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Manga Creator Nomio Gyūnyū Comments on Difficulty in Publishing 'Loli' Content
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Manga artist Nomio Gyūnyū (Joshi Shougakusei Hajime Mashita P!) commented on the difficulties of publishing "loli" manga. "Loli" is short for "Lolita Complex," and in Japan the subgenre refers to works that feature prepubescent girls in an affectionate or sexualizing manner.
Gyūnyū's tweet is translated as follows: "It could be regulations, but when I was drinking with [fellow manga artist] Uran before, we got to talking about how loli can't be published in mainstream magazines anymore. After all, no matter how well they sell, they'll never get an anime, and if they can't get an anime, then publishing companies don't want to serialize them either. Going forward, it might be impossible to publish loli. Loli is losing its market share to the overseas [market], and the Japanese industry is naturally learning from that as well. It feels like we've already been completely enclosed."
Gyūnyū also commented on the recent news of Amazon delisting a number of light novel e-book titles on its U.S. storefront, stating: "Four years ago, my Joshi Shougakusei Hajime Mashita P! manga was removed [from Amazon JP], and it wouldn't get serialized on any manga apps. I think that we will see a steady increase of cases where a platform, regardless of country, decides to impose restrictions based on their subjective ideas."
Gyūnyū is currently serializing the Joshi Shougakusei Hajime Mashita (I Became an Elementary Schoolgirl) manga on Nico Nico. Hakusensha published an edited form of the manga in its Young Animal magazine from 2014 to 2019 under the title Joshi Shougakusei Hajime Mashita P!. The manga tells the story of a 30-year-old virgin salaryman who turns into an elementary schoolgirl through a strange turn of events.
Uran launched the Paradise of Innocence manga in Young Animal Arashi in 2011, and ended it in September 2017. His latest series Ore wa Lolicon ja nai! (I am Not a Lolicon) launched in January.
