lot.” In that vein, creating lasting characters is our mission, and we want artists who think “I want this character out in the world.” to come to us.
I don't want to limit us to specific genres, rather I want to publish works of different types. Staples like RomComs and Sports are great and all, but occupational manga, comedy manga and of course battle manga with cool characters are ones I'd like to publish as well.
(Utilizing our app to maximize the readers of Sunday.)
---What are the demographics of contemporary Sunday?
O: Sunday currently has two questionnaires –one as a postcard in the magazine and one online. In regard to the postcard in the magazine itself most of the votes come from readers 30 and older who have read and enjoyed Sunday for a very long time.
On the other hand looking at the results of the web version, there are a ton of readers in their teens probably around or older than 15 years old into their 20s and a ton of people in their 30s who love the manga in the magazine, and there are several times more responses than those who send in postcards.
So with this in mind to get an idea of what the masses are into we check the web, and for the core reader the postcard. This year we've set up a place where one can freely write their opinions on Sunday on the online questionnaire and each week more than 2000 people enthusiastically write their thoughts. Of course the day after we –including me read each and every one of them.
---Off the top of your head what do the numbers look like?
O: As of right now, Sunday has a paper circulation of just under 200,000, and Webry has about MAU (Monthly Active Users) of 1.5 million, and DAU (Daily Active Users) of 500,000. Detective Conan has 100 volumes and about 250 million in circulation worldwide, while Frieren: Beyond the End of the Journey has 5 volumes and around 4.5 million copies in circulation. Major has a total of 55 million copies in circulation and there are many digital only works that have a cumulative total of over 1 million copies.
Henceforth we would like to increase the number of subscribers by hosting web only features and measures. Speaking of which the special extra column for the 100th volume of Detective Conan will be sent to those who want it free of charge, and we'll be also sending the “Voice cards” as a special present. We're hoping to set up more projects that will make fans happy they chose subscribe and read Sunday.
---Could you discuss the relationship between the Webry App and the magazine? Webry seems to be Sunday –in that you can read a new chapter a day for free before catching up (Excluding some series) but you have to buy the magazine for the most recent chapter right? You can't just read it online. Compared to other Shonen magazine apps, Sunday seems to be the one that offers the most for free if one is willing to put in the time. What's the aim with this strategy?
Fundamentally our goal is to “Increase the amount of fans reading.” and “Increase the amount of fans subscribing. Basically to instill the idea of being able to catch up to a work on Webry for free, but then enticing readers to buy the magazine in order to stay caught up, or buying volumes for specific series to have the chapters in one place.
Due to paper circulation numbers dropping and the emergence of digital manga and apps, the way to sell and buy manga has become singular and now the power of works by “individuals” is in play and quite successful, however the issue posed by this is magazines work on the notion of creating hits by working in tandem. As in readers would check out one series in the magazine and then through that find others they enjoy by newcomers and thus a new hit is born.
This is the thought behind Webry which does allow for reading a work singly, but encourages readers to buy the magazine in order to read current chapters of their favorite series be they serialized in Sunday, Gessan, or Sunday GX. If there's a series you like you can read online till you get to the recent chapters and if you're dying for more collect it through the volumes.
(Strengthening outer events and dispatch.)
---Corocoro is unique in that readers can participate with their favorite manga in 4WD and Duel Masters competitions and experience the manga in reality. It's a tri-pronged approach between “Manga” “adverts” and “events.” Will this idea born in Corocoro ever find it's way to Sunday?
O: In regard to creating better stories within the magazine, I'd like to find a means to bridge the gap between the reader and the editorial department.
I've been wondering if Sunday could do more in public outreach as a brand that's more than just advertising or promoting individual series. When Mr. Ichihara became chief and made his declaration, we got many differing opinions at launch but what I'm looking forward to now is people having higher expectations for Sunday and “Sunday is really at it's best!” Those kind of reactions are my aim.
---What have you conveyed?
O: Right now adjusting the perception of readers. “Sunday is pretty healthy” now is what I want people to see when they read the magazine or engaged with the brand.
---How about events?
O: During Mr. Ichihara's time there was an association called the “Sunday Supporters Club” where members would be invited to an event called “Sunday Culture fest” once a year. Looking at the situation as it is now, I'd like to have more events readers can go to.
I've been in charge of events all over the country for many years during my tenure with Corocoro but it's after the event that I got most excited, since it was clear that Corocoro is indeed reaching readers. By being able to see the fans face to face it's easy to see that “This is great.”
In Summer 2010 there was a nationwide event called “Coro tours” where I myself would appear on stage before the young fans and present the –at the time new trailer for Inazuma Eleven 3 by shouting on stage “Here's the new trailer!” right before it shows accompanied by the current theme song for the Inazuma Eleven games. It was great to see more than 200 children all shouting and excited at once.
I thought to myself that the song was incredible and thought that the magazine conveyed this well. I was trying to convey this well but then when the children started singing along with the song at the event without me prompting them to I was moved to almost tears. I hope that the editors, mangaka, and readers will be able to experience this themselves someday.
Beyond that there's the “Sunday Thanksgiving festival” which is an event mostly for our inner circle where the manga artists gather and have a party. We had this event each year before the Corona pandemic. I don't think this is the end of the event though as being able to gather both mangaka and editors in once place has had a huge effect on morale. Especially for newbies who want to debut in the magazine –there's no greater motivation than to stand side by side with the artist they admire. I'd like to do it again providing we keep an eye on the condition of the pandemic.
----Please give your final thoughts.
O: If I had to put into my own words why we produce this manga magazine each week I think it'd be because we want to create something people think is “fun!” each week or “next week will be even more fun.” Even better if readers think “Next week is too far away.”
I'm not as flashy as Mr. Ichihara, who was said to be the least tactful editor in the history of Sunday (laughs). Rather I prefer to speak softly and step quietly. That being said I hope readers will enjoy and keep enjoying Sunday!
Thanks for the translation. I read the interview when it came out with help of machine translation. I understood maybe 70%. Now things are a bit clearer. I wonder if the new editor has any intentions in making Sunday Webry available in english or other languages. Seeing how Manga Plus is very popular I hope Shogakukan does something similar in the future.
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