PHOTOS: Japanese manga artists are finding success online

Manga artist Kamentotsu didn't expect much when he uploaded a four-panel strip about an anthropomorphic bear who runs a cake shop to his Twitter account three years ago. But the first instalment of "Koguma's Cake Shop", drawn as consolation for a tired friend, attracted tens of thousands of likes. Within a week, 40 companies had approached him with offers. "Publishing company editors have gone from bringing up manga artists, like they are farming, to hunting for them," said Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name and wears a mask in media appearances. By searching for talent online, publishers squeezed by the rise of the internet can see an artist's audience potential out in the open. ...read more

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Japanese manga artist Kamentotsu shows his his four-panel strip comic 'Koguma's Cake Shop' on his smartphone at his workspace in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2020. (REUTERS)

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Sheets with four-panel strip comic 'Koguma's Cake Shop', created by Japanese manga artist Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name, are seen at his workspace in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2020. (REUTERS)

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Japanese manga artist Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name and wears a mask in media appearances, poses for a photograph at his workspace in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2020. Picture taken October 8, 2020. (REUTERS)

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Japanese manga artist Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name and wears a mask in media appearances, draws his four-panel strip comic 'Koguma's Cake Shop' at his workspace in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2020. Picture taken October 8, 2020. (REUTERS)

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Published on Mar 01, 2021 01:51 PM IST

Japanese manga artist Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name and wears a mask in media appearances, draws his four-panel strip comic 'Koguma's Cake Shop' at his workspace in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2020. Picture taken October 8, 2020. (REUTERS)

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View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Mar 01, 2021 01:51 PM IST

Japanese manga artist Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name and wears a mask in media appearances, draws his four-panel strip comic 'Koguma's Cake Shop' at his workspace in Tokyo, Japan October 8, 2020. Picture taken October 8, 2020. (REUTERS)