Industry Insight from a First-Time Mangaka: Censorship, Overseas Publishing and More
Sansho Uo is a first-time BL mangaka who is will occasionally comment on their struggles within the industry. Putting all their posts together resulted in an interesting look into the obstacles met by artists trying to reach potential readers:
Getting Published: Sansho writes that her manuscript for Kimi ni Iu ni wa Inu no Koi ( 君に言うには犬の恋 - close to: What You're Talking About is a Dog's Love) was originally rejected from at least one BL publisher for not actually being BL, but when Sensei submitted it to a different publisher it was again rejected for the reasoning of, "This is BL."
The story was ultimately accepted by a publisher that "mainly publishes calm and healthy works," which Kimi Inu is not, resulting in a surprising amount of censorship that Sensei had not anticipated:
Censorship: Sensei says they do not understand why the publisher agreed to run the story at all as it goes against the direction of what the label usually publishes, with some content either hidden by mosaic or entirely removed ("Episode 7 might turn into a mosaic festival 💅").
They also make several comments on their editor helping to improve and refine the story and the art, making it interesting that they are running into so many issues with publishing, as changes are already being made and approved under the label's guidance.
Sensei emphasizes that they are very grateful to the publisher but will not be holding back, though the target audience of the mismatched label means that the story barely had any readers at all until it started getting promoted on Twitter.
Sensei also assures that the final manga itself will be uncensored, it is only the digital chapter uploads that are having sections removed, but the manga will not be edited without their consent.
English Publication: After being promoted by Twitter's maru (more here), Sensei received an influx of requests for an official English translation, reporting that it seems that a translation depends entirely upon sales and an English-language publisher reaching out to the original publisher and it is not something that they themselves have any control over ("It's so frustrating to just sit here waiting for offers from overseas publishers. I wanna go out and pitch it myself!).
Recently I’ve seen a lot of people justify piracy by claiming that Japanese and Korean artists “don’t want foreigners reading their work anyway, so we have no choice but to pirate.” But many creators do want overseas readers to access their work legally, while licensing decisions are largely outside their control. Sansho Uo in particular seems to be trying very hard to create opportunities for overseas readers.
They did, however, receive permission to promote the English-language translation of only Chapter 1 provided that Sansho Uo created it themselves, which they then did ("I have an incredible sense of awe for all the people doing translation work on this earth. Replacing it with different words while capturing the character's characteristics is just way too amazing"). Available here.
Sansho has encouraged overseas fans to reach out with any questions they may have about the content, but the manga will likely need to sell quite well before attracting any attention from overseas publishers.
At the moment, however, it seems that sales of the first volume are not bad, but not particularly great, either (possibly due to the fact that it is confusingly being distributed by a label that is ill-suited to the content).
Undeterred, Sensei is already working on their next title, and has shared silly thoughts wondering if seme built like refrigerators who are obsessed with a sassy uke are the only thing they can write.
I highly recommend following Uo Sansho on Twitter or Pixiv if you are interested in their work or in the manga industry, but also just because they're hilarious. Highlights include:
>There's a panel where a fly is drowning in the water of a vase, but since I didn't want to image search for "fly," I image searched for the explosive fly action Indian movie "Makkhi" and drew the fly based on that. If I am forced to draw insects in the future, I will refer to "A Bug's Life" 😎
and
>While reading your fan letters, I had this presumptuous delusion, but if I were to hold a signing event, l'd feel bad about making you all come all the way to the venue, so l'd want to do it in a terrifying reverse Yamato Transport style where I personally visit each of your homes to sign.
Sensei says that Kimi Inu is "a manga full of dimly lit scenes and unpleasant people" and "dark, but my heart is very bright!," but as of the most recent chapter there is nothing particularly trigger-warning worthy, and it is all so fascinating and impossible to predict what will happen next.
Interview:
Excerpts from an interview that Sansho Uo did with Real Sound:
—Please tell us how you came up with the setting for this work.
Sansho Uo: There’s a movie called Phantom Thread that came out in 2017, and I absolutely love it. It’s about a lonely perfectionist man and a woman who smoothly slips into his life, and the two gradually form a codependent relationship. Watching it made me think, “I want to create something like this too!” That was the starting point. I extracted the aspects that appealed to me and reinterpreted them in my own way, which eventually became this work.
