Domestic "Why do you get out of the Liberal Democratic Party?" "Love Hina" "Negima! 』… The one that decided the hit maker Ken Akamatsu

"I myself am a so-called" Kimoota "(laughs)." The manga artist with a cumulative total of over 50 million copies continues from why he made the "no" decision.

Ken Akamatsu, a manga artist who announced last year that he will run for the Liberal Democratic Party's official candidate in the Upper House election in the summer of 2022.

[Image] "Love Hina" and "Magical Teacher Negima! ], A special "villa" with a four-frame manga in color.

Since the 90's, "Love Hina" and "Magister Negi Magi!" Have been published in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha). Why did the popular writer, whose cumulative circulation of comics exceeds 50 million, run for the race now? (2nd time of 2 times / read the first part)

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The reason why I ran for the LDP even though "generally the LDP is bad (laughs)"

――Looking at Professor Akamatsu's past activities, I think he has achieved results even if he does not become a politician. Why does he run for the Upper House election? It's also from the Liberal Democratic Party. Until now, it was the Liberal Democratic Party that tried to regulate manga.

Akamatsu The Liberal Democratic Party is generally bad (laughs). As you said, the LDP has always been like a group of people who want to regulate manga. That's why the Japan Cartoonists Association petitioned the opposition to oppose the bill that would lead to restraint of expression.

Not only do we go to the opposition to petition, but we are also invited to hear and explain from our point of view. When I asked the Democratic Party of Japan at that time, Yukio Edano was on my side very much.

He felt that things had changed since last year's House of Representatives election (October 2021).

――How has it changed?

Akamatsu At that time, the opposition parties would have begun to overemphasize gender equality.

--The Constitutional Democratic Party has announced that half of the official candidates for the upper house election in the summer of 2022 will be women. Is it such an attitude?

Akamatsu No, at the time of the House of Representatives election in 2021, for example, the Communist Party introduced the term "non-existent child pornography" in its official policy book, "non-existent child pornography does not harm any real or living children. However, it spreads the false social notion that children can be a target of libido, violence, and outlets, and can hurt their dignity. "

This is a word that reminds me of the "non-existent youth" of the time of Governor Ishihara, but I got the impression that the policy has changed a lot because the morals are disturbed even if there are no victims. ..

――It was around October last year that the topic of "Did the Communist Party steer to accept expression restrictions?"

Akamatsu Even before that, it became noticeable that the creations were criticized as "female disdain" and "excessively sexual".

The Japanese Red Cross Society wrote the manga "Uzaki-chan wants to play! The reason why the blood donation PR poster that collaborated with "Environmental sexual harassment" was accused of "environmental sexual harassment", and the PR video of traffic safety enlightenment that Chiba Prefectural Police and Matsudo Police collaborated with VTuber "Rinka Tojo" was "the length of the skirt is short". Since then, it has been deleted in protest by the Alliance of Feminist Representatives, and the female character's "flame uproar" has become a daily occurrence.

If you criticize a real female model, it will be a composition of "female vs. female", so it seems that the appearance of the female character of the creative work has come to be mainly targeted. Do these protests really help eliminate gender discrimination? It's a big question.

――I see that illustrations such as "blushing cheeks" and "many wrinkles in clothes" are said to be "inappropriate because they are overly sexually emphasized." Does that mean it's not good to regulate creations?

Akamatsu As with the Child Po Law (Child Pornography Prohibition Law) mentioned above, I agree with the protection of the rights of real women and children, but there is no scientific or legal basis, and emotional theory. I strongly oppose the excessive expression regulation by.

"Do you read" Sailor Moon "and think" The author longs for white people! "?"

――Up until now, the main movement was to regulate manga from the perspective of "sexual depiction" and "cruel depiction," but there has been a new movement to regulate creations from a gender perspective.

Akamatsu There is increasing pressure from overseas, such as the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. There is also a regulatory movement from the perspective of so-called "political correctness". Have you ever heard of a black character's voice being assigned to a black man?

--In the American longevity animation "The Simpsons", the producer issued a statement that "all the voices of non-white characters that white people were in charge of will be replaced."

Akamatsu In Japanese anime, it is a common technique for a female voice actor to speak to a boy. "Magical Teacher Negima! The voice of Negi-kun (boy), the protagonist of the movie, was also played by a female voice actor.

I understand that race and gender are very big issues overseas, but that doesn't mean that we should accept the pressure to cast with exactly the same values ​​in Japan. In Japan, I want you to be able to compete not by gender or race, but by "ability as a voice actor."

Eventually, it is said in Japanese manga and Japanese animation that "the number of male and female characters should be the same", "make various nationalities, denominations, and races appear", and "male voice actors should be in charge of male characters". I think it is, but there should be resistance.

――Regarding the racial composition of the characters, that tendency has become more prominent in overseas advertisements and live-action movies.

