Behind Weekly Shonen Jump: A Conversation with the Editor-in-Chief – All the News and Reviews from Anime NYC 2025

What makes HIN comics in The weekly teenager jumps? exist Anime New York Panel hosting AI And by Japan FoundationWSJ’s current editor-in-chief YūSaitō Emphasize that he has been looking for “new things”.

Saito, started working at a publisher Shueisha He graduated directly in 2005, and became deputy editor at WSJ in 2020, before being appointed editor-in-chief in 2024 (“It felt like a week,” he noted), open to many different “new” varieties. “It could be something, not just art, story or character, but something different,” he said.

Some readers may feel “different” about some jump hits. When Zito recalls telling the audience, people hear nervous, awkward chats. Samurai Kita (This year’s guests Anime New York) About the International’s enthusiastic response to Chapter 1 Kagurabachi – Start with a satirical meme, mocking the series’ universal and non-primitive nature.

But no matter where you are, how many “new” ideas are there Kagurabachi What offers is that it has at least an objectively “new” quality: this is Hokazono’s first ongoing comic, and one of his previous shots was also published The weekly teenager jumps Its branch magazine Jumping Goga. This is a kind of “new” that Saito can brag without argument: jumping to discover and promote new talent records. “We look for and serialize comic artists who have no history… In the comic creative world, it’s very difficult for a new artist who has never published anything to get started.”

When starting a new series, The weekly teenager jumps Always focus them on the cover. Zito said they were “probably the only magazine in Japan to do so.” Acknowledge humorously: “If we always ask piece On the cover, foster new talent and discover new hits prioritize the easy cash of Saito and WSJ crew members. He believes that this has entrenched the magazine’s philosophy, “Even after 100 years from now, you’ll see a new series from a new creator, a new creator on the cover of a new creator. The weekly teenager jumps. ”

In addition to finding new creators and series, the role of comic editors in Japan involves many other responsibilities. Mangaka has such a busy schedule in her weekly magazine that they rarely have time to consult on anime adaptations, so editors usually play such consulting roles. Making sure Mangaka sticks to their deadlines is another important part of the work, which leads to editors being portrayed in most comics as villains about the comics industry, which makes Saito “sad”. He said the most realistic comic description in Mango and editors is Taiyang Matsumoto‘ Tokyo these days.

Saito found that fans’ letters, especially those sent from overseas, were the strongest positive motivation to keep the comics in the plan. His most extreme story, trying to make the deadline involve Hideaki Soraichi working in a chapter gin. “[Soraichi] Every week is on deadlines. We had a specific time to have to go to the printer with the manuscript, and there was a completely blank page. At that time, it took about 30 minutes to get a taxi from the Creator’s residence to the printer, and behind the taxi he drew a blank page. My heroic role is to make sure the ink bottle doesn’t overturn and overflow that blank page. ”

As editor-in-chief, Saito no longer has direct involvement with creators like regular editors. Now, his role is more about creating the most active and work-friendly environment as a whole. He also has portraits drawn by many different jumping artists – PowerPoint slides highlight some of them, including a “wanted” poster piece‘ Eiichiro Oda.

Aoki asked about the ever-changing face of Jumping Comics and pointed out that Grittier’s role is like Barefoot gen Once published in a magazine, the magazine is not very suitable for the current image. The Saito competition now has a different feeling, which just reflects the change of “things that fans think are interesting.” But Zito said he and his colleagues weren’t particularly focused on the following trends — “We’re not data analysts criticizing numbers.” It was the most frustrating part of his work, but he tried to keep these creators positive by focusing on putting their next project on the hit.

According to Saito, what’s the best part of being a comic editor? “I’m so happy to be able to connect with people around the world and I never have the chance to meet again.” He was encouraged by the growth of the international comics fanaticism. Getting feedback from readers around the world is easier than ever, and he is always happy to recognize role-playing at conferences like this. When asked if international creators have a chance to be serialized (or in an awkward PowerPoint typo, “disinfect”) The weekly teenager jumpshe noted that he has been seeing more overseas creators in comic contests.