I also love Blade Runner 2049, another film released in 2017, and I was drawn to characters who pitifully cling to and pursue what they desperately want to believe in. I combined the parts I loved from both movies and reconstructed them in my own way while creating this manga.
—What made you start drawing manga?
Sansho Uo: I’ve loved drawing ever since I was little. Influenced by Finding Nemo, I often drew ocean-related pictures. I was also influenced by an old German movie called Little Witch: Bibi and the Magic Crystal, and I drew tons of manga-like fan works about animals using magic. I think that was probably the beginning.
The Story in Volume 1:
Having been late to class one too many times, Tamanoi Akira is assigned to assisting the student council as punishment. Tamanoi is tired of hassles and troublesome things and finds himself wishing that he could just be like a dog that only needs to listen to what his owner says and be praised for it.
And that is when he meets student council president Miyauchi, a bright and pleasant student who is out of place in their bottom-tier school overrun with delinquents. Akira is tall for his age but says he didn't do well at basketball because all he is is big, not talented. Miyauchi says it is a shame that no one ever complimented him properly and tells him that he did well.
The next day Akira volunteers to do a bothersome task for council with Miyauchi rather than a simple task with someone else and Miyauchi tells him that he is special, praising him again.
Afterwards, the scene cuts to Miyauchi being asked to fetch coffee for Kawasaki, a teacher, but upon delivering it he pours it out and orders Kawasaki to lick the floor clean. On his way home, Akira sees a dog being praised by its owner, and thinks of Miyauchi.
Days pass of Akira helping with the council and Miyauchi praising him for his efforts, and Akira's friends start to tell him that he's been brainwashed by Miyauchi. That day Miyauchi asks Akira to scold delinquent students for taking over a room at the school. Akira is not happy and only reluctantly obeys.
The students decide to fight him but Akira is simply too large, taking a hit unfazed that sends his attacker stumbling against a locker and hurting himself on accident.
Akira is suspended for a week for fighting and no one believes he is not at fault--except Miyauchi, who goes to his home with special snacks to apologize.
That night they meet up at an empty house to light sparklers together, and Akira confides in Miyauchi about the car accident that blinded his left eye. As he had been on his way to a fireworks festival with his family he now suffers from anxiety that whenever there is something good to look forward to, something bad will inevitably happen to ruin it. Miyauchi asks if he is frightening and Akira says no, confessing his feelings.
Back at their respective homes Akira shares Miyauchi's treats with his family, while Miyauchi is revealed to live with a verbally abusive mother and a disinterested stepfather. He gets into the shower fully clothed and says he wants to die.
Back at the school we learn more about Miyauchi and Kawasaki's dynamic: Kawasaki pays Miyauchi an allowance to physically abuse him (Miyauchi abusing the teacher--the relationship is not sexual). Miyauchi's parents do not seem to feed him anything so this is possibly how he survives, though he hates doing it. It is also how he was able to acquire the treats that he gave to Akira.
With Miyauchi's permission Akira goes to his desk to retrieve Miyauchi's forgotten smartphone, where someone has left a dead cockroach and carved the word "criminal." Akira goes back to Miyauchi and says he wants to protect him, will do anything for him, and they hug.
On his way home from school Akira is jumped by bullies who want revenge for the student that Akira never actually attacked, but Akira refuses to defend himself, getting pummeled by older students because if he is suspended again for fighting he will not be able to protect Miyauchi.
Back at school Akira is confronted by another member of the student council (Nishida) who tells him that Akira is being deceived: Miyauchi's father is a murderer. A swindler who drove his victims to suicide, he is the reason why Miyauchi is enrolled at their bottom-tier school.
Nishida tells Akira that the same thing will happen to him, that he is being used, but Akira cares about only one thing: it was Nishida who carved "criminal" into Miyauchi's desk. Akira punches Nishida to the floor and calls Miyauchi to the student council room on his phone.
Miyauchi is shocked to see the bloody and whimpering Nishida, but Akira tells him that he doesn't have to worry anymore, kissing Miyauchi and telling him not to own any other dogs but him. Miyauchi thinks of Kawasaki, thinks of Nishida, thinks of his father, and tells Akira: "Don't belong to any owner other than me."
--
With Kimi Inu struggling to find its target audience due to the nature of the publisher that has picked it up the future of the story is heavily dependent upon word-of-mouth promotion.
Manga that are not profitable get dropped from serialization, which would be a crime for such a fascinating story, so hopefully word will spread despite the odds stacked against Sansho Uo's debut work.