France’s fascination with manga comic books is booming, a trend highlighted at the Angoulême international comics festival at the end of January. Thousands of fans turned out to see Hajime Isayama, Ryoichi Ikegami and Junji Ito who hosted masterclasses and received special awards.
The fact that three of Japan's most prolific "mangakas" were honoured with special Fauves awards at last Saturday’s closing ceremony at Angoulême, underlines the ever-strengthening link between Asia and the renowned festival.
In 10 years, the volume of the French manga market, second in the world behind Japan, has quadrupled. It was worth 381 million euros in 2022, according to polling company GfK.
Mangas represented 57 percent of the French book market in 2022, growing by two percent with 48 million copies sold.
First visit to France
Bringing well-known cartoonists of the genre to Angoulême in person was a resounding success for festival organisers keen to make a mark for the 50th anniversary.
An exhibition of Hajime Isayama’s blockbuster manga series "Attack of the Titans" was one of the highlights of the festival, selling out two weeks before opening. For the first time in Europe, 170 original plates were on display by this 36 year-old artist who works in the "old fashioned way" on paper, entirely in black and white.
"He travels very little outside Japan," artistic director in charge of the Asian programming, Fausto Fausulo told the press. "He did two exhibitions in Tokyo, including one that went to Singapore. He was at New York Comic Con in the fall. And now in Angoulême".
Considered as artists
"I'm not a rock star," Isayama shyly told France Inter radio on Thursday just prior to the festival opening.
He humbly explained that he never imagined pursuing manga this far, and that he was "hopeless" at writing kanji (Japanese characters) at school. He still has doubts about his talent even today. He appreciated the warm welcome from the French public, 400 of whom attended his masterclass on Saturday afternoon.
"When we come to France, we are considered artists," he said.
Similarly discrete and humble is 78-year-old manga heavyweight Ryoichi Ikegami. His exhibition "A Corps Perdus" (Lost Bodies) features 200 drawings with commentary tracing his long and dynamic career.
The exhibition sets out the origins of his stunning attention to detail in manga action series such as "Crying Freeman" and "Sanctuary". Calling himself a simple "artisan", Ikegami admits that much of his best work was produced in close collaboration with talented script writers such as Kazuo Koike and Buronson.
His work is on show at the Musée d’Angoulême until 12 March 2023.
The other key exhibition dedicated to Japanese manga was by Junji Ito, who also won an honorary award.
"Dans l'antre du délire" (In the Den of Delirium) explores Ito's penchant for the horror genre and has brought him a substantial cult following.
His claims to fame include "Tomie", a series chronicling an immortal girl who drives her admirers to madness, and "Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre" recently adapted to the screen for Netflix.
Asian expansion
While Japan retains the upper hand, the manga industry is thriving elsewhere in Asia, be it South Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong, countries keen to expand into the lucrative international market.
This could be seen in Manga City, one of the festival’s major attractions. The 3,000 m² pavilion hosts manga publishers, workshops, conferences and information about how to become a professional manga author.
Mimi Szeto is one of 15 young talents represented at the festival by the Hong Kong Arts Centre. On stage, she demonstrates her skills at digital drawing in real time, using an Apple pen. The audience is encouraged to ask questions, through an interpreter.
She says inspiration comes from many sources, but mostly just daily life and exchanges with family and friends. In her latest book "A Little Step" the hero is a student called Yu-Kiu Lau, roughly based on her own experience.
"The character actually loves drawing, but she is afraid of showing her artwork to other people because of criticism. This story shows how she overcame her fear to move forward."
Positive experience
Mimi Szeto says women are naturally more "attentive to detail" and more "aware of what the public is looking for", major advantages in what is perceived as a man’s world.
As a first-time visitor to the Angoulême festival, her impressions are very positive. She says being exposed to the European market has encouraged her to open up to styles beyond traditional manga from Japan.
"I feel like [French] people are more respectful and they try to understand the artist," she told RFI, indicating that she was pleasantly surprised how seriously her work is taken by French readers, even if at this stage, they can only appreciate the images.
She is hopeful that her meeting with a local publisher might lead to her book being published in French in the near future.
See the other prize winners from the Angoulême international comics festival
