Shonen Jump editorial staff have shared their perspective on why many promising manga creators who win rookie awards ultimately fail to debut professionally, pointing to an inability to continue improving their craft after early recognition.
The comments were made through the official account for Shonen Jump’s manga awards program in response to a fan question asking why some award-winning creators disappear after receiving accolades.
The user asked if these award-winning artists become too fixated on creating a commercially successful hit instead of simply continuing to draw and refine their skills, which ultimately affects their ability to serialize a work.
In their response, the editorial staff stated that most award winners already possess ability and future potential, but emphasized that winning a prize does not mean they are immediately capable of producing a successful serialized manga.
The bigger challenge begins when creators are expected to further refine their storytelling and adapt to editorial feedback before they are ready for mainstream serialization.
The publisher mentioned that some promising artists struggle during this development phase because they become overly attached to their own ideas and resistant to criticism.
While confidence in one’s work is considered essential, the publisher warned that excessive pride before reaching professional success can prevent meaningful improvement.
Shonen Jump also dismissed the idea that trying to create a commercially successful manga is inherently negative. In fact, they described the desire to make a widely popular work as an important trait for creators pursuing mainstream success.
However, they also cautioned against chasing trends so aggressively that a creator loses their individuality.
Check out the full explanation below:
My personal impression is that they are people who have talent and potential, but can’t continue refining it.
People who win awards already possess skill and future potential. However, that doesn’t automatically mean they already have the ability to create an instantly popular serialized manga. There’s still a necessary ‘polishing’ phase afterward.
Artists who are ‘naturally gifted’ in the wrong way sometimes shut themselves inside a narrow shell and struggle to accept criticism about the weaknesses in their work.
Pride in your own work is important. But if, before becoming a professional or achieving success, you retreat into a narrow shell and cling to a kind of unhealthy pride that only comforts yourself, you stop being able to grow. That becomes a major negative when trying to create a mass-market hit.
As for ‘being fixated on making a hit work,’ I actually think that’s a trait of promising creators suited for mainstream professional success. On the other hand, if someone becomes too obsessed with that goal and loses all pride in their own identity, their work can end up lacking originality. Balance is important.
If a work is truly interesting, even the creator’s personal tastes and values being forcefully expressed can become part of its charm. To be deeply loved by some people, it’s necessary to have a distinct flavor — even if that means being disliked by others.
If you’re going to isolate yourself, do it after becoming successful, inside a huge shell built together with your readers! Even globally massive hit franchises would probably look like incomprehensible niche media for humans from another planet.
That said, creating manga purely out of personal pride isn’t bad at all if your goal isn’t mainstream success. After all, making lots of money and being loved by the masses isn’t the only value or purpose of manga creation.
Meanwhile, Shonen Jump is providing a pathway for rookie creators to get published on either Jump+ or Manga Plus platform via their monthly creator awards. By submitting their works, creators stand to get feedback from both the editorial team and also fans themselves, which in turn aids their development.
