Author : Hyoe NARITA

Hyoe Narita started as an editor at Shogakukan Inc. for women's magazines and manga for eight years from 1988. In 1996, Narita moved on to work for VIZ Media, LLC (San Francisco, California, USA) and eventually served as the Executive Vice President. There, he founded and became the first editor-in-chief of North American SHONEN JUMP. From 2012 to 2017, Narita was the President of Viz Media Europe with offices in Paris, Berlin, and Lausanne. Simultaneously, he served as the Vice President of the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Japonaise en France between 2014-2017. Narita is now President of Humony International, Inc., Chairman of FANTASISTA, INC., and Professor at the Anime and Manga Department at Kaishi Professional University.

Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Chapter 9: What is the International Value of Manga?
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I initially planned on writing about sound effects but changed course after something made me say, “hmm?…”   People currently in Japan, and only a certain group of people at that, know that just recently, the famous French football* team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) F.C. came to Japan and played three matches against J.League teams. PSG … Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Chapter 8: Shocking Lone Wolf and Cub and AKIRA: The Importance of the Passion of Expert Fans and Creators Part 2
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This is the continuation of Chapter 7.   Lone Wolf and Cub (English Version Released in 1987) was immensely popular among North American fans of Japanese manga and also had a great influence on creators.      As I wrote in Part 1, famous comic writer and artist Frank Miller fell in love with and … Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Chapter 7: Shocking Lone Wolf and Cub and AKIRA: The Importance of the Passion of Expert Fans and Creators
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As I wrote in Chapter 1, I moved to San Francisco in 1996, around 26 years ago now. I also wrote that Rumiko Takahashi was a big hit at that time. Other translated manga that was published by VIZ and popular then were Mai, the Psychic Girl by Kazuya Kudo and Ryoichi Ikegami, Crying Freeman … Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Chapter 6: Right-to-Left (Japanese style) and Left-to-Right (Western Style) and Evangelion Part 2
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In Chapter 5, I briefly explained the reason why pre-2000 manga was formatted to be read from left-to-right (Western Style).   Post-2000, most manga is translated and released in its original Japanese formatting (right-to-left).   So what happened during that transitional period? Although not well known, this question cannot be answered without mentioning Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s … Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America

Chapter 5: Right-to-Left (Japanese style) and Left-to-Right (Western Style) and Evangelion Part 1
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In Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4, I wrote about North America’s first seinen manga magazine, PULP. In the next few chapters, I will describe the difficulties and events that were unique to translating the magazine, including what it was like at the time.   Translated manga is now read from right to left … Former Executive VP of VIZ, The Legendary Hyoe’s History of Manga in North America