In a recent interview with Manga Passion, Mayu Nakamura, the manga editor of Shoujo Manga Magazine Bessatsu Friend, shed light on the preference of live-action adaptations over anime for shoujo manga.

Nakamura attributed this prominence of live-actions to business consideration within the industry, emphasizing that it’s a reflection of the demands of the domestic media market.

While acknowledging that shoujo manga could indeed be suitable for anime adaptation, Nakamura highlighted the significant demand for live-action series and movies within Japan, particularly targeting young women.

According to Nakamura, the Japanese film industry aims to produce a certain number of romance movies annually, often intended for viewing on dates. Shoujo manga, with their diverse romantic storylines, thus offer attractive source material for such productions. Furthermore, Nakamura noted the industry’s reliance on young male actors to portray leading roles in these romance movies, thereby enhancing their popularity.

Nakamura also shed light on the gender dynamics within the anime and film industries, noting that while shoujo manga enjoys widespread popularity, decision-makers in these industries, such as producers and directors, are predominantly male. This, coupled with higher budgets required for anime production, might contribute to the relative underrepresentation of shoujo manga in anime adaptations.

Mayu Nakamura joined Kodansha immediately after her graduation and has been working at the company since 2013. For the first four years she worked in manga distribution and was responsible for bookstores. In the fifth year she joined the Bessatsu Friend editorial team.

Nakamura is currently in charge of works such as Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! and A Girl & Her Guard Dog. She had previously handled Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, A Kiss with a Cat and Cutie and the Beast.

Bessatsu Friend, formerly known as Bessatsu Shojo Friend, is a Japanese shojo manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is published on the 13th of each month.

Source: Manga Passion