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I think Nanamine may actually have hit on something here – a new way of going about the manga game that makes some very sensible changes to a system that’s basically been unchanged for 30 years despite the advances in mass communication over that time. Why not involve the public more directly in the creative process? Why shouldn’t an author have a more direct and collaborative relationship with the audience? This would obviously represent a very dire threat to the existing power structure in the industry, and it’s worth repeating that even if there’s a kernel of wisdom in his ideas, Nanamine is probably the wrong messenger. He’s clearly unethical and has no notion of the boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed, in the name of progress or anything else.
In purely practical terms, Nanamine represents a very real threat to Ashirogi Muto’s future plans. His sensibility overlaps directly with theirs, and he may be ahead of Takagi in terms of what directions to take their work in the future. He’s clearly got real talent and has no hesitation in doing whatever it takes to get ahead, and his admiration for Ashirogi surely won’t give him pause when it comes to stomping on them. But Mashiro and Takagi have always performed best when under threat (Hattori has already figured this out), and when they’re feeling righteously indignant – and with an unethical phenom trying to occupy the same creative space they are, they have every reason to feel both threatened and outraged here. I expect this development to push the two of them to their highest creative peak so far.
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