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Writer's pictureSamar

Why is the Arabic manga industry weak?

There is no doubt that manga has become one of the favorite means of entertainment for many, and a good number of talented Arabs are making their own manga, in light of the spread of "communication" sites, which allow the publisher to publish his comic.


مانجا عربية من صنعي سمر ارت

The enthusiasm for making manga is similar to the Japanese style


We are all aware that manga was originally founded in Japan, and from there it spread to all corners of the globe, and from there it reaches us in a "pirated" translated form most of the time, and with the expansion of the audience of manga lovers, many people make their own manga, driven by enthusiasm and love of art for that. , especially since there is a wide audience eagerly looking for Arabic manga, in full.


But the problem here is that many people get excited at first, and enter this arena in order to spread and become famous, instead of presenting a distinctive story to the audience, so the majority of Arab mangaka resort to Shonen stories similar to Dragon Ball or Naruto and so on.


And they dream of ascending the ladder of success in this way, thinking that they will repeat the Japanese style in fame and expansion, and this is the biggest mistake that the majority of new mangakas make.


Especially since most of them do not have any prior experience in comics, let alone writing, so instead of ascending Salama Salama, they start with a story that requires a lot of effort, whether in terms of script or drawing.




مانجا عربية من صنعي سمر ارت


Distinctive plot and primitive drawing


I read a lot of Arabic comics, and it always caught my eye, the strong story woven perfectly, but with.. a low level of drawing that does not match the story, so I get frustrated and do not continue reading the manga later.


There is no doubt that the narrative plot is much more important than the quality of the drawing, but weak drawing darkens the story and weakens its status, so every mangaka must search tirelessly for a painter, even if he has modest abilities, in order for his story to see the light.


The difficulty here lies in the accuracy of drawing the scenes, as we need to draw the characters several times during one chapter, not to mention drawing the backgrounds, which requires time and effort that is not easy.


But there is a question that arises, is there a shortage in the number of Arab painters? And if the required number is found, then many people may not continue to draw “chapters” month after month, or the overwhelming majority is looking for a sum of money in exchange for drawing manga, which is something that the manga author does not provide, because the majority are amateurs, who do not have any money. to support.


Despite this, there are Arab mangakas who have presented a high level of drawing, and I have seen two or three of them so far, but their works are few, or they have stopped publishing for a while.


مانجا عربية من صنعي سمر ارت


Stopping in the middle of the road


Have you read a Japanese manga that reached the 200th chapter? Some may answer in the affirmative, because the latter industry occupies an important position in Japan, and therefore you can hardly find a comic that suddenly stopped after several chapters, as is customary in the Arabic manga industry.


Most Arabic manga stop after the first chapter only, as if it was just an attempt or an experiment, or that the mangaka got bored and did not want to continue producing new chapters, or that the responsibilities of life preoccupied him.


However, I think that the majority is shocked by the lack of support from the public, or that the manga did not succeed as expected, so they prefer to withdraw and not complete the manga.


But there are a few who take the matter seriously, and complete the manga and download updates and chapters successively, despite the delay and busyness, but their number does not exceed the fingers of a hand.



مانجا عربية من صنعي سمر ارت

Not having enough income


There is only one official entity “I know” that publishes Arabic manga legally, and it is “Arabic Manga”. It even publishes multiple chapters of both Japanese and Arabic manga, and from there I felt hope, or that my dream had finally come true, and that We are now able to read 100% Arabic manga on a regular basis.


This is with regard to the official authorities, but with regard to the Arab mangaka, they do not receive any financial profits for their work as a mangaka, they only publish their stories on the Internet, so that many can read them for free, and this is what drives many not to enter this battle, from which they will not earn anything.


Unfortunately, we cannot enter a library in Arab countries, to see an entire shelf containing a variety of Arabic manga, to choose between, which seems to be a distant dream.

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