Akamatsu For example, Usagi Tsukino in "Sailor Moon" is drawn with golden hair, and Naru Narusegawa's hair color in "Love Hina" is screentone No. 51 (* editorial note, gray). Do we Japanese feel that they are "Western women" when they see these hair colors?

――I don't think there are many people who feel that way. It is a method for distinguishing characters that appear in large numbers, so to speak, it is a symbolic expression.

Akamatsu That's right. It is common sense that all the people are familiar with manga and anime like Japanese people.

However, there are many people overseas who do not understand it. From such people's point of view, even in manga and anime, the characters should be considered in terms of race composition and gender ratio, and women should not be portrayed as sexy. As soon as the purpose of "let's regulate expression for gender equality" grows, there is a concern that it will suddenly shift to rattling and regulation.

On the other hand, the LDP is not at least moving to "regulate manga and anime!"

What is ahead of "the otaku layer, the vote field, has been visualized"

--……really?

Akamatsu: It's not zero, but no one says it as openly as it used to. This is because Taro Yamada, who continued to work against expression restrictions, ran for the House of Councilors election in 2019 with the official approval of the Liberal Democratic Party, and collected 540,000 votes, the second highest in the party. For better or for worse, you don't want to "burn" yourself half-heartedly.

――If you think that "the otaku layer, the voter, has been visualized," you can be convinced. However, looking at the movements of regulations so far, suddenly ...

Akamatsu Of course, there aren't many lawmakers other than Mr. Yamada who are willing to actively enliven the creative community, just because "there are no more people who want to regulate."

In this situation, I think "Mr. Yamada is isolated and dangerous?" If Mr. Yamada gets sick, it will be difficult. It is dangerous if there is at least another person in the LDP who is similar to Mr. Yamada.

Mr. Yamada has been approaching me for many years, but I just said "UQ HOLDER! 』I was able to see the end, and at that time I replied," I will accept it. " I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting so far. The truth is that the creators should have called out earlier.

――By the way, how do you get the official approval from the Liberal Democratic Party?

Akamatsu I submit documents to the Liberal Democratic Party's Election Countermeasures Committee for an interview. In my case, it means that there was a recommendation from Mr. Yamada.

"I was surprised at the editor in charge of Kodansha ..."

――How was the reaction of the people around you after you announced that you would run?

The editor in charge of Akamatsu Kodansha was surprised, but it seems that there was also a feeling of "after all". Until then, I was working closely with Mr. Yamada.

--From Kodansha's point of view, the sign writer will stop serializing. Didn't you get detained?

Akamatsu If I had to stop, there must have been another timing (laughs). "Stop activities against the Child Po Law while doing weekly serialization."

--The term of office of members of the House of Councilors is six years. In the meantime, isn't it difficult to serialize?

Akamatsu If you start a new serialization without running now, you may still be able to animate another one with the "Akamatsu brand".

However, I've been doing it for 28 years now, so I feel like I've done it. Only Mr. Jyoji Morikawa is older than me in the serialization of "Weekly Shonen Magazine". I think young writers should be good at drawing in the weekly boys' magazine. Nowadays, there are many talented young people such as Ken Wakui of "Tokyo Revengers".

"Leave it to me, go ahead" spirit and "the future of Japanese manga"

――Do you want to draw manga anymore?

Akamatsu No, that's not true. The staff at Akamatsu Studio will keep it as it is, so I plan to create something in some way.

I also made a manga to introduce political activities. This is my villa, but I drew a four-frame manga in color. Political villas aren't very interesting, but they're really picky.

--A famous candidate for the House of Councilors election for manga artists is Hiroshi Motomiya's announcement to run in 1982, and the work "Yabure Kabure", which depicts the process in a rupo format, is serialized in "Shonen Jump" (1982 No. 31-1983). Year 8) I have done it.

"Weekly Bunshun" has been criticized in some parts of the film, but at that time, Professor Osamu Tezuka opposed running, saying, "More than that, you should write a masterpiece that will remain in posterity." What are the reactions of other manga artists to Professor Akamatsu?

Akamatsu If anything, I feel that he has been thrown round, saying, "(Resistance to expression restrictions) will be done by Akamatsu, so let's leave it to us." Perhaps because of that, there are no peers who oppose the candidacy, and I think the times have changed from 40 years ago.

However, everyone says, "Please do what Dr. Akamatsu thinks," or "I rely on you," but sometimes I'm worried about what I really think.

-"I feel the need, but I don't want to do it."

Akamatsu I don't know how to say it, but I think there is such an aspect. But if you dare, that's fine for "people who are selling now".

While I hold on, I would like you to protect and develop Japanese culture, but if you are satisfied with your writing activities and have done it to a certain extent, please help. It's not like "Leave it to me, go ahead", but I'll do my best for a while, so I hope somebody will follow me.

However, I am also quite old. In "Yabure Kabure", there is a scene in which Professor Honmiya goes to a club in Ginza for a drink and gives various strict advice to Professor Takao Saito and Professor Shotaro Ishinomori (at that time, Ishimori). I'm considerably older than Mr. Saito and Mr. Ishimori at that time.

Why cartoonists don't become politicians

――In the end, Professor Motomiya gave up running. Forty years after that, no manga artist has become a politician. It is obvious when compared to professional wrestlers and writers. Why don't manga artists become politicians?

Akamatsu One thing is that I don't like the political color of my work. If you think that "that author is a supporter of the XX party", the reader will think that you cannot enjoy the work purely.

I've always been told that I'm making things that are likely to sell by calculation, or that I'm a manga shop, and I'm evaluated by separating the work and personality. However, if I was asked to draw a political manga using the characters I had drawn, I wouldn't do that. If you are an author whose personality and work are easily evaluated as equal, it is understandable to avoid becoming politically colored.

Second, most manga artists love to draw manga. At one point, I once said to a super veteran cartoonist who is also popular with members of the Diet, "Please be elected governor of Tokyo, I will definitely accept it." "No, Akamatsu-kun. I am a manga. I like to draw, right? "(Laughs).

――For manga artists, "lifetime active duty" may be one of the ideals.

Akamatsu It is true that many people do not want to do anything else. However, I hope that the announcement of my candidacy will increase the number of people who speak out about politics and restraint of expression.

Damage amount swelled more than four times as much as in the "Manga Village" era

--If there is a horse elected to the Upper House as an extension of Professor Akamatsu's activities so far, will the main activity guideline be "resistance to expression restrictions"?

Akamatsu That's important. I think the situation surrounding the current expression is wonderful. The primary creator does not overwhelm the secondary creation, nor does the secondary creator cry out loudly for rights or legitimacy.

I want to maintain the status quo where everyone can express what they like. Therefore, I would like to resist when regulations that threaten this emerge.

――So what do you want to achieve when you become a politician?

Akamatsu The urgent issue is how to deal with pirated sites.

―― “Manga Village” has collapsed, but it seems that there are still many similar sites.

Sales of manga e-books increased dramatically due to the “demand for nesting” at Korona-ka Akamatsu. Although it is said to be a publishing recession, the manga market has the highest sales ever.

On the other hand, the damage to pirated sites has increased proportionally, and the amount of damage has increased four times as much as when "Manga Village" became a problem.

--Did it increase so much?

Akamatsu These pirated websites are based overseas, and are now mainly Vietnamese. No matter how much we consider pirated sites as a problem, if it is still overseas, it will be "Manga, why do we need to crack down on Vietnamese taxes?"

However, if the manga artist himself becomes a politician and goes to the site and complains about his plight, I think he can tell how important it is for Japan. I have the pride that I have been the most involved in anti-piracy measures among Japanese manga artists, so I think it's a good job.

"Maybe it will be the first member to bring an LCD tablet to the Senator Kaikan (laughs)."

――For writers who cannot publish books on paper, copying the electronic version without deterioration is a matter of life and death.

A small number of "super-popular works" that can be sold on Akamatsu paper are driving sales, but there are still many new writers in the industry who can only read in electronic version.

The next blockbuster is born from that, but those "electronic-only manga artists" are literally hit hard by electronic pirated sites. In an era when manga is so popular, I don't think there should be any writers who can eat it.

Also, what I always say is diplomacy using manga and anime. When the Self-Defense Forces were dispatched to Samawah, Iraq, there were rumors that they would not be attacked if the water truck had a picture of "Captain Tsubasa" on it, but when I asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was true.

-"Captain Marged" (Arabic version of "Captain Tsubasa") is very popular in Arab countries.

Akamatsu I think it's a new memory to use manga balloons for admission placards in each country at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics last year.

In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron, who came to Japan, was delighted to meet Professor Katsuhiro Otomo ("AKIRA", "Domu", etc.) and Professor Hiro Mashima ("RAVE", "FAIRY TAIL", etc.). Moreover, even in a country that doesn't have a very good feeling for Japan, I love "Evangelion".

Even if you look at these things, from an overseas perspective, Japan is still an "animation country" and a "manga country." Therefore, if the manga artist himself brings Japanese melons (= anime, manga) and advertises them, it should be easy for them to understand the goodness of Japan. In other words, it's "manga diplomacy / animation friendship where you can see the author's face".

In the process, I think that the diversity and fun of Japanese animation and manga, which are currently incompatible with political correctness, will be conveyed, and new commercial opportunities will be created.

To that end, pirated editions must be eradicated, and we cannot accept expression restrictions without evidence.

--Elections are coming up in the summer. Since there is no precedent for a manga artist to run, is it a groping for where to start the pre-activity of the Public Offices Election Act?

Akamatsu I'm doing that while consulting with a lawyer. After all my weapon is manga, so I want to use manga.

If cute characters and cool characters explain difficult political terms and policies in color manga, even people who don't have time to watch the video should think "Is it okay to watch it?" If I win, I may be the first member to bring an LCD tablet to the Senator Kaikan (laughs).

Photo = Wataru Sato / Bungeishunju

(Ryuji Kayama)